“I am satisfied with the new elevator, which is much more spacious and brighter. The new elevator is so much better and, most importantly, I cannot hear the sounds of it.” In 45 Prancuzu Street, Kaunas, residents of an apartment block were experiencing intermittent elevator outages. Some of the faults in the elevator were critical and the following defects were noted during the annual inspection – worn out elevator cabin and counterweight slides, reductor worm gears were approaching critical limits, burnt relay contacts in the control cabinet, worn out mechanical and electrical interlocks for the elevator cabin doors, worn out cabin door opener and guiding handlines. Most passenger elevators in Lithuania were installed more than 30 years ago. Today, lifts are worn out, outdated and technically unfit to meet today’s quality standards and strict safety requirements. In many cases, spare parts are no longer available for elevators, so they are frequently breaking down, they are noisy, consume a lot of electricity, and do not meet aesthetic needs. Old elevators also have high maintenance costs, with repairs for common faults costing from several hundred to several thousand euros, and in this case the cost of repairing the elevator was estimated at €14 000. It is important to consider the fact that an elevator is a potentially dangerous machine, therefore it is a must to take the necessary steps in time to ensure its proper operation. Each elevator consists of several interconnected mechanical components that have a limited lifetime. When an elevator reaches the end of its service life, its reliability declines dramatically. This elevator has been in service for more than 39 years, whereas the expected service life at the time of manufacturing was set at 25 years. When the elevator components reach the end of their service life, the reliability of the lift decreases dramatically. Due to the defects in the elevator at 45 Prancuzu Street in Kaunas, a meeting was urgently organised with the residents of the building to inform them about the state of the elevator. During the meeting which was attended by the majority of the building’s residents, the apartment block manager Paulius highlighted the threats posed by the elevator and suggested replacing it with a new one. Together with the residents of the building, it was agreed to organise a voting on the replacement of the elevator. After the voting, the planned replacement works were approved by most residents. The work to replace the elevator took up to 2 months. The residents are now enjoying a new, well-functioning, clean and quiet elevator, and the replacement of the elevator has also contributed to an increase in the value of the property. “I am satisfied with the new elevator, which is much more spacious and brighter. The old elevator was unsettling, I felt like I was in a cell which was dark, dirty and you could not even see the numbers on floor buttons. I have been stuck in the old elevator five times, and the sounds of the elevator could be heard through the walls of my apartment. The new elevator is so much better and, most importantly, I cannot hear the sounds of it” – a resident shares her impressions. “I am satisfied with the new elevator, which is much more spacious and brighter. The old elevator was unsettling, I felt like I was in a cell which was dark, dirty and you could not even see the numbers on floor buttons. I have been stuck in the old elevator five times, and the sounds of the elevator could be heard through the walls of my apartment. The new elevator is so much better and, most importantly, I cannot hear the sounds of it”. Client of residential building
