Richie Lobert: The Elevator Community Crosses all Borders

Intro:

Today our guest is Richie Lobert, Founder & Co-Director of LML Lift Consultants in Melbourne, Australia. Richie has been in the industry for many years starting right out of high school and has traveled the world working on and with elevators as a mechanic, engineer and consultant.  Richie is a true “Lifty” as they say in Australia. Richie loves the elevator industry and has met many amazing people from all over the world. He is grateful for the global elevator community and the richness it has brought to his life, and he finds a lot of satisfaction bringing his gifts and insights to this amazing industry.

Summary:

Richie Lobert, founder and co-director of LML Lift Consultants in Melbourne, Australia, discussed his journey in the elevator industry, starting as an electrical apprentice at Kone Elevators. He highlighted the global community feel of the industry, his 32-year career, and the challenges and rewards of his work. Richie emphasized the importance of proactive maintenance, the benefits of new technologies like ride quality apps, and the value of training clients. He advised new entrants to embrace opportunities, network globally, and maintain positive relationships. Richie also mentioned the growth of his consulting firm, driven by a team of experienced professionals and a focus on innovative practices.

Transcript:

Richie Lobert 0:00
Yeah, it is a real community feel. And I can, I can vouch for that it’s anywhere you go, there’s, there’s people there that do a similar, a similar job, and and to have a chat is, is, is really cool. I know that you can sort of, you know, lean on on people and catch up with people, and, you know, they’re very, very receptive around the world. So I think the elevator community sort of crosses all borders. It’s, it’s a really, we’re really lucky to be in it. I mean, and my business partner and I have gone to all parts of the globe almost, and, you know, gone into test towers and whatever else. And always been, yeah, it’s been unbelievable the reception.

Matthew Allred 0:44
Hello, and welcome to the elevator careers podcast sponsored by the Allred group. I am your host, Matt Allred, 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. Today, our guest is Richie Lobert, founder and co director of LML Lift Consultants in Melbourne, Australia. Richie has been in the industry for many years, starting right out of high school, and has traveled the world working on and with elevators as mechanic, engineer and consultant, Richie is a true “Lifty” as they say in Australia. He loves the elevator industry and has met many amazing people from all over the world. He’s grateful for the global elevator community and the richness it has brought to his life, and he finds a lot of satisfaction bringing his gifts and insights to this amazing industry.

Well, Richie, welcome to the show.

Richie Lobert 1:42
Thanks so much for having me, Matt. And yeah, it’s an absolute honor to be talking with you.

Matthew Allred 1:49
Thank you. Likewise. Now I I think we’ve, you know, known each other online, and seen, you know, bits and pieces for for quite a while, and obviously you’re from the land down under, so haven’t had a chance to rub shoulders yet. But you never know when

Richie Lobert 2:06
privileged to be, to be the, the first one from the land down under August. So that’s great.

Matthew Allred 2:12
Yeah, yep. So let’s just start with with my favorite question, which is, tell me how you got started in the elevator industry.

Richie Lobert 2:21
Yeah, sure.And not dissimilar to many of your other guests as well, I had no idea what the what the elevator industry was all about. To be honest, I basically finished school and I was keen on on starting an electrical apprenticeship. That was my sort of direction. And yeah, I basically sort of looked through a newspaper back then, giving away my age. And yeah, Kone elevators were, were advertising for apprentices. Obviously, I applied and was lucky enough to be shortlisted. But yeah, and was, that was the start of the journey. Really, I was really blessed to be selected there. And, yeah, like most apprentices, I guess, I started in the in the construction side of the business. But I was really fortunate because I started on a the building I started on was a high rise building that was basically just concrete. So I got to see the whole process from start to finish. You know, it started with putting in rails and all the mechanical side of things which, which was great. And it led into the electrical side. And right till the end, till I was tuning the lifts that I put in. So, a massive, a massive learning curve. And it was really, really great.

