Common Lift & Escalator Problems and Maintenance Tips

Lifts and escalators that are under maintenance are a major turn-off for visitors of any buildings. And even worse is the fear of being trapped in one. Lift and escalator breakdowns can be avoided with regular inspection and preventive maintenance. A good building maintenance company will be able to provide complete guidance on keeping the health of your lifts and escalators in check.

Let’s look at some common lift and escalator problems in Malaysia and the maintenance tips:

Worn Sheaves

A sheave is an essential component of a lift that acts as a pulley that holds the rope to the car. The constant movement of the lift or escalator can wear the sheaves down which in turn will wear the rope. A cycle of destruction of these two key components is created and if not detected early, this can potentially lead to the rope slipping from the sheave.

A building maintenance company will usually check the groove profiles during their inspection to verify the fit between the rope and sheaves. A premature rope failure can be avoided by replacing or regrooving the sheave.

Bearing Breakdowns or Noise

Bearings in escalators and lifts are one of the most common components that can wear down over time. Noisy bearings are early signs of faulty or worn bearings and if not checked and rectified can cause dangerous stray current or motor failure. 

Installation or replacement of inductive absorbers is usually recommended by maintenance operators to overcome this problem. 

Power Failure

Lifts and escalators require a large supply of power from the utility system, so, any form of updates in the voltage can affect the operation of the motor and in the worst-case scenario cause damage to the overall escalator system. 

Building maintenance companies conduct power quality surveys to identify over or under voltages using infrared thermography. Infrared thermography measures any drastic movement in temperatures and this helps the maintenance company to identify possible issues before they cause system failures. 

Contamination of Lubrication or Oil

Like cars, lifts and escalators run on oil and lubricants and needs frequent maintenance to ensure there are no contaminants affecting the performance. The wearing of components release small metal particles and contaminates the oil and lubricant, and this in turn will interfere with the functioning of the lift/escalator.

Therefore, just like servicing a car, a building maintenance company conduct periodic inspections on the contaminant levels in the oil and lubricant and change them when necessary. Get in touch with us to know more.