Safety Order: Inspection requirements for Leitner Poma sheave assemblies

This safety order is being issued pursuant to section 31 of the Safety Standards Act. A person affected by this safety order may appeal this order, in writing, to the Safety Standards Appeal Board in accordance with Section 51 of the Safety Standards Act. It is an offence under section 72 not to comply with a safety order.

Part 1: Details of regulated work or regulated product

This safety order applies to all sheave assemblies on all Leitner Poma fixed grip and detachable grip above surface passenger ropeways.

An incident involving the failure of a vertical adjusting bolt on a Leitner Poma 8 passenger detachable gondola has been reported to the British Columbia Safety Authority. The incident occurred December 20, 2008 at approximately 11:00 am PST. It has been determined that a vertical adjusting bolt for the main axle on the uphill sheave assembly of a gondola support tower failed. The haul rope moved out of the normal running position on the sheaves and the cable position switch (CPS) functioned as designed and stopped the ropeway prior to a deropement. A manual evacuation was initiated. Once the sheave assembly was repaired, the remaining passengers on the lift were evacuated using the main drive.

Approximately 100 passengers were on the lift at the time of the incident.

Part 2: Requirement(s) of this safety order

All operators of Leitner Poma fixed grip or detachable grip above surface passenger ropeways are hereby ordered to inspect all affected sheave assemblies and ensure;

• That all vertical and horizontal adjusting bolts are intact, tight and adjusted as per manufacturer’s specifications.
• That all lift maintenance personnel are aware that both vertical and horizontal adjustment bolts must be loosened when sheave assemblies are adjusted for alignment.
• That all U-bolts holding the main sheave axle are tight and that all U-bolts on both compression and support towers are torqued according to manufacturer’s specifications.
• That all main support axle bushings on all sheave assemblies are properly lubricated and all sheave assemblies are free moving. If your installation is equipped with greaseless rubber bushings, all these shall be adjusted and operating as per manufacturer’s specifications.

All affected Leitner Poma sheave assemblies shall be inspected within four days of receipt of this order. If any of the sheave assembly components noted above do not meet manufacturer’s specifications, the installation shall be removed from service immediately and the BC Safety Authority notified. In this instance the operator will contact the manufacturer to ascertain appropriate repair procedures. Once repairs have been completed to the manufacturer’s specifications permission to return the passenger ropeway to service shall be requested from the BC Safety Authority.

Complete the attached response form and fax to the British Columbia Safety Authority New Westminster office (fax number 604-660-6661 c/o Greg Paddon) upon completion/verification that the above noted requirements have been complied with. Completed forms shall be received by the Provincial Safety Manager no later than Jan 1, 2009.