Bridging the Elevator Technician Gap with Data-Driven Maintenance

The elevator industry is at a critical juncture. Across the globe, service providers are grappling with two converging crises that threaten passenger safety and operational stability:

1. A growing portfolio of aging assets requiring more frequent and complex maintenance.
2. A shrinking pool of skilled technicians available to service them.

The consequences are not theoretical. In the United States alone, elevator and escalator incidents cause approximately 17,000 injuries and 30 deaths each year, with issues like door strikes and entrapments leading to increasingly strict regulations (O’Laughlin, 2020).

While this is a global issue, the situation in Latin America (LATAM) is even more complex.

A Magnified Crisis in Latin America

In LATAM, the technician shortage is compounded by a unique set of challenges. An aging elevator stock, some of which is decades old, operates under a patchwork of fragmented regulations, inconsistent training standards, and limited safety reporting. Rapid urban growth in major cities is placing unprecedented strain on this already fragile infrastructure, while parts scarcity and underregulated modernization create a perfect storm for risk.

The results can be tragic. A series of severe, documented accidents between 2014 and 2024 in countries including Brazil, Chile, and Mexico underscore the real human cost of inadequate maintenance, from fatal shaft falls to catastrophic equipment failures.

Why Traditional Maintenance Is No Longer Enough

Historically, the elevator industry has relied on a “break-fix” or reactive maintenance model. The shift to scheduled preventive maintenance was an improvement, but it still relies on fixed schedules that can miss emerging faults between visits.

Other heavy-asset industries, like HVAC and rotating equipment, have successfully evolved to predictive and prescriptive maintenance by leveraging remote monitoring and data analytics. The elevator industry’s adoption of these technologies has been slower, hindered by several key factors:

• High Upfront Costs: Significant hardware and subscription fees created a high barrier to entry.
• Proprietary Systems: “Walled garden” systems from major OEMs limited interoperability and data access for independent service providers.
• Connectivity & Regulatory Hurdles: Challenges in ensuring reliable data transmission and navigating regulations about placing third-party equipment in the hoistway.
• Flawed Business Models: Early remote monitoring solutions were often positioned as a way to replace technicians rather than augment them, creating resistance from the workforce.

Technology is Creating the Solution

Today, advances in IoT, cloud computing, and AI are dismantling these barriers. Remote monitoring platforms like CEDES Elevate use sensor fusion—leveraging data from sensors already embedded in the elevator’s door system—to capture a rich stream of operational data.

By applying machine learning algorithms, this data is transformed from raw numbers into actionable insights. The results are tangible: monitored elevators have demonstrated a 15% reduction in safety-related incidents, directly improving passenger safety and reducing building owner liability.

However, technology alone is not a complete solution. The data is only valuable if it gets to the right person at the right time.

The Power of a Closed-Loop Ecosystem

This is where ecosystem collaboration becomes essential. The data from a monitoring system must be integrated into the day-to-day workflow of the service provider.

By integrating the real-time asset health data from CEDES Elevate directly into a Field Service Management (FSM) platform like FIELDBOSS, a “closed-loop” maintenance system is created.

FIELDBOSS, an ERP built specifically for the elevator industry, empowers contractors to:

• Schedule and dispatch technicians with maximum efficiency.
• Capture critical job data from the field in real-time.
• Streamline regulatory compliance and customer reporting.

This integration is supercharged by AI. Because FIELDBOSS is built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, it incorporates Copilot AI to move from simple data reporting to intelligent, prescriptive action. Copilot analyzes the incoming sensor data from CEDES in the context of the asset’s entire service history—including past work orders, parts replaced, and technician notes. This allows it to identify complex patterns, predict failures with greater accuracy, and optimize operations to a degree previously impossible.

When an anomaly is detected by CEDES Elevate, this AI-powered system doesn’t just raise an alarm. It can:

• Targeted Interventions: Dispatching a technician to fix a specific, known issue before it leads to a failure or entrapment.
• Smarter Resource Allocation: Prioritizing work on at-risk units and optimizing technician routes.
• Data-Backed Maintenance: Justifying service plans to building owners with clear performance data, improving safety, uptime, and customer satisfaction.

Case Study in the Making: Bringing Data-Driven Maintenance to LATAM

In 2025, a strategic partnership was formed between CEDES and RM Partners, a company with deep roots in the Latin American elevator market, to bring this integrated solution to the region.

The first pilot program, launching in Uruguay and Argentina, will deploy the integrated CEDES Elevate and FIELDBOSS solution. The project aims to prove how this closed-loop ecosystem can directly address the region’s most pressing challenges by:

• Reducing technician travel time by enabling remote diagnosis.
• Proactively addressing door-related issues, the leading cause of entrapments.
• Improving first-time fix rates by equipping technicians with detailed, AI-powered insights before they arrive on site.

A Safer, More Efficient Future

The elevator industry is entering a new era. The challenges are significant, but so are the opportunities. For service providers, the path forward is clear: embracing ecosystem collaboration and data sharing is the key to bridging the technician gap and ensuring passenger safety.

Adopting integrated remote monitoring, AI and field management technology is no longer optional—it is the essential foundation for building a resilient, reputable, and profitable service business in a market where skilled labor is scarce and safety is paramount.

References

• O’Laughlin, J. (2020). Hazards Associated with Elevators and Escalators. Elevator World.