How to select your VT Consultancy Firm
When it comes to Vertical Transportation (VT) systems, Building Owners, Strata/MCST representatives, and other key stakeholders hold a crucial responsibility: ensuring these systems are safe, reliable, and efficient throughout their lifecycle. Whether you’re part of an MCST in Singapore, a JMB or JMC in Malaysia, a Condominium Juristic Person in Thailand, a Body Corporate in Australia, a Real Estate Services Firm / Facility Management company engaged by building owners, or a Building Developer & Property Investment Trust, your decisions have a direct impact on the long-term performance and value of your building’s VT assets.
One of the most important and often underestimated decisions in a lift upgrading project, is the choice of a VT consultant. It’s not about choosing the cheapest or the most expensive firm. It is about selecting a partner who brings real value: technical expertise, independent advice, and a long-term perspective that prevents costly mistakes and maximises system performance.
In this article, we will explore why working with a trusted and professional VT consultancy like Elevating Studio is not just wise, but essential, and how the right guidance today can lead to smarter outcomes tomorrow.
1. Why Expert Guidance Matters for Your Building’s Critical Systems
Vertical Transportation (VT) systems – elevators and escalators – are fundamental to any building’s functionality. For property stakeholders, these systems represent both a significant investment and an essential component of both owners’ and tenant’s satisfaction and safety.
Consider this common scenario: A building management team decides to handle a VT modernization project without specialized consultancy, with the objective to reduce costs. Based on our experience with many real-life examples, this way of managing the project has a very high risk that the modernized or replaced lifts will face recurring technical issues, compliance challenges with updated regulations, and ultimately require substantial system upgrades – often costing several times more than the initial “savings”.
Elevators and escalators typically operate for 20-25 years, during which their installation, maintenance, and eventual modernization represents a substantial investment. Throughout this lifecycle, expert oversight can prevent:
- Premature system deterioration
- Escalating maintenance expenses
- Disruptive downtime affecting occupant satisfaction
- Safety vulnerabilities and potential liability
- Frequent and repeating partial upgrading works, where properly planned single project
The cost of engaging a specialized VT consultancy (even the most expensive one) is only a small fraction of the total modernization budget, and an even smaller proportion of the building or residential complex’s overall lifecycle investment. Yet, the value and impact of a qualified VT consultant can be significant, playing a critical role in ensuring the long-term performance, safety, and cost-effectiveness of your vertical transportation systems.Skimping on consultancy services to save upfront costs will typically lead to costly consequences down the line: unnecessary repairs, legal disputes, safety risks, or even premature equipment replacement.
A professional consultancy firm will ensure that your investment is optimized, compliant with regulations, and most importantly, built to perform safely and efficiently for the next 20 years.
2. Real-World Consequences of OWNER Decisions REGARDING VT CONSULTANCY
Commercial Building Nightmare: A prestigious office tower’s management decided to economize on consultancy for their elevator modernization and select the VT Consultancy based on the amount of professional fees, and they selected a consultant based primarily on cost. Six months into the implementation, tenants were facing daily elevator breakdowns. Investigation revealed critical specification omissions and compatibility issues that the consultant had overlooked. Emergency repairs, tenant compensation for business disruption, and specification revisions cost the building owners over 500% more than they had “saved” on consultancy fees. Worse still, the project timeline extended by nearly eight months, damaging the building’s reputation among high-profile corporate tenants. The insufficient technical audit and incomplete technical specifications had resulted in more than 30% additional costs for the modernization (on top of the initial modernization costs), because the lift contractor had (rightfully) claimed multiple, extensive variation orders, to supply, install, maintain or repair the missing parts and components of the lift or the auxiliary systems, which were missed out from the modernization design and specs.
Residential Tower Crisis: A condominium committee, facing budget pressures, relied solely on an elevator company’s recommendations for their aging system, and the selection of components to be replaced were minimized, for reasons of budget. The elevator company proposed a partial modernization focusing on some (proprietary) components. The solution seemed cost-effective, until three years later when frequent elevator breakdowns resulted in long down-time and frustrated residents. The condominium had to implement a second round of upgrades at significant expense. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the elevator contractor had already replaced high-cost components with their proprietary components, those components were incompatible with any of the other lift companies, and thus the second round of upgrades and replacements were only tendered with the same elevator company – and hence there was no competition for the tender of the additional upgrades and replacements. During the inevitable disputes about responsibility, residents endured weeks of limited elevator service while management and contractors argued over liability. In addition, the unforeseen costs led to significant additional costs, which were multiple times higher than would normally be the case during an open tender, or in case these parts and components would have been included in the first place.
