Elevator Education - Educating our Customers and Facility Managers

 

Last Friday we had an opportunity to present to a group of school facility managers. Elevators have been an increasing point of interest for school systems, or any facility manager, in the last 10-20 years.  What we have found is that many of the decision makers lean on their current vendor for what they need to do.  Sometimes we, as an elevator industry, can do better at relaying code changes, new requirements, capital planning, understanding how the building needs to address their elevators moving forward; this year, next year, 5 years, 10 years, etc.

We were invited to speak to this group of facility managers and went through items that they need to know:

• Elevator regulations
• Required testing
• New testing requirements
• Paperwork requirements
• What to expect during an elevator inspection
• Best practices
• Building responsibilities
• New technology
• Obsolescence

Many of the facility managers were not our customers, but were taking notes and had some really good questions.  Each school district had a different challenge they were dealing with and you could tell a light went off in their heads when that topic was covered during the presentation.

Each time our code changes and yields more and more requirements, it is important to get out and help the teams that work to keep buildings current. It is also good to have a general understanding of what will be required of buildings in the future.

If you have a group of people that are interested in receiving a presentation on elevators, codes and the impact to your building, let us know. We can put together a continuing education program for your group.

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.

Community Associations Institute [CAI] – Condo-HOA conference & Expo

We were back in person at the CAI condo-HOA conference & expo this year.  On Friday 5/13/22 we had the opportunity to set up our booth and visit with homeowners, property managers and other trades who do work for associations.

The Community Associations Institute [CAI] is an international membership organization dedicated to building better communities.  CAI has over 40,000 members and 64 chapters worldwide and provides information, education and resources to homeowner volunteers who govern communities and the professional who support them. 

Colley Elevator has been coming to the show for the last 10 years and has a very positive experience at these conventions.

Two of our great Colley ambassadors spent the day talking to existing customers, potential customers and other trades that where showing there who we have mutual interests.  We heard a lot of compliments of our service and fielded questions on new codes, requirements and talked about potential leads.  The show also had opportunities for homeowner education which we got a chance to sit in on.

One of the cool things about the show is to bump into people that you may have traded emails with or talked on the phone with and meet them in person.  I heard a “I just want to let you know that you guys are great and made our transition into managing this building very easy when we took over at XXXX Street.”  That is great to hear!  Go Team Colley!

Thank you again to the CAI for having us at the show and we look forward to working with you more in the future.   

We also are giving away a few Colley Elevator Yeti Day Trip Lunch Bags for those who sign up for our newsletter before 5/31/22, so get your name on the list! 

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.

Traction Elevator Modernization – Evanston, IL

 

This was a very cool project to be part of.  We had a very old elevator, 1950s or early 1960s, that had automatic doors put on in the 1980s, but they left the rear door manual.  We were tasked to modernize the elevator system. 

Existing elevator & project scope – We updated the elevator control system, machine, door operator, door tracks, new doors, fixtures, safety devices.  We had some challenging hoisting conditions due to the building composition to get our new machine up.

New equipment providers

Controllers – Motion Control Engineering

Machine – Hollister Whitney

Door operators – GAL MOVFR

Doors – Peelle Company

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Elevator controller– The elevator controller had seen its better days in the rearview with these elevators.  The main issue was while it was a good controller, it was experiencing fatigue and most of the elevator personnel familiar with it had retired or getting close to it.  As the years go by, our industry domain knowledge leaves us for retirement.  We installed a great new Motion Control Engineering 4000 elevator controller to work for the next 30+ years.

Elevator machine – We removed the double barrel Otis machine that had the motor and generator on the machine plate and put in a new Hollister Whitney machine that should last as long as the building is here.

Door operators – The elevator had Otis Elevator door equipment that was several generations past obsolescence.   We removed all the door equipment and installed brand new GAL equipment for this elevator's next 30+ years.  All of the elevator car doors and hall doors where replaced with Peelle Company doors. 

Elevator fixtures – I’m going to take a guess and say when the elevator had automatic doors installed on the front side of the cab they installed new Otis fixtures.  We installed nice new Innovation Industries elevator car and hall stations.

 

Take away – When you modernize older elevator systems you run into challenges with making an old system work with a new system.  In this case we had challenges with the door equipment and making the rear door automatic and machine hoisting/placement.  We had a great team working on this modernization project from the first invitation to bid to the final paperwork there where 17 Colley employees who had a part in this project.  We had a wonderful project team do the heavy lifting and execution of the project but the year before we started and the 6 months after until we reached final close out we had wonderful Team Colley participation to make everything continue moving forward until completion. 

