Any owner or tenant of a building that has the use of a lift will know that Lift maintenance and finding a good lift company is both expensive and difficult.
In England there is a large selection of lift companies to chose from, Within the M25 boundary alone there are around 125 companies so you would assume finding a good one should be easy?
Lift companies have different ideas as to what is a good service and even individual lift engineers will have varying ideas as to what should be completed on a service. This can depend on the type and quality of training they have recieved.
So, What should be done?
This will depend on how many visits the lift is serviced per year. Obviously a lift that is serviced monthly will have certain parts serviced one month and a different part the next, whereas a lift that is service quarterly will have lots more items serviced and the visit will take longer to complete.
Many lift engineers think that cleaning and lubricating is the only things that need to be completed, however this should be the minimum, telephones, alarms, safety functions should be the first things that are checked, as well as running clearances, doors and ride quality. It is well known that lift doors and controllers are responsible for 95% of lift breakdowns and therefore it would make sense to check and adjust these on every lift service visit.
An easy way to check if you lift engineer is carrying out a thorough service is to look at the lift doors, are they plumb? do they have scratches or is the opening & closing cycle poor. Another place to look is the lift motor room, check the log card has an entry logged. Look at the general cleanliness of the room. It does not take an expert to see if your engineer is providing you with the service you are paying for. If the motor room and doors have not been serviced you can only imagine what the equipment within the lift shaft is like. It is also worth observing the engineer when he arrives, see what tools and spares he has, have they even got a bottle of oil or rags, if he only has some hand tools then he cannot be doing much.
I hope this information has helped you to know if you have a good lift company, if you have a good relationship with the lift company then dont be afraid to ask for another engineer, remeber that you are the customer and you are always right.
If you need any more lift advice please call JDR Lift Services Ltd on 0208 402 6442
Saturday 17 December 2011
Thursday 15 December 2011
New Lift or Refurbished Lift
Lifts like any type machinery ages and at some point a decision will need to be made with regards to replacement. The thought of removing a lift that has served you well over 20+ years and spending tens of thousands of pounds on a new lift, not to mention the down time may not be the most attractive option.
However, there is another option. Have you considered lift refurbishment, older lifts were generally over-engineered and the strength of the lift structure would generally still be good, along with the guide rails, therefore a refurbishment could be a better, cheaper and quicker option to bring your lift up to current standards.
There are plenty of independent lift companies that provide this service the like of JDR Lift Services Ltd have provided lift refurbishments for many commercial and private clients. A fully refurbished lift can in some cases provide as much service as a new lift, especially considering new lifts are generally package lift of poor quality.
Lift refurbishments can also provide a considerable saving, a typical lift refubishment could be 40% cheaper than a new lift, and with installation times of around 4 weeks compared to 8-12 for a new lift, the down time is dramatically reduced. This could be important if your lift is in a nursing home, busy office or hospital.
Lift refurbishments vary drastically and there are many options available to the lift owner. We would recommend discussing your requirements with a lift company before placing that order for a new lift.
For more details contact www.jdrliftservices.co.uk
However, there is another option. Have you considered lift refurbishment, older lifts were generally over-engineered and the strength of the lift structure would generally still be good, along with the guide rails, therefore a refurbishment could be a better, cheaper and quicker option to bring your lift up to current standards.
There are plenty of independent lift companies that provide this service the like of JDR Lift Services Ltd have provided lift refurbishments for many commercial and private clients. A fully refurbished lift can in some cases provide as much service as a new lift, especially considering new lifts are generally package lift of poor quality.
Lift refurbishments can also provide a considerable saving, a typical lift refubishment could be 40% cheaper than a new lift, and with installation times of around 4 weeks compared to 8-12 for a new lift, the down time is dramatically reduced. This could be important if your lift is in a nursing home, busy office or hospital.
Lift refurbishments vary drastically and there are many options available to the lift owner. We would recommend discussing your requirements with a lift company before placing that order for a new lift.
