Events

(© European Union 2022 - Source : EP)

It is with sadness that EFESME, its staff and members join the feeling of grief that has struck the European Union and all its citizens for the sudden loss of the President of the European Parliament, Mr. David Maria Sassoli.

On the occasion of the funeral ceremony in honour of President Sassoli, EFESME wishes to remember him and the work carried out during his mandate, which coincided with the terrible period of the pandemic that still affects Europe and the world.

At such a tragic time, President Sassoli was one of the figures who most urged for a cohesive and strong Europe, able to face the Covid-19 challenge not only from a medical point of view, but also from a socio-economic one in support of the Union.

And the post-Covid scenario was in the thoughts of President Sassoli, who hoped for a Europe that is present and close to citizens and businesses to achieve the best results and a strong recovery. Concepts that underpinned his long and successful career in the European Parliament, first as an MEP and then as its President, and which should be carried forward by his successor within a virtuous path of recovery.

With his passing, the European Union and all its citizens lose a leader and a champion, but his work will always remain as an example for the future.

Mr. Ralph Kanzler, former and longtime First President of VmA, the German member of EFESME, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly earlier this month.

It is with great sadness that EFESME as a whole, its Secretariat and its members learn the news.
Mr. Kanzler, Ralph, was a committed fighter for lift SMEs, in Germany and in Europe, a great collaborator of EFESME, and a dear friend of ours. He will be sorely missed by many colleagues and friends, for his work and his friendship.

His work within the Federation and his interest in the practical applications of digital technology in the reality of lift SMEs supported the activities of the EFESME Digital Working Group, of which he was one of the convenors. His hands-on approach to digitalisation and its potential for lift SMEs was to be, and wants be, the basis of many activities planned for 2022. EFESME will follow his legacy, so that his ideas and proposals will continue to support lift SMEs in Europe.

Most of all, Ralph was a good friend.

EFESME as a whole, its President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary General and members all extend their deepest and most sincere condolences to Ralph's family and friends.

Upon the kind invitation of its Italian member ANACAM and its President, Mr. Andrea Codecò, EFESME participated in ANACAM 2021 EXPO (25-27 November), the lift exhibition organised by ANACAM to celebrate its 50 years supporting and protecting Italian lift SMEs. The event, which took place in Milan at the SUPERSTUDIO Events location, was the first opportunity of meeting and confrontation after two years without sector fairs of such importance and scope. For EFESME, it was an honour to be among the invited guests and to be able to present its activities and initiatives to such a large and interested audience.

During the afternoon of Thursday 25^th November, there was an important moment dedicated to SBS - Small Business Standards and the activities that are developed together with EFESME in order to write standards and policies that are SME friendly. The technical work with SBS sees EFESME experts engaged in several Working Groups of CEN TC 10 and ISO TC 178, as well as in several technical groups of the European Commission, such as the Notified Bodies, the Commission Expert Group on Machinery and the Commission Expert Group on Lifts. This direct technical participation, also supported by EFESME's national members, allows the experts to actively intervene in the drafting of new standards or in the revision of existing versions, as well as to promote the creation of SME friendly policies and working environment in order to create the opportunity for lift SMEs to thrive and develop at their best.

The topics touched upon during the panel on technical activities with SBS were, for example:

• • CEN TC 10 WG 13
  • CEN TC 10 WG 1 & TF HaS
  • ISO TC 178
  • Notified Bodies for Lifts
  • Commission Experts Group on Mahcinery and ongoing revision of the Machinery Directive
  • Importance of digitalisation and cybersecurity for the sector

The topics will then be taken up for a European and international audience during the SBS Lift webinar that will take place online on 14^th December 2021.

NEW! WATCH THE RECORDING OF THE SBS LIFT WEBINAR AND LEARN MORE ABOUT IT

More info

On the morning of Friday 26^th November, on the other hand, within the many interesting activities organised by ANACAM, EFESME and Interlift AFAG were the guests of a panel aimed at presenting the next edition of Interlift, postponed from October 2021 to April 2022.

In this context, EFESME had the valuable opportunity to present the ambitious project it has put in place, namely the creation of a collective pavilion for the Federation, its members and their lift SMEs. The objective of the collective pavilion is twofold: on the one hand, it wants to underline the European nature of the Federation, and to stress once again that it is the teamwork involving several actors that allows to achieve great results for the lift SMEs that EFESME represents. On the other hand, it wants to give the lift SMEs it supports the possibility of participating more easily in an international event of the magnitude of Interlift, an unmissable showcase to make their novelties and products known.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EFESME PAVILLION 

On this occasion, EFESME also organised its Board of Directors and General Assembly, which saw members summarise the activities developed in 2021 and plan many more for the year to come, so that the Federation can always better support lift SMEs and their needs and positions. EFESME members were very satisfied with the activities carried out and expressed full support for the technical activities of the experts involved.

  press release

EFESME wants to congratulate the organisers for the successful event, which saw a lot of SMEs displaying their products, presenting their novelties, and meeting with customers and curious people after such a long time.
In a difficult period like this, occasions like ANACAM 2021, in full compliance with all the regulations in force, was a great opportunity to meet and restart, a cautiously positive momentum towards a better 2022.

