Click Here to download ERS-2009-01-28 #145

There are two really good articles worthy of printing out this week. One involves the OSHA findings in an elevator technician’s death and the other talks about a lawsuit in which only the owner of the elevators was sued and no one else. I’ll share my comments about it during the show and invite you to share yours as well. We’re also going to be giving away a Maxtor external backup drive compliments of ElevatorBob.com.

Thanks to the following companies who have donated goodies to the prize pack giveaway. Have  Fujitec America, GAL, The National Association of Elevator Contractors, The National Association of Elevator Safety Authorities, The Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation, COMPANY SRL, Peelle, C.J. Anderson, Truxes, EMS Group, Elevator Bob’s Elevator Pictures, Minnesota Elevator, Inc, The ElevatorNetwork, Elevator Gear & The Elevator Shack Forums.

Calendar Of Events
NAESA Calendar
NAEC Calendar
NAVTP Calendar
EIG SC Calendar
CEA Calendar
EAF Calendar
ECNY Calendar
CECA Calendar
EESF Calendar 
Elevator U Calendar
MESA Calendar 
NCEIG Calendar 

News Links:
Chicago Elevator Code Update Seminar – .8 CEU’s NEXT Thursday-Register Today
County Plans to Revamp Elevator at Courthouse
McCarthy “Heart Hats” Build New Elevator
Broken Elevator Ends Police Search
Howie Mandel In Hospital, Okay After Collapse In Elevator
Airport Escalators to Get Upgrades
Campus School Renovation Moving Ahead
Michael Laine’s Short Lift Port History – Space Elevator Stuff
Space Elevator, A Geeks Perspective – Posted By Yours Truly 
Schindler Elevator Axes 25 Percent of its Workforce (80)
Escalator Etiquette In Boston
Brownout Traps Makati City Hall Employees In Elevator
Residents Decry Tower’s Faulty Elevators
Troublesome Elevators Will Stay In Service
The Express Elevator To Lawsuit Hell
The Escalator & Elevator Consulting Firm BTA Launches New Website
Chorus Members Stuck In Elevator When Motor Burns Out
Elevator Shaft Smoke Triggers Alarm 
Worldwide Company Stays in Lucas County
Transit Police Officer Injured On Escalator
Ascension Academy Students Take Over Chase Building Elevator
Gearless AC Elevator Motor Idea for MRL App’s
Company Fined In Construction Death – Print For Your Next Safety Meeting
Stink Seeps Into City Hall
Malpractice Blog
OSU Sued In ’06 Elevator Fatality – Interesting, only OSU named in suit
Problems With Accessibility at Cornell
Metro Sours Past Ridership Records On Inauguration Day
13 Trapped In High Court Elevator
UTC Q4 Profit Up & Confirms FY09 Earnings Forecast
Can We Go Greener by Turning Off the Escalator? 
A Robotic Bartender You Can Build – Has Beer Elevator!

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I went on a rant on the show today regarding a company press release talking all about its new wireless communication system that can be used on elevators. This system in essence would minimize or eliminate wires all together and save the elevator installer or building owner a lot of money in not having to purchase expesnive wire and traveling cable.  (click on picture for full article story)

While I don’t doubt the claim of cost savings when cables are elliminated I do question the viability of the product in our industry.  I have serious concerns about the following;

• EMI or Electro Magnetic Interference 
• Noise Within The System
• Fail Safe Operation – Or Failure Monitoring
• Code Compliancy
• Product Longevity and Replaceability
• Troubleshooting

Don’t get me wrong I LOVE wireless technology, except for my garage door opener that makes me get out of the car each night and walk up to the door pressing the button on my remote as hard as I can until it opens.  The future of the internet I believe lies in the WIFI networks that are slowly poping up in cities accross the US. 

I am also concerned that companies put these kinds of press releases out looking for a company to come in and develop it so that it is a working product. I would think that more research might have been done other than looking at industries where lots of money is spent on wires and wiring.  I failed to read about any current installations or testing sites that are being worked on and I doubht that here in the states this technology would ever be allowed.

Perhaps I’m wrong and some day will be eating my words. Call me an old timer but wires to me are easier to trouble shoot!  Do you see wireless technology coming to the Elevator Industry beyond cameras? Only time will tell.

 Original Wireless Article Link

Click Here to download ERS-2009-01-21 #144 

It’s great to be back everyone after yet another week off.  What a week it’s been, a total SNAFU when it came to electronics here in my life last week, I’ll share more about it on the show.  With the inauguration of President Obama yesterday, let’s hope that our government officials work together to tackle the tough issues that we face as a nation and globally.

In any case, we do have a packed show today. Next week we’re giving away a Maxtor back up drive so you too don’t experience the same nightmare that I went through. Sign up for the e-newsletter to become eligible to win! (Pictured: Have an extra $34.5 million laying around? A glass elevator in the middle of the building showcases this home)

Calendar Of Events
NAESA Calendar
NAEC Calendar
NAVTP Calendar
EIG SC Calendar
CEA Calendar
EAF Calendar
ECNY Calendar
CECA Calendar
EESF Calendar 
Elevator U Calendar
MESA Calendar 
NCEIG Calendar 

