Starting in 1878, electric lifts have been used to allow the world to expand building to ever increasing heights! As of today, there are over 900,000 lifts in use each day in the US alone. On average these lifts are moving 20,000 people per year, and a staggering 18 billion passenger trips annually, and we only remember those times when they drop us at the wrong floor, stop mid-floor or are out of order altogether.
The fact of the matter is the more technologically advanced, the greater the need for a regular preventive and proactive maintenance program! Unfortunately, lifts tend to be overlooked until something goes wrong. Compounding the problem is the fact that, as the sophistication of lifts has increased, so has the need for maintenance. While the components may be more reliable, the sheer number of them combined with tight tolerances demand a higher level of maintenance than did the old electromechanical systems. Failure to keep up with maintenance will harm performance, slow response time, increase downtime and raise costs.
Proactively addressing the most critical and sensitive elements in the lifts systems is the surest route to greater availability and reduced downtime costs. However, the knowledge base available to draw from to provide this is limited in many aspects. For the most part it is assumed that these systems are somewhat ruggedised, and the manufacturer has taken the proper steps to build in protection. Sadly, that is not the case due to the highly competitive nature found in the design, build and construction world. It is atypical if the low bidder is not awarded the project. Almost 100% of the time no additional thought has been given to protecting the critical hardware and software of the lift system.
The software and the hardware used to operate today’s lifts is more reliable than that of the past, but it is also extremely sensitive to fluctuations in power. More importantly is the fact that it isn’t just the strong surges from lightning or the utility company that are causing the software confusion and lifts downtime, that is the reason why your typical surge protector will not be effective in limiting that downtime and improving reliability. Something different in technology is required.