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Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices (2012)

Chapter: Chapter Three - Case Studies

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Three - Case Studies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21940.
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9 a Qualified Elevator Inspector (QEI), which requires appli- cants to meet standards established by the ASME for eleva- tor and escalator safety. The in-house inspectors routinely examine the contractor’s maintenance activities and perform random equipment assessments to audit equipment condition. They also perform accident investigations, assist the police with investigations, and review video recordings. MARTA believes that its Test and Evaluation Department, developed specifically for El/Es, is one of the most stringent acceptance programs, utilizing both ASME and APTA code require- ments when testing equipment. MARTA has also hired an outside consultant to supplement the Elevator and Escala- tor Department staff to provide ASME A17 inspections on selected elevators and escalators throughout the year. A safety incident on one of MARTA’s escalators caused the agency to change one of its scheduled maintenance intervals regarding brake inspections. Although MARTA’s previous requirement for quarterly brake inspections had exceeded the ASME requirement, the inspection frequency was increased to monthly. Equipment Availability MARTA notes that although the availability of El/Es is para- mount, providing safety is the number one priority. Any con- dition that denies the public access to El/Es equipment, includ- ing scheduled maintenance, classifies the equipment as being unavailable. The only exception is for equipment down for long-term modernization upgrades. MARTA currently uses a spreadsheet program to track El/Es availability, but the process does not provide timely status reporting. Monthly reports are not generated until the second week of the following month. The agency is currently working to track data electronically to provide real-time monitoring and reporting capability. In MARTA’s opinion, the leading cause of El/Es being unavailable for service is equipment age, which results in increased maintenance and failures. Its ongoing moderniza- tion program will improve equipment reliability and uptime availability. Additionally, MARTA’s in-house inspectors play a critical role in making certain that contractors maintain El/Es availability. To meet ADA requirements for prompt equipment repairs, MARTA’s maintenance contract classifies El/Es as being either “critical” or “special.” For “special” classification El/Es, AtlAntA, GeorGiA (MArtA) The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) operates 109 elevators and 149 escalators at 38 stations throughout the greater Atlanta, Georgia, area. El/Es oper- ate 22 hours per day, 7 days a week, with over 63 million passenger trips annually. All stations are accessible. Table 4 shows a classification of MARTA’s El/Es equipment. Unlike the other agencies surveyed for this study, MARTA con- tracts out all of its El/Es maintenance, repair, upgrades, and replacements. equipment Specifications MARTA develops its own El/Es technical specifications by adhering to the APTA guidelines described in chapter two, but does not call for any unique specification requirements except for video surveillance cameras. Regarding useful life, most of the 117 Westinghouse Modular escalators were installed in the mid-1970s to early 1980s and are now more than 30 years old and have exceeded their useful life. As a result, MARTA is actively engaged in an escalator modernization program. The first phase of updating 30 units is now 50% completed, while the second phase of 30+ units is set to begin next fiscal year. MARTA is also planning to issue a contract to replace all of the agency’s O&K (Orenstein & Koppel) escalators, now over 25 years old, because parts availability has become a critical issue. The modernization program is part of a capital improvement plan and illustrates MARTA’s commitment to assessment management where pro active measures are taken to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs. Safety, Availability, and Customer Communication Safety and Legal Compliance Safety is MARTA’s top priority. Because the agency uses 100% contract services for El/Es maintenance, repairs, and upgrades, it has four in-house inspectors on staff to ensure the contractor is complying with all applicable ASME and local safety code requirements. Each inspector is certified as chapter three CASe StudieS

10 patrons about modernization projects and other long-term outages. Additionally, a scrolling message board located at most stations is used to post El/Es outage information as appropriate. To educate passengers about El/Es usage MARTA plays recorded messages at regular intervals over the PA system that advise patrons to (1) hold handrails and (2) be careful enter- ing and exiting the escalators. There are also several ways for customers to communicate El/Es issues, such as complaints, comments, and suggestions to MARTA. A community ADA committee external to MARTA also meets regularly through- out the year to address public accessibility issues, including MARTA’s vertical transportation equipment. MARTA staff participate in these meetings to listen to public concerns and provide the group with information. Patrons can also provide feedback through Facebook, Twitter, MARTA’s website, and the agency’s Customer Service Hotline. The type of El/Es issues communicated to MARTA by its customers in descending order based on frequency include • Reports of equipment out of order, • Escalators not running in a direction that is deemed convenient (i.e., one direction in the morning and the opposite in the afternoon), and • Elevators not being located at every corner of the station. work to repair the unit must begin immediately and crews must work around the clock to return it to service. Stations with only one El/Es, such as the Atlanta Airport station and heavily trav- eled stations such as MARTA’s central transfer station, are des- ignated “special.” All remaining El/Es are “critical” and carry the same requirements as those designated “special” with the exception that work can be deferred until the following day if approved by the Manager of Elevators and Escalators. When an El/Es is down for service, MARTA complies with the ADA requirement to accommodate individuals with dis- abilities by providing buses equipped with a wheelchair lift or ramp to transport passengers between rail stations. Customer Communication and Education MARTA uses several communication procedures to inform customers, especially those with disabilities, when El/Es are out of order. Equipment status is provided to MARTA patrons through public address (PA) announcements made at each station, as well as operator messages broadcast in trains and buses. MARTA’s website also contains a list- ing of equipment out of service for extended periods. The listing shows the status of each station with green and red symbols. Green indicates the number of El/Es in service and red indicates the number out of service. Appropri- ate signage is also placed at station entrances to inform TABlE 4 ClASSIFICATIOn OF MARTA El/ES EQUIPMEnT Elevators Manufacturer Type Age (years) Quantity Westinghouse Traction–4 Hydraulic–44 30+; most installed in late 1970s and early 1980s 48 Dover Traction–2 Hydraulic–30 15–30 32 Schindler Traction–4 Hydraulic–9 6–10 13 KONE Hydraulic 2–10 4 CEMCO Hydraulic 9–30 4 US Hydraulic 30+ 2 Mowrey Hydraulic 15 2 Montgomery Hydraulic 30 & 13 2 Otis Hydraulic 30+ 1 Millar Hydraulic 13 1 Total 109 Escalators Manufacturer Type Age (years) Quantity Westinghouse Modular 30+ years 117 Montgomery Conventional 15–23 10 O&K Conventional 25+ 17 Schindler Conventional 7–11 5 Total 149

