|
|
| Lifts What not to buy - The Life Time Cost27 October 2008 |
Article in latest edition of Healthcare Business
Shortly after I wrote the article for last months HCB about the need for good planning when considering lift replacement or major modernisation I received a call from one of our biggest customers who asked us to take over the service of a lift in a home which they had had built as a turnkey design and build project 12 months previously.
Of course we went out to survey the lift and what we found added to the concerns we already had about the type and design of lift and the consequential cost of maintaining it.
Until recently new lifts in a typical care home were all of a similar design and generally speaking could be maintained by any suitably qualified and trained lift engineer. This has had the effect of keeping service very competitively priced which is great for end users but less good for service companies, so a comprehensive type contract would be priced at between £500 and £1,000 per annum depending on the content of the contract.
So what was so different about the lift we surveyed? Well, the lift was of the Machine Room Less (MRL) variety which as the name suggests does not need a separate machine room. Excellent you may think, that frees up storage space! And of course it does, but we have seen MRL lifts where the 3 phase (415 volt) mains controller pulls out of the landing door architrave and on to the landing and whatever barriers and precautions you take there are times when the engineer has to work with the control panel live. A live control panel behind a locked door in a motor room is one thing but one on the landing with possibly confused residents in the vicinity is another. Equally there are some MRLs’ which have the controller in the lift pit area so no danger to the residents there, but how many times have we come across water in a lift pit and in this case any engineer who values his life would insist that the pit was made dry before he sets foot into the pit to fix the lift which in the event of a weekend breakdown could be very inconvenient.
Intrinsic safety issues apart, the real problems lie in the fact the some lift companies are now installing control panels which have coded access only and unless the engineer has special tools (which the manufacturers will not supply to other service companies) and the access code, you will only be able to use the lift manufacturer’s service company for service and repair. Knowing that they have a monopoly on the servicing of your lift makes the cost of service shoot up and we know that in the case we were asked to look at the price for the same contract which I previously referred to had increased to £2,000 per annum when quoted by the manufacturers.
Now, consider this in terms of the lifetime cost of the lift. Assuming a 25 year life on a lift and assuming that the control panel lasts as long as the lift, the additional cost of servicing over the lifetime of the lift could be as much as £31,000 more because you are tied in to the manufacturer’s service contract.
So our simple advice when considering a new lift would be:
1. If you already have a motor room then think very hard about whether you really need one of a Machine Room Less design.
2. Insist on a control panel which is not access coded. There are many reputable and high quality control panel manufacturers about so do not be led into thinking that there is no choice.
3. Ask if there are any parts fitted to the lift which are not available on the open market. If so reject them.
A few questions at the beginning when you are considering either a new lift or a major modernisation could save you a small fortune in the long run.
If you need any further advice on lifts, lift servicing, installation or modernisation please contact Britton Price on 01937-849494 or visit the lifts website at www.brittonprice.co.uk
Derek Price
Managing Director
Britton Price Ltd
|
| |
Full List of Articles > |
|
