NEIEP: Increasing Elevator Mechanics’ Safety, Knowledge, and Value

Having started her career as a mechanic and National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) instructor in the busy Metro Denver area, NEIEP Area Coordinator Kristi Savala knows how important it is to work safe.

The best way for someone coming into the elevator trade to establish a foundation of safe work practices begins with the hands-on safety training NEIEP students receive in the classroom. This is a distinction that sets NEIEP apart from other training programs in the industry, which are offered via correspondence course.

In this video, Kristi stresses how critical it is for apprentices to have the opportunity to practice using safety equipment in the classroom – this way, they can be sure they’re using it correctly and consistently on the job. “You’ve got to build that muscle memory. If they build safety into the muscle memory, and it builds habits every day, they’re not going to forget it. That’s going to save somebody’s life someday.”

NEIEP’s safety training doesn’t end when someone passes their mechanic exam and graduates to mechanic status – it’s at the heart of the program’s Continuing Education courses as well. Kristi emphasizes the importance of continuing to learn in a trade where technology and work processes are constantly being updated. “If you keep learning, you keep growing. You become that much more valuable to your coworkers, your bosses… to other people you can pass that knowledge onto. Really great skills that you can transfer (to) so many different pathways.”

/by

Don’t Assume Unnecessary Risks. Trust IUEC Mechanics to Maintain Your Wind Tower Elevators.

elevator info

IUEC mechanics have the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to fulfill the needs of the wind power industry. If you are a wind tower owner or operator, don’t assume unnecessary risk by allowing your equipment to be serviced by inexperienced hands.

IUEC mechanics go through a rigorous four-year USDOL-Registered Apprenticeship program at the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP). To graduate and achieve mechanic status, apprentices must complete 8 semesters of college-level classroom training, log 8,000 hours of on-the-job learning under the supervision of an experienced mechanic, and pass a comprehensive capstone examination.

During their apprenticeship, IUEC members master all aspects of the elevator industry including building, installing, servicing, and maintaining state-of-the-art electrical & mechanical systems. Throughout their training, safety is always a priority.

IUEC training does not end once apprenticeship is over. As part of their benefit package, journeyman mechanics regularly participate in continuing education courses to learn about new equipment, update their skill sets to adapt to changes in the industry, and refresh their knowledge base.

 

 

/by

IUEC Elevates Toy Box Connection Children’s Charity

The Toy Box Connection (TBC) Children’s Charity envisions a world where children facing challenging situations are connected to whatever they need – whether it be toys and books for the holidays or a special event, or mattresses and clothing for those affected by a fire, tornado, or other disaster. They help kids in hospitals, shelters, and foster homes, as well as those with parents stationed overseas.

 

Under the leadership of General President Frank Christensen, the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) has played an important role in their work. Members have donated not only their resources but their time, driving truckloads of toys, food, and other items to children in the Chicago area and beyond.

TBC Founder & Director Michelle Maxia is especially thankful for the connections the IUEC has provided to volunteers and donors from across the building trades. She describes these relationships as “like a tire – in the middle is the hub. That’s the IUEC. And there are many spokes…these are the Building Trades Unions who have said ‘yes, absolutely, what does she need, we’re there.’”

Because of this, she characterizes the IUEC as being the organization’s greatest support system. Michelle adds, “Everything matters. Every act of service. Every donation.”

If you would like to learn more about the Toy Box Connection Children’s Charity and the work they do, visit www.toyboxconnection.com.

/by

Elevator Constructors of IUEC Local 4 in Boston share Philosophy on Safety in Elevator Industry

IUEC Local 4 members work on elevators, escalators, and other conveyance equipment in eastern Massachusetts, the majority of New Hampshire, and all of Maine. Recently, ElevatorInfo.org visited Local 4’s headquarters in Dorchester, Massachusetts to talk with their President Doug Cullington, members of the Executive Board, Business Managers and Representatives, and new apprentices in the trade. We covered a lot of topics during our conversations, but paramount on everyone’s list of priorities was safety.