11 When it comes to responding to communications made by its patrons, MARTA routes complaints from the Customer Service Department to the appropriate manager responsible for that area of concern. Issues are investigated and responses routed back to Customer Service for discussion with the patron or group issuing the communication. To improve passenger communication, MARTA recognizes that it needs to provide real-time web status of El/Es outages. Currently, only long- term outages are listed on MARTA’s website. Personnel Staffing Levels As mentioned, MARTA contracts all work on its vertical transportation equipment including preventive maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. Contracted technicians are generalists in that they work on both elevators and escalators. To ser- vice the combined fleet of 258 El/Es, the contractor assigns 21 workers to PM and inspections, two workers to perform quality assurance (QA) oversight, and one superintendent. Regarding repairs, a pool of 21 technicians (16 minimum) are assigned by the contractor when needed. Since the con- tractor has other technicians available, additional workers are brought in to meet workload requirements. MARTA has a separate contract for its modernization proj- ect mentioned above. Currently, the contractor for MARTA’s El/Es maintenance and repair work and its modernization project are the same (Schindler). About 14 technicians are dedicated to the modernization project, although more are brought in when needed. MARTA is satisfied with its El/Es contractor. All liability is transferred to them. The agency, like the other agencies surveyed, feels it would benefit from additional contractor and in-house El/Es personnel. Work Schedules The contractor is required to have staff working within the system between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., 5 days per week, Monday through Friday. Two overlapping shifts are used to provide 12 h/day coverage. The contract is a full service agreement, requiring the contractor to provide a 90-min response time for all criti- cal or special El/Es repair needs. Maintenance on all criti- cal units must be done outside peak service hours, which is defined as 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Maintenance on all special units must be done between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Workers split their hours to accommodate this schedule. Critical and special El/Es equip- ment distinctions are defined earlier. Since the contract requires a 90-min response time on all El/Es, technicians must be on call during weekends. The contract states, however, that repair of certain El/Es can be deferred with MARTA manager approval. Training MARTA does not specify how much training contracted maintenance personnel should receive. Instead, their contract specifies that technicians must be competent to work on all El/Es equipment within the system. Because the contract is performance based, MARTA does not feel it necessary to dictate how technicians are to be trained. Instead, the respon- sibility falls on the contractor to provide a competent work- force. Training of technicians by the contractor is required to maintain their Georgia state license as indicated below. Qualifications and Licensing Although MARTA uses contracted maintenance person- nel, the agency does employ four in-house equipment inspectors who audit contractor maintenance and equip- ment condition. These inspectors are all QEI certified, even though the Georgia Department of labor does not require this certification for their own state inspectors. Regarding qualifications of its contracted workforce, the state of Georgia requires all El/Es technicians to be licensed through testing and recertification. Maintenance Written Maintenance Program MARTA requires the contractor to have a written maintenance program. The contract specifies that OEM recommendations regarding inspections and appropriate service intervals be followed, as well as all ASME code and local requirements. Additionally, MARTA requires increased inspection frequency on all safety devices and brakes for escalators. The mainte- nance program was last modified in September 2010 when the most recent contract was bid. Use of Job Procedures and Checklists MARTA’s contract calls for documentation that stipulates inspection, maintenance, and audit frequencies, as well as providing basic check charts that stipulate minimum inspec- tion and maintenance requirements. Specific guidelines and procedures are developed by the contractor who solicits input from technicians. Maintenance Intervals MARTA’s contract calls for monthly maintenance at a mini- mum for El/Es. The contractor, however, is required to con- sider age of equipment, OEM recommendations, and ASME requirements. A consultant to MARTA has started to track

12 with the ability to detect potentially unsafe conditions also increases the number of equipment shutdowns and related service calls. MARTA is collecting data to compare the num- ber of shutdowns pre- and postmodernization to correlate the relative change in shutdowns. Comb impact device switches activated when comb plate movement is detected horizontally or vertically, while greatly improving safety, have proven to be especially troublesome at airports due to passengers inadvertently tripping the device when boarding with heavy luggage. The skirt deflec- tion switch feature has also been troublesome from a nuisance standpoint due to school-age children purposely activating it to shut down escalators as a prank. New Feature Benefits Modernized escalators have fault code capability, some- thing that the original units did not. The codes correspond to specific equipment faults, which facilitates troubleshooting and allows technicians and managers to respond accord- ingly. Safety features such as the comb impact device and skirt deflection switch found on escalators automatically shut down the equipment to dramatically improve passenger safety. Nuisance Problems nuisance is a significant problem at MARTA as the agency struggles to deal with misuse and abuse of equipment by some patrons. Frivolous and unfounded claims made by some pas- sengers also trouble the agency. It takes time to respond to nuisance calls and investigate false claims—time that is better spent on preventive maintenance and other activities to ensure safe and reliable El/Es operation. Incidents of unfounded claims are dwindling somewhat because of increased cam- era use. The agency is working to install video monitoring equipment at all El/Es locations. Currently, 75% of escalators and 50% of elevators are monitored with cameras. MARTA’s new capital improvement project will include full coverage at both El/Es levels. ChiCAGo, illinoiS (CtA) The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates 159 eleva- tors and 161 escalators at 144 stations over an area of about 240 mi2 throughout the greater Chicago, Illinois, area. El/Es at CTA operate 24 h/day, 7 days a week with over 200 million passengers accessing the rail system annually. About 70% of CTA’s rail system is accessible. Table 5 shows a classifica- tion of that equipment. shop comebacks (repairs that result in an additional service call to correct the initial problem). Based on the findings, MARTA will require the contractor to replace certain parts and take other actions at scheduled PM intervals. Maintenance Management System MARTA uses FASuites, a maintenance management sys- tem (MMS) program that uses an Oracle database platform. Before 2011, El/Es were not included in the agency’s moni- toring program because contractors performed the main- tenance. MARTA has since entered all El/Es equipment into the system and includes all shop comebacks as well as scheduled maintenance and unscheduled repairs to help track outages and their respective causes. The agency does not, however, classify maintenance costs by labor and materials. Scheduled Maintenance Versus Unscheduled Repairs MARTA distinguishes between maintenance activities that are planned versus unexpected repairs and breakdowns and monitors those activities. Performance monitoring, however, is limited until the agency institutes its new MMS. If repeated failures are noted, MARTA will pressure its contractor to improve performance. Spare Parts and Availability Because maintenance is contracted out, all parts are purchased by the contractor. The contractor is required to maintain an adequate spare parts inventory, but MARTA realizes it must understand that certain cases have special circumstances. In the case of O&K escalators, for example, the company is out of business and finding parts is extremely difficult. Missed or delayed repairs resulting from a lack of spare parts is not cur- rently tracked, but the agency also hopes to implement this capability with its new MMS. Improving Maintenance Effectiveness MARTA is still in the early stages of building an El/Es over- sight department. Whereas some agencies find it necessary to reduce resources, MARTA is ramping up its oversight func- tion. Once fully developed, however, the agency is confident its department will be among the best. new technology Impact on Availability As MARTA modernizes its older escalators the number of devices related to ensuring passenger safety essentially dou- bles from 10 to 20. The increased number of safety devices

