Hydraulic elevator modernization – Forest Park Library – Forest Park, IL

 

This is a story about an elevator that was installed in 1994 by Automatic Elevator using a Motion Control Engineering controller.  Motion Control Engineering is discontinuing support on this series of elevator controllers and parts will become difficult to find and have repaired.  There is one component on the controller that is very concerning which is the white PLC/dispatching box.  The library put the elevator modernization in their capital plan to modernize and after Phase I of the library renovation was completed they put the elevator on the docket to be modernized.  The building went out to bid, Colley Elevator was the low bid and had the opportunity to work with SMC Construction and the Forest Park Library on the elevator modernization project. 

Existing elevator & project scope – We replaced the elevator controller, fixtures, door operators, hatch and car doors, cab interior, power unit, hydraulic cylinder gland packings, electrical and many other components on the elevator.

New equipment providers

Controllers – Smartrise

Door operators – GAL MOVFR

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Power unit – Quality

Interior work – Cab works

Doors – Peelle Company

Visual text monitoring partner - Kings III

Elevator controller – The existing elevator had a Motion Control Engineering[MCE] HMC-1000 elevator controller.  This style of MCE controllers is being set for obsolescence and there are some components on the controller that would be challenging or impossible to get or have repaired. 

[Old Motion Control Engineering HMC-1000 elevator controller]

[New Smartrise Engineering elevator controller]

Elevator door operators – We replaced the original GAL MOD door operator with a GAL MOVFR door operator

[Old neglected car top with GAL MOD door operators]

[New painted car top with new GAL MOVFR door equipment]

Elevator fixtures – We installed Innovation Industries hall and car fixtures to replace the original  Adams Elevator fixtures.

[Old Adams Car station]

[New Innovation Industries car station with visual text capabilities via Kings III]

[Old main landing Adams Elevator hall fixtures]

[New main landing Innovation Industries hall fixtures]

Hydraulic power unit – We removed the Quality Elevator submersible and installed a Quality Elevator submersible power unit with a Maxton UC4 hydraulic control valve.

[Old Quality Elevator hydraulic tank with Maxton UC4 valve]

[New Quality elevator hydraulic tank with Maxton UC4 valve and Maxton shut off valve]

Elevator interior – The building wanted a fresh look for their elevator interior for their employees and patrons.  We worked with Cabworks to give the building something sharp and fresh and a reasonable price point.  Cabworks was great to work with and made it easy for the Library to get a great looking cab.

[Cabworks put in new wall panels to give the cab a fresh look]

Hatch and cab doors – We replaced all the hatch and cab doors with stainless steel #4 doors from Peelle Company.  Replacing the hatch and cab doors gives the elevator a great new look.

[Old Hatch doors with Formica laminate]

[New stainless steel #4 doors]

Elevator pit – The old pit was filled with oil and water, we repacked the cylinder gland heads and did our best at painting the elevator pit.  It is hard to make a pit that has been neglected for years look good, this one should be good and easy to identify and future leaks.

[elevator pit prior to modernization]

[elevator pit after modernization]

Coordination & process – For publicly funded projects the building owners typically have to go out to bid and work with the lowest responsible bidder.  We were fortunate to be the low bid on this project and got the opportunity to work with a great general contractor SMC.  Jason and SMC[Shales McNutt Construction] was great to work with and made this project successful with their direction and communication.  Most GC’s we work with are good, SMC was great!

Colley's Library work – We take care of more library systems than any other elevator company in the Chicagoland area.  Currently we take care of over 40 different library systems and we love our library clients!  Your blogger uses his library on a weekly basis and have a deep appreciation for what they do for the community!

Take away – This building had an elevator that was in good working condition but used their construction manager to help them understand useful life on their building items.  Many buildings do not recognize that their equipment may be one shut down from an extended outage.  Planning and proactivity on vital systems like your elevator can save the building a lot of head ache and accessibility challenges in the future. 

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, 12 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.

