Vote Colley Elevator for Elevator Worlds 2025 Best Contractor – North

 

Colley Elevator is excited to announce we have been nominated for Elevator Worlds 2025 Best Contractor – North award once again.  We brought the Ellie home in 2019. 2020, 2022 & 2024.   We would like to keep the Ellie back to the Chicagoland area so please place your vote for Colley Elevator.  You can vote once a day from each device you have. 

Voting takes place 8/1/25 to 8/11/25

https://elevatorworld.com/contests/the-ellies/the-ellies-2025-voting

For those at Colley Elevator who work tirelessly to be a different elevator company and do great things for our customers, let us know you support us fighting the good fight!

Thank you Elevator World for having this contest and letting us give it a go for the 2025 year.  It is a lot of fun to participate! 

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me

at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Hydraulic Elevator Modernization – Highwood, IL

 

This is a pretty typical modernization we recently completed.  Each year as safety codes and regulations change, our work with gets a bit more complicated and more involved with other trades.  This building needed a new fire panel and a lot of associated fire work in addition to our semi vanilla elevator modernization.

New equipment providers 

Controllers – Alpha Elevator 

Door operators – GAL MOVFR

Fixtures – Innovation Industries w/Rath camera

Power unit – MEI w/Maxton valve

Visual communication – CAT 5 line[building supplied & Towne Monitoring]

 

Elevator controller – The existing controller was a Schumacher controller with 3 solid state boards.  We are replacing it with a more user friendly Alpha Elevator Controller which not only has replacement parts available, but also technical support for any company that calls.  

 

[Old Schumacher Elevator controller]

 

[New Alpha Elevator controller]

Elevator door operator – The elevator had MAC door equipment which we replaced with a new GAL MOVFR II door operator and new MAC hatch equipment.

 

[Old MAC door operator]

[New GAL MOVFR II door operator]

Elevator fixtures – We installed Innovation Industry's hall and car fixtures to replace the original buttons.  The car station was an integral, which means it is one piece which integrates into the wall, so we had to be extremely precise with our measurements.

 

[Old car station]

[New Innovation car station w/Rath Phone]

[Old hall station]

 

[New Innovation main landing hall station]

Machine room layout – Our new machine room layout creates a nice, clean and professional environment. 

[Old machine room layout]

[New machine room layout]

Turnkey – The building wanted a turnkey project and we had great partners to complete the fire alarm and electrical components.

[Old mainline disconnect]

[New main line disconnect]

 

Visual communication - VAM – We had an electrician pull a CAT 5 cable to our machine room for visual communication and we engaged Towne Monitoring for the answering service.  Rath Smartview was our camera partner on this project.

Take away – We encourage building owners to take a proactive approach to equipment replacement. When equipment gets 20-30 years old, and a building’s expectations are that the elevators are to run reliably, it is a good idea to start planning when it should be replaced.  

Team work– The sales person and the project team who finishes typically get the glory on a project. In between the initial contract sale and the final acceptance are many other people who work on the project to make it successful. From the truck driver to the engineer to the billing department to the assist when needed, 11 Colley Elevator employees where involved in the project and we had tremendous team work on it. Thank you everyone. Without you we would not have had such a successful delivery! Let’s not forget our great material supplier participation!  A special shout out to our patient building through the whole process.

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Information on State of Illinois Adoption of Elevator Code A17.1 2022 - Door Lock Monitoring

Find information below on our new cannon ball code that will be coming very soon after Springfield, IL approves it.  This is extremely important for everyone that has an interest in elevators as it changes the way we test elevators and may force buildings to modernize their older systems.

Testing – When the code comes into effect, we will be adding a few more items we will have to test. This may require 2 people and an additional hour of time.

Testing is the easier part of this new code.  The more challenging part is elevators that where installed 2004 and earlier.  Most of these elevators may not have 'Door Lock Monitoring' so buildings will have to add it to their systems or replace their controller/door operator. 

Question 1: What is door lock monitoring?

Door lock monitoring refers to a system that prevents an elevator from moving unless its doors are fully closed and locked. A door lock monitor is designed to monitor the position of an elevator’s car doors and prevent automatic operation if any door issues are detected, such as with door wiring, door locks, door contacts or a door system bypass. A door lock monitor is intended to ensure that an elevator cannot operate in such circumstances, which would prevent the elevator doors from opening automatically and any passenger falling into the hoistway, being crushed during unexpected movement of the elevator, or otherwise being exposed to the danger of injury or death.