Matthew Allred 3:41
It’s really what you were looking for, it sounds like is, give me a big challenge and let me dive in. And, yeah, head and heels and everything

Richie Lobert 3:50
Yeah, And that’s what sort of, you know, within five minutes. I love, I love the industry, basically, apart from the initial shock of, you know, getting into a lift, well, 50 floors up as a kid, basically. But I just love the fact that you could do mechanical, electrical and everything in between. It was it had so much to offer, and still does have a lot.

Matthew Allred 4:11
Yeah, so were you? Were you coming around High School? Were you in college? What was the, you know, your status?

Richie Lobert 4:19
Yeah, I finished school, and I sort of had to make a decision where to go from there, but I was always keen on doing something in a trade, sort of area at high school, the way it worked here, you could do a couple of subjects that sort of led you into that direction. So I did a little bit of electrical and had some sort of understanding of, maybe that’s the area that I want to go into. Yeah, and just ended up going straight after school and starting an apprenticeship, and did a whole lot of other things along the journey, in terms of extra schooling at night school and things. Like that. So really loved it

Matthew Allred 5:02
cool. So you, like, I said, kind of coming out of high school, really haven’t even picked a profession at that point. Just find the ad and what did it say? Essentially, apprentice mechanic or electrical. Or what was it that

Richie Lobert 5:17
That the ad was electrical apprentice and I really didn’t know I had to do my research in terms of, hey, what’s, what’s the elevator industry all about? I actually didn’t really know anyone in it. Only found out later that, you know, some friends of friends were in it. But I really had no understanding of the industry. But was absolutely lucky to land in it, and I’ve been in in the industry ever since. And you know, it’s been 32 odd years, or something like that, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve never wanted to do anything else. So, yeah

Matthew Allred 5:54
How long were you like in the field, you know, actually working on tuning, like you say, or adjusting elevators

Richie Lobert 6:02
yeah, so my, my first stint with Kone the field was about 10 years or so, and I basically covered all areas, all the different departments in the field, you know, as I said, construction first and then into service and modernization. I mean, I loved it so much. I even did many, many years of night calls. You know, I couldn’t get enough of it during the day, so I’d be out on call at night time as well. And, you know, after many years of doing that, I sort of, I found out that if you leave your boots on when you go to bed, you know, your phone stops ringing. So that was a that took a few years to learn, but just Yeah. Really enjoyed it. And then sort of came to the conclusion that, you know, once you can fix a lift or service a lift, or repair a lift, you know, you can, basically, that’s a skill set that’s transferable across the globe. So after about, sort of, yeah, 10 years or so with Kone I decided to travel Europe. You know, I was married at the time, and we were traveling through Europe

Matthew Allred 7:11
I mean, were you backpacking, biking, hiking or, I mean, just, I’m just curious, because I have some friends that are like, Oh, I’m going to go hike through Europe. I’m like, really?

Richie Lobert 7:23
You know, it was a little bit of all of the above, you know, I really had no plans at all, and there was some hiking involved. There was a bit of, you know, catching up with friends involved. But basically, and my wife, was really keen on having a good holiday experience. I was more keen on finding some work. So I was determined to get over there and and land, to land a job on the other side of the world. I do have a German background, so I was looking, you know, on in that part of the world to try and test the waters over there. But, yeah, traveling around and, you know, I was in a ripped up t shirt with with some shorts, and I’d put a shirt in the backpack because I knew that there was a few interviews that were sort of loosely planned and stuff like that. So, you know, I’d stop every now and then and talk to someone and see if there was any work around. But yeah, it’s sort of, it all worked out well. It sort of it was interesting. I was, I was in Bavaria somewhere, and as you do, had a several wheat beers under the belt. And, you know, walked out of the the pub I was in and saw an elevator van parked there on the street, and had a chat and, and they were really interested, and said, You know, when can you start? And I said, Well, probably not. Now, sort of, I’ve had a few drinks, but yeah, so it’s, sort of

