EU Lift Directive correctly applied

EU Lift Directive correctly applied

The European Lift Directive 2014/33/EU lays down the requirements for placing lifts and safety components on the market in the European Economic Area, applies to lifts in buildings and structures as well as to safety components. Economic operators are required to ensure the health and safety of persons and, where appropriate, property safety in accordance with the Lift Directive. The conformity assessment body, as a neutral and independent entity, conducts assessments for lifts and safety components. Importers are responsible for indicating their identity for safety components and ensuring their safe handling. Manufacturers or assembly companies are responsible for issuing the EU Declaration of Conformity , which confirms compliance with the directive and harmonized standards for lifts and safety components. The CE marking proves product conformity with health and safety standards, is required before sales in the European Economic Area and manufacturers/dealers must ensure that their products meet the requirements of the directive

Find out here which requirements the EU Directive 2011/65/EU imposes and how this can influence the CE marking of your product.

The experts at easyCE will be happy to assist you in placing your product on the market in the EEA and in assessing special cases. We support you with CE, UKCA and other markings.

Frequently asked questions

Q&A

What is the elevator policy?

The European Lift Directive 2014/33/EU regulates the requirements for placing lifts on the market in the European Economic Area. It also applies to inclined lifts and safety components for lifts manufactured by the manufacturer and placed on the market in the EEA.

When is the elevator policy applied?

The Lift Directive applies to lifts that are permanently used in buildings and structures and whose intended use is the transport of persons or goods. It also applies to safety components for lifts.

What are the tasks of economic operators regarding Directive 2014/33/EU?

Economic operators are responsible for complying with the elevator policy for lifts and safety components to ensure the health and safety of people and, where applicable, the safety of the equipment.

Who carries out the conformity assessment of lifts and their safety components?

The conformity assessment body, a body notified by the Member States, carries out the conformity assessment activities, including calibration, testing, certification and inspection. A conformity assessment body is a neutral and independent testing body dealing with conformity assessment, that is, with the testing and certification of certain requirements for products or services. The person carrying out the conformity assessment shall not be an economic operator.

What must an importer indicate in order to bring safety components for lifts to the EEA market?

Importers of safety components for lifts should indicate their name, registered trade name or registered trademark and their postal address at which they can be contacted. The importer is also responsible for the safe handling of the safety components for lifts.

Who issues the EU Declaration of Conformity for lifts?

The manufacturer or assembly company shall issue a declaration of conformity to legally declare the information required by the Lift Directive on the conformity of the lifts and their safety components with the Directive and its harmonised standards.

What is a conformity assessment for lifts?

The conformity assessment ensures that the basic health and safety requirements for lifts and their safety components specified in the Lift Directive are met. Conformity assessment is followed by testing, calibration, certification and inspection.

Who is the elevator manufacturer?

A manufacturer is a legal entity that develops, manufactures, and markets safety components for lifts under its own name or brand

What is meant by "CE marking" for lifts?

The CE marking indicates product conformity with health, safety and environmental standards. It must be applied to all products before they are sold within the European Economic Area. For CE marking, lift manufacturers/distributors and their safety components must ensure that their products meet the requirements set out in the Directive. Through years of experience, easyCE can simplify and accelerate the conformity assessment process for you with its CE experts.

What are the most important tasks of the assembly operation of lifts?

The installer has the following tasks:

  • The installer must ensure that design, manufacture, installation and testing meet essential health and safety requirements.
  • The assembly company must indicate its name or brand and contact address on the lift. All information on the installation operation must be written in a language understandable to the end user.
  • After placing the lift on the market, the installation company must keep the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years.

What are the conformity assessment procedures for safety components for lifts?

Safety components for lifts must undergo one of the following conformity assessment procedures:

  • Conformity with the model can be ensured by random testing of the safety components for lifts.
  • The model of the safety component for lifts is subject to an EU type-examination and is subject to conformity with the design on the basis of product-related quality assurance.
  • Conformity of the type of safety components for lifts shall be determined on the basis of product quality assurance in accordance with the Directive.

What do economic operators have to say to the market supervisory authority about safety components of lifts?

The economic operator shall notify the market surveillance authority

  • from whom they obtained a safety component for lifts and
  • to which companies they have supplied the safety components for lifts.

