Latest / The Elevator Careers Podcast / Thriving in the Rapidly Changing Elevator Industry | Anthony Marchese

Transcript

Thriving in the Rapidly Changing Elevator Industry | Anthony Marchese · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: We w the the industry uh on on a whole has has a bright future.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: As as far as w what I've seen from the past, there are a lot of legendary people who who've taught me and paved the way for me.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's something that I would like to pay forward.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: So for young people out there, I think it's it's important for you to be enthusiastic, look towards people like myself who are you know looking to teach.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: There is a uh famous um award speech by um Jim Valvano, who was uh coach in in college basketball, it was very inspirational.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: He said that every day when you wake up, you think of the following where you started, where are you now, and where do you want to be one day?
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I think about that, that motivates me still.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if you wake up as many days as possible in your career, you're thinking about that, and you're really enthusiastic about what you do, and you could go really far in this industry.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: I am your host, Matt Allred.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: In this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: When talent is mission critical, call the All Red Group.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: With industry expertise, top talent, and exceptional customer service, you need the All-Red Group on your side.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: Your priority is their priority.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Call now 404-890-0445.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Today's guest, Anthony Marcese, grew up on the shop floor of his family's elevator controls business, literally riding his tricycle between controller panels.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: From those early days to designing New York's first inclined elevator, Anthony's journey is a blend of legacy, innovation, and vision for the future.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Anthony is currently vice president of technical services at VDA and a member of the VDA New Product Committee.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: In this interview, we talk predictive maintenance, elevating performance with smart tech, and what it takes to thrive in a rapidly changing industry.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Join us as we dig into this exciting topic.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Anthony, welcome to the show.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Matt, thanks for having me today.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: This is uh this is always fun.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: I uh I appreciate you taking the time.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, always enjoy these conversations.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so tell me what what's something you're exciting you're working on right now?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so right now, VDA is great because of a lot of freedom um, you know, to just develop my brand and you know, to work with a great team.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right now, you know, we're we're working on some interesting things to include into specifications, um, you know, optimizing the elevator.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, whether it be uh installation, performance, we're adding things to the specifications where a client will have options to add performance criteria, you know, being sensors that uh incorporate uh vibrational analysis, uh temperature analysis, water infiltration.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds intense.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it sounds like you're kind of driving yeah, kind of the next level of of innovation.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, if you can really dig into that.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just um optimizing where we need to be using technology.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the technology's out there, so uh, you know, why not use it?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, tell me tell me about your first exposure to the elevator industry.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: What was that for you?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I come from a family where we have we run deep into elevators, you know, back to um the 1950s uh with with with family.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: My father and my uncle, they started at O'Thomson, which was um a big uh controller company here in New York City.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of led, if I may, what kind of led them there?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: What was it that prepared the way?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I think uh, you know, it sounded like it was very random.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, my my uncle found the position at O'Thomson, and my dad graduating uh high school, trade school, you know, um got him the job there, and uh together the two of them just grew there and they worked their way up and eventually uh owned O'Thompson.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: So wow.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now that's that's uh that's certainly working your way up to actually own the company at some point.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you know, like stories like that, I don't think they happen that often anymore.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, you know, it it's it's pretty wild.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they started from the bottom.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I would imagine, you know, assembly, wiring, making their way through drafting design, where they eventually own this company that was uh started in the 1920s by Olaf Thompson, who was an Otis Engineer.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: So what I mean, you sounds like you you grew up, right?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean if dad jumped out of high school and and landed there.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: That yeah, from from your earliest memory of what dad does, that was you know in the elevator industry.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: What was that like for you?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: What what what are your earliest memories of the industry?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, so it's funny because you know, um dating back now that far, but yet, you know, I have specific memory where I know that I'm remembering back to like when I was four years old.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like this is 1974 and 1975 places me back there.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um I remember just being a kid um, you know, going to work with my father.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we would take my tricycle and and I would I would drive through, you know, like the OSHA yellow lines, you know.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: But back then there were like no rules.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is the same thing.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're like on the shop floor with your tricycle.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Did you have a hard hat or anything for safety, or was it just like it was safety considered?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, I would I would like hitch uh maybe a wagon to the back of my tricycle with like a cardboard drum that a bunch of hardware came in, and then I'd have a broom attached, and then you know, I'd I'd be playing around sweeping up.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: During working hours, or is this during working hours?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: The people were like fantastic there.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they were they were so nice to me.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: There were just people that I remember, faces, names, you know, and it was family there.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I would go visit my uncle up in his office.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: There was another uncle who was working in the hardware department where I'd go visit him.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, various employees would just kind of like take me under their wing.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, a draftsman I remember, like he would set me up next to him at the drafting table.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I would actually, he would give me like we would make an original sepia, and and I would copy what he was doing.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: I would take his stencils and create like normally open, normally closed contacts, and I draw or like resistors, you know, like I, you know, uh I would just draw and then we would run that through these this black light machine, which was always intriguing to me with this glowing light, and then it would come out the other end, and then we'd roll it up and we'd stick it in these tubes with this ammonia smell that would take your you know, and um you know, I was like making circuits.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't even know what I was doing, you know.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: But an apprenticeship, right?