13 equipment Specifications CTA relies on OEM specifications when procuring El/Es equipment and does not call for any unique requirements except those needed for special subway design installations. Some escalators have been in service since 1943, exceeding useful life expectations and presenting a host of other issues discussed below. Safety, Availability, and Customer Communication Safety and Legal Compliance All CTA inspectors are QEI certified, and half of CTA’s 32 escalator technicians are licensed. Elevator maintenance, however, is contracted to an outside vendor. The agency monitors and documents safety compliance through its safety department, which performs safety audits on every El/Es at each of its rail areas (i.e., Blue line, Red line, etc.) twice annually. lessons learned from safety violations have resulted in improved adherence to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements and reduced news reports. El/Es injuries are defined and categorized by CTA as accident (slip, falls, and injuries), detainment (entrapments), or down (defective equipment). Equipment Availability CTA monitors El/Es availability systemwide in terms of uptime and downtime performance. Customer assistants placed at each station call in any defective El/Es to CTA’s Control Center, which then contacts El/Es inspectors via radio to dispatch technicians. CTA uses a numbering system to further denote the status of its El/Es: #1—Equipment up #2—Equipment down #3—Construction #8—Accident #9—Detainment Reports are generated daily showing status of each El/Es. The Control Center enters details about each defect into a computer program called Infor EAM (equipment asset manage- ment) system. Each entry is date and time stamped, recording when the El/Es unit went down and when it was placed back into service. Two procedures are used by CTA to track El/Es availability. For internal agency use, only unscheduled repairs such as breakdowns classify equipment as being unavailable; any scheduled maintenance performed to equipment is counted TABlE 5 ClASSIFICATIOn OF CTA El/ES EQUIPMEnT Elevators Manufacturer Type Age (years) Quantity Mid-America Traction and hydraulic 2–30 77 KONE & Montgomery Traction and hydraulic 3–28 20 Anderson Traction and hydraulic 7–32 19 Otis Traction 20 32 Reliance Traction 19 11 Total 159 Escalators Manufacturer Type Age (years) Quantity Otis RB 25 16 Otis ML 63 15 Otis 506 28 8 Otis 510 22 2 Schindler 2–15 3 Haughton 42 2 KONE 3 16 Montgomery 42 73 O&K 18 18 Fujitec 7 8 Total 161

14 Customers already within CTA’s rail system are informed of downed El/Es via white dry erase board signs posted at each station. Customer service attendants manually update these dry erase board signs hourly to keep customers informed, providing an archaic but effective communication tool. TV monitors now being installed by CTA that display El/Es sta- tus are also available to customers; about 40% of CTA’s rail stations are currently equipped. Customers planning to use the rail system can telephone CTA at a 1-800 number to receive live El/Es accessibility sta- tus reports to determine if their point of boarding is affected by any downed equipment. Customers can also access the agency’s Internet site at http://www.transitchicago.com/ travel_information/accessibility_status.aspx. The site is orga- nized by each rail line and includes current status as well as planned outages. An example of an Internet accessibility status notice is shown as Figure 2. Customers communicate El/Es issues such as complaints, comments, reports of outages, and any suggestions via e-mail and telephone. Types of El/Es issues communicated include questioning why El/Es are down and asking how soon equip- ment will become operational. Equipment is sometimes pur- posely placed out of service by CTA because of equipment overload concerns at major events, but occasional patrons are often not aware of this. CTA staff receive and log-in each call, investigate the suggestion or complaint, and respond to every customer with an answer. Overall the agency feels it is doing a good job with its customer communication. Personnel Staffing Levels CTA contracts its elevator maintenance and repair so in- house technicians are dedicated exclusively to escalators. Elevator maintenance and repairs are done monthly by contractors. A total of eight contracted technicians service CTA’s 159 elevators; six are assigned to PM and inspections, as equipment being available for CTA’s internal accounting purposes. This allows CTA to distinguish between equipment down for scheduled maintenance and unscheduled repairs. For external reporting to its customers, any equipment not available for customer use is considered unavailable regard- less of the reason. This more rigorous status system is used to inform customers of El/Es equipment status. leading causes contributing to El/Es being unavailable for service at CTA include door problems for elevators. For escalators, comb impact device switches are problematic, pri- marily caused by overload conditions. Stop button switches are troublesome for both elevators and escalators, oftentimes tripped purposely by passengers as nuisance pranks. CTA feels that more participation by inspectors and tech- nicians in meetings to provide input during the initial design stage when new stations are being planned or existing stations remodeled would improve El/Es availability. Additionally, CTA feels that the planning of new and upgraded stations must take into consideration additional personnel requirements needed to meet extra maintenance demands and to better sat- isfy code inspections. To ensure that El/Es are repaired promptly to satisfy ADA requirements, CTA responds immediately to accidents and entrapments, and within 1 h for El/Es units downed for all other reasons. Customer Communication and Education When El/Es equipment is down and a station becomes inaccessible to disadvantaged passengers, paratransit bus service is established to take them to stations. Verbal announcements made on the train inform passengers of the bus service. In-train announcements are also made to inform passengers of the outages and alternative transpor- tation options. In some cases passengers are instructed to bypass an affected station and return via the opposite plat- form where El/Es are operational. FIGURE 2 Example of CTA’s Internet Accessibility Status Announcement. Customer Alert: Elevator at Belmont Temporarily Out-of-Service Route(s): Red Line Brown Line Purple Line Express L ength: Saturday, April 16, 2011 to TBD I mpact Level: Elevator Status Full Description: The elevator to the Howard-bound, Kimball-bound, and Linden-bound p latform at Belmont (Red Line, Brown Line, and Purple Line Express) is temporarily out-of-service.

