Recently, a woman in a supermarket in Shanghai was involved in an escalator from the waist down, and the accident aroused public concern about elevator safety. According to statistics, more than 10 million elevators have been put into use in the mainland, and the maintenance of elevators that are vital to the safe operation of elevators is carried out in accordance with relevant regulations?
Shanghai filed an investigation into the escalator "rolling" incident
It is reported that the first step of the escalator fell at that time, and the woman happened to step into it and was swept into the escalator. Due to the complex internal structure of the escalator, fire rescue personnel can only expand the stuck part through electric expanders and hydraulic struts. As a result of the accident, the woman suffered extensive injuries to her body, with separation of flesh and skin and multiple fractures.
After the accident, a local investigation team was set up to investigate. According to the preliminary judgment, the direct cause of the accident was that the escalator pedal was displaced, loosened, and the pedal fell off, the upper and lower pedals were missing, and the protection device failed, resulting in the escalator failing to stop automatically.
In this case, maintenance, installation and inspection became the focus of the investigation. The reporter learned that the accident elevator is a second-hand escalator, and the maintenance is not the responsibility of the manufacturer, but a local enterprise in Shanghai. Whether the maintenance of the elevator in the accident is compliant, the investigation team is investigating the relevant units involved.
There are many irregularities in the daily maintenance and warranty of elevators
Daily maintenance is very important to the safe operation of the elevator, but the reporter found in the investigation that some maintenance staff have many irregular behaviors.
- Elevator maintenance "goes through the motions": it takes less than a minute
In Gongshu District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang, public video footage shows that on March 25, a maintenance personnel completed on-site sign-in and sign-out in the elevator, scanned the code and uploaded maintenance information and left.
However, according to the local market regulators, the general elevator maintenance needs to go to the machine room, the shaft and the elevator car, which basically takes twenty or thirty minutes.
- In order to meet the maintenance requirements of two people, work with "paper man".
In a hospital in Huli District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, law enforcement officers found that the elevator's oil cup was short of oil, the pit was unhygienic, and the upper sill of the floor door was not kept clean, but the paper records showed that these projects had been completed according to regulations. It is understood that the oil cup mainly provides lubrication for moving parts such as elevator guide rails, and the appropriate amount of oil can ensure the normal operation of the elevator.
Subsequently, the law enforcement officers retrieved the smart supervision platform to check the maintenance records, and found that two maintenance personnel surnamed Guo were carrying out daily maintenance of the elevator, and they also uploaded on-site maintenance photos according to the regulations.
Strangely, one of the "maintenance personnel" had a stiff expression, always maintained a posture, and seemed to refuse to show his face when taking pictures, and in one case even showed only the part above the eyes.
The law enforcement officers found out that something was wrong, so they retrieved the video to find out the truth. Combined with the photos taken by each other on the supervision platform, the law enforcement officers determined that this "maintenance personnel" was a "paper man". It turned out that the elevator maintenance personnel replaced one of the operators with a fake human-shaped standing card, and put it on the top of the car to take photos and upload it, in an attempt to pass the customs in confusion.
The "Xiamen Special Economic Zone Elevator Safety Management Regulations" stipulates that the on-site operators shall have the corresponding qualifications when implementing maintenance, and shall not be less than two people. Law enforcement officers further investigated and found that in the seven maintenance operations this year, 6 of the maintenance personnel belonged to single maintenance, and the other person was a "paper man", and the prototype of this extraordinarily realistic "paper man" was his colleague. Such a well-intentioned disguise is to cope with the check-in requirement of the two people on the supervision platform.
- Completed without critical project testing
In addition to the use of "paper man", the investigation also found a number of other non-compliant operations. In a shopping mall, the maintenance personnel not only did not wear safety helmets when working, but also deliberately omitted an important operation link - the elevator five-party intercom system test.
In the event of an elevator emergency, such as passengers being trapped or other malfunctions, this system allows all parties to communicate with each other to respond to the emergency more quickly and efficiently. The law enforcement officers found that the maintenance personnel did not conduct a five-way call test at all, and checked the eligibility criteria.
Complete the maintenance of an elevator
What exactly is required?
According to the relevant provisions of the current "Elevator Maintenance Rules", the maintenance projects of elevators are divided into four categories: semi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual.
According to special equipment experts, in the elevator car, the elevator maintenance personnel need to check whether the emergency lighting device, alarm intercom system and car door anti-impact protection device in the car are working properly. In addition, the door lock system of the elevator car door and landing door can prevent passengers and goods from falling into the shaft, and whether the elevator door system is effective is also related to the operation safety of the elevator.
