How to Obtain the Sweet Taste of Success from Your Elevator Projects

Discusses how an elevator consultant’s specifications can help or hurt a project

The outdated Library Elevator Specification provided by a well-known architectural firm did not cost anything; it was free. Today, anyone can go onto the World Wide Web and get a copy of elevator specifications like those provided by many elevator companies. At some websites, you can even design a complete elevator package. Often, architects, facilities managers, building owners and construction professionals either do this or call a local elevator information source listed in a telephone directory and ask for a copy of an elevator specification for a specific number of stops and hoistway size. While this is and has been good enough for some elevator projects, it is not the case for others. The question is, how do you know the difference?

The Bitter Taste of Low Quality Lingers Long after the Sweet Taste of a Low Price

If a standard off the shelf is good enough for your elevator project, there is no need to read any further. However, if you and your clients would prefer not to experience the “bitter taste of low quality,” then read on!

A good elevator modernization specification will protect building owners and architects, because it is based on a complete elevator survey of the specific project being considered. A standard elevator manufacturer’s or architect’s specification is not based on a field survey. Just ask the manufacturer or architect, and you will be told that this is not the case and that basing the project on an actual field survey is not included in the price. If this is what you want, you will have to employ an elevator consultant, especially if you want it done right.

A good elevator consultant’s specification will protect the consultancy’s client, because elevator consultants know elevator quality and can identify and specify the parts and components that can be retained and ones that need to be replaced and/or upgraded. Before embarking on an elevator project, you need to address the following questions: Does this specification include the use of quality elevator parts and components? Does the standard elevator specification protect you? 

Also, a good elevator consultant’s specification will protect the client, because it does not include open-ended requirements that will fit any installation, thereby giving the contractor the final say over the final installation’s quality. While a standard manufacturer’s specification will meet code requirements, you have to ask yourself, “Is that all you want for your elevator modernization project?”

A good consultant’s specification will protect the equipment owner, because it will also include requirements that must be met before the elevator modernization or installation begins. This additional aspect of a well-prepared elevator specification will ensure that the project is completed on time, with fewer intermittent stoppages and within the project’s budget.

Major questions that must be considered by elevator equipment owners and architects are: How do we best proceed on this elevator project? Do I want to use a standard (and probably free) elevator specification obtained from the Internet or an elevator manufacturing/servicing company that may not fully protect the equipment owner or, worse yet, the end user? Or do I want to have this elevator project based on a quality elevator specification provided by an independent elevator expert that works directly for me?

In closing, I’ll leave you with this last thought in the form of a question: When was the last time you got something for free that worked? Following this simple thought process prior to embarking on an elevator installation or modernization project can save a lot of time and trouble and result in a project that will have a lingering, sweet taste of success for many years to come.