19 votes

Shortage of technicians and parts contribute to growing US elevator outages tormenting American buildings

Posted by boxer_dogs_dance
Tags: usa, elevators, escalators, regulation, buildings, work, jobs, technicians, shortages, repair, outages, construction, supply chains, author.nathan bomey, source.axios
https://www.axios.com/2025/01/05/elevators-escalators-regulations-buildings-construction

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Title
America's elevators are stuck in repair mode
Authors
Nathan Bomey
Published
Jan 5 2025
Word count
484 words

5 comments

  1. [5]
    JCPhoenix
    Link
    I always assumed, at least in apartments, that it's cheap management. I lived in a 10-story apartment building for a little over 5yrs. I lived on the 6th floor, so I definitely used the two...

    I always assumed, at least in apartments, that it's cheap management. I lived in a 10-story apartment building for a little over 5yrs. I lived on the 6th floor, so I definitely used the two elevators. Well, one of the elevators broke and I swear it was out for at least a year. Which meant lots of waiting around, especially during busy periods, for the elevator. When I was moving out, apparently like 5 other units decided to move out as well on the same weekend. You can imagine how crazy that was.

    Though that wasn't the only thing at that place that was broken. It was an apartment in a nice area, but seemed like owners/management were trying to become slumlords. But maybe, just maybe, at least for the elevators, it wasn't their fault (I still choose to believe they were trying to be slumlords).

    State of play: A patchwork of state regulations and union rules make it laborious for building owners and contractors to comply with current standards, according to Smith. who said the U.S. would benefit from federal elevator standards. "The feds have not involved themselves in regulations of the construction industry since Reagan took an axe to it in the 1980s," Smith said.

    So we shouldn't expect anything to be done. Understood.

    14 votes
    1. AugustusFerdinand
      Link Parent
      Previous discussion on elevators in the US: https://tild.es/1hi5

      Previous discussion on elevators in the US: https://tild.es/1hi5

      Behind the dearth of elevators in the country that birthed the skyscraper are eye-watering costs. A basic four-stop elevator costs about $158,000 in New York City, compared with about $36,000 in Switzerland. A six-stop model will set you back more than three times as much in Pennsylvania as in Belgium. Maintenance, repairs and inspections all cost more in America too.

      Architects have dreamed of modular construction for decades, where entire rooms are built in factories and then shipped on flatbed trucks to sites, for lower costs and greater precision. But we can’t even put elevators together in factories in America, because the elevator union’s contract forbids even basic forms of pre-assembly and prefabrication that have become standard in elevators in the rest of the world. The union and manufacturers bicker over which holes can be drilled in a factory and which must be drilled (or redrilled) on site. Manufacturers even let elevator and escalator mechanics take some components apart and put them back together on site to preserve work for union members, since it’s easier than making separate, less-assembled versions just for the United States.

      17 votes
    2. [2]
      vord
      Link Parent
      One more thing for the pile of "ways Reagan fucked up the country." A great video essay from Some More News. Total runtime for both parts is just shy of three hours.

      One more thing for the pile of "ways Reagan fucked up the country."

      A great video essay from Some More News. Total runtime for both parts is just shy of three hours.

      11 votes
      1. redbearsam
        Link Parent
        But it's a thorough and entertaining - in a sickening sort of way - 3 hours.

        But it's a thorough and entertaining - in a sickening sort of way - 3 hours.

        6 votes
    3. DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      We spend so much money on elevators in residence life. There's a level of how much we harass them but when custom parts are needed and the controlling boards are all essentially unique it seems,...

      We spend so much money on elevators in residence life. There's a level of how much we harass them but when custom parts are needed and the controlling boards are all essentially unique it seems, especially in older buildings.... Yeah. Bad management makes it worse but the best management can't keep all of them up all the time

      7 votes