AN
ACT Relating to enforcement of the elevator and other conveyances law; amending
RCW 70.87.010, 70.87.030, 70.87.090, and 70.87.120; adding a new section to
chapter 70.87 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
70.87.010 and 1997 c 216 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
For
the purposes of this chapter, except where a different interpretation is
required by the context:
(1)
"Owner" means any person having title to or control of a conveyance,
as guardian, trustee, lessee, or otherwise;
(2)
"Conveyance" means an elevator, escalator, dumbwaiter, belt manlift,
automobile parking elevator, ((or)) moving walk, ((all)) and
other elevating devices, as defined in this section;
(3)
"Existing installations" means all conveyances for which plans were
completed and accepted by the owner, or for which the plans and specifications
have been filed with and approved by the department before June 13, 1963, and
work on the erection of which was begun not more than twelve months thereafter;
(4)
"Elevator" means a hoisting or lowering machine equipped with a car
or platform that moves in guides and serves two or more floors or landings of a
building or structure;
(a)
"Passenger elevator" means an elevator (i) on which passengers are
permitted to ride and (ii) that may be used to carry freight or materials when
the load carried does not exceed the capacity of the elevator;
(b)
"Freight elevator" means an elevator (i) used primarily for carrying
freight and (ii) on which only the operator, the persons necessary for loading
and unloading, and other employees approved by the department are permitted to
ride;
(c)
"Sidewalk elevator" means a freight elevator that: (i) Operates
between a sidewalk or other area outside the building and floor levels inside
the building below the outside area, (ii) has no landing opening into the
building at its upper limit of travel, and (iii) is not used to carry
automobiles;
(d)
"Hand elevator" means an elevator utilizing manual energy to move the
car;
(e)
"Inclined elevator" means an elevator that travels at an angle of
inclination of seventy degrees or less from the horizontal;
(f)
"Multideck elevator" means an elevator having two or more
compartments located one immediately above the other;
(g)
"Observation elevator" means an elevator designed to permit exterior
viewing by passengers while the car is traveling;
(h)
"Power elevator" means an elevator utilizing energy other than
gravitational or manual to move the car;
(i)
"Electric elevator" means an elevator where the energy is applied by
means of an electric driving machine;
(j)
"Hydraulic elevator" means an elevator where the energy is applied by
means of a liquid under pressure in a cylinder equipped with a plunger or
piston;
(k)
"Direct-plunger hydraulic elevator" means a hydraulic elevator having
a plunger or cylinder directly attached to the car frame or platform;
(l)
"Electro-hydraulic elevator" means a direct-plunger elevator where
liquid is pumped under pressure directly into the cylinder by a pump driven by
an electric motor;
(m)
"Maintained-pressure hydraulic elevator" means a direct-plunger
elevator where liquid under pressure is available at all times for transfer
into the cylinder;
(n)
"Roped hydraulic elevator" means a hydraulic elevator having its
plunger or piston connected to the car with wire ropes or indirectly coupled to
the car by means of wire ropes and sheaves;
(o)
"Rack and pinion elevator" means a power elevator, with or without a
counterweight, that is supported, raised, and lowered by a motor or motors that
drive a pinion or pinions on a stationary rack mounted in the hoistway;
(p)
"Screw column elevator" means a power elevator having an
uncounterweighted car that is supported, raised, and lowered by means of a
screw thread;
(q)
"Rooftop elevator" means a power passenger or freight elevator that
operates between a landing at roof level and one landing below and opens onto
the exterior roof level of a building through a horizontal opening;
(r)
"Special purpose personnel elevator" means an elevator that is
limited in size, capacity, and speed, and permanently installed in structures
such as grain elevators, radio antenna, bridge towers, underground facilities,
dams, power plants, and similar structures to provide vertical transportation
of authorized personnel and their tools and equipment only;
(s)
"Workmen's construction elevator" means an elevator that is not part
of the permanent structure of a building and is used to raise and lower workers
and other persons connected with, or related to, the building project;
(t)
"Boat launching elevator" means an elevator, as defined by
subsections (2) and (4) of this section, that serves a boat launching structure
and a beach or water surface and is used for the carrying or handling of boats
in which people ride;
(u)
"Limited-use/limited-application elevator" means a power passenger
elevator where the use and application is limited by size, capacity, speed, and
rise, intended principally to provide vertical transportation for people with
physical disabilities;
(5)
"Escalator" means a power-driven, inclined, continuous stairway used
for raising and lowering passengers;
(6)
"Dumbwaiter" means a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped with a
car (a) that moves in guides in a substantially vertical direction, (b) the
floor area of which does not exceed nine square feet, (c) the inside height of
which does not exceed four feet, (d) the capacity of which does not exceed five
hundred pounds, and (e) that is used exclusively for carrying materials;
(7)
"Automobile parking elevator" means an elevator: (a) Located in
either a stationary or horizontally moving hoistway; (b) used exclusively for
parking automobiles where, during the parking process, each automobile is moved
either under its own power or by means of a power-driven transfer device onto
and off the elevator directly into parking spaces or cubicles in line with the
elevator; and (c) in which no persons are normally stationed on any level
except the receiving level;
(8)
"Moving walk" means a passenger carrying device (a) on which
passengers stand or walk and (b) on which the passenger carrying surface
remains parallel to its direction of motion;
(9)
"Belt manlift" means a power driven endless belt provided with steps
or platforms and a hand hold for the transportation of personnel from floor to
floor;
(10)
"Department" means the department of labor and industries;
(11)
"Director" means the director of the department or his or her
representative;
(12)
"Inspector" means an elevator inspector of the department or an
elevator inspector of a municipality having in effect an elevator ordinance
pursuant to RCW 70.87.200;
(13)
"Permit" means a permit issued by the department to construct,
install, or operate a conveyance;
(14)
"Person" means this state, a political subdivision, any public or
private corporation, any firm, or any other entity as well as an individual;
(15)
"One-man capacity manlift" means a single passenger, hand-powered
