Dependence of Elevator Inspections Causes Risks

The Inspectorate of Labor has written in a confidential report that the safety of elevators in the Netherlands is not assured because 4 of the 6 companies authorized to inspect elevators are not independent of the people who give them the assignments. The companies also admit that the quality of inspections is problematic. Since the year 2000, 17 people have been killed in elevators accidents and last year about 500 people were wounded in elevator incidents. The Director of the largest company Michael Douque of the Liftinstituut, the market leader in inspections, said nowadays I still prefer the elevator over the stairs because one can fall on the stairs, but in another five years, I’ll take the stairs.
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/08/29/veiligheid-liften-in-gevaar-omdat-keuringen-niet-onafhankelijk-zijn/