Michael Kao

Michael Kao started his career in vertical transportation design in 1987 in Mechanical Development Engineering designing hydraulic elevator pit equipment and door operators. He transferred to Service Engineering designing escalator upgrades and then transferred to the field to manage major transit projects throughout the Northeast. He joined Lerch Bates in 2022 and is currently a Senior Consultant of Infrastructure, focusing on application of all Lerch Bates design disciplines to the unique requirements of large public projects for New Design, Modernization, Elevator Maintenance, and Codes and Standards compliance.

Related Experience

Provided field and office project management for the following major clients:

• Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), Newark, NJ
• Newark Liberty Terminal One – 18 APTA transit escalators, 2 APTA moving walks, 13 hydraulic and traction passenger elevators, 13 hydraulic and passenger service elevators.
• Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), NYC, NY
  • MTA Metro North Railroad (MNR) & Long Island Railroad (LIRR) – 47 transit escalators, 22 traction and hydraulic elevators at East Side Access
  • MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) – 27 transit escalators at 5 locations
• Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), NYC, NY
• Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) – 8 transit escalators, 1 hydraulic elevator at World Trade Center (WTC) temporary station
• WTC Retail – 10 commercial escalators
• Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), Baltimore, MD – rehabilitate 81 escalators.
• New Jersey Transit (NJT), NJ, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
  • State of Good Repair (SOGR) of the elevators throughout the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system.

Registrations & Certifications

Co-Inventor, United States Patent US 6,349,813 Escalator Roller Degradation Monitoring Device

New Jersey Institute of Technology
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering