Two new European standards for the design and manufacture of lifts were

introduced in August 2014 - EN 81-20: 2014 and EN 81-50: 2014.

 EN 81-20: 2014 sets out safety requirements for construction and installation.

 EN 81-50: 2014 sets out test and examination requirements for certain lift
components.

The standards replace the EN 81-1 and EN 81-2 standards that were introduced in
1998 and apply to all lifts taken into use from 1 September 2017.

(Please note that it had been planned to withdraw BS EN 81-2 on 31 August 2017
but at the time of writing this has not yet happened - we will update this article in due
course).

The new standards aim to improve accessibility, safety and comfort, lift passengers
and those required to service installations. The standards also make stipulations in
terms of building design and interface.

Both standards are regulated by the European Committee for Standardisation

(CEN).

What do the regulations mean for passenger safety?

The standards contain a number of requirements with the aim of improving

passenger safety. These include:

Movement and speed

 Required protection against the risk of an ascending lift car over speeding has
now been extended to cover rescue situations.
 Enhanced requirements have been stipulated in relation to the protection
mechanism to mitigate the risk of the lift car moving away from the landing.

Door detection systems

 A non-contact detection system designed to prevent doors closing if an

obstruction is detected (a 'curtain of light') is required to reduce the risk of
doors making contact with passengers entering or exiting the lift car.
Mechanisms based on photocell technologies will not be compliant with the
new requirements.
Car door locking mechanism

 To prevent trapped passengers falling into the lift shaft when attempting
escape from a stopped lift car a mechanism is required to prevent car doors
being opened from inside when the car is outside the unlocking zone (in line
with the landing doors).

Fire classification for lift car materials

 Materials used for car floors, walls and ceilings have been updated and must
now meet fire classification requirements stipulated in EN 13501-1. Minimum
classifications are:

o Ceilings: C, s2 and d0
o Floors: Cfl, s2
o Walls, C, s2, d1

Here C and Cfl refer to 'reaction to fire' classification and s and d refer to the
classification of materials with regard to smoke and formation of flaming
droplets and particles respectively)

Lift strength

 Car and landing doors and car walls must now meet updated strength
requirements. Doors must include retainers to keep the door panels in place if
the guiding elements malfunction.
 Car and landing doors must be able to withstand impact force equivalent to a
person colliding with the door at running speed. Car walls must be able to
withstand the equivalent force to a person pushing against them. 
 Lift walls (including those made of glass) must withstand shock to ensure the
integrity of the structure (a rigid pendulum with 0.5m drop height must
withstand a 10kg shock, a soft pendulum with 0.7m drop height must
withstand a shock of 45kg).

Car lighting

 The standard requires higher lighting levels in both the lift car and shaft. In car
lighting should provide illumination of 100 lux (was 50 lux) with emergency
illumination of 5 lux for one hour (was 1W for one hour). Lighting should be
 placed at a height of 1m in the centre of the car close to emergency push
buttons.

Evacuation

 The lift car roof safety hatch should be 0.4m x 0.5, with the toe guard able to
withstand 300N without permanent deformation of 1mm and elastic
demormation of 35mm (minimum).

The standards aim to improve accessibility and safety both for lift passengers and
those required to service installations.

What do the regulations mean for technician safety?

Shaft lighting, car roof lighting, machine room lighting

 Shaft lighting should provide a minimum of 50 lux a metre above the car roof
vertically, 1 meter above the pit floor everywhere a person can stand, work or
move between work areas, and 20 lux elsewhere excluding any shadows.
 Emergency lighting on the car roof must now be sustained at 5 lux for one
hour. The car roof itself should also have an anti-slip working surface.
 The machine room should have a lighting of a minimum 200 lux.

Control station location and access to pit and machine room

 Access requirements for pits deeper than 2.5 metres are now stricter with
designated dimension, strength and location requirements for access aids
(such as ladders). An access door might also be required.
 To prevent technicians needing to use ladders or stools to reach components
underneath the lift car a control station (including audio communication), in
case of entrapment, must now be located in the pit near the refuge spaces. A
reset function must be located outside of the lift shaft.
 Safety gear should be fitted to counterweights where there are accessible
spaces under the pit (such as a storage space or car park).

Access, inspection and rescue doors

 Access/inspection doors should be provided (rather than inspection trapdoors)

to allow safe access for technicians.
 Machine room shaft access doors should be a minimum of 2m (h) and 0.6m
(w).
  Pulley-room access doors should be a minimum of 1.4m (h) and 0.6m (w).
 Access trapdoors (to machine and pulley rooms) must be counterbalanced
and provide clear passage of 0.8 x 0.8m
 Emergency doors should be a minimum of 1.8m (h) x 0.5 (m).
 Inspection doors should be a minimum 0.5m (h) x 0.5 (w).

Lift car roof balustrades

 There are now defined strength and height requirements for balustrades on
the lift car roof to prevent those working here falling into the lift shaft. Such
balustrades:

 Where the distance between the inner edge of the handrail and wall of
the lift shaft is up to 500mm the balustrade must have a minimum height
of 700mm.
 Where the distance between the inner edge of the handrail and the wall
of the lift shaft exceeds 500mm the balustrade must have a minimum
height of 1100mm.

Horizontal projections into the shaft

 Any ledge or similar that protrudes into the shaft or horizontal beam greater
than 150mm wide must be protected to prevent a person standing on it. The
exception to this rule is a car roof where access is prevented by a balustrade.
This exemption does not apply for ledges around the pit such as those that
might be found in a partially-enclosed elevator shaft and car roof ballustrades.

Safety refuge spaces

 Volumes for safety refuge spaces have been increased to 0.4 x 0.5m
(horizontal) and 2m (height) in the upright position, 0.5 x 0.7m (horizonal) and
1m (height) in the crouching position and 0.7 x 1m (horizontal) x 0.5m in the
laying position (pit only).
 The landing door to the pit must be able to be opened from within the shaft
allowing technicians to exit even if the landing door is closed.

Electrical safety
  A RCD device should be provided for seperate 230v circuits and LED lighting.
A shaft switch will need to be installed to guarantee an inspection speed of
0.3 m/s.

What changes need to be considered when designing buildings?

EN 81-20:2014 introduces a number of changes to requirements as they apply to the

lift shaft. Specifically:

 All glass must be laminated.

 Shaft walls must be able to withstand 1000 N.
 The shaft should now contain a fire extinguisher though the sprinkler should
only be activated when the lift is stood still at a landing.
 The fire or smoke detection system should switch off the lift's main switches
and lighting circuits when activated.
 Installations in buildings taller than 40m (in which the ride distance exceeds
40m) must account for building shrinkage in building design.
 Responsibility for ventilation of the shaft now falls to the building designer.
Manufacturers must provide key information on lift components (such as heat
emissions). This approach allows designers to consider energy efficient
solutions while mindful of working conditions for technicians and passenger
comfort.

Where can I find more information?

The full versions of the new standards EN 81-20:2014 and EN 81-50:2014 contain

more information.