New Vic Theatre

New Vic Theatre – Case Study

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In September we completed a lift refurbishment project for New Vic Theatre, a theatre located in the heart of Newcastle under Lyme where imagination becomes reality, there are regular performances here and is one of the country’s most successful producing theatres. it was opened in 1986 and recently became the first building-based theatre company outside London to become a National Theatre Studio Affiliate.

New Vic Theatre engages 150,000 people every year and people travel far to see the performances and shows. They deliver a programme of international-class work made with local audiences in mind, complemented by an award-winning community programme, and education work which reach around 25,000 people of all ages every year.

 

New Vic Theatre used to have a lot of issues with their lifts, it was often unreliable and issues with it were regular, the parts were obselete with the company who installed them not existing anymore, it was inefficient and used a lot of energy. New Vic Struggled to find a lift company they could count on, they didn’t know how to get the lift fixed, however Nationwide Lift Services had a solution.

 

When we arrived at New Vic Theatre, we noticed the issues with the lift immediately and our engineers worked hard to get the lift right

We did a survey of the site and we met the manager and we agreed that a lift refurbishment would be the way to go, we agreed this as the lift was old and was bound to keep going wrong.

New Vic Theatre Lift

 

What we did on site

Hydraulic Systems Upgraded

During our time working on the lift refurbishment, we upgraded hydraulic systems, this was because they were old and dated, now the hydraulic systems are brand new and work efficently. Upgraded hydraulics can help reduce the chance of lift breakdown, make the lift more reliable, improve ride quality and make floor levelling more accurate. Upgrading the hydraulics can also increase the effiency of the lift and minimise noise.

Control Panel Replaced

We replaced the control panel as it was outdated and was causing the lift issues, now the control panel is working more efficiently. the latest control panels offer increased reliability; with fewer faults, the operating time will increase. The new electronic systems we installed, which will do a better job at handling the acceleration and braking. the lift is also now less noisy and doesn’t use up as much energy, making it more eco friendly.

Before and After

The first image is before the refurbishment and the second is after all of our work

Benefits Of Getting Your Lift Refurbished

Saving money in the long run – Old lifts are a lot more likely to breakdown and the older it gets the more it will breakdown, costing you more money in the long run. if a lift is over 15 years old we recommend getting your lift refurbished as it will reduce the chances of breakdowns and make the lift generally all round better.

More eco friendly – Lift refurbishments are more eco friendly as the lift stays in the building but the parts are replaced or upgraded, rather than taking the whole lift out. Lift refurbishments are also more cost effective as instead of paying for an entirely new you, you pay for time on site and repair work, saving you money.

Minimal Disruption For Your Business – This type of lift project causes little disruption, instead of dealing with the hassle of taking the lift out and putting a new one in, we simply replace the parts, this doesn’t take as long and causes a lot less disruption to your business.

Quick to install – We can normally get a lift upgrade installed within a week, parts normally take around 3 weeks from when we order them. typically a new lift can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

New Vic Theatre Overview

Time it took to complete – 7 working days

Lift Age – Over 30 years old

Project Type – Lift Refurbishment

Engineers who completed the work – Neil and Steve

Our engineers, Neil and Steve having a cup of tea after work

Our engineers, Neil and Steve did an amazing job throughout this project and thank you to New Vic Theatre for using us. they have been patient and good with us start to finish. Neil and Steve also enjoyed a cup of tea whilst on their site. We hope for more business off them in the future and we thank them for having us.

If you have a problem lift please contact us for a bespoke lift quote, we aim to respond within 24 hours and we would be more than happy to work with you.

Next Generation of Lift Experts – Why Investing In Staff Is A Must

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At Nationwide Lift Services we are a firm believer in empowering the next generation of lift experts, training them up and investing in them so they can reach their full potential. We don’t believe leaving them to their own tools is right, so the young guns who work for us do training as part of their role (in which they get paid for). The results have been clear to us, they have been hungry to learn and expand their knowledge, learning from other staff and our engineers.

The next generation of lift experts have great potential to thrive and be masters of the lift industry, we pride ourselves with training our staff up and watching them excel in their roles, we cannot wait to see how far they will go.

On the job training can sculpt a brand new employee, who may not have a clue about the ins and outs of the industry to a master of all things lifts, the key is patience and high quality training material.

Benefits of on the job training:

  • Real life examples and learning from more experienced employees
  • Faster adaptation to the job
  • Perform simple job tasks from the beginning of your career
  • Good and loyal employees who are more likely to stay
  • Attract the right type of employee

At Nationwide Lift Services, we firmly believe in hiring the next generation of geniuses, training them and watching their skills grow, we have some amazing examples of our young staff here are some below.

