Elevator Audits

Elevator Audits

Elevator Audits are a critical element of the service that you receive from your contractor. Many contracts have yearly supervisor audits written in however few are actually performed.  You may get a computerized statement that says someone did show up on site however it probably wasn’t for a formal audit.

Most companies do have supervisory personnel stop by occasionally to check on field employees but they do not come close to performing a full audit. To assure the integrity of your conveyance system it is important to insist on a yearly equipment audit AND accompany the auditor while he/she is evaluating the equipment. Minimal time per unit should be around ½ hour per. If you absolutely can’t make it at least send someone from your staff who can understand what they’re looking at and ask questions to gain further understanding.

The audit needs to be scheduled for a time that is convenient to you and your building occupants so as to cause minimal disruption. When scheduling the audit ask the auditor for a copy of the form he/she will use. Study the form and ask questions at the scheduling meeting. Remember there is no such thing as a dumb question. If the auditor tries to make you FEEL dumb for asking then we both know that this relationship is not a good one. (Probably especially for you).

Some of the main things to be covered in the audit:

Inside the car: Lights, emergency communications, quality of ride, noise, signal lights, condition of interior, condition of interior fixtures, cleanliness etc.

Machine room: cleanliness, does everything SEEM to be in order. Ask the function of  each major component and what things is the auditor looking for.

Inside the shaft: Look at the door equipment and make them show you the cleanliness. 70% of elevator problems come from door problems. If all of the door equipment is filthy and covered with dust you can bet that it is not being serviced properly. You can’t see if a component is not working properly is it’s covered with grease and dirt. Everything should be clean and the auditor should be able to easily demonstrate how the door equipment works so you can understand.

Is the pit clean? Dirty pits usually have little effect on how an elevator operates but they indicate how conscientious the service person is. The pit light should be operable.  A pit with oil all over the floor tells you that the technician is not spending enough time on the job to attend to all of the details.

The same goes for a dirty/dusty car top.  The car top light should be operable and there should be no trash or stored parts on the top.

There are many other things that you can observe by accompanying the auditor on the conveyance tour and any suggestions that you may come up with and can send in will be published here for all to use.

After the audit request a formal report. The report should also contain a performance report for the previous 12 months. A list of servicing, repairs, and call backs, all listed by the date which they occurred.

A close observation of all of the data may point to causes of the unforeseen problems.  Compare it to last years information if you have any.  After you have reviewed it then ask for a meeting with the auditor to discuss the report, findings, areas for improvement and possible upgrades to the system.  This gives your elevator contractor an opportunity to sell you upgrades but they will be genuine upgrades that will benefit all parties, not just for the sake of an upgrade.

I am really looking forward to your input to this post so we can possibly come up with a good simple audit sheet that everyone can use as a starter point.

As always, any ideas, input or comments are appreciated. It looks as if I’m building a regular audience for this blog and I hope to continue.

For now I’ll leave you with the following quotes:

Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully. Graham Greene

or

Making duplicate copies and computer printouts of things no one wanted even one of in the first place is giving America a new sense of purpose. Andy Rooney

Don’t forget to email me if you have questions or comments (elevatorernie@hotmail.com). Your suggestions are always welcome.

Thank you,

Ernie

Obsolescence Clauses in Elevator Contracts

Obsolescence Clauses in Elevator Contracts

Most “full coverage” elevator contracts have an obsolete parts clause in them. It’s always a good idea to be familiar with what your contract says about this. If you have a very old contract that has continued on for years there may not be a clause, in that situation the service contractor is liable for whatever it takes to repair the system, in most cases if it goes to court the decision will be in your favor.

You may want to consider a softer line if your service contractor has been doing a good job for all those years and offer to split the cost of the upgrade/repair with them after you find out what the entire cost would be. In the long run it pays to be fair and keep a good contractor in business.

