Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance &...

Submitted to:

Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair ProgramFinal Elevator Audit Submission

Draft prepared:September 30, 2010

Submitted by:

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

November 15, 2010

Executive Summary .................................................... 1 Findings ............................................................................................................... 3 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 19 Appendix .................................................................... 26 Bethesda Station Unit – Elevator – A09X01 .................................................................................... 26 Unit – Elevator – A09X02 ................................................................................... 33 Unit – Escalator – A09X01 .................................................................................. 40 Unit – Escalator – A09X02 .................................................................................. 48 Unit – Escalator – A09X03 .................................................................................. 56 Unit – Escalator – A09X04 .................................................................................. 64 Dupont Circle Station Unit – Elevator – A03N01 .................................................................................... 72 Unit – Elevator – A03N02 ................................................................................... 79 Unit – Elevator – A03N03 ................................................................................... 86 Unit – Escalator – A03N01 .................................................................................. 93 Unit – Escalator – A03N02 .................................................................................. 97 Unit – Escalator – A03N03 .................................................................................. 102 Unit – Escalator – A03N04 .................................................................................. 107 Unit – Escalator – A03N05 .................................................................................. 115 Unit – Escalator – A03N06 .................................................................................. 123 Unit – Escalator – A03N07 .................................................................................. 131 Unit – Escalator – A03S01 ................................................................................... 139 Unit – Escalator – A03S02 .................................................................................. 144 Unit – Escalator – A03S03 .................................................................................. 148 Unit –Escalator – A03S04 ................................................................................... 153 Unit – Elevator – A03S05 .................................................................................... 161 Unit – Elevator – A03S06 .................................................................................... 169 Unit – Elevator – A03S07 .................................................................................... 177

Table of Contents

Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair

Program Final Elevator Audit Submission

Foggy Bottom Station Unit – Elevator-C04X01 ....................................................................................... 185 Unit – Elevator-C04X02 ...................................................................................... 192 Unit – Escalator-C04X01 ..................................................................................... 199 Unit – Escalator-C04X02 ..................................................................................... 203 Unit – Escalator-C04X03 ..................................................................................... 211 Unit – Escalator-C04X04 ..................................................................................... 218 Unit – Escalator-C04X05 ..................................................................................... 225 Unit – Escalator-C04X06 ..................................................................................... 232 Woodley Park Unit – Elevator-A04X01 ....................................................................................... 239 Unit – Elevator-A04X02 ...................................................................................... 246 Unit – Escalator-A04X01 ..................................................................................... 253 Unit – Escalator-A04X02 ..................................................................................... 261 Unit – Escalator-A04X03 ..................................................................................... 269 Unit – Escalator-A04X04 ..................................................................................... 276 Unit – Escalator-A04X05 ..................................................................................... 284 Unit – Escalator-A04X06 ..................................................................................... 291

Execu

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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Elevator Audit Submission

Executive Summary

VTX was asked by WMATA to perform an audit of the Elevator Escalator preventive maintenance organization and procedures. As part of the effort, VTX audited 30 escalators and 9 elevators at the following stations:

� DuPont Circle � Woodley Park � Foggy Bottom � Bethesda

VTX also reviewed and observed how ELES utilized Maximo® for preventive maintenance procedures and management activities. We also observed the work flow process for both planned and corrective maintenance activities.

WMATA has significant challenges maintaining 100% of the elevators and escalators in the system. There are no comparable installations like this in the United States in either the public or private sector. It is clear that WMATA has made significant investments in training and recruiting of elevator mechanics to perform maintenance on the equipment.

We have concluded that the mechanics have the basic skills necessary to perform the preventive maintenance tasks required. We also conclude that the leaders of ELES have a clear understanding of what is required to maintain the elevators and escalators in this system.

Our analysis has revealed the following areas of concern that will need attention and support for ELES to reach its full potential.

� There are significant safety concerns with water intrusion into the elevator and escalator machinery and controller areas. This is a life/safety hazard for anyone working in those conditions. Further, the water also damages the equipment and can inhibit preventive maintenance activities due to safety concerns. This is a significant problem that requires correction.

� WMATA has effectively adapted wage rate changes for their mechanics with the local elevator unions. This adaptation must be considered for the vital positions of supervisors and superintendents within ELES. These vital members of your staff are responsible to direct the mechanic’s efforts in accordance with the direction of ELES management. The qualifications of management and supervision at this level needs to be at the highest level possible to accomplish the necessary requirements and procedures. Several positions in this area are vacant, in part due to some supervisors returning to the mechanic’s ranks.

� There are some mechanical and procedural recommendations for the elevators and escalators provided in this report. These recommendations should be easily incorporated into the existing maintenance procedures.

Effective preventive maintenance of the elevators and escalators at WMATA will require constant vigilance forever. There is no “end game” that can be reached once any changes are made. Training, recruiting, education and close supervision will always be required. Even with the major investments in both elevator and escalator modernization, it must be remembered that the basic equipment designs (and key components) are over 40 years old.

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This means that while improvements gained with the modernization program are significant, the basic modular escalator design has been obsolete for over 20 years. Simply put, this means that WMATA will have increasingly demanding maintenance challenges even with the massive capital improvement program. New (replacement) elevators and escalators will ensure that WMATA has equipment designed to the latest, and more stringent, elevator and escalator safety codes, including the American Public Transit Association (APTA) guidelines. The equipment will be of the latest technology providing improved safety, reliability and longevity with no obsolescence issues that can occur with a part for part replacement/upgrade program.

Successful and effective maintenance of all WMATA elevators and escalators is achievable. The organization, plans and procedures are largely appropriate for their mission. The challenge will be to continually improve, reinvest and adapt as the equipment continues to age and operate exposed to the weather.

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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Audit Submission

Findings – Elevator and Escalator Audits

The following report focuses on those units made available to us for a maintenance assessment. This section summarizes the findings of our two basic tasks under this agreement.

Methodology

The escalators were allowed to be removed from service for assessment primarily between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., Monday – Friday. Call backs for units shut down within the system took precedence and minor delays were experienced.

For purposes of observation, multiple balustrade panels at the top and bottom of each unit were removed. For those units with glass balustrades, several decking panels were removed to allow inspection of the handrail drive rollers and chains. The floor plates at the top and bottom of each unit were removed and four steps within the rise were removed. A visual inspection of the internal and external condition of each unit was performed and observations of equipment and maintenance conditions were noted. A random check of various operating and safety switches within each unit was performed. Not all switches were checked. The escalator machine rooms and components contained therein were also inspected. Several units had the controllers located within the upper pit/truss area. Those areas were observed as well. Photographs documenting the equipment conditions were taken. These photographs are incorporated within the individual Station-Unit assessment reports in the following section.

Only one condition within the machine room and escalator unit at Foggy Bottom was determined by the inspector as unsafe and was immediately reported to WMATA personnel for appropriate disposition. The audit was not ASME A17.1 certified and not performed by an inspector representing any local Authority Having Jurisdiction. No deficiency list was created or provided to WMATA.

The site inspections of the vertical transportation units identified in this report were conducted by VTX during June, July, and August of 2010. The following tables give a summary of the overall condition of each unit organized by station. For further information, please reference the detailed Station-Unit assessment reports in the following section.

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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Audit Submission Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Audit Submission

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Condition and Classification CriteriaIncluded in this preliminary assessment are three classifications of equipment and maintenance condition: Good, Fair, and Poor. The basic criteria for determination of each condition classification are as follows:

Good – Machine room and external and internal components of the equipment have no signs of major damage or wear, are clean, and free of excessive lubricants, dirt, and debris. The internal components of the equipment are clean, well lubricated, and adjusted for proper operation.

Fair – Machine room and external and internal components of the equipment have minor signs of damage or deteriorating wear and contain notable amounts of dirt and debris. Dirt and debris amounts associated with this classification are normally found at the end of the monthly maintenance cycle.