15 while two contracted technicians perform repairs. Two in- house personnel conduct QA functions. Additional person- nel to perform maintenance and repairs can be requested of the contractor by CTA due to weather, emergencies and spe- cial conditions as called for in the contract. CTA has mixed feelings regarding its contractor. On the plus side, the con- tractor assumes all liability; on the negative side, • Work is more costly, • CTA still needs to provide an oversight function, • CTA needs to make sure that correct and quality parts are being used, and • CTA also had to spend time informing the contractor of special conditions that exist in transit, which are more severe than the typical contractor applications. CTA services all 161 escalators with a staff of 20 in-house technicians, who collectively perform PM tasks, inspections, and repairs as needed. CTA’s in-house escalator staff has been short six technicians for about 3 years now due to bud- get constraints. Despite the shortfall, CTA seeks to improve El/Es uptime by researching reasons for downed equipment and improving its communication with other agencies to exchange information. Both contracted and CTA El/Es tech- nicians work 8 h/day over one shift, 5 days per week Monday through Friday. Because technicians only work one daytime shift, maintenance activities are not targeted during off-peak hours. During weekends and hours outside the normal work shift, CTA calls in workers when 15% or more of its El/Es are down. CTA does not feel it has a sufficient number of human resources (in-house personnel and contracted services) to effectively repair and maintain El/Es. The combination of being short staffed along with the increased number of heavy repairs needed because of aging equipment places additional loads on the maintenance staff. Training Training is provided by equipment vendors for new instal- lations. Since in-house training is limited, CTA makes extensive use of on-the-job training (OJT) and mentoring. lack of training aids, such as mock-ups, makes it difficult to do classroom training because CTA’s El/Es equipment is so detailed and complex. In CTA’s opinion, students really need to work with El/Es equipment hands-on. Bringing tech- nicians out into the field and providing instruction on actual equipment is an effective way for CTA to train its workforce. In addition to needing more training overall with a focus on hands-on delivery, CTA believes its training program could be enhanced by including more in-depth electrical print read- ing, troubleshooting, and mechanical maintenance exercises and directed training on adjusting equipment to specification tolerances. Qualifications and licensing Currently, there are no licensing requirements for El/Es technicians; however, Illinois state licensing requirements will be imposed in the near future. CTA is responding by par- ticipating in the national training consortium and increas- ing its overall training efforts to prepare technicians for certification. Maintenance Written Maintenance Program CTA’s maintenance program is documented with written work procedures and checklists. The agency is also con- sidering use of time standards for some routine jobs. The agency feels its maintenance program is proactive in that PM inspection data are used to help better understand the root cause of problems and adjust its maintenance program accordingly. An example is CTA’s seasonal PM program where by October all heaters are inspected and made func- tional before they are needed in winter months. likewise, before summer, all vent fans are checked and made opera- tional. Maintenance Intervals Regarding its in-house escalator maintenance, CTA performs maintenance daily, monthly, and yearly. The daily inspection is a visual one; within a month each escalator receives a daily inspection. The monthly inspection and lubrication PM con- sists of lubricating vital parts and inspecting condition of steps, combs, handrails, stop switches, and other parts. The yearly PM consists of comprehensive inspection and servicing. Contracted elevator maintenance is done on every unit on a monthly basis according to a specified inspection and servicing list that includes doors, switches, fan, phone, emergency lighting, controllers, ropes, counterweights, roller guides, seals, and so forth. Intervals are based on code require- ments, local experiences, and OEM recommendations. Tech- nicians provide input to establishing those intervals. Reconditioning, overhauls, and replacements are done as needed. CTA is planning to replace 52 units within 5 years with the intent of removing the oldest equipment from service. Find- ing replacement parts for older units has become very difficult, which increases maintenance and downtime. CTA’s engineering group and QEI-certified inspectors provide QA oversight to maintenance and repairs performed by its in-house escalator technicians and contracted elevator workers. QA is conducted twice every 6 months and periodi- cally. CTA’s inspectors also perform acceptance testing on new equipment installations.

16 features and estimates that a minimum of 20% additional time is needed for maintenance and repairs. Technician Adaptation Orientation of new El/Es features is done through OJT and OEM training, which is written into the contract. OEMs provide manuals and a specified amount of training for all new equipment delivered. CTA believes it has the capa- bility to maintain and repair advanced technology equip- ment primarily because it has selected a quality group of technicians. Benefits of New Features The ability of new technology to record, store, and display fault codes has been extremely helpful for troubleshooting, while the primary benefits of new equipment to passengers include the extra lighting found on escalators and the addi- tional safety devices found on El/Es. new York CitY (nYCtA) new York City Transit Authority (nYCTA) operates 192 ele- vators and 176 escalators at 468 stations throughout new York City, operating 24 h/day, 7 days a week, carrying approxi- mately 1.6 billion passengers annually. nYCTA maintains its El/Es equipment entirely with in-house staff. Table 6 shows a classification of nYCTA’s El/Es equipment. equipment Specifications nYCTA has developed its own equipment specification. Included are • A unique elevator specification for top of car safety curtains, • Sleep mode where escalators’ speed is reduced when no passengers are detected and automatically resumed as passengers approach, and • Remote equipment monitoring (liftnet) for both eleva- tors and escalators. Safety, Availability, and Customer Communication Safety Safety is upheld by an in-house program using the ASME A17 code for periodic and routine inspections. Supervisors inspect technicians’ work on a regular basis, while the engi- neering department performs random safety audits. Maintenance Management System All work orders (WOs) are entered into CTA’s EAM sys- tem provided by Infor. Reports, generated by the Human Resources Department, include overall equipment status and details pertaining to how many times specific equipment has been down, how long the equipment was down, and root causes of specific equipment problems. The system was last updated in July 2010, when CTA changed to adhering to the latest version of ASME A17. Maintenance Costs CTA classifies its maintenance cost by parts and labor, as well as by asset type. The agency pays its elevator contractor a set hourly rate for labor; major parts are also charged to CTA with the contractor paying for small item parts. Warranty costs are handled by OEMs. Regarding in-house maintenance costs for escalators, CTA stays within an allotted budget. Each WO has cost breakdown, but the agency simply does not have the resources to track costs very closely. Scheduled Maintenance Versus Unscheduled Repairs CTA distinguishes between scheduled maintenance and unscheduled repairs, but admits monitoring is lax. needed information is provided on WOs and worker time sheets, and the agency is attempting to gather more data to improve its monitoring capability. The data will allow CTA to track unplanned maintenance events more carefully to improve its existing abilities to determine the root cause of unscheduled repair activity to reduce their occurrences. Spare Parts and Availability Spare parts for escalators maintained in-house are ordered pri- marily on recommendations made by foremen and inspectors. While CTA believes it maintains a satisfactory parts inventory it also understands that certain high-priced items are not cost- effective to inventory. As an example, a rotor costing $12,500 recently took 2 weeks to arrive from Germany, resulting in the equipment being down the entire time. CTA estimates that about 2% of its El/Es repairs are delayed due to missing spare parts. For escalators in service since 1943, some parts need to be custom-made, which extends downtime until parts arrive. If it had the luxury of conducting more frequent and lengthy inspections, CTA believes that technicians would note parts needing replacement in advance of failure, giving them suf- ficient time to order parts and have them in stock when needed. new technology Impact on Availability For CTA, new El/Es safety features translate into more main- tenance requirements. The agency monitors the impact of those

