Elevator Safety Report
The Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability has submitted the attached report to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation regarding elevator safety in the state of Florida.
In summary and of particular interest to our industry are the following points:
“The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Bureau of Elevator Safety hired a private firm to notify elevator owners that they are overdue for an inspection and that their certificates of operation will be revoked if inspections are not completed.”
- “The Bureau of Elevator Safety tracks elevator incidents as a method of assessing safety. An elevator “incident” is any occurrence that an elevator owner might submit to the bureau, no matter the level of severity. Incidents can include elevators being stuck between floors, passenger injury upon entering or exiting elevators, and problems with elevator controls.”
“In addition, the bureau has begun tracking elevator accidents that require medical intervention or result in death.”
"Bureau and private inspectors demonstrate differences in how they interpret elevator safety standards, with bureau inspectors finding violations that were undetected by private contractors.”
- “The bureau has developed proposed statutory language that makes failure to respond to the bureau’s request for information a violation against the elevator in question. Because the law provides that certificates of operation cannot be issued if there are violations, failure to respond would result in the elevator not being authorized to operate.”
“The Legislature may wish to amend the elevator safety statute to require inspectors to respond to bureau inquires about these cases, as many contractors have been unresponsive, citing the bureau’s lack of statutory authority.”
If the above ends up being proposed to legislature and passed, Elevator owners may be subjected to shut downs of their elevators should the elevator inspectors they hire not respond to the Bureau of Elevator Safety in an inquiry. Any new contract that you enter with your CEI’s should require that CEI’s inform the elevator owner immediately of any inquiry by the Bureau and that they cooperate fully with the owner in responding to any such inquiry.
Philip E. Porta, Property Manager
BOMA Miami-Dade Government Affairs Chairperson
Institutional Property Managers, LLC
an affiliate of L&B Realty Advisors, LLP
One Biscayne Tower
2 South Biscayne Boulevard #1470
Miami, FL 33131
Tel: 305-374-5678
Fax: 305-374-6371
E-Mail: pporta@onebiscaynetower.com