Elevator Cylinder Hole Clause – Elevator Cylinder Replacement

 

When we do elevator cylinder work, we talk to the building about potential issues that we cannot predict once we start the project; the underground conditions. I typically explain to the building owner that 80% of our projects go well, no issues. Another 10% of our projects have a bit of water, boulders, or the hole isn’t plumb and requires some additional funding to complete the project.  And 10% of the cylinder holes we meet require a well driller because the hole is crooked, no casing, hole collapses, construction material in the hole, or many other scenarios that can occur.

Cylinder hole clause – There should be a clause in every cylinder contract about unforeseen underground conditions that will require a building owner to pay additional for the time and material needed to resolve the specific issue.  If a company does not have this in their contract, ask them about it and why it is not in their contract.

Why is there a cylinder hole clause – When we remove the cylinder we have no idea what is in the ground.  We cannot be responsible for a hole collapsing or the existing casing being crooked or off center.  It is impossible to know what is beneath the cement we are about to open up.

What happens when you have a bad hole – After we remove the elevator cylinder, most times it is smooth sailing. We get a debris removal truck and weld the cylinder and away we go.  If we remove a cylinder and see we do not have casing, we start looking at potential options for the building.  A clay hole may stand up during the debris removal process or it could collapse.  The building should know their options.  What we do is give them our options and the risks associated with them.  We often call multiple well drillers for pricing and availability.  We are lucky to have some great well drillers that service the Chicago area.  We collect pricing for the building and share the information with them so they can make a decision.

How much does a well driller cost?  This is a great question, reaming a hole will take a few days anss is not a lot of cost.  Pulling out 16’ of casing and drilling down 60’ gets expensive.  Each cylinder hole is different.   Most standard cylinder hole clauses have a 15% upcharge on additional fees from well drillers.  You should ask for the final invoice from the well driller and explanation of any additional expenses.

How long does it take?  How long it takes depends on availability as well as how deep your hole is and the exact scope.  Once onsite, most well drillers are 5-10 days to complete their scope.

Can a well driller run into unexpected/unforeseen issues?  Absolutely yes.  We ask our drillers to document what they see and what they find if there will be additional billing outside their price.

Once the well driller is done how much longer does it take to complete the cylinder replacement? There are scheduling challenges with starting and stopping projects and having the right personnel available when the well driller completes their scope.  Once the elevator company is back on site typically it is 5-7 working days.

Can I switch elevator companies after a cylinder hole goes bad?  We get this phone call from time to time.  The answer is no.  You should finish the project with the company that started it. It isn’t the elevator company’s fault there are underground challenges.

Undermining elevator pits/buildings – The elevator contractor needs to proceed with caution when using a debris removal company. If they remove too much material from a cylinder hole it can undermine a building’s foundation because you are taking earth away from under the building. 

Here are a few of our recent cylinder challenges

30” existing drilled hole, no casing, 50’ – This was an abnormally large cylinder hole that was drilled, no casing installed, the hole was clay, but the clay was falling into the hole.  We encouraged the building to hire a well driller because the volume of water and debris that would be removed would be very expensive and if you got to 49’ clear hole and the cylinder hole collapsed you would still require a well driller. 

[In this picture you can see this larger hole is beginning to undermine the pit]

20” existing drilled hole, with casing, 38’ – This hole had casing but it was crooked so we could not plumb the cylinder and the hole needed to have the casing removed and new casing installed.  Back in 1967 we didn't have the requirement of PVC protection for a cylinder. It barely was able to be plumbed here with out additional PVC in the hole.  Even with a cylinder bag, this wasn't going to work.

24” existing drilled hole, without casing, 45’ – This hole did not have casing, however, it was clay.  Everything was going well until we ran into an obstruction about 29' down.  We had a well driller ream the hole, remove the obstruction, and clear the remainder of the hole so we could continue.

30” existing drilled hole, without casing, 45’ – There was nothing the debris removal truck could do with the clay and water in this hole.  This exercise wrapped up quickly to prevent undermining and wasting money.

Take away – If you are reading this, before you consider signing an agreement with an elevator company to replace your cylinder, ask questions.  If the person you are talking to cannot address your questions and make you feel comfortable, you should get a 2^nd opinion and see how that person/company does.  Cylinder work is hard, messy and can get complicated and expensive quickly.

