MCE Educates California Elevator Professionals on new ASME A17.1-2004 Code

By: Dan May, MCE Sales Engineer

Rancho Cordova, CA (May 28, 2008)
On May 1, 2008, the State of California official adopted “Group IV”, new elevator code language related to the ASME A17.1-2004 code. Motion Control Engineering (MCE), a leader in the development of ASME code compliant controllers since the inception of the ASME A17.1-2000 standard at the beginning of the decade, saw the adoption of this new code as an opportunity to educate and help transition California contractors, consultants and building owners to the new code

To provide a forum for education and discussion, MCE hosted a free class at the Doubletree Commerce Hotel in Commerce, CA. The response to the class was outstanding. Soon after sending out the invitations, the RSVP list grew to the full room capacity, 125 people. During the forum session, MCE presented material about the code as well as MCE’s Motion 2000 hydraulic and Motion 4000 traction controllers since just speaking about the code doesn’t give the full story on how code and controllers are intertwined. MCE demonstrated how controllers handle specific requirements of the code and why the ASME A17.1-1996 with 1998 addenda controllers can’t be used for an ASME A17.1-2004 compliant job.

The class opened with an hour long presentation by Dan May (MCE Sales Engineer) on the basics of the code and the main differences between the old code (ASME A17.1-1996 with 1998 addenda) and the new code (ASME A17.1-2004). May covered topics including redundancy monitoring, force guided relays, Electrical Protective Devices (EPD’s), fixtures, fire service operation, Inspection/Access operation and the exceptions to the code California has taken. His presentation included information needed to ensure successful installations and examples of potential challenges faced when customers first implement ASME A17.1-2004 code compliant controllers. Using controllers shipped to the class for demonstration, May provided an overview of the Motion 2000 and Motion 4000 controller code compliant features and benefits.  

Pat Fleming (MCE Senior Engineer) and Allan Peterson (MCE R&D Engineer) spoke on specific sections of the code. Using pictures and CAD drawings of the controllers, they interpreted what the code means, how the controllers handle the code and how to implement the code on the job site. Fleming captured the attention of the audience with his true stories of job site occurrences, controversial meetings, and pitfalls he’s seen in the field. Peterson was able to communicate why sections of the code are important and stressed some of the crucial safety items to lookout for.

Orlando Turner (MCE Hydraulic Sales Manager) and Mike Franco (MCE NW/SW Sales Manager) spoke with individuals about concerns related to bidding on ASME A17.1-2004 compliant jobs and provided information on products. The presentation concluded after lunch with a Q&A session. MCE representatives were pleased with the audiences’ tough questions, and several individuals mentioned the presentations settled nerves and instilled confidence in overcoming the ASME A17.1-2004 code.

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