To All Managers & Owners with elevators located outside the City of Chicago,

The Illinois Office of State Fire Marshall (OSFM) officially adopted ASME A17.1-2019 and ASME A18.1-2017 as well as a requirement for live testing of fire alarm initiating devices (FAID) for both hydraulic and traction elevators with FAID recall zones – source: https://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/041/041010000000600R.html. This affects all elevators outside the City of Chicago. 

What is FAID Testing? The OSFM is now requiring every Fire Alarm Initiating Device (FAID) that is associated with an elevator fire recall to be tested starting in 2022. They are requiring this full test of each device every five years going forward.

FAID TESTING — once the initial FAID test is completed, every 5 years- an additional hour, at a minimum, per unit will be added to the annual testing appointment. For our clients, FAID testing coordination will be through Smart Elevators. 

Was Fire Recall tested annually before? Yes, annually the fire recall test was performed by Smart Elevators and witnessed by the Elevator Inspector. However, the test wasn’t as in-depth to testing every device and being witnessed by the Elevator Inspector and initiated by the Life Safety provider. 

What is this going to cost? There will be an hourly rate from Smart Elevators that will comply with your existing contract. There will also be an hourly rate from the Elevator Inspector and Life Safety provider passed along as well. 

Who is going to schedule this? Smart Elevators will coordinate between the Elevator Inspector and your Life Safety provider company. As we schedule these tests, we will reach out to the Managers & Owners for your Life Safety contacts. Please keep in mind that since there are many parties involved, we may not have an available date for you immediately. We will do our best to keep you informed of the schedule date and time as they become available to Smart Elevators.

What is the time frame? The elevator inspection companies are scheduling FAID testing in 2022 to comply with the mandate. 

Hydraulic Elevators

All hydraulic conveyances with FAID recall zones will need to have their live FAID test completed by December 31, 2023. 

 

Traction Elevators 

CAT 1 – FAID testing is required and needs to be scheduled with the next CAT 1 test and prior to the next CAT 5 starting on January 1, 2023.

Can I opt out of this testing? No, this is a State of Illinois mandate and not a specific requirement of Smart Elevators. 

Why doesn’t this affect City of Chicago elevators? Chicago has mandated their own elevator code they abide to. 

Is overtime testing available? Yes, but please keep in mind that overtime rates may apply from 3 parties (Smart Elevators, Elevator Inspector, Life Safety).

The Elevator Inspectors have asked us to note to all Managers & Owners that this is a new requirement requiring patience and work procedure adjustments for all parties involved. If you have any questions, please contact Scott Kinzie (skinzie@smartelevators.com) for any testing requirement inquiries.