SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Oct. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Robert Cotton is acknowledged as a Top Pinnacle Expert for his expertise in the field of Elevator and Escalator Consulting.

Boasting more than 30 years in the field, Mr. Cotton is the owner of an elevator company in San Francisco area; an elevator and escalator consultant; and an expert witness for litigation involving elevator/escalator failures and/or accidents. Having completed more than 1000 inspections nationally, he is considered the foremost expert in elevator and escalator matters. He explained that his consulting work mainly focuses on faulty equipment that caused injuries or damage due to floods or fire. Failure analysis is a forensic focus on electrical and mechanical failures of elevator and escalator systems which may include high-rise buildings; high-speed multiple elevator group; commercial and residential buildings; shopping malls; airports; transit agencies; and hospitals.

Mr. Cotton asserts that as an expert witness, he can be called upon either for the plaintiffs or the defendants to review evidence; inspect the equipment; determine the root cause of accidents or malfunctions; and give his factual opinion in court. He has been deposed more than 80 times, and has testified in at least eight jury trials. Mr. Cotton said that years ago elevators had old fashion designs using engineered paper, and although they used roughly double the material we use today and were built like a locomotive, today elevators are designed, engineered, inspected, and tested per the prevailing codes on a continual basis.

Mr. Cotton advises that building owners renovate the equipment. Although that may be costly, it will ensure the reliability and longevity of the equipment that will avoid failures. “Today, unlike years ago, elevators have fire-rated doors, so fire won’t spread as easily throughout the building and there are additional sensors required to be in place. In fact, the committee that writes the national codes are reviewing mishaps and failures on a regular basis and determines what can be done to enhance safety. For instance, a Door Restrictor Device on an elevator is a secondary lock on the internal door of the elevator that unlocks only when the elevator is close to a landing, to prevent people from climbing out of a stuck elevator and falling down the shaft,” he explained. “The same holds true for escalators. As an example, a woman was seriously injured when the scarf around her neck became stuck in the moving handrail and pulled her down. So, the Handrail Inlet Device was employed by the code safety committee which required a safety switch at the entry points of the handrails that can sense an obstruction that immediately stops the escalator when activated, preventing such injuries.

Looking to the future, Mr. Cotton aspires to continue to spread awareness that more of us realize how elevators, although not foolproof, are not something to fear and nowadays must comply with safety codes and laws, and be routinely inspected and properly maintained so that their safety and reliability is ensured. Further, the expert said that with the sturdy way elevators are engineered today, they meet the code criteria; are far more computerized which is in contrast to the old days of utilizing electro-mechanical relays; and with computer-based controllers (the main brain of the system), almost everything is programmable and certainly much simpler and easier to adjust; trouble-shoot; pinpoint; and correct issues.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE The Inner Circle