News Links:
Women’s Self Defense In Elevator Advice
Recurring Elevator Nightmare – Cool Photographs
Elevator Modernization “Work by Others” Explained
Building’s Elevator Problems a Real Downer
Elevator Company Launches New Lift Which Arrives Quicker – This is a spoof…a funny spoof!
Going Green Easier Than You Think
Kid’s Ride High On Lift Accidents List
Power Outage Traps Woman In Elevator 
More Ways To Annoy People In Elevator
Safety At Shopping Malls 
After 44 Years of Up and Down, Elevator Operator Moves On 
Elevator Company Opens Jacksonville Office
Cold Case: Smithsonian Curator Was Shot In His Elevator 1980
Family Looks To Buy Elevator For Growing Boy
Getting Into Space By Broomstick
Wireless Elevators, Are They In Our Future?
Elevators in Oklahoma, Accidents Waiting To Happen?
Snowmass Looking For Better Accessibility From Bus Depot To Village Base
Funny Elevator Pranks 
Tenants Upset After Ride With Coffin 
Project of the Year Awarded to KONE
Helicopter To Lift New Elevator Equipment
Glass Elevator Highlights $34.5 Million Dollar Home 
Need For Elevator at Train Station Uproots NB Flower Shop
Patients In Hospital Lift Ordeal
Man Attacked In Apartment Building
How Do Elevators Work?
Newseum: DC’s Largest Passenger Elevator
Interview With Women Trapped In Elevator With Armed Man
CN Tower Visitors In Terrifying Elevator Ride 17 Trapped for 4 Hours
Mechanical Design Engineer Wanted 
Board Hears About Damage To School Building 
Two Explosions Rock Grain Silo
Fractured Family Seeks Sense of Hope
Dark Days For Michigan Avenue Mall

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Last Thursday my computer finally passed away. The company that handles all of our computers here at work has done a phenomenal job and getting a new machine for me which arrived yesterday and recovering some of the files I had on my hard drive that I forgot to save to our server.  

I spent all day yesterday 8+ hours looking for, loading and getting updates for all my computer programs which was the real reason why I never wanted to upgraded my machine in the first place. My hopes that I’d have everything back to normal by lunch time yesterday so that I could put out a show today were dashed when it was 5:00 pm and I was having problems loading the program that hunts all my news articles for the show.

I apologize but there is no show today due to technical difficulties. We’ll be back next week everyone. Make a backup of your files today everyone. I’m giving away a plug and play backup drive as part of January’s prize pack giveaway, compliments of www.elevatorbob.com. Sign up for our e-newsletter to be eligible to win.

Have a great rest of the week everyone. Stay warm and be careful driving in the snow.

My Computer 1996-2009 Rest in Peace my electronic companion!

One of the things I’m going to start doing on the website is blogging on things that are happening either in our industry or things that happen during my day that I find funny. It won’t be an everyday kind of thing but I hope to bring you thoughts that sometimes I forget to talk about during the podcast on Wednesday which happens every week. 

So in addition to the podcast that’s put out weekly I’m going to publish short posts as often as possible that I hope keep you coming back to the website more than once a week. So far there are no such bloggers in our industry doing this. I hope that more of you will consider blogging about your experiences in what could potentially become a large network of bloggers who write about their experiences.

I hope you enjoy them and I encourage your comments and feedback.

Click Here to download ERS-2009-01-07 #143

The first show of 2009 everyone and it’s going to be a good one. I hope everyone has recuperated from the holidays. I could use a vacation, preferably some where warm. We’re just over ten days into winter at it seems like it’s going to be a long one. Those of you in warmer climates, enjoy your above freezing temperatures! Today we’ll chat a bit about the calendar of events through out the country and talk about a great educational opportunity that’s happening right here in Chicago on February 5th!

Calendar Of Events
NAESA Calendar
NAEC Calendar
NAVTP Calendar
EIG SC Calendar
CEA Calendar
EAF Calendar
ECNY Calendar
CECA Calendar
EESF Calendar 
Elevator U Calendar
MESA Calendar 
NCEIG Calendar 

Listener and Money Saving Links:
ElevatorForum.com – Have you checked it out yet?
Small Houses – Cost Less
Credit Card Debt Saying No To Credit – Some Good Obvious Advice
2009 Personal Budget Goals - Start The New Year Out Right

News Links:
ElevatorBob’s Elevator Pictures Goes Over 5,000! Now that’s a lot of photos!
Harley Davidson Chief to Step Down Next Year - Guess What His First Job Was?
No Moonlighting for City Elevator Employees
Council Makes More Budget Cuts
Access To Building Questioned After Police Officer Injured
SL Man Accused of Threatening With A Toy Gun
Elevator Pitch Company Vator.tv Adds Micro-Blogging
Schindler Achieves ISO 14001:2004 Recertification
More Cherry Investigations Under Way
Elevator Conversations
Dan Kliman Elevator Update – Repair Man on Record
ASK: Elevator Inspections A Must
Valley View Students Sent Home Due To Odor
Elevator Needed
Protesters Wreak Havoc at SF Mall
Vietnam To Export Elevators To Middle East
Web Portal Sina Looks to Grow Offline Ads
No Light At The End Of This Tunnel
Salt Lake High Rise Without Elevator Service
Schindler Extends Buy Back Program
11 Year Old Stuck In Elevator For An Hour
Elevator Reaches Its End
New Space Elevator Consortium ISEC Formed
NC Store Emptied After Bullet Goes Off
Indianapolis Man Recovers From Fall In Elevator Shaft
Government Center Elevator Cost Rising
Elevator Mechanic Warned of Elevator Malfunctions in Projects
When Apartment Building Elevators Break Down It’s Elderly & Frail Who Suffer Most
Amarillo Elevator Fire At Hotel
Plenware Develops New Elevator Monitoring System
Scary Ride on QEH Lift
1916 Otis Elevator To Be Restored

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