ISO standard to increase security of escalators

An ISO standard will increase the safety and user comfort of the escalators used around the world on a daily basis by millions of people.

Escalators are installed in many locations such as shopping centres, cinemas, airports, railway stations and subways and they are used every day in the world by millions of people.

ISO technical report ISO/TS 25740-1:2011, Safety requirements for escalators and moving walks – Part 1: Global essential safety requirements (GESR), specifies safety requirements for escalators and moving walks, the components and functions, and provides methods for minimizing safety risks that might arise in the course of the operation and use of, or work on, escalators and moving walks.

The objective of this technical specification is to define a common global level of safety for all people using, or associated with, escalators and moving walks and provide a uniform process for assessing their safety. The requirements will help:

1.     Developers of safety or safety-related standards for escalators and moving walks
2. Designers of escalators and moving walks, manufacturers and installers, and maintenance and service organizations
3. Independent third-party conformity assessment bodies
4. Inspection and testing bodies and similar organizations.

ISO/TS 25740-1 facilitates innovation of escalators and moving walks not designed according to existing local, national or regional safety standards, while maintaining equal levels of safety (if such innovations become state of the art, they can then be integrated into the detailed local safety standard at a later date).

Developed as a product safety standard, the technical specification will help users and non-users to be protected from the effects of falling, shearing, crushing or abrasion, or other injuries. The objectives of the safety requirements are to:

1. Introduce a universal approach to identifying and mitigating potential safety risks on new designs of components for escalators and moving walks that use new technologies, materials or concepts that are not adequately addressed in existing standards
2. Stimulate harmonization of existing safety standards for escalators and moving walks.

Article & Image Credits: ISOorg