Get the appElevator Industry Associations & Acronyms
A plain-English guide to the alphabet soup of the North American elevator & escalator world — who's who, and what each group actually does. Grouped by the job they do, with a quick note on where each one touches a working mechanic.
The manufacturers & contractors' associations
The trade association for the major manufacturers (Otis, Schindler, KONE, TK Elevator, Fujitec, Mitsubishi). Drives codes, standards, safety and government advocacy. The voice of the “big six.”
Codes & advocacyFounded 1950. Serves independent contractors & suppliers. Runs the big annual convention and the CET & CAT training/certification programs. Largest VT organization in North America.
Contractors & trainingThe Canadian counterpart since 1972. Non-profit of contractors & suppliers across Eastern, Central, Prairie & Western regions. Works on CSA code, harmonization, labour & apprenticeship.
CanadaCanadian association (Mississauga, ON) representing the major manufacturers in Canada — effectively the Canadian equivalent of NEII on codes, standards and safety.
CanadaThe union & the employer side
The union — mechanics, helpers and apprentices who install, maintain and service the equipment. Represents 31,000+ members across the U.S. and Canada.
The unionThe employer side. Negotiates the national collective bargaining agreement (your contract) with the IUEC on behalf of its member companies.
Employer groupThe second employer group that, alongside NEBA, bargains the national agreement with the IUEC. Tends to represent independent/smaller shops.
Employer groupA labour-management fund created under the contract to protect and promote bargaining-unit work in the industry.
Labour-mgmt fundWhere mechanics actually get trained
The joint IUEC + employer apprenticeship and education program (est. 1967). Develops and runs the curriculum that trains union mechanics — apprentice applications go through neiep.org.
ApprenticeshipWho certifies inspectors & runs public safety
Non-profit of inspectors, contractors & engineers focused on code enforcement. Provides QEI inspector certification (to ASME QEI-1) and runs code-update workshops across the U.S. and Canada.
Inspectors / QEIThe industry's public-safety charity (since 1991). Runs rider-education programs like Safe-T Rider for schools and National Elevator Escalator Safety Awareness Week each November.
Public safetyThe independent-consultant side
Membership group for independent VT consultants (formerly the National Association of Vertical Transportation Professionals). Holds an annual Forum and sets a professional bar for the consulting side.
ConsultantsOther acronyms you'll see on the job
- QEI —
- Qualified Elevator Inspector. The inspector certification (standard: ASME QEI-1). Certified by NAESA, among others.
- CET —
- Certified Elevator Technician. NAEC's four-year technician training/certification.
- CAT —
- Certified Accessibility Technician. NAEC's two-year program for accessibility & residential lifts.
- ASME A17.1 —
- The U.S. Safety Code for Elevators & Escalators (published by ASME).
- CSA B44 —
- The Canadian safety code — harmonized with A17.1, so you'll often see it written “ASME A17.1 / CSA B44.”
A note on names (the “NEIA” mix-up)
There is no elevator or escalator body called “NEIA” — not in North America, nor abroad (Australia = AEA, UK = LEIA, Asia-Pacific = PALEA). If you've seen something close, it's most likely one of these:
- NEII — sometimes written loosely as “National Elevator Industry Association,” but its legal name is “National Elevator Industry, Inc.”
- NEI / NEIBP — the National Elevator Industry Benefit Plans (pension & health), the “NEI” on your benefits paperwork.
- NEIEP — the training program (above).
For the record, NEII's real name history runs: EMA (Elevator Manufacturers' Association, 1914) → NEMI (National Elevator Manufacturing Industry, Inc., 1934) → NEII (National Elevator Industry, Inc., from 1969).
Want to see how the codes these groups work on fit together? The A17 Family Tree maps A17.1, CSA B44, and the rest of the book family.
See the family tree →