Question 2: Which elevators require door lock monitoring?

Door lock monitoring is required by the 2022 edition ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators (ASME A17.1 (2022)). The door lock monitoring requirement in ASME A17.1 (2022) applies to all automatic passenger and freight elevators in the State of Illinois. Under the proposed rules, elevators permitted for installation after January 1, 2026, will be required to have door lock monitoring at the time of installation while existing elevators will be required to have door lock monitoring by January 1, 2029. Some existing elevators have door lock monitoring in place. Check with your elevator company if you are unsure of the status of door lock monitors for your elevator(s).

Question 3: When did the Board vote to adopt ASME A17.1 (2022) including door lock monitoring for all existing automatic passenger and freight elevators?

The Board voted at its August 13, 2024 meeting to amend the administrative rules, as required by the Act. In particular, the Board voted to adopt the ASME A17.1 (2022), which includes the door lock monitoring requirement for all passenger and freight elevators, both new and existing. At the Board’s November 7, 2024 meeting, the Board voted to extend the date of compliance for door lock monitoring for existing elevators to 3-years after the effective date of the 2022 code implementation. At the Board’s March 6, 2025 meeting, the Board voted to approve specific language for the administrative rules.

Question 4: Why did door lock monitoring become a requirement?

To protect the elevator-riding public from risk of serious injury and death associated with open elevator doors and elevator movement. New York City led the nation in instituting door lock monitoring after tragic incidents in 2011 and 2019 in which elevator passenger deaths occurred.

Question 5: When do elevator owners have to have door lock monitors in place to comply with the door lock monitoring requirement?

Under proposed rules, elevators permitted for installation after January 1, 2026, will be required to have door lock monitoring at the time of installation while existing elevators will be required to have door lock monitoring by January 1, 2029.

Question 6: How can existing elevators implement door lock monitoring?

Compliance can be achieved in two ways: 1) Adding an overlay; or 2) Modernizing the elevator. The approach taken will be determined by the elevator owner and may depend on factors such as the age of the equipment, usage, budget, and the owner’s plans for the building. 

Question 7: Who can I contact about getting door lock monitoring on my elevator?

A list of all licensed elevator contractors is available at:

https://sfm.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/sfm/sfmdocuments/documents/reports/elevator-safety/elevatorlicensedcontractors.pdf

Take away – Ask your current contractor questions, get information on if you comply or if you need to do work.  The State of Illinois has done a great job of getting this information out to us so we can prepare building owners.  This is just the start.

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Notice of Obsolescence – Schindler Elevator – HPBNA Push Buttons

 

Schindler Elevator has obsoleted their Schindler 330 hydraulic elevator push button board the HPBNA.  What this means is that Adams Elevator/Schindler Elevator no longer will sell this board. If your push button goes out, we will have to rely on a used board, repaired board or a 3^rd party to procure the board.   There are a lot of these elevators out there and this will impact many buildings.

What’s the story?  October 1^st, 2024 Schindler published a document indicating that the HPBNA hall push button boards, typically found on 321a and 330a elevators, are not supported and discontinued.   Schindler is strongly recommending everyone to upgrade their elevator portfolios with LONPBI boards. 

Who will this impact? – Anyone with a Schindler 321a or 330a.   

Are parts still available? – Yes and no.  We cannot buy genuine parts from our vendor Adams Elevator(Schindler's parts company).  We can still get the boards repaired, which is always a coinflip if they will work.  Another vendor, World Electronics, has come up with a replacement board.

Take away – If you have a Schindler 330a elevator we recommend consulting your elevator company for 2 reasons. First because there is a CRIPNA board that is prone to failure which can cost thousands, possibly more than ten thousand dollars, to replace. Secondly the push button boards are obsoleted.  Maybe it is time to consider modernization?

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107. 

Elevator 101 – CAMICB CEU Approved Course – Morton Grove, IL

 

We hosted our 4th Elevator 101 class on Tuesday April 8th in Morton Grove, IL. The class, which is approved for continuing education credit, was attended by approximately 36 people from 15 different property management firms. In it we discussed the following:

• Types of elevators

• Governing codes & certification requirements

• Common elevator violations

• Fireman's service exercise & hoist way access

• Testing requirements

• Obsolete equipment

• Maintenance agreements

• Modernization projects

• New A17.1 2022 Elevator Safety code

The goal of the class is to help property managers understand what is behind the elevator industry's curtain as it can sometimes be confusing, not well explained, and expensive. We want our property managers to have the ability to explain to their buildings common elevator questions, code issues and help plan for capital expenditures. After the class, they won’t be experts but will have better questions to ask and become more proactive with elevator service providers. A better educated property manager is a better building advocate and a better customer.

