The elevator bank in that new Denver high-rise has a design flaw that's going to cause headaches

I was out there last week for a site visit and the main bank of six cabs uses a single, shared machine room on the penthouse floor. The problem is, the access panel for the controller on Car 4 is mounted flush against a structural beam. You'd need to be a contortionist with a stubby screwdriver to get to the terminal blocks, and even then, it's a two-person job to hold the door. It adds at least 30 minutes to any basic diagnostic check. Who signs off on these plans? Has anyone else run into a new build where the maintenance access was clearly an afterthought?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_brown231mo ago

My old foreman would have laughed me off the site for that one. I once spent an hour trying to reach a valve behind a duct, and my solution was just a really long wrench and a lot of swearing.

west.jade1mo ago

Oh man, that's the real solution right there, swear words and stubbornness.

morgan91516d ago

Actually, that tight fit might be intentional. It forces a proper lock-out tag-out procedure since you need a second person, which is a major safety rule. The extra time could be seen as a built-in pause to double-check your work. Maybe the designers prioritized a clean machine room layout over quick access.