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Starting starting at age four, right?
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: You're being tutored.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is how a four-year-old, like, you know, made his time.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there were no iPads, there was nothing like that, you know?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I was just always intrigued by it.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: I always just had this connection.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: It it was just such a great place being at O'Thompson as a Did you ever consider doing anything else?
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, did you ever say, hey, fireman, astronaut, football player?
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, did those things ever cross your mind?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, sports, yeah, you know, being a kid involved in sports, I was a football player, then I was a hockey player, I was pretty serious about hockey.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, as far as just like, you know, real life career, no.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like it just always elevators just seem to be the path.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: I I never really thought about anything else.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's awesome.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say are some of the most pivotal moments?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, do you remember, do you remember specifically making a decision or or uh maybe an opportunity, or or it's like, okay, ding, light bulb goes off, this is this is it, anything like that?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, you know, playing around with things at my father's shop, you know, I was interested in electricity, building components, you know, there were so many things that are intrigued me, lights, buzzers, relays.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I would just make up pretend circuits.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then like he had these intriguing test panels, you know, they look like something out of like a a a Frankenstein movie, you know, with these knife switches with lights and buzzers.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I I I would build these these circuits, but they weren't real, but then you know, we would connect power to it and I would hit buttons on the test panel and we'd light the circuits up, you know.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that just carried forward.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, eventually he moved on from Thompson.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: He started his own controller company, and um, you know, little by little I got more and more serious about it, you know, from working part-time at 10 years old.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: I needed to know what it took to make fifty dollars in the week so I could buy my next Atari.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's all you need, man, right?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: You just need Yeah.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, so it started with that, and then it went to like, you know, at age 14, got my working papers, I got a buddy to come along.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Our moms would drive us over to work because it was, you know, my dad shop was 15 minutes from home.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, uh, I remember minimum wage was$335 an hour.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: My dad still gave us$350.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, we started to assemble controller components, and eventually that turned to wiring them.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, by the time I was 17 or so, you know, it was definitely more serious in the summers, every day after school, you know, taking myself there.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Again, my buddy was still with me, he was still working with me.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: And um, that's when I started to get into learning how to test and really understanding sequence of operation.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, that was with all with relay logic.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it was easier to understand because it was a visual in front of you.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everything ended up getting incorporated into microprocessors, so we didn't see that.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: But back in that day, you actually saw the sequence of operation.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you put in the call, you'd see direction, you know, closed circuits, the elevator takeoff running circuits.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Almost like the old Rube Goldberg type, you know, kaching, ka ching, kaching, and it pulls the lever, and then you know Yeah, and it was all, you know, uh sound.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: There was a lot, you know, based on sounds, expectations, where you know, eventually that took me to the next part of it where you're helping people over the phone, supporting them, and you could just buy the sounds of what you're hearing in the background of relays, clicking, pulling in, picking up, dropping out, you you knew what was going on with the elevator and where you know, where his problem may be.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, so from high school, I mean, did you move immediately into elevators?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: Did you go what was kind of your path?
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so pretty much, yeah.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I did have a short period, like I said, you know, I was really into ice hockey, went to school in Maine for a little bit, and you know, had aspirations of of playing college hockey and everything, and then that doesn't work out, it becomes, you know, you're back to the real world.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I said, okay, you know, I I went back to state school, near home, good engineering school.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, so I went for uh electrical engineering technology.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, I was still working with my dad.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: It was an easy uh back and forth, go to classes, go to work, and uh, you know, I learned all the the programming and you know, all that that prepares you uh to go to the real world.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: What what um I got two questions for you here?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm just curious.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, as you were coming up through, it sounds like you had so much time to kind of get used to it.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just curious, what was one of the hardest lessons you ever learned?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously it's different if somebody's coming in from you know off the street and they've already maybe developed some habits.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Do you remember anything like that that was like uh, you know, this is this is a challenge?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: So lessons regarding elevators?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well tell me.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's maybe it's getting along with coworkers.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: I just carry it.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you know, less, yeah, you know, it was difficult.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that there were a lot of great things about being the boss's son.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: So many, you know, uh there was there was success and um um lots of things that I enjoy, but at the same time, yeah, high expectations, you're the boss's son.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I and again, I come from a a legacy that you know, where everybody's successful.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Cousins, uncles, my dad, you know, they were just just being hard on yourself, I guess, because you wanted to get to the level where everybody else was.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I can see that.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I didn't know if others held you to a higher standard because of who you are.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: No, it was mostly internal.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was mostly internal.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, just expectations, but you know, at the same time, it's a motivator, you know, motivator for me to you know get to the next level to learn things.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um so uh, you know, th those were those were lessons, you know.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously you've been at it really your whole life, right?
