Hydraulic elevator modernization – Forest Park Library – Forest Park, IL

 

This is a story about an elevator that was installed in 1994 by Automatic Elevator using a Motion Control Engineering controller.  Motion Control Engineering is discontinuing support on this series of elevator controllers and parts will become difficult to find and have repaired.  There is one component on the controller that is very concerning which is the white PLC/dispatching box.  The library put the elevator modernization in their capital plan to modernize and after Phase I of the library renovation was completed they put the elevator on the docket to be modernized.  The building went out to bid, Colley Elevator was the low bid and had the opportunity to work with SMC Construction and the Forest Park Library on the elevator modernization project. 

Existing elevator & project scope – We replaced the elevator controller, fixtures, door operators, hatch and car doors, cab interior, power unit, hydraulic cylinder gland packings, electrical and many other components on the elevator.

New equipment providers

Controllers – Smartrise

Door operators – GAL MOVFR

Fixtures – Innovation Industries

Power unit – Quality

Interior work – Cab works

Doors – Peelle Company

Visual text monitoring partner - Kings III

Elevator controller – The existing elevator had a Motion Control Engineering[MCE] HMC-1000 elevator controller.  This style of MCE controllers is being set for obsolescence and there are some components on the controller that would be challenging or impossible to get or have repaired. 

[Old Motion Control Engineering HMC-1000 elevator controller]

[New Smartrise Engineering elevator controller]

Elevator door operators – We replaced the original GAL MOD door operator with a GAL MOVFR door operator

[Old neglected car top with GAL MOD door operators]

[New painted car top with new GAL MOVFR door equipment]

Elevator fixtures – We installed Innovation Industries hall and car fixtures to replace the original  Adams Elevator fixtures.

[Old Adams Car station]

[New Innovation Industries car station with visual text capabilities via Kings III]

[Old main landing Adams Elevator hall fixtures]

[New main landing Innovation Industries hall fixtures]

Hydraulic power unit – We removed the Quality Elevator submersible and installed a Quality Elevator submersible power unit with a Maxton UC4 hydraulic control valve.

[Old Quality Elevator hydraulic tank with Maxton UC4 valve]

[New Quality elevator hydraulic tank with Maxton UC4 valve and Maxton shut off valve]

Elevator interior – The building wanted a fresh look for their elevator interior for their employees and patrons.  We worked with Cabworks to give the building something sharp and fresh and a reasonable price point.  Cabworks was great to work with and made it easy for the Library to get a great looking cab.

[Cabworks put in new wall panels to give the cab a fresh look]

Hatch and cab doors – We replaced all the hatch and cab doors with stainless steel #4 doors from Peelle Company.  Replacing the hatch and cab doors gives the elevator a great new look.

[Old Hatch doors with Formica laminate]

[New stainless steel #4 doors]

Elevator pit – The old pit was filled with oil and water, we repacked the cylinder gland heads and did our best at painting the elevator pit.  It is hard to make a pit that has been neglected for years look good, this one should be good and easy to identify and future leaks.

[elevator pit prior to modernization]

[elevator pit after modernization]

Coordination & process – For publicly funded projects the building owners typically have to go out to bid and work with the lowest responsible bidder.  We were fortunate to be the low bid on this project and got the opportunity to work with a great general contractor SMC.  Jason and SMC[Shales McNutt Construction] was great to work with and made this project successful with their direction and communication.  Most GC’s we work with are good, SMC was great!

Colley's Library work – We take care of more library systems than any other elevator company in the Chicagoland area.  Currently we take care of over 40 different library systems and we love our library clients!  Your blogger uses his library on a weekly basis and have a deep appreciation for what they do for the community!

Take away – This building had an elevator that was in good working condition but used their construction manager to help them understand useful life on their building items.  Many buildings do not recognize that their equipment may be one shut down from an extended outage.  Planning and proactivity on vital systems like your elevator can save the building a lot of head ache and accessibility challenges in the future. 

Team work– The sales person and the project team who finishes typically get the glory on a project.  In between the initial contract sale and the final acceptance are many other people who work on the project to make it successful.  From the truck driver to the engineer to the billing department to the assist when needed, 12 Colley Elevator employees where involved in the project and we had tremendous team work on it.  Thank you everyone without you we would not have had such a successful delivery!  Let’s not forget our great material supplier participation!

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.

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

Elevator Cylinder Hole Clause – Elevator Cylinder Replacement

 

When we do elevator cylinder work, we talk to the building about potential issues that we cannot predict once we start the project; the underground conditions. I typically explain to the building owner that 80% of our projects go well, no issues. Another 10% of our projects have a bit of water, boulders, or the hole isn’t plumb and requires some additional funding to complete the project.  And 10% of the cylinder holes we meet require a well driller because the hole is crooked, no casing, hole collapses, construction material in the hole, or many other scenarios that can occur.

Cylinder hole clause – There should be a clause in every cylinder contract about unforeseen underground conditions that will require a building owner to pay additional for the time and material needed to resolve the specific issue.  If a company does not have this in their contract, ask them about it and why it is not in their contract.

Why is there a cylinder hole clause – When we remove the cylinder we have no idea what is in the ground.  We cannot be responsible for a hole collapsing or the existing casing being crooked or off center.  It is impossible to know what is beneath the cement we are about to open up.