Poor – Machine room and external and internal components of the equipment have major signs of damage or deteriorating wear and contain excessive amounts of grease, dry lubricant, dirt, and debris. This classification is associated with equipment where a condition of prolonged absence of maintenance exists.

Equipment UnitNumber

Assessment Date Location Equipment

Type Cleanliness Operation Lubrication

Woodley Park Escalator A04X01 6/14/2010 Entrance ---- Good Good Good

Escalator A04X02 6/14/2010 Entrance ---- Poor Poor Poor

Escalator A04X03 6/15/2010 Entrance ---- Poor Poor Fair/Poor

Escalator A04X04 6/15/2010 Station ---- Poor Poor Fair/Poor

Escalator A04X05 6/16/2010 Station ---- Fair Fair Fair

Escalator A04X06 6/16/2010 Station ---- Poor Poor Fair

Elevator A04X01 6/17/2010 Street Traction Good (except pit)

Good Fair

Elevator A04X02 6/17/2010 Platform Hydraulic Good Good Fair

� � � � � � �




Bethesda Escalator A09X01 6/21/2010 Entrance ---- Fair Fair Poor

Escalator A09X02 6/21/2010 Station ---- Poor Poor Fair

Escalator A09X03 6/23/2010 Station ---- Poor Fair Fair

Escalator A09X04 6/23/2010 Station ---- Poor Fair Fair

Elevator A09X01 6/17/2010 Street Traction Fair Fair Poor

Elevator A09X02 6/17/2010 Platform Hydraulic Fair Fair Poor

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Foggy Bottom




Escalator C04X01 6/24/2010 Entrance ---- Poor Poor Fair



Escalator C04X04 7/6/2010 Station ---- Good Fair Good

Escalator C04X05 7/12/2010 Station ---- Poor Fair Good

Escalator C04X06 7/6/2010 Station ---- Poor Fair Good

Elevator C04X01 6/28/2010 Street Hydraulic Poor Very Poor Poor

Elevator C04X02 6/28/2010 Platform Hydraulic Very Poor Very Poor Poor




Dupont Circle Escalator A03N01 N/A Entrance ---- N/A N/A N/A

Escalator A03N02 8/19/10 Entrance ---- Poor Good Fair

Escalator A03N03 8/19/10 Entrance ---- Poor Good Fair

Escalator A03N04 7/26/2010 Platform ---- Good Good Good




Escalator A03S01 7/19/2010 Entrance ---- Poor Poor Poor



Escalator A03S04 7/27/2010 Platform ---- Good Good Good




Elevator A03N01 7/30/2010 Street Traction Poor Poor Poor

Elevator A03N02 7/30/2010 Platform Hydraulic Fair Good Good

Elevator A03N03 7/30/2010 Platform Hydraulic Fair Good Good

Findings and Observations

Equipment (Machine Rooms, Hoistways, and Pits) � The elevator and escalator machine rooms (and supporting areas where applicable eg:

escalator well ways) fail to provide sufficient lighting for maintenance and troubleshooting purposes. The rooms are underground and solely dependent upon electric lighting. This condition creates an unsafe working environment for technicians tasked to work in those areas.

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� The elevator and escalator machine room areas are not climate controlled. The technological advances in vertical transportation controls systems require the use of micro processors for operation control. This equipment is dependent on climate controlled atmospheres to provide efficient operation of the logic systems. Many equipment failures are a result of extreme fluctuations in environment temperatures, even those units that have A/C units in the controllers.

� Pay more attention to and provide consistency throughout the system for general housekeeping, such as removal of trash and non elevator related equipment from machine rooms, clean up of water/oil from pits.

� There appear to be discrepancies in contracted speeds and actual speeds. Our speed tests were not measured with a full load. If this was the case , we would expect the discrepancies to be even greater.

� A significant follow up to the status of Elevator and Escalator Services Department (ELES) requests to physical plant for repairs to machine room and supporting equipment areas needs to be performed. Specific attention needs to be given to water intrusion prevention in the machine rooms, hoistway, and pit area.

Elevator PerformanceOur measuring tool (Maxton-SafeTach) measures the speed and forces of hydraulic and traction elevators felt during elevator movement. It provides real-time performance information.

Summary: The overall speed and leveling performance indicates a lack of attention. Three of the elevators have acceptable speeds with poor leveling or no leveling. The remaining six units have inconsistent speeds ranging 10 to 30 fpm below the contract/unit rating.

Escalator PerformanceThe Parametricoder is a time and displacement encoding system that measures mechanical performance characteristics on escalators. It is able to secure additional performance data to allow individuals to assess conformance to design and operational parameters. It uses precision

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linear and rotational encoding systems, coupled with a robust data collection system, to permit simple field measurement of specific parameters of escalators and moving walks. The system has allowed us to clearly indentify key issues on client escalator systems including:

� Incorrectly adjusted and/or damaged brake systems � Worn and damaged machine components including roller chain and gear sets � Failed electrical control elements used in processes

Summary: Escalators tested as part of this process were found to exhibit signs of wear in the drive systems that should be investigated. Most escalator displayed velocity oscillations in the step band, left- and right-handrail speeds during operation and the stopping cycle. Impulse loads exhibited, particularly in the brake cycle, reflect the high potential for worn gears, sprockets, roller chain and cardon shaft universal joints (on the O&K RT-HD handrail drives). Several escalators were also found to have recoil action on the step bands at the end of the brake cycle reflecting issues on the step chain\rack and or drive elements.

Stopping characteristics of several escalators yielded conditions under no load testing that raise concerns over the capability to stop a fully loaded escalator within typical distances from the bottom skirt switches to comb lines. A nominal no slide maximum slide limit of 13” was utilized as the performance measure to assess this condition. Escalators exhibiting longer distances should be carefully checked for brake torque settings and/or system drive damage.

WMATA Operations � Management is limited in its ability to use best qualified field labor by “Pick” system. To be

effective, management must be able to use best qualified field labor to meet equipment service needs. While the “Pick” system would appear to be beneficial in theory, its success is solely contingent upon the performance of the individual worker. The intent of the “Pick” system is to expose each worker to the broadest range of equipment and service scopes, maintenance, service repair, troubleshooting, and adjusting, by rotating work stations semi-annually. It must be realized that not all workers have the ability to perform effectively within each scope.

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� As WMATA’s labor force is drawn from a union base, the ability to implement modification of the “Pick” system would require negotiations with the appropriate union representatives. While difficult, the establishment of a mutually beneficial labor relationship is critical to support the implementation of any changes within the current operational model substantial enough to demonstrate significant improvement.

� WMATA may consider using a continuing education program as an effective and more efficient means of analyzing and determining labor skill levels and propensities that would allow supervisors to best use personnel.

� WMATA is currently budgeted for 25 field level supervisory positions. At time of the performance of equipment assessments, only 20 supervisors were on staff. The necessity for well qualified, experienced supervision cannot be overstated. It is apparent having reviewed maintenance records for the vertical transportation equipment included in this assessment and having compared the level and quality of maintenance actually performed, that the necessity for supervisory verification of acceptable completion of the maintenance task per the level prescribed by schedule is critical. The field staffing appears to be at an acceptable level. The five open supervisory positions need to be earmarked as strategic hires from the private industry.

� WMATA has had several qualified supervisors return to field level positions due to salary limitations imposed by WMATA budgeting constraints. As a means of filling these supervisory vacancies, WMATA may consider performing a market analysis of comparable salaries for qualified supervisory personnel within the private industry providing equitable adjustment within WMATA as a means to attract additional qualified staff.

� MAXIMO – Audit of Maximo Program.

� Currently, the ELES Operation Center (EOC) is co-located with the Maintenance Operation Center (MOC). This is a good idea; however, currently the EOC is crammed into a very small space which does not allow for a good work environment.

Field LaborHaving performed a physical review of the equipment conditions at the stations selected for inclusion in this report, it is apparent in some instances that the quality of maintenance being performed could be improved to get it up to manufacturers’ requirements and recognized industry standards.

