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- Breaking wave: dangerous flaws in the design of high-speed elevators have been identified
Breaking wave: dangerous flaws in the design of high-speed elevators have been identified
The design of high-speed elevators - both Russian and foreign manufacturers - has been found to have flaws that cause them to fall down under certain conditions, Izvestia has learned. In case of power failure, they lose control and can cause injuries and death of passengers. Rosstandart is already preparing a new GOST for domestic manufacturers of gearless high-speed elevators to eliminate the risks of accidents. The decision was supported by the National Lift Union and the manufacturers themselves. From 2026 elevators will be manufactured with improved safety systems. At the same time, the State Duma is preparing for the first reading of the bill, which will tighten control over the maintenance of elevators.
Why new elevators fall down
According to the National Elevator Union (NLS), since 2018, more than 130 people have died and more than 300 accidents have occurred in Russia as a result of elevator falls. In particular, in 2023, 13 people died and 38 people were injured, and in 2024 - 7 and 19 passengers respectively. And fall not only old elevators, but also recently installed high-speed elevators for apartment buildings, shopping and office centers. As "Izvestia" found out, they revealed significant design flaws.
-In the last five-seven years, elevators with gearless winches , in which the range of speeds is overlapped by changing the speed of rotation of the electric motor, havebecome popular , - said "Izvestia" technical expert of NLS Alexei Zotochkin. - These are modern high-speed elevators providing high comfort during movement. But in the process of operation their shortcomings were revealed, sometimes leading to dangerous incidents with injury and death of passengers.
According to him, high-speed elevators are safe under normal power supply. A frequency converter allows smooth acceleration and stopping of the car, and precise positioning of the car at floor level on the floors. But if due to a thunderstorm, fire or technical failures the power supply is cut off, there may be problems, says Alexey Zotochkin.
For example, the motor loses the ability to brake the elevator. The mechanical brake, designed to fix the cabin at a stop, does not save, the elevator uncontrollably accelerates, and then trigger catchers, which sharply grab the falling cabin, says the expert.
- Passengers at that moment experience a serious overload. Many fall and get serious injuries," explains Alexey Zotochkin.
Even worse, when the elevator under the action of counterweight uncontrollably flies upwards. In this case, the system of catchers is not always provided, and the cabin hits the bumpers. People are seriously injured, says the NLS expert.
Today there are questions not only to brakes, but also to winches, catching devices and technologies of safe evacuation of people, noted Lev Wolf-Trop, Chairman of the Technical Committee for Standardization TC 209 of Rosstandart.
For example, when a modern elevator is blocked on the top floor, it is not easy to get people out, because technicians are blocked access to the mechanisms located in the upper part of the shaft. They have to devise rescue techniques on their own, jack up the multi-ton counterweight and lower the cabin. All this is fraught with danger, experts say.
-That's why we need automatic systems for evacuating passengers from a stuck elevator and an additional emergency power supply, " says Lev Wolf-Trop.
To improve the safety of elevators, the main interstate standard will be changed. Rosstandart has ordered its development in January 2025. At the same time, the International Organization for Standardization ISO is preparing its regulations, they are designed to eliminate the shortcomings of high-speed elevators of foreign production.
When the new requirements for elevators will come into force
There are some not-so-substantial shortcomings in high-speed elevators. According to NLS, elevators with transparent cabins and glass sashes in shopping centers sometimes snack on clothes and pull them into the door slot when opening.
Itis also difficult to maintain compact elevators - the motor, mechanisms, winches and control systems are located at them in the upper part of the shaft, and not in the machine room, as before.
- Compact elevator is beneficial to developers, because it saves on the usable area of the building and reduces the consumption of construction materials, - said "Izvestia" director of the procurement department of GC FGC Alexander Tkachenko. - But it is inconvenient to service such elevators without machine rooms, as it is necessary to take the elevator out of operation, because the service is performed from the roof of the cabin.
According to the National Elevator Union, the question about the construction of machine rooms will also sound in the development of the new standard.
As reported to "Izvestia" in Rosstandarte, the technical requirements outlined will be included in the new GOST 33984.1, which in 1.5 years will become the main. The document is being developed in accordance with the international standard ISO 8100-1:2025 and takes into account the development of technologies in the industry, the department noted. The standard is expected to be delivered in June 2026.
The work is controlled by the technical committee for standardization TC 209. Now on its basis a working group of six leading manufacturers of elevators in the Russian Federation has been created, which will determine the key requirements for elevators.
In the State Duma plans to tighten control over maintenance of elevators
Today there are also many questions about the maintenance of elevator facilities. According to the results of the investigation, Rostechnadzor revealed that one of the main risk factors for modern elevators is violation of operating rules contrary to the manufacturer's requirements. To correct the situation with maintenance should be a new bill, which is being prepared for the first reading in the State Duma.
Often the operability of elevators in apartment buildings are maintained by management companies, HOAs and HCCs, which do not have the necessary specialists or diagnostic equipment, told "Izvestia" chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing Sergei Pakhomov.
Hired third-party organizations do not always have the necessary competencies. As a result, due to unqualified service, the service life of the equipment is reduced and elevators stop. Deputies propose in the framework of changes to the Housing Code to make the segment of maintenance of elevators guaranteed professional.
- We want to establish professional criteria for companies servicing elevators. This is the number of certified specialists in the staff, the presence of a warehouse base of spare parts, 24-hour emergency dispatch service, as well as territorial accessibility , - said Sergei Pakhomov.
Deputies propose to streamline and responsibility for poor-quality services, thereby increasing the safety of elevators.
- A lot of incidents occur now with modern elevators, - told "Izvestia" the first vice-president of the National elevator union Alexei Zakharov.
Thus, in February 2023 in the city of Vsevolozhsk, an elevator in a new building fell down, killing two workers. July 11, 2024 during the reconstruction of one of the capital's clinics on the street Zamorenova, 27 fell elevator with workers, one of whom died. And on January 17, 2025, an incident occurred at the V.I. Dikulia Medical Center in the capital's Belyaevo district, as a result of which a pensioner was injured.
The main reason is the human factor. It is not uncommon when installation or maintenance of elevator mechanisms is made in violation of technical requirements, and the lack of competent staff is compensated by low prices for services, said the expert.
Often developers and operating organizations can not provide quality power supply, save on backup power supply systems, which leads to dangerous incidents, said Alexei Zotochkin. In the process of development of GOST elevator manufacturers will offer their options for solving these issues.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
