Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Procedures
Domain 6 tests how elevators are kept and proven safe: who may maintain, what is recorded, and how the periodic tests in A17.2 are organized.
Maintenance requirements
A17.1 Section 8.6 requires a written Maintenance Control Program (MCP): documented procedures, maintenance performed by competent personnel under a qualified supervisor, and maintenance records kept available on site. Records show what was examined, what was found and what was corrected; callbacks are logged. Maintenance is routine work - cleaning, lubrication, adjustment, replacing worn parts - as distinct from an alteration, which changes the equipment's design and must meet the code.
Inspection and test categories
A17.2 organizes periodic tests for electric elevators into Category 1 (annual) and Category 5 (five-year) tests. Category 5 tests are the heavy ones: rated-load run test, safety test with rated load, governor and overspeed verification, and buffer tests where applicable. Acceptance tests occur at installation. Hydraulic units have their own schedule, including relief-valve and cylinder/plunger checks. Inspectors must be qualified - the ASME QEI credential (QEI-1) is the common national benchmark.
Worked example
A traction elevator's five-year test is due. Sequence: record rated load and counterweight; run full travel with rated load, watching for unusual noise, rope condition and stopping accuracy; verify the governor trips within its set range; then perform the safety test at the required load and speed, observing deceleration and confirming the safety sets and holds. Any deficiency is written up before the unit returns to service.
Traps
Thinking the annual inspection replaces the five-year test; testing safeties with an empty car when rated load is required; treating the MCP as paperwork only; returning a unit to service with an unresolved safety deficiency.