Investigation and Improvements of the Existing Best-Value Selection Criteria for Elevator Maintenance Contractors

Abstract

The selection of appropriate maintenance contractors is essential for seamless and uninterrupted availability of elevators. Best value (BV) procurement with well-defined selection criteria results in the successful attainment of project objectives. Therefore, in this research, we first identified the current BV criteria for elevator maintenance contractor (EMC) selection after analyzing requests for proposals (RFPs) using manual content analysis. Detailed examination of the RFPs indicated discrepancies between the actual EMC selection criteria and recommendations in the literature. Besides, the existing criteria did not address the critical factors affecting the performance of elevators, including safety performance, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, availability of service, age of elevators, and availability of spare parts. Thus, to overcome these shortcomings, significant modifications are suggested. It is expected that these recommendations will significantly improve the BV criteria and result in the enhanced future performance of elevators.