The emergency plans will in addition be checked by the authorised inspection bodies as part of their recurrent checks. (Source: TÜV Nord)

Transitional period for emergency plans ends

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Employers or operators of lifts have been obliged since the introduction of the new Operational Safety Ordinance to draw up an emergency plan for all lifts, which must be provided to the emergency service responsible or hung up at the lift. The transitional period will now end on 31 May.

If there is no emergency plan, this can be punished as an administrative offence from 1 June 2016 according to the Operational Safety Ordinance. "From this date an emergency plan must be drawn up for each lift, which is provided to the particular emergency service. Only in this way can the emergency services react immediately and appropriately and institute assistance measures directly,” said Axel Stohlman, Director of the Competence Centre Conveyance Technology at TÜV Nord.

Emergency plan must be posted visibly

If there is no emergency service, the emergency plan must be posted visibly in the immediate vicinity of the lift – ideally at the main entrance to the building. This enables the helpers to liberate those trapped quickly and effectively.

The emergency plan must include the following details.
1) Location of the lift
2) The employer responsible
3) People who have access to all the lift installations
4) Persons who could carry out liberation of those trapped
5) The contact data of those who could provide first aid (e.g. emergency doctor).
6) Information on the probable start of liberation
7) The emergency liberation instructions for the lift

All information – especially the emergency liberation instructions for the lift – must be kept up to date and in addition match the technical design of the lift. "We welcome the introduction and the corresponding checks of the emergency plans so that trapped people can be liberated quickly,” said Stohlmann. The supervisory authorities will in future carry out random checks. They will in addition be carried out by the authorised inspection bodies.

www.tuev-nord.de

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