Since my wife has been consigned to a wheelchair it means I notice lifts more. This weekend I encountered one (in a newish building of a company very committed to access) - the one floor lift has never worked so they have boarded up the doors (according to a member of staff)
A local superstore - lift out of action 3 times last week.
Old Person's Residential Complex - Lift out of action as service contract has gone to a firm that prefers a different brand and it is waiting for parts but may fit a new controller.
Daughter's place of work - blocking a door is likely to put it out of action for a week
What is it with lifts? - they aren't rocket science.
What are the common causes - and are there generic issues that better disign could cure?
I agree, that they do seem to be extraordinarily unreliable. I use Luton Airport Parkway station several times a week which has 3 lifts to access the three sets of platforms. I cannot remember a time when all three have been working at the same time. The station is used by huge numbers of airport customers with luggage so one often sees them struggling up the rather long staircases, which is distressing to watch. Disabled passengers - well I guess they are told to use some other station - I have no idea. I have never seen the staff carrying a wheelchair up the stairs, it's probably against H&S rules.
Last month I was waiting for a train on platforms 2/3 where the lift is very often out of action and observed with interest the lift maintenance crew in action. They had the door to the control gear open and were tinkering inside. While I waited they appeared to think they had finished and did a couple of test rides up and down, and then packed up, removed the "out of service" signs and went off. I was still waiting for a train (Thameslink trains are almost invariably late) and saw two customers use it, then the lift failed again, fortunately with nobody stuck inside. It was still out of service when I came back through the station a few hours later and stayed that way for the next few days.
The two lift maintenance technicians were both very young, indeed they looked barely out of school. Maybe that's the norm nowadays - if experienced technicians exist they never visit actual customer sites. If one bought a car that failed as often as these lifts do, one would want one's money back.
The overloading and hence the switches pack up was one problem we used to have, and others seem to revolve around inner door opening outer door not, and one of my bug bears on modern lifts, touch screen control panels the blind cannot use and high control panels the wheelchair person cannot use. Stupid over sized Braille on buttons is downright stupid. and ignorant. Brian
Yes I've often wondered why big companies do not simply take these folks to the cleaners over underperformance. I was talking to a friend with ms, she has to use a wheelchair when it flares up, On one occasion the new lifts at Surbiton all failed meaning she could not get off the platform as the assistants had used a ramp to disembark her but seemingly had not realised the lifts were out, so they put her on another train to another station where the company paid for a taxi all the way back to her house. It must cost them a fortune the number of times this stupid situation occurs. Brian
There are lifts and lifts. Often the El Cheapo ones unsuitable for heavy use ge tput in unsuitable locations. The best lift is Otis. You rarely see them except in hospitals.
I don't think that they are that unreliable, just that when they fail, they are patched up and fail again quickly, so you see multiple failures; or they are taken out of service until a replacement part arrives ... and they don't seem to stock any, so it can be many weeks or even months before it is fixed.
It is about half a century since I was involved with inspecting any lift. Back then, the problem was usually that they were rather too reliable. By the time they eventually went wrong, it was difficult to get spare parts. These days, I suspect that software problems are more likely.
I've been wondering what happens regarding the new tower blocks that people are buying flats in for 1/2 million and it;s estimated that after ~15 years the lifts will need replacing and will cost a fortune to replace everything due to H&S regarding lifts, who's going to pay. The latest ones near me seemed cheap ranging from £120K but on reading the small print it;s for 25% owenership! so yuo have a mortgage for £100K and then have to pay some form of rent, and then when the lift breaks down and needs replacing what then ?
And that is almost certainly because these residents respect the building and its facilities, unlike joe public on his mobility scooter who couldn't give a shit, while muttering 'they should do something about it'.
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