What is an Oil and grease contract?

When you work with an elevator company, you’ll most likely have a full maintenance agreement. Yet, there is the chance that your account manager may offer you an ail and grease contract. There are many names for this contract, but they cover the least amount and are the cheapest contract available.

 What does it cover?

 Most oil and grease (OG) contracts will vary in what they offer. They typically offer very limited preventative maintenance.  Many contracts will even reference some light lubrication as the preventative maintenance. A large company will limit these visits to 15 minutes maximum. This is a lot different than what is contractually in a full maintenance contract. Although today, you are not getting full preventive maintenance, it is definitely closer to the preventative maintenance of an oil and grease contract.

 Something about an OG contract is that it will not cover any service calls, or any parts. That is a major difference between an oil and grease contract and a full maintenance contract. This means that any service call will be billed at high elevator billing rates. Also, if a part is broken, you will be paying full cost! That means you can expect major markup from your elevator company for the service and parts (200% in most cases). 

 Next, many oil and grease contracts will not cover inspections. Inspections are usually required in most jurisdictions so expect to receive an additional invoice for this work.

 Though oil and grease contracts may be cheaper, they don’t offer as many benefits and everything is an extra charge.