A PREMIER LIBERAL ARTS INSTITUTION
For over 100 years Wellesley College has fostered a lively and welcoming environment for women pursuing higher education in the liberal arts. Its more than 35,000 living alumnae are referred to as the world’s most powerful women’s network.
Located about 12 miles outside of Boston, the 500-acre campus provides the best of both worlds for students – a beautiful and natural landscape with convenient access to the culture and opportunity of the greater Boston area. The more than 2,000 Wellesley students have access to 21 residence halls and numerous libraries, classrooms, laboratories, galleries and studios.
Wellesley relies upon 55 elevators to keep the campus running, and an older system has put an increasing strain on its elevator service.
AN AGING SYSTEM IN NEED OF UPDATING
When Michael Lane took over as Wellesley’s Director of Facility Operations, he found a system in need of modernization. “I think up to 75% of our elevators were on the border of being obsolete,” he recalls. “We were having a lot of maintenance costs… we were having to take things offline on a frequent basis to do repairs.”
In 2018, the board of trustees approved a multi-year plan to modernize the campus elevators. The college reached out to four different elevator service companies to bid on a five-year modernization contract, ultimately deciding to go with Stanley because of the defined and uniform services they could provide.
A TRULY HANDS-ON APPROACH
“[Stanley] were very diligent on checking out every elevator,” Lane remembers, “and they had a ton of follow-up questions to make sure they were putting in an accurate bid.”
The scope of the project was quite large, and the Stanley team was straightforward about what it would entail as part of providing a comprehensive contract. In the end, that high level of detail and consideration made Stanley the clear choice.
WHAT IT’S LIKE WORKING WITH STANLEY ELEVATOR
When asked, Lane praised the degree of communication and level of service he’s seen from Stanley Elevator. “The technicians assigned here are constantly doing PMS (preventive maintenance service) and putting together the modernization plan. There’s 25-27 elevators they’ve done significant upgrades to,” said Lane. “The Stanley dispatch center, as well as the scheduler and maintenance crew are always in contact with our maintenance supervisor. We can get an answer, we can get something scheduled, [and] they have very positive relationships with the inspectors.”