Staying focused, working safe, wearing the correct personal protective equipment – these are just some of the things that Local 4 Elevator Constructors remind themselves of daily. “To work safe is to think. Think before every move. Every step of every project must be talked about,” emphasizes Doug Cullington, President of IUEC Local 4.

“Safety is always our number one priority,” says Mary Kate Kelly, one of Local 4’s apprentice Elevator Constructors. In the video, she shares insights about the everyday hazards she encounters on the job and how she and her mechanic work to avoid them, including what they do to ensure they’re working safe around members of other trades on the jobsite. Knowing how to be proactive around potential dangers and getting everyone home to their families at the end of each day is everyone’s shared goal.

IUEC Local 4 was organized in February of 1899, and currently has almost 1,200 members.

 

/by

Union Elevator Apprenticeship Training Creates Pathway to Success

Jack Demmel

How many individuals do you know who were able to afford buying their own house through hard earned wages before they were old enough to buy a beer?

ElevatorInfo recently caught up with a young man who did just that. Jack Demmel, a fourth-year apprentice in the organized elevator industry, will sit for the Mechanic Examination in 2023.

“Once I’ve successfully completed the Mechanic Examination, I’ll no longer be classified as an apprentice,” said Demmel. “I’ll advance to mechanic status.”

The 22-year-old shared with us his journey to the elevator trade. While Demmel did grow up around plenty of people who made a name for themselves in the elevator industry, his path was not necessarily a traditional one.

“I had the grades for college, so after graduating from high school, I gave college life a shot,” said Demmel. “I ended up at Prince George’s Community College for a single semester – then I realized that I was actually happiest when working with my hands. For me, a fulfilling career would challenge me both mentally and physically.”

After completing the recruitment process, Demmel soon was hired as a union elevator constructor and began taking classes through the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), a U.S. Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program offering craft training – in the classroom and also in the field – for all employees covered by the agreement between signatory contractors and the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC).

“NEIEP has been great. Not only have I participated in online and in-person classroom training, I have also been provided with a variety of hands-on training opportunities,” said Demmel.

When asked about his early days in NEIEP compared to his experience now as a fourth-year apprentice, Demmel expressed that NEIEP’s training is the reason he feels confident working in such a complex trade.

“I’ve always felt that I was mechanically inclined, but being a smart, safe mechanic requires more than a general knowledge of how to fix things,” said Demmel. “Thanks to my NEIEP instructors and the leadership at IUEC Local 10, everything I do feels like second nature. What’s more, I have found lasting friendships within the elevator trade. The people I study with and work alongside all have a team-first mentality – I’m very happy.”

Demmel went on to explain that, as far as enrollment fees and other charges related to NEIEP, there have been no out-of-pocket costs. People from all walks of life are welcome to participate in the recruitment process. This opens the door to a rewarding career, family-sustaining wages, and a dignified retirement – thanks to the training funded by contributions from IUEC signatory contractor partners.

“If young people are ready to work hard to secure the future they want for themselves and their families, the union elevator industry is a smart path to take,” said IUEC Local 10 Business Manager and IUEC Executive Board Vice President John O’Connor. “The earn-as-you-learn approach means our apprentices don’t incur student debt. Instead, they earn wages and benefits as they learn the elevator trade. It is a career choice that I wish more hardworking young people knew about – and knew about sooner.”

/by

What Not to Wear: Helpful Escalator Safety Tips

Escalator safety

Did you know that when riding an escalator some footwear, including foam clogs and flip-flops, can be dangerous? Every year, children and adults sustain injuries to their toes and feet at shopping malls, hotels, and other areas with escalators.

According to ABC News article, some people have reported that kids wearing foam clogs have had their feet sucked into the side of escalators.

