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Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

Assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Bolt or weld steel rails to the walls of shafts to guide elevators, working from scaffolding or platforms.
    • Test newly installed equipment to ensure that it meets specifications, such as stopping at floors for set amounts of time.
    • Attach guide shoes and rollers to minimize the lateral motion of cars as they travel through shafts.
    • 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.
    • Connect electrical wiring to control panels and electric motors.
    • Install electrical wires and controls by attaching conduit along shaft walls from floor to floor and pulling plastic-covered wires through the conduit.
    • Install electrical wires and controls by attaching conduit along shaft walls from floor to floor and pulling plastic-covered wires through the conduit.
    • 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.
    • Operate elevators to determine power demands, and test power consumption to detect overload factors.
    • Operate elevators to determine power demands, and test power consumption to detect overload factors.
    • Participate in additional training to keep skills up to date.
    • Install outer doors and door frames at elevator entrances on each floor of a structure.
    • Maintain log books that detail all repairs and checks performed.
    • Bolt or weld steel rails to the walls of shafts to guide elevators, working from scaffolding or platforms.
    • Cut prefabricated sections of framework, rails, and other components to specified dimensions.
    • 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.
    • Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
    • Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
    • Assemble electrically powered stairs, steel frameworks, and tracks, and install associated motors and electrical wiring.
    • Assemble electrically powered stairs, steel frameworks, and tracks, and install associated motors and electrical wiring.
    • Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
    • Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
    • 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 car frames to counterweights, using steel cables.
    • Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment.
    • Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings.

    Skills

    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.

    Knowledge

    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    Education

    Education
    High school diploma or equivalent
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    Apprenticeship

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    133030/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    63.96/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    430
    Yearly Projected Openings
    40

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Perseverance
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Adjustable widemouth pliers
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Ammeters
    • Blow torch
    • Calibrated resistance measuring equipment
    • Capacitance meters
    • Circuit tester
    • Cleaning scrapers
    • Conduit benders
    • Diagonal cut pliers
    • Dollies
    • Electronic measuring probes
    • Flat hand file
    • Graphic recorders
    • Grease guns
    • Grinding machines
    • Hacksaw
    • Hammers
    • Hoists
    • Hydraulic cylinder or component repair kits
    • Ladders
    • Levels
    • Linemans pliers
    • Longnose pliers
    • Megohmmeters
    • Microcontrollers
    • Micrometers
    • Multimeters
    • Notebook computers
    • Ohmmeters
    • Open end wrenches
    • Oscilloscopes
    • Personal computers
    • Phasemeters
    • Platform lift
    • Plumb bobs
    • Power drills
    • Power grinders
    • Power saws
    • Pressure indicators
    • Pull spring balances
    • Safety harnesses or belts
    • Scaffolding
    • Screwdrivers
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Signal generators
    • Slings
    • Soldering iron
    • Spot welding machine
    • Stripping tools
    • Tablet computers
    • Tachometers
    • Tape measures
    • Tensiometers
    • Thermographs
    • Tungsten inert gas welding machine
    • Two way radios
    • Utility knives
    • Vacuum pumps
    • Voltage or current meters
    • Wire brushes
    • Wire cutters

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Facilities management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software