Colley Elevator: Financial Impact of Upcoming DLM Code in Illinois

Chicagoland’s Colley Elevator Co. recently wrote about the financial implications of Illinois’ planned adoption of A171.1 2022 Door Lock Monitoring (DLM) safety code. Since there is no provision for grandfathering in older equipment, the change will affect nearly all Colley customers. As currently written, once the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules approves A171.1 2022, elevator contractors and inspectors must adhere to it. Colley expects this to happen in the first quarter of 2026. Elevators that have DLM will require a test as part of the Category 1 safety test, which will “almost certainly mean higher inspection fees, as well as higher labor costs.” For elevators that lack DLM, additional hardware or a complete controller modernization will be necessary. The State of Illinois is expected to allow a grace period for elevators to become compliant, tentatively set for January 1, 2029.