MI Elevator Mechanic common mistakes
MI Elevator Mechanic · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating ASME A17.1/CSA B44 clearances, runby, and pit-depth figures as memorized trivia only, and answering from field habit (what the last job looked like) instead of the code minimum.
Candidates learn code values on real installations where the as-built condition exceeds the minimum, so the habit-based number feels correct and the actual code minimum is never recalled under time pressure. The B44 harmonized numbering also differs from older A17.1 editions, so remembered values are often from the wrong edition.
What to do instead
Build a one-page numeric sheet from the current code edition (top-of-car clearance, refuge space, pit depth, runby, hoistway clearances, machine-space access) and quiz yourself by writing values from memory, then checking. For each number, also write the clause number and the edition year so you know which edition your value came from.
Applying the wrong set of code requirements to the wrong equipment type, e.g., using hydraulic requirements for a traction unit, or electric-elevator governor/top-of-car rules on a roped hydraulic, instead of first classifying the equipment.
A17.1/B44 organizes requirements by equipment type and by Section, and many candidates jump straight to a remembered rule without asking 'what kind of elevator is this?' The exam deliberately mixes equipment types in the stem.
What to do instead
Before answering any code question, write the equipment classification in the margin (traction geared/gearless, MRL, hydraulic direct/roped, escalator/moving walk). Then recall the requirements that attach to that classification. Practice by sorting a list of 30 requirements into equipment-type buckets.
Confusing the roles and test values of the safety device chain - governor tripping speed, safety application, and buffer requirements - and mixing up the percentage relationships (e.g., governor trip speed versus rated speed, safety test speed versus rated speed).
The percentages are similar across devices and editions, and candidates memorize the numbers without the associated device or test condition. Field experience rarely exposes the exact test percentages because the mechanic sees the test, not the calculation.
What to do instead
Make a three-column table: device (governor, safety, buffer, oil buffer), the relationship to rated speed, and the code clause. Reconstruct it from the code rather than from memory, then redraw it blank twice a week. Attach each percentage to a one-line physical explanation of why the device needs that speed.
Solving motor-control and circuit questions by pattern-matching to a familiar ladder diagram instead of tracing the actual circuit in the stem, leading to wrong answers on holding circuits, interlocks, and seal-in contacts.
Experienced mechanics recognize common control arrangements and answer from the arrangement they have seen, but exam stems frequently modify one element (a normally closed contact, a parallel path, a timer) to test whether the candidate is actually tracing current.
What to do instead
For every control question, redraw the circuit from the stem on scratch paper and trace energized paths by hand, labeling each contact N.O. or N.C. in its de-energized state. Practice 15 seal-in, interlock, and reversing-starter problems until tracing is faster than pattern-matching.
Mixing up the electrical theory fundamentals behind the practical questions - Ohm's law and power relationships, AC versus DC behavior of coils and capacitors, and series/parallel resistance - and choosing an answer that 'sounds like the right magnitude' rather than computing it.
Many candidates learned theory years ago and rely on field intuition; exam items give plausible distractors that differ by a factor of 2 or by an inverted formula, which intuition cannot reliably catch.
What to do instead
Drill a small formula card (E=IR, P=IE, series/parallel rules, transformer turns ratio, three-phase power) and do 10 numeric problems per session with units written at every step. Check each answer by estimating the order of magnitude before selecting.
Answering roping and hoisting questions from the arrangement on a familiar job (1:1 versus 2:1, drum versus traction) without working out rope speed, load at the hitch, or rope tension from the reeving shown in the stem.
Roping changes the relationship between car speed and rope speed and between car load and rope tension, and candidates who have only worked one reeving pattern apply that pattern's numbers to every question.
What to do instead
Draw the reeving for each stem, count parts of rope supporting the load, and derive car speed versus rope speed and tension before looking at the options. Practice converting between 1:1 and 2:1 for the same machine until the factor-of-two relationships are automatic.
Treating hydraulic elevator questions as generic 'hydraulics' and ignoring the code-specific items - relief valve setting relative to full-load pressure, rupture/burst valve function, tank and oil temperature limits, and the distinction between a plunger and a cylinder - so answers describe plausible fluid behavior but not the required device behavior.
Hydraulic elevators are a small share of many mechanics' work, and the code-mandated devices (relief valve, check valve, rupture valve, low-oil/pressure switches) are rarely seen operating at their limits. Fluid-mechanics intuition then substitutes for the code requirement.
What to do instead
Write a one-page hydraulic device map: each valve or switch, its function, and the code-set value or condition it must satisfy. Then answer 20 hydraulic items by naming the device first and the requirement second, rather than reasoning from fluid behavior.
Confusing maintenance-task requirements with periodic inspection and test requirements - what must be done at what interval, who may perform it, and what must be recorded - and answering with the task that is performed rather than the interval or record the question asks about.
The maintenance control program, periodic inspections, and periodic tests are three different obligations with different intervals and different recordkeeping, and candidates who do all three in the field blur them together.
What to do instead
Build a matrix with rows for inspection, test, and maintenance and columns for interval, who performs it, and what record is produced. Fill it from the current code and Michigan rules, then practice classifying 20 task statements into the correct row.
Answering Michigan licensing and safety-rule items from general industry knowledge or from another state's practice, instead of Michigan-specific requirements such as licensing categories, continuing-education obligations, inspection and permit processes, and reporting duties.
Most study material is national in scope, and Michigan's administrative rules layer state-specific licensing and enforcement on top of the adopted code. Candidates assume the state simply adopts the code wholesale.
What to do instead
Obtain the Michigan elevator statute and administrative rules and make a separate one-page summary of state-only content: license types, renewal and continuing-education requirements, permit and inspection workflow, and accident-reporting duties. Quiz yourself only on that page until it is distinct from the national code material.
Answering rigging and jobsite-safety items by describing the safe practice in general terms rather than the specific OSHA requirement - e.g., identifying that a load must be secured without naming the inspection interval for slings, the required fall-protection threshold, or the lockout/tagout sequence.
Safety knowledge is usually absorbed as habit and toolbox-talk rather than as citable requirements, so candidates recognize the right idea but not the specific threshold, interval, or procedure step the item is testing.
What to do instead
Make a short OSHA reference card covering sling and rigging inspection, fall protection, lockout/tagout, confined-space entry, and ladder/scaffold rules relevant to elevator work, with the specific numbers and sequence steps. Practice items by writing the governing requirement before choosing an answer.