Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing
What this domain tests
Maintenance, inspection, and testing is the A17.2 domain. It asks what to inspect, how to test it, what load to use, and what record proves the test was done. Ohio expects periodic inspections and tests by qualified or certified personnel, with deficiencies corrected and documented.
Core rules
- A17.2 separates routine inspection from periodic tests. Category 1 tests are the annual baseline; Category 5 tests are the more extensive five-year tests.
- Car and counterweight safeties, governors, buffers, and door interlocks are life-safety devices and must be tested, not just visually checked.
- Governor tripping speed is verified against rated speed. For a 2.5 m/s car, a trip at 2.95 m/s is 118% of rated speed, within the typical 115%–140% band; a trip at 3.60 m/s is 144% and fails.
- Escalator brakes, handrail speed, step-to-skirt clearance, combplate switches, and stop switches are inspected and tested under A17.2.
- Records must identify the unit, date, test load, results, and corrections. A missing record is treated as a missing test.
Worked example
A traction elevator rated 2.5 m/s is due for a governor/safety test. The governor trips at 2.95 m/s. Calculation: 2.95 ÷ 2.5 = 1.18, or 118%. That is above the 115% minimum and below the 140% maximum, so the trip speed passes. The mechanic must still verify that the safety applies and holds, that the governor reset is functional, and that the test is recorded. The reasoning matters: a governor can trip at the right speed but fail to set the safety, so the speed check alone is not the test.
Traps
Testing with no load when the procedure calls for rated load; adjusting a governor to hide a slow trip; skipping buffer tests because the car bottoms softly; treating a visual inspection as a Category 5 test; and failing to record the test load and results.