FSM software for elevator service companies
Monthly maintenance routes, entrapment callbacks timed against the contract and Category 1 and 5 tests filed on time, all recorded per unit. FSM Flow gives independent elevator contractors the unit-level history the majors have, without the enterprise price tag.
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Entrapment resolved
Car 2 · arrived 38 min · passengers released
At a glance
Elevator service software is field service management software built for companies that maintain, repair and modernise elevators, escalators and lifts. It schedules the route-based preventive maintenance a maintenance control program (MCP) requires under ASME A17.1/CSA B44, dispatches callbacks and entrapments against contract response times, tracks Category 1 annual and Category 5 five-year tests with their filing deadlines, and keeps a history for every unit: controller, machine, door operator, ropes and test tags.
FSM Flow models the elevator business the way a contract is written: customer, building, unit. Each unit carries its maintenance frequency, test due dates, violation history and the SLA its contract promises. Mechanics run their monthly route from an offline-first mobile app that works in the machine room and the pit, log entrapments with time called, time on site and time resolved, and record Cat 1 tag details and Cat 5 results the state inspector witnessed. Modernisations run as multi-phase projects with change orders and progress billing on the same platform.
The outcome is a contractor that can prove to a building owner that every unit was visited, every callback met its response time and every test was filed before the deadline, and that can see which units are generating the callbacks that eat the contract margin.
24,200
Elevator and escalator installer and repairer jobs in the US (2024)
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
$106,580
Median annual pay for elevator and escalator installers and repairers (May 2024)
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
5%
Projected growth in elevator and escalator installer and repairer jobs, 2024–2034
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
$9.46B
Global elevator modernisation market (2024)
Source: IMARC
Job types
Each job type carries its checklist, duration, licence requirement and billing rule (contract, straight time or overtime), so routes, callbacks and tests share one scheduler.
Monthly route maintenance
MCP examinations, cleaning, lubrication and adjustment per unit, generated from the contract frequency.
Callback (straight time)
Door faults, levelling and shutdowns dispatched by proximity with the unit’s recent history on the tablet.
Entrapment response
Priority dispatch with time called, time on site and time resolved stamped against the contract SLA.
Overtime callback
After-hours calls flagged for overtime billing under the contract, with on-call rotation.
Category 1 annual test
Annual safety test with the signed, dated tag at the controller recorded and photographed.
Category 5 five-year test
Full-load test witnessed by a certified inspector, with results filed within the AHJ deadline.
Firefighters’ emergency operation test
Monthly Phase I and II checks logged on the unit so the record is complete at inspection.
Violation correction
AHJ violations tracked by unit and jurisdiction from citation to correction and re-inspection.
Repair (door operator, controller, hydraulics)
Quoted repairs outside the contract, with parts linked to the unit and the invoice.
Modernisation project
Multi-phase controller, machine or fixture upgrades with change orders and progress billing.
Escalator maintenance & step inspection
Step, comb plate, handrail and brake checks on their own route and checklist.
LOLER thorough examination (UK)
Six-monthly passenger-lift and twelve-monthly goods-lift examinations with defect reports.
Where time gets lost
The problems every service manager and route mechanic recognises, and what FSM Flow does about each one.
Callbacks eat the contract margin and nobody can see which units cause them.
Every callback is a work order linked to the unit. The dashboard shows callbacks per unit per month, so the service manager can see the three doors generating half the route’s overtime and schedule the repair that stops them.
See how it worksEntrapment response times are promised but not proven.
Entrapments carry the contract’s response time. The work order stamps time called, dispatched, on site and resolved, and the customer report shows whether the SLA was met for every event.
See how it worksCategory tests fall out of their window and the unit gets tagged.
Cat 1 annual, Cat 3 and Cat 5 five-year tests are scheduled per unit on their own cadence, separate from monthly maintenance. Due tests sit in the unassigned pool with the AHJ filing deadline attached.
See how it worksMonthly route visits are missed and the MCP record has gaps.
Maintenance contracts generate each unit’s monthly visit with the MCP checklist. Missed or late units are visible on the dashboard, and the completed checklists form the maintenance record the inspector asks for.
See how it worksMechanics can’t get signal in the machine room or the pit.
The FSM Flow mobile app is offline-first. The mechanic opens the unit, sees the controller model, last callbacks and open violations, completes the checklist and photographs the tag, and it syncs when they are back on the lobby floor.
See how it worksModernisation projects are billed from a spreadsheet.
Modernisations run as multi-phase projects with crews, change orders, documents and progress invoices per phase, linked to the same unit record the maintenance route will inherit afterwards.
See how it works
Built for elevator service companies
One platform for the service manager, the route mechanics, the modernisation crew and the AI that connects them.
Unit-level asset records
Every elevator and escalator as an asset under customer → building, with controller, machine, door operator and test history.
- Controller, machine and door operator models and dates
- Cat 1 and Cat 5 due dates and tag photos
- Violations by unit and by AHJ
Maintenance contracts & route generation
Full-maintenance, parts-and-labour or examination-only contracts that generate each unit’s monthly visit and its MCP checklist.