Matthew Allred 8:40
Let me get sober first then I’ll come work

Richie Lobert 8:43
Absolutely, but, yeah, so, and then I had some interviews in, you know, Austria, and a few more in Germany, but I landed a a gig in Switzerland. Oh, wow. So, yeah

Matthew Allred 8:56
So what was I mean, I’m just curious, you know, having kind of traveled the world. I mean, it sounds like the elevator community is alive and well in Europe, as much as as in the States. And I’ve not been to Australia, but, but to be able to bump into somebody on the street and say, hey, you know you and me, we’re on the same team. What was that reception like? What, I mean, it sounds like the mechanic, or whoever you were talking to, was like, yeah, hey, come, come talk to my boss or whatever.

Richie Lobert 9:26
Yeah, it’s, it’s a really cool industry, and the people in it are really cool. And I’ve heard it on your podcast before from others that it is a real community feel. And I can, I can vouch for that it’s anywhere you go, there’s, there’s people there that do a similar, a similar job and and to have a chat is, is, is really cool. I know that you can sort of, you know, lean on on people and catch up with people, and, you know, they’re very, very receptive around the world. So I think. The elevator community sort of crosses all borders. It’s, it’s a really, we’re really lucky to be in it. I mean, and my business partner and I have gone to all parts of the globe almost, and, you know, gone into test towers and whatever else. And always been, yeah, it’s, it’s been unbelievable. The the reception and the hospitality.

Matthew Allred 10:21
It’s amazing to me, just just that there is such a tight community and just kind of an understanding of, okay, you know, we understand each other, at least a good bit of of each other, just because of what we do.

Richie Lobert 10:36
100% and you know, if any of your listeners are in Australia at any given time, just look me up and drop in. But I did have someone the other day look me up and they said, let’s catch up. And they were in Brisbane somewhere, and I’m in Melbourne. And I said, Yeah, that that would work, but it’s about a, you know, three day drive or something like that. It’s quite a big place, so just look me up in the right part of Australia. That’s all

Matthew Allred 11:02
Yeah, yeah. That’s very cool. So it sounds like that kind of opened up the world of elevators to you just just that little, I guess, a vacation in a sense, but it’d be kind of a working vacation. How long did you spend in Europe that time?

Richie Lobert 11:18
Close to three years. And I was, I was mainly doing troubleshooting, but also sort of helped out in the in the repairs department. And yeah, it was a real great learning curve, and it sort of tested out the germ, and I was little bit rusty, but it was, yeah, an amazing experience. And yeah, and then sort of came back to Australia with starting a family and everything else that comes with it. So and then did a few different gigs here, straight back into Kone at this end, and then ended up doing some modernization sales at Otis, and moved across to Schindler, met the business partner at Otis. He was there at the time, and actually both moved across to Schindler, and then, yeah, decided to start consulting our own business probably 11 years ago or so.

Matthew Allred 12:13
So how you had been so at about 20, something years when you decided to get into consulting

Richie Lobert 12:20
Something like that. And, you know, it’s, it’s the business is growing, and we’ve got some amazing people. And someone said recently, or it’s been said before, you know, why didn’t you start something like this sooner? But it’s sort of a journey, you know, like it’s, you need to really know a lot or a little about a lot or other way around. But yeah, to be exposed to all the different equipment, all the different companies and processes and things like that, it’s, it’s been a it’s been part of the journey that sort of led us to this point, you know. So it’s, it’s nothing it can really change or do any sooner

Matthew Allred 12:58
Sure, sure you can’t just start out from high school, and hey, I’m going to consult on something I don’t know anything about. So walking that path, spending the 20 something years doing that, what was it that led you to that decision that, hey, I’m going to I’m start a consulting firm?