Several key issues of the field labors concern, which are felt to contribute to the difficulty in maintaining the appropriate maintenance standards, were identified in discussions with field labor.

� Perceived allocation of adequate time to perform maintenance to the levels of manufacturer’s recommendations and industry standards were expressed.

� Accountability for conditions of the equipment when received after “Pick” rotation were expressed.

� WMATA is currently budgeted for 142 mechanic positions. At the time of the performance of equipment assessments, only 137 mechanics were on staff.

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� Equitable/manageable distribution of work load was expressed based on the open and unfilled field positions. Note: It is VTX’s opinion that just adding field personnel will not solve or minimize the issues of concern.

� Turnover rate of supporting supervisory and management staff. It is believed among the field level personnel that this has a tremendous impact on the continuity of communication and operations procedures.

� Contractor accountability for work performed prior to acceptance and return to service of equipment.

� Timely performance of work identified by maintenance personnel and assigned as “L” tickets were expressed.

� Unsafe working conditions in the work area. Items of particular importance were, insufficient lighting in work areas and water intrusion in machine rooms and pit areas. Water intrusion in and around work areas where live electrically powered equipment is operational represents a direct threat to life and limb and needs to be given prioritized concern.

� The impression that they are being directed to return units to service without being given ample time to adequately verify / prove cause of failure.

It must be clarified that while the field labor concerns identified above were expressed, the verification of all concerns expressed was not included in the scope of this report and cannot be verified by VTX.

Maintenance

Obvious signs of conditions requiring immediate maintenance/service address are being overlooked. Some examples witnessed during our assessments of the elevators and escalators include but are not limited to the following:

� Major amounts of oil and lubricant on step treads and risers. Symptomatic of major leak at drive motor / reducer coupling.

� Significant accumulation of metal shavings around hand rail newel areas from worn newel wheels.

� Brake pads worn beyond usable life expectancy and out of adjustment which could result in a unit freewheeling to stop.

� Numerous switches in safety circuits were dirty, out of adjustment, and ineffective.

� Skirt panels were adjusted too tightly to the steps, creating metal shavings along the step roller tracks in the interior of the unit.

� Hoist ropes severely rouged and worn beyond acceptable life expectancy at DuPont Circle.

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� Sheet plastic being used to protect equipment from water intrusion. This is a critical life safety issue.

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Findings and Work Flow – Maximo

An audit was performed of the work flow process of ELES to determine if the current process was functioning as intended and if there was any room for improvement. The current work flow process that is in place and used by ELES for their work order management is a good one. There are defined, written standards on how the process is supposed to work, and this process is followed.

Quality control/assurance is performed to ensure the accuracy of the data that is captured through WMATA’s Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), Maximo. Standard management reports are then run with the confidence that the data contained in the reports represent an accurate picture of the state of the ELES assets. Personnel understand their job functions, and perform their jobs in a competent, professional manner. Overall the current work flow process being used by the EOC is performing as intended. There are, however, a number of areas where improvements can be made.

Findings

Multiple site visits were performed to interview personnel and observe the workings of the EOC over a two month period. During these visits, multiple shift changes were observed to watch the handover of data and beginning/ending of the shifts. All three of the shifts were observed to get a good feel of the different challenges encountered by each shift. Although generally things are running well with the work order process, there are some things that were noticed during our visits and are worth noting.

ELES Operations CenterThere are three shifts throughout the day (day, evening, and overnight) at WMATA, all are manned in the EOC and with ELES mechanics. There is always at least one dispatcher on at any one time in the EOC. During what is considered the peak times (Tuesday-Thursday), there are two dispatchers scheduled on a given shift. Having two dispatchers on any shift appears to be an appropriate staffing level for operations Monday through Friday. Dispatchers are responsible for entering work order data into Maximo and monitoring and recording the assignments and locations of the ELES mechanics.

They also are responsible with dealing with requests for work that comes in either through the telephone or through the MOC. During the day and evening shifts, mechanics are dealing with an abundance of callback work orders, as these two shifts encompass the peak commuting hours for the general public.

The overnight shift deals primarily with PM work orders, as the machines can generally be taken out of service with lesser impact during this time. The weekends are somewhat slower, because the ridership is generally down during this period.

There is also a day and overnight supervisor. Supervisors are responsible for monitoring and overseeing the dispatchers and their work, assuring the accuracy of the data that is input into Maximo, and overseeing the reporting on out of service units and other daily activities. Supervisors also are responsible for coordinating and scheduling the materials and outside support requests and needs. Currently, the evening supervisor position is open. This position should be filled, as the evening shift contains the PM rush home for commuters.

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The EOC was moved from its location at the Carmen Turner facility to its new location at the Jackson Graham Building to be co-located with the MOC for WMATA on June 28th. It will re-locate back to the Carmen Turner facility again in approximately 90 days. The current setup in the Jackson Graham building is very cramped and not setup well for either the supervisors or the dispatchers. It is not conducive to the work that is being done. There is little space on the desks to keep both a telephone and a notepad. There are also less workstations available than before. There are only two very cramped workstations, as opposed to the four they had previously.

This situation causes major issues during the shift changeovers, as one shift cannot begin work until the previous is completely finished and logged out. This causes the handover between shifts to be less effective than it could be if all of the dispatchers could be logged in at once and communicate while looking at the same information simultaneously. It would also allow a few minutes for the on-coming shift to get settled and logged in to their programs prior to the previous shift leaving.

It appears that the transition to the new building was not well thought out before it was implemented. A lot of things such as phone lines and other essentials were left undone prior to taking over the new space. More forethought should be given to ensure that the workstations are up and running and tested, prior to moving back to the Carmen Turner facility in the future to prevent possible data gaps.

Both supervisors and dispatchers understand the importance of accurate data being entered into Maximo for reporting purposes. This is critical to ensuring that the data contained in Maximo is accurate and the reports that are run present an accurate picture of the maintenance being done. There is also very good communication between dispatchers and between dispatchers and supervisors while working their shift. This level of communication leads to some nice synergy and also ensures that all of the inquiries are handled promptly during peak rushes.

The change in shifts between dispatchers is handled very well. There is good communication between dispatchers and between supervisors during the shift change activities to ensure that nothing is dropped and any critical issues are carried over from one shift to the next.

MaximoCurrently, Maximo version 6.2TR is being used. An upgrade to Maximo version 7 is planned for sometime in the future. Overall, Maximo is not being used to its full potential. There needs to be some more development of the software to configure it better for ELES use. One of the biggest problems is that ELES equipment and work orders are not easily filtered from the rest of WMATA’s equipment. The wrong fields are used to setup filtering and sorting to exclude other WMATA equipment. These fields then lose their intended functionality.

One example is the serial number field on equipment. This field is used to sort ELES equipment. This does not allow ELES to keep the unit’s serial number in Maximo. This prevents ELES from using the full capabilities of Maximo. While it is currently usable in the current setup, ELES is being shortchanged by not being able to use certain fields as they are intended, since they are now used for sorting, filtering, or grouping.

Maximo is hard for new users to navigate. There is a lot of clicking back and forth to find certain areas or assets. To be able to properly use the program to its maximum potential, good user training is needed. It is essential that training is given to all personnel whose job functions

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involve heavy use of the Maximo system. In addition, ongoing training should be strongly considered to ensure that employees are using the most efficient processes in their daily work, and to take advantage of any software upgrades that have been applied.

The work flow process feature of Maximo should be enabled. This would allow ELES to setup a custom work flow with supervisory approval to better document and control their work flow process. Using this module, ELES would be able to have work orders automatically e-mailed to the appropriate supervisor or other personnel for approval before moving to the next step in the work order process. This can also be setup in the inventory section so that a supervisor is automatically sent an e-mail to approve a request for materials. The work flow process can be setup through Maximo so that the approvals are automatically requested and there is no need for interaction from the dispatcher or EOC.

