Mod Mirage – Where’s the maintenance?

[When we see these, we get pumped because it is great new stuff! From 2010]

We use a term called “mod mirage” at Colley to talk about buildings that have been modernized recently and cleaned up and looked shiny new.  Well over the years some of these jobs are neglected because the elevator mechanic, building owner or elevator contractor do not pay attention to it because it was cleaned and shiny new when the project team left, we just spent $100,000 on the elevator, or the owner will never know we aren’t doing what we are supposed to.

Mirage(noun) - an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions, especially the appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on a hot road caused by the refraction of light from the sky by heated air.

MOD Mirage – an optical illusion where we are in denial we are getting older, we have to do work or pay someone to do work because the elevator was modernized in the recent past.  Generally we fail to realize that even "new" elevators need attention.

I grew up on thinking MCE greenboards, Dover DMCs, Otis 211s where the latest and greatest.  Some of the elevators that I still consider new are over 25 years old.  These elevators still need our attention, they still get dusty, they still get dirty, they still need to be cleaned.  This goes back to the elevator maintenance trinity; elevator mechanic needs the motivation to do his job, the building owner needs to be willing to pay for someone to do their job and the elevator contractor needs to give the elevator mechanic time to do his job.  We all need to work together to make sure your equipment is presentable and will last.

I was reviewing a building we are bidding on maintenance and it seems the contractor replaced all the equipment, cleaned it up really nice, and hasn’t done anything since but probably charged the building each month.  The elevator was modernized 10 years ago.  Between 2010 and 2020 we should have brought out some rags and our vacuum a few times. This building is a prime example of a MOD Mirage.

 

[If a flashlight had cleaning properties this door operator/car top would be clean]

[We are big on cleaning off our flat surfaces to make it reasonable to work on, if you keep up on it, it will never get unmanageable]

[The company did a wonderful job painting the machine during the MOD in 2010, in 2020 we have an oil stain and rag]

[If you keep up with most pits, they don't become the "pits"] 

Fight the mod mirage!  As a mechanic let’s keep our car tops, hoistways, pits and machine rooms great for when there is a 12am service call and the guy going there has been running calls all night.  As a mechanic let’s keep them looking good because we have pride for our industry and coworkers.  As a building owner let’s make sure we have a great company doing the work because a building owner should want their equipment being taken care of to extend its life.  As an elevator contractor let’s give our elevator mechanics the time to do a good job.

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like 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 or on our web page at www.colleyelevator.com

 

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

Elevator World September 2020 – Colley Elevator - Keeping Tradition

 

Thank you to Elevator World for featuring Colley Elevator in their 2020 issue.  Thank you to all of our coworkers now and through the years that made it possible to work at the great company we can be part of today!  The wonderful history we have was created by 112 years of blood, sweat and tears!

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like 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 or on our web page at www.colleyelevator.com

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

Traction Elevator modernization – Evanston, IL

This was a pretty great project to have completed.  Colley was originally at the building in 2009 for fireman’s recall needing to be hooked up on a Vertitron Midwest controller that was installed in 1994/95.  The company who installed the controller was still the maintenance contractor so we suggested they complete the modification with their current vendor.   In 2015 we came back to the building and for the next 4 years we quoted various items for the building.  In 2019 the building agreed to work with us on a much needed full modernization.

Existing elevator & project scope – The existing elevator was installed in the 1960’s by Westinghouse Elevator and the controller only was modernized by an independent in 1994/95.  The elevator machine was leaking, the car was showing signs of fatigue and was ready to be refreshed.

New equipment providers

Controllers – Smartrise Engineering

Machine – Hollister Whitney

Door equipment - GAL

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Traction elevator controller – The elevator controller was state of the art in 1994 and included the VH 80 traction box by Vertitron with an older Mitsubishi motor drive that had been replaced a few times.  We replaced the elevator controller with a Smartrise C4 elevator controller which cut down our wire count from controller to car and gave us a great new programming and troubleshooting platform.

 [Old Vertitron traction elevator controller]

[New Smartrise C4 traction elevator controller]

Elevator machine– The existing machine was from the original installation a Westinghouse that was leaking from everywhere.  There was a foot print concern but with HWEC’s new motor flange machine it worked out great!

[Old Westinghouse traction elevator machine]

[New Hollister Whitney traction elevator machine]

[New Hollister Whitney traction elevator machine]

Elevator fixtures – This one was a challenge.  We had 3 panels on the return, car station, phone and fireman’s service phase II panel.  While it isn’t perfect, I think it turned out pretty good considering what we had to start with.

 

[Old Westinhouse car station - Not ADA compliant]

[New Innovation Industries car station - ADA compliant]

[Old main landing hall station layout - not ADA]

[New main landing hall station landing - ADA compliant]

Door equipment – This elevator was a great candidate to replace all of the MAC and old Westinghouse door equipment and install new GAL.  We gave the option to the building and they moved forward with it.

[A combination of MAC equipment & Westinghouse equipment]

[All new GAL door equipment - start with a fresh slate!]

Car top & Misc – All the wiring on the car top and hoistway was replaced, a new governor was installed.  The new door operator and car top layout makes it much easier to get around on the small car top.

[Small car top could have been laid out better]

[Still a small car top with a better layout]

[Old Westinghouse governor]

[New Hollister Whitney governor]

Take away – This was a total team effort on Colley’s part, we had 15 people from the company who worked on the project from the first phone call to the final inspection.   We were fortunate to have a great team from our crane company, La Grange Crane, work with our project team and supervisor to zip the new machine almost straight into the machine room.  Everyone onsite that day did a wonderful job to make sure we had a great pick, lift and set down.  We had a busy street, an interesting alley and challenging layout roof to maneuver. Team work makes the dream work!

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like 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 or on our web page at www.colleyelevator.com

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

2020 Ellie winner – Best Contractor of the North – Colley Elevator

We would like to thank Elevator World to allow us to participate in the 2020 Ellie contest for best contractor of the North.  We had some great competition from

 

Great Lakes Elevator

Kencor Elevator System

Minnesota Elevator, Inc

Midwest Elevator

Urban Elevator

 

Colley Elevator stole the show with almost 50% of the votes to be the 2020 Ellie award winner for best contractor for the North.  This was a lot of fun for us as a company to participate in.  Sometimes our days and weeks have been uncertain and dark and the few weeks we got to participate gave us a distraction and allowed us as a company to work together towards a common goal.  Thank you Elevator World! Congratulations to our great team at Colley.  Congratulations to the other 2020 Ellie winners!

We will be proud to hoist our 2^nd Ellie in a row!  Like Scottie and Michael of the 1990 Bulls!  We are ready to 3 peat!  Whose Pax?  Grant?  Cartwright?  Before Phil went Hollywood, he was ours!

Hey! Sign up for our mailing list!  Each month you will get some great info on Colley!  It is short and quick to run through, you’ll like 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 or on our web page at www.colleyelevator.com

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