(a) It is the duty of the board to license elevator inspectors as provided in this chapter, and the board has the power and it is its duty to consult with engineering authorities and organizations studying and developing safety codes, including the American Standards Association, and to determine what rules and regulations governing the qualifications, training and duties of elevator operators and the operation, maintenance, construction, alteration and installation of elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators, and the inspection of new and existing installations are adequate, reasonable and necessary to provide for the safety of life, limb and property, and to protect the public welfare and upon such determination shall make, amend or repeal from time to time rules and regulations as follows:
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-121-103
Aerial passenger tramways: means recreational transportation of passengers on devices that are usually referred to by the following names: (A)Reversible Aerial Tramways. See Tennessee Code 68-121-101
Alteration: means any change or addition to the equipment other than ordinary repairs or replacement. See Tennessee Code 68-121-101
Amusement device: includes , but is not limited to, roller coasters, Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, glasshouses, and walk-through dark houses. See Tennessee Code 68-121-101
Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Commissioner: means the commissioner of labor and workforce development. See Tennessee Code 68-121-101
Elevator: means a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped with a car or platform that moves in guides in a substantially vertical direction and that serves two (2) or more floors of a building. See Tennessee Code 68-121-101
Moving walks: means a moving runway for transporting passengers, where the passenger transporting surface remains parallel to its direction of motion and is uninterrupted. See Tennessee Code 68-121-101
Owner: means a person that owns, leases, controls or manages the operations of an amusement device and may include the state or any political subdivision of the state. See Tennessee Code 68-121-101
(1) For the maintenance and operation of all elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators;(2) For the construction of new elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators;(3) For the alteration of existing elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators;(4) Prescribing minimum safety requirements for all existing elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators; and(5) Prescribing the fees for construction permits, operating permits, acceptance inspections, initial inspections and periodic inspections for new and existing elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators.(b) The elevator safety board is also vested with the duty, power, authority and responsibility to regulate aerial passenger tramways and moving walks in the same manner as provided in this chapter for elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators.(c) Any new technology, as defined in the adopted version of the Elevator Safety Code, as such code is defined in Rule 0800-3-4-01(7), shall be authorized for use under this chapter; provided, that such technology meets the latest published standards of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators.(d) The elevator and amusement device safety board shall have the following powers related to amusement device safety in addition to those related to elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators and aerial passenger tramways pursuant to subsections (a)-(c):
(1) To consult with engineering authorities and organizations that are studying and developing amusement device safety standards;(2) To adopt a code of rules and regulations governing the owner‘s duty of reasonable care for the installation, assembly, disassembly, repair, maintenance, use, testing, operation, and inspection of amusement devices. The board shall have the power to adopt a safety code only for those types of amusement devices defined in § 68-121-101. In promulgating the amusement device safety code the board may consider any existing or future American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) safety standards affecting amusement devices, or any other nationally acceptable standard; and(3) To make recommendations to the commissioner concerning the board’s findings on safety issues related to amusement devices.(e) Any rules or regulations adopted and promulgated shall be of a reasonable nature, and based upon generally accepted engineering standards, formulas, and practices, and insofar as is practicable and consistent with this chapter, shall be uniform with the rules and regulations of other states. The rules shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
