WHAT'S IN YOUR ELEVATOR MAINTENANCE CONTRACT?

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PRESENTS

What’s in yourELEVATOR SERVICE

CONTRACT?

At many buildings, the

elevator service provider also provides the

elevator service contract.

Once upon a time, differences in coverage between service contracts

were minimal and most of them were fairly comprehensive.

Over the years, however, these agreements have evolved and

coverage has been downgraded.

For example, some full service maintenance contracts no longer

include safety testing.

This might go unnoticed, until you receive that unexpected (and

unbudgeted!) invoice for performance of elevator safety

tests.

What are the things you

should look for when comparing elevator service

contracts?

Here are my top five…

1. Maintenance Control Program (MCP) Requirements as administered

by the State of Washington.

Maintenance Control Program, or MCP, is a program or plan to ensure that an elevator

or escalator is maintained correctly throughout its life.

It is mandatory in any jurisdiction that has adopted the ASME 17.1 2000. The State of Washington, City of Seattle and City of Spokane are among these jurisdictions.

The MCP as administered in the State of Washington as been around since 2012, so most Agreements should include language to this effect. However, MCP requirements

differ depending upon within which jurisdiction the equipment is located.

Equipment within the state of Washington has stricter MCP requirements than equipment located within the City of

Seattle.

Hydraulic elevators require less time to meet MCP than traction elevators.

Make sure you understand how many hours have been factored into your pricing

to meet the MCP requirements for your jurisdiction, and that it meets, but does

not exceed what those are.

2. Safety testing for 1 and 5-year code required tests.

As mentioned earlier, safety testing, at least for traction elevators, used to be

standard in any “full service” maintenance contract.

If you consider a service contract without testing included, try to

negotiate the testing price up front so that you are not held hostage when the

testing is due.

3. Bonus Time Only for overtime callbacks.

Bonus Time Only (or BTO) refers to the amount the customer is billed when

callbacks outside the regular hours of the service contract are requested. It’s advised that your contract include BTO, then you pay

only the difference between the regular time rate and the overtime rate for the

time when the mechanic is on the job, and if you’re a really good negotiator, for

the travel time as well.

4. Required maintenance time per unit.

Most elevator service contracts use the term “periodic” to describe the frequency of visits. If you include frequency of service and length of visits in the service contract, the monthly price may be higher, but your contract will have the teeth you need to hold the provider to a certain standard. After all, who will get to define the term

“periodic” if a concern about the quality and frequency of maintenance visits occurs?

5. Cancellation for cause with time to cure.

A good elevator service provider will invest time

and money into your elevator system over the

life of the service contract. To that end, it is

understandable that an option to cancel the

service contract “at will” can cause the provider heartburn. However, a clause to cancel with cause that includes a

provision for time to cure, should be acceptable to any service provider who has confidence in their

ability to deliver.

Questions?

Call or write.

We’ll be happy to help.

CALIFORNIA23211 South Pointe DriveLaguna Hills, CA949-348-9711john@hkaconsulting.com

NEVADA3765 E. Sunset Rd., Ste. B-5Las Vegas, NV702-319-9711jim@hkaconsulting.com

WASHINGTON15811 32nd Ave. NELake Forest Park, WA206-954-1821 lchain@hkaconsulting.com

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