Duty to maintain public safety in lift building

Working on lifts – whether new construction, modernisation, repair or service – can be dangerous.

Not only the technicians themselves but also third parties, i.e. parties not involved, can be at risk. The so-called duty to maintain public safety exists to prevent this.

BY UDO NIGGEMEIER

The duty to maintain public safety is a statutory obligation. It requires persons who create or maintain a source of danger to take all necessary and reasonable measures to protect others from harm.

This is regulated in the German Civil Code (BGB) Section 823

Liability in damages
(1) A person who, intentionally or negligently, unlawfully injures the life, limb, health, freedom, property or some other right of another person is liable to provide compensation to the other party for the damage arising therefrom.

and in the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) Regulation 1 Section 15

Photo: © Udo Niggemeier

General support duties and conduct
(1) The insured individuals shall, as far as possible and as instructed by the employer protect the safety and health of those affected by their actions or failure to take action.

A breach of the duty to maintain public safety can result in considerable claims to damages if third parties suffer harm due to negligence or inadequate protection.

What does this mean for lift building?

Care must be taken from the planning stage and work preparation up to execution that employees and third parties are not at risk during the work. Suitable protective measures must be taken if this is not possible.

Distinguishing between new construction/modernisation and service/repair is important in this regard. Different risks can arise in each case.

In the case of new construction/modernisation, risks for third parties can in particular arise due to:

• absent or incorrect shaft barriers
• insecurely stored components
• travel of the partially complete lift for assembly work when the shaft is in part not completely shut off
• transport on site or in the shaft falling work equipment or material during assembly work, etc.

Securing places where people can fall (shaft barriers at the entrances) is especially important. DGUV-I 209-053 calls for a tripartite railing. Depending on the type of building site, this may be inadequate, for example where there is existing public access. Access to the shaft must be shut off completely in these cases, for example by lockable doors, wooden barriers, etc.

During service deployments, risks exist for third parties above all due to:

• absence of signs (e.g. "Lift out of order"signs o r displays)
• open landing doors (e.g. when entering the shaft pit or car)
• open machine rooms or control cabinets
• access ladders to the machine room
• transport work for repairs
• insecurely stored components (risk of stumbling and falling)

open car doors during setting work, etc.

Special precautions have to be taken in the case of "panorama lifts" (partially enclosed shafts). Work equipment or material can fall here. If these parts encounter obstacles while falling, their trajectories can alter in a way that makes them land outside the lift shaft and injure third parties there.

Suitable protective measures could be:

• if possible, work should be carried out in the protected (enclosed) area
• install safety nets
• attach tools during inspections (work belt with loops)
• close off traffic area according to DGUV-I 209-053, point 6.4.

To sum up, one can say that during work on lifts not only the employees of the lift company but third parties also have to be protected according to the valid occupational safety regulations.

Conclusion

People working on lifts have to be protected. This applies not only to the lift company’s employees but also to third parties according to the valid occupational safety regulations.

If one establishes protective measures, the STOPC principle should be observed (Substitution, Technical, Organisational, Personnel, Conduct).

The author is the managing director of ASIB-Niggemeier and first chairman of the Board of Management of the Association of SME Lift Companies (VmA).

More informations: asib-niggemeier.de