Modernise or replace a lift: how to decide without bias

This is the most frequent question, and the one where commercial interests are most visible: a maintenance company benefits from replacement, so does a manufacturer, while an owner benefits from the solution that costs least over time. Our position is different, because it is tied to neither option.

The technical points that most often determine the outcome

Before any budgetary consideration, the feasibility of a modernisation depends on the condition of the installation and on the conditions under which it is operated.

• The condition of the structure and the shaft: a sound shaft allows modernisation, an unsuitable one rules it out
• Parts availability in the medium term: some components disappear from the catalogues
• Fit with actual needs: load, traffic and accessibility expected by the building

If these three criteria are met, modernisation is almost always the best economic decision. If one of them is not, modernisation becomes an investment without a future.

The economic calculation over the full life cycle

The common mistake is to compare the cost of replacement with the cost of modernisation. The relevant comparison is different: on one side, the annualised cost of keeping the installation as it is (contract, repairs, unavailability, energy consumption) and on the other, the annualised cost of the chosen solution over its service life.

It regularly happens that an installation whose maintenance contract seems reasonable actually costs more to run than a modernisation spread over several financial years.

What a modernisation does not fix

A modernisation corrects neither a shaft that is too narrow, nor a lack of travel compared with the expected traffic, nor an unsuitable architectural configuration. Nor can it increase the load capacity beyond what the structure allows. These limits must be identified before committing, not during the works.

Operating constraints often decide

A replacement generally keeps the installation out of service longer than a phased modernisation. In an occupied building (medical practices, shops, a rental building with people of reduced mobility), this difference sometimes weighs more than the budget gap.

Our recommendation

Have both costings established before choosing, by someone who sells neither one nor the other. That is the only way to get an honest comparison, and it is exactly the role we play.