Understanding Elevator Brake Safety Codes: What Every Building Owner Must Know

Most building owners do not think much about elevator brake safety codes, unless an inspection reveals something amiss, or worse still, until something real happens inside the shaft.

The most important safety system in an elevator is the brake system. It prevents the cabin from freefalling, supports the cabin level at every floor, and prevents its fall, in the event of the drive system malfunctioning. The standards used in India concerning the way that system should be constructed, tested and maintained have evolved over the past few years.

You should pay your full attention to this in case your building has an elevator before 2022.

What Changed with IS 17900 in 2022

The safety framework set by the Bureau of Indian Standards was revisited in 2022 with the introduction of the first two parts of the IS 17900 (Part 1 and Part 2), which replaced three older codes that had been in place since the early 1990s to govern the safety and installation of elevators in India.

The new standard is based on the ISO 8100, the global guideline on elevator safety but is tailored to the Indian environment and specifics of buildings and their application. It shall become compulsory on any new elevator from December 2025.

To building owners, the common-sense conclusion is simple: any elevator placed in service or evaluated by older codes is now being tested against a more rigid baseline. What was compliant with IS14665 might not satisfy IS17900 requirements especially regarding the field of brake-system design and redundancy.

Elevator Brake Safety Codes: What IS 17900 Actually Requires

Under IS 17900 Part 1, the brake requirements for elevator machines are specific and non-negotiable.

Double-Acting Brakes Are Mandatory

All elevator machines should now be equipped with a double acting brake as specified in Clause 5.9.2 of IS 17900 Part 1. An individual set of brakes is categorised as a high-priority risk as per IS 17900 Part 11 (the safety norms of existing lifts) and its deficiency should be remedied at once.

What this translates into practice: there must be two independent braking systems on the elevator, and each of them should be able to stop and hold the cabin by itself. One must be in a position to perform the entire job in case that the other fails.

Electro-Mechanical Braking is Necessary

The electro-mechanical brake should be able to meet the Clause 5.9.2.2 of the IS 17900 Part 1. This is to replace older purely mechanical designs not so responsive and redundant as required by the current standard.

None of the Redundancy in the Brake Are of High Priority

Part 11 of the IS 17900 categorically enumerates poor machine brakes and a lack of brake redundancy as high-level risks, or cannot be pushed to the next recurring maintenance period. They require action.

What a Brake Failure Really Looks Like Before it Occurs

The question that the building owners usually raise is what they will do to know whether their elevator is compromising its brake system. The truth of the matter is honestly that the red flags are mostly very subtle and in fact, some of them are not visible at all without scrutiny.

The signs that will allow determining that the brake system requires evaluation are:

• The cabin passes through the floors a little, and lands a few centimetres above or below the landing.

• An observable shock at the conclusion of every trip as opposed to a gradual pause.

• When the elevator is at an open door floor it drifts.

• Strange sound on stopping, either a grind, or a clank of machinery.

• Greater distances of stopping which the passengers can feel as an uncomfortable ride.

These aren't guaranteed signs of brake failure. They could point to other mechanical issues. But any of them on a system older than ten years is a reason to get a brake inspection done before the next scheduled service, not during it.

State-Level Compliance Adds Another Layer

In addition to BIS standards, in India, the act of compliance of elevators is governed by state-specific Lift Acts and regulations. The regulatory frameworks in place in Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu and most other states regulate licensing, schedule of periodic inspection, and penalties against non-compliance.

This translates to a building owner in Delhi working with IS17900 and the Delhi Lift Rules at the same time in practice. The state regulations will give authority on the persons to check on the elevator, the frequency of checking, and what should occur in case the elevator fails to pass the inspection.

New installations normally need a Lift Commissioning Certificate and periodic inspection certificates on existing systems are usually required by state electrical inspectorates. These inspections will evaluate the brake system, and the results concerning the brake suitability according to the existing laws will be alerted in the inspection report.

Your building might be running without an up-to-date certification in case the last time your building was inspected was over two years ago. That is a safety as well as a legal exposure.

The ARD and Why It's Part of the Brake Conversation

An Automatic Rescue Device (ARD) is technically a separate system from the primary brake, but the two are connected in function and often assessed together during compliance audits.

In the event of a battery failure, the ARD pulls the cabin to the closest floor and keeps it in place with the brake applied until the passengers have gotten out. When the ARD does not work, a power cut causes the elevator to halt at any point it is in, and this could be between two floors where there are people in it.

Installations that are compliant with the requirements of modern IS17900 must have ARD as a mandatory item. Existing systems that are being retrofitted to the existing compliance must have it added as part of any upgrade programme. Your elevator lacks one, that is a hole which will be noticed as a priority item by state inspections.

What Building Owners Are Legally Responsible For

The building owner, developer or in the case of a society the management committee have the legal liability towards the safety of elevators in a residential or a commercial building. This involves keeping the elevator in a good condition by hiring the services of a qualified service provider, ensuring that regular maintenance checks are made and taken, the certificates of inspection are kept up to date and that whenever there are irregularities found during the check, they are corrected within the stipulated time.

It is not merely a technical issue of non-compliance. State Lift Acts impose the penalty against the building owners who use the non-compliant lifts and in case of an accident this time the liability is held against the building owner compliance record. All of this is centred around the brake system as this is the part that is most closely connected to the threat of severe injury.

Where to Start if You're Not Sure Where You Stand

Elevator brake safety codes are technical, and most building owners aren't elevator engineers. You don't need to be. But you do need to work with someone who is.

The starting point is a proper safety audit of the existing system against IS 17900 requirements, specifically IS 17900 Part 11 for existing lifts. This gives you a documented picture of where your elevator stands, what gaps exist, and what the priority order for remediation is.

Polo Elevators carries out compliance assessments for existing installations across Delhi and NCR, covering brake system adequacy, ARD status, door safety, and overall alignment with current BIS and state-level requirements. If you haven't had a formal audit under the new IS 17900 framework, that's the conversation to start now.