Article by Anne Geitman, Secretary General of the Swedish lift association Hissförbundet – 15 February 2019

Sweden has Europe’s oldest lift stock, amongst them numerous units without car doors. In 2012, a retroactive requirement for car door protection in commercial buildings came into effect but there is still no such regulation for residential buildings. After a series of severe jam accidents, at least three of them involving children, the Swedish Association of Lifts and Escalators (Hissförbundet) accelerated its efforts to urge the Swedish government to revise the existing regulations.

Pushing the topic with the help of media exposure (articles, tv-features) as well as repeated discussions with the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning (Boverket) finally led to a first high-level meeting with the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation in December 2018. Together with The Swedish Association for Testing, Inspection and Certification (Swetic, responsible for the inspection of lifts) and The Swedish Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket, the driving force behind the abolishment of doorless cars in commercial buildings), Boverket and Hissförbundet informed the government about the risks concerning the current lift stock in Sweden.

Hissförbundet’s nearest goal is to accomplish an official evaluation of these risks by Boverket. After the recent discourse, the Swedish Government will hopefully decide to give Boverket authority to start such an investigation. Hissförbundet will actively support an evaluation with data and expertise and continue to push for a regulatory change towards safer lifts in residential buildings in Sweden.