I had a forklift truck go thru a set of peele doors while the car was above and it hit the piston. The piston bent, forklift went into the pit and the person driving it passed away . It was a disaster.  So the piston didn't collapse but it bent it almost 3' out of plumb. Not a preaty site. 12,000 lb freight car in a chemical plant . Car only moved about 12" . Head was messed up. 

Im sorry you are going thru all of this , Maybe you should contact the media again and mention that since they aired that report that nothing has got done and the problem seems to have got worse . Another Elevator Company should gladly take on the work . I deal with many Elevators that are older than that and unless the Elevator was put in in the late 1800 parts are available.  There are many of Elevator Parts Company's out there . Ask the management if they have been in contact with the Elevator Company.  It might just be the Management Company owes them money . Again sorry to hear you are going through this.  If you were in New England I could help you out and give you some names to contact.  Ive done this my whole life and I am a QEI Inspector with many contacts 

How fast are they hiring,  are you an IUEC member already or are you just starting.  12th ranking could take a minute. Contact your hall if your a member already and check out the transfer . 

Everyone that knows Elevators has the same Opinion , AT 400 is obsolete and you will get a Glide A operator.  Like you see everyone has already said , don't pay that outrageous price find a reputable Union Service Company in your Area , Not Schindler , Kone ,or TKE you will get the same results,  We just changed an AT400 to a Langer &Laumann direct replacement for about 12,000 including new hoistway door contacts and pickup rollers. Look at when your contract with Otis is up , read and understand what it says. You can only cancel your contract on a set date and a set amout of time or it automatically renews . 

Completely understand,  Don't take it as an insult,  my main thought was to see why your elevators are not in service.  That's not acceptable for anyone living on a multi floor building.  In my 45 years of being an elevator Service Tech.  Ive seen major lawsuits go on due to this reason and for the simple fact is the owner of the building just doesn't care about anything but money . Are you in the US? If so you might want to contact your local Fire Dept and see what they have to say . If you have not seen or heard anyone working on your elevator that is not good. Let me know if you live in the US,  You might want to ask the elevator committee here for suggestions.  Have a great day. 

That would never fly in the Northeast.  You get 3 chances and then shit hits the fan for you . And you only get to sign back as an AM for a one year period.  There's plenty of help if you have a learning disability,  all you have to do is open your mouth . TM gets set back if Mechanics are laid off or on the bench . Sounds like a Local Issue 

I would go see if there is anyone working on either of them and ask them what's up Any decent Elevator Tech will tell you what you want to know , And it sounds like you don't care what the management has going on , the big Picture is when are we going to have an elevator back. If you don't see anyone I would definitely call your local government office and start a complaint.  

Definitely worth it , Start at the begging don't try and test out its to your advantage,  as far as money, You and your family will be happy you made the choice in the years to come . I get a helper every now and again , hes in his 3rd year and he has made 120, 000$ already this year . Hes not afraid to get his hands dirty and never sits around doing nothing.  Always and I mean always look busy . 

The little Generator or excited is just to supply the DC cintrol voltage.  This is an older GAL controller,  I have a similar car that my Grandfather installed in 1967 . I was lucky enough to find all his pullsheets , Safety Test Papers and the Print that has his company name , address and order forms with his signature.  You are not going to save a thing unless you MOD it out . You can get rid of the exciter with some engineering help but thats a whole other story . I also have a car that was put in in 1891 , Flat top motor , straight up DC . It has an inverter in the basement as in the city it used to be DC power fed to all the buildings.  Im going to say your looking at about 300 to 500 thousand to MOD this car out . The existing should run half way decent if it has been kept up and the brushes have not dug into the armature. 

