Iowa § 89A.1 - 89A.1 Definitions.

§ 89A.1. 89A.1 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, except as otherwise expressly provided: 1. “Alteration” means any change made to an existing conveyance, other than the repair or replacement of damaged, worn, or broken parts necessary for normal maintenance. 2. “Conveyance” means an elevator, dumbwaiter, escalator, moving walk, lift, or inclined or vertical wheelchair lift subject to regulation under this chapter, and includes hoistways, rails, guides, and all other related mechanical and electrical equipment. 3. “Department” means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. 4. “Director” means the director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. 5. “Dormant conveyance” means a conveyance whose power feed lines have been disconnected from the mainline disconnect switch and is one of the following: a. An electric elevator, material lift, or dumbwaiter whose suspension ropes have been removed, whose car and counterweight rest at the bottom of the hoistway, and whose hoistway doors have been permanently barricaded or sealed in the closed position on the hoistway side. b. A hydraulic elevator, material lift, or dumbwaiter whose car rests at the bottom of the hoistway, whose pressure piping has been disassembled and a section removed from the premises; whose hoistway doors have been permanently barricaded or sealed in the closed position on the hoistway side; and, if provided, whose suspension ropes have been removed and the counterweights landed at the bottom of the hoistway. c. An escalator or moving walk whose entrances have been permanently barricaded. d. A rack and pinion or screw column elevator, whose motor has been removed, platform lowered to the bottom, and entrances barricaded. 6. “Dumbwaiter” means a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped with a car which moves in guides in a substantially vertical direction, when the floor area does not exceed nine square feet, the total compartment height does not exceed four feet, the capacity does not exceed five hundred pounds, and which is used exclusively for carrying materials. 7. “Elevator” means a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped with a car or platform which moves in guides in a substantially vertical direction, and which serves two or more floors of a building or structure. “Elevator” does not include a dumbwaiter, endless belt, conveyor, chain or bucket hoist, construction hoist, or other device used for the primary purpose of elevating or lowering building or other materials and not used as a means of conveyance for individuals, and does not include tiering, piling, feeding, or other machines or devices giving service within only one story. 8. “Escalator” means a power-driven, inclined, continuous stairway used for raising or lowering passengers. 9. “Freight elevator” means an elevator used for carrying freight and on which only the operator and persons necessary for unloading and loading the freight are permitted to ride. 10. “Inclined or vertical wheelchair lift” means a lift used to transport a wheelchair as specified in the American society of mechanical engineers safety standard for platform lifts and stairway chairlifts, A18.1. 11. “Inspector” means an inspector employed by the department for the purpose of administering this chapter. 12. “Lift” means a device consisting of a power-driven endless belt, provided with steps or platforms and handholds attached to it for the transportation of persons from floor to floor. 13. “Material lift elevator” means an elevator limited in use to the movement of materials. 14. “Moving walk” means a type of passenger-carrying device on which passengers stand or walk, and in which the passenger-carrying surface remains parallel to its direction in motion and is uninterrupted. 15. “New installation” means a conveyance the construction or relocation of which is begun, or for which an application for a new installation permit is filed, on or after the effective date of rules relating to those permits adopted by the director under authority of this chapter. All other installations are existing installations. 16. “Owner” means the owner of a conveyance, unless the conveyance is a new installation or is undergoing major alterations, in which case the owner shall be considered Wed Dec 10 22:33:33 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 89A.1 (21, 0) §89A.1, ELEVATORS 2 the person responsible for the installation or alteration of the conveyance until the conveyance has passed final inspection by the department. 17. “Passenger elevator” means an elevator that is used to carry persons other than the operator and persons necessary for loading and unloading. 18. “Safety board” means the elevator safety board created in section 89A.13. 19. “Special inspector” means an inspector commissioned by the director, and not employed by the department. [C75, 77, 79, 81, §104.1] 84 Acts, ch 1094, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1157, §1, 2; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §937 C87, §89A.1 88 Acts, ch 1025, §3; 96 Acts, ch 1186, §23; 99 Acts, ch 68, §4; 2000 Acts, ch 1097, §2; 2004 Acts, ch 1107, §11, 12, 30; 2007 Acts, ch 16, §2; 2008 Acts, ch 1029, §1; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1804 – 1806 Wed Dec 10 22:33:33 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 89A.1 (21, 0)