February 2012
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The New Elevator Testing Procedures: Cooperation, Communication Prove to be Key

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"Cooperate as a team from the start, communicate often and plan carefully and thoroughly with all your key partners."

That was the advice offered by our panel of experts at the BOMA/NY January 12th seminar "How will NYC’s New Elevator Inspection Requirements Affect You?", which prepared building managers and their teams for the regulations that went into effect Jan. 1, 2012.

Seminar content provided "valuable and practical information on how to deal with the new codes effectively and avoid unnecessary violations and disruption to service," said Ronald Zeccardi, BOMA/NY Secretary and Director of Property Management at Cogswell Realty LLC.  Moderator Morris Wiesenberg, RPA of RFR Realty Inc. seconded that statement, adding that the seminar’s timeliness was important, in light of expected "intensified" efforts by the Department of Buildings Elevator Division.

The panelists represented more than 135-plus years of collective experience in property management and elevator services, ranging from design and service, to maintenance and manufacturing. Featured were: Robert Cuzzi, Executive Vice President/Principal of vda; Bob Delaney, District Manager of Schindler Elevator; MarkGregorio, President of Transel Elevator, Inc.; Nicholas Montesano, President of DTM Elevator Consulting and Draft Services;  Steven Spampinato, a partner at BOCA Group and Ronald Zeccardi, Director of Property Management at Cogswell Realty LLC. 

With owners facing civil penalties of up to $5,000 per elevator for failing to comply with the new requirements, known as Rule 103-02, panelists gave attendees a thorough review of the rule’s parameters—from the definition of approved inspection agency, to deadlines, filing penalties, all requirements for inspections and testing, reports and filing, correction of defects and overall civil penalties.Steve Spaminato, Robert Cuzzi and Nicholas Montesano walked attendees through the myriad of details contained within the regulations, testing, timeframes, filing requirements, retroactive provisions and more.

To meet these requirements, or make them "a non-event", to borrow Bob Delaney’s term, building teams would be well advised to do the following.

• Plan carefully prior to the test, to obtain the best results; but, remember that managing the deficiencies is equally important. In particular, advised Mark Gregorio, 1) obtain a copy of the test report within five business days of the actual, physical test; 2) obtain any required proposals from your contractor within five days of the report being distributed and 3) after receiving your contractor’s proposal, authorize work that may be outside the contract within five days. "Expeditiously completing this process will result in timely filing of compliance documents," he states.

• Schindler’s Bob Delaney advised on the full range of steps to take before, during and after performing the mandated test, and recommended strongly that the building team should "communicate often with all parties involved." That means communication prior to, during, and at the completion of the test.

He also outlined what to do when deficiencies are found and how to avoid fines if those deficiencies are not "cured in a timely manner." Working in concert will result in deadlines being met and the risk of fines being mitigated, he stated. Using a typical scenario of teams working together to rectify deficiencies, he demonstrated how such teamwork could defer fines and save 21 days of labor and $150 per month per elevator unit.

Above all, the panel recommended that teams work in cooperation with all interested parties—from consultants to service companies. Cooperation and partnership should be the watchwords of this regulation compliance, just as they lie at the heart of all professional property management.