17 technicians work on elevators and escalators equally with no specialization. nYCTA feels it has adequate staffing levels. To service its combined El/Es fleet the agency assigns 124 workers to PM and inspections, 37 to repairs, and 23 to over- hauls; 12 workers perform QA oversight and 50 workers have various other responsibilities. To increase efficiencies, nYCTA has created what it calls PM Packages for each type of El/Es, which are described below. Based on the tailored PM approach, nYCTA was able to give technicians more time for certain PMs based on the number of tasks involved. Work Schedules nYCTA El/Es workers are available 24 h/day, 7 days a week, via three shifts per day. Scheduled maintenance activ- ities are scheduled during off-peak hours to reduce customer impact. Training nYCTA provides in-house training as follows: 1. Hydraulic Valve Body: 3 days 2. Introduction to Electrical Schematics Basic: 3 days 3. Elevator Door: 3 days 4. Escalator Maintenance: 2 days 5. Hydraulic Elevator Maintenance: 1 day 6. Traction Elevator Maintenance: 1 day The agency is also participating in the national training consortium and has several training mock-ups including a running escalator and various major elevator mock-ups to use as training aids. Despite the training program, nYCTA does not feel workers are given adequate training because of the large number of different types of controllers and electrical systems found throughout the system. They feel that to improve training, additional training aids and mock-ups of newly installed equipment in the field are needed, along with placing more emphasis on hands-on and visual training. Equipment Availability nYCTA classifies El/Es equipment as down anytime equip- ment is not available for customer use regardless of the reason, which includes scheduled repairs and maintenance. Response time policy for responding to shutdowns is 20 min, with technicians having access to parts 24 h/day, 7 days a week. The agency does not currently schedule overhauls and rehabs and sees this as an opportunity to improve availability. A recently implemented approach to conduct- ing PM activities and a remote monitoring feature added to equipment have helped improve El/Es availability. Both are described below. Customer Communication and Education Communication to customers is via nYCTA’s website, which informs customers of any out-of-service equipment so they can make alternate arrangements. They also announce outages over the PA system and via electronic signs located throughout the system. The agency is also a member of the Elevator and Escalator Safety Foundation (http://www.eesf.org/), which provides nYCTA with outreach guidance. nYCTA personnel use this assistance to travel to various stations throughout the system to inform passengers of El/Es safety. Elevators are equipped with intercoms, which not only promote customer safety but can also be used as a tool for relaying maintenance information. Customers communicate with nYCTA via phone lines, e-mail, and the agency’s website. All communication from customers is investigated; the Customer Relations Depart- ment responds to concerns and other customer issues. Personnel Staffing Levels As noted previously, nYCTA has 246 in-house maintenance personnel assigned to El/Es with no contracted services. All TABlE 6 ClASSIFICATIOn OF nYCTA El/ES EQUIPMEnT Manufacturer Type Age (years) Quantity Elevators Canton Hydraulic 5 CEMCO Hydraulic 10.6 Hydraulic 6.6 Others Hydraulic 20 Traction 10.3 Otis Traction 23 Total Escalators O&K Conventional 13 Fujitec Conventional 6.5 KONE Conventional 4.1 Otis Conventional 22.5 Schindler Conventional 2.2 Total Combined Total 58 66 31 11 21 5 192 84 34 27 24 7 176 368 MCE MCE

18 The agency uses its MMS to distinguish between and mon- itor scheduled maintenance events and unscheduled mainte- nance repairs. Reports are generated as needed to determine performance as it relates to how much time and money are spent performing maintenance tasks that are planned and therefore anticipated, as opposed to addressing unanticipated failures and breakdowns. The MMS also classifies mainte- nance costs by labor and materials, as well as asset type. Spare Parts and Availability nYCTA forecasts spare parts requirements and stores them at three central satellite locations located throughout the rail station network, which reduces the time needed to obtain needed parts and perform repairs. Their spare parts availability is adequate but could be greatly aided with more standardized equipment. new technology For nYCTA, the use of liftnet, the remote monitoring system described above, has reduced response time for repairs. Other new technology features such as safety sensors, however, have increased the need for technical training, making it difficult to find qualified technicians. Although technicians receive OEM and in-house training on new technology, the training could be improved with increased training mock-ups and visual aids for more hands-on training as discussed earlier. PhilAdelPhiA, PennSYlvAniA (SePtA) The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) operates 106 elevators and 50 escalators at 156 rail stations throughout the greater Philadelphia area. El/Es at SEPTA operate 16 h/day, 7 days a week carrying nearly 321 million passengers annually. Table 7 shows a classifi- cation of that equipment. Qualifications and Licensing nYCTA technicians are not required to be certified or licensed, although several supervisors are QEI certified. Maintenance Written Maintenance Program nYCTA’s maintenance program is documented with writ- ten work procedures and checklists. It has also developed a series of PM Packages, a set of PM procedures and a check- list established for each type of El/Es equipment. Previously the agency used a generic approach with similar documenta- tion to address the PM needs of all equipment equally. Maintenance Intervals nYCTA workers provide El/Es routine and periodic PM at 4-, 6-, and 8-week intervals. Elevator rope replacements are done at 5-year intervals. Escalator step chain replacements are performed at 10-year intervals, while escalators are sched- uled for replacement at 25- to 35-year intervals. nYCTA uses the ASME A17 safety code and OEM rec- ommendation, as well as factoring in age, El/Es rise (length), location, and usage of equipment to establish scheduled main- tenance intervals. Maintenance Management System nYCTA’s MMS was updated in March 2011. One update to the MMS was to incorporate and emphasize what the agency refers to as “Five or More Outages.” The system flags cases in which a particular piece of equipment is down five or more times in a given week. Those units are examined thoroughly to determine the cause and seek solutions to prevent addi- tional outages. Data collected from the investigations are then used to enhance the PM Packages described above where specific PM tasks are assigned to specific equipment at specified intervals. TABlE 7 ClASSIFICATIOn OF SEPTA El/ES EQUIPMEnT Elevators Manufacturer Age (years) Quantity Unspecified N/A Total 106 Escalators Manufacturer Age (years) Quantity KONE 2–13 36 Fujitec 2–13 11 ThyssenKrupp 1 2 Total 50

