A Smart Platform For Real-Time Results

Your author details KLEEMANN’s digital tool that provides analytics and allows for live monitoring and control of elevators.

By Panagiotis Garoufalis

As the number of elevators installed around the world rises, so do the challenges for elevator manufacturers and maintenance companies to guarantee performance and maintain elevator uptime at high levels. At the same time, companies are facing a shortage of technical expertise and high labor costs for elevator operations, and are eager for products that provide relative solutions.

Internet of Things (IoT) technology, by improving the service process in elevators, reducing waiting periods in faults, upgrading safety for passengers and facilitating all maintenance procedures, can be the answer to these issues. Additionally, an IoT system allows for remote monitoring and management of all units, advanced reporting on all connected elevators, fault alarm services and lower emergency response time.

To respond to these market needs, KLEEMANN offers its IoT solution: A cloud platform that is constantly fed with large streams of performance data, such as an elevator’s status, position, speed, movement and log events. This information is gathered and analyzed and can be accessed by the user in real time through the KLEEMANN LIVE platform.

Product Structure

The KLEEMANN IoT system consists of two main components: plug and play hardware and KLEEMANN LIVE, a cloud platform that collects all data and provides them to the user through metrics dashboards. The lift controller is connected to the cloud via a gateway device that is always present on site. The connection is established through a modem and a local network provider (4G or 5G), while the gateway can also support connection to a local network via Ethernet or to an existing Wi-Fi network.

The current system realization considers KLEEMANN Genius 20 controller as the default controller. Ensuring the security of the system, the data produced by each elevator are not saved in the gateway device. They are transmitted and stored to the cloud via the IoT gateway. As long as there is connectivity to the cloud, the data are encrypted using the latest safe version of Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, and then they are immediately transferred to the cloud via the corresponding MQTT server (IoT messaging protocol).

Each elevator’s data are securely isolated in the cloud. Access for each user is granted by using Oauth principles. Each user and their permissions are defined and controlled by a dedicated KLEEMANN server. The users may log in to the cloud platform through any device. For an enhanced navigation experience via smartphone, there are also special applications available for Android and iOS.

Integrating the KLEEMANN Autodialer

One of the unique conceptual characteristics of the KLEEMANN IoT system is that the hardware has been designed to integrate the autodialer device. This approach allows control of the emergency call system directly from Genius 20 without third-party products, eliminating the need for a common building telephone landline or an external GSM modem. This concept provides ease to the customer and reduces the cost of the total product.

The gateway device includes a GSM modem, providing the network connectivity required to make emergency calls. At the same time, three alarm modules (inside the car operating panel, above the car and below the car) act as alarm initiation devices in case of trapped people inside the car or the shaft, as required by the existing standards (e.g., EN 81-28).

The KLEEMANN Autodialer supports emergency calls to multiple predefined telephone numbers, as well as communication with 24/7 call centers by using protocol P100. All related parameters and settings can be easily adjusted remotely by the IoT platform.

The whole system is designed to be able to fit in existing installations, providing to all retrofit projects a valuable product.

The KLEEMANN LIVE Platform

KLEEMANN LIVE is a modern platform that has been developed to offer numerous opportunities to the maintainer.

Remote Access to All Connected Lifts

The platform user can have an overview of all connected elevators in either map view or a list that contains useful information about each of them. A quick overview is also provided, while the status of each elevator can be easily identified by the corresponding pin colors.

Configurable Statistics, Graphs and Widgets

Navigating through the dashboard page, the platform user has access to numerous statistics, widgets and various metrics about the elevators, either separately or in total. The default dashboard can be changed and personalized with new compilations of widgets, graphs or pie charts, such as information about the operational status in a defined period of time, duty cycle, downtime, error source distribution, average error recovery time, etc.

Rides

The system provides a full list of all rides executed by each elevator. This information is displayed in both table format and a chart providing the user with detailed insight into each movement conducted by their units and also with the opportunity to shape “the big picture” of each installation.