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.

Chicago Elevator Association – November Meeting

 

The Chicago Elevator Association is the longest running elevator association in the United States as featured in Elevator World a few years back.  I remember the first CEA meeting I went to back in 2002, I believe I brought my brother[who wasn’t in the industry but I didn’t know anyone so I brought him], at the time Colley wasn’t very active in the association. I went to my first meeting and saw giants of the industry and I knew just showing up and listening I would learn from these people.

My dad, Ray Zomchek, used to go semi frequently when it was held at the Comeback Inn with people from Automatic Elevator, Gregory Elevator, Anderson Elevator, Reliance, Commercial, Urban Elevator, Mid States, CJ Anderson, Donnelly & Associates, Adams Elevator, Quality Elevator, Peelle and the list goes on of all the independent companies who had people with strong personalities and knew everything.  If I could have been a fly on the wall of those rooms… I don’t know the history as well as our elder statesmen do but we have a rich history with the CEA with some elevator industry legends that changed the way elevators are today with their contributions to our industry.

Thursday Hyperion came to the CEA for our November meeting held at Angelos – Elmhurst, IL and learned a lot about their consolidation efforts. Lisa Grimes and Dan Shaw from Hyperion where present to talk about their new company.

Hyperion is EECO, EMI/Porta, Lift Net, McIntosh Industries, Texacone, Titan Machine, Torin Drive, Vator Accessories & ZZipco. 

The presentation was great and I learned a lot about what I had been hearing about, but, the best part of the meeting was I got to see old friends and industry legends.  We had 2 people at our table that if you combine their years in the business they have over 100 years of elevator experience.  The discussions you get to hear and participate in about elevator code, industry changes, safety, etc will not occur on walk throughs, zoom calls or client meetings.  Going to the CEA will make you a better elevator person, food is great, people are great and you are going to learn something from a more laid back atmosphere and candid discussion.  Back in 2002 when I went to my first meeting I knew everything, in 2022 I understand I have a lot to learn, part of my learning comes from going to these meetings and participating.

If you haven’t ever been or it’s been a while, come on by, take a seat, if you don’t know people, 5 minutes after you show up you will know a good amount of people at the meeting, that is the kind of people that go, ones that will make you feel welcome and will introduce you to people.  

Congratulations to Colley’s own Alex Macias for being elected to Vice President of the CEA during the November meeting!

Next event – December 7^th, 2023 – Holiday Party – Navy Pier Chicago – Sports Museum.

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 – Forest Park, IL

Here is an original Colley Elevator from 1967 that had been modernized with a MCE in 1989 back when companies may or may not have been changing the wiring to all of the devices.  This is a fairly busy building, it is 6 floors and has a large foot print with one elevator.  Over time the building replaced their controller in 1989, their power unit in 1998, their door operator in the mid to late 2000s and it has the original cylinder.

Why now? The elevator didn’t have any issues but the building was planning for the future.  The building had a mix mash of elevator components from different years and they knew eventually they would have to address their elevator globally.  Over the last 10-14 years we have been talking on and off to the building when they showed interest in learning more. 

Project scope – We replaced their control system, fixtures, power unit and cylinder.  Since the elevator door equipment was newer, we retained it and replaced as necessary some of the smaller component parts.

New equipment providers

Controllers – Smartrise

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Power unit – Quality

Cylinder - EECO

Elevator controllers – The existing elevator controller was replaced in 1989 with a MCE.  The white logic box is now more and more challenging to get replacement parts for or to even have it repaired.  The building made a good decision to replace it with a more serviceable control system, Smartrise Engineering.

[Existing - Motion Control Engineering MCE hydraulic elevator controls]

[New - Smartrise Engineering hydraulic elevator controls]

Elevator fixtures – We replaced the original EPCO elevator fixtures from 1967 with new Innovation Industry fixtures that are up to code, ADA accessible and have the new visual/text communication.  Since Forest Park, IL does not monitor visual emergencies systems yet on elevators the building is working with Kings III for monitoring of their phones and visual systems.

