Please make sure before fastening your seatbelt and traveling with the elevator to the moon that technical technicians have performed the necessary inspections for service and maintenance. In fact, the necessity of elevator service and maintenance is something that you should pay special attention to. Perhaps 20 years from now, hearing this sentence while wearing a space suit may not seem strange as it does today, because the Japanese space company Obayashi has decided to build a special elevator for traveling to the moon by 2030 and operate it by 2050! But whatever your decision may be, whether it's traveling with your acquaintances to the moon using the space elevator or climbing to the rooftop to change the water cooler pads, make sure that monthly elevator service and maintenance inspections have been carried out beforehand, and you're not going to get stuck in a scary tunnel! So if you're a building manager or planning to buy and install an elevator, we recommend staying with us until the end of this article to understand why elevators need service and maintenance.
Service and maintenance, also known as preventive maintenance (PM), is the most important part of after-sales services, which is regularly performed to improve the efficiency and lifespan of installed products. Performing regular and periodic preventive maintenance on equipment and assets is referred to as service and maintenance, aiming to keep them operational and prevent any unexpected and costly breakdowns. Now let's take a look at the structure of this elevator to understand why it needs repairs, service, and maintenance.
An elevator is an electric train without a driver that moves passengers between the floors of a building. It operates in a vertical tunnel located within the building, with its stations being the floors of that building.
The construction of each elevator consists of 5 main parts:
- Elevator shaft, motor room, cabin, shaft pit, and stop stations.
It's the vertical tunnel in which the elevator cabin moves. The installation of rails to guide the cabin along the walls of this tunnel is carried out.
It's where the equipment related to the elevator's driving force system is placed. The best location for the motor room is above the elevator shaft for traction elevators and below the shaft for hydraulic elevators. Additionally, if an elevator motor is gearless, the motor room is placed inside the shaft, which is called a gearless or machine-room-less elevator. The elevator motor room not only houses the motor but also includes the control panel, three-phase electrical panel, governor, elevator speed control drive, and fire safety equipment.
It's the same as the electric train compartment that transports passengers or cargo and is equipped with lighting, floor selection buttons, electric open/close buttons, alarm bell, fan, and possibly a wall-mounted telephone.
The distance between the lowest elevator stop and the elevator shaft floor, which is the most crucial function of installing a buffer to prevent the cabin from hitting the elevator shaft floor severely.
The stations for boarding and disembarking on each floor. This structure, with the coordination of several interconnected systems, enables the elevator's operation.
The proper functioning of an elevator depends on the correct operation of its systems and their interconnection as an integrated structure. Each elevator has four main systems:
- Propulsion system
- Control and command system
- Suspension or suspension system
- Elevator safety system
Any mechanism that provides the necessary force to move the elevator. In traction elevators, this is done by geared or gearless motors, and in hydraulic elevators, it's done by an electric motor that pumps oil into the cylinder and moves the jack.
A system that connects the elevator cabin to the propulsion system and allows the elevator to move and stop in the elevator shaft.
This system acts as the brain of the elevator and has three stages of operation:
- Data acquisition
- Data processing
- Command issuance
Three types of input data are sent to the system:
A. Data received by electrical equipment from various parts of the elevator system, such as the cabin's position, motor speed, brake status, cabin door status, etc.
B. Requests sent through buttons or switches in the elevator cabin and floors.
C - Commands received through the control box on top of the cabin.
In this stage, the received data is prioritized and processed based on the program given to it.
In this stage, commands are issued based on the processed data.
Due to the importance of elevator safety, all its components are manufactured and installed with a higher safety coefficient. Additionally, it has a two-stage emergency brake system and a buffer at the elevator shaft floor to prevent the elevator from falling in the event of an accident. Equipment used to prevent elevator falls and minimize potential damage include a mechanical speed control device (governor), a safety brake device (parachute), and buffers.
Now, with an understanding of the elevator structure and its operational systems, the purpose of elevator service and maintenance can be summarized in these two categories:
- Conducting periodic inspections of the elevator to check the performance of elevator systems.
- Performing service, adjustments, repairs, or replacements to improve
The degree of coordination of these systems together as an integrated structure, maintenance conditions and efficiency and performance of mechanical, electrical and electronic parts and equipment
For this purpose, companies that provide elevator service and maintenance prepare a checklist of necessary inspections and services. To familiarize yourself with the checklist for periodic elevator service and maintenance, we recommend reading the article "Elevator Service Checklist."
Summary:
In this article titled "Why Elevators Need Service and Maintenance?", after briefly touching on space elevators and their commonality with building elevators regarding service and maintenance, we first defined preventive maintenance. Then, we introduced elevators, their building components, elevator systems, and their operation and interconnection. Finally, we stated the purpose of elevator service and maintenance.
What is service and maintenance?
Performing regular and periodic preventive maintenance of equipment and assets to keep them active and prevent any unexpected and costly breakdowns is called service and maintenance.
Introduce the five main parts of an elevator building
Elevator shaft, engine room, cabin, shaft and stopping stations
How many stages does the work process of the elevator control and command system have?
This system is like the brain of the elevator and its work process has 3 stages: receiving information, processing information, issuing commands