EC type-examination of safety components under the Lifts Directive
In Europe, lift safety components may be placed on the market only if they bear the CE mark and are accompanied by an EC Declaration of Conformity. The CE mark is obtained through an EC type-examination of the safety component under the Lifts Directive 95/16/EC.
Applicable regulation
Scope
The directive applies to lifts permanently serving buildings and construction works, and to the safety components listed in Annex IV used in such lifts. For the purposes of the directive, a “lift” is an appliance serving specific levels, having a car moving along rigid guides inclined at more than 15° to the horizontal, and intended to carry persons, persons and goods, or goods alone where the car is accessible without difficulty and suitable for a person to enter and where the controls are located inside the car or within reach of a person inside. Lifts moving along a fixed route but not along rigid guides also fall within the scope of the directive, for example scissor lifts.
Safety components covered
Devices for locking landing doors
Devices to prevent the car from falling or from uncontrolled upward movement, as described in section 3.2 of Annex I
Overspeed limitation devices
Energy-accumulating shock absorbers, either without buffering or with buffering of the return movement, and energy-dissipating shock absorbers
Safety devices fitted to hydraulic jacks to prevent falling
Electrical safety devices in the form of safety switches containing electronic components
Exclusions
Cable cars, including funiculars, used for the transport of persons in national or private use
Lifts specially designed and built for military or police purposes
Mine lifts
Theatre lifts
Lifts installed in vehicles
Lifts connected to machinery and intended exclusively for access to the workplace
Rack-and-pinion and gear-driven cars
Lifts used on construction sites for raising persons or persons and goods
Technical documentation
The technical file must allow the conformity assessment of the lift to be carried out and must demonstrate an understanding of the protection requirements of the directive in the design and operation, so as to reflect the purpose of conformity testing. The technical file includes:
General description of the model lift, with a clear indication of the possible range over which the model is to be tested
Design and manufacturing drawings or diagrams
The main requirements considered and the methods used to satisfy them, such as the harmonised standards applied
Copies of the EC Declarations of Conformity for safety components used on the lift
Any tests or calculation results carried out by the manufacturer or subcontracted
The lift operation manual
Installation instructions for the installation stage, ensuring that the series lift complies with the requirements of the directive
Language requirement. All documentation must be provided in English. Where certificates and type-examination reports are not available in English, a valid Chinese copy must be provided together with a further English translation.