Definition: Elevator Job Description

What are the missions of the Ascensor? What training to follow to exercise this profession? What are his outlets and his salary? The answers are brought to you by this job description of Ascensorist.

Profession of Ascensorist

Specialist in mechanical installations such as escalators, moving walkways, freight elevators… discover the elevator profession in detail: mission, training, recruitment, retraining.

What is an elevator operator?

Every day, one hundred million people use an elevator and the park keeps getting bigger. To ensure that they are used in the best possible conditions, the elevator technician takes care of everything.

An atypical job in charge of the installation, maintenance and repair of elevators, escalators and other conveyor belts, the elevator technician is a profession that recruits massively.

Indeed, the construction programs, the needs of the elderly and the verticalization of cities but also the maintenance of the existing stock requires the recruitment of professionals. In addition, many professionals are going to retire and it will be necessary to replace them.

Missions of the elevator operator

Montage

From plans and diagrams, the technician proceeds to the equipment of the elevator shaft and the assembly of the cabin;

Maintenance

On a daily basis, he performs a series of checks: motors, electrical equipment, safety devices, condition of cables, door opening system, etc.

Tests

In order to anticipate possible failures, the elevator technician performs regular tests and then replaces the defective parts;

Automatic adjustment

Elevators are machines that require precise adjustment of the automation. The technician mentions these interventions in a maintenance log. It also ensures compliance with safety standards.

Where does the elevator technician work?

Elevators are mostly employed by infrastructure management companies or elevator installation and maintenance companies. They can also practice alone or with a partner, independently. More rarely, elevator operators are recruited directly by large hotels or palaces wishing not to resort to external service providers.

Trends in the profession

With around 17,000 new devices installed each year, without forgetting the maintenance of the nearly 600,000 elevators that make up the French fleet, a large part of which is aging, the profession of elevator technician guarantees candidates quick employment after their training.

Qualifications required to become an elevator operator

This professional knows how much user safety depends on his mission and that the slightest mistake can have dramatic consequences. His job therefore requires rigor, concentration and attention.

An elevator fitter must have certain physical capacities because he has to carry heavy loads on a regular basis. In addition, often suspended in a vacuum, he is not entitled to vertigo and cannot suffer from color blindness since he must know how to spot the colors of electric cables.

During breakdowns, he must know how to show patience and indulgence in the face of users who are sometimes exasperated or even distraught.

He also needs a good sense of human contact and the ability to adapt to a varied clientele since very different places are equipped with elevators (apartment buildings or offices, hotels, shopping centers, hospitals, etc.).

Finally, mobility and adaptability are essential because it can be called in various geographical areas and at any time.

Training to become an elevator operator

Initial training

Baccalaureate standard

• Graduate PRO MELEC/electrical engineering (Professions of Electricity and its connected environments) is prepared in three years after the third class. Students holding certain CAPs in the same sector can also prepare for it in 2 years under certain conditions.
• Bac pro MEI (maintenance of industrial equipment) and (future baccalaureate pro Maintenance of connected production systems at the start of the 2021 school year) is prepared in three years after the third class.
• Additional mention (MC) elevator technician, accessible to holders of the Graduate pro MEI or MELEC or after a 1st year of BTS or DUT.

Licence level

• BTS electrical engineering is accessible to all holders of a baccalaureate: industrial vocational baccalaureate in electrical engineering, STI2D baccalaureate.
• BTS MS (maintenance of systems option A production systems) accessible to any holder of a baccalaureate: industrial vocational baccalaureate in production and maintenance, technological baccalaureate.

Continuing education

You can prepare, within the framework of training for adults or a professionalization contract, various professional titles or certificates:

• Professional title “Elevator Maintenance Agent” (BUT)
• Professional certificate “Qualified Elevator Maintenance Agent”
• From internal training offered by the majors in the sector (Koné, Otis, Schindler, ThyssenKrupp, etc.), such as the Elevator Assembly Technician (TMA) or Repair (TRA) training at Irup (Saint-Etienne) in partnership with OTIS;

Possible evolutions of the elevator operator

After several years of practice, the elevator technician can become responsible for a maintenance team, foreman or choose to specialize in certain equipment.

With additional training, particularly in the commercial field, he can also become technical-commercial.

Salary of an elevator operator

The elevator operator’s salary depends on his experience: minimum wage for a beginner profile, it increases over the years until reaching an average of $ 2,200 per month during his career.

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