There are a few items worth noting when discussing the way that Maximo is currently setup. Right now there is no keyword search for assets. This would be very helpful to allow personnel who are not intimately familiar with the ELES setup in Maximo to find assets and report on them. All of the codes contained in Maximo are simple numbers; there is no logic to them. There are a lot of purely numeric codes that dispatchers must know and enter for work orders. This makes for an extremely difficult learning curve for new users and also makes it harder for casual users of the program and management to be able to get into Maximo and find things for themselves. Some thought should be given to making these codes have some “intelligence” behind them.

Abbreviations and other methods can be used to help users easily identify the proper codes to be used. Currently, because of all of the generic, numeric codes used within Maximo, it is vital that an up to date user’s guide be maintained and distributed to ELES employees to help them navigate the system. This practice is being performed currently, and must continue.

The use of the maintenance alert function in Maximo allows open work orders for the same piece of equipment to be searched during the creation of a work order so that duplicate work orders are not created. This is very helpful to eliminate the possibility of assigning duplicate work and wasting the time of mechanics sent to work on jobs that are already in progress.

Failure codes are used to identify common problems that occur on the elevators and escalators. Using these codes allows for the tracking of multiple failures of the same type, as well as trending to see the frequency of certain types of common problems. There is not currently in Maximo any estimated versus actual statistics reports. This makes it hard for maintenance supervisors to check the accuracy of the time estimates for work, as well as how well mechanics are performing based on the estimated time for the job. This is a standard industry report that should be programmed into Maximo and used.

Work Flow ProcessThe current callback process is changing now that the EOC is co-located with the MOC. Currently, the station manager calls the MOC to notify them of a problem, the MOC then creates a work order in Maximo. EOC monitors the elevator/escalator out of service report in Maximo to find units that have been called in for repair but have not yet been assigned an estimated completion date. The EOC then opens and finishes entering information on the work order created by the MOC. The EOC notifies the appropriate supervisor via e-mail of the issue and work order number. The supervisor assigns the work order to an employee(s) and replies to the

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EOC with the assignment via e-mail. The EOC then assigns the appropriate personnel to the work order.

Once the mechanic(s) is on-site, they call the EOC to let them know the job has begun. The EOC now puts this work order in-progress in Maximo. The MOC is slowly transitioning the calls coming from the station managers to go directly to the EOC to create the work orders. This is a very good idea, as it allows the EOC staff to ask relevant elevator/escalator questions that the MOC may not be aware of, to get as much and as complete information on the work order as possible, so that the job may be completed as quickly as possible. This should be completely put in place as soon as possible to benefit both ELES and the MOC.

Once work has been completed on a job, mechanics call the EOC to close out and complete the work order, and relay all hours that were performed on the job. Supervisors have and use blackberries to assign work and respond to requests when they are out in the field. As mentioned, currently the dispatchers are monitoring Maximo and an out of service report in to find new work orders called into the MOC. This should be changing now that they are co-located with the MOC. This was a very inefficient process.

Currently both e-mails and phones are used to communicate information to and from the EOC to supervisors and mechanics. An excel spreadsheet, called locator, is used to track mechanic whereabouts by dispatchers. Whenever a mechanic is assigned to a job, the unit that they are working on is placed next to their name in the spreadsheet. This method for tracking the mechanics seems to be working very well for them. This locator spreadsheet is also a valuable tool during the shift change-over; it is used to see if there are any mechanics still working and/or any units still out of service. An outage report is sent via e-mail out hourly. This report contains what units are currently out of service by sector (maintenance supervisor). Multiple programs are used and need to be monitored by the dispatchers. Maximo, excel, and outlook are all used almost constantly by the dispatchers to monitor the status of work and check for any new work that comes in. This is in addition to any calls that may come in at any given time.

During times of high call volume, the work order information is captured on paper and then later transferred to Maximo when the call volume dies down. This is a standard industry practice, and should be continued during times of peak inquiries to make sure that all of the information is taken down, as Maximo can lag a little, preventing the real time updating of the program.

E-mail is used during change of shifts to notify of the current status of equipment and to let the maintenance supervisors prioritize and assign work. The locator spreadsheet is transferred, as well as an out of service report detailing all of the units that are not in service at that particular time. A lot of close out information is called in right at the end of a shift. This creates a lot of issues during shift turn over and leaves the potential for something to be dropped. Work order closeout information should be called in shortly after completion of work. Mechanics also need to be better aware of what information is needed to create, update, and close a work order. Too much time is wasted by the dispatchers explaining what is needed. Much of the time the information transmitted by the mechanic is incomplete or incorrect and needs to be coached out of the mechanics by the dispatchers. This increases the work load on the EOC and causes routine calls from mechanics to take up more time than is necessary.

Quality control/assurance is being performed on every work order that is done. The dispatchers are being tracked and graded and this information is shared with them. Overall, the dispatchers

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and supervisors seem to have a pretty good handle on Maximo and their job responsibilities. They perform their job competently and professionally.

The process for emergencies or entrapments is working smoothly. The locator spreadsheet is used to find a free employee. The EOC contacts that employee via the phone to go to the entrapment site. The initial call for the issue comes from the MOC straight to the EOC. The mechanics are being dispatched to trouble spots in an efficient manner.

The process for work orders is displayed in figure 1. This process is generally the same for all work types, the exception being that scheduled maintenance or preventive maintenance work orders are generated previously in Maximo and the mechanics call into the EOC when they begin work. The only suggestion for a change in the process is one that is currently being implemented. The beginning of callback process, circled in red, begins in the MOC; it should begin with the EOC.

Preventive MaintenanceMaximo automatically generates the PMs each month. Supervisors review the PMs and approve them for the month prior to generation. The EOC creates a child work order off the original PM work order when the crew starts calls in to start work. The process for performing the PM from the EOC side then remains the same as a normal work order, the crew calls in when work begins and ends; EOC creates the child work order and closes it. PMs are scheduled based on codes B,C, E, taken from a paper form containing all of the PM steps. The work flow process for PMs is a standard one, and is running smoothly. There are some PM balancing issues that should be addressed to spread the PM schedule out equally throughout the year.

We propose a semi and annual schedule for clean downs with a small percentage of working hours monthly as a contingency for unexpected circumstances.

Quality Control/AssuranceEvery work order is reviewed by one of the EOC supervisors for accuracy and completeness. Each dispatcher is scored on the accuracy and completeness of all of their work orders each shift. A report is compiled daily of the accuracy and completeness of each work order done by the dispatcher. This report is then rolled up weekly, monthly, and annually. Dispatchers get a hard copy or e-mail of the report for review, and discussions are had with the supervisors as needed. This process that is in place for the maintaining of quality control and assurance is a very thorough one. By checking each and every work order that is processed, not only is ELES assured of having accurate data contained in Maximo, but the importance of having this accurate data is reinforced to those entering the data. This process also allows management to quickly see any areas of common problems or mistakes by the people entering data and to address them quickly, to prevent the problems from continuing or “snowballing”.

ReportingThere is a good variety of reports available for use within Maximo. Many of these reports are queries that were created for ELES and are working well. Personnel are using a good mix of Maximo and other software to get the best reporting tools available. Word reports are used by the EOC to document the major daily happenings and the out of service report details equipment not in service at a given time. Excel is used to create the locator spreadsheet to track the daily usage of mechanic’s time. In addition the ability to export data from Maximo to excel is used to great advantage by personnel to distribute reports and run queries on data outside of Maximo. Some examples of the reports being run in Maximo are a variety of out of service

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reports detailing the equipment currently not in service, sorted or grouped by whether the work was scheduled or unscheduled, its status and other key indicators. Also, there are a number of downtime reports which are critical for seeing the percentage of time an asset or number of assets was available for a given period. These reports allow management to clearly see how well maintenance is doing in maintaining the uptime of the elevators and escalators. Generally personnel have a good handle on the reporting capabilities within Maximo and how to extract the data stored within the program.

