Glossary of elevator and lift terms

The words planners, code officials and manufacturers use, in plain language. Each entry links to a guide or related term that covers it in detail.

“Defined in” points to the ASME A17.1-2022 or ASME A18.1-2020 section that defines or covers the term. Our definitions summarize those in plain language and are not the standards’ text. New Jersey references A18.1-2023, and editions vary by state, so confirm the edition your AHJ enforces.

A

Acceptance inspection: An acceptance inspection is the inspection and test performed before a new or altered elevator or lift is put into service, to check it against the code the permit was issued under.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 8.10.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements, Bruno Connect
Alteration: An alteration is any change to elevator or lift equipment other than maintenance, repair or replacement. Alterations generally need a permit and an inspection before the equipment returns to service.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 8.7; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Maintenance, NJ and PA code requirements
Approved: In the ASME standards, approved means acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). It does not mean a manufacturer or installer approved it.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Authority having jurisdiction
ASME A17.1 Section 5.3: ASME A17.1 Section 5.3 is the part of the elevator safety code covering private residence elevators. Manufacturers state which edition of the standard their model meets.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 5.3.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements, Savaria Eclipse, Cibes Antera
ASME A18.1: ASME A18.1 is the Safety Standard for Platform Lifts and Stairway Chairlifts. It covers devices meant to carry a mobility-impaired person only, with separate sections for public and private use.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements, Cibes Symmetry VPL
Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ): The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) is the code official who decides what applies to a specific project, such as the elevator subcode official or the local building code official.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements, Savaria Luma
Authorized personnel: Authorized personnel are people the owner has instructed in how to operate the equipment and has designated to use it, such as staff who run a key-operated lift.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Operating device

B

Bottom car clearance: Bottom car clearance is the clear vertical space between the pit floor and the lowest part of the equipment under the car when the car rests on its fully compressed buffers.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Pit, Buffer
Buffer: A buffer is a device at the bottom of the hoistway that stops a descending car or counterweight that travels past its normal limit, by absorbing or storing its energy.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 2.22.; See also: Pit, Bottom car clearance

C

Call station: A call station is a landing-side control, a button or a wireless remote, that riders use to call or send the platform or car without being inside it.; See also: Savaria V-1504 VPL, Stiltz Duo Alta
Car: The car is the part of an elevator that carries people: the platform, the car frame, the enclosure and the car door or gate together.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Car enclosure, Home elevators
Car door or gate: The car door or gate is the movable panel or gate on the elevator car that closes the car entrance. It is separate from the hoistway door at each landing.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Hoistway door, Door or gate electric contact
Car enclosure: The car enclosure is the top and the walls of an elevator car, resting on and attached to the car platform.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Car
Car frame: The car frame, sometimes called the sling, is the structural frame that holds the car platform, the guide shoes, the car safety and the connection to the ropes, chains or jack.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Car, Safety
Continuous-pressure operation: Continuous-pressure operation means the lift moves only while the rider or attendant holds the button or switch. Letting go stops the platform. Many platform lifts work this way.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Vertical platform lift, Wheelchair lifts
Control room: A control room is an enclosed room outside the hoistway, large enough to walk into, that holds the elevator's controller but not its drive machine.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Control space, Machine room
Control space: A control space holds the elevator's controller, inside or outside the hoistway, and may be reached with or without stepping fully into it, such as a cabinet at a landing.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Control room, Machinery space
Controller: The controller is the device or group of devices that runs the equipment: it governs starting, stopping, direction, acceleration and speed.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Control space, Operating device

D

Door or gate electric contact: A door or gate electric contact detects that a door or gate is closed. The lift or elevator will not run normally unless it is.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Hoistway door interlock, Car door or gate
Driving machine: The driving machine is the power unit that moves the car or platform: an electric motor with its brake and drive, or a hydraulic pump unit.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Hydraulic elevator, Traction machine

