Blog Post

How Hiring a Lift Consultant Saves Money

Tim Steenkamp • Jul 22, 2019
My business partner and I recently participated in a strata industry owner’s event where we enjoyed fielding lots of interesting questions, but there was one question, in particular, that stood out.

“How much does it cost to hire a lift consultant?”

Too often, the concepts of costs and investments are confused. Sure, you need to consider the costs of engaging a lift consultant, but it’s also worthwhile knowing that as a general rule, the consultant will save the strata plan money – and usually within a fairly short time frame. 

Here’s how:
1. Reduced service costs
Lift service agreements automatically escalate annually. If your contract has been in place more than three years, chances are it is now above the current market price. By leveraging their relationships with the lift companies, consultants can negotiate better rates and better terms. They can generally reduce annual costs significantly, and often by more than 50%.

2. Improved preventive maintenance impacting lift safety and reliability
Lifts are designed “fail safe” but if yours breaks down more than a few times a year the maintenance is not up to scratch. Consultants provide service audits to identify what needs fixing and use their influence to make sure the lift company replaces worn or faulty components at their cost, as per their service contract.

3. Saving your time and client dissatisfaction
An old or faulty lift generates heaps of phone calls and exhausting email trails. If a lift needs fixing, upgrading or replacing, your consultant takes the burden off you by communicating directly with the Strata Committee, specifying what needs to be done, organising tenders then supervising the work.

4. Enhancing Property Value
A shabby and unreliable lift drags down the property’s value and can be a high safety risk too. A professional assessment of your lift will reveal if proper preventative maintenance is getting done or if an upgrade may be necessary. Rule of thumb, property value improves 2 x per dollar invested in the lift.  

Conclusion

 Lift consultants add value and save money - so engaging one is usually a pretty good investment.
People with masks on in public
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The idea may appeal to the yogis among us, but no one wants to be trapped in a pitch-dark lift with no light or emergency phone. The chances of this happening to you are not as remote as you may think. As lift consultants, more than 20% of lifts we inspect have no emergency light and/or phone that works when the mains power goes down, this despite it being legally required and a critical safety feature too! To add to this, your lift emergency phone connection will need to change ahead of the NBN arriving in your building. The worrying truth about your lift phone(s) ahead of NBN Roll-out. Most lift phones aren’t compatible with the NBN, so new Australian guidelines recommend that building owners install a dual path communication system when Telstra disconnect your existing lift emergency phone lines. Sensing the business opportunity, phone companies and some major lift companies have come up with solutions along with their sales pitch and marketing jargon. Navigating through all this can be confusing and may not result in the best, safest or most cost effective option getting selected for your particular situation. In most cases, the safest and simplest solution is a dual sim, dual modem 3G wireless device which simply replaces your old phone line connection. These devices can be supplied either by a phone company or your lift company. Be wary if you are offered more than this and bear in mind some of the suppliers’ will use proprietary technology, meaning you will have issues when you need to upgrade (4G will replace 3G in a few years) or if you decide to change your service provider down the track. We have come across certain situations were a more complex solution is appropriate, for example, where mobile signal strength is poor or the layout of the lifts within a building is unusual. In most cases, the dual sim, dual modem 3G wireless device is all you’ll need. For more information contact us for an obligation free chat.
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The reason? ... Current lift emergency phone technology will be made redundant with the new NBN services, and lift owners will need to invest in new wireless technology and services to remain compliant
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