When we talk with organized elevator apprentices and mechanics, a topic that comes up again and again is how the education they receive through the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) – and the culture of safety the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) works to instill throughout the trade – helps them come into the elevator industry with the skills and knowledge they need to keep themselves and their jobsites safe.

Whether someone is coming in to the IUEC as an organized apprentice or through the recruitment process completely new to the trade, the IUEC apprenticeship begins with a safety-focused curriculum centered around recognizing trade-related hazards. From the industry-specific OSHA curriculum that recently launched; to classroom lab activities where apprentices practice putting on required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as eye protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, and fall protection; to the American Heart Association’s Heartsaver First Aid and CPR certification program embedded in the required curriculum, they receive a very different and much more thorough education than they did while working for non-union companies.

So with a trade that advances as quickly as this one, how does the IUEC stay on top of industry trends and emerging technologies that could impact the safety of apprentices and mechanics on the job? One way is through the establishment of the IUEC Safety Committee.

“The IUEC Safety Committee is a committee set up by President Christensen going back about ten years ago,” said Mike Langer, Director of Safety for the IUEC. “It takes people from across North America and puts them together in a room for brainstorming sessions on how to reduce fatalities and injuries in the elevator industry or the conveyance industry.”

Mike has been a longtime member of the IUEC Safety Committee, which is chaired by Ed Christensen, IUEC Regional Director for the Midcentral United States. Other Safety Committee members include Eric McClaskey, IUEC Assistant Director of Safety; Dave Griefenhagen, IUEC Director of Codes and Standards; Pat McGarvey, IUEC Director of Organizing; Blair MacMillan, IUEC National Organizer and Canadian Safety Director; and Ben McIntyre, IUEC National Organizer and Canadian Safety Director – along with active and retired elevator inspectors and building inspectors from across the United States and Canada. Altogether, the committee has approximately 22 members.

Eric McClaskey told us that the overall purpose of the IUEC Safety Committee is to improve safety for everyone working in the trade. This begins with research. “We look at incidents that occur throughout the course of a year or half-year when we meet annually,” he said. “We try to focus on ways in which we can better the industry through code development and other safety enhancements. It’s really an opportunity for us throughout North America to get with one another, and talk about what we see on the job and how we can prevent injuries and fatalities.”

One of the most important sources of information the Safety Committee draws on for its work is the database of incident reports put together by the IUEC Safety Department. Any time there is a close call, injury, fatality, or accident in the trade, it is investigated and an incident summary is produced. These incident summaries are then reviewed and discussed so that the IUEC Safety Committee can make recommendations based on what was learned from the accident. The reports are shared with IUEC Locals and affiliated signatory employers, and posted on the safety page of the union’s website at iuec.org. “The bottom line is, we want to do our best to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” says Mike Langer.

Eric McClaskey encouraged everyone concerned about safety in the elevator industry to visit the IUEC’s website and view these reports. “On the IUEC safety page, we have an alerts tab that you can click on – it’s open to anyone,” he said. “It’s a resource for local unions, our employers, and the public at large. We house those incident summaries and (information about) close calls, near misses, and injuries on our website so that hopefully the industry can learn from these events that have taken place.”

Mike Langer emphasized the importance of making this information and research public. “Anybody can go to that open website and gather safety information right down to OSHA training from the safety page. It can be anybody in the conveyance industry, whether they’re union or not. That’s really what it’s all about – protecting everybody who’s doing the same work we do.”

Eric McClaskey continued, “(Elevators and escalators are) the most common form of transportation that the public operates on their own, so it’s important for us to make sure that these conveyances are installed and maintained properly. For us as a committee, we focus on items that may affect the end-user, and what we can do to help make sure the public has a safe conveyance to get from place to place.”

To learn more about the work the IUEC is doing to reduce injuries and fatalities in the conveyance industry, visit https://www.elevatorinfo.org/be-safe-improving-safety-elevator-industry/.

Several months ago, ElevatorInfo went to Nashville and visited TriStar Elevator, an up-and-coming independent International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC)-affiliated company. With company headquarters based in Columbia, TN, TriStar elevator constructors perform construction, service, and modernization work across the middle-Tennessee area.

“We pretty much do anything at Tristar,” said Roman Sensing, an adjuster/modernization/construction mechanic and member of IUEC Local 93. We met Roman and Michael Halfacre, another Local 93 mechanic who works for TriStar, while visiting some of their active jobsites at an airport, a parking garage, and a bar under construction right on Broadway in the downtown music district.