Above cases are real-life examples which we frequently observe almost on a daily basis, in many different types of buildings, and they occur in all the markets where Elevating Studio operates. In those situations, when Elevating Studio is finally called to help and assist, we have very limited options to help, by addressing some of the symptoms and helping to negotiate, but we are usually not able to resolve the root cause completely, due to decisions in the past. Typically in such situations, the owners will need to absorb the additional costs and accept the situation caused by the wrong decisions in the past, until a next round of modernizations can be planned, when there is again sufficient sinking funds available, and/or when the situation really becomes un-safe or unacceptable from reliability perspective – resulting in multiple years of agony (up to 20 years!). Those are unfortunate and frustrating situations, which are both extremely painful and expensive, with a lot of unforeseen and unexpected secondary effects, such as attrition of tenants, tenant complaints, rental income, and ultimately the reduction in value of the property!
3. Understanding Alternative Approaches
While there are several ways to manage the upgrading of your VT systems, not all approaches offer the same level of insight or long-term value. Here’s how common alternatives compare and why specialized VT consultancy offers a distinct advantage.
MEP Consultants or Professional Engineers / SPEs
MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) consultancy firms or PE’s include VT systems as part of their broader service offering. However, this generalist approach often lacks the focused expertise necessary to deliver truly optimized VT outcomes:
- VT systems require specialized knowledge in traffic analysis, ride comfort, compliance standards, and (especially!) maintenance management, maintainability, maintenance performance, contracts and KPIs, Internet Of Things, and life cycle planning – areas that extend beyond standard MEP coverage and expertise.
- The complexity of modern systems necessitates specialists who remain current with evolving technologies and regulations, and who are able to understand the building usage and the impact of the algorithms of the different types of lift controllers.
- More complicated or tall buildings require or benefit from more sophisticated elevator systems or upgrades, by implementing more advanced technologies and integrations with other building systems, such as facial recognition, turnstiles, robot integration and operating the elevator with mobile phones, etc. Designing and implementing such specialized systems require deep knowledge and know-how and hands-on experience and understanding the impact of doing such implementations in a “live” building, which is usually not present with the more generalist consultancy firms or with professional engineers.
- Even in residential buildings, ‘minor’ design oversights or mismatched specifications can lead to long-term inefficiencies, user dissatisfaction, and costly retrofits
Working Directly with Elevator Companies
While elevator manufacturers and service providers offer valuable expertise, their recommendations often come with several built-in limitations:
- Manufacturers naturally focus on their own systems and solutions, and they will try to sell their own solutions. As a result, the owner will typically lose out, since there may be better solutions available from other manufacturers, which may suit their specific needs much better.
- Without independent assessment by a subject matter expert (who does this work on a daily basis!), it is almost impossible to evaluate whether the quotations and technical proposals truly serve your building’s best interests, and that the proposed solutions really address all the needs of the building and the equipment, for the next 20-25 years.
- Comprehensive planning benefits from an independent perspective that considers traffic patterns, innovations for future-proof design, and cross-platform compatibility
- In case there are no specifications or plans for the tender, or insufficient specifications and plans, the tender process will become a “race to the bottom”, where the elevator contractor will reduce their scope and costs to the bare minimum (or less), just to improve their chances to win the project. In those cases, there is perhaps even an incentive for the lift contractors to reduce their price below cost, because they know that any losses can easily be recovered in the subsequent next upgrades or repair works, which will undoubtedly come. Such ‘half-baked cake’ – situations, we unfortunately see all too often.
4. The Hidden Cost of “Budget” VT Consultancy
Selecting VT consultants based primarily on price often leads to significant limitations:
Inadequate Time Investment: Quality assessment of a VT system requires thorough and systematic investigations, detailed analysis, and careful planning. Budget consultants typically allocate minimal hours to your project, because they do not understand or value such efforts, or because they want to reduce their costs – resulting in superficial evaluation and generic recommendations, and consequently much higher risks for the owners!
Cookie-Cutter Solutions: Inexperienced or time-constrained consultants often apply standardized approaches rather than developing customized solutions for your building’s unique characteristics. These one-size-fits-all recommendations rarely deliver optimal performance or value – essentially nullifying the benefit of having a consultant at all. When this happens, the owner is typically better off to go directly to the elevator companies and ask for advice, as at least their technical knowledge will be sound, even if potentially biased.
Limited Expertise: Truly effective VT consultants have extensive hands-on experience with various systems and manufacturers. Budget options frequently employ consultants with theoretical knowledge but insufficient practical experience to anticipate real-world complications.
Weak or Non-Existent Industry Relationships: When challenges arise during implementation—as they inevitably do—established industry relationships become crucial. Premium VT consultants such as Elevating Studio maintain networks reaching into senior management at major elevator companies, enabling them to expedite resolutions when projects face obstacles. Without these connections, your project may stall indefinitely when defects or disputes emerge, leaving you without effective recourse.
Knowing WHEN to modernize: High-quality Vertical Transportation (VT) consultants such as Elevating Studio ensure that lift modernization or replacement is planned at the right time—neither too early nor too late—through an independent and comprehensive “Equipment Health Check.” This assessment goes far beyond simple breakdown statistics or contractor-led recommendations. It delivers objective insights into technical health, safety and code compliance, usage intensity, lifecycle condition, and cost-efficiency. Modernizing too early can result in unnecessary capital expenditure and the premature replacement of equipment that could still operate reliably with improved maintenance. Conversely, delaying modernization may lead to escalating repair costs, safety concerns, user complaints, and unplanned service disruptions.
