The
EM
ENERGY MANAGER
ENERGY STAT: UTILITIES COST THE AVERAGE PRIVATE OFFICE BUILDING
ABOUT $2.16 PER SQUARE FOOT, A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE AVERAGE OPERATING EXPENSES OF $8.07 PER SQUARE FOOT, ACCORDING TO
BOMA’S 2016 OFFICE EXPERIENCE EXCHANGE REPORT.
4 Vertical Transportation Mistakes You Might Be Making
How much attention do you
pay to your elevators and
escalators? They may run
smoothly now, but if they don’t receive
the right maintenance from the right
technician, it could seriously impact the
equipment’s lifetime and result in extra
service calls.
Do you recognize any of these issues
in your own facility?
1) Automatically Accepting the
Lowest Bid
The lowest price may save you money
upfront, but in the long run, it could
end up costing you more, explains Andy
Kohl, Elevator Consultant for The
Elevator Consultants. When you request
bids for maintenance technicians,
make sure you’re getting someone who
is experienced with your particular
equipment.
“One of the big issues we see is
going with the lowest price and not
matching the equipment with the
proper mechanic,” Kohl says. “A lot of
facilities managers are very savvy and
make all the right decisions, but then
the procurement department can force
them to take a lower bid: ‘Here’s your
budget and here’s who you’re going
with.’ That happens a lot. It can help to
bring in a consultant to get everyone on
the same page.”
2) Boilerplate Language in
Contracts
Contracts require negotiation, Kohl
explains. Don’t just accept the standard
language – the terms and conditions
are likely not favorable to you. Make
sure the contract you sign affords
you protection and lays out specifics
regarding maintenance schedules and
time on site for maintenance providers.
“Sometimes FMs sign periodic
maintenance agreements. I explain to
customers that you go to your doctor
‘periodically’ and that means once a year.
You don’t want periodic maintenance
on your elevators,” Kohl says. “Then
they have no accountability for trying
to get the elevator company there other
than when things break. That affects the
3) Unfavorable Response Time
Specifications
Does your contract specify how
quickly a service provider has to respond
if someone is trapped in an elevator?
“Some contracts say you have to pay the
vendor to get people out,” Kohl says.
“That’s crazy, but it happens. Response
Your specification for response time
should be realistic depending on your
building’s needs. Typically, this ranges
from half an hour to two hours, Kohl
explains.
“Some contracts we see allow four to
six hours for a response. Why would you
accept that?” Kohl says. “Don’t let the
contract be vague on entrapment – we
recommend no longer than a half hour.
How long do you want to be stuck in an
elevator? Our goal is to get the person out
of the elevator before the fire department
is called, because the fire department
will break the doors to get them out and
that adds billable repairs, which are very
expensive. However, if your contract
specifies a response time of half an hour
and you don’t show up on time, and the
fire department breaks the door after an
hour, the vendor has to pay for that – but
it has to be in the contract.”
4) Deferred Maintenance
Putting off needed maintenance does
considerable damage to your elevator,
but deferring it is common in the name
of saving money in the short term despite
higher long-term costs, Kohl says.
“If you don’t add oil to your car or
fix things that are broken until a light
comes on instead of doing proactive
maintenance, you know you’re shortening
the life of your car,” Kohl adds. “With
vertical transportation, proactive tasks
are major things that we see not getting
done on a regular basis unless the client
is willing to a) pay for it and b) have
a specification in their contract that
requires the vendor to do it.”
Janelle Penny janelle.penny@buildings.
com is senior editor of BUILDINGS.
12 BUILDINGS 09.16
➙
YOUR ELEVATOR’S LIFE TIME could be reduced if preventive maintenance isn’t done correctly or on
time. Are you making any of these vertical transportation mistakes?