“Working for TriStar – and just in Nashville – is wonderful,” said Michael., When we asked him why, he said it was TriStar’s family-oriented culture, responsiveness, and focus on jobsite safety. “If you have to call somebody, they answer. TriStar ensures we have a safe jobsite by giving us everything we need to make it safe.”

Roman agreed that TriStar’s focus on safety is an important part of their work from the beginning to the end of each job – something that’s critical given the hazards elevator constructors encounter on their work sites every day. “Typically on a workday we come in, talk about the job and what we are going to accomplish, and how we are going to accomplish it safely. We include all of those steps on a JHA (Job Hazard Analysis),” he said.

Once work starts, there is an ongoing system of checking and re-checking to ensure that no potential dangers are overlooked. “During the process we talk about anything we may have missed on the JHA and then update it, or note anything we may have encountered on a repair or modernization that could become a hazard.”

This is a significant shift for a mechanic like Roman, who came into the trade after being organized from a non-union elevator company a few years back. The company he used to work for offered little to no formalized safety training before they put him on the job. But once he was organized as an IUEC apprentice, he was enrolled in the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), where elevator constructors complete a four-plus year USDOL Registered Apprenticeship with hands-on training in the classroom, practical labs, virtual simulations, and a major emphasis on safety. (NEIEP training is conducted concurrently with apprentices’ 8,000 hour on-the-job learning under the supervision of a trained mechanic.) Industry-specific OSHA, Arc Flash, proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED, and Scaffold and Access Industry Association (SAIA) Competent Person for Framed and Suspended Scaffolding are just a few of the safety trainings provided for apprentice and mechanic-level elevator constructors.

“I started in the trade about six years ago with a non-union company… the training that I received through NEIEP was much more geared toward safety,” said Roman. “Non-union, not so much. I didn’t really receive much training there as far as safety goes. Very little to none. It was just on-the-job training with the mechanic I was working with…what you should do and what not to do, very vague.”

He continued, “In the (NEIEP) apprenticeship program, they outline a lot of safety issues, a lot of things that may come up on the job. They basically teach you about everything that you might come into contact with or that you might experience on the job. It’s a good base-learning program. Of course you learn a lot more on the job with the mechanics, actually seeing the equipment, but you get a lot of training and knowledge through the programs and the simulations.”

Another advantage to becoming an IUEC elevator constructor that Roman told us about was “. Health insurance – I didn’t have any at the non-union shop – I got health insurance, retirement, annuity, pension, 401(k) – we have all those benefits here with the IUEC.”

The National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan provides the most comprehensive health care coverage out there for IUEC members and their families, without additional out-of-pocket premium costs. This includes medical care, coverage of prescription drugs, mental health/substance abuse disorder treatment, dental care, a vision plan, and even hearing benefits.

Michael, who began his career as an IUEC apprentice after applying to a recruitment at Local 93 in Nashville, agreed that the security his benefits provide for his family is a major perk of the job. “One of the greatest things for me is the benefits package. I have two children, they’re completely taken care of by me doing this for a living. Me and my family are both super-happy about that. And I enjoy the work.”

The conveyance industry’s most comprehensive education and training program, a really good health care plan, and a solid retirement plan through the IUEC’s robust Pension, Annuity, and 401K benefits allow Michael, Roman, and the rest of the elevator constructor apprentices and mechanics at TriStar to keep their minds focused on providing consistent, quality work and attentive customer service. Take a close look at the machine room in the background of the video here – it’s an example of the clean, well-organized, and safe work areas TriStar mechanics pride themselves on. To learn more about Tristar Elevator, check out our interview with company owners Stacey and Brandon Jackson.

To learn more about the advantages of becoming an IUEC elevator constructor, or if you are a building owner or manager interested in hiring an IUEC-affiliated company like TriStar for installation, service, troubleshooting, modernization, repair, or inspection work for the elevators, escalators, or other conveyance equipment on your property, contact ElevatorInfo.

ElevatorInfo recently traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to speak with Stacey Jackson, owner of TriStar Elevator and Brandon Jackson, TriStar’s Vice President. Headquartered in the suburb of Columbia, TN, TriStar’s crew of 14 IUEC elevator constructors install and service conveyance systems across the middle-Tennessee area. Described as “a full-service elevator company,” TriStar provides residential and commercial services including modernization, repair, and new installation.