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.

NAESA Central Region Spring Work Shop – Des Plaines, IL - April 22-23, 2022

 

NAESA International is an organization that is comprised of diverse members who share a sincere interest in elevator safety, code enforcement, and technology. Whose purpose includes providing QEI Certification (Qualified Elevator Inspector) training and testing to qualified individuals. NAESA conducts several regional workshops each year throughout the United States and Canada to inform, educate, and provide a forum for individuals to discuss elevator topics.

NAESA is one of the two groups who certify a majority of the elevator inspectors in the United States.   

We had an opportunity to join NAESA for the continuing education program with a great line up.  It is so very important that we continue our path towards learning more in the elevator industry and all industries and this was a wonderful opportunity.

[90+ people in attendance from all over the country]

Friday

7:45- Frank Revoir, Urban Elevator-- 2020 Rack, and Pinion Elevators and Hoists 

 

9:15 – Ian MacMillan, KONE-- Inspection and Testing for MRL’s

 

10:30- Ian MacMillian, KONE-- Inspection and testing for MRL’s  

 

11:30 Russ Larson, Otis Elevator Company—Voice/Video/ Test Emergency Elevator Communication  

 

1:15- Jack Day – Elevator safety

 

2:15 Joe Donnelly, Donnelly & Associates-- A18.1 VPL Inspection Methods  

 

3:00 Joe Donnelly, Donnelly & Associates--  A17.3 Chicago Modification and A17.3 Review  

 

4:30 Kevin Heling, WURTEC Inc.--  Elevator Rope Issues   

 

Saturday

 

8:00 – Cornelius Walls, Formula Systems-- 3D Door Protection/Electronic Edges 

 

9:00 --Kevin Heling, Wurtec--  Weighing Elevator Cars and Counterweights, Hoist Rope equalization and update on CAT5 Alternative Testing

 

Take away – I took away a lot of new information on MRLs and learned a bit more about each other topic that was presented.  We do not do many VPLs/Wheelchair lifts but now know that there is a considerable amount of thought and requirements that need to go into the installation of these for accessibility requirements.  I also learned a ton about rack and pinon lifts and am glad other people are great at it.  It is so important that we continue as elevator personnel; inspectors, mechanics, office personnel in learning throughout our careers.  We will not always be able to use our backs in this business so fill the brain up with as much as you can, there will be a day that you will appreciate the work you did learning.

Networking – I don’t need the CEUs for my license but one of the biggest reasons I went besides the lineup was to see people I haven’t seen in a while.  I met new people, I met people I’ve heard about for years but never met, I saw people I talk to on the phone with on a regular basis and never get a chance to see and bumped into some old friends I used to see on a more regular basis.  These interactions are almost as valuable as the content discussed.

Thank you for all the hard work our NAESA team does to put these events on! It is much appreciated!

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.

City of Chicago AIC Elevator Inspections

 

The Annual Inspection Certification (AIC) program is an on-line building inspection program that requires building owners/property managers to hire state-licensed, third-party inspection companies to inspect their elevators and other conveying devices annually.  These findings are then reported to the Department of Buildings via the AIC portal.

I get several questions each quarter on how this works from people taking over the responsibility of AIC for their building that have no idea how it works or building owners who forget because it is a once a year item.  AIC is a once a year inspection that puts the responsibility in the owners court to have the elevator inspected and will provide a certificate through the AIC portal.  If you do not do it within the time line or quarter you are in then you will get letters from the DOB, you will send it to your elevator company and they will ask you if you have done your AIC.  Get ahead of it!

Steps

             1 – Get your log in information and go to https://ipi.cityofchicago.org/Profile

2 – Choose an elevator inspection firm to work with – we recommend calling them prior to choosing the firm to make sure they will service your building and you know the pricing.  There is a list on the City's website https://ipi.cityofchicago.org/Aic#/InspectionCompanies

3 – Set the elevator inspection appointment.  You should contact your elevator contractor to make sure their testing[CAT 1s, CAT 5s and FEO exercising] is up to date and they have changed any batteries that may need to be changed to make sure your safety devices work; emergency lights, phones, battery lowering etc.  

4 – The elevator inspector will submit their results on the portal and if it passes you can print out your certificate after you make your AIC payment.

