Handbook on Safety Code for Elevators – ASME A17.1 HB-2019

A handbook on the elevator code, ASME A17.1/CSA B44 HB-2019, offers helpful commentary on the widely used standard code.

ASME A17.1-2019 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators

As enclosed chambers guided vertically by cables, elevators are anticipated to operate safely with few surprises. However, this expectation, while present, is often not inherent, instead being granted through adherence to the knowledge compiled by technical experts. The culmination of their work is ASME A17.1-2019 – Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, the standard code for the design, construction, inspection, testing, maintenance, alteration, and repair of elevators and escalators, as well as any associated parts, such as hoistways or adjacent spaces.

This code’s content is expansive, and its existence stretches back generations. Originating in 1921, periodic revisions have guided the ASME A17.1 document throughout time, and it was harmonized with the CSA B44 standard for elevator and escalator safety in Canada for a little over a decade ago.

During each revision cycle, the A17 Committee adapts a new edition of the ASME A17.1 document into the most current standard guidelines and specifications.  Each change made to the code has a certain rationale behind it, and this information is accessible through the minds of the developers. However, ASME A17.1 is a living document, and its lifespan extends beyond that of a technical expert’s career.

For this purpose, ASME A17.1/CSA B44 HB-2016: Handbook on Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators can be a crucial supplementary document for the elevator safety code.

Handbook on ASME A17.1/CSA B44 HB-2019

ASME A17.1/CSA B44 HB-2019: Handbook on Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators contains the rationale for each revised and added requirement to the ASME A17.1/CSA B44 code, along with explanations, examples, and illustrations of the implementation of these requirements. It also includes excerpts from other nationally recognized standards referenced by the code.

Examples and commentary are helpful for utilizing the guidelines laid out in the ASME A17.1/CSA B44 code. This is because the code, as acknowledged by ASME and CSA, must be written in a form suitable for enforcement by state, municipal, or other jurisdictional or regulatory authorities. These are known in the U.S. as “Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)” and Canada as “Regulatory Authorities (RA).” As a result, the code cannot cover every situation, but the handbook digs deeper into this subject.

Commentary in ASME A17.1/CSA B44 HB-2019: Handbook on Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators was compiled from ASME A17 Committee minutes, correspondence, and interpretations, as well as conversations with past and present committee members. This handbook was released in 2021 and revises the previous handbook that supplemented the 2016 elevator code.

If you’d like to learn more about the current code, please refer to our post on ASME A17.1-2019 – Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators.

ASME A17.1/CSA B44 HB-2019: Handbook on Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators is available on the ANSI Webstore. It and many elevator safety standards are available together at a 20% discount as the ASME A17 Elevator and Escalator Safety Package.