5 elevator maintenance tips for property managers

Use these easy preventative tips to help keep your elevator moving.

Keeping your building functioning (and tenants happy) requires lots of work and planning. But no matter how hard you work, a malfunctioning elevator can quickly grind your building traffic to a halt – and reflect poorly on management.

To keep your elevator moving longer, follow these five simple elevator maintenance tips:

1. Schedule your annual inspections

Annual inspections are critical for elevators. Qualified inspectors will ensure your major elevator components, including the cables, motor, doors and emergency equipment, are in good condition. Ensure any noted problems are promptly fixed.

2. Regularly check your elevators

As a property manager, you’re the first line of defense against out-of-commission elevators. Create a weekly calendar reminder to ride each elevator and look for jerky motion or vibrations, reduced speeds and misalignment with floors.

While any of these faults could seem minor, they can eventually lead to more serious problems. Contact your elevator technician if you observe any elevator faults.

3. Follow and enforce elevator weight limits

Failing to comply with elevator weight limits can cause serious faults, and even risks injuries. Ensure weight limit signs are posted in visible locations so tenants can easily see them. Encourage tenants moving heavy furniture or equipment to take several trips to avoid overloading the elevator.

If you know a major move is taking place, consider getting your elevator serviced beforehand to ensure it’s in ideal condition.

4. Listen to your tenants

With elevators, tenants usually don’t complain unless something is wrong. Promptly investigate all tenant elevator complaints, and contact your technician if you see, hear or feel anything wrong.

5. Consider modernizing your elevator

Like all mechanical devices, even the best-maintained elevators can experience performance declines. If you notice your elevator declining in performance or requiring more frequent maintenance, consider one of our modernization packages. Modernizing your elevator replaces and upgrades its key components, improving its reliability and performance. This ultimately saves money and increases your building’s property value.

Early detection is critical when it comes to elevators. By scheduling annual inspections, listening to tenant feedback and taking regular elevator inspection rides, you can keep elevators running smoothly and tenants as happy as possible.