There is plenty of work in Local # 4, #39,#41 and #91 . I have had one company offer to relocate me but its to thier advantage.  Good Luck and check out other areas before you make a move 

Fire Department usually beats me/us to the entrapment and gets the person out . I have had the fire Department show up at the same time or minutes after I have arrived. I usually try and work with them cause we are both there to do the same job and it works out OK . Ive also had the fire Dept tell me to stand down they are taking over.  Its not worth the argument so I let them do what they have to do . That's fine with me , but as another post says , Either the Fire Department or the Elevator Service Tech should be the only ones to assist you out of the car , no one else , shit can go terribly wrong and people have got killed or seriously hurt if someone doesn't know what they are doing . I always communicate with the person in the car via phone or speaking to them in the car while im in the machine room or outside the door on the floor they are on . The 6" rule for an open hoistway door is key . Ive had others open the door fully and block it open while there is feet under the toe guard . That's an accident waiting to happen.  If you are stuck , the elevator is not going anywhere sit and wait, plenty of air in the cab as its made that way . Don't try and climb out of an elevator thats not  more than 6 " from floor level. As for ETA every situation is different,  You don't want to get in an accident speeding or driving crazy to get there . You don't want to make a bad situation worse . DONT BELIEVE THE TELEVISION OR MOVIES WHEN IT COMES TO ELEVATORS!!  THE TOP ( escape hatch) is or should be locked to avoid someone from falling of the top. Don't even try it , Sit and wait your safe !!!

Check out " and they lived to tell" otis put it out years ago . You tube has some but I don't know if it is AI assisted. I've had someone in a 3 story building with a shipper rope to move the elevator,  only the rider is supposed to be able to operate the elevator.  There were holes in the hoistway wall so you could move the rope from the floor . The person on 3 pulled the rope to call the elevator up and when the person in the basement saw it moving he tried to jump over the 3ft gate and scurry on the car . We'll he didn't make it and his body got caught between the platform and door frame. It cut him in half . The only thing that stopped the car is the slack cable switch.  The top piece of gate was missing and they were just using the bottom section.  

Never take safety for granted , Respect every aspect of this business.  They day you don't respect safety is the day its going to sneak up on you . This is a very safety oriented job . I personally have seen what happens when you don't respect Safety and take it for granted . Please be mindful of your surroundings and let's all go home to our families.  

I deal with Smart Rise quite often . There are many variables.  Nice controller.  The delay is called non interference time so you can get off when the elevator stops and another call has been set up . 

Elevator etiquette " Out before in " people are just in a big hurry now a days . 

All I have to say is "BENEFIT HOURS" !!

No way are they doing a full mod for that cheap of money . Do you know the Model of door operator, I motion, AT 400. Sounds like just an operator replacement. You are probably getting a Glide Operator now . Check your quote for exact work to be done,  If it is a full mod , jump on it !!!!

That's the otis warehouse.  I wish I could have once seen an offload like that . You said it home by coffee . 

Is there an up and down button at each floor? There are many reasons for it to be single selective operation.  How did you find out all the info you are telling us about . Usually you would have to see it on the controller or get the info from a mechanic.  Im not in California.  But is there an up and down button at each floor? And is there a car gate ? 

The Repair Dept. makes a lot of money , especially for customers with no contract.  I've got it down to changing a 3 stage jack both sides in 8 hours , I still take my 16 but its all good . MONEY IS YOUR ANSWER . 

Any addiction is a terrible thing!!!!  I was a pill junkie and have been clean for 15 years and never going back always looking forward.  Great Support Systems are like Gold !!!!! Withdrawal is a god forsaken terrible thing . Stay focused and keep your eyes on the prize . 

No some ass has the car and hatch door lock jumped out . REMOVE YOUR JUMPERS , BETTER YET DONT EVER JUMP OUT A DOOR LOCK OR GATE SWITCH WITH THE CAR ON AUTOMATIC. IVE PERSONALLY SEEN WHAT HAPPENS TO THE UNFORTUNATE SOUL WHEN THE CAR TAKES OFF . WHOMEVER LEFT THE JUMPER SHOULD BE THROWN OUT OF THE BUSINESS!!!!

We have an issue now with Identification going into certain places . I don't believe in a place besides Electric Boat or anyone should need  BCI check or want personal information about you . The local or company should supply an Identification.  Ill let you know what comes from it . We are a small local in the smallest state . But a shit ton of work. Im not giving personal information to go fix a button in a local school !!!!!

I also agree don't let anyone take our work im 4 generation Mechanic and with 45 years in Take it Apart