The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : For some they are a reassuring sight AT WORK

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Sunday, Nov 01, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

For some they are a reassuring sight AT WORK

Liffy Thomas

— Photo: S. Thanthoni

Elevating people: Patience is an important virtue of lift operators.

CHENNAI: As a group of people wait for one of the four lifts, two separate iron gates open, making a slight noise. It is close to 10 a.m. and, for a majority of the office-goers, the lift is the crucial last-mile mode to reach their workplaces on different floors on time. For the first-timers to EVK Sampath Maligai and the technology-challenged persons, the lift operator makes the task easier.

Sophisticated technologies have eased the functioning of a lift but in many buildings the lift operator still plays an integral role.

M. Mani’s routine starts at 9 a.m. transporting all and sundry, a job he has been doing for the last 24 years. Initially, each day was sickening as he moved from the lobby to the topmost floor and back. He got used to it over the years.

“I like my job, there is not much pressure or tension we face other than pacifying people in case of a power failure and bringing them down safely,” he says. When you see him relax on the stool with the gate door open, it is a break from the continuous trips.

Temporary power failure or misalignment between the elevator and intended floor is common. In fact, it is a lapse the six other lift operators working in shifts have mastered to handle over the years. “Some people, especially women, panic. We ensure they are escorted to the nearest floor safely,” says Mr. Mani.

Meeting and ferrying VIPs on the lift marked for them is another responsibility these men do with élan.

For the all-women team of lift operators the challenge is of a different kind.

“We have many patients who need assistance after eye surgery and on seeing an operator inside they tend to relax,” says C. Paruna, working at Sankara Nethralaya. She and her colleagues also ensure that there is no confusion caused by waiting visitors, who are asked to form a queue.

Today, there are facility management companies who equip lift assistants with the needed skills. Patience, attentiveness, being well-dressed and having the courage to handle any situation are some of the qualities.

Lift operators agree that automatic lifts have lessened their role. Most buildings can do without their service. However, there are quite a number of commercial blocks that feel these trained personnel can come in handy.

K.P. Purshotham is a lift operator in one of the busiest malls in the city. His day starts at 9 a.m. and the profile of the people who use the lift varies from rich, poor, young and old. He always keeps an eye on children, some of whom can be up to mischief.

“Automatic lifts are much simpler, but sometimes you have children and youngsters who meddle with the switches, intimidating others or stop it from running,” says Purshotham, who works in Spencer Plaza.

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