When your elevator service contractor comes to you and says that you will have to pay to replace a part that was covered under the contract it can be very beneficial to examine the circumstances. First of all how old is your conveyance system? How many were built? It could be that the original equipment manufacturer has stopped producing the part rendering it obsolete to them when in reality it could be available through aftermarket suppliers. If it’s a circuit board is there a shop anywhere that repairs and exchanges them? Most elevator service companies utilize the services of these small specialty shops scattered throughout the country. If it’s a motor why can’t it be rewound at a local shop? If you’re in a hurry for it you can pay the premium portion of the rewinding cost. With some very old elevators a local machinist may be able to produce a satisfactory substitute. Some major manufacturers refuse to purchase parts from their competitors even if they are available. New elevators sell at a very low margin, elevator parts sell at a very high margin and some majors will go to great lengths to avoid enriching their rivals.

In the past some elevator service companies have been a bit too quick to label parts as obsolete in the rush to get you to upgrade either to increase their repair revenue, sell their parts, and or make the elevator easier to service. As for the last part if an upgrade makes the elevator easier to service or increases reliability, depending on the cost you may be able to make it work for you by negotiating with the service contractor.

Even if you feel that you have a good relationship with your technician it’s always best to check when he or she makes you aware of an obsolete condition. One way to avoid the problem is to ask for a list of obsolete parts and assemblies to be produced from your yearly audit. With this information you can sit down with the contractor and discuss upgrade options and costs and budget to eliminate them as you go. In the case of expensive upgrades it is always helpful to speak with a competitor or a consultant. It could be that your contractor just may not be aware of the latest aftermarket supplier’s products.

In the future I’ll discuss..

Obsolete parts

Downtime

Safety tests

What should be covered

Yearly audits with supervisory personnel

For now I will leave you with quotes from:

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”
Mark Twain

or

“A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
George Bernard Shaw

Don’t forget to email me if you have questions or comments (elevatorernie@hotmail.com). Your suggestions are always welcome.

Thank you,

Ernie

Elevator Contracts

More on Elevator Contracts

Continuing my last comments about servicing contracts. It’s always best to call in a knowledgeable consultant to write your contract. Elevators aren’t like cars where you have millions that are alike. Each conveyance unit is a unique stand alone piece of equipment. Each was built on site, each has its own peculiarities due to usage, construction, environment etc.  A consultant can perform an initial survey and derive a specific maintenance plan, along with a pre-maintenance plan to get everything up to a high standard.  When that’s accomplished bring in the consultant yearly for audits to assure that the contractor is keeping it at that standard.

Make sure that the consultant includes certain provisions in the contract. Such as:

Cancellation terms. Most contractors want a long term (5 year) contract. You can give it to them but provide a series of one year renewals based upon the results of the yearly audits. If the service drops off so does your contractor. Extend the contract for five years only. Then it should be time to re-evaluate the scope of work in your document  as well as obtain bids to stay within market rates.

Fixed prices and capped increases. Make your contractor include fixed pricing with capped increases. Fixed pricing should be for the hourly rate fees.  Have them state regular working hours rates, overtime rates, weekend rates, holiday rates, and team repair/upgrade rates. Increases should be allowed yearly corresponding to inflation/deflation rates and wage rates based on the union wage.  I recommend 80% of the increase tied to the metals index and 20% tied to the union wage increase. Caps should be reasonable, normally 5% is a fair figure for all parties.

Exclusive rights. Most elevator contractors demand exclusive rights to work on the equipment that they service. This makes sense in that an outside contractor can perform work that could affect a function of the equipment. The incumbent contractor should not be responsible for the side effects of others work. With all of that said, however you have to be able to control excessive charges for needed upgrades or repairs.  With any project that will cost more than $3500 go out for bids. In the bids ask the proposal writer to break it down into time and material costs. Then you can compare to see if your service company is ripping you off. I recommend 4 bids. They should be close. If your service contractor falls between the high and low bid then he should be awarded the contract. Let him know whgat you’re doing to keep him from being tempted.  For anything over $5000 have the consultant write a scope of work and review the bids.

Next time I’ll discuss:

Obsolete parts

Downtime

Safety tests

What should be covered

Yearly audits with supervisory personnel

For now I will leave you with a quote from

I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
– Mark Twain

Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.
– Moses Hadas

Choose the one you like the best.

