ANACAM MAGAZINE - n.4 ottobre | dicembre 2020

▼ ▼ ▼ At around 7 pm on the 23 rd of October 2018, over twenty Russian football fans were injured, some seriously, while on an escalator at the Repubblica stop of Rome’s metro line A, due to the dislodging of some steps at the lower landing. The Directorate General for Railway and Maritime Investigations- DiGIFeMa of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transporties investigated this incident, dealing for the first time with elevators, escalators and moving walkways in public service. DiGIFeMa is an investigative body whose activity is aimed at improving safety in the railway and maritime sectors, of all fixed installations transport systems and inland navigation. The investigation is aimed at identifying the causes and providing counsel to interested parties to prevent future accidents. The report on the accident, published on the Ministry’s website, indicates the ineffectiveness of the service and emergency brakes as a direct cause and identifies some system deficiencies in the sector. The report recommends starting a review of the current regulatory framework relating to escalators with reference to the definition of the procedures for carrying out braking tests during periodic checks and the professional requirements of the personnel employed in maintenance activities for which, currently no qualification or DiGIFeMa’s investigation in the 2018 incident is the first ever on lifts The Ministerial directions regarding Rome’s metro accident 63 certification is required. Furthermore, the importance of training and updating staff employed in maintenance and periodic checks is emphasized precisely by virtue of the continuous technological evolution and the multiplicity of publicly available facilities on the market. Manufacturing companies must guarantee the availability of spare parts for the entire life cycle of the installations and within times and costs adjusted over time. Naturally, the contracting authority’s monitoring system on the maintenance activities by the contractors must be improved. But the list of recommendations goes on. Anacam, being among the recipients of the recommendations, adopted