ESW - 18 : GENERAL SAFETY RULES ON WORKING AT ELEVATOR

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Elevator, Escalator & MovingWalk

GENERAL SAFETY RULES ON WORKING AT ELEVATOR 

In order to maintain a safe work environment it is necessary to understand and follow all safety instructions. Therefore, safety instructions must be published and distributed. Supervision is required to ensure that employees are familiar with and follow these rules. At a minimum, general safety rules will include:

General

1. All employees will be trained by knowledgeable personnel on safety procedures and methods of eliminating or minimising hazardous conditions before performing or directing others to perform work. For each job site, management will designate an individual responsible for assuring implementation of a company safety policy and these standards.
2. Personal protective equipment, including equipment for eyes, face, head and extremities, protective clothing, hearing protection and respiratory devices shall be provided, used and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition to protect against job site hazards.
3. Adequate lighting must be provided to ensure safe entry, exit and working conditions. Control switches should be located close to each access point to the area.
4. All lighting must be protected against mechanical damage and all lighting circuits must be properly fused and grounded or double insulated. Protection is required any time there is a potential for inadvertent or accidental contact.
5. No work shall be performed on metal ladders where the possibility exists of dangerous contact with live electrical conductors.
6. Clear warning signs must be installed in any place that a potential hazard exists in the work area.
7. The generation of excessive noise or harmful dusts and fumes should be avoided. If this is not possible, personnel shall wear appropriate personal protective equipment and take suitable precautions to protect others in the vicinity of the work from these environmental hazards.

Electrical Safety

The following requirements are applicable to all work activities and practices involving electrical circuits and equipment:

1. General Protection

• No employee shall be permitted to work in close proximity to any part of any electrical power circuit unless the employee is protected against electric shock by de-energising the circuit; by guarding it; by effective insulation or by using safe electrical working practices.
• Proper warning signs shall be posted and maintained so as to eliminate the possibility of contact with any exposed or concealed electrical power circuit.
• Suitable barriers or other means of protection shall be provided to prevent inadvertent contact with exposed circuits on energised electrical equipment.
• All extension cords must have plugs and a third conductor which shall be used for equipment grounding purposes only. All extension cords must have the proper amperage rating and be suitable for the conditions of use and location. Altered, worn or frayed electric cords shall not be used.
• Fuses of the correct size, type and capacity must always be used. Never substitute wire for cartridge or one-shot fuses.

2. Lock and Tagging of Circuits

• Equipment or circuits that are de-energised shall be rendered inoperative and have locks applied and tags attached at all points where such equipment or circuits can be energised.
• Lockout/tagout procedures delineated in section are to be adhered to at all times.
• Equipment that may have energised circuits after the main line disconnect has been locked out and tagged must be labelled to indicate this situation.

3. Residual Current Detectors or Earth Leakage

1. Breakers (ELCBs) Residual current detectors (RCDs) shall be used with all portable tools and other electrical devices. All RCDs used for the protection of personnel must be rated nominally at 30 ma or less.

4.  Grounding

The non-current-carrying metal parts of portable and fixed electrical equipment shall be grounded.

 

Fall Protection

Fall protection shall be provided for and used by employees who work at an elevated level of three or more metres or where other hazardous conditions such as working over machinery or moving equipment may present an additional hazard if a fall were to occur. A guardrail system must be used as primary protection against falls. If the use of guardrails is not feasible, then an alternate means of protection must be provided. Acceptable alternate protection includes the use of a fall-arrest system (safety harness with lanyard), covering all holes or openings, the installation of safety nets and/or other equivalent safeguards.

The use of a fall-arrest system requires the following equipment minimums:

• Full body harness;
• Shock-absorbing lanyard; and
• Lifeline secured above the work level to an anchorage or structural support or a structural attachment for use with body harness/lanyard.

