4 Plates, figures and sketches
Any plates, figures or sketches shown in this regulation and to which
reference is made in the text should not be construed as specifications
but should be considered as types for information or guidance only in
construction.
If the chief inspector is satisfied that for any particular class or
description of crane, lift, hoist, scaffolding, plant or gear, or roof
sheathed or intended to be sheathed with asbestos cement or other
brittle material or of any special description or method of building
Preliminary Part 1
work, excavation work, or compressed air work, the application of
any requirement of this regulation relating to safety or health is, in
any class or description of circumstances, not necessary in the
interests of safety or health or is not reasonably practicable, the chief
inspector may by written certificate (which the chief inspector may at
the chief inspector’s discretion revoke at any time) grant an
exemption from that requirement for that class of description of crane,
lift, hoist, scaffolding, plant or gear, or roof sheathed with asbestos
cement or other brittle material or of that special description or
method of building work, excavation work or compressed air work in
the circumstances and subject to the conditions that may be specified
in the certificate.
(1) If the obligation to observe any of the provisions of this regulation is
not by this regulation specifically imposed on any person it is the
obligation of every person who directly or by his or her servants or
agents—
(a) carries out any building work, excavation work or compressed
air work; or
(b) designs, constructs, erects, sets up or builds, or sets or places in
position, works, uses, tests or maintains any crane, lift, hoist,
scaffolding, plant or gear, or roof sheathed or intended to be
sheathed with asbestos cement or other brittle material;
to comply with the provisions of this regulation.
(2) A person must not directly or by his or her servants or agents use any
crane, lift, hoist, scaffolding, plant or gear, unless it has been
classified, designed, constructed, erected, set up, built or set or placed
in position, and installed, and unless the person uses and maintains it,
in accordance with the provisions of this regulation.
Every person must use the safeguards given and provided in
accordance with this regulation and a person must not interfere
detrimentally in any way with the use of the safeguards by any other
person, nor with the use of any safeguard method or process.
Qualifications, powers and duties of the chief inspector and inspectors Part 2
Part 2 Qualifications, powers and duties
of the chief inspector and
inspectors
A person must not falsely pretend to be an inspector.
An inspector has the power to—
(a) conduct prosecutions whether the information is laid in the
inspector’s name or not; and
(b) attend and examine witnesses at any inquest into the cause of the
death of any person following on an accident arising from the
construction, erection, setting up or building or setting or
placing in position, installation, alteration, working or use of any
crane, gear, hoist, lift, plant, scaffolding or part of it, or
occurring in relation to any building work, excavation work or
compressed air work or any roof sheathed with asbestos cement
or other brittle material; and
(c) direct the owner of, or person in charge or apparently in charge
of any crane, lift, hoist, scaffolding, plant or gear, or the
contractor or person in charge or apparently in charge of any
building work, excavation work or compressed air work, to take
the measures and provide the equipment and assistance that the
inspector may require to facilitate any inspection, and the person
must forthwith carry out the directions.
Part 2 Qualifications, powers and duties of the chief inspector and inspectors
An inspector may require the production of any certificate or permit
that by the Act or this regulation is required to be held by any person
or require the production of any notice, record or document that is by
the Act or by this regulation required to be kept or exhibited and to
inspect, examine and copy it.
Interpretation Division 4.1
Division 4.1 Interpretation
(1) In this part:
conveyor means a lift so arranged that goods are raised or lowered by
means of an endless belt or chain or by fittings attached to the lift, in
an inclined or vertical direction.
safety gear means a mechanical device or mechanism attached to the
underside of a lift car that on operation will stop and sustain the car
independently of the lifting ropes.
service lift means a lift the car of which has a floor area of not more
than 9 square feet and a height of not more than 4 feet, used to carry
goods only, and controlled from without the lift-well, and also
includes any lift certified by the chief inspector to be a service lift.
S.A.A. Lift Code
(2) The provisions of Code No C.A. 3—1947 published by Standards
Australia entitled ‘Australian Standard Rules for the Design,
Installation, Testing and Operation of Lifts and Escalators’ apply to
any matter or thing not provided for in this regulation.
Division 4.2 Design, construction and erection of
lifts
Permit to erect or alter lifts
(1) No person shall erect or alter a lift without first obtaining a permit
from the chief inspector.
(2) The applicant for a permit to erect a lift shall lodge with the chief
inspector a description and plans of the lift that includes particulars
of the machine, control, operating and safety devices, size and
construction of car, and a general layout showing the size of the motor
room and means of access to it, supports for the machine and guides,
the overruns, the pit and the lift-well enclosures, and shall specify the
maximum load that the lift is designed to carry and the rated speed of
the lift.
