In this guide 6 sections
Ask whether each lift is its own record and how a night breakdown call is logged and timed. Then check how a monthly visit is proved and whether parts are billed by contract type. Renewals, data and support come last. GullySystem’s Elevator Service Management Software can be put through each of these questions in a demo.
Does every lift have a record of its own
A lift company services machines of several makes across many buildings. If the software only knows customers, a call cannot be traced to a machine. Ask to see one lift’s page.
It should carry the building and wing, make, model, load, speed, floors served and controller type. Installation date, contract type and visit history belong there as well. Every call and every part should land on that page.
- Machine number, make, model, load and speed
- Building, wing and floors served
- Contract type and current cover period
- Every visit, call and part fitted, in date order
How is a breakdown call logged at night
Entrapment calls come from watchmen and facility managers at any hour. Ask what the desk enters when the phone rings. The time received, the caller, the lift and the reported fault should go in first.
Then ask how a technician is chosen and told. Find out whether the call closes with the fault found and the parts fitted. A report of calls by lift should follow from that.
Test it. Log a pretend call during the demo and watch who sees it.
Can a routine visit be proved later
An association may say nobody came last month. A paper slip in a technician’s bag will not settle that. Ask how the visit is recorded at site.
Look for a checklist on the technician’s phone with his name and the time of the entry. Visits due but not done should appear on a pending list. Also ask whether the visit plan comes from the contract’s frequency or is typed by hand.
Does billing follow the contract type
Comprehensive contracts include parts. Other contracts bill them separately. A door motor replaced on the wrong contract type is either given away or wrongly charged.
Check that a part issued from the store or a van is tied to a lift number. See whether the system marks it chargeable from that building’s contract. Then ask how AMC instalments are raised and who checks them before they go out.
- Parts issued against a lift number
- Chargeable or covered, read from the contract
- Van stock counted per technician
- AMC instalments listed for the office to raise
Renewals, your data and support
Ask how AMC end dates and inspection dates surface ahead of time. Where a lift needs a licence or inspection, the software can flag the date and hold the test papers. The application itself stays with your engineer.
Find out how your building list, lift details and outstanding balances move across. Settle who changes checklists later, and whether your data can leave with you. Get the answers in the written proposal.
Lift software vendor question sheet
A two-column sheet with the questions above on the left and space for each vendor’s answer on the right. Bring one real lift record and last month’s call register to every demo, and mark which questions were shown on screen rather than only described.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Will the software handle our licence renewal with the inspectorate?
No. It can flag the date, hold the test records and print what you attach. The application and the inspection stay between your engineer and the inspectorate.
Can lifts be monitored remotely as well?
Not on its own. Remote monitoring needs controllers that share data or a device added to the lift. It is a separate project with its own cost, and for a few dozen lifts it is rarely worthwhile.
Is this too much for a small service team?
Possibly. One technician looking after a handful of lifts in one locality may manage with a diary and WhatsApp. The case grows with the number of night calls and buildings.