Recurring repairs, aging equipment and reliability complaints often lead building teams to consider elevator modernization. Before requesting bids, define the problems the project needs to address, the equipment under consideration, how the building will operate during construction, and what testing and documentation the contractor must provide at completion.
Owners and property managers can start planning before a contractor visits by gathering existing records and documenting building needs. An elevator professional must assess the equipment and help determine which components the project should address. This checklist organizes the information the building team can provide and the questions to resolve with prospective contractors.
When to Start Planning an Elevator Modernization
Most modernization projects begin with a pattern rather than a single event. Common triggers include:
- Recurring breakdowns or repeat service calls for the same problem
- Replacement parts that take weeks to find or are no longer made
- Equipment approaching or past the end of its expected service life
- Compliance concerns, such as accessibility features or signals that no longer work as intended
- Ride quality complaints, including rough starts, slow travel or uneven leveling
- Safety concerns raised by technicians, inspectors or occupants
- Tenant or visitor complaints about wait times and reliability
Decide What the Project Needs to Accomplish
Describe the problems the project needs to solve. “Fewer breakdowns” is a starting point, but a specific description gives bidders more direction: “The north wing’s passenger car has recurring door faults and responds slowly during the morning rush.” Then identify the project’s priorities, such as minimizing downtime, improving reliability or updating cab finishes. These priorities help bidders recommend an appropriate schedule, phasing plan and scope.
Gather the information behind those goals:
- Service history and equipment constraints. Call logs, invoices and callback records from past elevator repair work show which problems have a pattern of repeating and inspection reports and equipment drawings show how old the equipment is. Add any limits your current elevator maintenance provider has flagged, such as obsolete parts or discontinued controllers.
- Building operations. Who rides the elevator and when. A hospital needs a car available for patient transport, a hotel has check-in and checkout peaks, and an office building has morning and evening rushes.
- Stakeholder priorities. Ownership, tenants, security, finance and the facilities team may each weigh ride quality, schedule and cost differently.
- Acceptable disruption windows. The hours, days or seasons an elevator can be out of service and whether another car can carry the traffic in the meantime.
Have a qualified elevator professional assess the equipment while you gather these notes. The assessment will help identify which components need repair, modernization or further evaluation.
What to Include in an Elevator Modernization Scope of Work
Once you have documented the project goals, gathered available records and identified building requirements, use that information to define what bidders should include in their proposals. The scope should address five areas:
- Equipment and system components. Use the elevator professional’s assessment to identify which components the project should retain, upgrade or replace. These may include the controller, drive, machine, door operators, hall and car fixtures, and cab interior.
- Access and operating constraints. Carry the building’s agreed operating requirements into the scope. Ask bidders to explain how their proposed schedule and work phasing will accommodate those requirements, including any periods when elevators must remain available.
- Testing, commissioning and handover. Specify the documentation and handover deliverables the owner expects. Ask bidders to describe their proposed testing and commissioning procedures, including the steps required before the elevator returns to service.
- Roles, decision points and responsibilities. Identify who approves changes, answers bidder questions and makes project decisions. Define the owner’s responsibilities, such as tenant notifications, and require bidders to outline their responsibilities for deliveries, trade coordination and completing the work.
Have a qualified elevator professional review the technical requirements and identify unresolved questions before finalizing the scope for bids.
Modernization vs. Full Replacement
Elevator modernization updates major operating systems while keeping parts of the current installation, such as the guide rails and hoistway structure. Full replacement removes the existing elevator and installs a new one. The better fit depends on your building, so compare both against these questions:
- What condition is the equipment you want to keep in, and will new components work with it?
- Can parts still be sourced for that equipment, and does its repair record support keeping it?
- What outcomes do you need, such as faster travel, higher capacity, updated accessibility features or a refreshed cab?
- What project constraints apply, including access, schedule and tolerance for disruption?
For example, an owner can modernize an elevator when an obsolete controller and scarce replacement parts cause problems, but the rest of the equipment remains in good condition. When the machine, rails and car frame also show wear, or the building needs a larger car, replacing the entire elevator addresses those additional concerns.
Elevator Modernization Checklist: Before the Project Begins
Use this list with your internal team and with prospective contractors. Check off entries as you gather information or make decisions.
- Document known issues, repair history and parts-availability concerns for each elevator.
- Define the project goals and the specific problems the work should address.
- Gather equipment, maintenance and building documentation.
- Identify which systems or components need assessment and mark each item as in scope, out of scope or not yet confirmed.
- Make note of building access, operating needs, stakeholder requirements and acceptable work windows.
- Decide what phasing or communication is needed to manage occupant disruption.
- Ask qualified professionals to identify the code and authority requirements that apply to your project. Code requirements vary by location and project.
- Ask each bidder to state assumptions, exclusions, owner responsibilities, testing and handover expectations.
- Compare proposals against the same scope and resolve open questions before approval.
- Confirm project contacts, decision-makers and the process for handling scope changes.
Plan Your Elevator Modernization With Elevated Facility Services
Before bids go out, ask the people who use and maintain the building every day to read the elevator modernization scope of work. Engineers, security staff and front desk teams know how the elevators get used, and they tend to spot items the planning team missed. Working through the elevator modernization checklist with them turns the scope into a document the whole building has reviewed.
If you’re preparing for an elevator modernization project, we can assess your current equipment and recommend the right next step. Contact us today to start the conversation.
