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Subchapter 6. Elevator Safety Orders
Article 2. Permit to Operate

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§3001. Permit to Operate.



(a) Submittal of Plans and Notification of Intent to Install.
(1) The person or firm who intends to install a new elevator, dumbwaiter, escalator, moving walk, or manlift, shall submit the erection plans to the Division for review. In lieu of complete erection drawings and plans, the division will accept notification from a recognized elevator company that they intend to install a device covered by these regulations of a certain type at a definite address, and subsequent notification to the division that the installation is complete and ready for inspection.
(2) The Division may require drawings and details of construction of any portion of an installation when complete erection plans are not submitted.
(3) When an installation requires material, fabrication, or construction other than recognized standard types or has an offset car frame or is an observation type elevator installed in other than a fully enclosed hoistway, drawings and details shall be submitted to the Division prior to installation.
(4) Alterations to existing passenger or freight elevators as defined in section 3000(h) shall be considered as new installations for submittal of plans or notice of intent to make the alteration and the subsequent notification that the work is complete and ready for inspection. The notice of intent shall include a complete description of the alteration.
(5) The person or firm doing the work of replacing door locking devices, safety devices, governors, or oil buffers on existing installations of passenger or freight elevators shall notify the Division when the work is complete and ready for inspection.
(6) The person or firm installing a new hand power man platform shall notify the Division when the installation is complete and ready for inspection.
(7) The person or firm responsible for special maintenance operations such as the cleaning of glass or the replacement of lamps that cannot be performed from inside the elevator car, shall submit a plan to the Division outlining a safe method that will be used to perform the maintenance.
(8) The person or firm installing a static control shall provide the Division with information showing that the control complies with the requirements of Group II, sections 3040(f)(4) and 3040(f)(7). This information shall be in the form of either:
(A) Electrical schematic diagrams or block diagrams of the control and safety circuits; or
(B) A written checkout procedure and demonstration of safety and speed control circuits required by sections 3040(f)(4) and 3040(f)(7) at the time of the inspection. EXCEPTION TOSECTION3001(a)(8):Installation of static control for Group IV installations shall comply with Group IV, section 3141.3.
(b) Inspections Required.
(1) Each new device shall be inspected by an authorized representative of the Division and a permit to operate issued before the device is placed in service.
(2) Each alteration of an existing device shall be inspected by an authorized representative of the Division and a new permit to operate issued before the device is placed back in service.
Exception: After the inspection of a new device or an alteration, the device may be placed in service while the permit to operate is being processed, provided, in the opinion of the inspecting representative of the Division, the device is safe to operate.
(3) The replacement of door locking devices, safety devices, governors, oil buffers, counterweights, car enclosures and car doors and gates, terminal stopping devices, operating devices and control equipment, controllers, and emergency and signaling devices, shall be inspected by an authorized representative of the Division before the elevator is placed back in service.
(4) Reinspections of the devices covered by these regulations shall be as prescribed in Labor Code section 7304 which requires all elevators to be inspected at least once each year, but permits up to a two-year period if an elevator is in a safe condition for operation and is subject to a full maintenance service contract. Such reinspections may be done by certified inspectors as defined in section 3003.
(5) Elevators in a multiunit residential building serving no more than two dwelling units and not accessible to the public shall be inspected by the Division upon completion of installation prior to being placed in service, or after alterations prior to being returned to service. The inspection shall be for safety and compliance with applicable provisions in ANSI/ASME A17.1-1984, Parts V and XXI, which are hereby incorporated by reference. Elevators installed after Sept. 28, 2001, shall be inspected for safety and compliance with applicable provisions in either ASME A17.1-1996, Part 5, which is hereby incorporated by reference; or ASME A18.1-1999, Sections 5, 6, and 7, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
(6) Special access elevators installed after Sept. 28, 2001 shall be inspected for safety and compliance with the applicable provisions of Article 15, Special Access Elevators and Special Access Lifts, sections 3093-3093.60 of the Elevator Safety Orders.
