Proprietary Elevator Equipment – choose Elevator Maintenance Company wisely

Last week I had information on firms in New York that have untrained people working on elevator systems that have had catastrophic issues.   This week will be short and will be about Elevator Companies taking on elevators they know nothing about and are not straight with building owners about their level of competency for that specific system.

With the growing amount of proprietary equipment and lag time in service tools being available to elevator personnel we run into many elevators that may not be a good fit for maintaining.  There are some elevators we decline and give our recommendation to stay with the original manufacturer or a company with a different skill set than our own and there are some that we preface our relationship with “there is a chance you may need to call the OEM if there are significant issues”. 

What we see on the street talking to building owners is that they are tired of being mishandled, overpaying, having a lack of communication, etc from large multinational elevator companies.  We take on elevator equipment that may be foreign to our company only when we tell the building ownership that while we can maintain the elevators, there is a slight possibility that we do not hold the resolution on this particular system if there is a significant issue.  Most building owners are fine with this and move forward with our company.

What I have been seeing more frequently is that there is not a conversation between the new vendor and the property manager for some buildings indicating that there are road blocks that we may not be able to handle.  When there isn’t clear communication about the possibility of not being able to fix the elevator it becomes a large issue when the elevator breaks and there isn’t a clear resolution.  I get a phone call saying "ABC elevator are having a problem with a Thyssen TAC 7 Million can you help us?  They say the elevator needs all new boards.  The elevator has been shut down for 3 weeks and they are quoting us $9,500.00.".   This is not a good scenario.

I was at a building on Friday that had a non-union company servicing the elevator system.  There was an issue with the first floor car button that the previous company could not remedy.  We got a call, I got a picture of the button, got the mechanic the button base and everything worked fine the next day.  The button had been a problem at the building for over a month. I was told from the building ownership during my visit that the non-union elevator company spent 4-5 hours trying to repair the button and could not get it to work.  The button base costs $25.00 and just needed replacement. 

I do not believe that collecting money from a building is a good business practice when you have no idea even how to change the buttons on the elevator system or to identify when a button needs to be changed.   When you are shopping for an elevator maintenance provider make sure they have worked on your equipment, if they have not make sure they give you a clear understanding of their capabilities so you do not get stuck with out a Plan B.   

If you have a good elevator maintenance company they most likely can take care of most of your elevator issues if they use their resources.  There are some times we cannot and the OEM will need to take over.  Make sure you have a company who will clearly communicate their limitations so no one is surprised.  If you have an honest hardworking elevator company in your corner they will give you good information on how to proceed.

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.