There is no doubt that historic events influence change, and escalator change is no exception.
In his latest Elevator World article, Colin Craney evaluates the influence of key, historic events in the development, and evolution, of escalator change and safety regulations.
The tragic event at King’s Cross Station on 18 November 1987 was a watershed in terms of the culture and management of safety in the London Underground (LU), as it then was…The 1987 inquiry resulted in changes to fire regulation and in the enforcement of the existing no-smoking provision on the LU, together with the replacement of combustible materials in escalators and the introduction of fire detection and sprinkler systems.
As well as significant lessons from events like the Kings Cross Fire, Colin also considers how additional events have affected the adoption of safety measures like skirt deflectors, remote controls, handrails and brake monitoring that still take a considerable amount of time despite repeated tragedies.
Cadbury’s tenacity eventually bore fruit in the 1983 publication of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) PM34, which, as well as setting out general hazards and risks to be addressed, provided for skirt deflectors on all new escalators ordered after I would suggest that the 45-year period between the raising of the side of step entrapment issue in Parliament in 1938 and the implementation of a solution was too long. Subsequently, skirt deflectors became mandatory for new escalators within the EU in February 2005.
Colin also warns of possible ‘step backs’ as the distance between the memory of historic events and the current day become even more estranged. For example, the ’emphasis on the annual clean down’ and escalator inspection derived from the tragic events at King Cross are not being adhered to as religiously as in previous years.
As ever, price and lower manufacturing costs can also be seen to be having an influence on escalator change. A cost-cutting exercise that, with his extensive experience, is not sitting so well:
Whilst a level of research from the 1970s onward has been undertaken in relation to the so-called Wallpaper Illusion, said to present an increased risk of passenger disorientation and falls, this seems to have bypassed those who promote step advertising, although this is perhaps a topic for another day.
Click here to read the full article.
Colin Craney has 42 years of industry experience, initially in a number of field and management roles with Otis, followed by 17 years in consulting, currently for SVM Associates. Colin is a U.K. chartered engineer and a fellow of CIBSE, European engineer, chartered safety and health practitioner, accredited consultant on the HSE Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register and a member of the Chartered Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. Colin is a barrister, having been called to the bar by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.
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