ANACAM MAGAZINE - n. 2 aprile | giugno 2021

▼ ▼ ▼ a new way of placing the lift on the market. The first consequence was the technician handing over the helm to the salesman: originally the technician used to impose the limits established by the norm, which was also law. Once the standard became optional, the salesperson acquired greater freedom of movement in dealing with customer needs. Conse- quently, the technician’s task became to find solutions to what was being requested. The second consequence is the need to devote time to a technical update that I would define perpetual, as the rules now undergo continuous changes and / or additions. In the first decade of 2000 alone, the main standards has been integrated three times: Amend- ment A1 relating to Pessral (pro- grammable electronic safety systems); Amendment A2, which introduces machinery space instead of a machin- ery room; and Amendment A3, which provides devices to prevent the un- controlled cabin movements with the doors open. With the introduction of devices such as the frequency inverter in our sector, the electric lift regains control of the market: now it is possible to guarantee a good level of comfort at departure and arrival, even when the operating speed exceeds 1 m / sec. The introduction of gearless machines (without reducer) with high-perfor- mance permanent magnet synchro- nous motors allows for a significant reduction in the powers involved, thus responding brilliantly to the concepts of energy saving which are currently in great demand. The need for continuous technical up- dating, the change in the commercial approach, the introduction of new products that open up new manu- facturing possibilities, required a sig- nificant effort from sector small and medium-sized companies for internal reorganization to keep themselves on par with competitors on the market. In the last decade 2010-2020, atten- tion has been focused more on the existing lifts market, which currently has about one million installations in Italy, many of them with a seniority of over 40 years. Consequently, there is a need for partial or total renovation. Proposals are presented that allow to insert cabins with larger dimensions than the existing ones, making the best use of the available space, and moving towards the goal of overcoming archi- tectural barriers. The rules also keep evolving. On 31 August 2017, the EN 81-1/2 end their journey giving way to the new 81- 20/50 which take yet another step for- ward by further raising the safety level of lifts, both for the user and mainte- nance operator. Technology, however, is faster than the norms. Right after being published in 2014, EN 81-20/50 undergo a review process aimed at: dealing with innovative technical as- pects, such as suspension means other than classic wire ropes; adjusting the text to match the European Commis- sion’s requests laid down in Mandate M/549. In 2020, a first revised version of the two standards has been pub- lished, the modifications being limited to the introduction of dated normative references and a more accurate and complete Annex ZA. The CEN stan- dardization activity is now focused on the complete revision of the standards. And the run ends in the present. In a world that tends towards globaliza- tion from a commercial point of view, even the rules must be oriented to- wards world unification. Within a few years, a single standard (ISO 8100- 1/2/3) will be adopted, which aims to ensure an equivalent safety standard for all new installations in every part of our world. 20 After the war, lifts were basically a luxury, so by definition not strictly necessary STORIA D I R o b e r t o C o r r a d i n i