counterweighted device, or electric-powered device, that travels vertically in
guides and serves two or more landings;
(16)
"Private residence conveyance" means a conveyance installed in or on
the premises of a single-family dwelling and operated for transporting persons
or property from one elevation to another;
(17)
"Material hoist" means a hoist that is not a part of a permanent
structure used to raise or lower materials during construction, alteration, or
demolition. It is not applicable to the temporary use of permanently installed
personnel elevators as material hoist;
(18)
"Material lift" means a lift that (a) is permanently installed, (b)
is comprised of a car or platform that moves in guides, (c) serves two or more
floors or landings, (d) travels in a vertical or inclined position, (e) is an
isolated, self-contained lift, (f) is not part of a conveying system, and (g)
is installed in a commercial or industrial area not accessible to the general
public or intended to be operated by the general public;
(19)
"Casket lift" means a lift that (a) is installed at a mortuary, (b)
is designed exclusively for carrying of caskets, (c) moves in guides in a
basically vertical direction, and (d) serves two or more floors or landings;
(20)
"Wheelchair lift" means a lift that travels in a vertical or inclined
direction and is designed for use by physically handicapped persons;
(21)
"Stairway chair lift" means a lift that travels in a basically
inclined direction and is designed for use by physically handicapped persons;
(22)
"Personnel hoist" means a hoist that is not a part of a permanent
structure, is installed inside or outside buildings during construction,
alteration, or demolition, and used to raise or lower workers and other persons
connected with, or related to, the building project. The hoist may also be
used for transportation of materials.
Sec.
2. RCW
70.87.030 and 1994 c 164 s 28 are each amended to read as follows:
((The
department shall administer this chapter through the supervisor of building and
construction safety inspection services. However, except for the new
construction thereof, all hand-powered elevators, belt manlifts, and one-man
capacity manlifts installed in or on grain elevators are the responsibility of
the supervisor of industrial safety and health of the department.)) The
department shall adopt rules governing the mechanical and electrical operation,
erection, installation, alterations, inspection, acceptance tests, and repair
of conveyances that are necessary and appropriate and shall also adopt minimum
standards governing existing installations. In the execution of this
rule-making power and before the adoption of rules, the department shall consider
the rules for the safe mechanical operation, erection, installation,
alteration, inspection, and repair of conveyances, including the American National
Standards Institute Safety Code for Personnel and Material Hoists,
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Safety Code for Elevators,
Dumbwaiters, and Escalators, and any amendatory or supplemental provisions
thereto. The department by rule shall establish a schedule of fees to pay the
costs incurred by the department for the work related to administration and
enforcement of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of
the department to prescribe or enforce general or special safety orders as
provided by law.
Sec.
3. RCW
70.87.090 and 1983 c 123 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
An operating permit is required for each conveyance operated in the state of
Washington except during its erection by the person or firm responsible for its
installation. A permit issued by the department shall be kept conspicuously
posted near the conveyance.
(2)
The department may permit the temporary use of a conveyance during its
installation or alteration, under the authority of a limited permit issued by
the department for each class of service. Limited permits shall be issued for
a period not to exceed thirty days and may be renewed at the discretion of the
department. This limited-use permit is to provide transportation for
construction personnel, tools, and materials only. Where a limited permit
is issued, a notice bearing the information that the equipment has not been
finally approved shall be conspicuously posted.
Sec.
4. RCW
70.87.120 and 1997 c 216 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The department shall appoint and employ inspectors, as may be necessary to
carry out the provisions of this chapter, under the provisions of the rules
adopted by the Washington personnel resources board in accordance with chapter
41.06 RCW.
(2)(a)
Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the department shall cause all
conveyances to be inspected and tested at least once each year. Inspectors
have the right during reasonable hours to enter into and upon any building or
premises in the discharge of their official duties, for the purpose of making
any inspection or testing any conveyance contained thereon or therein.
Inspections and tests shall conform with the rules adopted by the department.
The department shall inspect all installations before it issues any initial
permit for operation. Permits shall not be issued until the fees required by
this chapter have been paid.
(b)(i)
Private residence conveyances operated exclusively for single-family use shall
be inspected and tested only when required under RCW 70.87.100 or as necessary
for the purposes of subsection (4) of this section and shall be exempt from
RCW 70.87.090 unless an annual inspection and operating permit are requested by
the owner.
(ii)
The department may perform additional inspections of a private residence conveyance
at the request of the owner of the conveyance. Fees for these inspections
shall be in accordance with the schedule of fees adopted for operating permits
pursuant to RCW 70.87.030. An inspection requested under this subsection
(2)(b)(ii) shall not be performed until the required fees have been paid.
(3)
If inspection shows a conveyance to be in an unsafe condition, the department
shall issue an inspection report in writing requiring the repairs or
alterations to be made to the conveyance that are necessary to render it safe
and may also suspend or revoke a permit pursuant to RCW 70.87.125 or order the
operation of a conveyance discontinued pursuant to RCW 70.87.145.
(a)
A penalty may be assessed under RCW 70.87.185 for failure to correct a violation
within ninety days after the owner is notified in writing of inspection
results.
(b)
The owner may be assessed a penalty under RCW 70.87.185 for failure to submit
official notification in writing to the department that all corrections have
been completed.
(4)
The department may investigate accidents and alleged or apparent violations of
this chapter.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 5. A
new section is added to chapter 70.87 RCW to read as follows:
Any fee authorized under this chapter shall not be newly imposed or
increased without prior legislative approval.