19 equipment Specifications SEPTA relies primarily on El/Es technical specifications issued by the OEM. While unique elevator specification requirements are limited, the agency does call for a deteriorated roller detec- tion device for its escalators. Safety, Availability, and Customer Communication Safety Compliance Code A17 is the principal standard that governs SEPTA’s elevator and escalator inspection and maintenance proto- cols, which when followed ensures safe operating per- formance of equipment. Additional safety requirements are contained in manuals prepared by the OEMs for each piece of equipment. All code- and equipment-related docu- ments are kept at SEPTA’s headquarters and also made available at field offices for reference as needed—a require- ment of A17. At the core of SEPTA’s safety program is a series of documented preventive maintenance inspections (PMIs) that the agency conducts daily, weekly, monthly, and annually based on the A17 code, OEM requirements, and agency expe- riences. The purpose of the aggressive inspection schedule is to identify faulty equipment in advance of failure, thereby allowing equipment to operate as designed and prevent pas- senger injuries. In addition to its own inspections, SEPTA contracts with a qualified third-party inspection company to perform annual inspections to independently confirm state certification requirements. SEPTA’s Systems Safety Department conducts its own annual assessment in addition to the independent third-party audit to further ensure maintenance and safety compliance. SEPTA’s internal annual assessments are conducted exclu- sively as a record and document audit to determine the Bridge and Building maintenance department’s conformance with SEPTA’s internal Inspection and Maintenance protocols for its El/Es units. SEPTA’s annual internal audit scope includes the following: 1. Identify the existence of written SEPTA and industry standards for railroad El/Es inspections and deter- mine whether they are readily available and put into practice. 2. Identify the existence of applicable written procedures exclusive of standards (i.e., procedures based on agency experience that go beyond industry standards) for per- forming inspections and determine whether they are readily available and put into practice. 3. Identify the existence of applicable written worksheets for performing inspections and determine whether they are readily available and put into practice. 4. Qualitatively review inspection documentation and worksheets and determine if the documentation was appropriately completed and processed. 5. Identify applicable inspection frequencies and determine whether inspections are conducted in the time frame specified by SEPTA and whether a tracking mechanism was in place to ensure conformance. 6. Determine if inspection information is recorded and tracked electronically and if the electronic data match hard copy documentation. 7. Determine whether physical plant records were cen- tralized and secured in a reasonable manner. Equipment Availability SEPTA tracks El/Es availability and issues reports on a daily basis. Uptime is defined as equipment that is “functioning and can perform service for public usage,” whereas downtime is defined as equipment that is “not functioning and cannot per- form service for public usage.” If El/Es units are down because of scheduled maintenance, however, they are counted in the uptime category, even though they are unavailable for pas- senger use. Units are only counted in the downtime category when unscheduled repairs are being made and when annual inspections are conducted. SEPTA believes additional field training (as opposed to classroom instruction) and improved parts ordering and inventory control procedures are needed to improve El/Es equipment availability. The leading causes that con- tribute to El/Es being unavailable for service consist pri- marily of malfunctioning parts, such as electrical circuit boards. Customer Communication and Education SEPTA offers several ways of informing customers whether El/Es are operational, both during and before travel. A toll- free, 24-h El/Es status hotline number is updated immedi- ately when changes occur. Patrons can also access the agency’s website to view equipment status and an “Alternate Accessible Service” list for travel options. SEPTA also uses safety bar- riers and “Out of Order” displays placed at kiosks and in front of the equipment to communicate out-of-service con- ditions to the public. SEPTA participates in national Escalator and Elevator Safety Awareness Week by having system safety personnel travel to several stations and schools to discuss escalator and elevator safety with customers. Awareness instructions include reminding customers to take some simple yet effective steps to stay out of harm’s way. When using escalators, for example, customers are instructed to always use handrails, stand in the middle facing forward, and keep loose clothing away from edges. On elevators, they are instructed not to force doors

20 Qualifications and Licensing SEPTA technicians are not required to be licensed or cer- tified to perform their duties. However, SEPTA’s training program will be used to prepare technicians for certifica- tion once the national training consortium completes course materials. Maintenance Written Maintenance Program As required by ASME A17, SEPTA has a documented mainte- nance program. The program was last updated in March 2011. Maintenance Intervals Maintenance intervals are determined through a combination of ASME A17 requirements, OEM recommendations, and local experiences. Maintenance Management System Analysis of handrail life has led SEPTA to institute a pro- gram to replace escalator handrails every 5 years. Spare Parts Availability SEPTA’s program for ordering spare parts and ensuring parts availability when needed is based on the OEM recommenda- tions and its own experiences. The agency does not feel it keeps enough spare parts in stock to keep El/Es operational, instead focusing on the most common wear parts. It does not keep records to determine the percentage of El/Es repairs that cannot be made because spare parts are out of stock when needed. Conducting a risk assessment to determine the cost of stocking additional parts versus the impact caused by downed equipment is a step that it feels should be taken to improve spare parts availability. new technology Planned Improvements SEPTA is planning to install a centralized monitoring system on some of its El/Es to observe conditions in the field to better respond to impending failures. Technician Adaptation Technicians are trained on new technology through OEM training when new equipment is acquired. The agency feels that it needs a better way to approve and monitor OEM training. open or closed and, if they got stuck, to push the “help” button and wait for assistance. Customers can communicate El/Es concerns, comments, and suggestions through station kiosks, SEPTA’s service desk, by calling the agency over the phone, and through SEPTA’s website. Common customer communications consist of report- ing equipment malfunctions and complaints regarding the extended time it takes to make equipment operational again. SEPTA’s Customer Service Group responds to customer communications by issuing a complaint ticket to the respon- sible El/Es department, which issues a WO, investigates the reported issue, corrects the problem, and then reports back to the Customer Service Group to close out the WO. The customer group then follows up with the customer by informing him or her on how the issue was resolved. Regard- ing methods that would improve customer communication, SEPTA feels it needs to centralize the video camera system and link it to Customer Service to provide real-time display capability. Personnel Staffing Levels and Work Schedules SEPTA employs 30 maintenance personnel to collectively repair and maintain a total of 156 escalators and eleva- tors. They work 5 days per week, Monday through Friday. Weekend work is done on an on-call, overtime pay basis. Technicians are required to work on all jobs equally with no specialization. Contract services include elevator cab rebuilding and ren- ovation and escalator handrail replacements or vulcaniza- tion, which is carried out by one or two contracted workers. About one or two contracted workers also perform quality control functions for state inspections. SEPTA feels that con- tracted work is more costly, but jobs get completed faster. SEPTA does not feel it has enough technicians, in-house or contracted, to test, maintain, inspect, and repair El/Es. In a time of reduced budgets, SEPTA is concentrating more effort on detailed PM and planning functions to reduce unexpected breakdown and repairs, especially those requiring long lead times. Training SEPTA has a training center and related program to provide instruction in preventive maintenance and repairs. The agency is in the process of purchasing one escalator and one elevator as mock-ups for training. Training also consists of vendor- provided, ongoing apprenticeships and participation in the national training consortium. According to SEPTA, training needs to provide increased knowledge of regulatory codes, field work, and case studies.

