NAEC 76th Elevator Convention - Houston, TX

 

I had the opportunity to attend the National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC’s) 76th annual convention September 17th to 18th. It was great to get back and see some old friends, meet new friends, sit through education, be involved with talking points and walk around and visit about 300 different vendors. With Illinois adopting the 2022 code, it was of particular interest to know what is on the horizon and how our vendors can support us.

 

What did I get out of it? On a regular basis I’m asked what do I get out of going to the convention or other NAEC events. I had a list of items from our office to look into since you can talk face to face with industry suppliers. Meeting people face to face is different than trading emails or even phone calls. Challenges that occur over the year can be discussed and resolved in a matter of minutes. The networking is wonderful, seeing friendly faces and talking to people that you email on a regular basis cannot be beat. What I get the most out of is seeing my peers from independent contractors and seeing what is going on in their area and what they are doing and what challenges they are facing.

 

9/17/25 – Wednesday – I caught an early flight in and ran over to catch the IUEC presentation of some code updates for 2022.  My goal was to get around the whole convention and see all of the booths.  I had to run quick.  But!  I found a lot of cool stuff!

[Show floor with my favorite Laura photobombing]

[More show floor]

[IUEC code update]

[IUEC code update]

[Adams DLM solution]

[Argus DLM solution]

[Friends at CJA]

[We won another Ellie - Thanks Elevator World!]

[New EMS Freight controller]

[Didn't know these guys existed - good connection]

[New GAL controller]

[Hyperion solution to Westinghouse single brake]

[Just cool!]

[New MEI controller]

[Thanks for having me at the party!]

[How Texas is this?]

[Thank you sponsors!]

9/18/25  – Thursday – I went to the awards breakfast, it was packed! I ran through the rest of the floor which I did not get to the day before I flew out.

 

[Packed awards breakfast!]

[ECI Boards]

[WE needed a pit flood solution - ECI]

[ECI relay tester - we bought one]

[Our friends at Innovation]

[Met our new KTech friends]

[F5 will be obsolete - replaced with F6 soon]

[VC traction controller - color coded - if you're not color blind]

[I still don't like IOT]

[Safety gear]

[Canton - how cool is this?]

[Cool to see someone else is pressure testing]

[Imperial - Congrats on the Ellie!]

[Goodbye Texas]

Why you should go – If you're in the elevator industry, this is THE show to attend where you can meet the best in the business, exchange ideas, get challenged, and come back to your company with new ideas, see new products and be a better elevator person.

2026 Convention – Chicago, IL - Yes its coming to our home.  Gary Who?

2027 Convention – St. Louis, MO – Hey! Gary got one too! 

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.

One Step Closer To Door Lock Monitoring In Illinois

The Elevator Safety Review board met today at the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) Local 2 Headquarters in Chicago Ridge. Though the A17.1 2022 code has not been approved yet by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), the board is proactively addressing concerns that the new code will create once adopted.

Many of the items discussed at the meeting were procedural and dealt with changes to elevator inspection forms. Some questions and comments addressed specific language and how it would be  interpreted once the code becomes the law of the land.

Most of those discussions centered on Door Lock Monitoring (DLM). For Colley customers, this means the following:

What is Door Lock Monitoring?  It is a system that prevents an elevator from moving unless its doors are fully closed and locked. It monitors the position of an elevator’s car doors and prevents automatic operation if any door issues are detected, such as with the door's wiring, locks, contacts or the system being on bypass mode. 

How will Door Lock Monitoring be tested? That is the million dollar question at the moment, though it will become part of the annual category 1 (CAT1) no load safety test. 

All elevators will be required to have testing guidelines onsite which is not a problem for new elevators, but older ones may lack the documentation.

Industry-wide it will likely mean higher fees from both the elevator inspection companies as well as labor costs. Most in the industry seem to agree that 2 mechanics will be needed for door lock monitoring inspections and those inspections may take an additional hour. For reference, CAT1 tests on hydraulic elevators usually only require 1 mechanic and 1 hour to perform.

Some older elevators, especially those with controllers pre-2000 won't even have the door lock monitoring feature. Those elevators will need modernizations.

Will Door Lock Monitoring be required on my elevator/conveyance?  All freight and passenger elevators that have power operated doors which are mechanically coupled to landing doors will need this feature. If a door can be pulled closed, for example on freight elevators, it does not need door lock monitoring as the doors cannot close on their own.

Door Lock Monitoring will have no grandfathering in this code edition - all elevators that require door lock monitoring MUST HAVE IT. Tentatively the grace period for those without is January 1, 2029.

If you have any questions or would like additional information please contact us.