Luckily, companies including Schindler Elevator Corporation and groups like the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation have published useful escalator safety tips for the riding public. While some tips may seem like common sense (e.g., step on and off carefully), there are other things you may not have considered. It is especially critical to review these safety tips with children.

Below is a list of escalator safety tips from Schindler’s website:

  • Watch the direction of the moving step and step on and off with extra care.
  • Take care if you are wearing bifocals or similar eyewear.
  • Hold children firmly with one arm or hold child’s free hand.
  • Hold small packages firmly in one hand, but always leave one hand available to hold the handrail.
  • Grasp the handle as you step onto the moving step.
  • Do not go in the opposite direction of the escalator.
  • Do not take wheelchairs, electric scooters, strollers, hand carts, luggage carts or similar items on the escalator.
  • When riding escalators: Keep loose clothing clear of steps and sides.
  • Wear closed-toed and hard-soled shoes, and avoid wearing footwear made of soft-resin or other rubbery materials.
  • Stand clear of the sides of the escalator.
  • Face forward and keep firm grip on the handrail.
  • Reposition your hand slowly if the handrail moves ahead or behind the steps.
  • Don’t climb onto or ride the handrail.
  • Do not let children sit on steps or stand too close to sides.
  • When exiting escalators: Don’t hesitate and step off promptly.
  • Make sure to step over the comb fingers; don’t let your feet slide off the end of the escalator.
  • Immediately move clear of the escalator exit area; don’t stop to talk or look around since other passengers may be behind you.

While the list of safety tips included in this post is surely thorough, remember that, in the event of an emergency, pushing the “STOP” button at the top or bottom of an escalator will immediately halt the machine.

Also, if you have children in your life, ElevatorInfo would like to introduce you to the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation. EESF, the leading resource for educational programs that teach children and adults how to properly ride elevators, escalators, and moving walks safely, has an excellent website that offers plenty of practical, hands-on methods to help kids learn about safe riding rules on elevators, escalators, and moving walks.

/by

The Benefits of Joining the IUEC Elevator Union Sooner

join IUEC

The International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) offers elevator apprentices more than stable elevator union jobs and elevator union wages – it offers a lifetime career that for most members has spanned generations. The IUEC offers union elevator careers, an elevator union salary, and ultimately an elevator crew that always has your back.

You’re Never Too Young to Score a High-Ranking Career

No more significant experience exists for young people to start a career than in the elevator apprenticeship program(s) of the IUEC. The National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) is available to applicants at least 18 years of age, with a high school diploma or a state-approved GED.

Candidates can apply to the elevator union apprenticeship program at the available locations listed on the NEIEP career page. NEIEP Area Coordinators will invite applicants to take part in the Elevator Industry Aptitude Test (EIAT), consisting of three sections: basic mathematics, verbal reasoning, and mechanical skills.

To pass the EIAT, applicants must score at least 70%. After you’ve passed the test, you’ll be contacted and scheduled for an interview by representatives of the Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JAC) – an IUEC representative and an employer representative. You’ll also complete a tool assessment, where applicants are asked to identify specific working tools. There are many IUEC signatory employers across North America, including the global industry leaders Otis, Schindler, Kone, Fujitec, Mitsubishi and TK Elevator. You are never too young to start the best blue-collar career and secure your future.

What Certification/Preparation is Best to Complete Before Your Elevator Apprenticeship Interview?

Applicants who wish to enroll in the IUEC’s elevator constructor apprenticeship program need at minimum a high school education or its GED equivalent. As an aspiring elevator apprentice, it will be helpful if you have previously taken courses in physics, electricity, and mathematics. Additionally, possessing knowledge and skills in reading a tape measure and following instructions are beneficial. Shop courses on carpentry, welding, pipefitting, or electrical work also provide a decisive advantage.

Continuing Education and Training

Continuing education is essential to the IUEC elevator mechanic’s success as well as way of life, and it all starts within the NEIEP apprenticeship program.

After you have passed the EIAT and final interview, you will be placed on a ranked list. When a position opens, you’ll be called by the IUEC to begin work as a probationary employee, and you will start your college-level NEIEP apprenticeship program. This consists of over 8,000 hours of on-the-job learning (OJL) where you earn while you learn, as well as a minimum of 576 hours in theoretical and practical courses of related instruction.

During your apprenticeship OJL, you will work and learn under the supervision of your IUEC mechanic performing all aspects of elevator installation, modernization, and repair – all while you learn the theoretical aspects of the trade one night a week in the NEIEP classroom. During these courses, instructors will cover subjects such as electrical fundamentals, hoistway structures, solid state theory and application, power and logic, and many others.

During your time as an elevator apprentice, you will be working on the installation, repair, and maintenance of passenger and freight elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, or moving sidewalks.

Elevator Apprentices Get Paid to Learn

Unlike other educational programs in which you usually pay to learn, in the NEIEP Apprenticeship Program, YOU are the one getting paid to learn. During your apprenticeship, you earn a percentage of the mechanic’s rate, increasing upon completion of two semesters until after your eight semesters are completed and you pass your mechanic exam.

During the first six months, you are a probationary apprentice and earn 50% of the mechanic’s rate. As a first-year apprentice, you make 55%, as a second-year, 65%, third-year, 70%, and, finally, as a fourth-year apprentice, 80%.

You Get All the Benefits Sooner

Because employers have signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the IUEC, they are bound to make fringe benefits on behalf of the employees that work under the agreement. This means that, by federal law, employers make contributions to the National Elevator Industry Pension Fund, the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan, the National Elevator Industry Educational Program, and the Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan and the Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund on your behalf.

Bottom line: you get all of those benefits by joining the IUEC.

So Why Overthink?

Most members of the IUEC say they wished they had joined it earlier in their lives, that they would have grabbed the opportunity if it had been presented to them earlier. Members of the IUEC are Brothers and Sisters. Move through the apprenticeship ranks of probationary, apprentice, and then NEIEP qualified elevator mechanic. Give back by becoming a NEIEP Instructor, Local Union Officer, or even an International Officer.

Imagine how far you could soar with the IUEC. And imagine what you could do for your family and future with the benefits package.

The sky’s the limit with the IUEC.

/by

NEIEP Provides Education And Training To A Successful Career

Recently, we visited the National Elevator Industry Educational Program’s (NEIEP) fair in Arlington, Texas alongside the members of IUEC Local 21. While at the event, we got a nice overview from NEIEP’s Head of Development, Lester White.

NEIEP has established a national educational program that is uniform across the country, so the apprentices all receive the same coursework regardless of which state they are enrolled in the curriculum. The apprentice program is set up as a four-year program with eight semesters.  Each semester focuses on different disciplines and has a respective final exam and then a comprehensive mechanics exam that the students must pass in order to become a mechanic.

Lester shared with us how he advises his students on how this program provides a pathway of choices for them to have careers in the elevator industry. From working in construction, being an adjuster (is that all just two things? NEIEP helps them reach their goals.

Lester shared with us the importance of this training, as it opens up pathways to have a career in the elevator industry. NEIEP not only covers all the basics that an apprentice needs to know, but also offers continuing education courses for those that want to go even further with their training and knowledge. “We have code courses, we talk about different safety issues and factors, how to keep you and your crew safe”, added Lester.

NEIEP also offers continuing education to the workers already working in the trade like code courses and safety topics. “If you want to be successful in this field, and I would say life, you have to continue to learn” says Lester.

/by

The American Dream – Brought to You by Opportunity & Preparation

ElevatorInfo was recently in Chicago and had the great pleasure of interviewing International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) General President Frank J. Christensen and his dear friend Chris Gardner, whose rags-to-riches story was shared with the world in the hit movie The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith.

