A maintenance program is judged twice: once by whether the equipment keeps running, and once by whether the records demonstrate that you looked. Both are satisfied by the same discipline – scheduled examination with written results.
What belongs in the cycle
| Interval | Typical scope |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Door operation on every landing, car interior and fixtures, levelling, alarm and communication, governor rope condition, pit and machine room housekeeping |
| Quarterly | Machine and sheave inspection, brake adjustment check, controller fault history review, safety circuit function, guide shoe/roller wear |
| Annual | Safety gear and governor function as required by jurisdiction, buffer level and function, final limits, suspension member examination, load test where required |
| Five-year (or per jurisdiction) | Full-load safety and governor tests at rated speed, rope/belt examination with retirement criteria applied |
Record it so it means something
A tick in a box proves nothing. A useful record shows:
- What was examined, with the measurement where one exists (brake gap, rope diameter, oil level, door closing force).
- The reading compared against the acceptance value, not just the reading.
- Defects found, the action taken, and the date closed.
- Parts replaced with identifiers, so a recurring failure on the same component becomes visible.
Prioritising defects
- Immediate hazard – take the unit out of service and record why. Interlock defeat, inoperative safety device, missing guarding, failed emergency communication.
- Reliability risk – schedule the repair, monitor meanwhile, and note the trend.
- Cosmetic or convenience – batch with the next planned visit.
The review that turns records into maintenance
Once a quarter, read the fault history by unit and look for repeats: the same landing, the same door, the same fault after heavy use. A maintenance program that never reviews its own history is only a cleaning schedule.
Safety: lock out and verify zero energy before working on machinery or entering the pit/top of car. Never rely on the car being “parked” as protection.
Related: acceptance and periodic tests, door systems (the largest single source of callbacks), and forum threads tagged maintenance.