[Existing - EPCO elevator car station]

[New- Innovation Industries elevator car station]

Hydraulic power unit – We removed a Colley Elevator power unit that was installed in 1998 and put a Quality Elevator power unit in, both have/had a great Maxton UC4 valve on it.  We used a Dover/TKE heavy duty muffler[not shown] to minimize machine noise.

[Existing - Colley Elevator hydraulic power unit with Maxton UC4 valve]

[New - Quality Elevator hydraulic power unit with Maxton UC4 valve]

Elevator cylinder – Back in the 1960’s Colley Elevator would buy cylinder heads from Atlas Elevator in San Francisco and make out own cylinders and buy pistons from EECO. Back in the 1960’s this may have been a great cylinder head, but, today, not so much.  We got rid of the Atlas head[that requires rope/hose packing] and replaced with it a more familiar cylinder, Elevator Equipment Corporation[EECO].  The new cylinder has a double bottom bulk head as well as PVC protection underground. 

[Existing - Colley Elevator cylinder with ATLAS head]

[New - EECO cylinder]

Other items – The building did a new cab interior with Cab Works that turned out great!  We also gave the car top a nice new fire proof paint job because it is still a wood cab from 1967.

[New 1st floor hall station and cab interior]

[Car top with fire proof paint]

Take away – I remember Owen, Ruth, John, Wei from 2006 when we started talking about proactive equipment replacement.  I remember the 4 management companies that where in and out of the building. In 2008-2014 we talked about door operators and solid state starters.  Our service at the building that had been from 1967 to 2014 ended and in 2017 and they went with an upstart, then a larger independent and the building came back to Colley in 2017 and we again had a great dialog about the future of their equipment.  The biggest idea here is the people in the building where taking the time to educate themselves on a regular basis, this is a working class building where the building needs to be judicious about how they spend their money.  Over the last 4-5 years we had quite a few meetings and they finally decided to jump in the pool.  The building got a great product that will be reliable for the next 20-30 years. 

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, 15 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!

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.

Making elevators great again – Traction Elevator - Chicago, IL

 

 [Before rewiring]

Intro to building – We went to this building in 2016 and we found 2 elevator controllers that are newer in very poor shape due to… Well look at it.  The wiring mess could have been from the installation, repairs over time, 4pm Friday fixes that where never gotten back to or a number of other reasons.  We talked to the building about new controllers and planning for the future back when we submitted our maintenance agreement to them. 

History – The cars for the most part worked ok.  On the front car we had to replace the motor drive.  But in the back of everyone’s head there was always concern with the condition of the elevator system.

What we did – One of our great Colley Wizards took it upon himself to go to the building and rewire the elevator controller to bring it to what should have been its original installed glory.  The building should still consider modernization of the elevator control system but now it is a lot easier to see what is occurring with the control system.  When you see a controller looking the way you did you don't really want to touch anything because you are afraid you may do something that would be very difficult resolve.

 [After rewire]

Take away –   Every territory has elevator’s that are like this.  Sometimes a building buys from the wrong company, the wrong technician is installing it, the wrong equipment was picked for the project, or rush job and a building is stuck with it.   It is our job to let the building know, here is what you have, here is what we would like to see you do, and let them make their own decisions.  This controller went from looking like a Zero and coming out a Hero, it took some time, but well worth it.   Its like the dopey mop headed 17 year old kid who finally cuts his hair and there is a good looking person underneath there. 

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.

Colley Elevator's 10th Annual QEI Education Training – Always Keep Learning

 

Each year for the last 10 years, Colley Elevator has been hosting inspectors from across the Chicago area as well as mechanics from Colley and other companies to attend QEI/Elevator code continuing education.  This year we had people from Colley Elevator, Elevator Inspection Services, Chicago Public Schools, Anderson Elevator, Suburban Elevator and Kone Elevator attend.  I got to sit in a room where a few of the guys had more years in the business than I am alive, these guys know something and have seen some things, we are lucky to have them.