(3) The applicant for a permit to alter a lift shall lodge a description and
particulars of the proposed alterations.
(4) The description and plans shall be filed in the office of the chief
(5) Before granting a permit the chief inspector may require any
alterations in the design to be made that appear to the chief inspector
to be necessary for the safe working of the lift or to ensure compliance
with this regulation.
(6) Every lift shall be erected in accordance with the description and
plans submitted to and approved by the chief inspector and in
accordance with any direction endorsed on the permit and in
conformity with this regulation.
Safe working load of a lift
(1) The safe working load specified in the permit to erect or alter a lift
shall be the safe working load of the lift.
(2) The chief inspector may by written notice served on the owner vary
the safe working load of any lift and the safe working load as varied
shall then be the safe working load of the lift until revoked or further
varied by the chief inspector.
(3) The notice stating the safe working load required to be exhibited
under section 70 may state a safe working load less than the safe
working load as determined under this section.
(4) The notice stating the safe working load required to be exhibited in
the car of a passenger lift shall state the maximum number of people
to be carried, which number shall not be greater than the safe working
load in pounds divided by 150.
(5) The notice stating the safe working load required to be exhibited in
relation to lifts other than passenger lifts must state the load in
pounds.
Every lift and every part of it shall be of sound material, good
All work performed and all machines, equipment and material used
in connection with any lift shall be subject to the approval of the chief
inspector, who shall, as often as it appears to the chief inspector
necessary, cause them to be inspected and tested.
No person other than a person engaged on the erection, or alteration
of a lift, shall work, use or interfere with the lift until the lift has been
approved by an inspector for general use.
Car loading automatic passenger lifts
(1) Every passenger lift being an automatic lift shall be designed and
constructed on the basis of a load of not less than 75 pounds per
square foot of net car or platform floor area.
(2) The chief inspector may exempt from the operation of this section any
lift designed to carry beds, stretchers or invalid chairs in a hospital or
similar institution, or any lift with a car floor area not exceeding 9
square feet.
Supporting structures and machine rooms
(1) The supporting structure of every lift shall be designed and
constructed in accordance with part 11.
(2) The machine, control mechanism and all parts of the equipment of
every lift, other than those parts that must necessarily be placed
elsewhere to effectively perform their functions shall be housed in a
machine room.
(3) The area and height of the machine room shall be adequate to permit
of free and safe access for purposes of inspection and maintenance of
all parts of the machine and lift equipment located in it, and the
machine room shall be adequately illuminated and ventilated and
shall be provided with safe and convenient means of access.
(4) Every entrance to the machine room shall be provided with a door.
(5) Every door to the machine room shall be provided with a lock that
can be opened from outside the room only by the use of a key.
(6) If the door locks on closing, it shall be of a type that does not require
a key to unlock it from within the machine room.
(7) If lift machine room equipment is situatedd on more than 1 floor,
effective means of switching off the power shall be provided at each
floor.
Overruns
(1) The overrun provided for a car and for a counterweight of any lift
other than for a service lift, shall be not less than that specified in table
24:
Table 24
Car Counterweight
top overrun bottom overrun
top overrun (with
car landed)
rated speed
in feet per/min
drum
drum
drum
ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in.
0 to 100 3 0 4 0 1 6 1 6 1 6 3 0
101 to 200 3 0 4 0 2 0 2 0 1 6 3 0
201 to 300 4 0 5 4 2 6 2 6 2 0 4 0
301 to 400 5 0 . . 3 0 . . 2 6 . .
401 to 500 6 0 . . 3 6 . . 3 0 . .
501 to 600 7 0 . . 4 0 . . 3 6 . .
(2) The top and bottom overrun for the car and the counterweight of any
service lift shall be that specified in table 24 except that the bottom
overrun of a car shall be 12 inches.
(3) The bottom overrun for the counterweight of a traction-drive lift
when the car floor is level with the top landing shall not be greater
than 1/ 2 of the top overrun provided for the car.
(4) The final limit gear of the lift shall operate before the counterweight
lands.
(5) The bottom overrun for the counterweight of a drum-drive lift when
the car floor is level with the top landing shall not be greater than 1/ 4
of the top overrun provided for the lift car.
(6) The final limit gear of the lift shall operate before the counterweight
lands.
Stops and buffers
(1) Approved stops or buffers of the type prescribed table 25 as
appropriate to the running speed of the lift car or counterweight shall
be provided for the car and counterweight of all lifts other than service
lifts.
