Is the Maintenance of Your Company's Freight Elevator Up to Date?

The maintenance of a freight elevator is one of the fundamental aspects to ensure safety in the workplace.

Due to constant use and the transportation of heavy loads, the equipment may suffer damage that, over time, can turn into more serious problems, potentially compromising worker safety.

Types of maintenance for freight elevators

The freight elevator is mainly used for transporting heavier loads. Its capacity can range from 200 to 25,000 kilograms or even more, depending on requirements.

On the market, there are hydraulic models or counterweight-operated systems. Generally, they operate with at least three independent steel traction cables and can travel up to 60 metres. All of this depends on each client’s project, which can vary greatly.

Considering these characteristics, it is clear that the equipment requires maintenance measures to assess its proper functioning, especially when it is designed to transport both loads and people.

Therefore, there are two types of maintenance that can be applied to freight elevators:

Preventive maintenance
" class="tx-size-26-force cor-azul-brilho mg-t-30-force tx-normal" id="span-stylefont-size-24pxpreventive-maintenancespanbr-classapple-interchange-newline">Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance is carried out at regular intervals and aims to assess the condition of the elevator and its functionalities.

As a preventive measure, this type of maintenance is essential to avoid more serious failures or defects.

It is worth noting that working with preventive maintenance can generate savings for the operation, as replacing basic components is usually cheaper than waiting for critical failures to develop, increasing risks to the equipment’s integrity and potentially damaging more important and costly components.

Another key point is that preventive maintenance helps avoid unwanted equipment downtime during production hours. As it is a scheduled activity, preventive maintenance can be carried out during planned shutdowns or at times of lower production impact.

Corrective maintenance" class="tx-size-26-force cor-azul-brilho mg-t-30-force tx-normal" id="span-stylefont-size-24pxcorrective-maintenancespan">Corrective maintenance

Despite the importance of preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance is the most common type. It is performed only after the freight elevator presents some kind of non-compliance, failure or unexpected shutdown.

Although effective, relying solely on corrective maintenance may lead to higher repair costs and can compromise worker safety.

Another issue is equipment downtime, which may occur during working hours, directly reducing productivity.

The importance of preventive maintenance for freight elevators

Like any equipment, freight elevators should undergo preventive maintenance.

In addition to contributing to productivity, preventive actions ensure a safer working environment with reduced accident risks.

Preventive maintenance for freight elevators must be carried out by an experienced company. It will provide a qualified professional to perform a complete inspection and correct potential failure points before they evolve into major issues.

During preventive maintenance, the responsible technician should perform the following activities:

• Evaluation of freight elevator functionalities.

• Cleaning of components.

• Lubrication of the mechanical system.

• Checking of parts and their operation.

• Repair and replacement of defective or worn components.

• Among others.

Preventive maintenance actions ensure not only an extended service life for the freight elevator, but also the correction of mechanical and electrical failures that may cause serious accidents.

Benefits of keeping freight elevator maintenance up to date

Keeping freight elevator maintenance up to date, especially preventive maintenance, ensures several operational benefits.

It is important to remember that freight elevators are key allies in increasing productivity and safety in load transportation and therefore deserve special attention.

The main benefits of maintaining freight elevators properly include:

Accident and failure prevention" class="tx-size-26-force cor-azul-brilho mg-t-30-force tx-normal" id="span-stylefont-size-24pxaccident-and-failure-preventionspan">Accident and failure prevention

Mechanical and electrical failures can cause serious accidents such as falls, stoppages between floors and even fires.

Therefore, when freight elevator maintenance is up to date, these risks are mitigated, making a maintenance plan essential to ensure operator and product safety.

Improved performance" class="tx-size-26-force cor-azul-brilho mg-t-30-force tx-normal" id="span-stylefont-size-24pximproved-performancespan">Improved performance

A freight elevator that undergoes regular maintenance performs better, ensuring a more productive operation.

With lower risks of failures or downtime, freight elevators can also be integrated with other equipment such as conveyor belts and forklifts.

In addition, maintenance keeps the equipment operating as close as possible to its original factory condition.

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Replacing parts during preventive maintenance is significantly more cost-effective than corrective maintenance. Moreover, equipment safety results in fewer accidents and lower compensation costs.

Keeping freight elevator maintenance up to date is a mandatory action for companies, especially when employee safety is a priority.

However, it is also essential to establish good operating practices to prevent accidents involving loads or people.

Freight elevators are highly useful operational equipment, but to deliver all expected benefits, they must remain in good condition and be used correctly.

Freight elevators are MRSUL’s expertise" class="tx-size-26-force cor-azul-brilho mg-t-30-force tx-normal" id="span-stylefont-size-24pxfreight-elevators-are-mrsuls-expertisespan">Freight elevators are MRSUL’s expertise

MRSUL has over 30 years of experience in the market, offering complete solutions for load handling.

We work with freight elevators and other elevator models that meet the needs of industrial operations and the main occupational safety standards.

If you already have an MRSUL freight elevator, contact one of our specialists and keep your equipment maintenance up to date. Our preventive maintenance plan always includes a detailed schedule of activities and technical visits.