The importance of competence in all things

Welcome to the 108th edition of ELEVATOR WORLD UK.

Well, what a mixed bag of interesting subjects we have in this edition. Let me start by mentioning the U.K. Lift Industry Charity challenge. What an achievement it was for the entrants who rode from the International Lift Equipment (ILE) factory in Leicester to the Dewhurst factory in London with an overnight stay in Wallingford along the way. I am not going to dwell on it other than to say it was a fantastic event. Well done to all involved. A full report of the event will follow in the next edition. For those who aren’t aware, the charity was set up in 2007 to assist colleagues from our industry who have been injured in the course of their work. Have a look at liftindustrycharity.co.uk if you would like more details.

Looking forward, the 2021 UK Lift & Escalator Symposium will be upon us soon (22 and 23 September), and it is good to see they are still providing excellent dissemination of education in our industry: liftsymposium.org. I hope to see you online.

So, what is happening out there in the big wide world that is going to affect our industry? Many of you will have seen the Grenfell enquiry, which focused on the lifts recently and the fact that some people involved didn’t know the difference between a fireman’s lift and a firefighting lift. The hearing is available on YouTube, so have a look and form your own view on the quality of the evidence.

One of the fallouts from Grenfell follows on from the report by Dame Judith Hackett where the question of competence arises.                 You may recall that I have delved into this subject many times, but it is now with us and a draft, “The Building (Appointment of persons, industry competence and duty holders) (England) Regulations (2021),” are out for consideration. This will have a major impact on our industry, and some people may not be able to work on buildings over 18 m tall going forward unless they prove various competencies. As we speak, the Engineering Council is working on the competencies required in our industry.

So, what have we got for you in this edition?

• There is an interesting look at heritage with articles about the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool and a car that           Otis built.
• Talking of cars……the focus for this edition is cabs. I can hear you all screaming at me now saying it’s a “lift car” not a “lift cab,” but have a read of the two articles by Len and Muharrem and all will be explained.
• We also have the third part of Dr. Ali Albadri’s published works on Escalator Fractal Behaviour.
• My column on safety looks at the quandary that is step-to-skirt gaps on escalators. If you can help me solve the quandary, that would be great.
• Finally, we go full circle and back to the subject of competence. The thing that goes hand-in-hand with competence is training, and there is a great article about the BES training centre in this edition, as well.

All the best for now, and see you again for edition 109.