Soludex

Soludex™ is a benchmarking and evaluation tool used by Solucore Inc. to evaluate and score elevator and escalator maintenance. Points are allocated to specific areas within each of five major categories and points are deducted for deficiencies in each area. The more points deducted for deficiencies translates into a lower score. The types of deficiencies are also important because they are weighed by importance and as such safety related deficiencies are not weighed the same as housekeeping. The five major categories of deficiencies scored by the Soludex™ and a brief explanation of each are listed below:

Safety

Safety related deficiencies are allocated the most number of points due to their importance in preventing injury and liability. These are usually CSA B44 and B355 elevator code related items which must be completed immediately. When in red, these items are urgent.

Performance

Performance is the second most important category for the Soludex™ Rating because the elevator lifecycle is dictated by tenant satisfaction and approval. Elevators that score poorly result in diminished performance and longer wait times ultimately resulting in tenant dissatisfaction. Some items such as nudging are CSA B44/ASME A17.1 elevator code related whereas other items such as door and flight times are suggested values that we encourage dialogue on. A ride analysis is also performed on the vertical transportation equipment to determine if the vibrations, speeds, accelerations and jerk rates are within acceptable limits.

Logbook

Logbooks are tied to owner responsibility and can impact liability. Logbook items are items that are related to the B44 and B355 elevator code and are mandated maintenance requirements. Their status will affect the contractor’s score. Hence not completing these items contravenes the code for maintenance requirements.

Major work

Major work is an important category which measures the equipment’s life cycle and determines the contractor’s commitment to the site and use of resources. If the site scores low (i.e. lower than 50%), then the contractor could be demonstrating that the required resources to improve the equipment are not available or the site is not being promptly serviced. Many items are reviewed in the major work category to determine where the elevating devices are deficient. Some areas can be code related such as brake pads, hoist ropes or bearings while some like steppers, arcing motors and leaking machines are not.

Housekeeping

Housekeeping is the final category that has an impact. It is not significant alone but when combined with other categories it can result in the deduction of much needed points. For example, the difference of a couple of points could mean a change from having a “good” score to “poor” one. Depending on the severity of dirt, dust and debris, on the car top for example of oil in the pit it may result in a CSA B44/B355 code infraction.