When you’re an elevator mechanic, you’re always testing.

That’s what these F&S experts do yearly at every one of the 360 cars, dumbwaiters, and chairlifts on campus.

When testing, elevator mechanics basically want to make sure that governors, locks, brakes, and doors all operate as they should – the car shouldn’t go too high or too low, should stop at the right place when called, the doors should open if called, and emergency measures should work if needed.

Some testing is rather basic: just try the ‘Emergency Call’ button to see that there’s a response and that the responder, with UI Public Safety, knows where the call is coming from.

Other tests include moving the car up and down the hoistway to see how it acts when certain actions are attempted – like moving a car when there’s a door open, for example. In that case, and any others regarding safe operation, the default is to have the car stay in its place until the authorities can respond.

Two types of elevators exist: traction and hydro (“hydraulic”). A traction elevator is comprised of a motor/machine, steel ropes, sheaves, and counterweights that move the car. These are used in nearly every high-rise building in the world over, generally four or five stories tall. Many on the Urbana campus utilize the hydraulic style, which is for shorter buildings and operate at a lower speed.

One “hydro” test is to see that the pressure applied by hydraulic oil to jack and piston is pumped at the correct pressures to power the car to motion, or enough to prevent movement in an emergency situation.

At Wassaja Hall, both styles are utilized. The primary bank of two elevators there, commonly called a ‘duplex’, use the traction style, while a separate service elevator is hydro.

Each style has different annual testing protocols to ensure compliance – both entail elevator mechanics working in “the pit” (the bottom of the hoistway), as well as in the car itself, and on top of the car, too.

No Rehearsal

Before each type of test, communication between the mechanics is absolutely essential.

A walkie-talkie is an absolute must-have, and clarity on what test is being run must go through all who are present. Clear, concise directions are not only helpful, but necessary for safety – clear, loud responses are needed, as well.

In the Wassaja job, a three-person unit completed testing in a few hours thanks to an easy back-and-forth between elevator mechanics.

A portion of the testing protocol on the hydro elevator is done in a mechanical room in the basement – there, F&S elevator mechanics open and close different layers of valves to see what the car’s response is if there is no liquid flowing, the power source for lifting and lowering.

The purpose of each test usually comes down to finding out all the scenarios in which a car should not move, and ensuring it doesn’t. You don’t want the car going down too far or going up too high. A commonly-known way to ensure an elevator shut down is to jump while the elevator is in motion, which causes a strain on the mechanical systems that automatically locks the car in place.

Before any testing procedure is begun, a radio transmission is made, the other mechanics must respond in the affirmative as to what’s about to happen, with a final acknowledgment about the results of that particular test.

“Coming down?”

“Coming down.”

“No down.”