Frequently Asked Questions

Many states, require by law that your conveyances are inspected annually. In some cases, your county, or city many also require that annual inspections be completed on your conveyances. Some insurance companies may even require annual and semi-annual inspections. Providing customer safety, liability protection, and maintenance evaluations are other good reasons for having your conveyances inspected annually. 

You can contact us by phone, email or by requesting a quote on our home page. We are happy to assist you in any way we can. 

No, we are an independent third party inspection company. Letcher's ECI, LLC is an Elevator Inspection Company that witnesses your elevator inspection that is performed by your elevator maintenance company. We do not work on or perform any maintenance or repairs on any of your conveyances. We work in conjunction with your elevator maintenance company to schedule and complete your annual elevator inspections. We are not associated with any individual elevator maintenance company. 

Many states have laws that require inspections be witnessed by an independent third party inspector of the building owner’s choice. Since we are an independent third party company, we are not vested financially in the work being performed on your units by your elevator maintenance company. Therefore, there is no opportunity for any conflict of interest to occur in regards to your conveyances. 

Most states require that all conveyances be inspected annually. This may vary depending on your state and/or jurisdiction. 

Annual Inspections – performed annually on all conveyances. 

Re-Inspections – in the event that your annual inspection has violations that need to be repaired/completed per code and the Authority having Jurisdiction, a re-inspection is performed. 

Five-Year Inspections – performed every five years for traction and roped hydraulic elevators and some hydraulic elevators. These are mandated tests required by your Authority having Jurisdiction. These inspections are similar to the annual inspections, except a more in-depth testing is performed. Five-Year Inspections include loading the conveyance with weights to full capacity while checking safety systems, a “Full Load” working pressure test, a “Full Load” safety Test, and a governor calibration test. 

Acceptance Inspections – performed on new installation elevators, modernizations, and alterations. This inspection must be performed prior to the unit being available for public use. 

After your elevator is inspected, our inspector will provide you with an inspection report for each unit, listing any violations, if any, that were found. 

I have violations, now what? - Missouri and Kansas both require that the violation be fixed within 30 days of the original inspection and in some cases a re-inspection or written notice of the correction be completed. We ask that you contact your elevator maintenance company and coordinate the correction of the violations with them determining which party is responsible for fixing the violations (building owner/agent or the elevator maintenance company/contractor). We provide both our customer and your elevator maintenance company with a copy of the inspection report. Once ALL of the Violations are corrected, please contact us and we will schedule a re-inspection. Upon completion of the re-inspection or written notice and the clearing of all violations, the Inspector will turn in the inspection report into your AHJ. In some cases, the written notice or written compliance must be sent directly to your AHJ. Your AHJ will then issue you a certificate. **Not all AHJ require or issue a certificate. In the event that your AHJ does not issue an official Certificate one can be requested from Letcher’s ECI, LLC. Please contact us with any questions you may have.

No violations were found, what happens now? - Once the inspection is completed the inspector will forward the results from the inspection report to your AHJ.  Your AHJ will then issue a Certificate of Operation for your conveyance units.   

Please note - Some violations may be the building owner’s/agent responsibility to correct. Other violations can only be corrected by a licensed elevator mechanic and/or elevator maintenance contractor/company. Additionally, some AHJs have fees that apply before you will be sent a Certificate. Others, are included in your inspection fees. Please contact us if you have any questions. 

1. Emergency phone is not working. 

2. Emergency lights and bell not operational.

3. Car door restrictors not working properly. 

4. Dirty pit and car top. (Beyond reasonable, that it is a safety hazard)

5. Fire extinguisher in the elevator machine room out of date. 

While we work very hard, having systems in place to ensure that your elevators are scheduled in a timely manner. Things do sometime slip through the cracks. Whether it be a scheduling conflict, lack of contact information for the building, or just human error, ultimately the responsibility for a late inspection and/or late fees imposed by the Authority having Jurisdiction (AHJ), is you, the customer. We ask that you please keep us up to date with your contact information, mark a reminder on your calendar for 3-4 months prior to your inspection expiration date and contact us to make sure we have all that we need to move forward in making sure you are compliant with your local AHJ. You can contact us here letcherseci@gmail.com or by calling 816-646-2202 to talk to our office staff. 

Most states require annual inspections. Your actual due date is determined by your Authority having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Typically, the due date of your inspection is one year from the date of your last inspection. However, if your inspection was late, never completed or held up due to a re-inspection, depending on your AHJ the due date may change. If you do not know or have questions about when your inspection is due or was last completed, please contact us and we will do our best to find out that information for you. 

Letcher’s ECI, LLC Inspectors are all QEI and State Certified and Licensed Inspectors. Inspectors follow State and AHJ code compliance under the ASME 17.1-2016 and A 17.2-2014 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators. 

Typically, no, our fees are billed separately from your elevator maintenance company. While there are some exceptions, typically the cost of our services are the responsibility of the building owner or operator.