Remote MonitoringThere appears to be some significant problems with the remote monitoring system that are preventing it from working as intended. The system currently dumps work orders into Maximo, but they are not being issued by the EOC. The work orders do not have accurate fault information listed on them, and the fault that is noted is not always an accurate fault condition on the actual machine. In addition, many times the machine that is listed as being in alarm does not have any problems. There are false reports of failures and subsequently mechanics are falsely dispatched which wastes valuable mechanic time.

Testing and validation needs to be done on the remote monitoring system as a whole to make sure that the correct fault is captured on the correct machine and then that information is transmitted to Maximo with all of the pertinent information associated with the fault. This should also include some type of e-mail notification by Maximo that a fault was received and a work order was created. All of the different fault conditions that are required to be tracked should be tested for each machine associated with the remote monitoring system. It appears that the remote monitoring system was never commissioned or validated. This should be done before the work orders that are being sent to Maximo are issued.

InventoryThe inventory process begins when a mechanic notifies his supervisor of a part need. The supervisor updates the work order and the part is reserved from stock. If the part is not in stock, the supervisor sends an e-mail to the parts department requesting the materials needed for the job. The dispatchers in EOC get an e-mail copy of the request and forward that to the parts department. The dispatchers record the parts used on the work order.

It appears that the EOC is getting involved in a process that they should not be a part of. Other then adding inventory items to a work out on close-out, the dispatchers should not be getting involved in the materials process. It also appears that inventory on hand is not accurately tracked in Maximo. This leads to lengthy delays in machine availability due to awaiting materials/parts with long lead times. The parts department does not appear to be using Maximo to track inventory items to its full potential. By doing so, it would allow them to keep a current stock on all critical items with significant lead times to prevent lengthy out of service delays that could be prevented.

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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Progra Submission

mFinal Audit

Figure 1. Observed Basic Work Flow Process

Problem found by station manager

Station manager calls the MOC with details of an issue

MOC creates a work order in Maximo

EOC sees an elevator/escalator work order without a target finish

date

EOC opens the work order and verifies the completeness and accuracy of the

information on the work order

EOC sends out an e-mail to the appropriate maintenance

supervisor with the work order number and request for work

The maintenance supervisor assigns the work order and replies to the EOC with the

mechanic assignment

When the mechanic arrives on scene, they call the EOC to put the

work order in-process

Maintenance is performed

The mechanic calls the EOC to inform them that the job has been

completed and if any additional (child) work orders are needed.

Maintenance supervisors review a list of PMs to be generated for the

month

Maximo creates the PM work orders for the month

Maintenance supervisor assigns work orders to a mechanic

PMs to be generated by Maximo

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Recommendations – Elevator and Escalator This chapter summarizes our recommendations to address a variety of issues detailed in the Findings chapter of this report. These recommendations are intended to build upon the existing organizational structure and procedures that are uniquely challenging unlike any other owner operated and maintained elevator/escalator system in North America. The bulk of these recommendations are either situational (water intrusion, lubrication efforts, etc.) or procedural. Both types of recommendations can be accomplished if the current organization can obtain all of the support required to carry out their mission. The primary support necessary for ELES to meet its mission lies in continuous training of mechanics, supervisors and management. This must be coupled with an effective recruitment and retention of the vital supervisor and superintendent positions responsible to direct mechanic actions in accordance with ELES management. The remainder of this chapter highlights specific conditions and processes observed during our audit. The most effective approach to addressing the following items will be determined by management and acted upon by mechanics and staff. The supervisors and superintendents in between those two entities is where the success or failure of ELES resides. • Implement a continual rotating schedule for escalator clean downs. At a minimum, each

station and platform unit should be cleaned down annually and each entrance unit semi-annually.

• Provide sufficient lighting for a safe working environment. This is critical.

• Provide climate control measures to support the operation of micro processor based controls systems. This is critical.

• Provide for removal of water in machine room and pit areas. This is critical.

• Provide for waterproofing measures as necessary to secure machine room, hoistway, and pit areas. This is critical. Water intrusion in and around work areas where live electrically powered equipment is operational represents a direct threat to life and limb and needs to be given prioritized concern.

• Modify escalator machine room entrances where possible to eliminate ships ladder access. (Dupont South example)

• Provide appropriate storage cabinets and containers in machine rooms as necessary for safe storage of materials and tools.

• Improve follow up to the status of ELES requests to physical plant for repairs to machine room and supporting equipment areas, needs to be performed. Specific attention needs to be given to water intrusion prevention in the machine rooms, hoistway, and pit areas.

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• Establish a mutually beneficial labor relationship is critical to support the implementation of any changes within the current operational model substantial enough to demonstrate significant improvement.

• Establish a continuing education program as an effective and more efficient means of analyzing and determining labor skill levels and propensities that would allow supervisors to best utilize personnel.

• Perform a market analysis of comparable salaries for qualified supervisory personnel within the industry and providing equitable adjustment within WMATA as a means to attract additional qualified staff.

• Confirm what the actual speed of the elevators should be according to the design specifications and ensure that the elevators are operating at these speeds.

• Tool calibration procedures must follow each manufactures recommendation/requirements

• Increase the frequency of supervisory maintenance inspections and audits to confirm that Preventative Maintenance is being performed in accordance with the established criteria

• Continue to have the MOC and EOC co-located.

• Continue to have the MOC forward elevator and escalator requests from the stations to the EOC directly to input into Maximo.

• Fill the evening supervisor slot that is currently vacant.

• All escalator brakes have questionable stopping performance under no load with respect to their ability to stop and hold with full passenger load. I.e. no load stopping distances appear to be too long for the inertia mass brake systems utilized. Testing procedures need to be improved; the stopping distance must be recorded during the required testing schedule.

• Create dedicated workspace for the EOC, similar to what is currently available for the MOC.

• Test and validate the remote monitoring system so that it can begin to be used.

• Implement a graphical interface for the remote monitoring system, so that the system wide status of the elevators and escalators is easily available to all WMATA personnel graphically.

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Recommendations – Maximo • The idea to co-locate the MOC and EOC is a good one and should be continued. In just a few

weeks of being co-located together, the communications between the two groups has improved significantly. This co-location also helps in times of entrapments or emergencies, as there can be direct communication between the two groups to relay information and make sure that the situation is taken care of quickly.

• Currently there is a movement taking place to have the station manager calls for elevator and escalator issues placed or forwarded directly to the EOC. This process should be sped up as quickly as possible. The EOC should be taking all of the calls from station managers that pertain to elevator and escalator issues. The EOC can then create the work order directly in Maximo themselves. This allows the EOC to get all of the pertinent information about the issue directly from the station manager and to put that information on the work order. This eliminates the double work of having the MOC create the work order and EOC review it before issuing. It also eliminates the problem of having the EOC monitor a report to know when elevator and escalator issues arise. Finally, it allows the mechanics to have the most complete and accurate information on the work order possible, so that when they get to the problem location they have as much information as possible to fix the problem promptly.

• An additional dispatcher is needed during the day and evening shift. There should always be 2 dispatchers available during the day Monday through Friday between 6AM and 8PM. This is peak time for the traveling public and most of the callback work orders come in this period. Additionally, the dispatcher’s shifts should not end at the same time that the mechanic’s do. The dispatchers should overlap the mechanics changeover by an hour. This would eliminate the issues that arise at the end of shifts where the mechanics call in multiple work orders that have been completed during the shift. This leads to a work backlog in closing work orders and a delay in allowing the next shift dispatchers from beginning their shift. There is great potential for errors or something to be missed in this frenzied period leading up to the very end of the shifts. There is currently a document administrator who files hardcopies of mechanic reports. This position could be switched to dispatching and the filing handled by an intern or part time person. There currently is a need for dispatchers and this is a position that could be transitioned to help fill that gap.

