Certification Programs (CET, CAT, QEI) - QEI: Qualified Elevator Inspector
QEI (Qualified Elevator Inspector) is the inspection-side credential. ASME QEI-1, Standard for the Qualification of Elevator Inspectors, sets minimum qualifications, and certification is issued by ASME-accredited certifying organizations, so exam items probe the standard itself, the inspector's independence, and the boundary between the inspector and the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ).
What QEI-1 requires
- Minimum education and documented inspection experience, plus a qualifying written examination.
- Independence: the inspector must not be employed by, or financially interested in, an organization that manufactures, installs, maintains, or repairs the equipment being inspected.
- Periodic recertification with code-update training, so the inspector's knowledge tracks the edition the jurisdiction has adopted.
Where the inspection work comes from
- Acceptance tests on new and altered equipment, and periodic inspections at the interval the jurisdiction sets, commonly annual.
- Work is performed against the locally adopted edition of A17.1/CSA B44, using ASME A17.2 as the inspection guide.
- Deliverables are witnessed tests and written reports: safeties, governors, buffers, door reopening devices, and the required hydraulic tests.
Worked example
A service mechanic employed by an elevator maintenance company wants to perform the annual inspections on their own route. Under QEI-1 the conflict of interest is disqualifying: independence from the maintenance relationship is part of the qualification, not paperwork. The correct answer is that the mechanic may not inspect equipment their employer maintains, regardless of exam scores or experience.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing QEI-1, a personnel qualification standard, with A17.1, an equipment code.
- Assuming certification alone grants inspection authority; the AHJ licenses or commissions inspectors and adopts the code edition.
- Treating A17.2 as the mandatory code rather than a guide for inspecting under the adopted code.