View and Editing of the System’s Parameters

Through the KLEEMANN LIVE platform, the user may easily view all system parameters in real time and can access all past parameter logs. Some of the parameters of Genius 20 or the Autodialer can be edited remotely via the KLEEMANN LIVE platform, i.e., the door times on Genius 20 or the emergency call numbers set in the Autodialer. However, these editable parameters do not affect any critical function of the elevator and are mostly related to its fine-tuning.

Finally, the platform user can also compare the controller’s parameters between two different timestamps and view only the ones that have been modified in the meantime. This kind of information can greatly facilitate preparation before an on-site visit, while it can also assist an experienced technician trying to identify the source of a certain malfunction.

Live Status

This menu represents an overview of the installation in real time, displaying the live movement of the elevator and providing information regarding the most critical controller signals. Additionally, in a coordinated manner and while ensuring all safety issues, the platform user may also issue landing and car calls to the elevator, as well as send specific commands. This menu is a toolset for the qualified technician, who is allowed to remotely access all information that the controller’s hand terminal would offer while ensuring the required security level.

Maintenance Control

Platform users may navigate to the corresponding calendar menu to create or edit events and assign tasks to technicians, as well as organize upcoming on-site visits.

Also available in the platform is a complete list of all errors and log events of Genius 20. For each registered error, the user can access thorough and detailed information including elevator status and critical controller signals at the time the error was issued.

Additionally, the IoT platform evaluates the above-mentioned logs in order to issue preventive-maintenance messages warning the user to take precaution to avoid specific errors and malfunctions in the near future. For all these messages, logs and errors, the user can be notified by email, SMS, pop-up notifications in the platform or push notifications in the smartphone app, according to their preferences.

Benefits of the IoT System

The KLEEMANN IoT system provides benefits to maintainers and technicians. By accessing the platform, a large amount of real-time data is always available, analyzed and organized in comprehensive formats. The volume of information is such that it would otherwise take great effort and time to collect and analyze. Now, in a fraction of the time, platform users have everything displayed on their screens to effectively inspect and decide their next move.

Remote monitoring allows for immediate problem detection the moment the event occurs, leading to significantly reduced downtime. With just a smartphone, push notifications inform the maintainer any time, allowing for the right action to be employed. With functions of live control, the technician can be guided to affect parameters of the elevator remotely and intervene, effectively saving time and resources.

The maintenance procedures become easier, faster and simpler, as the technician has all the necessary information available to assess prior to each visit, prepare better and save valuable time on-site.

The KLEEMANN IoT system is a valuable tool for every maintenance and service professional who wants to improve business conditions and results. That means better workflow, 24/7 support and service quality for their customers and the opportunity to expand and support more projects with fewer resources. The value of services is increased and business becomes aligned with the digital era.

Shaping the Future – From the IoT System to the KLEEMANN Digital Dome

The KLEEMANN IoT tool is a starting point and the basic infrastructure for future developments. A new operational world is created around the IoT tool with the KLEEMANN Digital Dome, an expanded space of numerous smart functions, services and premium products.

The Digital Dome will include smart functions such as:

• The (patent pending) Passenger Emergency Detection System (PED), in which the elevator can detect an emergency in the cabin, such as a passenger faint, and initiate all actions necessary to assist the passenger.
• The (patent pending) Info on Safe Environment (ISE), in which passengers will be informed about the air quality in the car, providing safer boarding.
• The Social Distancing function, in which the elevator can detect a violation of the required social distancing rules and act accordingly.

The KLEEMANN IoT system will expand as more smart functions are set to be added to the KLEEMANN Digital Dome in the months to come.

At the top of the upcoming KLEEMANN projects is development of predictive maintenance, based on AI algorithms and the expertise of the KLEEMANN R&D department.

Predictive-maintenance algorithms will draw experience from usage data and turn it into actionable insights for proactive maintenance. This will help the maintainer know which actions to take and how to reduce the system’s downtime and prevent malfunctions in critical components.

As cities are getting smarter, elevators with IoT technology will play a key part in the quality of urban mobility. And with real-time information working for the improvement of maintenance, service and usage, a new era has begun for the sector of elevators.