This year we again had Joe Donnelly – PE conduct the training. Joe D has had a pretty incredible career starting out by working for Westinghouse Elevator as an apprentice, then field engineer, moving to Lerch Bates to start his consulting career and now at Donnelly & Associates doing elevator consulting and training.  He has had experience working on the State of Illinois Board as the technical advisor and currently is the Chair of the City of Chicago code committee and helped bring the City from a 2001 code to 2016.

The last few years in the Chicagoland/Illinois region has seen our Illinois code go from 2013 to 2019 and Chicago from 2001 to 2016 code.  Each year there are a few items in the code that are disrupters to how we do our inspections and our elevator work.

This year we reviewed – City – State code update, 2016 & 2019 A17.1 major code update, 2019 A17.1 Part 2 code update, 2019 A17.1 Part 3 code update, A17.1 Part 6 code update, A17.1 part 8.6 code update, FEO service review, A17.3 code review, NEC code update, A117.1 class, A17.2 routine inspection review, A17.2 periodic test review, City of Chicago 2018 code A17.1, City of Chicago 2018 code A17.3 

Take away – When I was 17 I knew everything, when I was 24 and had a few years in the business I thought I was on a path to quickly know everything.  At 43 I have discovered I have a long way to go and a lot to learn.   These two days a year are very long, my Tuesday started at 5:15am leaving my house to go to the southside of Chicago and ended at 10pm when I got home.  I learn so much from these two days, even if it is similar material, I get different things out of it each time I hear it. We always have to keep learning and keep growing. 

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.

Elevator Modernization Planning – Evanston, IL

We have quite a few long term customers with reliable elevator systems who are interested planning for modernization but don’t know when to do it.  The elevator is working fine right now, when will it stop working?  A few things to think about when your elevator passes the 20 year mark.

Is your elevator reliable now?  If your elevator is servicing the building safely and reliably you have time to plan.  If you have shut downs and reliability issues you need to understand why the elevator is having issues. 

What type of equipment do you have?  If you have an elevator controller that is common in your geographic territory and support and material is still available, you are in good shape.

What is your environment like?  A building with 16 units is much different than a building with 45 units.  A building that has a climate controlled machine room is much different than a building that has their machine room exposed to the elements with no climate control.  In Chicago that would mean HOT HOT in the summer COLD COLD in the winter.  Elevators do not like HOT HOT or COLD COLD.

Who is using your elevator?  We have buildings in care facilities or apartment buildings that the users could use a bit more care when using the elevator.  We have buildings that are financial institutions, libraries or condos where it is hardly used and, when it is, they respect the elevators. 

How many technicians in your geographic area know your elevator?  In our elevator industry we have a lot of people retiring and taking all of the years and knowledge with them.  The younger guys typically know a lot about the new equipment, the old guys know a lot about the equipment they cut their teeth on. 

[Some areas are heavy with Dover installations like this elevator controller]

Your questions are giving me a headache, what do I do?  Talk to your elevator company and get a game plan, talk about longevity, talk about serviceability, go through all the items listed and more so the decision makers understand a little bit about the process.  Get a plan, start saving, if you haven’t already.

We have done some work in the past, what does that mean for our elevator's equipment modernization needs?  Great news!   You might be able to retain a door operator, power unit or valve.  The elevator contractor should let you know about what can stay, what should be replaced and what is on the bubble. 

[This elevator has a newer door operator[15 years old] that should be replaced if the controller is replaced]

Don’t forget about work by others -  When replacing the elevator controller you typically will have a fire alarm contractor scope and electrician scope.  You will need to know about how much this is so you can put a dollar value for these items in your budget.

[New disconnects by electrician - among other items]

[Fire recall devices and heat detectors by fire company]

Elevator cylinder -  Talk to your contractor about your elevator cylinder so you understand what happens if it fails, how long it takes for procurement, how long the installation takes, and what happens if you have cylinder hole issues.

How much does elevator modernization cost? A typical elevator control modernization can cost $80,000.00 - $125,000.00.  Each elevator is different, each elevator can have a different upgrade strategy, each elevator should be discussed with your maintenance provider or a great company like Colley Elevator. 

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.