Passenger lift design safety «

Passenger lift design safety 14. 01. 2010

Passenger lifts have to be built to a high degree of safety. The lift design has to encompass many features and requirements to ensure the safe transport of the people who use it. The most obvious feature is that it will provide adequate space and capacity for its needs. If the design is for a maximum of ten people, for example, then it must allow ten people to stand with reasonable comfort within the interior space.

Lift services that travel long vertical distances, and therefore require longer times for travelling, as in tall skyscrapers, may even have a seating cushion lining the sides of the installation where there are no doors, for even greater comfort. In countries where it can get hot in summer there may be air conditioning installed, or a fan system to circulate air. However, possibly the most important feature found in public passenger lifts is a means to convey information to someone externally who is in a position of authority should the lift break down between floors.

The lift design should cater to all users. Disabled users in a wheelchair are not normally able to reach high up, and for this reason all buttons should be low enough for them to reach easily, but not so low that able bodied passengers have to stoop low to access them. A stop button for halting the lift in an emergency situation is a good safety feature, but it should not be so designed that it can be accidentally activated. Should this happen, the passengers may not be aware of why the lift has stopped.

Lifts are usually located within a building, often in a set of shafts near the centre of the structure. This generally works well for goods lifts and service lifts as well as for those designed for people to use. This is largely so because all rooms and sections of the building are then within easy reach of the lift service being more or less equidistant from it. However, being in the middle of a building does mean that it is windowless inside, which may be a major problem for anyone suffering from claustrophobia.

By contrast, glass lifts located on the outside of a building allow light to enter. They provide the public travelling on them to see a wonderful panoramic view of the surrounding area while they are moving vertically up or down. Lift maintenance and servicing is not compromised through this design either, though there may be some additional engineering considerations to overcome. The passenger lift services industry is constantly staying ahead of its requirements and maintaining its high standards in every way.

Speak to Public Access about any of our services including Platform Lifts, Passenger Lifts, Stair Lifts, Goods lifts or Door Automation.

More in this section: