Special thanks to Dick Gregory and his work with helping make the City of Chicago’s Elevators and Escalators Safer.  It’s always nice to see members of the Chicago Elevator Association making a difference on this level.  

Sent out By Elenet – www.elevatorworld.com

ELEVATOR CODE UPDATES IN CHICAGO: According to the Chicago Journal, the Chicago city council has established a new ordinance mandating that all hydraulic elevators installed before 1972 that have not been retrofitted must be improved to meet new ordinance codes. The ordinance will allow building owners to conduct pressure tests for a three-year period to show that their elevators are safe. After three years, the owners must either install one of the other code approved methods of protection, such as a Plunger Gripper or car safeties or replace the entire cylinder. Chicago Department of Buildings Commissioner Rich Monocchio estimates that there are about 5,000 hydraulic elevators in Chicago, but acknowledged that the number of elevators that will be affected was probably smaller. Richard Gregory of Vertex Corp. said that one of the main influences of the new ordinance was to bring the city code into compliance with 2007 American Society of Mechanical Engineers standards.