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Elevator maintenance and repairs involve numerous safety risks, such as entrapment and engulfment hazards. This requires safety managers to be proactive in ensuring elevator maintenance safety to protect their teams from confined space hazards, especially when operating at heights and dealing with complex machinery or electrical components. Some of the things that safety managers can utilize to mitigate hazards during elevator maintenance and repairs include the provision of efficient working at height equipment and adhering to OSHA regulations.
To help you promote elevator maintenance safety and achieve regulatory compliance, continue reading and learn more about the most effective tools and equipment you can use to protect your team.
Safety Equipment and Tools
Some of the vital equipment required for most of your elevator projects include:
Harnesses and Vertical Lifelines
Harness and vertical lifeline solutions are essential for any elevator shaft activity. Designed to prevent fall hazards by attaching workers to a designated point, lifelines and harnesses work in tandem to stop workers in the event of a fall occurring at a short distance (2ft or 0.6M).
This complies with OSHA standard 29 CFR 1926.501, which requires safety managers to provide fall protection systems for workers exposed to fall hazards. However, it is essential to reference your local regulations for accurate compliance.
When seeking a vertical lifeline product that meets your needs, look for working at height equipment capable of instantly detecting falls without being too reactive to quick, deliberate movements. For advanced harnesses, ensure comfort and a proper fit, which will help prevent suspension trauma in a fall.
Temporary Platforms (False Cars)
Temporary platforms or false cars aid elevator maintenance safety by offering working at height equipment where workers can complete tasks with a reduced risk of getting caught between moving parts or complicated shaft machinery. False cars can be raised and lowered as required, enabling your team to access different hoistway levels with a minimized exposure to potential hazards.
Most false cars have additional safety features, such as guardrails and sensors to prevent accidents. For successful false car installation, it is essential to use properly rated hoist for the imposed loads that can cover a wide range of usable workloads. Sheaves also make it easy to connect all the false car hoist components.
In an ideal scenario, false cars can be utilized when upgrading electrical control systems in an elevator. A temporary platform will allow your team to position themselves in the exact regions where upgrades are required. With a stable platform, your team will handle all the electric components comfortably and with minimal risk of encountering electrical, machine, or fall hazards.
Portable Hoists
Portable hoists are required when lifting and positioning heavy materials or components during elevator modernization and construction projects. Besides making work easier, portable hoists also ensure elevator maintenance safety by minimizing the risk of injuries resulting from the lifting of heavy materials. They also ensure precise material positioning with minimal manpower.
Advanced portable hoists or electric hoists are known for their high power-to-weight ratio. They also have unlimited lengths of lifting wire rope, which makes them ideal for lifting long and heavy loads over extended distances, especially in confined spaces. Their safety is guaranteed by their upper or lower adjustable end limit stops and motor-integrated brakes. Having a hoist complies with the OSHA 1910.179, Overhead and Gantry Cranes standard, which indicates that machines that lift and lower a load should have a hoist or hoisting mechanism as an essential part of the machine.
For added safety, you should ensure that all hoists used in your operations meet the safety standards set by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). UL-classified hoists are those designed to meet standard UL 1340, which covers overhead, pneumatically powered and electrically powered hoists. Achieving this classification means that not only are they portable, quick to set up, and easy to use, but that your team can also rely on them for safe and reliable performance while performing elevator maintenance tasks.
PPE and Procedures to Address Electrical Hazards
Workers may be exposed to numerous electrical or hydraulic energy hazards while working in a confined space. To prevent these hazards, it is essential to follow procedures or implement safety measures. The lockout/tagout (LOT0) procedure verifies that the power sources(s) of the equipment your team is working on have been disconnected.
OSHA's Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) Standard (29 CFR 1910.147) outlines procedures for de-energizing electrical equipment during maintenance to prevent accidental start-up. The standard also outlines that only Authorized Employees and Affected Employees should conduct a lockout.
While working on energized equipment on the elevator shaft, workers must also be equipped with insulated tools and personal protective equipment (PPE), including rubber gloves and sleeves, safety glasses, flame-resistant clothing, voltage detectors, and safety shoes. This further helps comply with the OSHA Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices (29 CFR 1910.333) standard, which covers safe work practices for individuals working on or near exposed electrical conductors or circuit parts.
User-Friendly Equipment
Implementing user-friendly working at height equipment during elevator repair and maintenance greatly helps prevent chemical hazards. User-friendly equipment reduces contact with chemicals and has simple application procedures that create a safe, safer work environment. Safety managers can also minimize the risks of chemical hazards during the construction and modernization of elevators by conducting a chemical hazard assessment, training workers on the correct use and maintenance of PPE, maintaining adequate ventilation, and creating an emergency response plan for chemical exposures.
Elevator Installation and Maintenance from Tractel
The need for premium equipment and tools when working in confined elevator shaft spaces must be emphasized more. With the potential hazards in elevator projects, safety managers need to ensure that their workers follow the safety procedures and are equipped with high-quality and user-friendly working at height equipment—from false cars to vertical lifeline solutions and beyond—designed to mitigate risks. This not only enhances the safety of the workers but ensures that elevator maintenance and repair tasks are completed on time and efficiently.
At Tractel, we are committed to providing businesses with modern fall protection and confined space technologies. We manufacture and customize top-quality tools and equipment that align with most installation methods. Contact us today to learn how we can help with your elevator project.