Quality elevator work/“making it work”

Over the years an elevator system can have many different service providers and many “make it work” moments.  I always say it is at 4:00pm on Friday or 2am on a Sunday morning when a building needs their elevator back in service and there was a power outage or other significant issue and the elevator mechanic “makes it work”.

Making the elevator system work is very important for the building owner.  But as an elevator company we need to make sure we go back to the building and make the work we completed to get the elevator back up and running look presentable and orderly so when the next person comes they will be able to service the elevator properly.  We also need to project the lingering issues that could cause future issues and provide proposals to the building owner for remedy.

We ran into an issue where a building got a bad ground on an elevator system and damaged the wiring.  It was no short order to make it work properly and give the building owner back their elevator system. We gave them a quote for a permanent repair to the elevator system, which they completed.  There were a quite a few issues lurking here after it was back up and running we found when we went to rewire the elevator system.  From start to finish everyone involved did a great job.

[Repair of the elevator system after grounding issue occurred]

[Control system after rewiring occurred]

[Junction box probably from installation and years of "making it work"]

[After rewiring was completed]

How to prevent short term repairs from becoming a long term liability – If you have a significant issue on your elevator system and the elevator technician makes a repair on the system and gets the elevator back up and running, talk to the technician as well as talk to the elevator company office so you can have a permanent solution.  “Bob, the elevator tech, was just out at our building and did a great job at returning the elevator back to service but said we need to do X, Y, Z.”.  We on the office side should be watching this too and communicate with the building management.  We often see that some of the stop gap items get completed to get the elevator back to service never get 100% resolved and they create other issues down the road.

Hire a responsible contractor – We are a Union contractor and do promote hiring trained and competent elevator contractors[which have trained and competent personnel].  The class room training all union apprentices receive is very impressive and help them when they become mechanics.  On the job training [OJT] is very important and should complement the class room training.  If you hire and elevator contractor off the street you may not get what you think you are getting, make sure they have competent people who have been trained.  If someone was Arborist[cutting trees down] six weeks ago and this week they are a "elevator mechanic" you may want to hire someone else. 

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

Elevator pit ladder modifications – Otis Elevators

In Illinois we are going through a challenging time adapting all elevator pit ladders to meet the current requirements.  This means that elevator pit ladders that have been installed for 5 months, 5 years or 30 years need to comply with today’s requirements.  Please see below for an outline of the new expectations.
 

 

I have attached some recent work we have completed on an  newer Otis Elevator which required some modification to comply with the 4 ½” from center rung of the ladder to the hoistway wall and installation of traction tape.  In this case the mechanic cut the raceway and rewired the elevator to get the distance from the center of the rung to the hoistway wall.  This is a relatively small scope of work compared to some of the pit ladders that required replacement or variances.  In past posts there is more information on the more challenging pit ladder modifications.

 

[The wire raceway is in the way of the step that is next to the sill, the ladder needs to be moved out to 4 1/2" from center of the rung to hoistway wall  and there is no traction tape on this ladder]

 

 

[The wire raceway has been removed, ladder is shimmed out and traction tape has been installed on the ladder rungs]

 

All elevator pit ladders are a bit different and have different modifications that will need to be completed.  Many pit ladders will have to be all together replaced.  If you have not addressed the elevator pit ladder situation at your building, contact your elevator service provider.  Modifications do not require permits, if you install a new pit ladder it will require a permit with the municipality or AHJ.

 

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

Finding an appropriately sized elevator contractor for your building(s)

Over the last year we have been hearing from building owners and managers about their issues with their current elevator company.  The concerns may be that they never come, they come for 6 minutes, they come irregularly, the office never gets back to them, etc. After seeing some good and bad parts or larger companies and good and bad parts of smaller companies on sales calls I thought this would be a good topic to touch on.

A very important item for a building owner or manager to look at is finding an appropriate sized elevator service provider with the correct competency for your building.  Some important items to ask yourself is how much communication do you want with the office, how often do you want an elevator technician at your building, what is their competency[traction elevators, hydraulic elevators, escalators, residential lifts, etc] and if you had a catastrophic issue would the elevator company be able to respond adequately[or your interpretation of adequately].  Full disclosure I work for a small to mid-sized independent elevator company which services low to mid rise commercial elevators.

Large Accounts – This would be campuses of 12-100+ elevators; which could include condominiums, apartment buildings, office buildings, colleges, hospitals, etc.  Both independent and OEMs[Otis, Schindler, Thyssen, Kone] are able to take care of these accounts.  The most important item for building owners and managers to consider is a elevator service provider is the staff that will be working with you at your buildings.   You will want to interview both the office staff that will be working with you as well as the mechanic(s) that will be your primary point of contact.  You can have a fabulous elevator technician and a horrible office point of contact that changes every six months or the reverse a terrible technician and a great office point of contact.  Larger accounts typically have a larger mix of equipment, this is also something that needs to be discussed, what is the replacement parts availability [will take a day or two to get, will be available onsite, in the office ready for delivery, etc].  If you have all proprietary equipment and are considering an independent company for a cost savings option, make sure they have a competent mechanic and the equipment to troubleshoot and maintain the elevator equipment.  Also, when drafting your contract if you have 50 elevators and want each elevator to be visited each month[every other month, quarterly, etc], make sure you include how much time you want the company to spend on the elevator.  There is a huge difference between a 6 minute visit and a 30-45 minute visit.  The dynamics of elevator maintenance is changing and as a elevator industry most companies are reducing time that the technician is allowed to spend on the elevator to give a competitive price.

