Changes in the technical legislation

Any machine that transports people is considered to be inherently dangerous, and therefore the legislation surrounding the design, installation and use of such apparatus is abundant (and at times contradictory). Below is a guide to the recent changes in legislation.

The height of travel as stipulated in BS 6440 has recently been changed from 1.98m to 4.0 m. According to the Code of Practice, this particular change was made in response to concerns that the previous height restriction "...limited the use of powered lifting platforms for use by disabled people to only a small proportion of public buildings".

The draft International Standard ISO 9386 relates to power-operated lifting platforms for persons with impaired mobility, and will eventually supersede BS 6440.

The document contains the rules for safety, dimensions and functional operation for permanently installed, power-operated vertical lifting platforms. Like BS 6440, the document states that lifting platforms installed within enclosed liftways can travel up to a height of 4 m, whereas lifting platforms used without an enclosed liftway are limited to travel up to a height of only 2m (unless in a private dwelling). According to clause 1 of ISO 9386, the scope of the document is restricted to lifting platforms:-

• a) which travel between fixed levels;
• b) without liftway enclosure and without floor penetration:
  • i) with travel up to 2.0 m;
  • ii) in private dwellings with travel up to 4.0m;
• c) with liftway enclosure with travel up to 4.0 m;
• d) whose rated speed does not exceed 0.15 m/s
• e) whose line of travel does not exceed 15° from the vertical and;
• f) whose rated load is not less than 250kg.

Platform lifts are included within the jurisdiction of the European Machinery Directive 89/392/EEC. This directive has no travel restriction, its main concern is that the machine is safe.

Following type testing of Movement Management's "Prestige" model, SAQ, as a notified body, certified that it fulfils the provisions of AFS1993:10 (89/392/EEC) with amendment of the EEC Machinery Directive. The manufacturer guarantees that the Prestige will be manufactured according to its EC type certification.

Part M of the Building Regulations 1999 - Access and facilities for disabled people, states that the regulations now apply to; ...new dwellings, including clarifying the situation over student living accommodation...

The document is often misinterpreted as dictating that a full 8 person passenger lift is required, but this is not the case. In many instances a conventional 8 person passenger lift cannot be installed due to site restrictions and a suitably designed platform lift is often an ideal solution.

Well attuned building control officers throughout the UK have recognised this for several years now, and platform lifts are installed in public buildings throughout the British Isles. This has been the case in continental Europe for many years.