Building Safety Habits

Safety was the focus of this year’s Wisconsin Symposium held by NAESA International.

Your author was excited to be able to return to the beautiful city of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to participate in this year’s NAESA International Wisconsin Symposium. She was warmly welcomed by this group in 2021 after having only been with ELEVATOR WORLD for a few months, and it was nice to be back with such a kind and friendly group in Wisconsin.

Day 1, September 21

The symposium kicked off with breakfast with attendees arriving early and getting a seat in the Forum at the Grand Geneva Resort.

Jack Day, NAESA education director and instructor, kicked off the day and pretty much ran the show for two days. For this event, it’s especially important that attendees sign in in the morning and after lunch to get their continuing education (CE) credit. Day made sure they knew that and provided time for this important step.

After this, the day officially started with a welcome from Day reminding the group how important it is to start the morning on a good note and asking the crowd how far they had come by car. In terms of distance, Florida seemed to be the clear winner, even if the winner admitted he had actually flown.

Then, Day took time to talk about the late George Gibson, who passed away in August (EW, October 2023). Gibson was a mentor, advisor and instructor for NAESA and “inherent to NAESA’s development and accreditation program in the 1980s,” Day said, adding: “He helped us get from where we first began to where we are in a certain amount of ways today.” Day then asked for a moment of silence for Gibson.

Following this, everyone was asked to stand, and the Star-Spangled Banner was played. Day then talked about the variety of CE credits the group would receive from various states and organizations. He then thanked NAESA Executive Director Emerald Kuhns and Assistant Executive Director/Certification Program Administrator Megan Fitzmaurice for their work in coordinating and planning the event. Day went on to thank the exhibitors and their spending time at the event, saying, “It’s not often that as inspectors we get to be this close to them, so take advantage.” He then thanked the sponsors.

The presentations started with Brad Johnson, director of field services for the state of Wisconsin, welcoming everyone to Wisconsin. He thanked NAESA and the group for being there. “Your attendance here demonstrates your attention to education and safety in the elevator community,” Johnson said, adding that he is new to elevators. He introduced staff members in attendance, saying, “We touch nearly every resident and almost every visitor in this state.” He observed Wisconsin has issued 39,000 licenses to date, which is more than any other year in history and is a 30% increase from a few years ago.

Next up was Walter Barnes, cofounder (alongside his father) and president of Electronic Controls, Inc. (ECI). He spoke on “Elevator Pit Safety and Statistics.” His company makes a host of different products, but he said he has focused on new products “so I could leave a legacy in elevator safety.” He discussed how elevators can be dangerous environments with many hazards. “With the right safety precautions in place and with new products, we can make elevator pits safer for our workers and anyone else accessing them,” he said. He reminded the group that elevator safety is everyone’s responsibility — which was a common theme throughout the two days of presentations — even in the mundane setting of an elevator pit. He talked about how elevator safety must be a priority and said it’s about building habits. He reminded the group that “we have a lot of knowledge” and emphasized how important it is to pass on that knowledge.

Next, Geraldine Burdeshaw with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) presented “History of the ASME A17 Elevator and Escalator Standards,” which reviewed each edition of the code. She discussed what ASME is, saying that the group was founded in 1880 and now has more than 30 working committees with contributions from more than 350 experts representing various disciplines regarding elevator and escalator equipment. ASME’s mission is to advance engineering for the benefit of humanity.

After the code review, Chris Dodds and Joe McAnulty of ATIS presented on the “2020 Elevator Industry Field Employees’ Safety Handbook (EIFESH) Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) 7.1,” which is Safety Absolute No. 4, section 7. Again, safety and safety habits were the focus of the presentation. This safety absolute protects against unintentional movement. The presenters again emphasized that “safety applies to everyone” and how it’s important to take care of yourself first. “The behavior will build the habit,” was another key theme.

Next was a half-hour break with fruit and parfaits, and the room was filled with the smell of popcorn thanks to the ATIS team and their movie theater popcorn machine.

After the break, the presentation from state officials kicked off with Brian Noe, commercial building inspector, who admitted that he doesn’t know a lot about elevators, but he does know about commercial building inspections. “There’s not a day I don’t learn something new; I guess that’s why I agreed to be here. No two days are the same,” he said. He said the codes grow larger and larger all the time and that there is a wide variety of what inspectors have to deal with, as he discussed some code specifics. He said that, often, he sees the “elevator guys treated like movie stars on some of these construction sites.” He encouraged the group to speak up and ask questions if they see something wrong. “We’re here to work together; use us as a resource for building code-related questions,” Noe said.

Brian Rausch, PE, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, took over the second part of the presentation to discuss the Wisconsin state elevator code. He said there are approximately 700 elevator plan reviews a year in the state (not including Milwaukee or Madison). He said that many of them are similar, but “it’s important to not be complacent.”