Table 25
running speed of car or
counterweight
type of stop or buffer
not exceeding 100 feet/min solid stops, spring buffers, oil buffers
or impact-absorbing stops
exceeding 100 feet/min, but
not exceeding 200 feet/min
spring buffers or oil buffers
exceeding 200 feet/min oil buffers
(2) Buffers so provided shall comply with the following requirements:
(a) spring buffers—springs for buffers shall be so designed that they
will not take a permanent set on absorbing the energy of the fully
loaded car at governor-operating speed; and
(b) oil buffers—the minimum total stroke of oil buffers shall be
based on an average retardation of 32.2 feet per second per
second, based on the governor-operating speed, and the
maximum retardation based on the governor-operating speed
shall not be in excess of 80.5 feet per second per second (21/ 2
times gravity retardation).
(3) Effective means shall be provided for readily ascertaining the
adequacy of the oil supply.
(4) Provision shall be made, by fitting a spring or by other suitable means,
for taking the initial impact between the car or counterweight and the
buffer.
Permanent stops
The final obstruction at the top and bottom of every lift-well shall
ensure that in the event of an overwind the car and counterweight will
remain in their guides with the car floor and the horizontal faces of
the counterweight level.
Pits
(1) The wells of all lifts shall continue to solid earth except in the
circumstances and subject to the conditions that the chief inspector
may approve.
(2) The pits of all lifts shall be constructed to remain dry and shall be
provided with safe and convenient means of access.
(3) Suitable means of access and lighting to permit of safe and efficient
maintenance of safety gear shall be provided.
(4) The pits of all lifts other than service lifts shall be of sufficient depth
to provide the overrun specified in section 24 and in addition a
clearance of not less than 24 inches between the underside of the car
platform and the floor of the pit when the car is landed with the
buffers fully compressed.
(1) All liftwells shall be completely enclosed from the bottom of the pit
to the underside of the overhead supporting beams with approved
material of adequate strength.
(2) All windows in lift-well enclosures shall be closed and fixed.
(3) All windows and openings accessible from fire-escapes, stairways,
platforms, adjacent roofs and those on ground floors and basement
levels as well as any window up to a height of 20 feet and opening on
to a public place, cartway or yard or similar area shall be barred or
otherwise permanently protected.
Enclosure doors
(1) Every enclosure door of every automatic lift other than a service lift
shall be provided with 2 separate electromechanical interlocks each
arranged to electrically and mechanically interlock the enclosure door
with the control of the lift.
(2) If latches are used they shall be of a design that will prevent fingers
projecting through the latch hole and the latch shall be clear of the
door surrounds when the door is fully open.
(3) These electromechanical interlocks shall ensure that—
(a) the car cannot move or continue in motion unless every
enclosure door is closed and locked.
(4) For subsection (3) (a), an enclosure door may be considered locked if
complete locking occurs within the period that the car takes to move
9 inches from the landing on which the enclosure door is situated.
(5) Each enclosure door may only be unlocked and opened when the car
is stationary and its floor is level with the landing or within 9 inches
of it at which the enclosure door is situated or the car is within the
control of the levelling device at that landing.
(6) Every enclosure door of every lift other than an automatic lift shall be
provided with an electromechanical interlock that shall ensure that
the car cannot move or continue in motion unless every enclosure
door is closed and locked and that the enclosure door can only be
unlocked from the car.
(7) Every enclosure door of every service lift shall be interlocked with
the control so that the car cannot move or continue in motion unless
every enclosure door is closed and locked and so that the enclosure
doors can only be opened when the car floor is level with the landing
or within 9 inches of the landing on which the enclosure door is
situated.
(8) For this section, an enclosure door may be considered locked if
complete locking occurs within the period that the car takes to move
9 inches from the landing on which the enclosure door is situated.
(9) Except for a lift fitted with both power-operated doors and a position-
indicating device, every enclosure door of an automatic lift shall be
provided with a panel, not less than 1 square foot in area, through
which the car may be clearly seen from the landings.
Clearance in wells
(1) Adequate clearances shall be provided for the car and counterweight
in every lift-well.
(2) Piping, conduit, or other equipment not forming part of the lift
installation shall not be installed in a lift-well, except with the
approval of the chief inspector.
Ropes and sheaves
(1) Flexible steel or iron wire ropes shall be used for the lifting, governor
and compensating ropes of all lifts, and the ropes shall not be spliced
for purposes of repair or extension.
(2) Chains shall not be used for suspending cars or counterweights of
lifts.
(3) The minimum number of lifting ropes for cars and counterweights of
lifts, other than service lifts, shall be 2 for drum-drive lifts and
hydraulic lifts and 3 for all other types.
(4) The factor of safety for lifting ropes shall not be less than 10.
