Registration is now open for the 61st Annual National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC) Convention and 2010 Expo. The event is scheduled to take place on September 27-30 at the Hilton Netherland & Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati. The show dates are September 29 and 30, when at least 175 companies are expected to exhibit.

For more information or to register, contact:

Amanda Smith
toll free: (888) 847-7530
phone: (770) 760-9660
e-mail: amanda@naec.org
or website: www.naecconvention.com.

The Elevator Conference of New York (ECNY) recently announced that it will hold its Seventh Annual Family Picnic Day on August 14 at Platzl Brauhaus in Pomona, New York. Registration for nonmembers is US$85 for adults and US$15 for children, and registration for adult members is

$75 – For Members
$85 – For non-members
$15 – For Children

For more information:

ECNY
c/o Bobby Defrancesco
Benfield Electrical Supply
708 East 133rd Street
Bronx, New York 10454
Phone: (718) 706-8600
or website: www.ecnyweb.com.

Make sure the machine room is code-compliant and meets all local and national jurisdiction building code requirements.  The machine room must also include an operational fire extinguisher. Check to ensure that the service provider/contractor has installed an industrial parts cabinet, industrial standard fire-rated garbage can, and fire-rated containers for clean and dirty cleaning cloths.

Ensure the machine room has adequate cross ventilation with filters on the air intake and a heater for cold climatic conditions.  If necessary, seek advice from a professional HVAC expert. The machine room door must be self-closing and lockable with a specific key to prevent unauthorized entry.  It must also have appropriate signage – Authorized Personnel Only and No Unauthorized Goods to Be Stored. Remember, the elevator machine room is not for storage.

Ensure that proper lighting is installed for both the elevator controller and the machinery. Emergency lighting in case of power outages is advisable and an emergency telephone is recommended for all machine rooms.

If space is available, consider installing a fire-rated small desk/bench and chair for the technician to spread the schematic drawings out for ease of reading. Appropriate furnishings make the work environment friendly for the mechanic and will go a long way to encourage excellence in the preventative maintenance performance.

ElevatorNews.Com
The Global Info Centre for Elevators, Escalators, & Lifts

The elevator hoistway is truly the forgotten section of any building. More often than not, the elevator hoistways are dirty and forgotten. This section of the building includes the elevator pit, which can include dampness or even water ingress and, of course, dirt, debris, garbage, and personal effects, such as money, credit cards and lost keys. Hoistway maintenance must also include the car top and even the underneath of the elevator car, where, with cable elevators, a key component of the elevator safety mechanism is located. Dirt and debris gathers behind the doors, all hidden and out of sight and out of mind.

Consider the elevator operation for one minute. The elevator goes up and down, often nonstop. It sucks the air in from floors and then blows the air out at other floors in both the up and down directions. There was a time when air conditioning systems were proven to affect the health of tenants in commercial buildings, and over time these systems have been upgraded to take these health effects into account. With the constant movement of elevators, the large-scale transfer of air from floor to floor, and the unhygienic conditions of the hoistway and elevator pit, it is no wonder hospitals are vulnerable to infectious disease health scares. Large compact high-rise buildings cannot be far behind. Imagine fumigating hospital corridors and hallways and ignoring the inside of the elevator hoistway.

Garbage left in the elevator pit, or fluff and dirt gathered the full length of an elevator hoistway, can also pose a serious fire hazard. Behind the doors, dirt and grime accumulates and is seldom cleaned. For both reasons mentioned, health and fire, the elevator hoistway should be kept meticulously clean.  Building maintenance budgets and the preventative maintenance contracts/agreements for elevators should allow for these costs on top of the fair wear and tear cleaning due to environmental conditions.

Keeping dust and dirt down is important for elevator equipment. As mentioned previously, install filters over the ventilation systems in the elevator machine rooms. If renovation work is performed in a building, such as gyprocking / sheetrocking of walls, the transportation of construction materials in the elevator can create a great deal of dust and grim falling down the hoistway.  Make sure building contractors do not overload an elevator, and include a post-renovation cleaning of the elevator installation in the price of the renovation work, as a lot of damage can result from construction residue infiltrating the elevator system. Unfortunately, this requirement is all too frequently missed.

ElevatorNews.Com
The Global Info Centre for Elevators, Escalators, & Lifts

• Massachusetts
• Washington DC
• Rhode Island
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Virginia
• Georgia
• Pennsylvania
• Ohio

If you don’t see your state here, feel free to ask us!

We have also added a few new areas of service as well. Some of those areas are as follows:

• Water Remediation
• Pit Water & Oil Removal Services
• Pit Washouts & Degreasing
• Pit Waterproofing
• Cementicious Coatings
• Deep Escalator Cleaning
• Escalator Polishing
• Epoxies

Soon to come is an entire catalog of “Cleaning Supplies” and other amazing products that we are sure you would rather have all in one place than having several vendors for the most critical supplies.

WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED!