Frank and Chris are leaders working together to change the world. Specifically, their organizations – the International Union of Elevator Constructors and the Christopher P. Gardner Foundation – are uplifting children and young adults across the United States, helping them achieve their goals by offering significant guidance and mentorship, meaningful opportunities, and fundamental tools. They are transforming lives by literally setting young people’s careers in motion.

Keeping The American Dream Alive

With Labor Day upon us, ElevatorInfo engaged in a dynamic conversation with Frank and Chris about the American Dream – and what keeps it alive today.

The American Dream – something that Frank and Chris agree is an idea that every generation can take a little bit further and a little bit higher – is still possible thanks, in part, to the great careers found in the unionized building and construction industry.

Making it a reality

The Building Trades Unions, the International Union of Elevator Constructors, and The Christopher P. Gardner Foundation connect today’s youth with earn-as-you-learn apprenticeship training that leads to exciting careers – careers that offer family-sustaining wages, excellent health benefits, and retirement security.

“To get where you want to be in life – it takes hard work. It’s not luck,” said IUEC General President Frank Christensen. “Our role is to help guide young people. That’s our shared goal – the union and Chris’s foundation – we want to help men and women achieve their goals in life by giving them a hand up, by giving them guidance. Chris and I are doing everything we can to make their dreams a reality.”

With a smile, Chris Gardner added, “Luck is the dust created when opportunity and preparation collide.”

/by

Weston’s Law Brings Elevator Safety Standard to Tourism Industry

IUEC

North Carolina short-term rental property owners have a little over two months to implement improved safety standards for residential elevators included in legislation signed by Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday.

Cooper signed House Bill 619, sponsored by Rep. Timothy Moffitt, R-Henderson, to require owners of vacation cottages or similar short-term rentals to implement measures to improve the safety of residential elevators. The law was inspired by a child’s death at a beach home in Corolla last year.

“This law requires much-needed safety measures for elevators in short-term rentals, and while this action sadly can’t reverse the tragedy that killed Weston Androw, it does mean better protection to prevent future injuries and deaths,” Cooper said.

Weston’s Law is named after 7-year-old Weston Androw, who died in July 2021 after he was trapped between an elevator car and elevator shaft while visiting the Outer Banks with his family from Ohio. EMS workers quickly freed the child but were unable to resuscitate him.

The bill gives owners and landlords operating short-term rentals with residential elevators until Oct. 1 to reduce the gap between the landing and elevator car doors to no more than 4 inches, by installing a space guard on the landing floor, The Associated Press reports.

The bill also mandates minimum force requirements for elevator car doors and gates, which must be documented with the N.C. Department of Insurance.

Weston’s parents, Timeka and David Androw, advocated for the changes.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning to vacation rental platforms, AirBnB, Vrbo, Trip Advisor and others to require owners to disable home elevators following Weston’s death.

CPSC Acting Chairman Robert Alder urged the companies in a letter to disable the elevators, describing how children “some as young as two, and as old as 12, have been crushed to death” by getting trapped in the gap between inner and outer doors of residential elevators. While several deaths have occurred, “others have suffered devastating and lifelong injuries,” according to the CPSC.

Alder called on the companies to immediately notify all renters of the potential hazard and to disable elevators with the dangerous gap until the issue is addressed.

In January, the CPSC announced three leading elevator manufacturers – Bella Elevator, Inclinator Company of America, and Savaria Corporation – agreed to voluntarily recall about 69,000 residential elevators due to the issue.

The recalls involved numerous models manufactured between 1979 and 2021.

“Industry and the CPSC still have work to do. We have not yet been able to reach agreements with all of the elevator companies to fix their residential elevators that pose the same potentially fatal entrapment hazard and in one case sued a company to force a fix,” CPSC Chairman Axexander Hoehn-Saric said in January. “As long as this hazard persists, I am committed to continuing this work and preventing future entrapment injuries and deaths.”

/by