Frustrated building owners and elevator modernization

As a company that has been around since 1908 we maintain a lot of older elevator systems.  When elevators age their ability to reliably service buildings diminish which at times frustrate building owners and building management.

It is our experience that elevators over 20 years old may begin to see increased shut downs and nuisance issues.  This means if you are a building owner or management you should begin to work with an elevator company on budgeting for a new elevator system around this time.

[Old controller prior to modernization]

 [New control system installed during modernization]

As you can see there is a dramatic difference in the two controllers.  The older controller has a lot of moving relays that provide more failure opportunities.  The new controller has microprocessor boards and a few relays. 

If buildings change management the new management company may not know the previous correspondence between the elevator company and the previous management company.  It is important that the new management and the elevator company are on the same page as far as expectations of the elevator equipment and equipment replacement.  We run into this issue a few times every year, all parties involved need to be proactive in the dissemination of information before people begin to get upset that their 30-60 year old elevator system begins to have chronic reliability issues.

If you have any questions or would like information from Colley Elevator you can go to www.colleyelevator.com, email Craigz@colleyelevator.com or call 630-766-7230.