(Photo: © Clemenspool–eigenes Werk)
December 2025
In part 1 of this article series described the functionality of a lift according to EN 81-76:2025. The second part deals with its practical application and the prerequisites for a suitable lift configuration.
By Eberhard Vogler
At various points, the EN 81-76 standard refers to EN 81-70: car dimensions, characteristics of voice announcements and control devices at the landings and for communication systems, audible signals upon arrival and the door dwell time of the doors.
Consequently, EN 81-76 does not include all of the decisive requirements for a lift according to EN 81-70. Instead, depending on the specific area of use of the lift or type of use of the corresponding building, other requirements must be selected in addition.
Today, various calls for tenders already contain general requirements for lifts according to EN 81-76. The property-specific evacuation concept of the building forms the basis for the planning, application and operation of lifts according to EN 81-76. If this is available, the configuration of the lifts can be determined. Consequently, the exclusive requirement for lifts pursuant to EN 81-76 is insufficient.
Normally, the evacuation concept is based on the fire protection concept or is part of this concept. You can find boundary conditions for evacuation lifts that have to be settled with the erector of the building in the box.
In general, I recommend making provision for automatic evacuation operation since the evacuation can begin immediately and no waiting times arise for a driver or remote assistant. Depending on the type of building use and national, historical, and cultural traditions, driver assisted operation should be added. It remains to be seen to what extent remote assisted evacuation becomes established.
Apart from the equipment of the evacuation lifts and the entire evacuation concept, the operator and users of the building as well as the local fire and rescue services must be informed of and trained in the later operation of the lifts.
Furthermore, the persons required for evacuation operation must be selected, including evacuation assistants at the landings, drivers for driver assisted evacuation operation and remote assistants for remote assisted evacuation operation.
EN 81-76 focuses on the evacuation of persons with disabilities and should primarily also be available to the latter. Mobile individuals should use other available escape routes. To ensure this, the building users should be informed accordingly and if necessary, evacuation assistants selected to enforce this.
Apart from the evacuation lifts themselves, how the other lifts in the building are to behave also has to be determined. If these are not firefighters lifts according to EN 81-72, they should be taken out of service at a designated landing according to EN 81-73. In the case of firefighters lifts, the question arises whether these can be used before the arrival of the fire and rescue services as evacuation lifts.
This has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the period until the arrival of the fire and rescue services can be used for evacuation but on the other hand, the fire and rescue services upon arrival may have to wait until the evacuation lift has reached the fire service access level.
This should be considered individually in the evacuation concept and must be agreed with the local fire and rescue services in advance. It should also be mentioned that the evacuation concept ought to take the procedure upon arrival of the fire and rescue services into account. The evacuation concept should also include alternative evacuation routes in the event that evacuation lifts are not available or break down.
Work is currently underway in an ISO working group on ISO 8101-1, which will replace ISO 18870:2014 (Requirements for lifts used to assist in building evacuation). This standard covers evacuation lifts in general, but not just for people with disabilities. The current draft standard is based on EN 81-76 and also takes requirements from the US ASME A17.1 (OEO, Occupant Evacuation Operation) standard into account.
In addition, methods to traffic planning and selection of passenger lift installations (ISO 8100-32) are being prepared in order to be able to individually determine the number and configuration of the evacuation lifts required. Such calculations constitutes a decisive basis for the evacuation duration and consequently the evacuation concept, especially for high buildings.
Since EN 81-76 is new, it should be noted at this point that statutory regulations, such as federal state / local building codes and national high-rise guidelines, which for example prohibit the use of lifts in the event of fire and require taking lifts out of service at a designated landing, will have to be correspondingly amended, and evacuation lifts according to EN 81-76 included. This also affects recommendations, such as the Germany recommendations on the call for tenders for lifts in public buildings (AMEV).
The author is member of the Working Group 6 (Fire related issues) of the CEN/TC 10 in which the standard EN 81-76 was prepared and convenor of the German mirror committee and chief engineer for codes and standards at TK Elevator.
More informations: Part 1: New standard for evacuation of persons with disabilities
Boundary Conditions for Evacuation Lifts acc. to EN 81-76: • Number, location and size of evacuation lifts, the landings to be evacuated and evacuation exit landings (EELs) taking the maximum permissible duration into account
• Establishing in terms of capacity whether several landings have to be visited before the evacuation exit landing (in the case of automatic evacuation operation) and if applicable the definitions necessary if evacuation in zones is provided for.
• Electronic interfaces to the building (e.g.: manual evacuation lift switch, fire detection and fire alarm system, building management system) • Operation modes selected (automatic, remote assisted and driver assisted evacuation operation)
• Type of building:
- low simple building => Class A evacuation lifts
- higher buildings (at least when fire fighters lifts are prescribed) and in the case of buildings with a large number of persons with disabilities => Class B evacuation lifts
• Establishing the implementation of the suspend service signal (e.g.: manual switch at building access, fire detection and fire alarm system) and the landing then to be served
• Arrangement of the required operating equipment, signage, display, communication and monitoring installations, and if applicable of the control panel in the case of remote assisted evacuation operation.
Reference is also made at this point to EN 81-76:2025, Annexes B and C.
Digitalpaper
Write a comment