State of Illinois elevator pit ladder – rungs all the way up the ladder

We have been doing pit ladders for about a year now trying to get them to the State of Illinois mandate requirements.   Please see below the elevator code for the requirements.

Elevator pits are spaces that may be filled with many other items; hydraulic lines, wiring race ways, limit switches, etc that will not allow a traditional ladder to work.  If a regular pit ladder cannot be used a retractable ladder will work for many of the environments; however, the retractable ladder has its limitations as well due to its thickness and width and mounting requirements.

A solution to some of the areas that we cannot get a regular ladder or retractable ladder in is to provide hand rungs all the way up the ladder.  A variance may be required in some jurisdictions for this, however, it gets around the 4 ½” required for handrails.

This last week I have been to a few buildings that were diagnosed for needing a retractable ladder by an OEM that would not work.  Along with a nice large price tag you may have an unsuccessful installation of the ladder.  We would prefer to avoid using retractable ladders as they most likely will never get used by elevator personnel.   While there is a space for this equipment if you can put a usable ladder in that is not retractable that would be preferable [in my opinion].

Before you sign a $4,000 to $6,000 retractable pit ladder get a second opinion, have the elevator company talk to the elevator inspector, you may be able to put in a ladder with hand rungs all the way up.  A ladder with hand rungs all the way up is not a perfect solution for all environments but it can be a useful pit ladder along with save the buildings a lot of money if it is the correct condition for the installation.

[This is a space that a retractable ladder would have been very difficult to install and a ladder with hand rungs all the way up was a good solution.]

If you have any questions or would like information from Colley Elevator you can go to www.colleyelevator.com, email Craigz@colleyelevator.com or call 630-766-7230.