- Per-unit frequency and checklist
- Contract, straight-time and overtime billing rules
- Renewal invoices and expiry alerts
Callbacks & entrapments with SLA clocks
Priority dispatch by proximity with time called, on site and resolved stamped on the work order and compared with the contract.
- Entrapment priority jumps the unassigned pool
- On-call rotation for overtime callbacks
- SLA attainment per customer and per unit
Category test scheduling & filing
Cat 1, Cat 3 and Cat 5 tests tracked separately from maintenance, with witnessed results and the filing deadline on the job.
- Annual and five-year cadences per unit
- Inspector name and witnessed date recorded
- PDF test report attached for the AHJ
Modernisation projects
Controller, machine and fixture upgrades as multi-phase projects with change orders, documents and progress billing.
- Phases with their own crews and dates
- Change orders and progress invoices
- New equipment recorded on the unit at hand-over
AI assistant & workflows
Ask “which units have had three or more callbacks this quarter?” or automate the customer notice when a Cat 5 is 90 days out.
- Natural-language questions on live unit data
- Workflow builder for test reminders and escalations
- AI summaries of each visit for the building manager
A day with FSM Flow
How a 10-mechanic independent elevator contractor covers 600 units, callbacks and a Cat 5 without a second dispatcher.
- 6:30 am
Routes are already built
Each mechanic’s monthly units are on the board with the MCP checklist attached, grouped by building, with one mechanic held back for callbacks in the downtown core.
- 7:15 am
Mechanics open their first building
The mobile app shows the four units, last month’s notes, an open door-operator violation on Car 3 and the Cat 1 tag photo from last year, all available offline in the machine room.
- 8:50 am
An entrapment comes in
The office logs the call against Car 2 at a medical building; the contract promises a 60-minute response. AI suggests the mechanic eight minutes away, and the clock starts on the work order.
- 9:28 am
Passengers released, times stamped
The mechanic marks on site and resolved; the work order shows a 38-minute response against a 60-minute SLA and the cause recorded against the unit for the callback report.
- 11:00 am
Cat 5 witnessed by the state inspector
Two mechanics complete the full-load test on a traction unit, record the inspector’s name and the results, photograph the tag and attach the report for filing within the 21-day deadline.
- 2:30 pm
A door operator quote from the route
On a route visit, a mechanic finds a failing door operator outside the contract. He builds a repair quote from the price book with the part number and sends it to the property manager for approval.
- 4:30 pm
Month-end is ready before the office closes
Completed route visits produce the contract invoices in bulk, overtime callbacks are invoiced separately, and the AI assistant lists units with tests due next month.
Compliance & records
FSM Flow stores the evidence against the unit, the building and the mechanic, so an inspector’s visit or a building owner’s audit is a report away.
Maintenance control program (ASME A17.1 / CSA B44 8.6)
Examinations, tests, cleaning, lubrication and adjustment recorded per unit at the intervals your MCP specifies, with the completed checklist as the maintenance record.
Category 1 annual tests
Test results, the signed and dated tag at the controller and the mechanic who performed it, with the next due date generated automatically.
Category 5 five-year tests
Full-load test results witnessed by a certified inspector, with the inspector’s name recorded and the report attached for filing within the jurisdiction’s deadline (15–21 days in many AHJs).
Firefighters’ emergency operation
Monthly Phase I and Phase II operation checks recorded on the unit so the record is complete for the annual inspection.
Violations & AHJ correspondence
Citations tracked by unit and jurisdiction from issue to correction and re-inspection, with letters and photos attached and a full audit trail.
Licensing & LOLER (UK)
State elevator mechanic licences and expiry dates on each profile; in the UK, LOLER six-monthly passenger and twelve-monthly goods-lift thorough examinations with defect reports to the enforcing authority where required.
Numbers worth watching
Every one of these is a dashboard widget in FSM Flow, or a question you can ask the AI assistant.
Callbacks per unit per month
The margin metric for a maintenance contract; units above the route average are repair candidates.
Trend down after targeted repairsEntrapment response time vs SLA
Time called to mechanic on site, compared with the response time the contract promises, per customer and unit.
Route visits completed on time
Monthly units visited within the MCP interval; gaps are visible before the inspector finds them.
Target 100%Category tests in date
Share of units with Cat 1 and Cat 5 tests current and filed; units approaching due show up 90 days ahead.
Overtime callback share
Overtime versus straight-time callbacks by customer; high shares point at units needing repair or contract repricing.
Days to invoice
Should be zero: contract, callback and repair invoices are generated when the work order closes.
What is elevator service software?
What is a Category 1 test versus a Category 5 test?
How do you track callbacks and entrapment response time against the contract?
Can FSM Flow manage route maintenance and modernisation projects together?
Does the mobile app work in a machine room or pit without signal?
Does it support UK lift companies and LOLER examinations?
How much does FSM Flow cost for an elevator company?
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