Hydraulic Elevator Modernization – Highwood, IL

 

This is a pretty typical modernization we had the chance to work with a building.  Each year our work gets a bit more complicated and involved with other trades.  This building needed a new fire panel and a lot of associated fire work in additional to our semi vanilla elevator modernization

New equipment providers 

Controllers – Alpha Elevator 

Door operators – GAL MOVFR

Fixtures – Innovation Industries w/Rath camera

Power unit – MEI w/Maxton valve

Visual communication – CAT 5 line[building supplied & Towne Monitoring]

 

Elevator controller – Th existing controller was a Schumacher controller with 3 soild state boards.  We are replacing it with a more user friendly Alpha Elevator Controller that have parts available and technical support for any company that calls.  

 

[Old Schumacher elevator controller]

 

[New Alpha Elevator controller]

Elevator door operator – The elevator had MAC door equipment which we replaced with a new GAL MOVFR II door operator and new MAC hatch equipment.

 

[Old MAC door operator]

[New GAL MOVFR II door operator]

Elevator fixtures – We installed Innovation Industries hall and car fixtures to replace the original buttons.  The car station was an integral so we had to be pretty precised on our measurements

 

[Old car station]

[New Innovation car station w/Rath Phone]

[Old hall station]

 

[New Innovation main landing hall station]

Machine room layout – With our new machine room layout it creates a nice, clean and professional environment. 

[Old machine room layout]

[New machine room layout]

Turnkey – The building wanted a turnkey project and we had great partners to complete our fire alarm and electrical components.

[Old mainline disconnect]

[New main line disconnect]

 

Visual communication - VAM – We had an electrical pull a CAT 5 cable to our machine room for visual and we engaged Towne Monitoring for the answering service.  Rath Smartview was our camera partner on this project.

Take away – We encourage building owners to take a proactive approach to equipment replacement. When equipment gets 20-30 years old, and a building’s expectations are that the elevators are to run reliably, it is a good idea to start planning when it should be replaced.  

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, 11 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!  A special shout out to our patient building through the whole process.

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.

Information on State of Illinois Adoption of Elevator Code A17.1 2022 - Door Lock Monitoring

Find information below on our new cannon ball code that will be coming very soon after Springfield, IL approves it.  This is extremely important for everyone that has an interest in elevators as it changes the way we test elevators and may force buildings to modernize their older systems.

Testing – When the code comes into effect, we will be adding a few more items we will have to test. This may require 2 people and an additional hour of time.

Testing is the easier part of this new code.  The more challenging part is elevators that where installed 2004 and earlier.  Most of these elevators may not have 'Door Lock Monitoring' so buildings will have to add it to their systems or replace their controller/door operator. 

Question 1: What is door lock monitoring?

Door lock monitoring refers to a system that prevents an elevator from moving unless its doors are fully closed and locked. A door lock monitor is designed to monitor the position of an elevator’s car doors and prevent automatic operation if any door issues are detected, such as with door wiring, door locks, door contacts or a door system bypass. A door lock monitor is intended to ensure that an elevator cannot operate in such circumstances, which would prevent the elevator doors from opening automatically and any passenger falling into the hoistway, being crushed during unexpected movement of the elevator, or otherwise being exposed to the danger of injury or death.

Question 2: Which elevators require door lock monitoring?

Door lock monitoring is required by the 2022 edition ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators (ASME A17.1 (2022)). The door lock monitoring requirement in ASME A17.1 (2022) applies to all automatic passenger and freight elevators in the State of Illinois. Under the proposed rules, elevators permitted for installation after January 1, 2026, will be required to have door lock monitoring at the time of installation while existing elevators will be required to have door lock monitoring by January 1, 2029. Some existing elevators have door lock monitoring in place. Check with your elevator company if you are unsure of the status of door lock monitors for your elevator(s).

Question 3: When did the Board vote to adopt ASME A17.1 (2022) including door lock monitoring for all existing automatic passenger and freight elevators?

The Board voted at its August 13, 2024 meeting to amend the administrative rules, as required by the Act. In particular, the Board voted to adopt the ASME A17.1 (2022), which includes the door lock monitoring requirement for all passenger and freight elevators, both new and existing. At the Board’s November 7, 2024 meeting, the Board voted to extend the date of compliance for door lock monitoring for existing elevators to 3-years after the effective date of the 2022 code implementation. At the Board’s March 6, 2025 meeting, the Board voted to approve specific language for the administrative rules.

Question 4: Why did door lock monitoring become a requirement?

To protect the elevator-riding public from risk of serious injury and death associated with open elevator doors and elevator movement. New York City led the nation in instituting door lock monitoring after tragic incidents in 2011 and 2019 in which elevator passenger deaths occurred.

Question 5: When do elevator owners have to have door lock monitors in place to comply with the door lock monitoring requirement?

Under proposed rules, elevators permitted for installation after January 1, 2026, will be required to have door lock monitoring at the time of installation while existing elevators will be required to have door lock monitoring by January 1, 2029.

Question 6: How can existing elevators implement door lock monitoring?

Compliance can be achieved in two ways: 1) Adding an overlay; or 2) Modernizing the elevator. The approach taken will be determined by the elevator owner and may depend on factors such as the age of the equipment, usage, budget, and the owner’s plans for the building. 

Question 7: Who can I contact about getting door lock monitoring on my elevator?

A list of all licensed elevator contractors is available at:

https://sfm.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/sfm/sfmdocuments/documents/reports/elevator-safety/elevatorlicensedcontractors.pdf

Take away – Ask your current contractor questions, get information on if you comply or if you need to do work.  The State of Illinois has done a great job of getting this information out to us so we can prepare building owners.  This is just the start.

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.