Liberty Elevator contributed some interesting insight on
elevator maintenance in The New Jersey Cooperator's
November 2011 publication.
Click
here to read our take on elevator maintenance, current code
mandates and annual testing!
On the Up-and-Up
A Look at Elevator Maintenance
By Raanan Geberer
Like the automobile, the residential elevator is a mechanical
marvel-and a fairly recent invention. If you're a board member, a
manager or just a unit owner of an urban or suburban co-op or
condo development, chances are you probably use an elevator every
day. We've all seen those elevator inspection reports but chances
are that we don't think about the inner workings of elevators very
much. And it seems like the only times that elevators make
the news is when something goes wrong, like the time a
Chinese-food deliveryman was stuck for three days inside an
elevator in a Bronx high-rise. There have been
elevator-like hoist devices throughout history, but in 1853,
American inventor Elisha Otis invented a freight elevator
equipped with a safety device to prevent the elevator from
falling in case a cable broke. This led to widespread use of the
equipment in the commercial and residential sectors of society.
How They Work
Today, there are basically two types of elevators in use-hydraulic
and "rope-driven." If you're visualizing a rope similar to the one
you used to climb in gym class, however, you're way behind
the times-today's rope driven elevators contain six to eight
lengths of wire or steel cable. These cables are attached to
the top of the elevator cab and wound around a drive sheave
in special grooves. The other ends of the cables are attached to a
collection of metal weights equal to the weight of the car and a
little less than half of its rated load. The counterweight slides
up and down the shaftway on its own guide rails.
Chains or cables loop through the bottom of the counterweight to
the underside of the car to help maintain balance by
offsetting the weight of the suspension ropes. Guide rails
that run the length of the shaft keep the car and
counterweight from swaying or twisting during travel. Rollers
are attached to the car and the counterweight to provide a
smooth ride along the guide rails. An electric motor then
turns the sheave. These motors are able to control speed, and
allow for the elevator's smooth acceleration and deceleration.
Signal switches also stop the cab at each floor level.
In a hydraulic elevator, the car is lifted by a hydraulic-fluid
driven piston mounted inside a cylinder. The
cylinder-containing oil or a similar substance-is connected to a
pumping system. The pump forces fluid into the tank leading to
the cylinder; when enough fluid is collected, the piston is
pushed upward, lifting the elevator car on its journey. When
the car is signaled that it is approaching the correct floor,
the control system triggers the electric motor to gradually
shut off the pump. To get the elevator to descend, the control
system sends a signal to the valve operated electronically by
a switch. When the valve is opened, the fluid flows out into
a central reservoir, and the weight of the car and its cargo
pushes down on the piston, driving more fluid out and causing
the cab to move down.
Joe Rapine, business manager for the Philadelphia-based Local 5,
International Union of Elevator Constructors, which covers 13
counties in New Jersey, says many people are "trying to get
away from hydraulics" because of the contamination factor, in which
oil can leak into the ground. Now, he says, to correct that
problem, many manufacturers have 'hole-less hydraulics" which
eliminate the need for a well-hole or buried piping.
Still, says Brian Black, codes and safety consultant for
National Elevator Industry Inc., hydraulics are very common
on a nationwide basis. It's rare that they're used in tall
buildings, but, "the majority of elevators in this country are two
to three stories."
There have been constant improvements in elevator design, but
the most significant change, says Black, has been the
development of solid-state controls. Software can be updated
and modified on an as-needed basis. "It also allows remote
monitoring by the elevator manufacturers-if there were an elevator
exhibiting some problems in Trenton, the manager could call
Otis in Farmington, and they often can do a stop-check right
there," he says.
Another change, says TinaMarie Cortina, spokeswoman for Liberty
Elevator Corp. in Paterson, is that in traction elevators,
rope grippers are now mandated by code. If an elevator should
move on its own (because of an error), the rope gripper will
sense this and grip the cable, preventing it from moving
further.
Keeping Them Safe
Regardless of these changes, says Black, older elevators can work
as long as they are maintained properly. "I've seen
100-year-old elevators that are operating very well," he says.
Still, owners might wish to change the interior or put in new
lighting, new controls, better ventilation or other
changes.
In New Jersey, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Elevator
Safety Unit is the state agency that governs the Elevator
Subcode and registers all elevator devices in the state,
according to Lisa Ryan, DCA public information officer. This
unit enforces the subcode and inspects elevators in state buildings
and municipalities under the jurisdiction of the DCA's Office
of Local Code Enforcement. Municipalities give jurisdiction to
enforce the Elevator Subcode to the DCA's Elevator Safety
Unit.
However, some municipalities have their own elevator subcode
officials or use an outside contractor to enforce it. It's
called a "subcode" because it's part of the state's Uniform
Construction Code (UCC).
