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.