Case – A building owner with about 60 elevators wanted to have a mechanic at each elevator for 30-45 minutes each month, wanted testing of fireman’s recall each month, wanted the contract to cover the once a year fire testing with the fire panel company and a few other requirements that required a mechanic to be onsite performing a function.  The building owner also did not want to pay for travel time on overtime calls.  The building owner eventually got a maintenance contractor to give them what they wanted for $130.00 per elevator per month.  That is a very competitive price for the services they are requesting.  While the company may agree to the price and the scope of work, I would be surprised to see that the service provider was following through with the scope the building owner requested.  If you want to have a service scope that demands X time in a building, you will need to expect to pay more and should not shop solely based on looking for the “best deal”.

Responding to significant issues - I was at a building where a smaller service provider had an elevator out of service for 6 months and I found that they had delivered an elevator door operator and just set it on top of the elevator and it had been there for a sometime because they did have the man power to complete the installation.  If you want quick responses to equipment failures make sure the company has adequate personnel for remedying the issues.

Smaller Accounts – A smaller account would be buildings with 1-12 elevators.  Both OEMs and independent contractors can take care of these buildings.  Typically the smaller accounts would like more communication and have different expectations as they have a closer connection to the dollars that are leaving their account than larger portfolios.   In my experience you will have a better experience with an independent firm as there is typically more clarity with their product offering.  In the Chicago area there has been a good amount of consolidation where the independent firms have been purchased by OEMs.  We hear “I like the way XYZ operated but after they were purchased we lost the feel that they cared and never see the maintenance technician”.  The question a building owner/manager should ask is do you want to be a small fish in a large pond or a large fish in a small pond.  Independent contractors should be more responsive and personal than a larger company.  This is not saying that all independent contractors are responsible, you should have the same questions as a larger customer; who is my maintenance person, what experience does he have, who is my point of contact at the office level, what is the companies resources, have a I received a commitment from the company that they understand our needs and what we want.

[A larger companies response to a ongoing oil leakage issue - small fish in a big pond]

There are pros and cons of going with a smaller or larger contractor, my recommendation for building owners is to work with a company who understands what you want from a service provider. The most important part of the relationship is to be comfortable with the company, if you are not, do not know who you are dealing with or generally get the run around, that probably is not a good fit.  Remember not all elevator companies are equipped for every portfolio or every customer.

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

State of Illinois elevator pit ladder installations or modifications

We are the midst of the elevator pit ladder and other mandated item requirements and are seeing many violations being written and different takes on the elevator pit ladders.  This post is a reminder to all building owners and elevator professionals [field and office] of what needs to occur.

#1 – If you do not have an existing pit ladder you must install one

#2 – If you have an existing pit ladder it must meet these criteria

1.    Pit ladder must extend 48” above entrance sill 

2.    Ladder rungs 9” to 16” 

3.    Rungs to sill level or above

4.    Clear distance of not less than 4 ½” from center of rung to nearest object[front to back] 

5.    Side rails shall have a distance for 4 ½” from the nearest permanent object[side to side]

6.    Ladder shall be rated for 300lbs 

7.    Elevator car door unlocking device 72” vertically & 39” horizontally from top step 

8.    Ladder to be made out of noncombustible material 

9.    Non slip ladder rungs 

[Elevator Inspection Services pit ladder information]

[Thompson Elevator pit ladder information]

Replace versus modification - When we go look at existing pit ladders we need to see if we can modify the existing ladder or need to replace the ladder.  Each elevator pit ladder is different.  Many can be reused and many have to be replaced.  Modification is typically the less expensive option, however, at times modification can exceed the price for new depending on the situation. 

Many pits and existing pit ladders have items in the way to be code compliant.  There is wiring raceways, hydraulic lines, sump pumps, sump piping, light switches, etc.   If there are obstacles in the way they must be moved.  Please see a building where we had to move the wire raceway in order to get the proper clearance for the pit ladder.

[Before - see the wire raceway in the middle of the aluminum hardware store ladder]

 [After - New ladder installed, raceway moved and pit stop switch repiped]

Am I “grandfathered” -  We get this question a lot.  The answer is NO.   The elevator pit ladder requirements are a State of Illinois mandated item, with mandated items there is no grandfathering.  Buildings can go for a variance on the existing pit ladder but there needs to be good reason why a variance should be granted and there are fees associated with the variance process at the State of Illinois level and perhaps at the local level. I’ve talked to various inspection firms and the sentiment has been the same.  If there is a reasonable solution to comply with the new requirements the building must do it.  My interpretation of reasonable would be less than $5,000.00, most of the pit ladder modifications or replacements are significantly less than that number.  While I am a State of Illinois licensed inspector, I AM NOT YOUR State of Illinois inspector, so it is always prudent to check with your elevator maintenance company and your elevator inspector about options, they will be able to give you good guidance through this process. If you need a 2nd opinion, give us a call.

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