Lockout/Tagout Procedures

1. When work is performed on equipment where operation is not required, the machinery must be bought to a zero energy state (completely deenergised) and locked and tagged out from its power source(s).
2. Personnel must be trained to perform lockout/ tagout procedures and will have access to lockout tags and a lockout device. Only one key or combination shall be available to personnel for each lock in use. A master key, duplicate keys or combinations shall be available to one designated person on each shift, to be used in emergency situations.
3. Sequence of Lockout and Tagout Procedures
1. All affected employees must be notified that a lockout and tagout system is going to be utilised and the reason for it.
2. Equipment that is operating shall be shut down prior to locking and tagging.
3. Valves or other emergency disconnecting means shall be operated so that the energy source or sources are isolated from the machinery. Where the potential for injury exists, stored energy in capacitor, and hydraulic, spring or pneumatic pressure must also be dissipated or blocked prior to performing work in their vicinity.
4. The energy source shall be locked out with an assigned lock and a signed tag on the lock. Note the date and the time the lock was put in place. If more than one individual is required to work on the equipment, then each person must place their individual lock and tag on the energy isolating device.
5. The employee shall ensure that no personnel are exposed and check the machine to verify all energy sources are isolated or dissipated by operating start buttons, switches, and/or controls.
6. Return to Service After all work is completed, the following procedure shall be used to restore the equipment to service:

• Only the employee who performed the lockout may remove the lock and tag. If more than one individual placed a lock on the equipment, then each person must personally remove their own lock.
• When the work is complete and the equipment is ready for testing, check the area for personnel, tools and other equipment before removing the lock and tag.
• Before leaving the area, notify all other affected personnel that the work is complete.

Scaffolding

1. All scaffold materials shall be recognised scaffold grade by approved grading standards in countries.
2. Prior to use, all scaffolds shall be erected in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. The designated job site safety officer must inspect the scaffolding for proper erection and apparent material defects. Any noted problems must be rectified prior to use.
3. The following design elements must be considered:
• Head protection (roof or screen) must be provided if there is any potential for falling objects.
• Firm footing must be provided for each scaffold upright. The poles, legs, or uprights of scaffolds shall be plumb, and they shall be securely and rigidly braced to prevent swaying and displacement.
• Guardrails, midrails, and toeboards shall be installed on all open sides and ends of platforms more than 1830 mm above the floor or working surface.
• Bracing must be provided to assure uprights are maintained in a plumb (90 degree vertical) position. In addition, the entire scaffold must be secured to the building structure.
• All planking of platforms shall be overlapped a minimum of 300 mm or secured from moving. Scaffold planks shall extend over their end supports not less than 155 mm and not more than 300 mm and be cleated.
• Wire, synthetic or fibre rope used with scaffolds must be capable of supporting at least six times the rated load and should be inspected before each use.
• A safe and convenient means of access, such as a fixed ladder or stairway, must be provided to gain access to the working platform where it is greater than 900 mm above or below the point of access.

Machine/Equipment Guarding

All potentially hazardous parts are required to be effectively guarded from accidental or incidental contact. The following items, for example, are considered potentially hazardous:

• Sheaves;
• Gear wheels, chain/sprocket and tape drives;
• Belt and pulley drives; and
• Commutators.