Richie Lobert 13:15
That’s a really good question. So as I said, Dean Morgan, my business partner, and I were at Schindler at the time, I was sort of doing a lot of modernization presentations, and he was doing sales presentations. So we spent a lot of time together, presenting to clients. And thought, you know, this is something we could consider doing ourselves. But in the consulting world, everyone basically was was coming to us for advice and things like that anyway at that point in time. And we did know a lot of people, and I think we just wanted the it was all about the challenge. It was never about starting a business or making money. It was about the challenge. It was about helping clients, which was no different to our normal approach before any of this started. And yeah, it was about just trying things a little bit different to how other consultants were doing it at the time. You know, we were dealing with consultants on on the other side of the fence, of course, and and, you know, no disrespect intended, but we just wanted to try things a bit different and implement some new technologies and do things different to how it was being done, you know, really make a go of it. So that’s how it sort of came about. Yeah.

Matthew Allred 14:33
Okay, yeah. So tell me, in what ways is your work different? And you mentioned technology, but yeah, you know, elaborate on that little bit, if you will. What? What is it that kind of sets you apart, or at least that you focus on in a way that you feel like is different

Richie Lobert 14:51
Sure. Look, in summary, it’s, it has to start with our people. We’ve got an amazing team, all of our consultants. What we call lifties over here. So the old school people that have come through the field with plenty of experience across all the different all the different companies and equipment. So you know, we have a lot to offer there.

Matthew Allred 15:15
Can you identify or just just define lifties A little bit? Does that mean that they started as mechanics. Or, how do you, how do you join the lifties club?

Richie Lobert 15:26
Yeah, I’m one of those. Yeah. So it’s basically, you know, you’ve come through and done an apprenticeship, and come through the industry on the on the tools, you know, turning a wrench and comfortable in a in a lift shaft. And, yeah, come through different parts of the of the business and industry as well. So through, you know, management positions eventually. And yeah, we’ve got a guy in our team, for example, was 40 years as the national Otis engineering manager, and we’ve got people that were training managers at Kone and, you know, TK, and things like that. So you bring all that together in the same room. I’ve sat in this I’m downstairs in the training room. I’ve sat in this room before on one of our safety days, where we bring everyone in from around the country. And you look around the room thinking, wow, it’s like 475, years of combined industry experience, you know, and that means that we’re old, but it also means that there’s a lot of knowledge in the room, and it’s a it’s going to be a shame when you lose some of that, as some of the people do leave the industry as well. So yeah, they are definitely old school lifties. But in terms of how we do things different, we sort of, yeah, we look at what we do as evolving. You know, we’re always reviewing our documentation. When we go on site, we capture the data using an app, so we get the precise information every time, and we save that to the cloud and photographic records to the cloud, and we have portals that we set up for our clients and some of our major clients. We also we implemented something pretty cool. We go to interlift as well as part of our sort of global reach and see what’s going on in the world and the new technologies and the like. But yeah, we sort of bumped into an organization a few interlifts ago, and they were developing a ride quality app. So, you know, most people know the PMT device or machine, that’s basically a box that you carry around to measure ride quality of lifts. This is sort of that next generation, which is just an app on an iPhone, and we sort of help, you know, provide those guys with plenty of data out of Australia, given that we’ve got more high rise and high speed lifts than they had over there in Germany, and now they’re sort of on the second generation of that. So it’s basically an app that you go in into a lift, and you ride it up and down from inside the car, sure. And it provides you with a whole heap of data, and that’s done with every maintenance audit that we do, which is Wow, which is our bread and butter, yeah, yeah. And it sort of gives you really, really good data in terms of, you know, levels of vibration and in the three axes and acceleration type data and and then you can pinpoint any issues. So it’s yeah, it’s really handy. And we’re always looking for things like that that are just Yeah, a little bit next generation to how things used to be done. I think you do need to move, you know, with the times a bit and, and even in our team now, where we’ve sort of, we’ve employed some younger mechanical engineers to to sit in amongst the mix, and you can learn from everyone. It’s, it’s a really cool thing.