• There is currently no evening supervisor. This position should be filled as soon as possible. The evening shift is an important and highly visible shift. During the evening shift, the evening rush home is monitored and any issues arising during this period are taken care of. The supervisors add an additional level of redundancy to the dispatchers and provide oversight on critical actions and functions. Also, an additional 1-2 floating supervisors should be considered so that there is always a supervisor working. Currently there are only two supervisors to cover all of the shifts throughout the week. This obviously leads to numerous shifts where dispatchers are on duty with no supervision. It also leads to shifts where dispatchers are on duty with no other dispatcher or supervisor. This is not ideal, as there is no coverage for meal breaks, or any other time when the dispatcher might possibly be away. Additionally, a planner/scheduler for the PM process would be extremely useful. This person would be in charge of maintaining the PM balance throughout the year as well as reviewing procedures and schedules with the maintenance supervisors to ensure that equipment is being properly maintained. This position could also help fill in as an EOC supervisor and with the quality control/assurance tasks.

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• The EOC dispatchers and supervisors need dedicated space set aside for them in the new area. Currently the space allocated for the EOC is overly cramped and hard to work in. Dedicated work stations, with multiple monitors should be setup for the dispatchers and the supervisors. Additionally, there should be at least one, if not two additional work stations available for use, to allow for coverage during the shift changeover process. This will allow for dispatchers to begin work as soon as they arrive, not once the previous shift has finished and logged off the machines. Also, supervisors should have multiple monitors, similar to the setup for dispatchers, to be able to view all of the multiple programs that they need to monitor simultaneously. Currently they are working with a single monitor and have to constantly flip between four or more programs to monitor all of the information they need to stay abreast of at all times.

• The PM plan needs to be reviewed. The PM procedures, frequencies, and schedule should be reviewed to make sure that appropriate maintenance is being done to equipment at the right frequency. The PM schedule should be balanced so that approximately the same numbers of units are serviced each month of the year. This will allow for better scheduling of employees and workload balancing. Approximately the same man hours should be expended each month to maintain ELES’ equipment.

• Although generally the reports being generated from Maximo were sufficient, there is one report that should be run in addition to those currently being used. A report detailing the actual labor usage versus the estimated labor usage for scheduled maintenance is a valuable tool to determine how effective the maintenance staff is performing scheduled maintenance. The report can be used to see if any employee is performing more poorly than their peers and if additional training may be necessary on a given task to bring their skill level into line with their peers.

• Mechanics need to be better informed of the information that needs to be called into the EOC and when it needs to be called in. This applies both for the beginning of work and especially for the closeout of work. Mechanics are supposed to call into the EOC when they arrive at a jobsite for work, prior to beginning work. At this point, the EOC puts the work order in progress, which shows that the unit is being worked on. This call is not always getting to the EOC. This causes problems during the closeout process, as the work order records the time that a job starts and finishes, among other information. Once the work has been completed, the mechanic is supposed to call the EOC to close out the work order and put the final information regarding closeout on the work order. This is not always happening after the work is completed. This tends to happen en masse at the end of the shift when the mechanic is stopping work for the day. As mentioned previously, this causes issues overloading the dispatchers during the ending of shifts, as well as not maintaining the most current information about work orders and assets in Maximo. Mechanics need to be held accountable to call in their work activities in a timely fashion. Additionally it was observed that when the mechanics did call in, they often did not give the dispatchers complete information. This caused the dispatcher to have to “coach” the mechanic on the information that is needed for the close out of the work order. This is a time consuming and unnecessary process. The mechanics should be aware of what information is needed to complete the close out process, and should transmit that information to the EOC when they call in. This will help to cut down on the backlog of work at the end of the shifts, and also allow the dispatchers in EOC to answer calls in a more timely fashion.

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• The remote monitoring system needs to be tested and validated before it is used. It appears that the remote monitoring system was never tested before it was implemented. This has lead to many false readings coming through the Maximo system, creating false work orders that waste manpower to investigate. The faults that come through the remote monitoring system are not accurate and do not contain enough information about what the problem is supposed to be. Finally, the e-mail notifications that should be sent out when a work order is generated in Maximo from the remote monitoring system are not being sent. Testing and validation needs to be done on each unit that is being monitored to ensure that the proper fault is sent from the proper machine, when there is a fault. Additionally, the fault codes need to be reviewed to ensure that the data that is transmitted from the remote monitoring system contains enough information to properly define the problem on a work order. The testing and validation should also include verification that the proper information is being pushed into the Maximo work order that is generated, and that the e-mail notification from Maximo is being sent out.

• A graphical interface for assets controlled by WMATA, shown on an overlay of the system map would be of great help to ELES. This type of interface would allow ELES personnel to see on the system map any areas where the remote monitoring system has detected a fault on an elevator or escalator. An operator can then click on the station to see the unit(s) that is in alarm. The operator can further drill down into the specific unit in alarm to get the actual faults that have been recorded. This allows real time monitoring of the equipment and would help the EOC to pick up problems immediately, as well as allow upper management to see the status of vertical transportation assets through the WMATA system in real time.

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Recommendations – Elevator and Escalator • Implement a continual rotating schedule for escalator clean downs. At a minimum, each

station and platform unit should be cleaned down annually and each entrance unit semi-annually.

• Provide sufficient lighting for a safe working environment. This is critical.

• Provide climate control measures to support the operation of micro processor based controls systems. This is critical.

• Provide for removal of water in machine room and pit areas. This is critical.

• Provide for waterproofing measures as necessary to secure machine room, hoistway, and pit areas. This is critical. Water intrusion in and around work areas where live electrically powered equipment is operational represents a direct threat to life and limb and needs to be given prioritized concern.

• Modify escalator machine room entrances where possible to eliminate ships ladder access. (Dupont South example)

• Provide appropriate storage cabinets and containers in machine rooms as necessary for safe storage of materials and tools.

• Improve follow up to the status of ELES requests to physical plant for repairs to machine room and supporting equipment areas, needs to be performed. Specific attention needs to be given to water intrusion prevention in the machine rooms, hoistway, and pit areas.

• Establish a mutually beneficial labor relationship is critical to support the implementation of any changes within the current operational model substantial enough to demonstrate significant improvement.

• Establish a continuing education program as an effective and more efficient means of analyzing and determining labor skill levels and propensities that would allow supervisors to best utilize personnel.

• Perform a market analysis of comparable salaries for qualified supervisory personnel within the industry and providing equitable adjustment within WMATA as a means to attract additional qualified staff.

• Confirm what the actual speed of the elevators should be according to the design specifications and ensure that the elevators are operating at these speeds.

• Tool calibration procedures must follow each manufactures recommendation/requirements

• Increase the frequency of supervisory maintenance inspections and audits to confirm that Preventative Maintenance is being performed in accordance with the established criteria

• Continue to have the MOC and EOC co-located.

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• Continue to have the MOC forward elevator and escalator requests from the stations to the

EOC directly to input into Maximo.

• Fill the evening supervisor slot that is currently vacant.

• All escalator brakes have questionable stopping performance under no load with respect to their ability to stop and hold with full passenger load. I.e. no load stopping distances appear to be too long for the inertia mass brake systems utilized. Testing procedures need to be improved; the stopping distance must be recorded during the required testing schedule.

• Create dedicated workspace for the EOC, similar to what is currently available for the MOC.

• Test and validate the remote monitoring system so that it can begin to be used.

• Implement a graphical interface for the remote monitoring system, so that the system wide status of the elevators and escalators is easily available to all WMATA personnel graphically.

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Beth

esda Station

Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Elevator Audit Submission Bethesda Station - Elevator A09X01 (Street Access) – Traction

Bethesda Station Elevator A09X01 (Street Access) – Traction

Elevator Audit

Equipment DescriptionThe elevator is a two-stop, geared traction application installed in 1984 and ADA upgraded in 2002. The elevator uses a MCE VVMC SCR drive controls system. The hoisting mechanism is a Hollister Whitney geared traction machine used as a basement application. The cab doors are single speed center opening application using a GAL door operator, cab, and hoistway door equipment. The assessment of the equipment and maintenance conditions was performed by Vertical Transportation Excellence (VTX) on June 17, 2010.

