Manager Engineering Electrical

Mechanical systems to prevent this were invented in the early days of lifts...I can't remember the company who first patented the system, but a quick search on the internet should provide this information.

I just typed 'Lift anti fall mechanism' into google...it wasn't hard. 135,000 hits

Free falling lifts are a Hollywood invention... the problem with lifts is them being stuck between floors, not falling.

Del

I'm not aware how it goes in English speaking countries, but in my these systems had been named the "lift parachuting" . As Del said, they designed as completely mechanics being very reliable.

BTW Pneumatic lift needn't such system as it can work as a real parachute.

When I was a boy, I lived part of a summer at a construction site where they had an elevator for materials, that had a motor with no reverse. So they put a wet sand pit at the bottom and simply dropped the thing (from the roof of a two story building, so not too far), with a firm rule that it must be empty. Of course, that was an unavoidable temptation to an eleven year old boy and I snuck on every time I could. Heck of a ride and a possible explanation for my somewhat addlepated mind.

Here's the OSHA guidelines for the US, I know they don't apply in your country, but DO apply if you wish to keep your workers safe:

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/recognition.html

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/standards.html