Matthew Allred 18:51
Yeah, that’s amazing that you can track ride quality with a phone. I mean, I know they have accelerometers and phones, but had never really considered that it can sense and detect and report on, like you say, the vibrations in all three axes as it goes up.

Richie Lobert 19:09
Yeah. And what, how that sort of came about, a little bit was, you know, we’d be traveling around Australia and New Zealand carrying this, this PMT box and really, really handy tool I remember going through, must have been going through the local airport here to go somewhere. And had to sit it through the X ray machine because I had no idea what it was. And as it came through the machine, they’re looking on the on the screen there at security, and all you could really see is a battery with with a coil of wire above it, like something you’d see in the cartoons and and this particularly, this particular security gentleman, you know, thought it might have been a bomb or similar. So asked a lot of questions, and asked me to turn it on. And as soon as you turn it on, it says, waiting, waiting for trigger or something like that. And pretty pear shaped on that day, and I’m pretty sure he wanted to chat to me out the back.

Matthew Allred 20:06
So did he slap you in handcuffs? Or what was his reaction to that?

Richie Lobert 20:11
So, yeah, it’s been, it’s been a handy thing to be able just carry your phone anywhere you go. I’ve been known to be overseas on holidays and take a ride quality reading of a of an elevator, because I’m, you know, I’m a boring elevator geek, but, yeah, things like that. We’re always looking at exploring new technologies and and doing things differently, you know

Matthew Allred 20:34
beautiful. So, so you what was it like a 40 pound box? I mean, if it’s got a battery, and I don’t know if that’s like a car battery, I mean, how much, how heavy was that thing that you were carrying around?

Richie Lobert 20:43
Yeah, when you say 40 pounds, it’s probably, uh, geez, I taught kilos. So it’s probably about, you know, five kilos or something like that.

Matthew Allred 20:51
Oh no, not as big as call it 10 pounds. Yeah, okay, okay. I just envisioned a, you know, a lawnmower size box that you’re carting around.

Richie Lobert 20:59
Not quite that big, not quite that big. No

Matthew Allred 21:03
But it does sound like the phone is definitely an upgrade, certainly more convenient

Richie Lobert 21:09
yeah, yeah, absolutely. So

Matthew Allred 21:11
do you just, I mean, do you just put it on the floor and let it ride and, I mean, I’m just curious how that,

Richie Lobert 21:17
yeah, yeah, it’s as simple as that. You basically sit at, I think it’s 30 centimeters in front of the car doors on the floor, and you basically ride it up till you get to the top and back down to the bottom, and it spits out a whole lot of useful data. I mean, you can, you know, you can look at things like bearing noises, drive issues, rope issues, rifle chief issues, the list goes on. So it’s, it’s a really handy tool, and if we, we often do annual audits for our big clients. So suddenly you’ve got a benchmark of a starting point, and you can see, then in the following year or years, any changes to that sort of starting point

Matthew Allred 22:02
You could almost, you know, do that analysis and show it to the building engineer and get yourself a new customer saying, Hey, by the way, you you’ve got whatever flat tires and vibrations going on.

Richie Lobert 22:16
Absolutely yeah, absolutely. It’s really cool data. If you’re as boring as me, it’s really cool data

Matthew Allred 22:21
if you know what you’re looking at, right? If you know how to read the the Yeah, yeah, the meter or and I’m sure it sounds like you’ve got, obviously, the software to be able to read it and say, hey, at 45 feet, you know, going up, you see this. And then at 65 you got this, and correct, or whatever.

Richie Lobert 22:39
Yeah, correct. You can do all that sort of stuff as well. Yes, absolutely. Yeah.

Matthew Allred 22:44
What are some things that you would say distinguish you from, from everybody else’s as anything come to mind?