The last event of the year organised by EFESME in collaboration with SBS - Small Business Standards was the SBS Lift Webinar, entirely dedicated to the work carried out by SBS and EFESME experts during the current year in the working groups followed within CEN and ISO, but also within the Notified Bodies and some of the working groups of the European Commission.

The event opened with its first institutional part, during which the EFESME President, Mr. Massimo Bezzi, and the SBS representative and technical coordinator for the lift sector, Mr. Andrea Raffaelli, presented the two associations and the work and activities they are carrying out together to ensure that SMEs are duly represented within the European and international standardisation processes, and to make SMEs themselves more and more aware of the role they can play in developing SME-friendly standards, actively participating in standardisation itself.

President Bezzi also highlighted the Federation's work during 2021 despite the many difficulties due to the continuing pandemic situation, while Raffaelli stressed the importance of the continuous cooperation between EFESME and SBS to ensure the best results for the SMEs they represent together, also in parallel and related sectors to the lift industry, such as construction, digital and machinery.

SBS - SMALL BUSINESS STANDARDS & ITS ACTIVITIES 

  More info

The technical part of the meeting was opened by Mr. Tiziano Caresani, who explained the latest news and updates from CEN TC 10 / WG 13 - Vertical lifting appliance with enclosed carrier and the Commission Expert Group on Machinery.

Mr. Caresani, who has been involved in the front line of these two working groups for EFESME and SBS for many years, went into detail regarding, on the one hand, the ongoing revision of standards EN 81-30, EN 81-31 and EN 81-42, paying particular attention to the work done to respond to the comments submitted by the HAS Consultant in order to develop standards that are understandable and accessible to all. One point of particular interest that Mr. Caresani is focusing on is whether or not to include in the three standards the table of Performance Levels for Electric Safety Devices, which could potentially create difficulties within the lift market.

On the other hand, Mr. Caresani illustrated the work in progress within the Commission Expert Group on Machinery (former Machinery Directive Working Group), which is particularly active at the moment in view of the proposed revision of the Directive 2006/42/EC itself by the European Commission (HERE the EC proposal).
The topic is of crucial importance for the SMEs of the sector, which are the main actor in the field of lifting platforms, thanks to the great possibilities of product customisation. EFESME presented comments to the proposed revision of the Directive (available HERE) and participated in the drafting of the related SBS position paper (HERE) - both documents best exemplify the position of European lift SMEs on this important revision, which must be a tool to boost SME activity and not an obstacle to prevent them from thriving.

UPDATES ON TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES - WG13 & MACHINERY DIRECTIVE 

  More info 

The webinar then continued with a look at CEN-CENELEC's work to revise the EN 81 series of standards, with Mr. Ivan Ferrarini explaining the latest developments in the standardisation process from the perspective of a lift SME and the impact on its daily work. Mr. Ferrarini explained in detail the current status of fundamental standards for the sector, such as EN 81-20, EN13015 and EN ISO 8100-1, and what is the position of the European Commission regarding the positions developed within the specific working groups that have the task to carry out the revision.

Mr. Ferrarini also focused on plant maintenance, market surveillance and inspection for use of lifts, fundamental aspects that involve lift SMEs in the first line of their daily activities. He also explained the current status of the special tools available and how the current legislation has evolved over the last twenty years. Finally, Mr. Ferrarini focused on SIL-related circuits, what they are and what is the state of the art in this field, in order to give a complete overview of some important aspects for SMEs represented by EFESME and SBS in the WGs involved at European and international level.

