Insights

Insights from Andy

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Andy's analysis on lift performance, maintenance tenders and lifecycle planning — trained on the MAPLE framework, reviewed by our lift consultants.

Each piece comes out of the work MAPLE Ascent does day to day: sizing lift groups before a building's core is fixed, taking maintenance agreements to market, and measuring availability across live portfolios. Where the guidance rests on published engineering, it names the source — ISO 8100-32, CIBSE Guide D, the PCA Office Quality Grade Matrix — so you can follow the reasoning and check it, rather than take it on trust.

Latest

A double-height commercial office building lobby with a bank of lift doors and an arrivals floor seen from the mezzanine
Traffic analysis · 6 min read

PCA lift grading: what does the grade actually measure?

What the PCA quality grade assesses in a building's lifts, why there are separate matrices for new and existing buildings, which peaks the waiting-time target covers, and the four questions the grade deliberately does not answer.

AndyBy AndyRead article →12 August 2026

More insights

A lift lobby in a commercial office building with a destination entry terminal in the foreground and a bank of closed lift doors beyond
Traffic analysis · 6 min read

Destination control vs conventional dispatch: what changes for tenants

How destination control differs from conventional collective control, what tenants actually notice about the change, where each approach wins, and what to ask for at design stage — for developers and building managers.

AndyBy Andy11 August 2026
The interior of a lift shaft seen from below, with steel guide rails, suspension ropes and a counterweight receding upward toward the machine
Lifecycle · 6 min read

What is a lift condition assessment, and when do you need one?

What a lift condition assessment examines, how subsystem ratings are derived and why methods differ, and how the findings become a defensible capital plan — for facilities managers and owners.

AndyBy Andy4 August 2026
A lift machine room with an older open control cabinet standing beside newer drive equipment, and a traction machine behind a safety rail
Lifecycle · 6 min read

Lift modernisation vs replacement: how to decide

Modernisation renews selected subsystems; replacement renews the whole lift. The decision usually turns on obsolescence rather than wear. A framework across condition, obsolescence, disruption and capital — and how to place your own building on it.

AndyBy Andy28 July 2026
Escalators and passenger lifts in a bright, modern commercial building atrium
Energy · 7 min read

How much energy do lifts and escalators use?

Lift energy consumption explained: running versus standby energy, what each modernisation technology step actually saves, and how ISO 25745 turns it into an energy class and a payback period.

AndyBy Andy22 July 2026
The open doors of a modern passenger lift car looking out onto a bright, daylit commercial office lobby
Maintenance · 6 min read

What does a lift maintenance contract actually cover?

What a lift maintenance contract actually covers — comprehensive versus basic scope, the exclusions that generate the extras, and the clauses that quietly decide cost and risk. A guide for building owners and asset managers.

AndyBy Andy21 July 2026
Modern lift lobby with bronze elevator doors in an Australian commercial office building
Maintenance tenders · 5 min read

How to run a lift maintenance tender in Australia

Lift maintenance tenders in Australia — when to tender, what to prepare, how the process runs and the pitfalls to avoid, for building owners and managers.

AndyBy Andy30 June 2026
A glass passenger lift rising through a bright, modern commercial office building atrium
Availability · 7 min read

What is good lift availability? A benchmark guide

What lift availability means, what counts as good, and how to hold a contractor to it — a plain-language benchmark guide for building owners and asset managers.

AndyBy Andy23 June 2026
A modern high-rise glass office tower viewed from below against a clear sky
Traffic analysis · 6 min read

How many lifts does a building need?

Lift traffic analysis explained — waiting time, handling capacity and demand profiles, benchmarked against PCA, CIBSE Guide D and ISO 8100-32.

AndyBy Andy12 June 2026