As a property owner or building manager, you are understandably concerned about keeping your operation costs low – and this includes elevator operations. It’s not cheap to operate a well-maintained and modern elevator, but yet this is a must in today’s world. With safety at the forefront, coupled with rising financial concerns in the economy, you must make choices that help your bottom line but that don’t compromise safety at the same time.
Elevators are some of the most expensive assets within any given building, and it costs money to maintain them on a regular basis. We know you don’t have a lot of time, or a lot of extra money lying around, so here are some relatively easy steps you can take to lower your elevator operations costs fairly quickly.
- Make sure you fully understand the terms of your contract to ensure you’re getting the services you’re paying for. This includes maintenance, repairs, accessories, updates, inspections, and more. You would be surprised at how many building owners are charged for line items in their contract that they’re not even receiving.
- Know your elevator, its history, its purchase date, all maintenance dates, and all inspection dates. By keeping detailed records of your elevators and their service dates, you will be better able to understand the lifecycle of your equipment as well as any risks for potential issues. This way, you can hold your service provider and technicians accountable for issues that may crop up along the way.
- Keep detailed scheduling records. It’s critical to know, anticipate and plan for your equipment testing dates. Did you know the top reason elevators fail inspections is because property owners failed to plan for and maintain their elevators in anticipation of a testing date? When you’re not ready for the inspections and your equipment fails due to oversights, this can result in fees and fines that add up very quickly.
- Keep accurate building records not just about your elevators and other lifts but the rest of your equipment as well. Keep a log in your elevator machine room to ensure easy access to all who need it. Technicians should be able to take detailed notes for all service dates. This way, you can ensure the data you have on hand about all your equipment is complete and accurate. In addition, this can help you determine patterns in issues so you can make educated decisions about elevator maintenance.
- Stay on top of billing requirements. Missing bills and invoices can result in service fees and charges that add up quickly. Scanning your invoices every month and understanding all charges will also help you realize if you’re being charged for services you did not receive.
Elevators are the highest worth assets in any commercial or residential building. The cost of oversight and negligence can be very high. We hope you found the above tips to be helpful as you find ways to not only reduce operating costs but extend the life cycle of your elevators as well.
Contact Mowrey Elevator
If you’re in need of maintenance and repair services that are affordable yet help you maintain the safety and integrity of your elevators, contact us today!