Fatal elevator accident in 2006 in Tokyo
The 2006 Minato Ward elevator accident was an incident in June 2006 which shook Japanese public confidence in the safety of elevators around the country. In June 2006, in Minato, Tokyo, a 16-year-old high school student was killed by an elevator maintained by SEC Elevator Co Ltd ("SEC") but originally manufactured and maintained by another elevator manufacturer and maintenance company. He was backing out of it with his bicycle when the elevator suddenly rose with the doors still open, causing asphyxiation. Investigations began relating to this fatality.
In the process of this investigation, elevator safety in Japan came under question, with media attention focused on Schindler Group, a Swiss elevator and escalator manufacturer which at the time operating in Japan as . Of the 8,800 Schindler elevators installed in Japan, 85 have trapped people.
Following the incident, the Minato Ward Public Housing Corporation ("MWPHC") replaced all five Schindler elevators at the City Heights Takeshiba complex ("Takeshiba Complex") in the condominium with models manufactured by Mitsubishi.
Responsibility.
Elevator maintenance had been carried out by Japan Electric Power Service Inc. ("JEPS") from April 2005, and by SEC from April 2006 until the time of the accident, not by the manufacturer. The "International Herald Tribune" and "Asahi Shimbun" reported on June 14 that "Loose bolts and worn brake pads, evidence of poor maintenance, likely played a central role in the elevator accident". In the article it can also be read that "it is the responsibility of the maintenance company to ensure that such bolts are tightly fastened".
Schindler pointed out that the maintenance of the elevator was carried out by a non-affiliated maintenance company and that the company does not have an indication of a product design mistake so far. However, Tokyo Metropolitan Police concluded that both Schindler and maintenance company were responsible for the accident. Five people had been reported to have been prosecuted. Schindler, Minato Ward Public Housing Corporation, and SEC, were publicly criticized for having displayed an evasive attitude toward the Japanese police and the condominiums' residents. They did not respond to or attend any public meetings for the first eight days, although they claimed to have fully cooperated with the investigation.
Litigation: Criminal and civil lawsuits.
The accident resulted in three legal proceedings: one criminal suit and two civil suits.
Repercussions of the Takeshiba accident.
One of the tangible by-products of the Takeshiba accident and the public debate on elevator and escalator safety it engendered was the passing of an amendment to the Enforcement Order to the Building Standards Act (see Article 129-10 of the Enforcement Order) ("Order"), which went into effect on September 28, 2009. The Order obligates the building owners to install government approved UCMP (unintended car movement protection) safety devices (which will automatically stop elevator cars if they move while the doors remain open) to all newly installed elevators. The provisions of the Order will be mandatory only as to new elevator installations, but not to existing elevators, although installation of UCMP devices to all elevators are strongly encouraged.
As of October 2019, ten years after the Order above was put into effect, however, only about 20% of the approximately 700,000 elevators regularly inspected in Japan in privately owned buildings, and about 24% of the elevators installed in national government buildings were equipped with UCMP devices, representing a negligible increase from the previous year. The relatively slow adoption of UCMP devices appears to be primarily because of to the high cost of installing such devices. To promote the installation of UCMP devices, some municipalities and local governments, including Minato Ward where the 2006 fatal elevator accident occurred, are offering subsidies to building owners of qualified multi-unit dwellings to install UCMP devices.
Wider concern.
Public concern over the Minato Ward case has not been limited merely to Schindler elevators. The Asia Times Online reported that in response to a flood of inquiries from customers, including building owners, the third-largest domestic elevator company, Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp., was offering free inspections of their elevators, while Mitsubishi Electric Corp., the leading firm, and Hitachi Ltd, which is the second-largest, were responding to requests on a case-by-case basis. A recent Japanese survey showed that 65% of the students interviewed are uncomfortable with elevators following the Minato incident.
In Hong Kong, following the Minato incident, many news agencies drew similarities between the Minato case and the 2002 Fanling Hong Kong case. As a result, Hong Kong's Public Housing Authority was questioned about the 33 public estates with Schindler elevators. The Housing Authority stated that all of its elevators are maintained by the original manufacturer (in Hong Kong's case, by "Jardine Schindler", a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson) and all elevators are inspected fully once every week. In comparison, Hong Kong law requires a full annual examination, load testing every 5 years, and an inspection every month. Some buildings have inspections every 2 weeks.
On July 20, 2006, it was reported by Asahi, one of Japan's largest newspapers, that an increasing number of software problems have been spotted, leading to 113 elevators requiring a software replacement.
Schindler later sold nearly all of its Japanese assets to Otis in 2016. Schindler Elevator K.K., however, still exists.
References.
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