Conformity with the applicable requirements

New lifts

A new lift must be in accordance with the essential health and safety requirements pursuant to the Lifts Directive (the Lifts Directive 2014/33/EU). Those requirements are nationally implemented by the Government decree on the safety of lifts (1433/2016).

A new lift will conform to the requirements when

  • the lift is in compliance with harmonised standards. There are currently 16 harmonised standards subject to the Lifts Directive, with standard SFS-EN 81-20 being the basic standard. A new lift may deviate from the standards, but in that case it must be proven, e.g., by means of a risk assessment, that the solution deviating from the standards provides a safety level in accordance with the standard.
  • the lift supplier has conducted a conformity assessment of the lift on the basis of the assessment procedures pursuant to the Lifts Directive. The method most commonly used in Finland is to carry out a final inspection of a type-examined lift (the Lifts Directive, Appendices IV and V) or a unit-specific inspection of a non-type-examined lift (the Lifts Directive, Appendix VIII). The inspections are carried out by notified bodies.
  • Once the conformity of the lift has been verified, also in terms of the essential health and safety requirements, the installer affixes a CE marking on the lift and issues a declaration of conformity for the lift. By the declaration of conformity the installer confirms that the lift is in accordance with the requirements of the Lifts Directive. The content of the declaration of EU-conformity is decreed in the Lifts Directive (Appendix II, section B).

Existing lifts

The lift must be pursuant to the regulations in force during the building time of the lift. The safety of existing lifts installed prior to the Lifts Directive 95/16/EC coming into force in 1999 is governed by the previous provisions of national legislation. For instance, the safety requirements of a lift commissioned in 1995 are pursuant to the Lift Regulations A8-1994 issued by the Inspection Centre for Electrical Appliances. The previous national statutes and regulations are available on the Tukes website (in Finnish).

When alterations are carried out on a lift, the upgraded components or structural subsystems installed to the lift must conform to the technical requirements currently in effect, i.e., the Lifts Directive. The alterations may not decrease the safety of the lift for any part.