Machine Room – The machine room for this unit is located in the employee only area of the station and access is controlled. The machine room is used as a materials storage area with an assortment of tools, lubricants, spare parts, gang boxes, trash, and other trade related items blocking access to the controller and hoist machine components. None of the spare parts appear to have inventory records tracking their location or use. The machine room does not have the sufficient space and storage capabilities to accommodate the materials. The maintenance condition of the machine room is poor.

Controller – The MCE controller cabinet and all components within are securely mounted and in good condition. The controller wiring is neat and securely fastened at all terminal connections with the spares tied off and tagged for accurate identification. Overall condition of the controlleris good.

Hoist Machine and Brake – The hoist machine is a Hollister/Whitney basement traction application. The machine housing and machine beams are in good condition. The machine ring gear shows no unusual wear and is well lubricated. The motor is properly aligned and exhibits no unusual vibration or noise. The thrust bearing exhibits no unusual vibration or excessive heat at the bearing cap. The overall condition of the hoist machine is good.

Car Top, Cab Door Equipment, and Operator – The car top is free of debris and neat in appearance with the car top operating box mounted securely on the crosshead. The elevator is front opening with a GAL door operator. The door operator chains, link arms, tracks, trucks, and rollers are dry; exhibiting minor rust and are in need of lubrication. The clutch is adjusted and operating correctly. The overall condition and operation of the cab doors and associated equipment is fair.

Hoistway Door Equipment – The hoistway door tracks, trucks, and rollers are dry; exhibiting minor rust and are in need of lubrication. The overall condition and operation of the hoistwaydoors and associated equipment is fair.

Pit – The elevator pit has a minor accumulation of debris, dirt, and water.

Signal Fixtures – The signal fixtures are of a vandal proof design and construction. The surface finish of the fixtures is bronze. The surfaces of both car operating panels have minor scratches from abuse and vandalism consistent with mass transit applications. None of the damage is

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extensive enough to require replacement of the panels. The position indicator is digital and fully operational. All push buttons are intact and working correctly. The emergency communication device when activated contacted the station manager in the kiosk. Two-way communication was confirmed.

Cab – The structural integrity of the cab remains intact. The wall panels, glass panels, dome, and ceiling are sufficient for continued use. The interior has minor damage, scratches, and dents from use, abuse, and vandalism normally associated with mass transit applications.

General Observations Summary A09X011. The cleanliness of the unit was fair. 2. The adjustment and operation of the cab and hoistway doors and door equipment was fair. 3. The lubrication condition of the unit was poor.

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Clean and paint/seal pit area.

Clean down machine area.

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Unit Photos

Machine room storage impacts maintenance.

Machine room storage and housekeeping issues.

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Assessment Checklist

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Ride Quality Test Results

Our measuring tool measures the speed and forces of hydraulic and traction elevators felt during elevator movement. It provides real-time performance information. Unit A09X01 is running 30fpm under contract speed. WMATA needs to calibrate the tools used to help eliminate this performance deficiency.

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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Elevator Audit Submission Bethesda Station - Elevator A09X02 (Platform) – Hydraulic

Bethesda Station Elevator A09X02 (Platform) – Hydraulic

Elevator Audit

Equipment DescriptionThe elevator is a two-stop, hydraulic application installed in 1984 and ADA upgraded in 2002, including a new controller. The elevator uses an Allen/Bradley drive controls system. The pump unit and motor are a belt driven dry (non-submersible) application using an EECO valve. The cab has front and rear single speed center opening doors each using one GAL door operator and associated cab and hoistway door equipment. The assessment of the equipment and maintenance conditions was performed by VTX on June 17, 2010

Machine Room – The machine room for this unit is located trackside and access is controlled. The floor, controller, and pump unit have a thin layer of dust/dirt and have not been cleaned recently. The lighting is sufficient to meet Code requirements, but the working area in front of the controller is dim and would be improved with the installation of an additional lighting fixture. The closure on the machine room door is broken and the door will not self close or lock. The general cleanliness of the machine room is fair.

Controller – The controller is mounted to the pump tank unit with the cover securely fastened. The controller wiring is neat and securely fastened at all terminal connections with the spares tied off and tagged for accurate identification. Overall condition of the controller is good.

Pump, Tank, and Valve Unit – The unit is a dry pump type with the equipment mounted under the tank. The valve shows minor leakage at the couplings with a small accumulation of oil in the collection pan. All components have a minor build up of surface oil and dust.

Car Top, Cab Door Equipment, and Operator – The car top has a walk on platform mounted over the crosshead and door operating equipment. The platform is free of debris and neat in appearance with the car top operating box laying on the platform. The car top has a minor accumulation of dirt and debris that is very difficult to access to clean. The elevator is front and rear opening with two GAL door operators mounted on the car top. The door operator chains, link arms, tracks, trucks, and rollers are dry; exhibiting minor rust and are in need of lubrication. The clutch is adjusted and operating correctly. The overall condition and operation of the cab doors and associated equipment is fair.

Hoistway Door Equipment – The hoistway door tracks, trucks, and rollers are dry; exhibiting minor rust and are in need of lubrication. The overall condition and operation of the hoistwaydoors and associated equipment is fair.

Pit – The elevator pit is clean and free of debris and dirt. The jack packing is in good condition with only minor leakage normally associated with hydraulic applications. Overall condition of the pit is good.

Signal Fixtures – The signal fixtures are of a vandal proof design and construction. The surface finish of the fixtures is bronze. The surfaces of both car operating panels have minor scratches from abuse and vandalism consistent with mass transit applications. None of the damage is

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extensive enough to require replacement of the panels. The position indicator is digital and fully operational. All push buttons are intact and working correctly. The emergency communication device when activated contacted the station manager in the kiosk. Two-way communication was confirmed.

Cab – The structural integrity of the cab remains intact. The wall panels, glass panels, dome, and ceiling are sufficient for continued use. The interior has minor damage, scratches, and dents from use, abuse, and vandalism normally associated with mass transit applications.

General Observations Summary A09X021. The cleanliness of the unit was fair. 2. The adjustment and operation of the cab and hoistway doors and door equipment was fair. 3. The lubrication condition of the unit was poor.

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Unit Photos

Pit area

Cab access area

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Allen Bradley controller (typical)

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Our measuring tool measures the speed and forces of hydraulic and traction elevators felt during elevator movement. It provides real-time performance information. Unit A09X02 is satisfactory.

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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Elevator Audit Submission Bethesda Station - Escalator A09X01 (Entrance)

Bethesda Station Escalator A09X01 (Entrance)

Escalator Audit

Equipment Description The escalator is a single-drive, Westinghouse Modular B 100 installed in 1984 and modernized in 2003. The assessment of the equipment and maintenance conditions was performed by VTX on June 21, 2010.

Steps, Step Treads, and Risers – The step tread and riser alignments appear to mesh within acceptable tolerances and show no excessive wear or damage. Normal wear consistent with mass transit applications is present on the step treads, but no shaved or sharp edges consistent with misaligned steps exist.

Skirts and Balustrade Panels – The escalator skirt panels show no major wear or unusual damage from step scraping. The skirt gaps are within tolerances and vary from 1/8” to 3/16”. The balustrade panels are adjusted within tolerances with acceptable minimal gap clearances. Minor damage normally associated with mass transit environments exist, but none requiring panel replacement.

Decking and Anti-Slide Devices – Decking and anti-slide devices are firmly in place with no devices missing.

Handrails and Handrail Drive Units – The handrails show minimal wear and are acceptable for continued use. The handrail drive units are dry and in need of lubrication. The drive unit and chains are acceptably adjusted. Hand rail newels show normal wear and are acceptable for continued use.

