Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

What the job really is

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

At a glance

• Sector: Construction & Extraction
• O*NET-SOC code: 47-4021
• O*NET job zone: 3 — medium preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
• 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.
• Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
• Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
• 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.
• Read and interpret blueprints to determine the layout of system components, frameworks, and foundations, and to select installation equipment.
• Connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables.
• Maintain log books that detail all repairs and checks performed.
• Connect electrical wiring to control panels and electric motors.
• Test newly installed equipment to ensure that it meets specifications, such as stopping at floors for set amounts of time.
• Participate in additional training to keep skills up to date.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Adjustable wrenches, Ammeters, Amp meters, Cable tensionmeters, Capacity testers, Cleaning scrapers, Commutator stones, Computerized maintenance management system CMMS, Conduit benders

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
• Millwrights
• Rail Car Repairers
• Mechanical Door Repairers
• Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
• Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
• Industrial Machinery Mechanics

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 3 (medium preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.