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THE gruesome death of two employees of a food export firm in Bangalore in an elevator accident brings into sharp focus the need for stricter surveillance and better maintenance of lifts in the country. According to the police, on the morning of January 13, the two employees were loading foodstuff from a cold storage on the first floor to the lift, when it suddenly gave way, resulting in part of their bodies getting caught in the narrow space between the metal cubicle of the lift and the wall. Given the fact that today constructions are growing vertically, lifts have become an integral part of our everyday existence. But in many buildings they are used without regular servicing or without adequate safety measures, and this is where consumer pressure is absolutely necessary to ensure safe use of lifts. If one were to examine the kind of accidents that have been reported in the country and elsewhere, most of them are caused by poor maintenance of the lifts. In many office buildings around the country, I have seen that getting stranded in a lift is commonplace and when that happens, people routinely try to open the door from outside and ask people to come out. Sometimes, even where the lift has stalled between floors, people are asked to jump on to a floor below. This is a dangerous way of dealing with the situation because when someone is getting out, the lift could suddenly resume moving, resulting in the person falling into the shaft below. Experts say that when non-technicians or lay persons try open the door, sometimes using heavy instruments, they may well damage the interlock system, leading to accidents. The interlock is a mechanical-electrical device that keeps the way door latched when the elevator car is not there. There have also been cases of lifts suddenly picking up speed and hurling down, resulting in serious injury to passengers. In December, 2005, for example, five mill workers in a mill in Lower Parel, Mumbai, were seriously injured when the lift in which they were travelling suddenly went crashing down. In 2003, in a hospital in Texas, US, 14 people were injured when a lift suddenly dipped several floors before jerking to a stop. The same year, a senior officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was killed at the agency’s headquarters in the CGO complex in Delhi when the lift suddenly dropped to the ground at great speed. Basically there are two types of lifts—the hydraulic lifts and the traction lifts. Experts say that traction elevators have built-in braking system or safeties, as they are called. When the elevator starts moving faster, the safeties are activated by a governor and the brakes are applied. Experts say that hydraulic elevators don’t have these safeties on them and so there have been instances of such lifts falling due to a sudden catastrophic loss of pressure in the hydraulic fluid line or cylinder. But this basically happens in older lifts due to electrolysis or corrosion. Newer hydraulic lifts, on the other hand, have underground hydraulic cylinders that are properly insulated to keep moisture away, experts say. So if the hydraulic lifts are old, they need to be checked for safety, and if necessary, some additional features added to make them safer. There are also cases of people getting caught in between the closing doors of an elevator. In 2003, a 35-year-old doctor at a hospital in Houston was decapitated as he was stepping into the elevator. The doors suddenly closed, pinning his shoulders and then suddenly moved upwards, severing his head. In new, modern elevators, the doors have sensors that prevent the door from closing if there is any object in the doorway. But the older ones may not have them and even when they do, like any electronic item, these sensors can also malfunction. So one needs to be extra cautious while entering and coming out. Sometimes the lift stops at a level slightly below or above the ground. This again can cause the person entering or coming out to trip and fall. In 2005, a 56-year-old woman died in an apartment building in Adyar, Chennai, because of such a fall. Even as she fell, the lift moved, crushing her. So watch out for uneven floor while getting in or out of a lift. Lifts are a modern-day wonder. Like any other machine, they are safe so long as they are serviced and maintained well. It is also essential to have them inspected at regular intervals by safety experts. So if there is a lift in the building in which you live or where you work, demand that it be kept in proper order and that the lift complies with all the safety regulations in existence in your city.
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