Over 50% of elevator related injuries occur during the entering or exiting of an elevator. The two major hazards to be avoided are tripping when an elevator is not level at a landing, and being hit by closing doors.
Although there are many elevator door protection devices such as retracting safety edges, electronic photo eyes, and infrared safety curtains, accidents still do occur. One way to minimize the potential for an accident is to take a moment to check the elevator entrances when you ride the elevators. An off level elevator or a malfunctioning door reopening device are conditions that are easily recognizable. When any of these situations exists, the elevator should be removed from service and the elevator contractor notified immediately.
The elevator maintenance mechanic is only scheduled to visit the property on a monthly basis to perform routine maintenance, or when they are called to address a specific problem: Building personnel are therefore the first line of defense. Outside of the routine maintenance function, the elevator maintenance contractor only knows about a problem when they are notified. They can only fix a malfunctioning emergency telephone or safety edge if they know about it.
With the above in mind, it is imperative that accurate service information is available in the event that an accident occurs.
Accurate record keeping is accomplished by following these three simple steps:
- Maintain an elevator logbook where you record the date, time, and reason why a service call was placed to the elevator company.
- Ensure that the elevator maintenance mechanic signs in at the property upon arrival and departure.
- Require the mechanic to leave a signed maintenance ticket with the management office at the end of each service call.
This basic practice will enable you to show at a future date that a specific problem had been brought to the attention of the elevator maintenance provider responsible for the equipment at that time.