Glass Lift Shaft Installation Safe Work Method Statement

Elevator shafts meet multiple criteria for confined space classification under Australian Standard AS2865 Safe Working in a Confined Space and WHS confined space regulations. Firstly, shafts have limited entry and exit points with access restricted to door openings at floor levels and often requiring climbing or descent via fixed ladders, making emergency egress difficult particularly from lower shaft levels. Secondly, shafts are not designed as regular workplaces and are intended for elevator equipment rather than sustained human occupation. Thirdly, shafts present atmospheric hazards due to inadequate natural ventilation, potential for accumulation of hazardous atmospheres from construction activities or building systems, and vertical stack effect that can draw contaminated air from lower building levels. Finally, shafts contain serious hazards including fall hazards from multiple levels, entrapment risks between moving elevator components, and struck-by hazards from materials dropped from height. The classification requires formal entry permits documenting hazard assessment, atmospheric testing showing oxygen levels between 19.5-23.5% and absence of toxic or flammable gases, continuous monitoring during occupied periods, availability of emergency rescue equipment and trained personnel, and forced ventilation providing minimum 6 air changes per hour. Workers must be trained in confined space entry procedures and understand hazards specific to elevator shaft environments. The permit system ensures these preconditions are verified before entry rather than relying on assumption that shaft conditions are safe.

Protecting installed glass panels from damage during subsequent elevator installation and building construction requires systematic controls and clear communication with other contractors. Physical protection includes installing sacrificial protection boards or rigid panels over exposed glass surfaces using temporary adhesive or magnetic fixings that can be removed without glass damage, installing barriers around shaft perimeters at floor levels preventing workers or equipment from contacting glass, and maintaining temporary edge protection until building facades are fully enclosed protecting glass from weather and impact damage. Procedural controls include conducting coordination meetings with elevator installation contractors before their work commences, clearly identifying installed glass locations and required protection measures, establishing exclusion zones around sensitive installed components, and implementing permit-to-work systems for activities with potential to damage glass including welding, grinding, or material handling near installed panels. Inspection protocols should require daily glass inspection during periods when other trades are working within shafts, immediate documentation and reporting of any damage discovered, and hold points before critical elevator contractor activities such as guide rail installation or counterweight movement that could impact glass. Insurance and contractual arrangements should clearly define responsibility for damage protection and establish procedures for damage assessment, repair approval, and cost recovery if damage occurs. Glass manufacturers often provide protection guidance specific to their systems including recommended protection materials and installation techniques. Consider timing of glass installation within construction sequence—earlier installation allows elevator commissioning to proceed but creates longer exposure period for damage, while later installation reduces damage risk but may complicate access and coordination. Some projects defer final glass installation until after elevator mechanical and electrical installation is substantially complete, installing temporary shaft enclosure to allow elevator commissioning then replacing with final glass system to minimise damage risk. Document protection requirements in writing and obtain acknowledgment from all contractors working in shafts that they understand glass protection requirements and their responsibility to maintain protection measures.

Elevator shaft rescue procedures must address the unique challenges of confined vertical spaces with multiple access levels and significant fall hazards. Required capabilities include immediate rescue response for injured or incapacitated workers within confined space, retrieval of workers suspended in fall arrest harnesses within 5-10 minutes to prevent suspension trauma, and medical emergency response for workers at various shaft levels. The rescue plan must document specific rescue methods for different scenarios: for workers injured but conscious and mobile at accessible shaft levels, rescue may involve assisted egress via normal access routes with medical care provided at shaft opening; for unconscious or immobilised workers at accessible levels, rescue personnel in full PPE including self-contained breathing apparatus must enter shaft to secure and retrieve casualty using stretcher or rescue harness; for workers suspended in fall arrest harnesses, retrieval using descent devices or mechanical advantage pulley systems must be implemented within critical time window before suspension trauma causes unconsciousness or death. Required rescue equipment includes self-contained breathing apparatus for rescue personnel entering potentially contaminated atmospheres, full-body rescue harnesses with multiple attachment points for securing casualties, mechanical advantage pulley systems or powered winches for vertical retrieval from depth, stretchers or rescue baskets suitable for vertical lifting through confined shaft openings, first aid equipment appropriate for fall injuries, crush injuries, and asphyxiation cases, and communication equipment allowing coordination between rescue team members at different levels. Personnel requirements include minimum two trained rescue personnel remaining outside shaft throughout occupied period equipped and ready to implement rescue, additional rescue personnel available to be summoned if primary rescue team requires assistance, and emergency service notification protocols with building address, shaft location, and access route information pre-prepared for rapid communication. Rescue planning must consider shaft-specific factors including vertical distance requiring retrieval, access point locations and dimensions, obstacles or equipment within shaft that could impede rescue, and weight of casualties plus equipment that rescue systems must handle. Rescue drills should be conducted before commencing shaft work and periodically during extended projects, using realistic scenarios and documenting drill results, identifying procedural improvements, and verifying equipment functionality. Critical requirement often neglected is ensuring rescue personnel do not become additional casualties—rescuers must use appropriate respiratory protection, maintain fall protection, and not enter hazardous atmospheres without adequate safeguards and backup personnel. Emergency service coordination should identify when professional rescue services will be summoned (typically immediately for serious injuries or multiple casualties) whilst recognising that rapid retrieval by on-site personnel is usually necessary within critical time constraints for suspension trauma or atmospheric exposure cases.