Next up was lunch and a chance to chat with the exhibitors, which included three new ones this year: ECI, Elevator Systems LLC and Canton Elevator/Imperial Electric.

After lunch, Lawrence Taylor and Harold Wagner with Schindler discussed “3300 Inspection and Testing Procedures.” The presentation looked at governor tests specific to the Schindler 3300 product. The presentation prompted good conversation and a look what the inspectors can and can’t do if something doesn’t look right.

Margaret Lourenço with Smart Elevator Tech followed, presenting on “Pit Ladder and Access Safety.” Lourenço said Smart Elevator Tech is “a small company that does weird stuff that solves problems” and discussed the company’s retractable ladder, joking that she is now known as the “ladder lady.” Their products are manufactured about an hour and a half from Lake Geneva. She opened the floor up to a discussion, rather than just a presentation. Again, safety was a priority, and she indicated a few specifics that her products have that are not in the code because, “Why not?” 

John Koshak closed out the first day’s sessions with “Safety and You – Elevator Legal Matters.” He said he’s been asked to share this presentation, which features tragic stories from cases that he’s covered, many times. He said the point is not to pin blame, but to inform. “It’s my observation based on my experience,” he said, adding it’s the “very badly maintained jobs that result in injury.” He discussed what went wrong in each of the cases and the results, including the relevant code. There were audible reactions from the crowd, followed by good discussion. He closed by saying: “I hate this job, and I wish we all knew what we all know because we’d be so much smarter.”

For the Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) members, a brief election was held for three positions on the Board of Directors. Each candidate gave a brief speech. Jeff Woods and Joey Gann were voted in for three-year positions and Chris Jade for one year.

After a long day of learning, attendees were invited to attend the evening reception with food and drinks and a silent auction supporting the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation (EESF). The attendees were able to network with exhibitors and mingle with friends while donating to a good cause. The silent auction raised US$2,550 for EESF.

Day 2, September 22

After another early breakfast, Day was again running the show and reminding everyone to sign in. The day began with Dodds and McAnulty again presenting; this time on “International Building Code (IBC) — 2021.” The presentation provided a good representation of the collaboration that the group has with IBC. The pair went over the index, showing a sample of the index structure, and chapter topics. This was followed by a break, giving attendees another chance to meet with exhibitors.

Next, Jonathan Latham with MAD Elevator presented “1.5 Years After Adoption (2019 Text/Video Communication).” He talked about video messaging and went over how the text/video communication system is used by passengers. He discussed internet challenges and what needs to be considered. The presentation sparked a lot of questions and conversation related to the topic.

Up next, McAnulty presented “2020 EIFESH, Jumpers, 6.1,” which looked at Safety Absolute No. 3 and the proper use of jumpers. He joked that he must have done something wrong to be the first presenter of the day and then placed right before lunch. He said the group could probably tell that “safety is a little bit of my passion” since he had talked so much about safety over the two-day event. The group then enjoyed lunch and a final opportunity to visit with the exhibitors.

Last up was Russ Larson with Otis discussing “Voice Video Test Requirements for Elevator Emergency Communication.” He started by thanking “the Academy” for being placed right before the end of the event and said he would be picking on people who sat in the back with challenge questions to make sure he got his point across. He quickly got into his topic and what it meant for the inspectors, discussing a few past code changes along with what today’s world versus tomorrow’s world will look like. He said his favorite topic is “MCP versus records versus on-site documentation,” and he covers it in every presentation. To close, he shared some Otis videos.

To end a successful symposium, Day thanked everyone for coming, adding, “You’ve made this a very successful event. I hope you learned at least one or two things from yesterday and today.” He then reminded everyone to pick up their CE certificate on the way out.

Event Follow-Up

The 2023 Wisconsin Symposium was noted as a success by organizers with a total of 240 people in attendance, including family members. In all, more than US$6,000 was raised for EESF. 

In a note to your author about the event, Day added:

“Events like the Wisconsin Symposium are supposed to be something more than NAESA’s standard code update. It’s to bring people in our industry closer together and share information. This was achieved again in 2023. The course curriculum was diverse and engaging. Something for everyone was presented: safety, local and national codes, product-specific information with corresponding requirements and testing procedures, and even a class on the history of codes. Might I add the food was outstanding. I can’t wait for next year, not only to see all of you again but to learn something new about our elevator business.”

Kuhns agreed:

“Another successful event. It was great to see new faces and returning ones. This event is always an excellent opportunity to meet new people. I am looking forward to next year.” 

Dodds, chief growth officer for ATIS and NEAESA president emeritus and Board of Directors member, said:

“Industry leaders come together to deliver and receive technical education based upon code, safety and technology. In addition to the amazing education provided by NAESA and other guest presenters, it is held at a beautiful resort that has two spectacular golf courses. I never miss the opportunity to catch up with old friends, hear the latest and great news in our business, and share in the beauty of Lake Geneva in the fall.”