Elevator 101 is approved by Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB) to fulfill continuing education requirements for the CMCA® certification. This course is approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit.

Our next Elevator 101 CAMICB continuing education class will tentatively be in FALL. Stay tuned for more info.  Colley Elevator was just approved by IDFPR for CAM license continuing education credits.

 If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Hydraulic Elevator Modernization – Highland Park, IL

We visited a building in 2020, during the height of COVID, which is part of a group of buildings where we work.  They had wanted to work with a new company for years and started thinking about a modernization of their old Otis Elevator system.  We got to meet a good group of board members and was awarded maintenance at the beginning of 2021. After years of capital planning, we modernized their equipment earlier this year.

Existing elevator & project scope – We replaced the elevator controller, fixtures, door equipment, doors and cylinder.

New equipment providers 

Controllers – Alpha Elevator 

Door operators – GAL MOVFR[retained] – replaced Otis car and hatch equipment with GAL.

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Power unit – MEI w/Maxton valve[retained]

Doors – Peelle

Visual communication – Kings III & KTECH

[Existing Otis Slim line relay controller]

[New Alpha Elevator controller]

Elevator controller – The existing elevator had an Otis slim line relay controller from 1970 which worked great for many years. The building had a capital plan to replace their elevator system so they where prepared!  You can see the difference in technology from 1970 to 2025.  Now we have about 4 different things hooked up to our elevator controller to meet updated code requirements. 

[Old Otis Car station]

[New Innovation Industries car station]

[Old 1st floor hall station]

[New Hall station & new hatch doors]

Elevator fixtures – We installed Innovation Industries hall and car fixtures to replace the original Otis buttons.  We had to move the hall stack to the left side of the elevator for 2 reasons: one, the building put framing around the frame which diminished our usable area for hall stations and secondly, the building had a door that would swing right into where the new buttons would be.

 

[Old knife switch disconnect - good to get rid of]

[New mainline and 110vac car lighting elevator disconnects]

[Building had replaced their fire panel recently so we worked with their company for new controller]

Turnkey – The building wanted a turnkey project and we had great partners to complete our fire alarm, air conditioner and electrical components.

Visual communication - VAM – We worked with Kings III and provided cellular service for their phone and visual.  The building ended up with a net savings versus their existing phone line.

Take away – We encourage building owners to take a proactive approach to equipment replacement. When equipment gets 20-30 years old, and a building’s expectations are that the elevators are to run reliably, it is a good idea to start planning when it should be replaced.  We had some challenges with the elevator cylinder hole, but we had a well driller come in and clear the hole to the depth we needed and we were back on track.

Team work– The sales person and the project team who finishes typically get the glory on a project. In between the initial contract sale and the final acceptance are many other people who work on the project to make it successful. From the truck driver to the engineer to the billing department to the assist when needed, 11 Colley Elevator employees where involved in the project and we had tremendous team work on it. Thank you everyone. Without you we would not have had such a successful delivery! Let’s not forget our great material supplier participation!

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

 Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

End Of Life/Obsolete Elevator Equipment – TAC 20/TAC 22

 

This is big news for buildings with Thyssen Krupp/TKE (now TK) TAC 20 or TAC 22 controller platforms.  In a letter dated 1/6/25 sent to buildings with this type of elevator, the manufacturer indicated the CPU board has been officially discontinued.  These are not old elevators; they where installed in the 2000’s through the 2010’s.

 

What’s the story?  Thyssen Krupp/TKE (now TK) is retiring their TAC 20 & TAC 22 product line.

Who will this impact? – If you have a Thyssen Krupp/TKE/TK TAC 20 or TAC 22 control system, you should begin putting money away for a control modernization.  There are still parts available, we have some, but when they are gone, they are gone. 

Are parts still available? – Yes and no.  There are 3^rd party manufacturers that stock some of the boards.  There are also a few elevator solid state board repair shops that will repair the boards.  The warning with any board repair is that while the intention is to be successful, sometimes board repairs are not successful or take a few tries.  If you don’t want these challenges, replace the elevator controller prior to going down this painful road. 