21 SAn FrAnCiSCo, CAliForniA (BArt) Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) operates 140 elevators and 176 escalators at 44 locations throughout the San Francisco Bay area, all of which are accessible. El/Es at BART operate 20 h/day, 7 days a week, carrying over 100 million passengers annually. Table 8 shows a classification of that equipment. equipment Specifications BART begins by following the APTA guidelines and devel- ops its own technical specifications for El/Es. Regarding elevators, the agency imposes several unique specification characteristics: • Hands-free phones in lobby beside hall call buttons, • Cameras inside of all elevators, • Remote equipment monitoring system, • Glass vision panels on elevator doors, • Auxiliary oil recovery tanks for hydraulic elevators, • Station agent booth controls and position display indication, • Motion sensors that automatically bring patrons to next floor when door closes, and • Automatic home floor features. Regarding unique escalator specifications, BART calls for • Remote equipment monitoring systems, • Escalator fault displays at unit and on controller, and • Increased step load requirements that exceed APTA guidelines. Although the additional equipment adds additional ini- tial expense, BART asserts that maintenance costs and safety-related claims are reduced as a result of the up-front expenditures. Safety, Availability, and Customer Communication Safety and Legal Compliance Procedures used by BART to ensure compliance with appli- cable El/Es safety codes include • Weekly quality control inspections, • Weekly safety meetings, • State-mandated conveyance certification classes on A17.1 for all mechanics, and • Annual state inspections. Regarding lessons learned from violations, BART had a state inspection violation pertaining to door zone locks. On TABlE 8 ClASSIFICATIOn OF BART El/ES EQUIPMEnT Elevators Manufacturer Type Age (years) Quantity MCE Hydraulic 35 87 MCE Traction 35 44 US Traction 35 4 Montgomery Traction 35 3 Westinghouse Traction 35 1 Alimax Traction 10 1 Total 140 Escalators Manufacturer Type Age (years) Quantity Westinghouse 48N & 38E 35 88 Fujitec PS-1200 13 28 Montgomery 5E 35 26 O&K HD 15 19 Otis RB & J 35 6 KONE 5TR 15 9 Total 176

22 underground rooms, allows the agency to communicate with mechanics immediately and without exception to inform them of problems. The advanced radio system allows BART to respond quickly and efficiently to emergencies and downed equipment. Customer Communication and Education The ADA also requires that when an accessibility feature is out of order, the transit agency must take reasonable steps to accommodate individuals with disabilities. When El/Es become inoperable at a certain station, BART informs passengers and establishes paratransit bus service back to the affected station. Communication measures to inform passengers of inoperative equipment and alterna- tive means of transportation include announcements made via electronic signs located at the entrance of all stations and over the systemwide PA system. Patrons can also receive El/Es status via BART’s Internet website, BART’s wireless website, Really Simple Syndication feeds, Short Message (texting) Service, e-mail and text message alerts, and via Twitter. Services indicate where and for how long El/Es are unavailable and note equipment currently being rehabbed. A disability task force consisting of all types of dis- abled patrons meets once a month to discuss accessibility issues. BART staff participate in these meetings to better understand the issues and to update attendees of future and ongoing projects. Typical customer communications to BART consist of dirty elevators, elevator doors not operating properly (too slow, too fast, they do not fully open, or they slam closed), and com- plaints that some repairs on escalators take too long to com- plete. The agency responds by phone calls, e-mails, or letters with an explanation. The agency also conducts a departmen- tal analysis to determine if maintenance changes or equip- ment improvements are needed. Personnel BART maintenance personnel are assigned to service both elevators and escalators. The agency performs all of its maintenance, repairs, and minor projects and some overhauls in-house. Personnel work alone on maintenance and trouble calls but work in pairs on repair jobs. However, when its own workforce is overwhelmed with too much work, contractors are called in. Major overhauls are contracted to the lowest bidder. BART is generally satisfied with “on-call” services pro- vided by contractors because they are able to get equipment back in service in a timely manner when its own workers are inundated. Since the contractors tend to be from OEM firms, further investigation, the agency discovered that mechanics were altering door zone locks to make it easier to pick eleva- tor doors when the elevator was outside the door zone (18 in. above or below the hall landing floor level), which would then allow BART mechanics to extract trapped passen- gers from the elevator no matter how far the elevator was from the landing. Despite the perceived benefit to mechan- ics, meetings were held to make them aware of ASME A17 code requirements and why those rules needed to be followed. BART also started to review A17 rules during weekly safety meetings. BART defines “entrapment” as an incident in which passengers get stuck inside elevators. “Accidents” refer to patrons who fall (injured or not) while on/in El/Es equip- ment and passengers who have body parts, clothing, or per- sonal items trapped in comb segments, skirts, handrails, and so forth. Equipment Availability Equipment is considered down anytime it is not available for customer use regardless of the reason. Scheduled maintenance actions would therefore render the equipment unavailable for tracking purposes, as would corrective maintenance, repairs, inspections, accidents, and entrapments. The only exception is for major capital improvement projects, which do not clas- sify the equipment as being down. BART monitors El/Es availability in terms of uptime and downtime through use of a Data Stream WO system, which will soon be replaced by the MAXIMO Data Management System. To ensure prompt repairs to satisfy ADA requirements, BART must dispatch a mechanic within 1 h per a court-mandated agreement, which stems from an ADA lawsuit. Comb impact faults are the primary cause of escalator shutdowns at BART. Although the duration of these calls is typically within 1 h, they still represent the main reason for shutdowns. Analysis of these shutdowns indicates that although the safety device operates as intended, it is usually triggered by patrons running down the escalator and jumping the last few steps in an effort to board a train before the doors close. When they land on the comb plate, the safety device cannot distinguish between a patron becoming entrapped or jumping on it and therefore shuts down the escalator. To improve El/Es availability, BART believes that PM pro- cedures need to be performed to a higher standard. Mechanics need to be given more time at the units to pay attention to all the details required to keep El/Es subsystems running effi- ciently. Proper checking, lubricating, adjusting, cleaning, and replacement of worn parts month after month are required to achieve this goal. The installation of a trunked radio system, operational any- where in the entire BART system including all tunnels and

