They Fixed
What Three
Other Companies
Couldn't.
Marcus D. Reinholt
Director of Facilities · Harborview Regional Medical Center
Six Weeks Down.
Back in Service in 72 Hours.
Westfield Grand Mall — Concourse B Escalator Unit #7
Unit #7 in Concourse B had been offline for six weeks when Ascend was called in. Two regional maintenance firms had assessed the escalator, ordered parts that didn't resolve the fault, and ultimately declared it "beyond economical repair" — a conclusion that would have triggered a $340,000 replacement quote.
Tenant complaints had reached the property director. Foot traffic past three anchor tenants was measurably down. The facility manager, Sandra Okafor, needed a second opinion from someone who had actually worked on that specific Schindler 9500 model under load conditions.
Our lead technician, running a full step-chain tension analysis and comb plate alignment check, identified the actual fault within four hours on-site: a progressive step-chain elongation of 0.3% beyond tolerance, combined with a misaligned comb plate at the lower landing that was triggering the safety cutout on every third operational cycle.
Step chain replacement using OEM Schindler components, comb plate realignment to ±0.5mm tolerance, and a full safety circuit test per ASME A17.1-2019 Section 2.12. The unit returned to service in 72 hours. Total cost: $18,400 — versus the $340,000 replacement quote.
“They found the fault in four hours that two other firms missed over six weeks. The inspection report was on my desk the same afternoon.”
Sandra Okafor · Director of Property Operations“We had three bids on that unit. Ascend was the only one who showed up with actual diagnostic equipment instead of a quote sheet.”
“We can't shut down the east wing for maintenance. Ascend worked around our patient transfer schedule without a single disruption complaint from nursing staff.”
Dr. Priya Nambiar · VP of Facilities, St. Clement's Health SystemEight Units.
One Facility. Zero Downtime Complaints.
St. Clement's Health System — Full Campus Modernization
St. Clement's operated eight KONE escalators across three connected hospital buildings, the oldest of which had been installed in 2003 and were approaching end-of-life for their step chains, handrail drive systems, and control boards. The facilities VP needed a modernization contractor who understood hospital operations — meaning work had to happen between 11pm and 5am, on a rolling unit-by-unit schedule, without disrupting patient transfers or clinical staff routing.
Ascend coordinated directly with nursing administration and the hospital's patient transport coordinator to map unit dependencies. Units servicing the cardiac and oncology wings were sequenced last. Each modernization was completed within a single overnight window — control board replacement, new KONE EcoMod step chain system, handrail drive retrofit, and full safety circuit verification before the 5am shift change.
Every unit received a fresh ASME A17.1-2019 inspection report filed with the Authority Having Jurisdiction within 24 hours of completion. The full AHJ submission package — including KONE modernization certificates, load test documentation, and updated maintenance schedules — was delivered to St. Clement's facilities office before the project closed.
“I've worked with four escalator contractors in fifteen years. Ascend is the first one that sent me the compliance report before I remembered to ask for it.”
47 Stations.
One Maintenance Partner.
Metro Transit Authority — System-Wide Maintenance Contract
The Metro Transit Authority had operated with three separate maintenance vendors across its 47-station escalator network — a legacy of piecemeal contract awards that had produced inconsistent documentation, mismatched part inventories, and an AHJ compliance backlog that procurement officers described as "a liability event waiting to happen."
The RFP required a single vendor with documented experience across Schindler, KONE, Otis, and ThyssenKrupp systems, ASME A17.1 compliance history for transit-class units, and a response time SLA of under four hours for critical faults. Ascend submitted a 94-page technical proposal. We were awarded the contract.
Ascend deployed a dedicated transit team of twelve licensed technicians operating on rotating 24/7 coverage. Each station received a complete baseline inspection within the first 60 days — generating 47 individual ASME A17.1 compliance reports, a unified parts inventory, and a predictive maintenance schedule based on actual unit age, load data, and historical fault patterns.
“The compliance backlog we inherited was cleared in 60 days. The board had been asking about escalator liability for three years. That question is off the agenda now.”
James Whitfield · Deputy Director of Infrastructure, Metro TransitThe paperwork
is already done.
Procurement officers and risk managers shouldn't have to chase compliance documentation. Every Ascend engagement comes with a complete compliance package, filed before the invoice arrives.
Request a
Site Assessment.
Tell us about your facility and we'll send a qualified technician for a no-obligation assessment. No phone number required — we'll follow up by email with a proposed scope and timeline.
Typical turnaround: 2 business days from form submission to assessment proposal. Emergency fault response: under 4 hours.