Elevator ADA Requirements

Many people have heard about the horrifying story of the woman who died in an elevator in the Chinese city of Xi’an. What makes it even more disturbing? However, is the fact that the woman had been in the elevator for over a month before being found.

The elevator mechanics had cut off power to the elevator without properly assessing whether or not anyone was inside. Unfortunately, the country “has poor records on workplace safety where proper safety procedures and practices are routinely ignored,” according to the AP.

This terrible incident begs the question of whether or not this woman’s death could have been avoided if the code had been enforced more strictly by the Chinese government.

Moreover, there are no laws in place in China that resemble the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that we have here in America. The elevator ADA code requires that there be a telephone in each elevator car that relays to a 24-hour answering service.

Had this code been in place, the woman would have been able to call to the answering service and they would have been able to get her out immediately. Elevator ADA requirements also state that any failure to take prompt action to effect repairs to an elevator could constitute a violation of Federal laws.

If these elevator ADA codes had been implemented. The elevator would not have been shut down for thirty days for risk of violating ADA elevator requirements and the woman would have been found and promptly removed from the elevator cab. This situation highlights the importance of elevators being code compliant, in terms of ASME A17.1, CSA B44, ADA, and any Authority Having Jurisdiction. America is much more diligent than many other countries in terms of code compliance but is not immune to tragic events.