Drive Unit (1), Drive Sprockets, and Poly Chains – The drive sprockets, drive chains, and poly chains are dry and exhibit minor rust from weather/water exposure and are in need of lubrication. The drive sprockets, drive chains, and poly chains show no signs of uneven wear or damage thereby confirming good alignment and tension. The drive unit shows no signs of oil leakage at seals. No unusual noise or vibration was noted.

Step Chains, Axles, and Step Chain Rollers – The step chains, axles, and step chain rollers are dry and exhibit an advanced amount of rust and corrosion. This is attributable as well as weather/water exposure. The step rollers show an excessive accumulation of old dry grease, dirt, and debris.

Pits and Trusses – The pit areas are dirty with an excessive accumulation of lubricant, dirt, and debris. The accumulation of dirt and debris in the truss area at the top of the units is excessive.

Safety Switches – A random visual inspection of the safety switches was performed. Multiple switches were manually activated and electrical operation verified. Of the switches checked, all were found to be properly adjusted and operated as required.

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Controller – The controller unit is mounted in the upper pit on a “pop up” type apparatus. The unit is very difficult to extract and return. The unit requires modification to provide safe and easy access. The controller cabinet is structurally sound. The relays are an enclosed type and firmly plugged into the relay bases with no loose components or wiring.

Machine Room – Reference controller section above.

General Observations Summary A09X011. The cleanliness of the unit was fair. 2. The adjustment and operation of the switches and equipment was fair. 3. The lubrication condition of the unit was poor.

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Unit Photos

Exposed to outside elements

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The Parametricoder is a time and displacement encoding system that measures mechanical performance characteristics on escalators. It is able to secure additional performance data to allow individuals to assess conformance to design and operational parameters. It uses precision linear and rotational encoding systems, coupled with a robust data collection system, to permit simple field measurement of specific parameters of escalators and moving walks. The system has allowed us to clearly indentify key issues on client escalator systems including:


Summary: Escalator brakes have questionable stopping performance under no load. Brake torque may not hold a fully loaded unit the other issues if noted are identified in each performance category.

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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance & Repair Program Final Elevator Audit Submission Bethesda Station - Escalator A09X02 (Station)

Bethesda Station Escalator A09X02 (Station)

Escalator Audit

Equipment DescriptionThe escalator is a six-drive, Westinghouse Modular B 100 installed in 1984 and modernized in 2002. The escalator shares a common machine room with A09X03 and A09X04. The assessment of the equipment and maintenance conditions was performed by VTX on June 21, 2010.


Skirts and Balustrade Panels – The escalator skirt panels show minor damage at several locations along the rise from step scraping. Metal shavings from the skirt panels are prevalent on the step tracks at those areas. The skirt gaps at those places along the rise, other than as noted previously, are within tolerances and vary from 1/8” to 3/16”. The balustrade panels are adjusted within tolerances with acceptable minimal gap clearances. Minor damage normally associated with mass transit environs exist, but none requiring panel replacement.


Handrails and Handrail Drive Units – The handrails show minimal wear and are acceptable for continued use. The drive unit and chains are acceptably adjusted. Hand rail newel areas have accumulated shavings from chipped newels created by bottomed out newel rollers. These rollers are in need of adjustment or replacement. The top right hand newel has been replaced with a newel roller chain unit.

Drive Units (6), Drive Sprockets, and Poly Chains – The poly chains on Drive #3 show excessive wear and have numerous poly rollers missing in multiple locations along the chain. The unit is making an unusual noise symptomatic of low oil in the drive housing. The remaining drive sprockets and chains have a minimal build up of old dry lubrication and should be degreased/cleaned and re-lubricated. The drive sprockets, drive chains, and poly chains show no signs of uneven wear or damage thereby confirming good alignment and tension. Drive #4 shows minor leaking at the right hand reducer seal. No unusual noise or vibration was noted.

Step Chains, Axles, and Step Chain Rollers – The step chains are acceptably lubricated with a minimal build up of old lubricant. The axles and step chain rollers show normal wear patterns and are also in acceptable condition.


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Safety Switches – A random visual inspection of the safety switches was performed. Multiple switches were manually activated and electrical operation verified. Of the switches checked, several required multiple manual attempts to activate and were out of adjustment. Those switches were cleaned and adjusted.

Controller – The controller is firmly mounted and the cabinet is lockable. The relays are an enclosed type and firmly plugged into the relay bases with no loose components or wiring.

Machine Room – Overall machine room condition for escalators A09X02, 03, and 04 will be addressed in an overview of this station.

General Observations Summary A09X021. The cleanliness of the unit was poor. 2. The adjustment and operation of the switches and equipment was poor. 3. The lubrication condition of the unit was fair.

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Unit Photos

Water issue below photo’s 2,3 indicate the hazards

Water level measures 3” below the disconnects

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Rubber mats used to deflect water

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Escalator Audit



Skirts and Balustrade Panels – The escalator skirt panels show minor damage at several locations along the rise from step scraping. Metal shavings from the skirt panels are prevalent on the step tracks at those areas. The skirt gaps at those places along the rise, other than as noted previously, are within tolerances and vary from 1/8” to 3/16”. The balustrade panels are adjusted within tolerances with acceptable minimal gap clearances. Minor damage normally associated with mass transit environs exist but none requiring panel replacement.


Handrails and Handrail Drive Units – The handrails show minimal wear and are acceptable for continued use. The drive unit and chains are acceptably adjusted. Hand rail newel areas have accumulated shavings from chipped newels created by bottomed out newel rollers. These rollers are in need of adjustment or replacement. The top right hand newel has been replaced with a newel roller chain unit.

Drive Units (6), Drive Sprockets, and Poly Chains – The drive sprockets, drive chains, and poly chains are well lubricated, but have a minor accumulation of old dry lubricant. Examination of the wear patterns on the drive sprockets, drive, and poly chains show no unusual wear or damage indicating good alignment and tension of the equipment. The drive units show no signs of oil leakage at seals. No unusual noise or vibration was noted.



Safety Switches – A random visual inspection of the safety switches was performed. Multiple switches were manually activated and electrical operation verified. Of the switches checked,

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several required multiple manual attempts to activate and were out of adjustment. Those switches were cleaned and adjusted.



General Observations Summary A09X031. The cleanliness of the unit was poor. 2. The adjustment and operation of the switches and equipment was fair. 3. The lubrication condition of the unit was fair.

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Unit Photos



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Escalator Audit



Skirts and Balustrade Panels – The escalator skirt panels show minor damage at several locations along the rise from step scraping. A section on the left-hand-side at the mid-rise area of the unit is exceptionally tight and damaging the skirt more than minimally. Metal shavings from the skirt panels are prevalent on the step tracks at those areas. The skirt gaps at those places along the rise, other than as noted previously, are within tolerances and vary from 1/8” to 3/16”. The balustrade panels are adjusted within tolerances with acceptable minimal gap clearances. Minor damage normally associated with mass transit environs exist, but none requiring panel replacement.


Handrails and Handrail Drive Units – The handrails show minimal wear and are acceptable for continued use. The drive unit and chains are acceptably adjusted. Hand rail newel areas have accumulated shavings from chipped newels created by bottomed out newel rollers. These rollers are in need of adjustment or replacement.

Drive Units (6), Drive Sprockets, and Poly Chains – The drive sprockets, drive chains, and poly chains are well lubricated but have a minor accumulation of old dry lubricant. Examination of the wear patterns on the drive sprockets, drive, and poly chains show no unusual wear or damage indicating good alignment and tension of the equipment. The drive units show no signs of oil leakage at seals. No unusual noise or vibration was noted.



Safety Switches – A random visual inspection of the safety switches was performed. Multiple switches were manually activated and electrical operation verified. Of the switches checked,

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several required multiple manual attempts to activate and were out of adjustment. Those switches were cleaned and adjusted.



General Observations Summary A09X041. The cleanliness of the unit was poor. 2. The adjustment and operation of the switches and equipment was fair. 3. The lubrication condition of the unit was fair.

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Unit Photos



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Assessment of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance &...

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