(5) The minimum diameter of suspension ropes for cars and
counterweights shall be 3/ 8 of an inch except for service lifts where
the minimum diameter shall be 1/ 4 of an inch.
(6) The ratio of the diameter of any drum or sheave to the diameter of the
rope used on it shall be not less than—
(a) 45:1 for passenger or goods lifts; and
(b) 40:1 for service lifts; and
(c) 38:1 for compensating ropes; and
(d) 25:1 for governor ropes.
(7) All drums and sheaves shall be grooved to correctly embrace the
ropes, and to prevent any overriding or jamming.
(8) Lifting ropes shall be effectively anchored to drums and not less than
11/ 2 turns of each rope shall remain on a drum when the lift car or
counterweight has landed.
(9) If compensating ropes are used, provisions shall be made for
automatically stopping the lift in the event of the compensating
sheave rising or falling beyond predetermined limits.
(10) If 2:1 roping is used provision shall be made to prevent the ropes
leaving their correct grooves, and the sheaves on the car shall be
effectively guarded and a convenient handhold provided.
Lift cars
(1) Steel shall be used for the bow, side members, safety gear bearers and
platform frames for the car of every lift, other than a service lift.
(2) The bow of every service lift shall be strapped to the car floor with
steel.
(3) Every passenger lift car shall have a roof that covers the whole area
of the car, and the cars of goods lifts shall have a roof when so
directed by an inspector.
(4) The roof of every lift car shall be constructed to provide a sound, flat
surface of as large an area as practicable and affording a firm
foothold, and shall be of adequate strength to support safely the
weight of the workers that might go on it and any equipment required
to be placed on it.
(5) Glass shall not be used in car roofs.
(6) The roof of every lift car other than a service lift shall be provided
with a hinged panel, capable, if necessary, of being raised from inside
or outside the car and when partly or fully opened shall not foul any
enclosure or fitting in the lift-well.
(7) The panel opening to be of such size as to permit the easy ingress or
egress of a man.
(8) The hinged panels on automatic lifts shall be electrically and
mechanically interlocked with the control of the lift.
(9) The roof of every service lift car shall be set back not less than
6 inches from the line of the car floor nosing, or for such distance the
roof shall be in the form of a hinged flap capable of lifting.
(10) The sides of every lift car shall extend from the car floor to the car
roof.
(11) If a roof is not provided to the car of a goods lift, the sides shall be of
the height that an inspector may direct but shall not be less than 6 feet
in height, and adjacent to the counterweight shall not be less than the
height of the car bow.
(12) Plain glass shall not be used in lift cars other than for covering notices
and indicators.
(13) Lamps and lamp fittings shall be of adequate strength and security to
withstand the operation of the safety gear without damage.
Car gates
(1) A gate or door affording adequate protection and electrically
interlocked with the control shall be provided across every car
entrance of—
(a) every automatic lift other than a service lift; and
(b) every passenger lift other than an automatic lift, except that a
gate or door need not be provided at 1 entrance of the car of a
passenger lift, if the control is adjacent to it so that the attendant
can conveniently extend his or her arm across the entrance and
the width of the entrance does not exceed 42 inches and the
whole face of the well including the enclosures adjacent to the
car entrance is flush and not more than 11/ 2 inches from the car
floor nosing; and
(c) every goods lift other than an automatic lift, except that a gate
or door need not be provided at 1 entrance of the car of a goods
lift, if the control is adjacent to it and the whole face of the well
including the enclosures adjacent to that car entrance is within
31/ 4 inches of the car floor nosing.
(2) Any offsets in the face of an enclosure mentioned in subsection (1)
(c) shall be bevelled on the underside at not less than 3 inches vertical
to 1 inch horizontal.
(3) All power driven car gates or doors shall be so constructed as to be
capable of being opened manually.
(4) The electric interlock of the car gates of every automatic lift shall be
placed in a position inaccessible to a person standing on the car floor.
(5) If levelling devices are used the car floor shall be provided with a
substantial toe-guard flush with its outer edge extending a sufficient
distance below the car floor so that there shall be no opening into the
lift-well while the car is within the levelling zone.
Lighting and ventilation of cars
The car of every lift other than a service lift shall be provided with—
(a) adequate ventilation; and
(b) effective means for interior electrical illumination; and
(c) facilities on the car roof for attaching an electric light if an
inspector so directs; and
(d) unless other provision is made for illuminating the pit of the lift,
an electric light on the underside of the car.
Safety gear
(1) The car of every suspended lift other than a service lift shall be
provided with effective safety gear.
(2) A speed governor operating the safety gear shall be provided if the
travel of the lift car exceeds 30 feet and on lifts erected after