23 work quality tends to be good and callbacks are infrequent. Disadvantages to using contracted services include they are slow to respond to BART’s needs, they are more expensive compared to in-house services, and they provide poor com- munication regarding repair details. Staffing Levels and Work Schedule BART employs 28 technicians to service its 316 El/Es, with 23 assigned to PM, inspections, and light repairs and five assigned to repairs. Technicians work three shifts per day providing 24 h of daily coverage, 7 days per week through a rotating schedule that includes weekend coverage. The agency does not believe it has a sufficient number of human resources in in-house personnel and contracted services to effectively repair and maintain El/Es, citing that the ratio of equipment to workers is too high. To maximize its lim- ited resources, BART is reducing travel time and making more efficient use of personnel by assigning technicians to El/Es in close proximity to each other. Storage of tools, equipment, and parts are located at most stations, and each technician reports to and leaves from his or her assigned route location. Training BART has a training program for its technicians, which serves as a model for El/Es training. The agency is also participat- ing in the El/Es Training Consortium. According to BART, participation in the El/Es consortium will provide BART and others with a nationally accepted apprentice program, state license accreditation, and consistent training of existing mechanics. BART’s training documentation is excellent by any stan- dard. Comprehensive training materials, included as a web attachment, provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to properly carry out an extensive list of El/Es tasks. One module entitled “About Preventive Maintenance,” for example, describes the goals and objectives of PM and what type of lubricants are used and why. Another entitled “Gov- ernor Over-speed, Safeties and Run-by,” found in the eleva- tor module, contains detailed information, instructions, and illustrations needed to • Understand all safeties involved when accessing the elevator hoistway, the car top, and the pit; • Inspect governor, over-speed switch, and seal; • lubricate all pivot points of governor and its compo- nent but not the wire rope; • Test governor switch; and • Inspect the counterweight run-by. There are separate instruction modules for elevators and escalators. Readers are encouraged to examine this extensive and well-developed library of training materials. Review questions are provided at the end of each training course to assess the learner’s comprehension. Qualifications and Licensing El/Es technicians at BART are required to be certified through a state-run program, which also includes a 2-year recertifica- tion requirement administered by the state of California. Maintenance Maintenance Program and Intervals BART has a documented PM program for both elevators and escalators. The elevator program, also included as a web attachment, is set up for bimonthly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, and annual inspections. The inspection check- list includes a list of tasks that must be performed along with a method describing how each inspection is to be carried out. Methods include specific steps that must be performed for each inspection. Also included for each inspection is a numerical 1 to 4 coding system that provides additional instructions for each inspection task: 1. Check operation, adjust, and clean as needed; 2. lubricate as needed; 3. Check for unusual noise or heat; or 4. Check for wear or breakage. The escalator PM form is organized in four sections (top head, bottom head, steps, and top and bottom) and uses the same 1 to 4 numbered instructional coding system provided for elevators. A separate set of procedures accompanies each PM form. PMs are expected to be completed no more than 2 days before or after the PM due date. If repairs are needed, technicians are instructed to contact the foreworker to determine how the repair is to be completed: • Perform the needed repair yourself; • Request assistance to perform the needed repair; • A repair crew is required; or • not a safety concern and will be addressed at a later date. The agency solicits input from technicians to develop inspection intervals and procedures. A feedback form is used to solicit that input. It also incorporates OEM recommendations. The complete set of BART PM procedures is included as a web attachment. To improve maintenance effectiveness, BART believes that PM procedures need to be performed at a higher standard. Technicians require additional time to maintain and repair each El/Es unit and need to pay closer attention to all the details required to keep El/Es subsystems running efficiently.

24 ment system is used to produce reports and review the rea- son why repairs were needed. Changes to the current man- agement system are made annually or when new equipment is introduced. Spare Parts Availability BART’s spare parts system automatically reorders parts based on preset minimum quantities. The agency believes it keeps enough parts on hand to keep El/Es operational. This means proper checking, lubricating, adjusting, cleaning, and replacement of worn parts month after month. Maintenance Management System BART is presently using a Data Stream WO but will soon change to a MAXIMO Data Management System. The change will allow BART to gain a systemwide data man- agement system, one that will provide better analysis of shutdowns by capturing more data. The existing manage-

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TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 100: Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Safety Practices documents elevator and escalator maintenance activities, safety practices, and passenger communication efforts at five U.S. transit agencies.

The five agencies where information was gathered are MARTA (Atlanta, Georgia), NYCTA (New York, New York), SEPTA (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), CTA (Chicago, Illinois), and BART (San Francisco, California). These five agencies together operate 1,418 elevators and escalators throughout 850 rail stations.

Together, they are part of a U.S. Federal Transit Administration-sponsored consortium with the American Public Transportation Association, Amalgamated Transit Union, and the Learning Center, engaged in developing a Transit Elevator/Escalator Maintenance Training and Apprenticeship Program.

The following four appendixes to TCRP Synthesis 100 are available in electronic format only. Links to the appendixes are below.

BART Elevator PM, 59

BART Escalator PM, 254

BART El-Es Training 1, 507

BART El-Es Training 2, 556

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