The 2007 legislative session added to and amended the State’s elevator statutory language. The elevator changes or upgrades required by the 2007 legislation have completion deadlines of January 29, 2012.

There are three main components to the new requirements:

Hydraulic Cylinders
All hydraulic cylinders manufactured prior to 1972, which were designed with single bottom construction, will require replacement or modification on or before January 29, 2012.

Door Restricting Devices
Effective January 29, 2012, Code Compliant door restricting devices will be required on all passenger elevators. These devices prevent unauthorized personnel from exiting the elevator cab between floors (ASME A17.3 2002 2.7.4). Several different types of door restrictors are available, installation dependant on current door equipment design.

Fireman’s Service Operation
Effective January 29, 2012, all elevators must conform to the requirements of ASME A17.1 1987 Rules 211.3 through 211.8 or later edition for Fireman’s service operation (ASME A17.3 2002 3.11.3). Fireman’s Service Operation is a two part system (Phase I & Phase II) which removes the elevators from public service during an emergency for use by emergency personnel.

• Phase I – Recall: A Key switch located at the main egress landing hall call station or, in certain buildings, the fire command center when activated, captures and returns the elevators to the lobby.
• Phase II – Fireman’s Operation: A key switch inside each car which allows the elevator to be operated by trained emergency personnel during emergency situations.

Existing elevators are exempt from the new fireman’s service operation requirements if the following conditions are met:

• Elevators with less than 25 feet of travel above or below the designated (egress) level; or,
• Elevators with less than 35 feet of travel above or below the designated (egress) level which were installed with Phase 1 and without Phase II and include recall of the elevator from a smoke detector at each landing, the elevator equipment room and the Phase I key switch at the designated landing.

Buildings with elevators should have been notified by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry regarding the changes. However, Care Providers of Minnesota has been receiving an increasing number of calls regarding this complicated issue. Bill Reinke, Chief Elevator Inspector from the Elevator Safety Section of the Minnesota Construction Codes and Licensing Division has provided us with the following helpful DOLI web links on this subject:

• Significant changes to the 2007 Minnesota Elevator Code (PDF)
• Chapter 1307 elevator and related devices (excerpt from the 2007 Minnesota State Building Code) (PDF)
• Bulletin: Compliance schedules and the Jan. 29, 2012 deadline (PDF)

If you have an elevator, make sure the staff person or company assigned/contracted to monitor and maintain your elevator(s) are aware of these changes. In the meantime, if you have questions, Bill suggests you contact the elevator inspector in your area:

• Elevator inspection districts map and contact information (PDF)
• Inspectors by city (PDF)

Additional information may be found on the Department’s elevator website:

• http://www.doli.state.mn.us/ccld/Elevator.asp

Note: Nursing facility providers should ignore the following DOLI code comment: “Fire sprinklers are prohibited in elevator shafts, elevator pits or elevator machine rooms” due to a conflict with federal nursing facility regulations. DOLI has agreed that these areas must be sprinkled for compliance with current federal requirements.

Limited extensions may be available to extend the January 29, 2012 deadline for compliance with cylinder bulkhead, door restrictor and fire service elevator requirements in the elevator code, but the operator must identify the specific compliance items included in the schedule, include specifics about the work being performed, and an acceptable timeline for completion of each item. The compliance schedule must also include conditions or actions that provide mitigation of the risks for each compliance item. The compliance schedule must include conditions and/or actions that will justify the Department of Labor and Industry’s (DOLI) approval of the owner's schedule for compliance beyond the January 29, 2012 deadline.

Doug Beardsley
952.851.2489
dbeardsl@careproviders.org

Resources