To date, the project is moving along well. There are no near miss, injuries or incidents and crews are operating safe. The demolition of mechanical workings within the hoist-ways (shaft the cab travels up and down) has been completed. The power units are now being removed from site. Over the next coming weeks our contractors now begin the long road of installing new elevator specific electrical and mechanical components as well as fire protection device upgrades. All smells or sounds related to the demo will no longer be apparent.

Elevator modernization (or lift modernization) is the process of upgrading the critical parts of the elevator in order for it to be able to handle new technology, have better performance, improve safety, and even give the overall aesthetics an up-to-date appeal

Most elevators are built to provide about 30 to 40 years of service (although some elevators as old as 50 years or more are still in service), as long as service intervals specified and periodic maintenance/inspections by the manufacturer are followed. As the elevator ages and equipment becomes increasingly difficult to find or replace, along with code changes and deteriorating ride performance, a complete overhaul of the elevator is required.

Typically, a modernization will affect the controller equipment (the part of the elevator that controls the movement of the elevator through the floors), the hoist pistons/cylinders and motors/pumps (the part of the elevator that does the heavy lifting), electrical wiring and buttons of the cab (controlling the lights, destination floors, etc.,) even the tracks of the doors are modified and changed, all to keep the elevator up-to-date, and to the aesthetics conscious, paneling, electronics, and additional style changes are also done in the interior of the cabs

For starters, an elevator modernization plan was created. This was done with the help of an Elevator consultant, Service Company, Electrical and Mechanical consultants.

This process determined which parts of the elevator had to be modernized, the scope of the procedure, and most importantly, making sure that code compliance are met (including fire alarm/fire code). Once this was completed, preventive maintenance was done until the elevators were actually removed from service.

During mod time, the elevator is out of service. So, the Department of Physical Resources has planned ahead and worked with the various Departments, Scheduling Services, and various service providers in order to compensate for this outage. Strategic planning includes proper diversion of building’s traffic, creating contingency plans, and so on. This is required due to the scope of modernization, the number of elevators, and the size of the building.

Modernization can greatly improve operational reliability by replacing mechanical relays and contacts with solid-state electronics. Lighting changed to efficient LED technology. Ride quality improved by replacing motor-generator-based drive designs with Variable-Voltage, Variable Frequency (VVVF) drives, providing near-seamless acceleration and deceleration. Passenger safety is also improved by updating systems and equipment (such as double brake system, unintended car movement protection device on the brake system, etc.) to conform to current codes. By modernizing, we will continue with achieving our continuing goals of energy conservation and energy efficiency.

Elevators A, T, and Y are all hydraulic type elevators.  The elevator cab is pushed up from below by a large hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly that is now over 30 years old.  If the elevator travels a total of 30′ at top, then when the elevator is at the bottom floor, that piston is in the ground 30′.  To avoid the potential for any safety issues arising from the age of the equipment, all of the equipment is being replaced.

When the elevators were installed originally, the cylinders and pistons were dropped into the holes by a crane.  Now that these are being replaced, they must be lifted out of the hole, cut into pieces and removed for recycling.