The Elevator Maintenance Trinity – Maintenance required

Back in 2016 I wrote a piece on something I call the Elevator Maintenance Trinity; Companies, Mechanics and Building owners are responsible for making sure their elevators are maintained properly.  This last week I was at a few buildings doing engineering on modernization projects we are doing which reminded me that we all need a reminder from time to time that pride and responsibility are still a job requirement for all three; contractors, mechanics and building owners. 

[How many items on this car top can you find that are wrong?]

Contractors – We are the most important part of the equation.  Elevator contractors need to give elevator mechanics time to do elevator maintenance. Elevator contracts need to educate building owners why elevator maintenance is important.  We live in a faster time where short term goals are more important than long term relationships.  Monthly maintenance is being replaced with quarterly maintenance.  Reasonable route sizes are being replaced with super routes.  6 to 15 minutes stops are being assigned to some OEM companies.  Contractors need to look at each elevators environment, age and traffic pattern to encourage building owners to have the correct amount of maintenance visits/time needed.

[It took a few years to get this build up on the ropes]

Mechanics – The elevator mechanic is key to this equation as well, you are the execution.  An elevator mechanic needs to have the motivation to oil, grease, clean, replace parts as needed.  We need to take pride in our jobs.  At times some of us get hung up on “just another elevator”, “this is good enough for this visit”, “I’m too smart or have too much experience to clean” or “I have too much to do” and forget that these elevators we maintain are for people who cannot use stairs, who need to get to doctors’ appointments, have handicap visitors who look forward to seeing their friends/families in buildings, etc.  Our work is very personal to a lot of elevator users who lose their independence and dignity when we are not doing our jobs.  If you get the time we need to execute so the contractor can sell the frequency/hours that is required to properly keep the elevator in good condition.

[Come on man[or woman]!]

Building owners – The building owners/managers are the ones who are paying the contractors for doing the work.  They should pay a fair price for a service that will allow their elevator to service the building in a safe and reliable manner.  The cheapest price is not always the answer, you do get what you pay for.  A building owner should find an elevator contractor who can explain to them why the specific maintenance plan is a good fit for their elevator system and explain what they are getting for the price.  If the building's elevator equipment is past its life expectancy, it needs to be replaced.  It is your responsibility to engage your contractor on modernization proposals and educate yourself so you can budget appropriately.  Getting proposals for 10+ years for the same scope of work and saying "the building doesn't have it in their budget this year" is not acceptable.

All three entities need to be working in unison to achieve the ultimate goal of safe, reliable elevator service that allows existing equipment to last a long time.  In our industry we have great contractors, great mechanics and great building owners.  We also have not so great contractors, not so great mechanics and very price sensitive building owners.  I am proud to be in the elevator industry and when I see some of this behavior going on it is disappointing.  We can do better!  Contractors need to give mechanics the time and resources, mechanics need to execute and building owners need to pay for a reasonable maintenance plan and modernize their equipment within a reasonable time line.

This is the same story I was beating the drum on in 2016. If you want to take a look at the 2016 Elevator World Article a link is below.  The photos are from a great building owner who is getting poor service from the company they have been with for many many years and are hiring a new company to do their modernization.

http://colleyelevator.blogspot.com/2016/10/chicago-elevator-maintenance-elevator.html

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.

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