Richie Lobert 22:50
Yeah. So apart from it’s again, have to reiterate our people that they’re just amazing. They go above and beyond for our for our clients. But you know, I’m talking to you, for example, from our training room here. And you know, we have a lot of people come through here in terms of clients that just want to learn some basics, terminology, or just anything like that sort of that helps them to manage their portfolio, vertical transportation. So I’m not sure who else has a training center like this in Australia. But, yeah, we certainly use this a bit where we even have, like, a bit of a elevator museum. And it’s nothing like Steve Cromley, isn’t it in Amesbury. I definitely gotta get across there. I really gotta get across there. But, you know, we collect stuff like that. So when we have, we’ve had some, you know, apprentices or work experience kids from school come through, and we encourage that, and we can talk to them about, you know, this is a modern lift with with a microprocessor, not much to see, versus this thing over here that’s just got relays clanking away and stuff like that. So you can see, you know, how that technology has changed over the years. And it’s really important, you know, and, and it’s, it’s fascinating for some of these people that come through.

Matthew Allred 24:11
And you said something a minute ago that kind of caught my attention, and that was that you bring customers to your training room, and you train them so that they can manage their portfolio. That that seems unique to me and I don’t maybe there’s others out there, educating customers, but I hadn’t thought that. I assumed it was just to train your own people.

Richie Lobert 24:31
They’re they are trained. It’s like we want to give back a bit, to be honest. So with our clients, we really encourage that, because it helps them to manage their portfolio. So if they’re talking to a lift company and, you know, there’s a lot of sort of different terminology being thrown around it, it just makes their life a bit easier if they understand a basic overview of what they’re basically looking at. You know, they might be a. A electrical or mechanical engineer managing a property. But as we said earlier, no one knows about elevators. It’s just a box on a rope. So yeah, it’s really good to have the opportunity to train these people, and it really goes down well. And if nothing else. It brings us together with the client, face to face, which is something that doesn’t happen quite as much these days, particularly post pandemic type stuff, you know. And you can have a coffee and a bit of a sandwich at the end of it all, and talk through any any issues that they have. So, yeah, it’s been a really, really good thing for the business as well. It

Matthew Allred 25:41
Sounds brilliant, honestly, to educate your customers, because you’re investing in them, you’re essentially paying it forward. And then, you know, not only can they manage their their things better that they can, obviously they’re going to be wanting to come back to you, because you’re you’re educating, you’re giving them peek under the hood, right? Yeah, and saying hey, you’re the one paying the bill. So you might as well know what kind of device you’re buying and understand how it compares to some others, because you’re the one shopping here.

Richie Lobert 26:11
100% we’ve even had the Lift companies send some, I guess, new sales type people through or people from outside the industry, that sort of, you know, often you you might be thrown in the deep end and suddenly you need to make sales, or whatever the case may be, and that’s pretty difficult if you don’t have a an overview of what you’re looking at. So we’re happy to do that sort of stuff as well, because at the end of the day, we have, you know, with lift companies, I know there’s a bit of a love hate relationship at times between consultants and elevator companies, but at the end of the day, we’ve got the same clients and we’ve got the same sort of motivation and direction. We’re both trying to help move in the in the right direction. So, yeah

Matthew Allred 26:55
Yeah, yeah. Do you do you have, like, a regular schedule of, hey, we’re going to teach, you know, basics in advanced, and, you know, on a like every month, or is it more kind of as needed?

Richie Lobert 27:07
You know, it’s basically as needed. And we are quite busy, I’ll be honest. We’ve got some big national clients that keep us busy and but we fit it in wherever we can and whenever a client wants it will make it happen. That’s important to us. We love to in amongst our team, there’s some really keen people to share information. You know, as I said earlier, there’s people that have spent, you know, 30 plus years at Kone and then the same rules apply across Schindler, TK and Otis as well. So, you know, it’s, it’s important for us to share that knowledge, you know. And I was even thinking of that as a bit of a future thing, you know, when I want to do something different, but yeah, we do really enjoy that side of things, but yeah, probably not enough time to do as much of it as we’d like to

Matthew Allred 27:58
Understood. What would you say, you know, some of the trends that you’re tracking, you know, maybe some concerns that you’re seeing, and what would you what do you see as you look to the future?