The graph below illustrates a typical pattern of equipment reliability over its lifecycle—from early ‘teething’ issues post-installation, through periods of recurring breakdowns that are often resolved following Elevating Studio’s maintenance inspections and targeted rectifications, until the point where modernization becomes truly necessary.
In many cases, we find that modernization plans are made prematurely, based solely on consistent breakdowns or mantraps. Following a detailed inspection, we are often able to stabilize performance through enhanced maintenance practices – extending the equipment’s useful life by 3–5 years or more. This approach not only leads to significant cost savings but also enables better long-term planning for modernization.
5. The Distinctive Value of Specialized VT Consultancy
Professional VT consultancy provides important advantages:
- Comprehensive Technical Knowledge: With deep R&D and engineering experience, our team provides accurate diagnostics and tailored solutions. No guesswork, just precise, data-driven guidance.
- Extensive Industry Network: Our established relationships with senior leaders across major elevator companies enable us to navigate challenges, resolve disputes, and negotiate solutions swiftly and cost-effectively.
- Global Experience and Local Expertise: From focused audits to large-scale complex projects across Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia, we bring broad perspective and in-depth regional insight to every project.
- Thorough assessment and Independent High-Quality Specifications: Appropriate time devoted to each phase of your project and ensuring that the system will enable several elevator manufacturers to tender for the project, resulting in the best outcome.
- Proactive problem-solving: Identification of potential issues before they become costly problems
- Forward-thinking design: Solutions that accommodate evolving building needs
- Project coordination: End-to-end oversight ensuring timely completion within budget
These qualities translate into valuable services including`
- Traffic Analysis,
- Maintenance Audits,
- Modernization Planning, and
- Quality Control Oversight.
6. Making an Informed Investment
VT system modernization typically occurs just once every 20-25 years, making expert guidance particularly valuable and almost indispensable. Professional consultancy ensures your investment delivers maximum value through:
- System selection optimized for your specific building requirements
- Appropriately scoped modernization avoiding unnecessary expenses
- Clear contract specifications protecting your interests
- Lowest life-cycle costs (CAPEX + OPEX)
- Clear, full-comprehensive, ‘tailored’ and multiple year Maintenance Contract requirements, with KPI’s and penalties for the next 7-10 years.
- Expert project management preventing costly delays
- Ongoing guidance maximizing system performance and longevity
Key Questions to Ask When Selecting a VT Consultant:
When evaluating vertical transportation (VT) consultancy options, building owners and decision-makers should ask the following critical questions to ensure they are engaging the right partner:
- Does the consultant have deep, specialized expertise in VT systems across their full lifecycle – New Design, Modernization, and Maintenance Management?
- Can they deliver end-to-end services, from initial assessment to project completion and follow-up?
- Do they have specialized and dedicated staff to conducting each of the tasks during the project, and do those staff members have sufficient experience and proven track-records?
- Is the consultancy truly independent, providing unbiased advice that is not influenced by suppliers or manufacturers?
- Have they successfully delivered similar projects, demonstrating practical and relevant outcomes?
- Do they maintain professional certifications, quality standards, and carry appropriate insurances?
- Does their team have substantial industry experience, and is it sufficiently resourced to ensure continuity, redundancy, and reliable support throughout the project?
- Do they have established relationships with elevator company executives nationally and on international level, to resolve challenges when they arise?
- Have they catered for sufficient number of hours and allocated the best and most suitable specialist roles during the project (inspectors, consultants, engineers, traffic experts, etc) to manage your project? More experienced and qualified staff are typically more expensive. Are they not too cheap?
- Finally, do you trust the consultant? Do their approach, communication, and recommendations reflect confidence and experience, and does the proposal and plans align with your expectations and the specific needs of your building?
7. Your Next Step Forward
VT systems represent too significant an investment to approach without specialized expertise. Modernizing or replacing these systems will occur only once every 20-25 years in a typical building, requiring (very) high cost and even greater impact on the building usage, so it makes sense to engage the best Independent Specialists to support and lead this project, and to act on your behalf. Consider speaking with a dedicated VT consultancy to discuss how specialized inspections, design and consultancy efforts can optimize your systems for safety, reliability, with the lowest costs, and long-term performance.
Investing in a reputable VT consultancy firm like Elevating Studio is not just about spending money – even if we typically will ‘earn back’ our professional fees through our processes and unique approach; it’s about protecting your investment, ensuring safety and reliability, and achieving long-term value. Don’t let the allure of a low quote cloud your judgment. After all, elevators are the lifeline of your building – make sure they’re in the best hands, rather than the cheapest hands.
Ready to Elevate your next project? Contact Elevating Studio today and let us take your VT systems to new heights!