EVOLUTION IN THE STANDARDISATION PROCESS WITH THE EYES OF A SME 

  More info  

The event concluded with an exhaustive and comprehensive presentation by EFESME Secretary General and SBS expert Luciano Faletto, who pulled the strings of what had been said by his colleagues Caresani and Ferrarini and then gave an overview of several activities followed during 2021, such as:

• • The functioning of the various bodies involved in the revision of the EN81 series and how they relate to each other, to explain the complexity of the updating work;
  • The activity of the Notified Bodies for Lifts and its Ad Hoc Group Lifts in this 2021, especially regarding the certificates of conformity and their duration, and who is in charge of verifying the conformity with the Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) - in this respect, a working group has been set up to find a common position, as opinions are now very different between the various stakeholders involved;
  • The activity in ISO TC 178, which runs parallel to that of CEN TC 10, and with which it coordinates to develop future international standards based on the European ones; ISO TC 178 has also recognised the relevance for the cybersecurity sector, and has dedicated a specialised WG12 to explore potential and risks;
  • The importance of developing digital skills and cybersecurity, two topics that are still not very well known to lift SMEs, but on which EFESME has been pushing for many years, having understood the cruciality of digitalisation for the market.

Thanks to his many years of experience in the sector, Secretary General Faletto was able to identify the most dangerous points for SMEs, which could create the risk of driving them out of the market even partially. EFESME and SBS are focusing on these issues, such as digitisation and cybersecurity, as well as knowledge and awareness of standardisation, to ensure that the SMEs represented have the tools to face the challenges and work in an environment that is as favourable as possible for them.

2021 UPDATES FROM LIFT STANDARDISATION AND WORKING GROUPS 

  More info   

The event as a whole was an important training and information opportunity, which saw all parties involved very satisfied with the content presented and the opportunity given to SMEs to learn more about the key issues in detail and to interact with the experts themselves.
It is the firm intention of EFESME and SBS to continue with the organisation of such events in the years to come, in order to provide SMEs with as much information as possible to keep them informed and aware of how standardisation is progressing, how they can participate and how they are successfully represented where it counts.

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE 

EFESME would like to thank the speakers for their hard work and all the guests, and hopes to see you at the next event - organised during the next edition of Interlift (26-29 April 2022)!

The latest meeting of the Board of Directors and General Assembly took place during the ANACAM 2021 EXPO.

The last EFESME Board of Directors and General Assembly took place on November 26, in the prestigious setting of the ANACAM 2021 EXPO and at the kind invitation of the Italian association and its President, Mr. Andrea Codebò.

During the meeting, the EFESME members had the opportunity to summarise together all the satisfactory activity carried out in 2021 despite all the difficulties of the case, and to plan the numerous projects that will see the Federation, its technical team and its members fully committed for the year ahead.

The meeting was also the occasion for a renewal of some members of the Board of Directors, proof of the always dynamic nature of EFESME and the full involvement of its national members. For the coming year and beyond, EFESME is ready to be more and more involved also at national level, in order to meet the SMEs it represents directly on the territory and to dialogue with them about their needs, positions and requests on the most varied topics.

Indeed, the ANACAM 2021 EXPO was the perfect setting to bring members together - the three-day event was the perfect opportunity to see each other in person again and build momentum towards 2022.

The EFESME Board of Directors, its team and its technical experts, and all its members want to look with cautious optimism towards 2022, aware that the current situation has not yet been resolved, but certain and convinced of the importance of the activities to be developed in favour and support of lift SMEs across Europe, with our national and European partners, to build a future in which to thrive.

As in the previous years, also in 2021, despite the difficulties created by the ongoing pandemic situation, SBS and EFESME have continued to participate in the main working groups within the European and international standardisation in the lift sector, so as to ensure that SMEs are always represented and their voice present and respected.

On 14th December, the first edition of the SBS Lift Webinar on the latest updates in lift standardisation will take place online, the last activity of a year full of news for the lift industry and its standards.
The Lift Webinar aims to give lift SMEs represented by EFESME and SBS a useful and comprehensive overview of the latest technical updates from the working groups our experts attend. The online format is also intended to be an easily accessible platform for SMEs and their employees to access a training and information event with ease and convenience.

The 2021 edition of the SBS Lift Webinar therefore aims to give lift SMEs a useful and comprehensive overview of the latest technical updates from:

• CEN / TC 10 / WG 1 - Lifts and service lifts
• CEN / TC 10 / WG 13 - Vertical lifting appliance with enclosed carrier
• ISO / TC 178 - Lifts, escalators and moving walks

The Webinar, which will take place online after the CEN TC 10 plenary, will be the perfect opportunity for SMEs to meet EFESME/SBS technical experts, and ask them any questions they may have about these latest innovations and updates in the standards that will certainly impact their daily work.

Furthermore, the objective of the Webinar is also to give as complete an idea as possible of the activities that will be carried out in 2021 within these working groups, so that we can already give SMEs and all participants an overview of what will be new to expect during 2022 and the years to come in terms of European and international standardisation.

We hope to see many of you there with lots of questions for our experts and colleagues! 

Should you have any question on the event, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.