Don’t forget to email me if you have questions or comments (elevatorernie@hotmail.com). Your suggestions are always welcome.

Thank you,

Ernie

Having Your Elevator Serviced

Having Your Elevator Serviced

Servicing your elevator can be one of the most expensive undertakings in your budget. This is where the old adage “Pay me now or pay me later” really applies. Some owners just opt for the lowest price because they have to have a service program.  Another old saying “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” These companies are not donating their services to you nor are their employees, so you have to think to yourself if they are going to stay in business there has to be a way for them to generate a profit. There is usually two ways to do it. The first is to bill you regularly and ignore the equipment until it breaks down, then you get charged for callback services. The other way is to charge you for everything under the sun when they do service it. Either way will cost you more than a reasonably priced program in the long run. The icing on the cake here is that as your equipment deteriorates due to neglect, so does your reputation. Pretty soon you end up with a facility that can only command a rent figure that’s low on the ladder. 

So how do you avoid this situation? Just because you’re paying a premium doesn’t mean you will get good service.  Ninety eight percent of building owners, managers, mechanics, and facility engineers don’t know the first thing about elevator maintenance. In some states you aren’t even allowed in the machine room or shaft unless you hold a certification or license. Most are at the mercy of the elevator contractor. This creates a need for government inspectors to maintain safety standards. It also creates a market for consultants. So back to the original premise, how do you choose your elevator service program?  I highly recommend that you either use a consultant or bring in someone knowledgeable to help you write your contract. Many owners aren’t aware that you don’t have to accept the contractors’ agreement as is. If you can’t generate a complete contract then you can make changes to the agreement that your contractor presents you with.  Some advice here is to read carefully. Do not accept a contract with vague promises about servicing “systematically” or “on a regular basis”. Write in your own language, specific language that puts the contractor on a firm schedule. Let them know that when you solicit bids from them. Language such as “monthly service before the 15^th of each month.”  Specify hours such as 2 hours per traction elevator and 1 hour per hydraulic elevator.  Confirm with check in check out procedures that must be followed in order to get paid. Add penalties such as damages of $200 per hour for any responses that take more than 4 hours. Define what a response is, not just a visit from a sales person.  Then you have to follow up on the contract and penalize the contractor for missed visits late responses and shoddy work. How does an untrained eye know how well the work is being performed? Over 50% of elevator servicing is housekeeping and cleaning. If a technician keeps everything clean and neat he/she can immediately spot leaks, wobbly parts with worn bearings etc. Your contract should require your servicing company to escort you on a yearly audit throughout the system, in the shafts and machine rooms, viewing the car tops and the pits to confirm that proper housekeeping is being performed. You should take digital photos and compare them from year to year.  Yes this will take some of your time but it should pay off well in the long run.

Don’t forget to email me if you have questions or comments. Your suggestions are always welcome.

Thank you,

Ernie

Today’s quote is from General George S. Patton

“Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”

Elevator Controllers…., continued

With the introduction of microprocessors on circuit boards in the eighties software became a crucial element of elevator operation. Microprocessors made many more features available and to enable those features the software needed to be written. When you think of software for an elevator, think about a program like Microsoft’s Windows. It does everything and controls all functions and add ons. Whenever you purchase a new copy of Window’s it seems as if you always get a flurry of patches repairs etc. to avoid lock ups and crashes.  Elevator software has no such leeway. Elevators are designed to serve the public and new controllers are under scrutiny from state and federal inspectors to assure public safety. That’s not to say that they don’t have software glitches. Usually the glitches are small and hidden from the public and quietly fixed by the manufacturers.  The certifying organizations make sure there are no huge problems but small things do occasionally show up. These things create callbacks for the servicing companies and it usually takes some time for them to realize that it’s a software problem, then even more time to create a patch program that doesn’t affect another function.

