Alert 14 – 08 Maintenance on Accommodation’s Elevator Results in a Fatality
WHAT HAPPENED:
During the maintenance of the activation system of the load lift door, a team comprising of an electrician (injured person) and an electronic technician decided to visually check the accommodation’s elevator, in order to compare both mechanisms to facilitate the repair of the load lift. When checking the accommodations elevator, the electrician entered the elevator, climbed on the top of the cabin, changed the operation mode from “Auto” to “Inspection” (maintenance mode), and performed the required inspections. The electrician was unable to determine what was affecting the activation mechanism of the load lift. Concluding the inspection, he took the lift down to just above the lower floor. He then changed the operation mode to “Auto” and leaned over the structure of the door activation mechanism, which placed his head between the lift structure and the door sill of the higher level. Since the lift was positioned above the so called “door zone,” it started its lifting process to level the elevator, which compressed the electrician’s head resulting in the fatality.