Hit my 500th escalator step chain repair last month and it hit me different

I've been doing elevator work for about 12 years now, mostly in older buildings downtown. Last month I realized I had just finished my 500th escalator step chain repair. That number surprised me because I never kept count before, I just did the job. It made me think about how many times I've crawled into those pits and the wear patterns I've seen. Have any of you guys kept track of a specific repair number that caught you off guard?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_foster2d ago

Read an article once about how escalator step chains develop microfractures in the exact same spots after about 100,000 cycles. Never forgot that because it matches what I've seen on the old Otis units downtown. The wear patterns are ALWAYS the same, a little hairline crack right near the pin hole on every fifth link. Makes you realize 500 repairs means you've probably saved a lot of people from a nasty jam by catching those before they snapped completely.

rowanbennett3d ago

Used to think escalator work was the grunt work of the trade, the stuff nobody wants to do. Spent years avoiding it when I could. Then I got stuck on a 3-month job swapping out a whole chain set in a busy mall and realized how much precision goes into getting the tension right and keeping the steps tracked. 500 repairs is a lot of time on your back in a cramped pit, but you probably know those machines better than anyone who just pushes the buttons.