E

Elevator device (NJ): In New Jersey, an elevator device is any device the Elevator Safety Subcode (N.J.A.C. 5:23-12) regulates, including elevators, wheelchair lifts and any device within the scope of ASME A17.1 or A18.1. Installing or altering one needs a construction permit.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements
Emergency lowering: Emergency lowering is a battery-powered or manual system that lowers the car or platform to a landing if main power fails or the lift cannot move on its own.; See also: Cibes Primo, Cibes Ascenda
Emergency or standby power: Emergency or standby power is a power source independent of normal building power, such as a generator, that is switched to the elevator when normal power fails.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Emergency lowering, Fused disconnect
Emergency signal device: An emergency signal device lets someone inside an elevator car tell people outside the hoistway that they need help, such as an alarm button.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 2.27.; See also: Emergency stop switch
Emergency stop switch: An emergency stop switch is a manual switch, placed where riders can reach it, that cuts power to the drive and brings the lift or elevator to a stop.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Emergency signal device, Stairlifts

F

Factor of safety: The factor of safety is the ratio of a part's ultimate strength to the stress it carries under maximum static load. The standards set minimum factors for critical parts.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Rated load
Final terminal stopping device: A final terminal stopping device is a backup that cuts power to the drive if the car or platform travels past the top or bottom landing, independent of the normal stopping controls.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 2.25.; See also: Normal terminal stopping device, Terminal landing
Folding rail (hinge): A folding rail, or power folding hinge, is a hinged section of stairlift rail that folds up out of the way near a door or entrance at the bottom landing.; See also: Handicare Freecurve, Access BDD HomeGlide
Full passenger enclosure: A full passenger enclosure is a platform lift platform with a top, full-height walls and full-height platform doors, so the rider travels inside a closed cab.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Cibes Primo, Wheelchair lifts
Fused disconnect: A fused disconnect is a switch with a fuse that isolates the dedicated electrical circuit feeding a lift, installed by the electrician ahead of the equipment.; See also: Savaria Delta IPL

H

Hoistway (shaft, shaftway): A hoistway, also called a shaft or shaftway, is the enclosed vertical space an elevator or lift travels through between floors. It may be site-built or supplied with the equipment.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Cibes Antera, Cibes Symmetry VPL
Hoistway access switch: A hoistway access switch is a keyed switch at a landing that lets a mechanic move the car with the doors open to reach the car top or the pit.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Licensed elevator mechanic, Pit
Hoistway door: A hoistway door is the door at each landing that closes the opening into the hoistway. The car carries its own separate car door or gate.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Hoistway door interlock, Hoistway
Hoistway door interlock: A hoistway door interlock keeps the elevator from running unless the landing door is locked shut, and keeps that door from opening from the landing unless the car is at that landing.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Hoistway door, Landing zone
Hoistway enclosure: The hoistway enclosure is the fixed walls that separate the hoistway from the rest of the building and hold the landing entrances.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Hoistway, Savaria Eclipse
Hydraulic elevator: A hydraulic elevator is moved by fluid under pressure pushing a jack. The jack can lift the car directly or through ropes or chains.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Hydraulic jack, Roped-hydraulic elevator
Hydraulic jack: A hydraulic jack is a cylinder with a plunger or piston that turns fluid pressure from the pump unit into the force that lifts the car or platform.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Hydraulic elevator, Plunger

I

Inclined elevator: An inclined elevator travels at an angle, along a slope or hillside, rather than straight up. ASME A17.1 has separate sections for public and private residence inclined elevators.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 5.1; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 5.4.; See also: Inclined platform lift, NJ and PA code requirements
Inclined platform lift (IPL): An inclined platform lift (IPL) carries a wheelchair user up and down a stairway on a platform that travels on rails fastened to a wall or to support posts on the steps.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 6.; See also: Savaria Delta IPL, NJ and PA code requirements