As we continue on into the computer revolution elevator controllers are getting smaller and smaller. Currently some manufacturers are only using one circuit board about the size of a motherboard in a laptop. Most of the space in a controller cabinet is now utilized by starters and electrical components.  It seems as if a future upgrade will be as simple as changing out one board or even plugging in a flash drive.  With these upgrades manufacturers have also greatly increased the energy efficiency of the controllers. Warning lights are now LED’s. Fault code displays are 4 inch by 1 inch LCD’s that scroll the messages by.  

Though they generate a lot less heat by themselves, today’s controllers are much more sensitive to heat than their predecessors. Anyone who has ever had a laptop overheat on them can verify that heat is an enemy of computer chips. Keeping the machine room cool AND clean is more important than ever.

While everyone touts the fact that their controllers are self diagnostic, don’t be fooled. There’s still a long, long way to go before they can truly pinpoint their own problems. Most fault codes generated only specify a general area in which the fault occurred.  It still takes a good technician and sometimes plenty of time to locate a specific fault. Foe example: Your elevator suddenly stops after you step in and push the button to go down to the first floor for lunch. The fault code that is produced may refer to a door problem. It could be that a door isn’t closing properly possibly a spirator that isn’t applying enough pressure to make a solid connection of the safety circuit. It could be that the contacts on the safety circuit have corroded and intermittently stop the flow of electricity through the circuit. It could be a broken wire, or a myriad of other things that a technician has to check out and find. Many times the problem isn’t obvious but the repairman may find and solve a potential future problem only to have the equipment fail again until he locates and remedies the real problem.  In this case we’re talking about mechanical situations. It takes many and many of these to cause the repair technician to delve into the software. Most are unqualified to do so and solutions need to come from the factory.

That’s about all that I have for controllers today. Please let me know what you would like to see in my next posting.

Thank you,

Ernie

Today’s quote is from Groucho (Julius) Marx:

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."

Elevator Controllers The Brain of an Elevator

Elevator Controllers… The Brain of an Elevator

The controller is the brains of an elevator system.  In the very old days operators were needed to start and stop the elevators and to go to whatever floor the rider needed to reach.  A real human being slowed down, speeded up the elevator, applied the brake and made the adjustments to bring the car level at the floor. For those of you that think elevators are simple devices that just go up and down, this is the one that fits the bill.

In the late 1940’s manufacturers introduced automatic elevators that no longer needed an operator. Functions such as stopping, starting and changing directions were built in. This allowed the owner to reduce costs by eliminating the attendant and letting the public “drive” them selves to whatever destination they chose.  Early elevator controls used a system of relays (switches) to make up a remarkable facsimile of todays’ computers.  Although they were very simple and only performed a few functions the logic is essentially the same. A series of circuits is either in the on or off position and different combinations of on and off resulted in power being routed to different parts of the system to perform various functions.  Microprocessors today use thousands of circuits etched on silicon to duplicate the same on off positions of the circuits.

As elevators became more widely used more circuits were added to enable the equipment to do more things.  To reduce size labor and cost individual relays were employed to perform multiple tasks. For instance if relay R was the fourth in a series of circuits that were for a function such as fire recall, the same relay could be used as possibly the first in a series that controlled the re-leveling function.   Even greater demand for functions caused the controllers to grow in size and complexity.  As they grew more and more complex and each relay was responsible in a growing chain of functions servicing and repairing these became increasingly more difficult.  If a technician added a circuit for something like an alarm bell for instance he could end up disabling another function such as door re-open.  At this point anything more extensive than checking or changing out relays required the work of a higher level technician, also known as an adjuster.  Of course the safety functions are critical and when any changes are made the circuit diagrams have to be carefully studied and the new additions cautiously planned so as not to disable or change any of the available tasks that the elevator is already wired to execute. I don’t know what percentage of relay based units are still out there but I believe that it’s probably greater than 50%.

In the eighties the elevator industry began incorporating printed circuit boards to carry out some of the tasks required. The boards enabled the manufacturers to cut manufacturing costs, reduce service labor time and pack more functions into a smaller space. A side benefit was reduction of heat in the machine room which you will see in my next posting, started to become crucial.

