As a building manager or owner, you know the important of regular updates to your elevator systems. Such updates not only address important safety features, they modernize your elevators with all the latest gadgets and functionality. But you also don’t want to cause too much disruption to your tenants, clients, or customers while the update is going on.
How can you stay on top of necessary elevator updates without service interruptions? Here are some tips.
But first, it’s important to know and understand the reasons behind your upgrade. Aesthetic improvement is the top reason building owners opt for an elevator upgrade, followed closely by improvements in function and code compliance. Rider safety is also improved, thanks to such factors as seamless acceleration and deceleration, reduced noise and vibration, and more accuracy with floor leveling.
When your elevator has been modernized, you won’t spend as much time and money on repairs, maintenance, and replacements. Efficient, visually impressive elevators add to the value of your building.
Check Current Levels of Safety
Your first step in upgrading your elevator without interruption must be to assess whether you even need to do an upgrade. If your elevator is still compliant with safety codes, it may not be crucial. But if not, you should definitely upgrade. That’s because, by law, you must conduct an elevator inspection every year to get a Certificate of Operation. If you have failed your latest inspection that revealed operational issues, such as slow movement, hesitant doors, or long wait times, an upgrade is necessary.
Elevator Age
This is usually the biggest motivator for building owners looking to undertake improvements. Don’t let your elevator go a decade or more without a significant upgrade. Styles change, but even more importantly, safety standards and technology do as well. By addressing these regularly, you can increase performance, reliability, and energy efficiency.
Timing
When thinking of the timing of your upgrade, it’s vital that you first consider the time of year. When is your busy season? Let’s say you own a hotel situated in a popular seaport town where many tourists flood the area every summer. The last time you would want to schedule an upgrade is the summer. Instead, do it in the off-season (winter perhaps) for the least amount of disruption to the fewest people possible.
This doesn’t mean timing is always up to you. Sometimes you have no choice but to engage in a big repair or upgrade, such as when you have had to make multiple service calls for the same issue in the last month.
Waiting till the timing is ideal won’t be an option. When tenants are complaining of safety issues or you didn’t pass your latest inspection, you have no choice but to make a change.
Give People Options
Make sure you give your tenants and customers plenty of notice about the upgrade so they can take note and make other arrangements. Make sure the stairs are accessible to them, or make sure an additional elevator is prepared to take on the increased demand. Work with your elevator installation team to see if the project can be split up in parts so not all the work is done at once. This will ease the feeling of being overwhelmed with change by your visitors and guests.
Contact Mowrey Elevator
Planning your elevator upgrade starts with a phone call to Mowrey today at 800-441-4449. We can help you plan the project so it doesn’t disrupt your tenants and customers.