Christopher Carey
President-

#2.  Housekeeping in the Machine Room and the Pit
(CEC CAN RESOLVE THIS ISSUE)
Elevator machine rooms are required to house only that equipment directly related to the elevator. It is all too easy to use the elevator machine room for a storage place. A simple check to make sure that non-elevator related materials, not in the machine room can save you a violation later.  The pit is required to be kept clean; leaking oil, accumulation of water, and general litter are common violations in pits. Another common violation is a trip hazard such as sump pump wells without proper covers.  A walkthrough of the machine room and a look at the pit with your elevator contractor is an easy way to prevent these common violations.

#3.  Signs
A sign is required outside of each elevator landing that says “IN FIRE EMERGENCY, DO NOT USE ELEVATOR. USE EXIT STAIRS.”  Additionally, where fire service key switches are provided either in the lobby and/or in the car, instructions are required.  These signs should be available from your elevator maintenance company for a reasonable fee.  Some locations are prone to vandalism. In such cases, vandal resistant signs can also be made available.

#4. GFCI Outlets and Lighting
(CEC CAN RESOLVE THIS ISSUE)
All machine rooms and elevator pits require lighting that is protected against breakage. Lighting is required to be accessible from the entrances of both pits and the machine room. Also, pits and machine rooms are required to have a convenience outlet that has a GFCI circuit breaker built in.  This work is generally provided by a qualified electrician, your elevator company, and access to the elevator shaft is provided by your elevator maintenance company.

#5.  Hoistway Door Indications
(CEC CAN RESOLVE THIS ISSUE)
The hoistway doors are required to have indications on the shaft side of the elevator which indicates the floor that the doors are located on. (I.E. Ground, First, Second). This work can be done by your elevator maintenance company or similar service.

#6.  Monthly Fire Service Maintenance Log
Where an elevator is provided with fire service, a monthly test of the fire service function is required. A log of the finding of those tests is required to be in the elevator machine room. The monthly test can be performed by your elevator maintenance company, or they may be able to train an individual within the building to perform the tests and be responsible to maintain the fire service log.

#7.  Door Restrictors
Elevators installed or substantially modernized after 1982 are required to have restrictions installed on the car doors to prevent opening when the elevator is not at a landing. This work is required to be performed by a qualified elevator installer.

#8.  Machine Room Door and Fire Extinguisher
(CEC CAN RESOLVE THIS ISSUE)
The machine room door is required to be self-closing and self-locking.  The machine room is required to have an ABC type fire extinguisher located in close proximity to the machine room door. This work can be done by any qualified individual.

#9.  Annual Tests Overdue
An annual test of the elevator’s safety function is required to be witnessed by an independent elevator inspector. By definition, the inspector must be approved by the local code enforcement department, be QEI certified, and cannot have a financial interest in the equipment being tested. The tests are performed by your elevator maintenance company and must be witnessed by the inspector. If the tests are overdue or if the tests were completed without having been witnessed by the independent inspector, which is a violation. It is very important to make sure that your elevator maintenance company does not complete tests without your inspector there.

#10.  Hoistway Cleaning
(CEC CAN RESOLVE THIS ISSUE)
Garbage left in the elevator pit, or fluff and dirt gathered the full length of an elevator hoistway, can pose a serious fire hazard and even give you a long list of violations. Behind the doors, dirt and grime accumulates and is seldom cleaned. For both reasons mentioned, health and fire, the elevator hoistway should be kept meticulously clean. The pit is required to be kept clean; leaking oil, accumulation of water, and general litter are common violations in pits. Another common violation is a trip hazard such as sump pump wells without proper covers.  A walkthrough of the machine room and a look at the pit with your elevator contractor is an easy way to prevent these common violations.

Eltech Elevator Ind. Inc:

Since 1985, a fully licensed, insured, and bondable elevator contractor that’s Dunn and Bradstreet rated, have been servicing elevators in the New York Metropolitan area. They perform all aspects of elevator service including maintenance, repair, and modernization. Eltech is certified by the NYC DOB to perform all required elevator tests, filings, and violation removals. Also, members of the NAEC (National Association of Elevator Contractors), ECNY (Elevator Conference of New York) and the EIA (Elevator Industries Association). All their mechanics are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical workers (IBEW Local #3, Elevator Division)

Were going on our 4th year mark of working together and you guys still do very fine and impressive work, will recommend you for any job, we always look forward to working with your company.

- Eltech Elevator Ind. Inc.

Nouveau Elevator Ind. Inc.:

Founded in 1987, is today the largest independent elevator service organization in the metropolitan New York. They have more than 4,000 elevators in their care – including many of the highest demand, high profile environments in the city. They maintain 24X7 office hubs in four crucial city locations, in addition to emergency response dispatch, parts distribution, and their engineering and technical departments in their Brooklyn headquarters.

Job was a success, everything was done the way it should be. We will be doing more business with you, Thanks.

- Nouveau Elevator Ind. Inc.

We can only hope to work with the rest of NY’s & NJ’s finest elevator companies, and property managements. We hope to hear from you all. We look forward for our upcoming days working hand in hand with these two companies and any others that may come about, and thrive to bring success to everything we work on with them. Casper Elevator cleaning is all about teamwork, we are here to help you in every step of the way for your elevator cleaning needs.

Are you an Elevator Company, Property or Building Management Company looking to use our services? CLICK HERE to contact us for more details on how Casper Elevator Cleaning can help your building.