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: All the life that you can remember essentially.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: What I'm curious though, what what's the coolest project you've ever worked on?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: So the coolest project that I got to work on was um I developed um New York City's first uh tran certainly transit.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it's arguable about uh the inclined elevator.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: On there might have been some smaller projects or something, but I worked on for seven line.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: There's a train that runs in the city here that the seven line used to stop in Times Square.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And back in um around 2010 or so, MTA uh they created a design where they were going out to Hudson Yard, and um for reasons that um they couldn't go down vertically, uh they designed an inclined elevator.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: So um, so I I was doing a pretty much all of the MT elevators at this point in time company.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: And um I designed uh an inclined elevator, but we had to work with uh an Italian company over in Italy.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we had to ship my equipment out there, and they they had a test tower out there, and I basically designed the whole thing on the spot, time constraints, dealing with this, the whole MTA schedule.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, uh I designed an inclined elevator, 185 feet, worked on batteries, round trip.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: So everything was from scratch.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: I never did anything like that before.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I have a uh just a random question.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Is that in that is you know, there's that old Italian song about the funicula that goes up the mountain.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: Is it is it based on the same technology?
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: Is that what we're talking about?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: Same type of thing.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, it w it was wild.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I spent uh a couple of weeks out there.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: We had to go back a few times, but then in between, I got to go visit various places.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: I got to go to Sicily.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Sicilian, so it was really nice to like um that whole project was just amazing.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: It was an amazing experience.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and it sounds like you know, even going forward, right?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh anytime you ride the the trains, you know, you just know that hey, I contributed to this part of the city.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, uh, like I said, I I did um the majority of the MTA work from about 2005 to 2015.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of big mega projects that went up during that time.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Fulton Transit Center, um, Second Avenue line.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, like to this day, it's like, you know, I'm running around the city and um it's pretty cool to ride all these elevators, to see people shoulder to shoulder with me.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're in the elevator together, knowing that they don't know that you're the one that electrically software.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I did it all.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: We were we were a small company and uh I was responsible for everything, you know, worked with uh the elevator company, tuned them up, tested them.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was part of the whole project personally.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of, you know, just a lot of I have a lot of gratitude for having those opportunities just in life.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's pretty cool.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: That sounds like a very, very rewarding Hey everyone.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: This is Matt with a brief message from our sponsor.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: The All Red Group has been recruiting elevator industry talent for over 14 years.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: If you were looking to grow your business and hire great people, contact the All Red Group at allredgroup.com.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's A-L-L-R-E-D, G-R-O-U-P dot com, and talk with Matt and his team about how they can assist you.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: And now back to the show.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: So we started by talking a little bit about the most exciting thing you're working on, but I wanted to see if you could dig in just a little bit deeper on what's most exciting about what you're working on?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Because you know, you've kind of hinted that there's there's just kind of a lot to that.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: What is it that really drives your excitement about your your current project?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we're working with some clients who have interest in getting to the next level of optimizing performance of the equipment.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: What does it mean for them?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like what are they trying to get out of it?
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: What what's the kind of the payoff of the payoff is being proactive to issues that may arise down the line with maintenance, you know, just like an automobile, right?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we have these advanced systems now that tell us when it's time to go to the shop for various reasons.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Same type of thing.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're monitoring the equipment, we're harvesting data, um, you know, as far as number of door cycles, how much we traveled, you know, and all this is is wear and tear.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, so eventually we will be able to predict models.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is, you know, it's a ways off.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: It starts with putting the equipment in place to to harvest this data.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: So we have clientele who they're interested in this.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then of course, to at the same point to capture any catastrophic event that could happen, like water info infiltration, you know.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: So before the entire system, you know, water pours on top of the car top and we blow up all the equipment.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: What what can we do to avoid that?