Until then…

If you have any questions, or comments please let me know. Some of your emails have been very entertaining.  I have been thinking about possibly working on some software that can write your maintenance plan and tailor it specifically to your equipment and conditions. Please let me know if this is something you may be interested in.  Also if there are any subjects you would like me to tackle next don’t hesitate to comment or email. Otherwise I plan to write a bit about elevator controllers in the next posting.  For questions or comments please contact me at elevatorernie@hotmail.com.

Thank You,

Ernie


Today’s quote is from W. C. Fields

“When doctors and undertakers meet, they wink at each other.”

Elevator Interiors

Elevator Interiors

Today’s essay will be a short word about elevator interiors.  Most owners have heart palpitations when they find out what it will cost to redo the interior of an elevator car. In the past all of the interiors were special materials handmade and installed by experts. Today the elevator contractors are able to reduce the costs a bit by going to specialized firms that sell only elevator interior materials. They measure the cars and order the precut material and assemble it inside the car. The contractor can order panels fabricated in a factory with formica, mirror, wood, simulated granite or a number of other finishes. Those panels just clip on to the frame of the car.  Of course this work must be done by certified elevator personnel in most places because of the potential for injury that could result. For instance,  in some elevators there is nothing behind the panels.  Removing them gives access to the shaft,  if the car should move it would be a very simple matter for someone to lose a limb by sticking something out the hole in the side.  In addition most elevator buttons work off of 120 volts and someone who doesn’t know that and is trying to remove a control panel is in for a shock.

Even if all precautions are taken such as shutting down the unit and locking it off it should still be performed by qualified personnel.  One huge issue that needs to be taken into account is the weight of the new interior materials. Many property managers like the simulated granite used to replace panels but the extra weight can render the elevator system dangerous.  The same goes for adding panels usually made up of pressboard. The pressboard is so dense and heavy that it adds additional weight to the cab and can cause the system to malfunction over time.  Think of it as trying to pull a semi trailer with an ordinary ½ ton pickup. In most cases it will move the load but after a short while things like the engine, transmission and other components will start to fail. The same is true of an elevator system. It was designed to carry so much of a load and overloading will cause you the owner to suffer consequences at a later date.  A certified contractor will take those things into account and not jeopardize his license by not performing calculations. 

To take it even further if you replace the ceiling it’s always best to run new wiring to the lights. (Most elevator lights being used today are LED units which require rewiring and some of that is done from outside the car.) The contractor also has to be familiar with the codes because there are rules for lighting in an elevator car.

Most service contractors don’t like to install flooring but again because of weight restrictions they should be the ones doing it. In addition an experienced service contractor knows the structure of the floor and subfloor in the car to make sure that the material installed is flush with the sill eliminating a tripping hazard.  Never install flooring material over a damaged floor. In time the material will deteriorate and possibly crack off in pieces causing obstructions to the door and costing you for the callbacks.

A new trend taking hold today uses wrap technology to replace older dated looking interiors. Computer printed images printed on plastic sheets designed to wrap around the panels and doors of an elevator can give a new look to a scratched or faded interior. Although the life of a wrap interior will not be as long as a full new interior, the reduction in cost can justify the decision easily. Many owners are opting for advertising and changing the wraps on a regular basis. This keeps the elevators looking new and can be a small source of revenue.  For old nasty looking doors it’s a perfect fix.  That’s inside the car and outside as well.

I think I have just about timed out for today. Look for my next post soon.

As always if you have any questions, or comments please let me know. Some of your emails have been very entertaining.  I have been thinking about possibly working on some software that can write your maintenance plan and tailor it specifically to your equipment and conditions. Please let me know if this is something you may be interested in.  Also if there are any subjects you would like me to tackle next don’t hesitate to comment or email. Otherwise I plan to write a bit about elevator controllers in the next posting.  For questions or comments please contact me at elevatorernie@hotmail.com.

Thank you,

Ernie

Today’s quote is from Albert Einstein

“ When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second.  When you sit on a hot cinder a second seems like an hour. …..That’s relativity.”