Dirty machine room with rubbish, carbon dust & lubricant
- Description of defect
Presence of trash and debris can cause hazard to the system operation. Trash can be blown into the equipment causing it to clog, making it worst such operation disturbance can result in a fire. Dirt that accumulated on electrical wiring can cause unreliable operation for the elevator control system
- Causes
- Infrequent cleaning of room. Worst if finishes generate dust
- Careless maintenance of machine parts. E.g. spillage of lubricant
- Inadequate clearance around machines & control panel for proper cleaning. Either poor planning to storing material in the room
Dirty and unsafe condition
- Diagnostic/testing method
Room condition need to be inspected on regular basis. The room shall not be a storage place, and all non-elevator related materials in the machine room need to be removed.
- Good practices
If building is located in highly contaminated areas with dust, filters are recommended to be placed on all the vents.
- Corrections
Guarding equipment is one of the solution to keep the machinery protected from the foreign materials that could be blown into the equipment and causing them to clogged.
Most importantly, this approach also protects the health and safety of workers and also to reduce the injuries while conducting maintenance works. For instance, without careful precautions, a rotating sheave can impose hazards as entanglement, pinching, crushing and abrasion injuries to the workers.
Example of application of individual component guarding to the traction machine in machine rooms [10]