Richie Lobert 28:14
Another good question, something that’s probably slightly annoying, is we see an influx in what’s called inspection visits, which basically, and there’s nothing wrong with that, providing there’s follow up at the other end. So we’re seeing inspection visits whereby it’s almost just a case of ticking a box and being able to get a maintenance schedule offer off a list, and I’d rather not even see that on the list. I mean, it’s, it’s so an example would be, you know, we’ve been to some retail or infrastructure sites with plenty of escalators, and you know, a lot of the escalators would have handrails that need replacing, for example. And then the client asked us to go through the maintenance records, you know, to see what’s been planned or what else. And it turns out that, you know, there’s been all these inspection visits done and and the handrails have been ticked off the list, but there’s been no sort of subsequent follow up. And that’s quite frustrating and annoying for a client, because then it’s suddenly an unplanned repair, which results in downtime, but by the way, it also results in additional costs to the to the elevator company, because if it’s not planned, then it’s suddenly an emergency repair, and it costs a whole lot of extra, and you might have to get equipment in air freighted or something like that. So that’s one thing I’m seeing. I’m also seeing a lot more rusting of hoisting ropes that have been left in operation for much longer than they used to be in days gone by so and it’s really a false economy. Because, again, you know, an elevator company might be planning for for the changing of hoisting ropes, and I understand that, but it seems to be dragging on for a long period of time, and that is detrimental to even the profit of the elevator company. It’s, it’s, it impacts reliability levels. It can affect other areas of the installation. We had a recent example where a drive unit failed because it was full of full of the rouge, the rope dust that had gone through the unit, and things like that. So seeing a bit more of that.

Matthew Allred 30:37
So I think what I’m hearing you saying is proactive maintenance makes everybody a winner, right? And the customer, the the contractor, just just kind of being proactive about it, versus waiting, waiting, waiting until something breaks, is going to cost everybody, and it didn’t need to

Richie Lobert 30:55
100% 100% it’s going to save the elevator company in the long run, or would think, and you’re right. So, I mean, it’s, it’s a case of, we’re seeing, you know, if, if there’s a call out, for example, we’re often seeing that an inspection visit might be ticked off the list, which is not really a proactive approach to maintenance. And, yeah, just trying to sort of follow those trends and make sure that we can all work through them together, really, as an industry. But then we’re seeing things like and I’ve heard someone else on your podcast talk about IOT. We’re all for new technology 100% I know that it’ll be a good thing in the future. I think currently it’s, it’s probably still in its early adopter type stage, but it shouldn’t replace, for example, a physical visit by a technician that can, you know, visually look and and whatever on site is always a step above that. It should, it should sort of enhance the current maintenance regime, almost, but it, I think that’s going to come in a lot more in the future. We’ve even got here in the training room, a working display of a door curtain or a door Protection Unit, I guess you’d call it over there. Maybe that’s got IOT built into that. So, you know, there’s a, there’s a the control box that’s mounted on the on the car roof, has an accelerometer in it, and it does all those sorts of things, and it’s all basically done through the door protection unit. So, yeah, all that sort of stuff is great, and it’s definitely coming in. So yeah, there’s a lot of, think there’s a lot of changes moving forward with the technology, for sure,

Matthew Allred 32:53
Yeah, lot of exciting things that don’t know where they’re going to land right as you’re saying, we’re still in the development phase. So, you know, who knows what that’ll look like when it all plays out, and it could be multiple different iterations of how it plays out. So, you know, kind of looking back on your your career, and even, I guess, the question is, you know, what would you say to somebody who’s, you know, looking at maybe getting in or they’re just starting brand new? What advice would you give to them?

