General requirements.

(1) The Elevator Safety Technical Advisory Committee shall develop and submit to the Director of Hotels and Restaurants proposed revisions to the elevator safety code so that it is the same as or similar to the latest editions of ASME A17.1, ASME A17.3, and ASME A18.1.

(2) This chapter covers the design, construction, operation, inspection, testing, maintenance, alteration, and repair of the following equipment and its associated parts and hoistways:

(a) Hoisting and lowering mechanisms equipped with a car or platform which move between two or more landings. This equipment includes, but is not limited to, elevators, platform lifts, and stairway chairlifts.

(b) Power-driven stairways and walkways for carrying persons between landings. This equipment includes, but is not limited to, escalators and moving walks.

(c) Hoisting and lowering mechanisms equipped with a car which serves two or more landings and is restricted to the carrying of material by its limited size or limited access to the car. This equipment includes, but is not limited to, dumbwaiters, material lifts, and dumbwaiters with automatic-transfer devices.

(3) Equipment not covered by this chapter includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Personnel hoists and material hoists within the scope of ASME A10, as adopted by the Florida Building Code.

(b) Man lifts within the scope of ASME A90.1, as adopted by the Florida Building Code.

(c) Mobile scaffolds, towers, and platforms within the scope of ANSI A92, as adopted by the Florida Building Code.

(d) Powered platforms and equipment for exterior and interior maintenance within the scope of ASME A120.1, as adopted by the Florida Building Code.

(e) Conveyors and related equipment within the scope of ASME B20.1, as adopted by the Florida Building Code.

(f) Cranes, derricks, hoists, hooks, jacks, and slings within the scope of ASME B30, as adopted by the Florida Building Code.

(g) Industrial trucks within the scope of ASME B56, as adopted by the Florida Building Code.

(h) Portable equipment, except for portable escalators that are covered by the Florida Building Code.

(i) Tiered or piling machines used to move materials to and from storage located and operating entirely within one story.

(j) Equipment for feeding or positioning materials at machine tools and printing presses.

(k) Skip or furnace hoists.

(l) Wharf ramps.

(m) Railroad car lifts or dumpers.

(n) Line jacks, false cars, shafters, moving platforms, and similar equipment used for installing an elevator by a contractor licensed in this state.

(o) Automated people movers at airports.

(p) Elevators in television and radio towers.

(q) Hand-operated dumbwaiters.

(r) Sewage pump station lifts.

(s) Automobile parking lifts.

(t) Equipment covered in s. 1.1.2 of the Elevator Safety Code.

(u) Elevators, inclined stairway chairlifts, and inclined or vertical wheelchair lifts located in private residences.

(4) Each elevator shall have a serial number assigned by the department painted on or attached to the elevator car in plain view and also to the driving mechanism. This serial number shall be shown on all required certificates and permits.

(5)(a) The construction permitholder is responsible for the correction of violations and deficiencies until the elevator has been inspected and a certificate of operation has been issued by the department. The construction permitholder is responsible for all tests of new and altered equipment until the elevator has been inspected and a certificate of operation has been issued by the department.

(b) The elevator owner is responsible for the safe operation, proper maintenance, and inspection and correction of code deficiencies of the elevator after a certificate of operation has been issued by the department. The responsibilities of the elevator owner may be assigned by lease.

(6)(a) The department is empowered to carry out all of the provisions of this chapter relating to the inspection and regulation of elevators and to enforce the provisions of the Florida Building Code. The division shall adopt rules to administer this chapter.

(b) In order to perform its duties and responsibilities under this section, the division may enter and have reasonable access to all buildings and rooms or spaces in which an existing or newly installed conveyance and equipment are located.

(7) The Elevator Safety Technical Advisory Committee shall annually review the provisions of the Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators ASME A17.1, ASME A18.1, or other related model codes and amendments thereto, concurrent with the update of the Florida Building Code and recommend to the Florida Building Commission revisions to the Florida Building Code to maintain the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare.

(8) The division may grant variances for undue hardship pursuant to s. 120.542 and the rules adopted under this section. Such rules must include a process for requests for variances. The division may not grant a request for a variance unless it finds that the variance will not adversely affect the safety of the public.

(9) Updates to the Safety Code for Existing Elevators and Escalators, ASME A17.1 and A17.3, which require Phase II Firefighters’ Service on elevators may not be enforced until the elevator is replaced or requires major modification on elevators in condominiums or multifamily residential buildings, including those that are part of a continuing care facility licensed under chapter 651, or similar retirement community with apartments, having a certificate of occupancy by the local building authority that was issued before July 1, 2008. This exception does not prevent an elevator owner from requesting a variance from the applicable codes. This subsection does not prohibit the division from granting variances pursuant to s. 120.542 and subsection (8). The division shall adopt rules to administer this subsection.