Tamzin, who is our newest employee is 21, she has only been with us for a few weeks and she is flying through work like a hawk and has been keen to learn the ins and outs of the lift industry. She is learning the repairs side of the business from our sales manager Brad and she is excelling in her work. Before working here she was at university and had a few jobs prior to this, but this is her first time working for the lift industry.

Daniel, who is part of our sales team is only 16 and has been doing well, he is brand new into the lift industry and has only been with us for a month (this is also his first job). he is learning the sales side of the business and has been learning from our longterm employees. In the short time he has been with Nationwide Lift Services, he has completed several training courses, done hours of research and put the work in, as well as winning us new business. a prime example of what the next generation is capable of.

Michael, who is in charge of the website, marketing and social media only recently turned 20 and has been with the company for just over 7 months, however he has been doing work in the background for us for longer than this. He has been making websites since a teenager and has always had a strong motivation for work. Before going onto looking after the website full time, he did sales/lead generation for a while. During his time with us he has made vast improvements to the website and social media and has 3 marketing qualifications under his belt, as well as winning us new business from the website.

Organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new-hire retention by 82%. It also increases productivity by 70%. Implementing on the job training has been proven to prevent a high employee turnover.

Experience is the teacher of all things

Julius Caesar

Nationwide Lift Services have been in the lift industry for 30 years, we have provided our lift services to lots of care homes, retail companies, colleges, schools and other companies in Staffordshire and around the UK, contact us for your lift projects.

Call 24/7 helpline: 01782 562000
Email us: info@nationwideliftservices.co.uk

breakdowns

Breakdowns Of A Lift – The Causes and Solutions

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A Lift Breakdown is where a lift abruptly stops working, the cause of this may be human error (like overloading the lift, overuse etc) or faults with the machinery or controls. A lift breakdown is a major problem as it can disrupt businesses, interrupt daily routines and cause other hosts of problems, especially in industries and buildings where a working lift is paramount, like care homes or hospitals.

Unfortunately there is always a looming chance of a lift breakdown happening. At Nationwide Lift Services our goal is to cut down the chance of a lift breakdown occuring to as little as possible, and when a lift breakdown occurs, we know how to deal with it and we aim to sort it as soon as possible.

We have handled lifts breaking down for 30+ years, so by choosing us to fix your lift you are in good hands. We always get to site in excellent timing and we work around the clock to ensure we fix the lift on the first site visit.

Common causes of lift breakdowns

Door Malfunctions – over half of lift breakdowns are caused by door malfunctions so making sure the lift doors are working and in good condition is important. the cause of door malfunctions can range from worn out rollers, faulty sensors or broken locks. To prevent these issues, we come on site and thoroughly clean the door tracks and make sure this is done regularly, we look at the sensors, making sure they are clear and not faulty or damaged and we also lubricate any moving parts, making sure they arent stiff or worn. If the doors bang together harshly, take longer or quicker than normal to open/close or squeak, you should get a lift maintenance visit scheduled.

Electrical Faults – electrical faults (such as power outages, faulty wiring and control system issues) are a frequent contributer to lift breakdowns, Signs of electrical failures can include lifts not responding, any sort of unusual, out of the oridinary noises, and erratic lift behaviour. To fix this we come on site and check electrical components and wiring, reducing the risk of electrical failures which makes the chance of a lift breakdown less liekly. Pay attention to the noise levels, get someone to go in the lift and record, then watch it back and listen for louder sound than normal, listen for any banging, scratching or scraping sounds, any unusual noise is a problem and you should call us so we can sort the issues before they cause a breakdown.

Lift maintenance and its role in preventing lift breakdowns

A lift maintenance is when an engineer visits a site to investigate the lift, this may be for problems or just a general check to ensure the lift is safe and works properly. you should have regular lift maintenance visits. During a lift maintenance visit an experienced engineer will throughly inspect the lift, and fix any sort of problem the lift has, this can solve the problems before they become more serious.

With regular lift maintenance it can greatly reduce the chance of a lift breakdown, minimise disruption to your business, meaning your staff will be able to get back to their duties in better time and ultimately save you money. You can read more about lift maintenance in our blog that we posted.

How to prepare for the event of a lift breakdown

When a lift breakdown occurs you need to be prepared, in this event you need to take swift action. our phone line is 24/7 and we aim to get to the breakdown as soon as possible and get the lift working with minimal disruption. Regular lift maintenance and checking it regularly can help prevent a lift breakdown from occurring. Some ways to prepare include.

