Home Elevator Safety Program Launches With Free Inspection, Space Guards

PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- thyssenkrupp Access Corp. today announced the launch of a free home elevator safety program for individuals with an elevator produced by thyssenkrupp Access Manufacturing, LLC, thyssenkrupp Access Corp., Access Industries, or National Wheel-O-Vator that may have been installed with an excessive gap space.

Home elevators can significantly enhance personal accessibility and mobility but, if installed incorrectly, they can also pose a potential safety hazard to children. With that in mind, homeowners with these products should be aware of the following facts:

• Home elevators like the ones designed and manufactured by thyssenkrupp Access Corp. are not typically subject to a post-installation inspection process by state and local authorities having jurisdiction. Accordingly, there's no independent oversight to ensure their proper and safe installation.
• Each entry to a home elevator has two doors – the door to the elevator car itself, which moves up and down the shaft with the elevator, and the "hoistway" door, which is stationary and attached to a frame leading to a room or hallway in your house. Installations that resulted in an excessive gap between these two doors (the "gap space") could allow a child to become entrapped and suffer serious injury or death.
• A space guard installed on the backside of your hoistway door can reduce that excess gap space to help protect children.

Homeowners with a thyssenkrupp Access Corp. elevator can now go to Homelevator-Safety.com or call our new toll-free number at 1-800-285-9862 to schedule a free home inspection. thyssenkrupp Access Corp. will send a contractor to measure the gap space and then install a free space guard if needed.

Remember, any homeowner whose home elevator has an excess gap space should take steps to prevent children from accessing their elevator.  Never allow children to use, ride or play around a home elevator without adult supervision under any circumstances.

The Home Elevator Safety Program builds on thyssenkrupp Access Corp.'s previous "homeSAFE" campaign to call attention to the potential hazard posed by installation that resulted in an excess gap space and offer homeowners with a thyssenkrupp Access Corp. home elevator a way to reduce the gap space. Space guards reduce the gap space but may not eliminate the gap altogether. Home elevator requirements vary by state and locality; thyssenkrupp Access Corp. does not guarantee that space guards comply with all codes and standards.

thyssenkrupp Access Corp. is a stand-alone company that designed and manufactured elevators only for home use and it should not be confused with other companies that sell, install, and modernize elevators in settings such as low and high rise commercial and residential buildings that are subject to inspections by applicable authorities having jurisdiction. The home elevator products designed and manufactured by thyssenkrupp Access Corp. met all applicable safety codes when sold. Our free space guard program is intended to address issues with installations that resulted in an excess gap space. 

Despite the fact that thyssenkrupp Access Corp. ceased manufacturing, selling and distributing new products in the United States in 2012, we take our commitment to enhancing homeowner safety very seriously. For that reason we want to help homeowners verify whether or not their home elevators manufactured by thyssenkrupp Access Corp. and its predecessors - thyssenkrupp Access Manufacturing, LLC, Access Industries, and National Wheel-O-Vator – may have been installed with an excessive gap space and, if so, offer an option to homeowners to reduce that risk.

To determine whether or not your home elevator was manufactured by any of the companies listed above we recommend that you check your owner's manual or contact the dealer who originally sold you that equipment.

SOURCE thyssenkrupp Access Corp.