After verifying the maintenance of the elevator car, the inspection experts and maintenance personnel entered the shaft together to inspect the stopping device and electrical safety device of the elevator car roof and pit.
During the entire elevator maintenance operation, the operation time lasted nearly 40 minutes, and a total of 31 items were tested. Maintenance personnel must also comply with the implementation procedures for safe operation, correctly place safety guardrails, wear protective equipment, cut off the main power switch and lock it according to work requirements, etc., so as to ensure the safety of their own work and passenger travel.
Elevator maintenance personnel face a large gap
According to special equipment experts, the average maintenance price of a residential elevator is 4,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan a year, and the lowest can be about 2,000 yuan. In recent years, the number of elevators in mainland China has been growing, but maintenance personnel are facing a large gap.
The high mobility of the industry and the scarcity of teachers are the dilemmas faced by the elevator maintenance industry, and the high intensity and low return have led to the loss of maintenance personnel, and there are fewer and fewer people who are willing to engage in the industry. The "man-machine ratio" of maintenance work is also difficult to be reasonably controlled.
According to experts, an average of 30 elevators for a person is a more appropriate number, which will vary according to the distance and the height of the floor. But at present, in the market, a person may maintain forty or fifty elevators, or even fifty or sixty or more.
Residential elevator maintenance funds are not transparent and there is a lack of supervision
The reporter found in the investigation that residential elevators are generally owned by all owners, and the maintenance of elevators is often authorized to be entrusted to the property company. However, some property companies do not use special funds for elevator maintenance funds, which is neither transparent nor supervised.
Experts said that the normal maintenance cost of an elevator is generally about 5,000 yuan a year, but many property companies are greedy for cheap, and most of them choose the maintenance company with the lowest price, and the lowest one may only be 800 to 1,000 yuan a year. The real owners and users of the elevator have no right to speak at all.
The quotation is only one-fifth of the cost price, and the elevator maintenance company cannot do the business at a loss, so it is just a formality in the maintenance process, or even repair the warranty. In other words, the so-called elevator maintenance has become a way to make money by relying on elevator failure and replacement parts. This not only easily leads to frequent elevator failures, but also may lead to personal safety accidents.
In response to the outstanding problems in the field of elevator safety, in 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Three-year Action Plan for Elevator Safety Bottoming (2023-2025)", deploying and carrying out the investigation and rectification of hidden dangers of elevator accidents, and the local market supervision departments focused on eliminating 77,000 hidden accidents, exposing 116 typical cases, and included 39 in the list of serious violations and dishonesty, and will study and take targeted measures to eliminate hidden dangers of accidents and ensure the safety of the people. Rest assured to take the elevator, but also will continue to maintain a strict investigation and punishment of illegal acts.
Why do escalators love to "bite" people?
What to do in case of danger?
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What does an escalator "bite"?
Cave Shoes:
Cave shoes are the "standard" for many people in summer, but when you are not careful when you take the escalator, you will become a "dangerous person".
Slippers made of resin are soft and easy to get caught in crevices and stretch, plus it is not slippery, so it is difficult to pull out once it is rolled in.
Hand:
The armrests have handrail slots and large gaps at the ends. If you don't let go at the end, your hand can easily get caught up in the escalator.
Skirt:
There are also gaps between the comb bands, apron panels, and rungs, which are especially fond of "eating" skirts. When riding the escalator, do not let the skirt close to the elevator gap.
Keep in mind in case of escalator accidents
"Push to protect"
Press: Emergency brake button
The emergency brake button is usually located at both ends of the escalator, often near the pedal, under the handrail side, etc., and some long-distance escalators are also set in the middle, usually a red (occasionally yellow) round button.
Whew: Shout for help and beware of falling
If clothing, heels, handbags and other items are clamped, shout for help, let the person close to the emergency button press the emergency button, and the escalator will automatically stop after cushioning dozens of centimeters.
If you can't press the stop button at the first time, while shouting for help, hold on to the handrail tightly and lift your foot so that the person will move along the guardrail of the escalator to avoid falling.
Protection: Protects the head in the event of a fall
When falling, try to curl up into a ball, cross your hands on your neck and the back of your head, and protect your temples with your arms to prevent fatal injuries from being overlayed.
In case of sudden elevator failure
要尽可能保持calm
Protect yourself to the maximum
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Source: Publicity and Education Center, Ministry of Emergency Management
Editor/Producer: Yin Yueming
Reviewer: Deng Boya
Review: Liu Chunxiang