What is exactly in the code? Like most building codes, it's
complicated, but Ryan gives some answers. Many of the
administrative requirements, she says, haven't changed since
the Elevator Subcode was first drafted. Some are pretty basic: a
permit is required to install a new elevator as well as to
perform work (rather than ordinary maintenance) on an
existing elevator; newly installed elevators must be
registered with the state; existing elevators are subject to
cyclical maintenance inspection and tests must be performed
by inspectors licensed by the state.
"Some of the technical requirements of the codes in effect today
are different from those of the prior codes," Ryan adds.
"However, because the Elevator Subcode is not a retrofit code, the
technicalrequirements are only applicable to those codes that were
in effect at the time [the elevator was installed or applied
for]."
Most state codes, adds Black, are based on the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Code A17.1. The panel that
develops it contains both representatives of elevator
manufacturers and top elevator inspectors.
Elevators in New Jersey must undergo basic annual
inspections/tests once a year, with more complicated tests
once every five years (once every three years for
hydraulics). But many professionals say a more frequent
maintenance/inspection schedule is ideal. Liberty, for
example, has a variety of types of contracts that are
custom-made for individual customers, says Cortina. Rapine advises
users to seek a contract by which the elevator professional
would spend an hour a month on each car.
What happens during a test? Hydraulic and traction tests are
different, Cortina says. "Hydraulic elevators receive a
`no-load' pressure test on an annual basis that is conducted with
the inspector and elevator company. The semi-annual hydraulic
inspection is just done by the inspector and is less involved
than the annual tests. For traction cars, the five-year full
test is conducted with the inspector and the elevator tests. The
annual test is done with the inspector and elevator company,
and the semi-annual is done solely by the inspector."
Tests, adds Black, include "basic things" such as whether the
light in the car, the buttons and the ventilation system all
work. "One of the more critical things," he emphasizes, "is the
door system-to make sure the car is leveling correctly so you don't
create a tripping hazard. This can be a challenge in both hydraulic
or traction elevators. An empty elevator will level one way,
but with 20 people it will be different."
Whether the car closes correctly is critical as well, he says, but
that can often be modified on site. "If it's closing too
quickly or too strongly, it can be adjusted."
Of course, safety devices must also be tested. Brakes, buffers,
stopping devices, emergency stopping devices, the elevator's
emergency fire service, are all important.
If the inspection reveals a problem, the inspecting agency gives
a report to the owner or manager, who in turn must give it to
his elevator contractor. The owner needs to correct the
violations within a given time, and must re-check the device
afterward. Often, says Black, modifications can be made while the
elevator is still in operation-"it will only be out for a
half-hour or so." But if there's a serious problem, Rapine says,
"the inspector should `red-tag it" and shut it off.
What about costs? In New Jersey, they're not hard to find
out-they're right in the Elevator Subcode, Section 12.6. Fees vary
depending on the type of structure, who the enforcing agency is and
other factors, but in general, tests and inspection fees are
less expensive for hydraulic elevators, more expensive for
"traction and winding drum elevators" up to 10 floors, and yet more
expensive for traction elevators over 10 floors, with added
fees for oil burners, counterweight governors and safeties, and
auxiliary power generators. The schedules are somewhat
complicated, and we recommend that managers and board members
consult with their elevator contractors for a complete
explanation.
Elevator Ailments
What are some of the most common problems affecting New Jersey
residential elevators? Professionals interviewed for this
article mentioned malfunctioning door locks and elevators
that don't level properly (i.e., stop an inch or more above or
below the bottom of the outer door), among other things.
The main underlying problem with elevators, says Rapine, is a lack
of maintenance. "The effect is that if you don't have regular
maintenance, you will have more problems, more shutdowns. This
happens if you don't take care of anything-even your
car."
Finally, it's important to note that elevator contractors and
inspectors are highly skilled, highly trained people. The
unions typically have four-year apprenticeship programs,
whether it's Rapine's Local 5; the New York-based Local 1 of the
same union, representing employees of firms closer to New
York (Liberty's technicians are members of Local 1, although
Liberty is also Local 5-certified so it can do work in
southern New Jersey); or, in New York City, Local 3 of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The elevator
manufacturers also do their own training. To become an
inspector, applicants must have experience in elevator work,
take additional seminars, be tested and then be licensed by
DCA.
There are many sources to check out licensed elevator
contractors: co-op and condo organizations; review sites; the union
locals, and, of course, the pages and directories of The New
Jersey Cooperator.
If your association's buildings are elevator-equipped, it's vital
for both your livelihood and value that the devices are kept in
top-notch operating condition. With good everyday upkeep,
regular professional maintenance visits, and prompt attention
to any abnormalities, your building's elevator units will be on the
up-and-up for decades to come.
Raanan Geberer is a freelance writer and a frequent
contributor to The New Jersey Cooperator.