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Every day, millions of people ride elevators expecting to arrive on their floor safely and unharmed. But according to the CDC, 17,000 people are injured by elevator incidents each year. Generally, this is due to a lack of regulation and enforcement to keep the elevators properly maintained. Pennsylvania government plans to change this.
PA Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 934 into law after a Luzerne County Correctional Officer fell victim to a violent inmate assault and fall down an elevator shaft ending his life. At the signing, Wolf stated that “the circumstances showed a flaw in the law pertaining to elevator safety [and this is] a measure of consolation that steps have been taken to prevent a similar tragedy in the future.”
The Bill created an Elevator Safety Board made up of elevator safety experts who will conduct monthly inspections of elevator-related issues including construction, maintenance and regular use. The board is a subcommittee of the Industrial Board under the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The board has the authority to grant exceptions and variances to existing codes, as they see fit.
The Bill amends the Act known as The Administrative Code of 1929 to include language specific to elevator safety and maintenance. Take a look at the full bill here.
