Elevator Technicians
Overview
Elevator technicians install, maintain, and repair elevators, escalators, and moving walkways in buildings everywhere. They read blueprints, assemble complex mechanical systems, work with electrical wiring and control panels, and use both hand tools and high-tech diagnostic equipment. This job requires strong problem-solving skills, attention to safety details, and often involves working in teams to ensure these essential transportation systems run smoothly. Many technicians complete apprenticeship programs that combine classroom learning with hands-on experience.
Did you know?
Most states require elevator technicians to obtain specific licenses and certifications, which involve completing apprenticeships or technical training programs and passing examinations.
At a Glance
Median Wage
$106,586.49 Avg/yr
Growth
Fast Growing
Top Skill
Reading Comprehension
Key Responsibilities
- Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment.
- Read and interpret blueprints to determine the layout of system components, frameworks, and foundations, and to select installation equipment.
- Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters.
- Connect electrical wiring to control panels and electric motors.
- Participate in additional training to keep skills up to date.
- Attach guide shoes and rollers to minimize the lateral motion of cars as they travel through shafts.
- Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
- Connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables.
- Bolt or weld steel rails to the walls of shafts to guide elevators, working from scaffolding or platforms.
- Maintain log books that detail all repairs and checks performed.
- Cut prefabricated sections of framework, rails, and other components to specified dimensions.
- Test newly installed equipment to ensure that it meets specifications, such as stopping at floors for set amounts of time.
- Install outer doors and door frames at elevator entrances on each floor of a structure.
- Operate elevators to determine power demands, and test power consumption to detect overload factors.
- Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings.
- Assemble electrically powered stairs, steel frameworks, and tracks, and install associated motors and electrical wiring.
- Install electrical wires and controls by attaching conduit along shaft walls from floor to floor and pulling plastic-covered wires through the conduit.
- Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
- Assemble elevator cars, installing each car's platform, walls, and doors.
- Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
Career Considerations
State Licensing and Certification Requirements
Most states require elevator technicians to obtain specific licenses and certifications, which involve completing apprenticeships or technical training programs and passing examinations.
Physical Demands and Safety Risks
The job involves working in confined spaces, at heights, and with heavy machinery, requiring good physical condition and strict adherence to safety protocols.
Union Membership Benefits
Many elevator technicians belong to unions like the International Union of Elevator Constructors, which provides better wages, benefits, and job security.