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um some of that you can't you can't really predict, like a hurricane Sandy necessarily.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, other than a week or a few days out.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Some of this sounds like we can predict that, hey, we've gone through X number of cycles, we're we're gonna need to shut down for maintenance for this long to replace this.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're sensing vibration, friction in the doors, you know, all of these type of things will lead to shutdowns.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: So if we could start to, you know, capture this, put parameters on this.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is the low point, this is the high point.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is where we started, where we installed.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: And after three to five years, this is where we are now.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: These are the vibrations we're picking up.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is becoming abnormal.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: We need to do something about this.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's to, you know, change some door gibs, change a door operator bill, whatever it is, um, you know, things with with the break.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, again, looking at the physics and and making predictions.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, common sense type things, yeah.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: For sure, for sure.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious what's what's next?
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: And would you say, I guess what I'm thinking is, is this kind of forward-thinking approach something that that you think elevator companies could actually use to their advantage and say, hey, we can now, you know, and maybe they're trying to do it.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, you know, to predict for the customer's sake, I guess.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, um I I would say, you know, the world right now, we're in an AI world, and and elevators there's always seemed to be, in this sense, I would say, um, especially in the city of New York, we're a little behind or maybe skeptical about, you know, advancing.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: I I remember these type of things going back to when there were just relay logic controls and then advancing to microprocessors.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there were some companies that were like, no, we're just gonna continue to go with relay logic, you know, and obviously eventually technology takes over.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: And and you can never buy a relay logic controller now.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: So you're early and late adopters, right?
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: So they're so I mean, you know, ultimately everybody's gonna have to jump on board, and there'll be ways where you're going to optimize your your maintenance.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: This is how you're gonna make money.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: As an elevator company, you know, and a lot of the OEMs and the majors, they already have these process in place, you know, but ultimately it just kind of makes sense.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you have to find the way to use the technology to advance yourself as the elevator company, as the consultant, whatever it may be.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, prediction is the way to go, especially now where things are kind of hidden in this black box microprocessor.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: There isn't a lot available, you know, to the outside world, you know.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to have these tools in place to be able to get ahead of issues.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: That's obviously makes a lot of sense.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's it sounds like a fun project to dig into and and uh to be able to see kind of a bigger, it sounds like you're like you say, harvesting data and kind of see a bigger view of of maybe what you would have seen otherwise.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's gonna it's gonna take time, but the time is now to start that process.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: So um just curious, you is there anything else you're kind of seeing in the future, things that are maybe coming that maybe we haven't talked about that you're like, oh yeah, this is gonna change how we do things.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that to me that's the big one.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's really really all about that.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, just like everything else in the rest of the world, uh, how things have gone, it just needs to go that direction.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: You you know.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, take you back to the 1930s when they were, you know, to dig a hole, you took a team of 30 guys to dig that hole, and then ultimately an excavator came around and and did that within you know a couple of days, you know.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just no different with technology and elevators.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's just the way it has to be driven.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: Agreed, agreed.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: So um, as we as we wrap up, I um I got I got at least, you know, and one more question for you.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm curious if there's anything you wanted to kind of bring up that maybe we haven't talked about before we end.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: We the the industry uh on a whole has has a bright future.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: As far as what I've seen from the past, there are a lot of legendary people who who've taught and paved the way for me.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's something that I would like to pay forward.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: So for young people out there, I think it's it's important for you to be enthusiastic, look towards people like myself who are you know looking to teach.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: There is a uh famous um award speech by um Jim Valvano, who was uh coach in in college basketball, it was very inspirational.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: He said that every day when you wake up, you think of the following where you started, where are you now, and where do you want to be one day?
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think about that, that motivates me still.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if you wake up as many days as possible in your career, you're thinking about that, and you're really enthusiastic about what you do, and you could go really far in this industry.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I I would just like to share that um, you know, with with um people who are coming up.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, don't be afraid to take risks and um you know, really dive into things because there's a lot of opportunity in this industry.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's perfectly said, and it kind of you know it covers my the the final question I was gonna ask, but it what it reminds me of is the old saying, you know, start with the end in mind, and that is keep your you know your focus on where you want to be and and you can get there.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: And and you know, even as um guy who's in his golden years, you know, I'm in my 50s, but um there's just still more to do, and every day is a learning experience, and um uh there's still a lot of unknown for me, but I love I love the challenge and I loved you know venturing into that.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: So well, Anthony, thank you for your time.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being with me today.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: I've enjoyed every minute.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this has been a lot of fun.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: So uh hopefully we'll do it again sometime.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: Good luck to you as you keep building your career.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: Please visit our YouTube channel at Elevator Careers or check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Please like and subscribe.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: And until next time, stay safe.