The Occupational Health and Safety Administration, OSHA, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME, work in conjunction to establish maintenance requirements for elevators. The state governments monitor elevator certification and inspections. Periodic maintenance is required to be done on elevators, and certain maintenance as well as records must be maintained in order to become certified by the state governments.

Inspection Requirements

OSHA and the ASME require that all elevators be inspected on a periodic basis. This inspection is part of the preventive maintenance program established by the elevator owner, and the records from these inspections must be maintain in order to be reviewed by state inspectors before receiving the proper permits. The elevator mechanic is required to clean all the elevator components, adjust the elevator components and lubricate the appropriate components that control the mechanical operation and speed of the elevator. This preventive maintenance inspection must be done a minimum of twice a year but can be done monthly, depending on the amount of use of the elevator.

Testing Requirements

Part of the maintenance outlined in the ASNE training course requires the elevator mechanic to test the electrical equipment of the elevator. This requires the use of testing equipment such as pressure gauges, multi-meters, amp-meters and other specialized testing equipment used on elevators. The elevator mechanic must test the electrical wiring, control boxes, electrical circuits and operating controls with these testing devices and record the findings on a checklist. The elevator must be checked for elevator speed and the emergency telephone must be inspected to ensure it is working properly.

Safety Components

ASME, as well as OSHA, requires that all operating components which can be hazardous to individuals must be inspected and repaired immediately if problems are found. The safety equipment includes door operation, floor-to-floor travel, acceleration and deceleration of the elevator, emergency and safety equipment. This equipment and components must be thoroughly inspected on a monthly basis to ensure no problems arise during the operation of the elevator. Maintenance of these safety components is a high priority of OSHA and ASME because of the hazard elevator pose to individuals.