While Brandon started his career as an elevator constructor years ago, the decision to launch a new elevator company as a family business was fairly recent. “We started this four years ago – it’s very hard, but it’s very rewarding as well,” said Stacey.

Being an IUEC-affiliated elevator company was a priority for TriStar from the start. “We are an independent union company. We look at each one of our employees like they’re a family member,” said Brandon. “When we hire somebody, we want them to succeed – so being able to provide that workplace for them – (that’s important) to me, knowing that everyday they’ve got a company that wants them to work safe, wants them to go home safe – and we have resources to make that happen.”

Stacey spoke about how the reputation of IUEC-trained mechanics as highly-skilled and safety-focused has benefitted TriStar when it comes to securing new work. “When a potential customer finds out that we are a union company, it changes the game in the fact that they know what they’re getting. They know the safety procedures, the training – they’re going to get good-quality workers.”

Brandon described it as an investment. “A lot of our larger, new equipment installations – our contractors, that’s one of the first questions they ask. ‘Are you a union company?’ And when you say yes, they realize we have resources to find employees that are trained. We’re not hiring off the street, we’re hiring people who have come through an apprenticeship program. They’ve been properly trained and have those elevator safety resources and that safety background to do the job right.”

While in many cases non-union elevator constructors aren’t required to participate in any formal training program before beginning work in the field, upon hire, IUEC elevator apprentices are immediately enrolled in the industry’s most comprehensive education and training program through the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP). NEIEP administers a four-plus year USDOL Registered Apprenticeship with hands-on training in the classroom and 8,000 hours of supervised training under the direction of an experienced mechanic. Once an elevator constructor completes their apprenticeship and passes a capstone Mechanic Exam, they can keep learning through NEIEP’s continuing education courses, available online and in classrooms nationwide.

NEIEP training prepares apprentices and mechanics not only to work on the latest conveyance equipment on the market, but also to service, troubleshoot, and repair older equipment that many elevator constructors encounter on their service routes. Brandon describes how having access to this type of education and training when he was just starting out made him a well-rounded elevator constructor ready to handle whatever type of conveyance equipment his customers needed help with, and how it drove him to prioritize staffing TriStar with elevator constructors who have diverse and varied field experience. “While TriStar is a younger company, we have years of experience,” he said. “Most of our mechanics are 10 years plus – and we have a great new group of young workers coming into the trade,” he said.

Describing his own experience as an apprentice and field mechanic, he said, “I learned how to work on generators, I learned how to work on relay logic – and I think that’s something that a lot of people are losing sight of. We as a company pride ourselves on being able to work on that because so many other companies have lost a lot of that over the years. I feel like that’s one thing we’ve done well at TriStar elevator – we’re able to go in where other companies couldn’t necessarily keep the equipment running. We have the experience level to go in and still maintain that equipment. I learned from someone, and we’re doing the same thing – we’re trying to make sure that our apprentices are learning those skills.”

While in Tennessee, ElevatorInfo staff visited several of TriStar’s active job sites including one at a major airport, one at a busy parking garage, and another at a building under construction on lower Broadway in the heart of downtown Nashville. We were impressed with both the state-of-the-art systems they were installing in the new building as well as the meticulously clean and neat machine spaces around the elevator systems they were maintaining.

The knowledge that TriStar employees are taken care of by a generous benefit plan is also a plus for Brandon and Stacey. The IUEC provides the best health care coverage there is for its members and their families, without extra premium costs. Through the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, their employees have access to medical, prescription drug, mental health/substance abuse disorder, dental, vision, and hearing benefits well beyond what other companies offer.

Top-quality education and training, a robust health care plan, and the security of a reliable plan for retirement through the IUEC’s Pension, Annuity, and 401K benefits allow the elevator constructor apprentices and mechanics who work for TriStar Elevator to focus on getting their work done without the worries or distractions that workers at companies without this security may face. Consistent quality work and attentive customer service are the result.

“(With) a company like TriStar as an independent, you get specialized care – we do better with our goals in customer service. We answer the phone, we respond to emails, this is a service-based company, a service-based trade,” said Brandon. “When we can take that elevator off of that property manager’s mind, they can worry about the rest of their building. When we can take that elevator installation off of the project manager’s mind… we’ve done our job.”

To learn more about the advantages of becoming IUEC-affiliated or about hiring an IUEC-affiliated company like TriStar Elevator to install, service, troubleshoot, modernize, repair, or inspect your elevators, escalators, or other conveyance equipment, contact ElevatorInfo.