If you need help with the process there are several resources on the website to walk you through what you need to do and I’ve found the staff at AIC is happy to assist.  Start here aic@cityofchicago.org 

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.

Westinghouse Elevator Fast Track Hydraulic Elevator

What is a Westinghouse Fast Track?  I’m glad you asked.  I’ve only seen two of these elevators.  One was in Riverside, IL which had been modernized with an Atel Controller installed on the car top. Last year we modernized the elevator again and put the controller in the machine room.  

The other location is in Des Plaines, IL.  This is a short run of Westinghouse Hydraulic elevators that had a very limited release and had the controller on the elevator car top. It never caught on.  I just found out when we went to buy the prints, and they were very expensive to get, this is called a “FAST TRACK”.

 

Fixtures look like a vanilla Westinghouse

Car top looks like a vanilla Westinghouse

Machine room looks like a vanilla Westinghouse

Then you open up the panels on the car top

Yes, that is a PLC

What do you do if you have one of these elevators – Get a modernization plan immediately!  There are limited parts, support and field domain knowledge for these elevators is extremely limited.  Please put the elevator controller in the machine room.

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.

Giant Passenger Elevator Modernization – Chicago, IL

 

We got into a building that was going to be transformed into a first class film studio in the heart of Chicago’s movie/TV show area.  From concept, the building had some challenges on what to do with some of the existing elevators so they could provide the building’s vertical transportation needs for the new use of the building.  This elevator was the 2^nd elevator we have modernized at the building, it is an amazing transformation.

Existing elevator challenges – The existing elevator was a very old, very large freight elevator.  The building wanted to keep the length of the elevator so it could service both sides of the building.  Over time, the building had changed the floor and building layouts so each side of the elevator wasn’t necessarily on the same level as the opposing side. Another one of our big challenges was utilizing the existing hoistway to put up our door frames.

Existing elevator & project scope – Everything but the rails

New equipment providers

Controllers – Smartrise Engineering

Power unit – Canton Elevator

Cab interior – Canton Elevator

Car & hatch doors – Peelle Company

Door operators – GAL MOVFR

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Valve - Maxton UC1

Elevator controllers – The original elevator controller was from an Otis Basement machine, which was replaced with a Dover DMC, and later was replaced with Chicago’s own Atel Controls. It now has a Smartrise Engineering control system.

Old elevator controller

New Smartrise Engineering hydraulic elevator controller

Machine room– When we found the elevator machine room, it had a Dover DMC machine with an Atel control system and the old basement traction machine was still in the machine room.  The machine room is cleared out and we have a ton of room now.

Old machine room had a hydraulic elevator and abandoned traction machine

New elevator machine room

New elevator machine room

Elevator fixtures – We removed old Otis Elevator fixtures and installed Innovation Industries hall and car fixtures.

Old car operating panel

New Innovation Industries car operating panel for automatic operation

Cab, sling, platform, cylinder & doors – We did a complete tear out of the hoistway and installed all new cab, sling, platform & cylinder from Canton Elevator and car and hatch doors from Peelle Company.

Old elevator cylinder

New Canton Elevator cylinder

Old bottom of the car - it is wood

Updated metal platform and sling from Canton Elevator

Old bi parting freight doors

Old swing doors at lowest landing

New Peelle Company frames and doors with GAL equipment

New Peelle Company frames and doors with GAL equipment

Old original cab interior 

New Canton Elevator interior 

Take away – This was a huge undertaking for our project team.  Whenever we are working at existing buildings with older hoistways, and especially when we are changing the classification of the elevator, we will see some big challenges.  Our project team did a wonderful job working with the existing conditions and taking an old beater and replacing it with a brand new elevator to provide the building with something more appropriate for their new building needs.

Team work– We had 15 Colley employees work on this project and while our project team did the brunt of the work, they had a whole team behind them for support from the first phone call to the final inspection.  Well done Team Colley! 

Thank you’s – First and foremost well done to our field personnel that was on the project who took every challenge in stride.  We would also like to thank our supplier partners at Canton Elevator, Peelle Company and Smartrise for working with us during the project on some of the obstacles we had along the way.  Thank you to those who took the the challenge out of our collective problems and worked with us through it. It takes a team[elevator contractor, building owner, suppliers] to take this from start to finish and we took the building’s initial dream from 4 years ago and delivered elevator #2.

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.