scope:

FOREWORD

Following the publication of the 1925 Edition of the Safety Code for Elevators. Dumbwaiters, and Escalators, requests for a handbook, or manual, covering the inspection of elevators were received by the Sectional Committee, presently called the Standards Committee of the American National Standard Safety Code for Elevators, Dumbwaiters, Escalators and Moving Walks, ANSI A17.1. This Committee appointed a subcommittee to prepare such a manual. Cities, states, insurance companies, elevator manufacturers and maintenance companies, and the Federal Government furnished the committee with material based on their field experiences. A final draft was prepared and was unanimously approved by the Sectional Committee, the Code Sponsors, and the American Standards Association (presently known as the American National Standards Institute, Inc.) and the first edition of the Manual was published in 1937 simultaneously with the fourth edition of the Code.

A second edition of the Manual was prepared by the Committee to bring it in line with the fourth edition of the Code, including the 1942 supplement. A new Part to cover the inspection of escalators, and new appendixes were added to cover descriptions of various types of safeties, methods for determining stopping distances of gradual type safeties, guide rail data, types of speed governors, and the handling and socketing of wire rope. The second edition of the Manual was approved by the American Standards Association and was published in 1945.

The third edition of the Manual was published in 1960 and included revisions to bring it in line with the 1960 edition of the Code.

The fourth edition of the Manual was published in 1973 to bring it in line with the 1971 edition including the 1972 supplement to the Code, and to update the inspection procedures. A new Part was also added to cover the inspection of moving walks.

The Inspectors' Manual Subcommittee was reactivated in 1976 to review the Manual and coordinate it with a proposed new edition of the Code. The Subcommittee, during their review, felt that it was time for the Manual to take on a new format. This fifth edition of the Manual was thus rP.organized into four major Parts: Electric Elevators, Hydraulic Elevators, Escalators, and Moving Walks. Each Part was further divided inspection the following three major Divisions: Routine Inspection, Periodic Inspection and Test. and Initial or Acceptance Inspection and Test. A considerable amount of new material was also added to the Manual to bring it in line with the 1978 edition of the Code.

In addition, four new Appendixes, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were added. Each Appendix contains a check list to be used during the initial inspection and tests for an Electric Elevator (Appendix 6), Hydraulic Elevator (Appendix 7), Escalator (Appendix 8}, and Moving Walk (Appendix 9). Full size copies of these check lists are available from The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 345 East 47th Street, New York City, New York 10017.