Escalator Safety Brush Promotion Raises Funds For EESF

For the past 18 years the EESF (Elevator & Escalator Safety Foundation) has been educating children, senior citizens and the general public with its safety messages. Each year this non-profit organization seeks the assistance of individuals, schools, groups and corporations to fulfill its vision of ‘educating the public on the safe and proper use of elevators, escalators and moving walks through informational programs.’

Last September, EHC Global announced to its customers that for each Escalator Safety Brush kit purchased, $10.00 USD would be donated to the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation to help support their programs. EHC safety brushes are specially designed to reduce accidents caused by side-step entrapments.

The promotion took place during the last quarter of 2008 and thanks to EHC customers, US$2,860 will be donated this month.

The EESF is seeking to further spread its message on safety as thousands of passengers are still being injured each year. In 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that 11,000 people were injured on escalators across the US and side-step entrapments were one of the major causes of injuries.

Commenting on the initiative was Monica Stoer, General Manager Sales & Marketing – The Americas

“EHC has been a longstanding supporter of EESF financially but also through volunteer work. This year we took a different approach because we wanted our customers to know that they are also contributing, through us, to the safety and wellbeing of families when they buy our escalator safety brushes.”

EHC Hosts Training Session For Durham College Escalator Technician Apprentices

EHC’s head office in Oshawa, Canada, recently hosted the elevator / escalator apprentices from Durham College to conduct training on escalator handrails and safety brushes. The apprentice program at Durham College has about 19 students enrolled this year.

EHC provided the students with training on various aspects of escalator handrail production, installation techniques (endless vs. field splicing), proper set up on the escalator, maintenance, and troubleshooting. A review of EHC’s D-Flector escalator safety brush and installation was included in the training to discuss how the product aids in the prevention of side step entrapment accidents.

The joint effort between EHC and Durham College was coordinated by EHC’s Monica Stoer Account Manager and David Ball, Service Manager. They arranged for the apprentices to have a tour of EHC’s manufacturing facility so that the apprentices could compare and contrast conventional rubber handrail production to EHC’s state-of-the-art production of their patented NT handrails – made from a thermoplastic elastomer. During this tour, the students also learned about EHC’s ACCENT initiatives such as the unlimited custom colour options of the ColourRail product line – colours that are not available with rubber handrails.

EHC and Durham College hope to continue this collaborative effort on an annual basis.