(c) Permit to Operate Required. No elevator shall be operated without a valid, current permit issued by the Division.
(1) The permit, or a copy thereof, to operate a passenger elevator, freight elevator or incline elevator shall be posted conspicuously and securely in the elevator car. For other devices, the permit shall be available on the premises.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (c)(3), the permit shall not be issued for a period exceeding one year.
(3) If the Division's investigation and inspection indicate the elevator is in a safe condition and will be covered during the entire term of the permit by a full maintenance contract with an elevator service company possessing a C-11 license issued by the California Contractors' State License Board, the Division may issue a permit for a period not exceeding two years.
(4) Within 60 days of notification by the Division that an elevator may qualify for a two-year permit, the elevator service company shall submit to the Division the following information:
(A) A copy of the elevator service company's C-11 license issued by the California Contractors' State License Board;
(B) A copy of the full maintenance service contract.
(5) A full maintenance service contract shall:
(A) Specify the responsibilities of the elevator service company in regard to all repairs and maintenance that may be necessary to keep the elevator in compliance with the Elevator Safety Orders, Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations; and
(B) Require the elevator service company to service the elevator as frequently as necessary to effect safe operation but not less often than monthly.
(6) The elevator service company shall notify the Division within 30 days if a full maintenance service contract is terminated or altered during the period the two-year permit is in effect.
(d) Inspection Fees.
The Division shall assess a fee for inspections performed by Division safety engineers in accordance with title 8, California Code of Regulations, section 344.30. The Division shall not issue a permit to operate until the assessed fee has been collected.
(e) Application Processing Time for Renewal of Permit.
(1) Within 15 calendar days of receipt of an application for renewal of a permit to operate, the Division shall inform the applicant in writing that the application is either complete and accepted for filing or that it is deficient and what specific information and documentation is required to complete the application.
(2) Within 30 calendar days from the date of the filing of a completed application, the Division shall conduct an inspection of the device for which the permit is sought. If the inspection reveals violations of the safety orders, a preliminary order indicating such requirements as may in the opinion of the Division be necessary to comply with these regulations shall be issued.
(3) After satisfactory compliance with the preliminary order, if one has been issued, and upon notification to the Division's elevator unit that the inspection fee has been paid, the Division shall issue the permit within 15 calendar days.
(4) The Division's median, minimum and maximum times for processing a permit from the receipt of the initial application to the final permit decision, based on the Division's actual performance during the two years immediately preceding the proposal of this regulation have been as follows:
Median time
60 days
Minimum time
30 days
Maximum time
1 year
Note: Authority cited: Section 142.3, Labor Code. Reference: Sections 142.3, 7304(b) and 7317, Labor Code.
HISTORY
1. Amendment of subsections (a)(3) and (a)(4) filed 11-24-76; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 76, No. 48). For prior history, see Register 76, No. 31.
2. Amendment of subsection (a)(4) filed 6-23-77; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 77, No. 26).
3. Repealer of subsection (d) filed 12-1-77; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 77, No. 49).
4. New subsection (d) filed 3-28-78; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 78, No. 13).
5. New subsection (a)(8) filed 12-22-78; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 79, No. 1).
6. Amendment of subsections (b), (c), and (d) and new subsection (e) filed 11-26-90; operative 12-26-90 (Register 91, No. 2).
7. Amendment of subsections (a)(2)-(a)(8) filed 7-1-91; operative 7-31-91 (Register 91, No. 43).
8. Amendment of subsection (c)(4) and Note filed 9-22-93; operative 10-22-93 (Register 93, No. 39).
9. Editorial correction of subsections (c)(5)(A) and (e)(4) (Register 95, No. 26).
10. Amendment of subsections (a)(1), (a)(4), (a)(8), (a)(8)(B), (b)(2)-(3), (b)(5) and (c)(5)(A) filed 9-25-98; operative 10-25-98 (Register 98, No. 39).
11. Amendment of subsection (b)(5), new subsection (b)(6) and amendment of Note filed 8-29-2001; operative 9-28-2001 (Register 2001, No. 35).
12. Amendment of subsection (a)(8)(B), (b)(2) and (b)(5) filed 4-1-2008; operative 5-1-2008 (Register 2008, No. 14).

Appendix A (Repealed)

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