Hoisting and Rigging

Rigging practices shall conform to the standards approved in contries  If no rigging practices exist, they should be developed with the assistance of a licenced professional engineer. Safe practices shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Machines and hoisting devices (e.g. gasoline powered, electric winches, chain falls, etc.) must be used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations.
2. Ropes and slings (e.g. wire, manila, synthetic fibre) must have a safety factor of at least six (6) when hoisting any equipment/materials.
3. Manufacturer’s recommended load capacities on rigging hardware (e.g. turnbuckles, shackles, hooks, eyebolts, wire rope clips and clamps) shall not be exceeded. Application of these devices must be in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations (e.g. wire rope clips — the “U’’ bolt portion shall only be placed on the dead end of the rope; thimbles must beused in the eyes of all rope; slings shall not be shortened with knots or other devices; slings shall be padded or protected from sharp edges).
4. Reeving must be done so that the hoisting strain comes on the centre of the blocks and they are prevented from toppling, twisting and causing injury to the rope by cutting across the edges of the reeve block.
5. General:-
1. Responsible personnel (i.e. mechanic in charge, lead person, foreman, etc.) will be instructed regarding safety standards and proper application of all rigging and lifting equipment.
2. A system of communication (e.g. hand signals) must be established and used for all hoisting/lifting operations.
3. All rigging and lifting equipment shall be visually inspected initially before the equipment is placed in service and at least once a year thereafter. Inspections shall only be made by responsible personnel who are trained and competent to perform such inspections. Written records of initial and periodic inspections must be maintained and the equipment must be marked to indicate the last inspection date.
4. All rigging and lifting equipment shall be visually inspected before each use for defects and deformation. Defective devices shall be immediately removed from service.
5. All personnel shall be kept clear ofsuspended loads.
6. Tag lines or guides shall be used when loads are likely to swing or pass through a restricted area.
6. All new equipment must be designed to incorporate proper hoisting provisions, tools and instructions.

Modifications to Circuitry and Software

Each company must establish a control procedure for modifying all circuitry and software. The managing director or company owner must personally approve this procedure. At a minimum, these procedures must provide for:

1. Formal designation of personnel authorised to approve any circuitry or software modification.
2. Accommodations for making both temporary changes and permanent modifications. A temporary change is defined as any field expedient modification, approved by the designated authority, to serve an immediateneed. All temporary changes are considered short term and must also be processed as a permanent modification.
3. Establishing an interface with engineering or the supplying vendor to assure that appropriate design authorities are apprised of the reason that changes are required and to update the official drawings.
4. A means of communicating changes to equipment circuitry both within the company and to the design engineering entity for subsequent global distribution as appropriate.

Defeating Safety Circuits

The use of jumpers, bridges or shunts (generically referred to as ‘jumpers’) to short out or defeat a safety circuit shall only be allowed if there is no other way to accomplish the task. This requirement applies to all aspects of the work to include troubleshooting activities.

The managing director or company owner must personally approve this procedure. At a minimum, these procedures must provide for those activities or jobs that can only be performed by defeating a safety circuit. The following requirements must be adhered to:

1. Personnel must be specifically trained in the use of jumpers and must have demonstrated their ability to effectively and safely use jumpers. Personnel who have met these prerequisites for use of jumpers must sign a formal acknowledgement form attesting to this training and be included on a company register.
2. Jumpers shall be designed such that they are readily visible and identifiable through the use of serial numbers or other equivalent system of identification.
3. A policy must be developed and implemented so as to limit the number and assignment of jumpers. The number of jumpers assigned to each person must be based on the work to be done and must be controlled by each supervisor.A signed record of receipt must be maintained.
4. Procedures must be established to control all aspects of the work. At a minimum, the following precautions are required:
• The affected elevator/equipment must be taken out of service for public use.
• Before placing jumpers on door locks and safety circuits, ensure that the car can only operate on slow/inspection speed.
• To alert other employees as to the use of jumpers, a warning tag shall be attached to each jumper in use. In addition, a warning sign shall be placed on the cover of the controller which indicates that a jumper(s) is in use. This warning shall identify the employee placing the jumper, date placed and the serial number of the jumper in use. Verbally notify other affected personnel of the circuit and the location where jumpers are being used. Upon removal, jumpers shall be matched to the serial numbers to ensure removal of all jumpers.
• A personal reminder control (e.g. key bag, tag on tool box, badge clipped to shirt, etc.) shall be used by each employee placing a jumper such that it will require the employee to return to the machine room to remove the jumper.
• If working in a hoistway, an emergency stop mechanism shall remain in effect. For example, never jump out the hoistway door locks and the car door locks at the same time.
• For maintenance and repair operations,jumpers shall be removed whenever the mechanic relinquishes the job task to another employee. For all operations, all jumpers must be removed before placing the elevator into service or back into service to the public.
5. It is preferable that new elevators be designed such that an elevator must automatically be placed on inspection mode before it can be moved with a jumper on the door contacts.