Richie Lobert 33:31
You picked a good industry. It’s a great industry with plenty of opportunities. What I probably say is, take it all in. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. People in the industry love to share knowledge. They don’t just hold it all for themselves. And certainly don’t burn any bridges. So if you find yourself moving between companies, don’t ever sort of leave on a on a sour note. It’s a small industry, as we’ve established. Everyone knows everyone. So you know, just keep those lines of communication and doors open in the future, because you never know where you’re going to cross paths. And I’m sure you will cross paths with with people that you’ve, you know, left for one organization. You know you’re bound to cross paths somewhere again in the future. Yeah, but certainly. And the other thing is, of course, for me, I, when I started out, I never wanted to. I was so comfortable in a lift well, turning a wrench, it was, that was, that was my happy place. It actually still is. But don’t never, say never. It’s a journey. So basically, start out where you start out from, and then just if you’re happy there, that’s great. But just look around in terms of, you know, there’ll be opportunities thrown at you, and just see what you think. And give it a go, because when I left the field to move into an office role, really enjoyed it. Really loved the challenge. Every time I love the challenge and every time I love the change, but I didn’t like the change at the time, because no one likes change, but it’s a fabulous industry. And if you’ve got any questions, reach out and contact us. We’ll we’ll bore you with some elevator talk, but yeah, it’s a really good career that can be made in the industry, for sure. You know, yeah

Matthew Allred 35:29
That’s awesome. Well, Richie, as we you know, we’re getting closer to our time here, and as we’re about to wrap up, what else would you like to share with our listeners before we sign off?

Richie Lobert 35:42
What else? Well, if you do find I’ve said it earlier tonight, if you do find yourself in Australia, come and say G’day, but yeah, just, I don’t know. It’s just a really good industry. I’ve met so many great people. Check out. Don’t limit yourself just to the local market, either. You know, we, as I mentioned earlier, we go to Interlift in Germany, which is on every two years. And it’s a, it’s a massive Expo. They’re all around the world. There’s, there’s some closer to home, of course, for you guys, we go to China, and we go to different test towers around the world. It’s really fascinating to see some of this stuff. So just remember, it’s a it’s a global market, and there’s plenty to do and see in it. So yeah, don’t forget to do all that sort of stuff and reach out to people via platforms like LinkedIn, you know, like I’ve Ed Riviera, that’s a bit of a, you know, superstar on LinkedIn. You know, I’ve reached out and spoken to him and and Chris and stuff like that. So, yeah, reach out and ask people for advice if you need to, or, yeah, or if you find yourself in a bit of, a bit of a dark place, there’s always people out there that are sort of lean upon, for sure.

Matthew Allred 37:02
That’s awesome. Thank you. And I think you’ve demonstrated that throughout your career by just taking off, going to Europe and, you know, making friends, talking to people, and realizing that that there is a community of like minded people that transport you, give you a job, give you some advice, you know, give you a kick in the butt, whatever it is you need that day, help you on your way,

Richie Lobert 37:25
100% you know. And even at Interlift, I bumped into T Bruce, you know, just down at the blue one time. John Koshak, I think is that it’s amazing who you see around the world that you sort of recognize from somewhere or from LinkedIn or from anywhere. And it’s, it’s pretty cool. Pretty cool.

Matthew Allred 37:49
It is, it is. Well, Richie, thank you for being with me today. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, and wish you the best as you continue to do your work.

Richie Lobert 37:58
It’s been a pleasure, Matt, and I really do enjoy your podcast, obviously, I love elevators, but I love people’s journey in the industry as well. So yeah, you’re doing a great podcast. I really enjoy it. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Cheers.

Matthew Allred 38:12
Thank you for listening to the elevator careers podcast, sponsored by the Allred group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting. You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net please subscribe and until next time, stay safe.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai