Upgrades to Elevator Equipment $aves Money?

When faced with proposals for equipment upgrades from your service vendor how do you separate the good from the bad? What upgrades will reduce your operating costs? Is safety increased?
Here are few upgrades that will positively influence your bottom line.
Elevators:
A. Electronic full screen door edges. These edges are probably the most important upgrade you can do to existing equipment that is currently equipped with twin eye beams and mechanical "bar" type door edges. The full screen detectors react by an object "breaking the beam" sensor that spans the open door area. As many as 80 or more beams cross the open area and span from a ¼" from the bottom to 72" up. Interrupt any one of beams and the door does not close (if nudging timer has not expired) or reopens if the closing cycle has begun. No physical contact necessary, which greatly reduces injury claims and reduces door equipment damage significantly. Edges are available that "see" out from the open entrance and are activated when an object approaches the entrance. Think of a delivery person wheeling a cart towards the open entrance and the door start closing as the cart approaches? Instead of the delivery guy hurrying to place the cart in the path of the closing door and perhaps hitting door, the edge "sees" the approaching object and reopens. These edges can also be installed on freight elevators to offer a safety enhancement on that equipment. *This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this desertion.
B. Electronic or "Soft-Starter" for motor starts. Commonly used for hydraulic elevator motor starts, the soft-starter provides a steadily controlled current inrush to the motor. Wye-Delta, and across the line starter systems pass the motor current much more quickly and forcefully. Ever see lights dim when a motor starts or other heavy load is placed on the supplied power source? That's the affect of in-rush current. A motor may take up to 6 times its name plate current to start. The soft-starter softens this in-rush and is of a less strain on the stationary motor components to get them moving. This feature alone saves some motors from failure and at the very least increases motor life. Think of being punched in the arm (by a friend in a friendly gesture!), or having the friends fist placed gently against your shoulder and just "pushing" instead of punching. Which feels better and is easier on your shoulder? That's how a soft-start works. This device also offers additional features that your existing equipment, especially older elevator equipment, may not have. Incoming voltage levels, phase rotation, troubleshooting tools, adjustable superior overload protection, are some of the features included with the new soft-starter and they alone may be worth the price. These soft-starters also offer the same benefits for motor-generator starting as found with some traction (cable) elevators. *This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this dialogue.
•C. Leveling/Positioning Units. Besides claims of being struck by elevator doors, tripping due to a miss-leveled elevator is a commonly claimed occurrence. There are a large number of existing elevators with leveling and positioning devices that do not offer the floor level accuracy demanded by litigation risks. In simple terms; does the device used by your elevator system have the capability to reliably position the elevator within a ¼" of level? Some older systems relay on mechanical action of a switch engaging or falling off of a cam. Accuracy is affected by a number of variable factors; amount of load and/or position of load on the elevator, the state of mechanical condition of the switch, wear of internal contacts, and wear of external rollers and cams are a few. There are available positioning units that are far more accurate and dependable in operation. Any leveling system should be directly connected, in our opinion, to the elevator cab; not by chain or tape to a machine room located device. This is not to say that by simply replacing the leveling/positioning unit all leveling problems will be resolved; the positioning unit only provides information to the controller, then that information has to be processed and decisions made and actions carried out to either stop the cab at the correct position or move then cab into the correct position. So there are several other factors that come into play. The leveling/positioning device is an integral tool in the complete system that unless it provides the correct information; nothing good will happen. *This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this dialogue.
•D. Hydraulic Power Unit. A large subject for a relatively short article. Very simply put; it replaces the existing pump, motor, valve, and muffler, all housed in a new reservoir. The existing unit may be either at the end of its serviceable life (worn out) or rendered obsolete. These new units are commonly available with submersible motors and pumps that offer quiet operation and greater car control. Installation is straightforward and in most cases can be done in a few days. Cost can be considerable, but the saving's in reliability resulting in fewer callbacks and in-service hours gained offset the cost. *This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this dialogue.
