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Agreement on plan to resolve lift issues
05/09/05
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board and Associated Lifts have agreed on a plan to resolve the commissioning issues surrounding Tauranga Hospital's Clarke St lift.
Associated Lifts managing director Mike Scholefield acknowledges problems have arisen during the commissioning period, but says these are not unusual given the high usage of the lift, and they can be easily resolved. He also refutes allegations made in the Bay of Plenty Times about safeness and reliability of the lift.
"It is not unreliable, it is not dangerous and it does not stop all the time," he says. "That it totally incorrect."
The lift opened in early August. Since then, it has overheated on one occasion and the button used to close the lift doors has jammed several times. There was also one occurrence of the cable stretching, but Mr Scholefield says this is not uncommon after lifts are installed.
On each occasion when the lift has stopped working, it has gently released to the car park level within seconds. The doors then opened and remain opened.
Mr Scholefield says problems identified during the commissioning period should be seen in the context of the number of journeys the lift has made since it opened. Over a 21-day period it made 18,000 trips and during this period the door opened and closed more than 37,000 times.
Mr Scholefield says overheating is being temporarily solved by the installation of a fan, which was fitted last week in the lift motor. The company in St Sebastian, Spain which manufactured the lift has been asked to provide a design for an oil cooler. This will take up to two months to be manufactured, delivered and installed.
Meanwhile, lift maintenance will be increased to weekly during the commissioning period. This will change to once a fortnight after the oil cooler has been installed and the lift's performance will be monitored regularly after that.
Mr Scholefield says educating people not to repeatedly press the button to get the doors to close more quickly will prevent the switch malfunctioning.
Notices have placed outside the lift reminding people of this and advising them that it functions in a different manner to an electric lift. Labels are also being made to go above the lift buttons. Options for a more robust switch are being investigated.
Mr Scholefield says the New Zealand national average for lift breakdowns is four breakdowns per lift per annum. Most of the lifts in the Bay of Plenty installed by Associated Lifts have a stoppage rate of half that.
"If you take away the button problem we had two stoppages last month," Mr Scholefield says. "One incident was when the rope stretched - which is part of the settling in period - and occurred the day before our maintenance check.
"Everything in the lift is very robust and strong. The hydraulics are made by one of the two major hydraulic companies in the world and the doors are made by the largest lift door manufacturer in the world, and they make 300,000 doors a year. The control is good, the maintenance is good. Once we are on top of the cooling issue, I don't expect any problems.
Mr Scholefield says he does not believe the BOPDHB made a mistake in selecting the lift for the car park.
"To put another sort of lift in would cost a lot more money, and would achieve the same result - to transport people from the carpark to the hospital, and back down again. I have never suggested there should be more than one lift built."
Project LEO director James Crawford says the BOPDHB is confident that Associated Lifts will successfully resolve any commissioning issues.
Stairs in the lift structure open this week. Mr Crawford says plans to install vertical railings on the stairs have been in place for some time. Contractors have been installing the railings over the past four weeks and there was a period of design and manufacture prior to this.
He says the figure of $32,000 to install vertical rails is incorrect. This work is expected to cost around $12,000.
The BOPDHB plans to add safety glass to the stairwell, which will also provide protection from rain and wind. Adding safety glass is "over and above" what is required by the building act, Mr Crawford says. Safety glass from the hospital's old front entry canopy will be recycled and used on the stairwell.