AECO program

In 2007 The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in concert with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) introduced the performance-based safety code for elevators and escalators, ASME A17.7/CSA B44.7. This new code provides an alternate means to prove that elevators and escalators have equivalent safety to that required by the current prescriptive code (ASME A17.1/CSA B44).This allows new technologies and innovative methods to be introduced without facing the long time-to-market required for proposing changes to the prescriptive codes, or the time and costs often encountered when seeking variances from every Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) where these products are to be deployed.

A17.7/B44.7 establishes a process whereby the customer evaluates their design and identifies the impacted Global Essential Safety Requirements (GESR's) and Safety Parameters (SP's). They then conduct a risk assessment to identify and quantify the risks introduced by the new product and to identify the mitigation. This process also identifies tests that may need to be conducted as well as installation and maintenance procedures that need to be produced. Finally, the risk assessment, test data, and procedures along with a code compliance document (CCD) are submitted to an Accredited Elevator and Escalator Certification Organization (AECO) to conduct a third-party evaluation of the product and to issue a certification report and certificate if equivalent safety is established.

As an ANSI accredited AECO, UL will provide the following services:

• Assessment of elevator and escalator systems, subsystems,and components and functions for conformance with A17.7/B44.7 to establish equivalent safety to the requirements of A17.1/B44.

• Post-release surveillance of the manufacture of certifieddesigns of systems, subsystems, and components andfunctions to establish that they continue to meet therequirements of A17.7/B44.7 throughout the product life cycle.

Additional resources

• Download general information for suppliers on the UL AECO program.
• Download white paper on AECO certification.

• Watch our webinar on AECO certification.