Elevator Construction, Installation, Alteration, and Operation under the Board of Elevator Regulations
What this domain tests
Domain 1 covers how Massachusetts regulates elevator work from design through daily operation: who may install or alter equipment, which approvals must come first, and what must be true before a car carries passengers. The authority is M.G.L. c. 143, §§ 62–71, administered by the Board of Elevator Regulations through 524 CMR. The Board adopts national consensus codes by reference - chiefly ASME A17.1/B44 for new installations and alterations, A17.3 for existing elevators, A17.2 for inspection and testing, and A18.1 for platform lifts - then amends them with Massachusetts-specific requirements.
Core requirements
- Plans and permits: installation or alteration may not begin until plans are filed with and approved by the Department of Public Safety and a permit is issued; approved plans stay available on the job site.
- Licensed labor: installation, alteration, maintenance, and repair must be performed by licensed elevator mechanics, with unlicensed helpers working only under direct supervision.
- Alteration versus repair: replacing a component with an equivalent one is maintenance; changing the type, technology, or operating characteristics is an alteration requiring permit, code review, and inspection.
- Inspection and certification: equipment is inspected periodically and tested (Category 1 annually, Category 5 at five-year intervals under A17.2). A car may not carry passengers without a current certificate posted inside it.
- Maintenance and reporting: owners must keep equipment maintained and must report accidents and injuries to the Department promptly.
Worked example
A 1978 hydraulic elevator with a relay controller is upgraded to a solid-state controller and a new car operating panel. The contractor calls it "just a repair." That is wrong: substituting different technology and changing operation makes it an alteration. The job requires approved plans and a permit before work starts; the new equipment must satisfy the A17.1 requirements triggered by the alteration; unaffected existing features remain governed by A17.3; and a state inspection must pass before the unit returns to service.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a like-for-like swap and a technology change as the same category.
- Starting work on verbal approval instead of an issued permit.
- Assuming a certificate survives an alteration - it does not; reinspection is required.
- Mixing A17.1 (new work and alterations) with A17.3 (existing equipment) in scenario answers.
- Forgetting that operating without a posted, current certificate is itself a violation.