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by h3xadecima1 531 days ago
Each state carries it's own regulations and many have numerous code books for grandfathered systems to the new modern systems. The sad part is many elevators stay in a sad state of repair because an overhaul would also require it meet all new code, which is vastly more restrictive to the hardware and safety designs. Its a gridlock that is controlled by the big elevator companies.
1 comments

A few years ago, UCSD finished building a new parking garage next to the building I worked in. It wasn't open for more than a month or two before both elevators had to be taken out of service. I spoke to the technicians on the top deck-there were cables being taken out of both shafts...apparently, the new elevators used synthetic (polyaramid?) core rope; whereas the CA regs specified steel wire rope only. Took like two weeks to get everything replaced, and I'm pretty sure they couldn't reuse the stuff they took out....
So CA regs had an extremely clear specification and the builders didn't follow it?

Why not? Never mind that steel cables have been standard in elevators for literally a hundred years, have never had any systemic problems, and aren't expensive.

I guess. It may have been a county thing; but it was the first time I'd ever heard of elevator cables being made out of anything but wire rope.