A system and method monitoring the health of a support structure for an elevator based on an electrical characteristic, such as resistance, of the support structure and not the temperature of the structure. The resistance of a virgin support structure under the same temperature conditions as the support structure being monitored is calculated and subtracted from the measured resistance of the monitored support structure. The resistance value of the virgin support structure and the monitored support structure may be translated to a reference temperature to simplify calculations and monitoring of the support structure.