Old timer called me out on leveling at a hospital job in Austin

Back in 2019 I was working on a Otis Gen2 at St. David's hospital in Austin. An older mechanic named Ray walks up while I'm shimming the guide rails and just says 'you're chasing the bubble, son.' I had no idea what he meant at first. Turns out I was so focused on getting that level perfectly zeroed that I was overcompensating for frame flex and slightly warped rail sections. He showed me to rough it in within a 32nd and then check the car's actual ride feel instead of staring at the level. Changed my whole approach to rail work. Has anyone else had a vet tell you to stop relying on tools and start using your gut more?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane_ross15h ago

Read an old elevator manual from the 50s that said "feel the car before you touch a tool." That Ray sounds like he knew the building too, those Gen2s flex weird on any rail over 20 feet. Trusting the gut comes from making enough mistakes to know when the level is lying to you.

nora1013h ago

Trusting the gut comes from making enough mistakes" that really hit home for me. I had a similar thing years ago with a 30 year old MCE controller that kept throwing phantom faults. I must have spent two weeks chasing a short in the wiring that just didn't exist. Eventually I stepped back and just sat in the machine room for a while listening to it cycle. That's when I noticed the main contactor was chattering just barely during slow downs. Replaced the coil and it ran smooth as glass ever since. Sometimes your ears and your gut catch stuff the manual never teaches you. Your mileage may vary but I think Ray had the right idea about feeling the equipment first.