The Importance of Elevator Maintenance Transparency/Showing Up and FEO

Last week we had the opportunity to look at a group of buildings that had an interest in seeing what else is out there.  The buildings had kept the multinational company who had installed the elevators 15 years ago.  A new property manager was hired about a year ago and suggested that the buildings should look at alternatives, if nothing more, to know what they are getting compared to what is out there.

The building had no idea when the elevator mechanic shows up, if they show up or what they do.  This is a common response because typically we have keys to the building and typically no one else enters the machine room.

 The walk through was fairly typical with exception of a few items

                1.   Potential leaky packings

    2.   Elevator pit hasn’t been cleaned since construction

    3.   Water in the elevator pit

 

Leaky packing? Is this a leaky packing or has someone not cleaned out the oil pan for 5 years?  Hard to say when you do not even know when the last time someone was at the building.   I often give the analogy of the HVAC person who comes to your home twice a year and most of the time you have no idea what they do.  If you opened up your furnace and saw something like this, would you think they are doing their job?  Or would you feel taken advantage of?

 

Construction dust - This elevator pit doesn’t appear to have been cleaned from construction.  A clean elevator pit will not make your elevator run better.  A clean elevator pit is something we should be doing because it is part of our job as housekeeping.  A clean pit is also an indication of you have someone who takes pride in their job and most likely is looking at the more technical items as well.  If in the last 15 years an elevator company has been cashing your checks but never took the time to clean the pit, I would ask some questions.

 

Water in the elevator pit - The water in an elevator pit with piping corrosion is concerning because you could have a hydraulic issue and a pipe can blow out or when a hole is developed in the pipe from rust, someone could trip and fall out of the elevator.  We recently inherited an elevator pit that had been wet on and off over the last 10 years. Their piping developed a hole and sprayed oil everywhere in the hoistway, which triggered a service call.  Once reviewed, the breach required the car to be shut off.  When we replaced the compromised piping, which was the initial cause, and went to replace the Victaulics on other parts of the piping we discovered that the entire line needed to be changed due to corrosion.  It took more time and more money. If we are going to a building on a regular basis we should be looking at this and letting the building know they need their sump fixed.  Elevator pit sumps fail on a regular basis, this is part of our job to look at during our maintenance visit.  While our visits cost you money, they can save you money when we find items like a broken sump pump in the elevator pit.  *The building also has a responsibility to act when they are told they have items to complete.

Maintenance records - The elevator code requires maintenance records be kept in the elevator machine room.  Larger multinational firms have digital records accessible to building owners/property management which typically never make it into the machine room.  The elevator code indicates maintenance records are to be accessible to elevator personnel, inspectors, sales people, etc at all times. Colley Elevator is a proponent of having maintenance records in the elevator room to follow the elevator code.  Having maintenance records in the elevator machine room is a best practice and will also keep your elevator company honest.

Take away – The elevator industry, as a whole, is coming to buildings less and less. This is a trend which overloads elevator route mechanics. Your maintenance agreement most likely says maintenance “as needed” or “systematic”. If your only interaction with the elevator company is getting a bill and writing a check, find out what they are doing and when they are doing it.  I would recommend to insist that the contract indicate in writing how often someone is coming. If you have maintenance records in the elevator room, it is as simple as a building owner/manager going to the room and looking.  The reason I like records in the machine room is because a person can complete their electronic form from their car without even going into the building. If you have written records in the machine room, we have to actually go into the building.  There are a lot of good companies out there that will supply you with transparency, written records and are accountable.  If you do not have one, find one, they are out there.

Maintenance intervals/quarterly vs monthly – Something that should be brought up here is that if a building is paying for quarterly visits on a hydraulic elevator you most likely will get about 4 hours of maintenance a year.  Historically the elevator industry was going to hydraulic elevators each month and about 12 hours a year.  When there is less time given/paid for maintenance, there is less time for a technician do his/her job correctly. Not to mention that we should be checking Fireman's Emergency Operation (FEO) once a month per code.

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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

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