What happens when you have a bad hole – After we remove the elevator cylinder, most times it is smooth sailing. We get a debris removal truck and weld the cylinder and away we go.  If we remove a cylinder and see we do not have casing, we start looking at potential options for the building.  A clay hole may stand up during the debris removal process or it could collapse.  The building should know their options.  What we do is give them our options and the risks associated with them.  We often call multiple well drillers for pricing and availability.  We are lucky to have some great well drillers that service the Chicago area.  We collect pricing for the building and share the information with them so they can make a decision.

How much does a well driller cost?  This is a great question, reaming a hole will take a few days anss is not a lot of cost.  Pulling out 16’ of casing and drilling down 60’ gets expensive.  Each cylinder hole is different.   Most standard cylinder hole clauses have a 15% upcharge on additional fees from well drillers.  You should ask for the final invoice from the well driller and explanation of any additional expenses.

How long does it take?  How long it takes depends on availability as well as how deep your hole is and the exact scope.  Once onsite, most well drillers are 5-10 days to complete their scope.

Can a well driller run into unexpected/unforeseen issues?  Absolutely yes.  We ask our drillers to document what they see and what they find if there will be additional billing outside their price.

Once the well driller is done how much longer does it take to complete the cylinder replacement? There are scheduling challenges with starting and stopping projects and having the right personnel available when the well driller completes their scope.  Once the elevator company is back on site typically it is 5-7 working days.

Can I switch elevator companies after a cylinder hole goes bad?  We get this phone call from time to time.  The answer is no.  You should finish the project with the company that started it. It isn’t the elevator company’s fault there are underground challenges.

Undermining elevator pits/buildings – The elevator contractor needs to proceed with caution when using a debris removal company. If they remove too much material from a cylinder hole it can undermine a building’s foundation because you are taking earth away from under the building. 

Here are a few of our recent cylinder challenges

30” existing drilled hole, no casing, 50’ – This was an abnormally large cylinder hole that was drilled, no casing installed, the hole was clay, but the clay was falling into the hole.  We encouraged the building to hire a well driller because the volume of water and debris that would be removed would be very expensive and if you got to 49’ clear hole and the cylinder hole collapsed you would still require a well driller. 

[In this picture you can see this larger hole is beginning to undermine the pit]

20” existing drilled hole, with casing, 38’ – This hole had casing but it was crooked so we could not plumb the cylinder and the hole needed to have the casing removed and new casing installed.  Back in 1967 we didn't have the requirement of PVC protection for a cylinder. It barely was able to be plumbed here with out additional PVC in the hole.  Even with a cylinder bag, this wasn't going to work.

24” existing drilled hole, without casing, 45’ – This hole did not have casing, however, it was clay.  Everything was going well until we ran into an obstruction about 29' down.  We had a well driller ream the hole, remove the obstruction, and clear the remainder of the hole so we could continue.

30” existing drilled hole, without casing, 45’ – There was nothing the debris removal truck could do with the clay and water in this hole.  This exercise wrapped up quickly to prevent undermining and wasting money.

Take away – If you are reading this, before you consider signing an agreement with an elevator company to replace your cylinder, ask questions.  If the person you are talking to cannot address your questions and make you feel comfortable, you should get a 2^nd opinion and see how that person/company does.  Cylinder work is hard, messy and can get complicated and expensive quickly.

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.

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

Chicago Elevator Association – November Meeting

 

The Chicago Elevator Association is the longest running elevator association in the United States as featured in Elevator World a few years back.  I remember the first CEA meeting I went to back in 2002, I believe I brought my brother[who wasn’t in the industry but I didn’t know anyone so I brought him], at the time Colley wasn’t very active in the association. I went to my first meeting and saw giants of the industry and I knew just showing up and listening I would learn from these people.

My dad, Ray Zomchek, used to go semi frequently when it was held at the Comeback Inn with people from Automatic Elevator, Gregory Elevator, Anderson Elevator, Reliance, Commercial, Urban Elevator, Mid States, CJ Anderson, Donnelly & Associates, Adams Elevator, Quality Elevator, Peelle and the list goes on of all the independent companies who had people with strong personalities and knew everything.  If I could have been a fly on the wall of those rooms… I don’t know the history as well as our elder statesmen do but we have a rich history with the CEA with some elevator industry legends that changed the way elevators are today with their contributions to our industry.

Thursday Hyperion came to the CEA for our November meeting held at Angelos – Elmhurst, IL and learned a lot about their consolidation efforts. Lisa Grimes and Dan Shaw from Hyperion where present to talk about their new company.

Hyperion is EECO, EMI/Porta, Lift Net, McIntosh Industries, Texacone, Titan Machine, Torin Drive, Vator Accessories & ZZipco. 

The presentation was great and I learned a lot about what I had been hearing about, but, the best part of the meeting was I got to see old friends and industry legends.  We had 2 people at our table that if you combine their years in the business they have over 100 years of elevator experience.  The discussions you get to hear and participate in about elevator code, industry changes, safety, etc will not occur on walk throughs, zoom calls or client meetings.  Going to the CEA will make you a better elevator person, food is great, people are great and you are going to learn something from a more laid back atmosphere and candid discussion.  Back in 2002 when I went to my first meeting I knew everything, in 2022 I understand I have a lot to learn, part of my learning comes from going to these meetings and participating.

If you haven’t ever been or it’s been a while, come on by, take a seat, if you don’t know people, 5 minutes after you show up you will know a good amount of people at the meeting, that is the kind of people that go, ones that will make you feel welcome and will introduce you to people.  

Congratulations to Colley’s own Alex Macias for being elected to Vice President of the CEA during the November meeting!

Next event – December 7^th, 2023 – Holiday Party – Navy Pier Chicago – Sports Museum.

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.

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