Lift Directive:

On this page you will find the following subjects:

• General information about the Lift Directive

• Certification of lift installations within the framework of the Lift Directive

• Safety components to be certified within the framework of the Lift Directive

General information about the Lift Directive:

The Lift Directive 95/16/EC is applicable to lifts permanently installed in buildings and constructions, and safety components, and contains the fundamental health and safety requirements concerning the design, construction and certification of lifts and safety components to be placed on the market.

In the Netherlands, the Directive has been included in the Lift (Commodities Act) Decree.
The Lift Directive and the Lift Decree went into force on 1 July 1997.
In the Lift Directive, the term "lift" stands for an appliance serving specific levels, having a car moving along guides which are rigid and inclined at an angle of more than 15 degrees to the horizontal, and which is intended for the transport of

• persons;

• persons and goods;

• goods alone if the car is accessible,- (that is to say, a person may enter it without difficulty)-, and fitted with controls situated inside the car or within reach of a person inside.

Lifts moving along a fixed course even when they do not move along guides which are rigid also fall within the scope of the Directive (for example, scissors lifts).

Exceptions:

The Directive does not apply to:

• cableways for the transport of persons;

• lifts for military or police purposes;

• mine winding gear;

• theatre elevators;

• lifts fitted in means of transport;

• lifts connected to machinery and intended exclusively for access to the workplace;

• rack and pinion trains;

• construction-site hoists intended for lifting persons or persons and goods.

Iraqi Lifts Institute: the best choice when it comes to supervision and certification within the framework of the EU Lift Directive

Iraqi Lifts Institute is the first European certification institute to be appointed as a Notified Body (NoBo) for all fields of activity covered by the Lift Directive.

During recent years we have carried out assignments for large international lift manufacturers resulting in the acquisition of a great deal of knowledge and experience. As manufacturer or installer of lifts, you too can benefit from this reservoir of know-how:

• In the certification of your lifts or safety components;

• In the certification of your quality assurance system;

• By having your employees trained in the field of risk assessment;

• By using our supervisory and consultancy services to help you choose the most suitable conformity procedure for your needs.

The national legislation of the European Union member countries in the field of lift safety has been replaced by the European Lift Directive.

This Directive is based on two important objectives:

• removal of trade barriers: lifts and safety components produced in conformity with the Lift Directive may be traded freely within the whole of the EU;

• improving safety: the Lift Directive sets stringent requirements when it comes to safeguarding health and safety.

The Directive creates a greater freedom of design for manufacturers within this framework.
It is now possible to choose alternatives to the possibilities indicated in the harmonized European standards. The alternatives chosen must, however, meet the fundamental health and safety requirements laid down in the Directive. Conformity with these requirements must be demonstrated by means of a risk assessment. When placing lifts and safety components on the market, the manufacturer must establish whether the products in question meet the requirements stipulated by the Directive.

It does so by following one of various so-called conformity procedures.
Depending on the conformity procedure chosen, the activities required are carried out by the manufacturer and/or a designated certification institute (Notified Body). If the manufacturer chooses to carry out these activities itself, he is obliged to work with a quality assurance system which has been certified by a Notified Body. The requirements laid down by the Directive must be included in this system. The manufacturer chooses the conformity procedure which best suits its needs. Iraqi Lifts Institute is happy to advise and supervise the manufacturer in making this decision.

Iraqi Lifts Institute gladly offers advice and guidance in this respect.


Certification of lift installations within the framework of the Lift Directive:

Lift installations must be fully described in accordance with the regulations of the Directive.
Various components, including all the safety components used, are laid down in this description.

The installer of a lift may choose from five certification procedures:

1. If the lift has been designed in conformity with a lift having undergone EC-type examination (module B), it shall be constructed, installed and tested by implementing:

• the final inspection by a Notified Body

• the product quality assurance system (module E), whereby a Notified Body certifies the quality system and carries out surveillance

• the production quality assurance system (module D), whereby a Notified Body certifies the quality system and carries out surveillance

2. Same as possibility 1, but the lift has been designed in accordance with a model lift having undergone an EC-type examination (module B)
    

3. Same as possibility 1, but the lift has been designed in accordance with a lift for which a full quality assurance system (module H) was implemented, supplemented by an examination of the design if
   the latter is not wholly in accordance with the harmonized standards. A Notified Body inspects the
   design, certifies the quality system and carries out surveillance
    

4. Unit verification procedure (module G) by a Notified Body
    

5. Application of a full quality assurance system (module H), supplemented by an examination inspection
   of the design if the latter is not wholly in accordance with the harmonized standards. A Notified Body inspects the design, certifies the quality system and carries out surveillance

The installer must draw up a declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking to every lift which has been certified in conformity with one of the above procedures and which has been ascertained as meeting the Directive.

Notified bodies:

The government appoints Notified Bodies (such as Iraqi Lifts Institute), on the basis of criteria including accreditation by the Dutch Council for Accreditation (RvA) and, if necessary, checks whether candidate
certification-institutes have sufficient specific expertise in the field of lifts.
The government subsequently supervises the notified bodies using the results of the RvA's supervision.

Notes regarding modules:

The abovementioned modules come from the Modules Decision 93/465/EEC.
The Lift Directive elaborates on these modules and gives more details on components, such as the required expertise of the Notified Bodies, inspection of the design and the degree of surveillance.

Notes regarding model lifts:

A model lift is a representative lift whose technical dossier shows the way in which the essential safety requirements will be met for lifts which are in conformance with the model lift.
Permitted variations between the model lift and the lifts forming part of the lifts derived from the model lift (with maximum and minimum values) must be clearly specified in the technical dossier.

Notes regarding harmonized standards:

Harmonized standards are European Standards based upon the instructions of the EC Commission, as published
in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
These are European standards EN 8-1 and 2.


Safety components to be certified within the framework of the Lift Directive:

The following safety components should be certified within the framework of the Lift Directive:

• devices to prevent the car from falling, or to prevent unchecked upward movements of the car;

• over speed limitation devices;

• cable break safeguards;

• shock absorbers;

• locking devices;

• circuit boards.

The manufacturer or its representative in the European Community can choose between three certification procedures for safety components:

1. EC-type examination of the safety component (module B) followed by product inspections (module C) by a Notified Body;

2. EC-type examination of the safety component (module B) by a Notified Body and the application of a quality assurance system for product inspection (module E), whereby a Notified Body certifies the quality system and carries out surveillance;

3. application of a system of full quality assurance (module H), whereby a Notified Body certifies the quality system and carries out surveillance.

The manufacturer or its representative must draw up a declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking to every safety component which has been certified in conformity with one of the above procedures and which has been ascertained as meeting the Directive.