Getting your lift checked regulary – get all your lifts checked by a qualfied engineer on a regular basis. A passenger lift is required to have 2 maintenance visits per year (1 for a goods lift) we recommend 4 lift maintenance visits (one visit every 3 months) if its regularly used and important for residents or staff (eg. in a care home or hospital) more frequent lift maintenance may be necessary. Getting your lift checked can help you spot problems and set them right before they cause a lift breakdown or entrapment.

Keep spare lift parts available – keep spare parts of the lift somewhere safe (eg. a cupboard or storage unit) so when an engineer visits site it will take them less time to fix the lift, we do not recommend you fix the lift yourself, let an experienced engineer handle it. there are 272 million hours of global downtime yearly for lifts so keeping spare parts can reduce downtime for your business and get things back up and running quicker.

Trap-ins and what to do if you or someone else is trapped in a lift

A trap in is where a person gets stuck in a lift, its rarely like in the movies where the lift just plummets down floors but this can still rarely happen. Entrapment is a very serious problem where serious injury or death can occur, you and the lift company can be held liable if your lift is clearly unsafe, so making sure your lift is safe is important. You can read more about lift regulations here. if you or someone else is trapped in a lift, this is what you should do.

Stay calm, but make noise – a trap-in is a very stressful event but trying to stay calm will help as when help arrives, you can communicate well and get yourself and everyone else out safely. if you cant call for help shout periodically for aid or bang on the elevator walls.

Call emergency services – if you are trapped in the lift, there is a red emergency button, if you press this it will call the lift company responsible for the lift, as well as the emergency services. The lift company must have a working emergency button for any lift that is installed. If the emergency button doesnt work, call 999 off your mobile phone.

Message or call friends or family members – If you have no internet connection, message friends or family members alerting them on the situation and tell them to call 999, you should also give them the address of the building you are in.

Use your phones flashlight – in the event of a breakdown the lights may cut out, if this happens you should use your phones flashlight to locate the buttons on the lift, also put your phones brightness on max. If your phone is out of charge, refer to tip 1 and 2.

Dont attempt to free yourself – things like trying to break the door or attempting to pry it open can only make things worse and we wouldn’t recommend doing this as it can be unsafe and you wouldn’t know where abouts the lift broke down.

Conclusion

A lift breakdown is often a lift stalling, rest assured the occurence of a lift plummeting is rare. At Nationwide Lift Services we take all calls about a lift breakdown very seriously. We have a 24/7 helpline that takes you straight to one of our staff instead of a call centre, meaning we can get to you as quickly as possible.

If you have any issues with your lifts, please contact us so we can assist you. We aim to respond within 24 hours. Our office number is 01782 562000, or you can email us at info@nationwideliftservices.co.uk.

Hull Office

Hull Office Opened – Nationwide Lifts Expands

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At Nationwide Lift Services we’re proud to announce we have officially opened a brand-new office in Hull. We have decided to do this due to accelerated growth and so we can expand our business area and grow further.

unlike our lifts which go up and down, when it comes to our business we only want the growth and sales to go up, while helping out new and existing customers on the way. This new workspace is excellent for us and we have high hopes to work here.

Three of our hard-working office staff live in hull who work on the sales team, marketing team and the Managing Director.

we plan on utilizing the Hull Office as a hub for sales, marketing, answering phones and more traditional office roles. A good percentage of our business is in Stoke-on-Trent or around other areas of the UK, but we hope to secure some Hull and East Yorkshire lift projects too.

Around 59,000 businesses of all sizes have more than one workspace and we are glad to now be one of them. expanding has helped us a lot as we can do a better job and we can cover a more expansive area.

Opening the office has been a huge milestone for us, we have tirelessly working and putting the hours in to get the setup right. Throughout the last few days as of writing this, we have spent the last few days cleaning it, putting desks together and making changes to get it all nice and ready.

For 2024, 2025 and indeed in the near future we intend to keep growing, expanding our business and most importantly keep your lift working and safe, with the Hull Office being a major step in the right direction.

“I am looking forward to seeing the future for the company and seeing how we can further improve, while we make sure your lifts are working” said our Managing Director.

Nationwide Lift Services have been working on the lifts to Care Homes, Colleges, Schools, Councils and Retail companies in and around Staffordshire for 30+ years. Our main workspace is in Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is in Stoke-on-Trent but we do lift projects all around the UK.

We provide Lift Service (or Lift Maintenance), Lift Repairs and Lift Refurbishment (also known as Lift Modernisation or a Lift Upgrade). If you or your company find yourselves in trouble regarding your lifts, we are here to help you.

You can call us on our 24/7 helpline at 01782 562000 or you can send us an email on info@nationwideliftservices.co.uk, also you can check out our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages here.