For more details contact www.jdrliftservices.co.uk
Tuesday 13 December 2011
Can you make the lift go faster
On a recent visit to our local shopping centre, i stood waiting for a lift to go back to get the car from the multi-storey car park. The lady in front of me pressed the lift call button and i must say, with a little aggression.
5 seconds later the lift had still not arrived, the lady pressed the button 3 more times in quick succession but no lift. A further 5 seconds passed and still no lift. Then all of a sudden with lightning speed the lady pressed the button at least 10 times as hard as she could. At one point i thought the button would surely break, however 5 more seconds passed and voila the lift arrived.
I considered what i had witnessed and quickly realised that obviously the more times you press the button the faster the lift moves, right.
Wrong.. A lift controller will only register the call, Once. The controller will then dispatch the lift to that call once it has finished the previous calls logged, pressing the button 10 more times will do nothing except wear the button out faster and in some cases make the lift controller ignore the call. The controller has an anti nuisance function that allows it to ignore a call if the button is being held in.
So next time you are waiting for a lift and feel the urge to frantically press the button, resist the temptation and patiently wait for the lift and you will find it does not go any slower.
5 seconds later the lift had still not arrived, the lady pressed the button 3 more times in quick succession but no lift. A further 5 seconds passed and still no lift. Then all of a sudden with lightning speed the lady pressed the button at least 10 times as hard as she could. At one point i thought the button would surely break, however 5 more seconds passed and voila the lift arrived.
I considered what i had witnessed and quickly realised that obviously the more times you press the button the faster the lift moves, right.
Wrong.. A lift controller will only register the call, Once. The controller will then dispatch the lift to that call once it has finished the previous calls logged, pressing the button 10 more times will do nothing except wear the button out faster and in some cases make the lift controller ignore the call. The controller has an anti nuisance function that allows it to ignore a call if the button is being held in.
So next time you are waiting for a lift and feel the urge to frantically press the button, resist the temptation and patiently wait for the lift and you will find it does not go any slower.
Costly Lift Callout Costs
Lifts, one of those things that you never think about until it stops working. Lift breakdowns are far more common than you think and the thought of getting stuck in one terrifies people but not as much as the callout costs terrifies the lift owner.
The maority of lift brekadowns are down to either poor levels of maintenance or incorrectly set-up equipment, however a lot of lift breakdowns can be repaired without the need of an engineer.
Before you reach for the telephone to call the lift company try the following things.
1. Make sure there is no obstruction in the door tracks. Paper clips, pens and coins are common obstructions
2. Make sure the call buttons are not stuck in. Cleaning with brasso is usually the culprit.
3. Wipe the black lenses on the internal door with a rag. Dust is attracted to the static surface causing the doors to stay open.
If after you have tried these the lift still does not work then call the engineer. I must point out i would not attempt to try and fix the lift yourself and limit what you try to the 3 items above, only qualified and suitably trained engineers should repair lifts.
Hopefully this advice will help and even if it saves 1 callout then it would have been worth doing.
If you need the services of a lift company then try here
www.jdrliftservices.co.uk
The maority of lift brekadowns are down to either poor levels of maintenance or incorrectly set-up equipment, however a lot of lift breakdowns can be repaired without the need of an engineer.
Before you reach for the telephone to call the lift company try the following things.
1. Make sure there is no obstruction in the door tracks. Paper clips, pens and coins are common obstructions
2. Make sure the call buttons are not stuck in. Cleaning with brasso is usually the culprit.
3. Wipe the black lenses on the internal door with a rag. Dust is attracted to the static surface causing the doors to stay open.
If after you have tried these the lift still does not work then call the engineer. I must point out i would not attempt to try and fix the lift yourself and limit what you try to the 3 items above, only qualified and suitably trained engineers should repair lifts.
Hopefully this advice will help and even if it saves 1 callout then it would have been worth doing.
If you need the services of a lift company then try here
www.jdrliftservices.co.uk
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