Rope Grippers and the State

The issue of the requirement to provide Ascending Car Overspeed and Unintended Car Movement Protection - Section 2.19 on alterations has always been a little confusing and somewhat controversial.  I had written an article about this on my website some years ago, which I’ve just updated:  http://www.blaska.com/rope_brake.htm.   

With the time that had passed since California has adopted (by reference) the ASME A17.1-2004 code, most of us are now up to speed on what triggers this requirement when altering an elevator.  Probably the only remaining questions are:

·         what product to use

·         how to mount it

·         does it require engineering

As to what product to use, unless you are installing a new gearless machine, probably the best solution is to install a rope brake.  Some of the rope brakes currently available are the Hollister-Whitney Rope Gripper™, the BODE Rope Brake or the Draka Sure Stop™.  The new PMAC gearless machines now all have the emergency brake built in, an ideal solution.  Hollister-Whitney has begun to offer some of their traditional geared machines with integral factory mounts for their Rope Gripper™.  But if you are retaining the machine, this will usually mean mounting a rope brake of some type in some place.

How to mount a rope brake can be quite simple or very involved.  I wrote about this in some detail in my article, http://www.blaska.com/rope_brake.htm, so I won’t repeat it here. 

Does mounting a rope brake require engineering?  At least in California, I thought the answer was no or not necessarily.  It was my understanding from the principal engineer, back when A17.1-2004 was adopted, that full engineering submission was not required.  However, if the inspector suspects the installation and requests engineering, then it must be supplied.  This may have changed.  Currently we are seeing, as far as we can tell, that all Southern California Cal/OSHA - Elevator Unit offices are requiring specific installation engineering, wet signed by a California licensed professional engineer.  This must be supplied at the time of the final inspection if not submitted earlier. 

Based on an email thread I’ve seen, it appears Cal/OSHA - Elevator Unit offices throughout the state may now or will soon be requiring full engineering of non-factory installed rope brake installations.  On alterations, this engineering apparently is to include calcs on not just the mounting brackets or framework but also that to which it is attached.  For instance, if the rope brake is mounted on channels that are then through-bolted to the existing machine beams, those machine beams must be certified for the rope brake loading.  (Actually, the machine beams will never see loads from a rope brake that are greater than exerted by the base elevator system – but this appears to be the requirement.)  As to the criteria, for example if a Group II elevator is altered to include the addition of a rope brake, then the alteration must comply with Group IV criteria – meaning A17.1-2004.  This means that all that is altered must comply with the criteria of Group IV / A17.1-2004 including the loading and strength standards. 

You might want to check with your local Cal/OSHA - Elevator Unit office as to what they will require for your alteration, including whether formal engineering is required.  If it is, find out whether it should be submitted in advance or simply available to the inspector at the time of the final inspection. 

Some would argue that engineering is a good idea even if the state doesn’t mandate it.  The rope brake loading varies from 4,000 lbs. to 16,000 lbs. – not an inconsiderable amount. 

If anyone out there has any additional information on this topic, I would be grateful to hear it.  Feel free to call me (415) 819-5744 or email me at rich@blaska.com.  Let me know if you prefer the information to be added to this blog or kept in confidence.  Also, feel free to write a comment by clicking the link below (it would let me know someone is reading these…). 

Cheers,

Rich Blaska