What Are The Legal Requirements for Elevator Inspections?

Located in the heart of Kamloops, BC, TCI Lift is the city’s go-to certified elevator inspectors, backed by over 40 years of experience. As code-compliance experts, our services include safety coding for elevators and escalators as well as requirements for elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, moving walks and material lifts. 

Elevator inspections look at the elevator cab, machine room, hoist way and pit, emergency power and fire service and are generally to ensure they are safe for people to use.

When an elevator has officially been installed, inspected and put into service, it is then owned by the building manager or owner, who then has legal obligations to make sure it is maintained regularly to ensure safety and legal liabilities under the Safety Standards Act and the Elevating Devices Safety Regulation, and any Technical Safety BC directives and safety orders.

Additionally, elevator owners are required to have a maintenance contract with a licensed contractor, who acts on behalf of the elevator owner to make sure the equipment is up to code. 

As such, residential and commercial elevators are boh subject to inspections to ensure safety measures are in place, which is where we step in to ensure everything is up to standard.

In line with this, in British Columbia, the BC Elevating Devices Safety Regulation was amended in April 2020 to include the adoption of the 2016 edition of the ASME A17.1/CSA B44 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators. 

As such, elevators are required to undergo annual, three, and five year inspections by way of a maintenance control program (MCP). This program is to ensure an elevator is maintained properly throughout its lifecycle, while customized MCPs are intended to prevent an elvator’s failure, improve reliability and safety while reducing risk. 

Under the new codes, the testing requirements will also ensure that elevators work and stop safely under any circumstance. 

In terms of best practices, elevator owners and operators also have duties to follow in preparation for inspections, including keeping all manuals, construction prints, schematics, drawings and a copy of proprietary software. 

Annual operating permits are also supposed to be mounted in the elevator room, while current elevator contracts are supposed to be kept on file. 

A journal for each elevator should also be kept, and should be signed and dated whenever work is done on an elevator and should be kept for at least six years. If a contract is terminated, elevator records should be requested from the Safety Authority.

In the same vein, the Safety Standards Act refers to anyone who installs, alters, maintains and operates an elevator, which could be anyone from a building owner or manager and elevator device contractor to the elevator mechanic. 

On that note, duties from the Safety Authority include issuing operating permits on an annual basis as well as contractor licenses, approving the qualifications of contractors, inspecting elevators systems before being used, inspecting elevator equipment and approving renovations. Lastly, the Safety Authority is to investigate all accidents and record and monitor inspections.

At TCI Lift, we bring world class training and talent to our customers, who never have to worry about their elevator devices not being up to code. Our clients have included Ritz Development, CML Property Management, Scotiabank in downtown Kamloops and Sun Peaks Resort, among others.

To learn more about our services and how we can help with your residential and commercial elevator inspections, contact us today.