What must be included in the EU declaration of conformity?

The EU declaration of conformity states that the essential safety and health requirements are met and proven. The EU declaration of conformity shall be constructed in accordance with the model set out in Annex II, which shall contain and keep up-to-date elements specified in the relevant Annexes V to XII. It must be translated into a language that is easy to understand in the Member State in which the lifts and their safety components are placed on the market.

What is an EU type-examination of safety components for lifts?

The EU type-examination is part of a conformity assessment procedure in which the technical design of safety components for lifts is tested by the notified body. Upon passing the test, it certifies that the technical design meets the essential safety and health requirements.

What are the notifying authorities?

Each EEA Member State shall designate a notifying authority for the implementation of the necessary procedures for the assessment, notification and monitoring of conformity assessment bodies (notified bodies).

What requirements do notifying authorities impose on notified bodies?

Below are some basic requirements of the notifying authorities.

  • The conformity assessment body shall not be the manufacturer, the designer, the installer, the supplier, the buyer, the owner, the user or the representative of any of these parties.
  • A conformity assessment body or its staff shall have sufficient competence, expertise and skills to carry out conformity assessment without external or internal influences or leverage that could affect the assessment and results carry out.

How do you deal with the risks posed by lifts and their safety components?

Market surveillance authorities shall assess whether lifts and their safety components pose a risk to the health and safety of persons or objects. Economic operators shall cooperate with market surveillance authorities for this purpose. Where the market surveillance authorities determine that a lift does not comply with the Lift Directive, the assembly company shall immediately take appropriate corrective measures to bring the lift into line with the Lift Directive.

What obligations do lift manufacturers and installers have to comply with health and safety regulations?

Manufacturers and assembly companies should carry out a risk assessment to identify all risks associated with the product. The determined risks of the lifts or safety components must then be reduced iteratively until the residual risks are negligible.

What are the basic health and safety requirements for lifts?

The list consists of the following points:

  • The carrier of each lift shall be a car that is strong enough and has sufficient space to carry people and the nominal load of the lift specified by the assembly operation.
  • The suspension and support devices of the lift must be made of high-quality material and designed to minimize the risk of a fall.
  • Lifts must be designed and constructed in such a way that normal starting is prevented if the nominal load is exceeded.
  • The lifts must be equipped with an overspeed controller.
  • It is necessary to install a system to prevent free fall, which is independent of the suspension means of the vehicle.
  • Elevator doors and glass parts must be fire resistant.

What instructions and documents must be attached to lifts?

The instructions must first contain drawings and diagrams necessary for normal use, as well as for maintenance, inspection, repair, regular inspections and rescue operations. Secondly, there must be a logbook in which all records of repairs and regular checks are recorded.

Which safety components for lifts are usually used?

Possible safety components for lifts are:

  • Device for locking shaft doors
  • Devices for preventing falls
  • Speed-limiting devices
  • Energy-storing buffers
  • Safety devices on hydraulic circuit lifters
  • Electrical safety devices in the form of safety circuits

What are the main steps to obtain a CE marking?

The steps for obtaining the CE mark are listed below:

  • Manufacturers of elevators and their safety components must comply with the elevator policy.
  • They check the product-specific requirements.
  • Preparation and availability of the technical documentation, including a description of the product, the standards applicable to the product published in the Official Journal of the EU, as well as the production drawings and drafts.
  • A notified body verifies the conformity of the product through a conformity assessment.

What are the rules and conditions for affixing the CE marking?

The following are some rules and conditions for affixing the CE marking:

  • The CE marking must be affixed visibly to each car and its safety components. If this is not possible, a separate label must be attached to the safety components for lifts.
  • The CE marking must be affixed before lifts and their safety components are placed on the market.
  • Behind the CE marking of lifts and their safety components is the identification number of the notified body involved in the following conformity assessment procedures:
    • Final inspection
    • Review of the unit
    • Quality assurance
    • Product quality assurance (safety components)
    • Comprehensive quality assurance (safety components)
    • Conformity with the design with random testing of safety components for lifts
  • The identification number of the notified body shall be affixed by itself or by its authorised representative.
  • A notified body verifies the conformity of the product through a conformity assessment.

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