L

Landing zone: The landing zone is a short distance just above and below each landing, set by the code. Several door and leveling rules apply only while the car is inside it.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Leveling, Hoistway door interlock
Leveling: Leveling is the controlled, slow movement of the car near a landing that lines up the car floor with the landing floor, so riders and wheelchairs do not face a step.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Landing zone, Stop / landing
Licensed elevator mechanic: In New Jersey, a licensed elevator mechanic, or a person working under one's supervision, is required by law to install, service and maintain elevators and platform lifts.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements, Bruno Connect
Listed and labeled: Listed or labeled equipment has been evaluated by an independent certifying organization that also checks production, and carries that organization's listing or mark.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Approved
LULA (limited use/limited application elevator): A LULA (limited use/limited application elevator) is a smaller elevator built to ASME A17.1 Section 5.2 that can serve as the accessible route in certain small buildings, tenancies and floors.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 5.2.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements

M

Machine room: A machine room is a separate space that houses an elevator's drive machinery. Many home elevators and platform lifts are machine-room-less, with the drive built into the hoistway or tower instead.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Cibes Primo, Savaria Eclipse
Machinery space: A machinery space holds an elevator's mechanical equipment, and sometimes its drive machine, inside or outside the hoistway. Unlike a machine room, it need not be a walk-in room.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3.; See also: Machine room, Control space
Main floor: The main floor is the floor that gives normal exit from the building.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Stop / landing
Maintenance: Maintenance is the routine examination, lubrication, cleaning and adjustment of equipment to keep it performing as the code requires. Repair and replacement are separate terms.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 8.6; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Maintenance control program, Repair
Maintenance control program (MCP): A maintenance control program (MCP) is the documented set of maintenance tasks, procedures, examinations and tests for a specific elevator, kept to show it is maintained to the code.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 8.6.; See also: Maintenance

N

Normal terminal stopping device: A normal terminal stopping device slows and stops the car or platform automatically at or near the top and bottom landings, whatever the rider does with the controls.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 2.25.; See also: Final terminal stopping device, Terminal landing

O

Operating device: An operating device is the button, key switch, joystick or other control a rider or attendant uses to run the equipment.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Call station, Continuous-pressure operation
Overhead: Overhead is the clear height needed above the top landing for the car or platform to travel safely to its highest stop.; See also: Savaria Multilift

P

Periodic inspection: A periodic inspection is an inspection and test repeated on a schedule after the equipment is in service. ASME A17.1 Section 8.11 covers them, and the AHJ decides whether and how often they apply.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 8.11.; See also: Acceptance inspection, NJ and PA code requirements
Pit: A pit is the recessed space below the lowest landing that some lifts and elevators need. Some models can run with a shallower pit, or with a ramp and no pit at all.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Cibes Symmetry VPL
Plan review: Plan review is the step where the elevator subcode official, or another code authority, checks the layout drawings before a construction permit is issued.; See also: NJ and PA code requirements
Platform: On a platform lift or stairway chairlift, the platform is the unit that carries the rider: the frame, floor and any enclosure, seat, door or gate on it.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Vertical platform lift, Runway
Plunger (ram): A plunger, or ram, is the long cylindrical member of a hydraulic jack that pushes the car or platform up as fluid enters the cylinder.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Hydraulic jack
Portable equipment: In ASME A18.1, portable equipment carries people with mobility impairments but is not fastened in place and is not a relocatable lift, such as a portable wheelchair lift.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Relocatable lift, ASME A18.1
Private residence: In the ASME standards, a private residence is a separate house or apartment occupied by one family. Equipment there follows the private residence sections, which differ from public-use rules.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Private residence elevator, NJ and PA code requirements
Private residence elevator: A private residence elevator is a home elevator built to ASME A17.1 Section 5.3, for use within a single dwelling rather than a public or commercial building.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A17.1-2022, Section 5.3.; See also: Savaria Eclipse, Cibes Antera