Is software available once your replace boards? – Yes and No.  We have ordered software for elevators and it has taken 4-8 weeks to get.  Why does this matter?  Sometimes when you are switching boards, you will need updated software or the original software to load onto the control board.

Take away – If you have one of these controllers in your building, get a plan together with your elevator contractor.  See if they have replacement parts and how many.  When it rains it pours. Be aware that there are a lot of these out there and if a few have issues at the same time, and require spare parts, you are pulling from the same spare part pool which is finite.  

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107. 

State of Illinois Fire Marshal Elevator Safety Review Board Meeting 3/9/25 – Door Lock Monitoring DLM

 

The State of Illinois Fire Marshall Elevator Safety Review Board met on Thursday 3/6/25. The main item that was addressed was to adopt the new elevator code A17.1 2022. This code adoption has large implications on new/modernized elevators and even larger implications on existing elevators. The largest item is existing elevators and the requirement of door lock monitoring. THIS CODE HAS NOT BEEN 100% ADOPTED YET AND IS GOING TO SPRINGFIELD TO COMPLETE THE FULL ADOPTION PROCESS.

 

41 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 1000 1000.30 - TITLE 41: FIRE PROTECTION CHAPTER II: ELEVATOR SAFETY REVIEW BOARD - PART 1000

ILLINOIS ELEVATOR SAFETY RULES

iii. Modification: Door Lock Monitoring. System to Monitor and Prevent Automatic Operation of an Elevator with Faulty Door Contact Circuits.

a) Automatic passenger and freight elevators installed or permitted for installation prior to effective date of the adoption of ASME A17.1 (2022) shall comply with Section 2.26.5 by January 1, 2029.

b) Automatic passenger and freight elevators permitted for installation on or after the effective date of the adoption of ASME A17.1 (2022) shall comply with Section 2.26.5.


What does this mean for you? If you have an elevator that was installed prior to between 2000 to 2004, you most likely do not have door lock monitoring. This means the elevator will need to have it. If you do not have door lock monitoring you can get door lock monitoring 2 ways:

1. Replace the elevator controller – Replacing the elevator controller and door operator will ensure you have door lock monitoring and is the most reliable way to complete the requirement. This is also the most expensive way to get door lock monitoring because you will trigger other code requirements on the elevator and with the building. 

• Expense – High
• Reliability and chances of compliance - High

2. Install an auxiliary DLM panel on an existing controller– This is the quickest and least expensive option. Older elevator controllers and door operators are not recommended to have this completed because it may make your elevator system less reliable due to the additional devices that need to be added. You may also have issues with the wiring of a new door lock monitoring system to an elevator that has had wiring changes over the years (and may not have them documented correctly with wiring diagrams). Older elevators or elevators without accurate wiring diagrams will be challenging, if not impossible, to have a door lock monitoring system added.

• Expense – Lower
• Reliability and chances of compliance - Lower

There are other more typical code updates coming with A17.1 2022 which will have additional impact on new construction and modernization projects.

Moving forward - Code adoption will move to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (J-Car) next and then needs to get on the state agenda. Possible date for adoption would be around the third quarter. 

Does my elevator have door lock monitoring? Call your elevator maintenance provider and ask them. For buildings that need to prepare for a project, it will be expensive and you will have an elevator outage for a significant period of time, so start planning! January 2029 will come quick. 

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107. 

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

CAI – Community Association Institute – 43rd Annual Winter Expo - Elevator

February 21^st we got to be on the other side of the coin and exhibit at CAI’s 43rd annual winter exposition.  This is where property managers and condominium board people get to go visit with vendors to find new ones or talk to existing ones.

[Show floor]

1,700 industry professionals and homeowner volunteer leaders for the most comprehensive event for community associations in the state of Illinois!

[busy booth]

This year’s CAI-IL Condo – HOA Conference & Expo will help you discover how to “Under the Big Top” and offer education sessions on legal updates, security issues, innovative trends, hot topics, and industry best practices, as well as opportunities to share, learn, network, and discuss challenges and solutions.

Colley Elevator introduced our newly approved CAI continuing education program approved for required credits for property management to the properly managers on the floor.  Our new program will have information on the new elevator coming and HUGE implications it will have to your buildings.  April 8th 11am to 1pm @ Moretti's in Morton Grove, IL.  

