The Realistic Expectations for Elevator Performance
Aniket Mahale
Head of System Engineering & Offer Management @ Schindler India | General Management | Technology Leadership
Let's cut to the chase:
Elevators should never break down!!
However, it's important to acknowledge that expecting absolute perfection is unrealistic. Achieving flawless elevator operation in all conditions, without any hiccups, is an unattainable goal.
We both understand that such an ideal scenario is practically impossible. Even striving for a level of performance better than the Six Sigma Quality standard, which allows for only 3.4 defects per million opportunities, would mean accepting approximately 3.4 breakdowns per million trips throughout an elevator's lifetime. To put this into perspective, if airplanes were to adhere to the same performance standards, we would witness approximately 3.4 mid-air shutdowns per million flights, which would be catastrophic. However, elevators do not carry the same level of risk, and encountering occasional disruptions is somewhat acceptable.
Determining the ideal duration between two breakdowns is a slightly vague question, considering the diverse applications of elevators in various settings such as residential buildings, hospitals, public transport, hotels, malls, and more. It is evident that a hospital elevator should perform better than one in a residential complex. It is crucial to clarify that we are solely discussing breakdowns here and not accidents, as accidents should never occur.
For the sake of simplicity, let's focus on an average elevator in a residential complex.
To gain a user's perspective, I sought firsthand information about breakdowns in my own residential complex. Initially, I approached the security guards, who serve as the primary point of contact during breakdowns. Surprisingly, they couldn't recall the last time an elevator technician was called, indicating that it had been more than three to four months since the last breakdown in any of the nine elevators (assuming the guards would remember if a breakdown had occurred within that timeframe).
To confirm this information, I consulted the Chairperson of our complex, who informed me, one out of the nine elevators had experienced a breakdown since March 2020. To substantiate his claim, he showed me a logbook containing breakdown details for all the elevators.
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While this may seem like an embellished scenario, let's consider the facts:
Does this performance sound impressive to you? In my opinion, it does.
However, not all aspects of the elevators' performance are exceptional. Cleanliness in the machine room and pit is below par, regular maintenance visits are infrequent, some fixtures require replacement, and the periodic testing of safety components is uncertain. From a user's perspective and for the safety of riders, these aspects should be addressed by increasing the maintenance costs to INR 20,000 per unit per year.
In conclusion, the ideal duration between two breakdowns should be at least 350 days. This can be considered the minimum acceptable performance standard. Anything better than this is highly desirable.
What are your thoughts on this?
Can you recall the last time an elevator in your society broke down?
Refocused Approach: Expanding Reach through a LinkedIn Newsletter!
Originally published on my website in 2020, I have been curious about finding alternative ways to connect with a wider audience. Therefore I am contemplating the idea of starting a newsletter on LinkedIn as a means to reach a larger number of people.