R

Rack-and-pinion elevator: A rack-and-pinion elevator is driven by motor-turned gears, the pinions, climbing a fixed toothed rack mounted in the hoistway. It may or may not use a counterweight.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Driving machine, Home elevators
Rail (stairlift): The rail is the track fastened to the stair treads, or to a supporting wall, that the stairlift chair travels along. A curved rail is made to order for its staircase.; See also: Bruno Elan, Handicare Freecurve
Rated load: Rated load is the maximum weight a lift, platform or elevator car is designed to carry, published by the manufacturer for each model.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Savaria Multilift, Bruno VPL
Rated speed: Rated speed is the speed the equipment is designed to travel in the up direction while carrying its rated load.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Rated load, Travel
Relocatable lift: A relocatable lift is a vertical or inclined platform lift designed to be moved from one place to another rather than permanently fastened in place.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Portable equipment, Wheelchair lifts
Repair: A repair restores equipment by fixing or replacing parts with parts basically the same as the originals, so it keeps performing as the code requires.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Replacement, Alteration
Replacement: A replacement swaps a whole device or component for a new one that is basically the same as the original.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Repair, Alteration
Roped-hydraulic elevator: A roped-hydraulic elevator uses a hydraulic jack connected to the car through wire ropes and sheaves, rather than pushing the car directly.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Hydraulic elevator, Hydraulic jack
Runway: The runway is the space a platform lift's platform or a chairlift's seat moves through. It is the platform lift counterpart of an elevator hoistway.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Hoistway, Platform

S

Safety: A safety is a mechanical device on the car or platform frame that stops and holds it if it overspeeds, falls freely or its ropes go slack, usually triggered by a speed governor.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Speed governor, Car frame
Screw column elevator: A screw column elevator has no counterweight. A motor turns a threaded screw or a nut on it to raise and lower the car.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Driving machine, Home elevators
Slack-rope switch: A slack-rope switch cuts power to the drive motor and brake if the suspension ropes on a winding drum machine go slack.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Winding drum machine, Safety
Speed governor: A speed governor constantly monitors the speed of the car or platform. If it runs too fast, the governor signals the controller and trips the safety.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Safety, Rated speed
Stairway chairlift: A stairway chairlift is a motorized chair that travels along a rail fastened to the stair treads, carrying one seated rider up or down a staircase.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 4; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 7.; See also: Bruno Elan, Bruno Elite straight
Stop / landing: A stop is one of the floor levels a lift or elevator serves. The landing is where riders get on or off at that level, often with its own call station, gate or door.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Cibes Antera, Savaria V-1504 VPL

T

Terminal landing: The terminal landings are the lowest and highest landings the elevator or lift serves, called the bottom terminal landing and the top terminal landing.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Stop / landing, Travel
Through-floor lift: A through-floor lift travels through an opening in the floor, with no shaft. Most models here serve two stops; the extended-travel Stiltz Trio Alta can serve three. Some, such as the Cibes Ascenda, close the opening with a hatch when the car is down.; See also: Cibes Ascenda, Savaria Luma
Traction machine: A traction machine moves the car by friction between the suspension ropes and a grooved drive sheave, usually with a counterweight on the other side of the ropes.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Driving machine, Winding drum machine
Travel: Travel is the vertical distance a lift or elevator car moves between its lowest and highest stop.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Savaria Multilift, Cibes Antera
Traveling cable: A traveling cable is the flexible bundle of electrical conductors that connects the moving car or platform to a fixed outlet in the hoistway or runway.; Defined in ASME A17.1-2022, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Hoistway, Runway

V

Variance: A variance is written permission from the code authority to depart from a standard code requirement, such as travel beyond the usual limit on a platform lift.; See also: Cibes Symmetry VPL, NJ and PA code requirements
Vertical platform lift (VPL): A vertical platform lift (VPL) is a wheelchair lift whose platform rises straight up between landings, under ASME A18.1 rather than the elevator code, ASME A17.1.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 2; ASME A18.1-2020, Section 5.; See also: Cibes Symmetry VPL, Savaria V-1504 VPL

W

Winding drum machine: A winding drum machine raises the car or platform by winding its suspension ropes onto a drum, instead of running them over a traction sheave.; Defined in ASME A18.1-2020, Section 1.3.; See also: Slack-rope switch, Traction machine

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