Lifts Directive 2014/33/UE (ex 95/16/EC)

Directive 2014/33/UE (ex 95/16/EC), became law on 20st April 2016 , defines the assessment procedure of lifts conformity with the essential safety requirements mentioned in Annex I. It establishes also the obligatory nature of the CE mark for marketing and commissioning of all devices installed from 1st July 1999. The term “lift” refers to all devices employed for the simultaneous or separate transport of people and things that connect separate floors through a machine that travels along fixed runners with a vertical orientation of more than 15 degrees.

The Directive stipulates that before putting on the market, each lift and safety component has to be constructed, installed and tested by implementing one of the procedures listed in the various annexes to the directive.

The installer is responsible for designing, manufacturing, installation and marketing of the lift. He composes the Declaration Conformity taking into account the specifications given in the Annex, and he keeps a copy for 10 years from the date of lift’s marketing. CE marking must be clearly visible on every lift car and on each safety component. The Conformity Assessment procedures are carried out by authorized bodies and notified to the European Community in possession of the requirements indicated in the Directive.

Lifts and Construction products Directive was implemented by Italian government through the Decree no.162 of President of the Republic dated 30 April 1999. This decree lays down the rules for implementation of Directive 95/16/EC on lifts and simplification of procedures for granting permits for elevators and hoists, as well as of its operating license. (Official Journal 134 of 10.06.1999). 

The article 13 of Presidential Decree concerning periodic verifications requires the owner of the building or his legal representative to carry out Regular Maintenance Servicing of installed system and to submit it to periodic checks every 2 years.

Further inspection activities on plants elevators, pursuant to art. 14 of the decree are carried out in case of changes, replacements of main components or accidents.

The Directive defines that such periodic verification of lifts and hoists will complied by: technical engineering graduates; ARPA, when it is given that competence in accordance with rules of implementation of the regional law 61 of 21 January 1994; the work Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of labour and social welfare, responsible for the area for systems installed in industrial plants or farms; notified Certification Bodies under the Regulation for conformity assessments in Annexes VI and X of the Directive (now Annexes V and VIII of the Directive 2014/33/UE)

Equipment employed

S.A.M.A. Italia srl manufactures and sells instrumentation useful to carry out verifications in accordance with procedures specified in the various Annexes to Directive.

In particular:

• Luxmeters: Used for the assessment of lighting requirement primarily of workspaces (machinery spaces, equipment rooms, lift well), they are fundamental both to evaluate that the requirement is respected, where the plant was born to a standard which provides threshold values, and when the inspector is obliged to issue a professional judgment where the native standard does not set threshold values.
• Force gauges: Mainly used for evaluation of the thrust of door closing, in order to be averted the risk of collision with excessive amounts of energy of the doors.
• Pressure gauges: Employed for the definition of pressures profile of hydraulic systems, it is useful for evaluating the correct calibration of overpressure, as well as to have indirect estimate of actual mass of the plant, evaluating the vacuum pressure. Given its greater resolution compared to pressure gauges on board, it is necessary to evaluate the pressure drops in the leakage test pressure of the circuit.
• Multimeters: Used to control voltages in power circuits, switching and signalling, useful for checking that the circuit protections are adequate. • Clamp meters: Along with multimeters, clamp meter is a useful defence to the balance assessment of electrical systems. By entering the correct load in the cabin, the evaluation of the absorption, uphill and downhill, provides indirect estimation of the correct balance.
• Insulation multimeters: Used for the evaluation of proper insulation of ground circuits and between circuits. They can give, together with multimeters, signs of voltage drop, especially in rigging cables of particularly antiquated systems.
• Calipers: Used to control the nominal dimensions of cables, guides, gaps between the parties. They can be useful also for verifying phenomena of wire ropes necking.
• Tachometers: Some limiters, both in old plants and in MRL solutions, are not equipped with test groove. The only way to measure the actual speed of intervention of the limiting unit/parachute is the use of a tachometer.

Contact us for a free quotation; we will be very pleased to give our free technical advice.