The day before I went to the National Press Festival, I was also surprised to see the display booth of Elevator Magazine, I didn’t know there was this specialized magazine before. Out of curiosity, I went to take a look at the magazine and chat with the reporters. 

At first, I was afraid that Elevator Magazine would be owned by an elevator company. We would talk about the broken elevator, and being invited to buy another elevator. These things I am not familiar with. Usually, my children are the one who do the research and make the decision whether to buy. Therefore, I was just inquiring. After a while, it became clear that behind this magazine is not any business but Vietnam Elevator Association. They only produce magazines. They don’t sell elevators, so I also trust them to ask. However, after asking, I was startled by the mistake of my family. 

– For example, is it okay to use a Japanese component into a German elevator? 

– I can’t say if it’s okay or not, replacing elevator components as well as giving blood transfusions or replacing organs, must be tested, must be diagnosed, and before the replacement, there must be an evaluation on compatibility. Just like blood type AB can receive from all blood types, while blood type O can only receive from only one source, which is blood type O. Probably the elevator of this brand needs to use the exact components from the original product manufacturer itself because of unique design elements, it is also possible that it is an item that can be easily replaced by a similar one. 

Human blood transfusion diagram shows the possibility that blood types can receive each other, the supply of elevator components is also limited by compatibility. 

An extremely intuitive example that clearly shows the essence of the problem. I understand clearly now. Perhaps, my elevator has missed the “testing” and evaluating the compatibility level before upgrading – repairing and replacing a series of worn-out components and equipment which show signs of damage. 

To be honest, elevator at my home has only been installed for about 5 years, at the end of last year, elevator broke down frequently. We called the elevator repair company, they said that many components were broken, it had to be upgraded. If not, then you have to buy a new one. My children are busy, so they just wanted to quickly solve the problem as soon as possible. Who would have thought that when the upgrade was completed, they could only use it for the first few days, then it broke down and we must have them fixed again and again. 

Although my family’s original elevator was imported from Germany, according to information from the company, the replaced parts are imported from Japan, “with clear origin, from a world leading company”. However, it was only through that one question that I realized the problem. 

Through reading several articles in the Elevator Magazine, we learned that the family has been neglecting regular elevator maintenance for several years. Only when the elevator broke down, we called a technician to check. When the fault is the most serious as the last time, they hastily obeyed the plan of the elevator repair company without carefully understanding it. Probably, “the remedy may be worse than the disease”! 

However, my family’s elevator repair journey still left open with difficulties. Although I have understood that I need to be more careful in the process of repairing my elevator, but what is the step-by-step process, how to “diagnose” the elevator, “test” with the appropriate components, is there a specific guide or a standard on replacement components, equipment, etc.? 

My family and I will probably continue to learn more information from Elevator Magazine and hope that if there are contents that are not available, Elevator Magazine and Vietnam Elevator Association can advise further, or have more consulting centers for consumer. I believe this will benefit not only my family but many other elevator users as well. 

Reader ‘s opinion 

Editor’s note: Elevator Magazine would like to thank its readers for their trust, in addition to the content that has been shared with you, the magazine will continue to deploy other content in the near future that are useful to elevator user. If you have specific questions that need answers from experts, you can send questions to Elevator Magazine’s mailbox (contact@tapchithangmay.vn) or contact hotline 0989761499 to receive advice from a technical expert of Vietnam Institute of Lift Engineering Application.