Fire rating requirements for glass elevator shaft enclosures are determined by Building Code of Australia (BCA) classifications, building height and occupancy type, and the shaft's role in building fire compartmentation. For most commercial buildings, elevator shafts are required to be fire-isolated from surrounding building spaces to prevent fire and smoke spread between levels. Where glass is used for shaft enclosure rather than traditional masonry or concrete shaft walls, the glass system must achieve required fire resistance level (FRL) specified in BCA for shaft separations. Common FRL requirements include 60/60/60 (structural adequacy, integrity, insulation for 60 minutes) for buildings up to effective height of 25 metres, 90/90/90 for buildings between 25-50 metres effective height, and potentially 120/120/120 for buildings exceeding 50 metres or specific high-risk occupancies. Fire-rated glass systems achieve these ratings through various technologies: ceramic glass products that remain intact and insulate during fire exposure, intumescent interlayer laminated glass that expands when heated to provide insulation, and combinations of glass types and spacing to achieve both integrity and insulation requirements. Not all glass used in lift shaft installations requires fire rating—vision panels in otherwise fire-rated shaft walls may use standard toughened glass if panel sizes are limited and panel failure does not compromise overall shaft fire separation. Performance requirements beyond fire resistance include impact safety requirements from AS1288 requiring glass in shaft enclosures to be toughened or laminated preventing catastrophic failure if broken, acoustic performance in buildings where elevator noise transmission to occupied spaces must be controlled, and structural performance resisting wind loads, seismic loads, and building movement without glass fracture. Verification of fire rating compliance requires glass product certification documentation from manufacturers demonstrating products have been tested to AS1530.4 Fire Resistance Tests of Elements of Building Construction and achieved required FRL. Installation must comply with tested and certified system specifications—deviations from certified installation details may void fire rating certification. Building certifiers and fire safety engineers review glass lift shaft designs to verify compliance with BCA requirements, considering building-specific factors including sprinkler protection, evacuation strategies, and alternative fire safety solutions. Some buildings incorporate non-fire-rated glass in lift shafts by providing alternative fire separation measures such as dedicated fire-rated lobby enclosures around elevator openings at each floor, allowing visual transparency in shaft whilst maintaining required fire compartmentation at floor levels. Always consult with building designers, fire safety engineers, and building certifiers regarding specific fire rating requirements before specifying glass systems for lift shaft applications.

Successful coordination between glass installation and elevator mechanical installation requires detailed planning, clear communication, and systematic procedures managing the interface between these concurrent activities in confined elevator shafts. Pre-construction coordination begins with joint review of architectural, structural, and elevator engineering drawings identifying interface locations, dimensional coordination requirements, and sequence dependencies. This includes understanding elevator guide rail locations and ensuring glass fixing systems do not conflict with rail mounting brackets, verifying clearances between glass surfaces and elevator car/counterweight travel paths exceed minimum requirements with adequate tolerance for building movement, identifying locations where both contractors require access simultaneously and establishing protocols for shared workspace, and determining whether glass installation will occur before, during, or after elevator guide rail installation based on project schedule and access constraints. Scheduling coordination establishes work sequences avoiding conflicts—typical approach is elevator contractor installs guide rails and structural components first, then glass contractor installs panels in sections from bottom upward, with elevator contractor returning to install elevator car, doors, and commission systems after glass installation substantially complete. Daily coordination procedures include morning meetings or communication sessions reviewing that day's planned activities, identifying potential conflicts, and agreeing work sequences and safety exclusions, implementing permit-to-work systems for activities affecting other contractor including power shutdowns, hot work, shaft access for material hoisting, and work affecting installed components, and maintaining continuous communication via radio or phone allowing immediate notification of unexpected issues or hazards developing during work. Physical protection measures include covering installed elevator equipment with protective sheeting or boards preventing damage from glass installation activities, establishing physical barriers delineating work areas within shaft when both contractors working simultaneously, and implementing tag-out systems preventing inadvertent activation of elevator systems during glass installation work. Safety coordination addresses shared responsibility for fall protection systems, agreed exclusion zones preventing workers from being positioned beneath overhead work by either contractor, and unified emergency response procedures including rescue equipment locations, emergency contact procedures, and responsibilities for different emergency scenarios. Interface management documents all coordination agreements in writing distributed to supervisors and affected workers, establishes escalation procedures for unresolved conflicts requiring senior management or project management intervention, and maintains coordination meeting minutes recording decisions and action items for future reference. Quality interface management includes hold point inspections where both contractors verify installation compliance before subsequent work proceeds, protection of installed glass from elevator installation damage through barriers and procedural controls, and defect management procedures clearly defining responsibility for damage and establishing repair approval and cost allocation processes. Critical success factor is establishing respectful working relationships between contractors recognising shared interest in project success and worker safety, avoiding territorial or defensive attitudes that impede effective coordination. Project management oversight should actively monitor coordination effectiveness, intervening to resolve conflicts before they escalate to safety incidents or project delays.