Home / Non-proprietary
Why it matters
If your current contractor controls the parts and the diagnostic software, they also control how fast your problem gets fixed and what it costs. That is the position most buildings discover too late.
One where the controller and diagnostic tools are not locked to a single contractor. Any qualified contractor can source parts, service the unit and bid your maintenance. Proprietary equipment removes that option, which is what makes it the cheapest line on a quote and often the most expensive decision in the contract.
| When something fails | Proprietary contract | LifTech |
|---|---|---|
| Who can source the part | The original manufacturer, on their schedule | Any qualified supplier, whoever has it fastest |
| Who can service the unit | Their technicians only | Any licensed contractor, including your next one |
| Diagnostic access | Locked tools and passwords held by the vendor | Open access, documented and handed to you |
| If you want a second quote | Often impractical — nobody else can bid it | Encouraged. We expect to be compared |
| Leaving the contract | Expensive, sometimes effectively impossible | You keep the equipment, the parts and the records |
If your equipment is 20 years old or more
Once equipment passes roughly twenty years, original manufacturer protection on the design has usually lapsed and production of the original boards has stopped. What that means in practice is that a part which used to be stocked becomes a specialist item, and the price stops being governed by anything except who still has one.
This is the point at which buildings start being quoted eye-watering numbers to keep obsolete equipment alive — when the same money, or less, buys a modern non-proprietary controller that any contractor can service afterwards.
Figures from a real quote we were asked to review. Your equipment and building will differ — send us the quote and we will tell you which side of that comparison you are on.
Questions
Ask your current contractor whether another company can obtain the controller parts and the diagnostic tools. The answer, and how long it takes them to give it, tells you most of what you need to know.
In most cases a modernization replaces the controller, which is where the lock sits. That is usually the moment to fix it permanently.
No. It is the same class of equipment without the commercial lock. The difference is who is allowed to service it afterwards.
Send us the agreement. We will read it free and tell you exactly where you stand.
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