Advances in technology continue to lead to remarkable feats of architecture and engineering.  The world’s tallest and most technologically advanced buildings, including Taiwan’s Taipei 101 and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, have been constructed within the past decade.  Additionally, several super-tall skyscrapers such as New York’s Freedom Tower, Hong Kong’s International Commerce Center, The Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Burj Dubai of Dubai, United Arab Emirates are under construction around the world.

Of course, height is only one way in which buildings change.  New technologies also yield buildings that are more efficient, more resistant to natural forces (such as hurricanes and earthquakes) and offer better indoor air quality.

Elevator technology is also advancing.  However, while new, safe and efficient elevator designs are available, building developers in North America are limited in their ability to deploy these new technologies in a timely manner due to prescriptive design limitations imposed by the Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, ASME A17.1/CSA B44. 

Under ASME A17.1/CSA B44 there is no uniform process for validating the compliance of new technologies with safety requirements.  Therefore, elevator manufacturers, building designers and regulatory authorities rely upon diverse state and local variance procedures to determine if alternative elevator technology can be used for an installation.

The current process, which is different in each jurisdiction, can be inefficient and burdensome. In some jurisdictions alternative elevator technologies are not allowed.  That is why the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) have recently published a new 2007 version of ASME A17.1/CSA B44 which recognizes compliance with ASME A17.7/ CSA B44.7 – the Performance Based Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators (also known as the Performance Based Code for Elevator Safety or PBC) as being equivalent to the current safety code.

When adopted across the United States and Canada the PBC will allow North America to keep up with elevator technology while maintaining or exceeding the safety requirements under the current code. Instead of listing specific structural requirements like the existing prescriptive code, the PBC will require all elevator designs meet Global Essential Safety Requirements (GESRs), but allow the manufacturer to determine how those requirements are met.

Manufacturers must perform a risk assessment to show compliance with the safety standards for their designs.  The designs are then reviewed and analyzed by an Accredited Elevator/Escalator Certifying Organization (AECO), and the AECO certifies to the safety code enforcing authorities that the elevator meets the requirements in the PBC.

This structured review process will allow new, safe and efficient technology to be applied to elevator designs in new buildings as well as existing structures to provide safe, fast and efficient transportation.