[Thank you sponsors]

This was a great time to visit with some existing customers and strengthen relationships and meet some people who might be looking for a change.   We had some cool giveaways for the visitors and met people who we previously only communicated with over the phone or via email.  A great event!

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Elevator Picture Hall of Fame 2025 – Superbowl of Elevators

The Hall of Fame posts are typically some of the more popular blogs in the Colley blog history. We get to see a lot of elevators during the year on our initial visits for pricing or while engineering projects. Of the hundreds of elevators, and thousands of pictures, these are some of the gems we've seen this past year.

Try and fix I dare you - Not sure what this Wizard was thinking. The Wizard, a movie featuring Fred Savage, was one my childhood friend Robert and I watched a dozen times. It was a great promotional piece for Super Mario Brothers 3. In the 1980s when we got Mario Brothers 1, on the first level there was a place where you could jump past the finish line above the level and find the secret pass where you fell down into a cavern. You had the choice of three tubes to go down, but, you had to know how to get down the tubes[pushing the down button]. Well… My mom didn’t know how to go down the tubes and she was stuck in this area frequently. When she got stuck, my brother and I would wait for her game timer to go down to 10 and do the 10, 9, 8, 7… and start screaming each time she ran out of time. She probably really appreciated that. There are terminals in the box that could have been used.

 

Don’t turn on - It is hard to read the notes on the pieces of paper but they clearly say THIS IS A FRIDAY NIGHT FIX, PLEASE HELP ME WHEN YOU COME BACK.

 

Glass is half full -  It is an MCE greenboard controller.

Hit the showers - When I was in Junior High, the gym teachers used to make us all go in the showers after gym and they sat and watched us walk under the water, every day for 2 years. The towels they gave us were about what you see on the door restrictor. I wonder if my old Jr. High gym teachers live at this place.

 

Field innovation – I’ve never seen this one before. 

 

Tar pits – When I saw this picture and I was told the building owner rep wanted a new door operator all I could think of was “how did it get so bad?” Then I thought about Big Foot and while this foot print isn’t so big, if Big Foot ever did go in this pit we could totally find him because he would track this tar/oil substance all over the building and into the parking lot. I wonder if this person took his boot off before getting in his car to drive home or to the next place. That reminds me of when I was at the Cardinal's house and I got a big glob of grease on my boots and tracked it up the stairs. I had 3 Nuns watch me scrub the carpet with resolve. I think the guys who were actually doing the elevator work at the building where having a bit of fun having the boss scrub the 45 year old carpet and Nuns from a foreign land giving me constant feedback on my job progress. KEEP YOUR FEET CLEAN!

 

Pasta night – Maybe they didn’t have a smaller junction box to give them. Maybe they saved so much time reusing the junction box it was worth it. Maybe ¼ of the way into working with this junction box they thought this wasn’t a good idea.

 

Anyone going to say something? – The building owner found a good deal on smoke detectors. It so happens that Mike who lived in the building was a fire alarm installer and he did it himself during the nights and weekends. Last year Mike was an arborist and was cutting down trees. The year before that he worked as a spray foam insulation specialist. Hire a professional company, please.

Wizard of OZ –. My daughter is obsessed with Wicked the movie. The first of 2 movies came out in November 24’, she loves it, she had her birthday party at the movie. She has a Wicked shirt, Wicked sweatpants and a Wicked sweatshirt. The 2nd of the 2 movies will come out November 25’ and she is very excited to see the 2nd movie. Her and her friend go on YouTube and try and find the 2nd movie early, they haven’t found it yet. I’m not going to tell her but I have some screen shots from the new movie. What she doesn’t know is that before The Wizard went to OZ he was an elevator maintenance person and they spend about a ½ hour of the movie going through his day and we see some of his car tops and pits. DON’T LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN.

Disclaimer – We see hundreds and thousands of pictures over the course of a year. While we don’t see as many great pictures of maintained elevators, we do see them, which is fantastic. We have a lot of very dedicated and talented elevator people in our area. The reason we don’t see a lot of buildings getting great elevator service is because they are happy with their mechanic and the mechanic is probably cleaning and taking care of the building. Those buildings are not calling us to get pricing for elevator work because they are being taken care of. Be the great mechanic or helper, don’t be these people. We should all take the time and care we would like to have people who work in our homes to have. Do great things! We have great jobs! We have a great industry! If you are doing great, Keep it up. If you need to improve, no other time than now to start! Lets do it!

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.