•E. Cab Enhancements. Voice annunciators, improved ventilation, and increased lighting in the cab increases rider confidence and comfort.
The voice annunciator device delivers an audible voice recording that gives location and/or emergency information. Common use would be that when the elevator arrives at a designated floor, a recording would come on "2nd floor, please watch your step" or when the doors are delayed from closing "please clear the door's, they are closing" or words to that effect. Emergency instructions may direct the passenger(s) to "exit the elevator when the doors open" or other chosen directions.
Increased lighting provides a comfort level for passengers. Easy to see entrance sills and car operating stations allow for safer and confident use. Same as the difference in entering a strange room that's very dim versus a room that is bright and cheerful.
Increased ventilation can be had by improving the air flow in and out of the cab. A common complaint passengers have is the cab feels "hot or stuffy". Entrapment's are usually compounded by the passengers feeling of "running out of air", which only exist in the movies, but the sensation of being in a small box and not having control of the situation and with those movie scenes running through their heads; folks are somewhat assured if air supply is notable and lighting conditions are sufficient to relieve some stress. *This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this dialogue.
Escalators:
A. Side skirt brushes. These safety enhancement devices are simple brushes attached to the skirt panel area of the escalator all along the incline and each end. Escalator injury claims resulting from clothing; pants or hems, and/or small body parts; child's toes and fingers being trapped in-between the moving step and the skirt panels along the interior of the escalator, are greatly reduced or eliminated by installing these devices on each side of the escalator. Placed no closer than an inch above the steps, the brush soft bristles face inward perpendicular to the skirt and when the rider contacts the brush with the legs or feet the natural reaction is to move away from the brush, thus relocating the body away from the gap between the step and skirt. Besides proper maintenance and repair of an escalator, in our opinion, the installation of skirt brushes offers the most protection against injury claims. A wise investment. *This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this dialogue.
B. Voice Annunciator, Increased Lighting and Signage. Having a voice annunciator announce instructions for proper riding position may reduce reported calms of incidents or injuries. "Please hold the Handrail", "No Strollers or Carts" are two of several messages that can be used. Annunciators can be run as a continues loop or activated when passengers approach or enter the escalator. Having increased lighting at the entrance, exit, and incline improves safety, rider comfort and confidence. Clear and pertinent signage is required by code but often is in poor condition due to traffic and cleaning solutions. Ensure that the signage placed properly and meets code requirements.
*This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this dialogue.
C. Comb Plates. Contrasting color comb plates increase awareness of the entrance and exiting of the moving steps. We recommend bright yellow comb plates. They offer the greatest contrast with the landing plates and steps and draw the rider's eye. As comb plates are a wear item and often damaged during escalator use (or misuse!) it cost very little if any, for the yellow ones. When choosing to do this, replace all the existing non-yellow comb plates as a set. Not a good practice to mix colors. It confuses some riders and can make exiting the escalator stressful. *This also presents a profitable opportunity for the elevator maintenance company. More on that follows this dialogue.
*The profit opportunity offered to the service contractor can be substantial in two ways; the first being the upgrade work itself and secondly there may be reduction in maintenance cost realized by the contractor as well. A profit should be realized by the company doing the work; that's why they are in business. Materials used for upgrades are commonly supplied by the elevator company with considerable mark up. Profit is realized on labor as well.
The possible reduction in maintenance cost (re: risk) for the service vendor can be very significant. By installing a soft-starter for example eliminates the labor expended on examining and replacing worn contacts on the removed contactors. This can be considerable as the replaceable contacts have become costly in recent years, often a few hundred dollars a set. This cost-risk goes away once the new starter is installed. Of course the soft-starter has to be included in the maintenance agreement and having these devices fail does happen, so that risk is assumed by the service company.
Door full screen edges reduce door failures by limiting physical contact between humans and objects and the moving equipment and also greatly reduce injury claims. Both of those items reduce the service vendors maintenance cost.
So you are correct in discussing a maintenance cost reduction from you service vendor if any upgrades are installed.
We stand prepared to assist.