Champagne, Castles and Collaboration

IEES’ fourth edition provides learning, networking and fun in an enchanting atmosphere: Edinburgh, Scotland.

Fresh off last year’s International Elevator & Escalator Symposium (IEES) at the stylish waterfront W Barcelona Hotel in Spain, organizers Liftinstituut and ELEVATOR WORLD upped the ante for the Symposium’s fourth edition at the historic, elegant and stately The Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland, on December 5-6, 2023. With nearly 170 rooms and 1.070 m² of meeting space under high ceilings hung with elaborate brass chandeliers, The Balmoral originally opened as the North British (Railway Station) Hotel in 1902 — located in New Town in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. Despite its name, New Town, a central area of the Scottish capital, is very old — built in stages between 1767 and around 1850.[1] Through sleet and occasional snow flurries, the castle, standing on Castle Rock, which has been inhabited by humans since at least the Iron Age,[2] was clearly visible from the hotel. Many celebrities have stayed at The Balmoral: Edinburgh native Sir Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul McCartney and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, to name a few. The enchanting, historic surroundings added to an ambience of luxury that included caviar (atop a salmon appetizer during one of the lunches) and plentiful flutes of champagne (during the gala dinner at the nearby Mansfield Traquair — a former Catholic church-turned-event venue known as Edinburgh’s Sistine Chapel for its elaborate murals by artist Anna Traquair).^[3]

Throughout its history, which began in 2018 with the inaugural event in Istanbul, Türkiye, the IEES has earned a reputation as an elite event. Organized by two independent organizations (Netherlands-based Liftinstituut and U.S.-based EW), it is open to anyone. Each Symposium has a theme, and 2023’s was “Sustainability and Digitalization.” Over two days, top vertical-transportation (VT) experts from Brazil, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. presented in-depth papers on the topic (available in book form at elevatorbooks.com). Presentations were punctuated by gourmet lunches, a gala dinner and an intimate tradeshow arranged around a table arrayed with delicate pastries, tea and coffee.

Day 1 — Tuesday, December 5, 2023

EW Türkiye and Middle East Managing Director (MD) Bulent Yılmaz, T. Bruce MacKinnon and MacKinnon’s son Harbour — representing the future generation — registered and chatted with guests as they filed into the tradeshow area and the conference room beyond. Symposium emcee Liftinstituut Head of Marketing Marjon Oosting introduced co-host Elettra Bilibio, European Federation for Elevator Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (EFESME) policy advisor. Oosting asked attendees to start the day with a little light exercise: giving all the presenters a hearty round of applause.

Liftinstituut MD Marco Waagmeester and MacKinnon took the podium to welcome guests, with MacKinnon sharing that, since he is descended from Clan MacKinnon of Scotland’s Isle of Skye, he feels very much at home in Scotland. After thanking the approximately 110 individuals attending and 12 companies exhibiting at IEES and noting that 2023 marked EW’s 70th anniversary, MacKinnon provided a little Symposium background. He said:

“We created independent steering and technical committees to oversee this event, as well as review all papers. We had a vision to create a premium event focused on the VT industry that would bring together CEOs, key leaders and visionaries to discuss the most pressing topics affecting the sector.

“As I travel around to the many events in this industry, it is easy to recognize that people in the elevator industry are very similar all over the world. They are hardworking, professional leaders in their communities, and, most importantly, they are passionate about the VT industry.”

Waagmeester observed that the 121-year-old The Balmoral hotel is packed with history, and shared that Liftinstituut celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2023. Founded by the Dutch government in Amsterdam in 1933 to reduce the number of accidents involving industrial elevators, Liftinstituut has evolved into a leading company in VT safety that is known worldwide. When Liftinstituut was founded, he said, sustainability and digitalization were unknown. Now, they are critical to shaping the VT industry and greater society, he said. Liftinstituut draws inspiration from speakers such as those at the 2023 IEES who “inspire us to take the next steps in our journey.”

Presentations kicked off with KONE Senior Manager of Certification Robert Kaspersma — no stranger to the IEES — with “Using Digital Tools to Elevate Sustainability.” After first defining sustainability — “the quality of being able to continue over a period of time” — Kaspersma spoke about how the elevator industry can contribute to decarbonizing the built environment by providing energy-efficient solutions and reducing carbon emitted during materials production. His talk included videos illustrating the methods and affordability of achieving clean water and clean energy, as well as ways VT industry innovation and codes and standards can contribute to sustainability goals.

Kaspersma’s presentation was based on a paper he prepared with colleague Claudio Donghi. It covered three of the many tools being used or developed for the building and VT industries. Those are:

1. The smart readiness indicator
2. Building Information Modeling
3. The digital product passport

Next was Yasin Bayrakli, global industry manager — Elevator Technology, Fritz Kübler GmbH, Germany, with “Shaft-Copying Systems — The All-Purpose Tool for Digitalization, the Skilled Labor Shortage and Sustainability.” Bayrakli focused on Kübler solutions and their built-in systems that ensure safety through the entire installation process. Shaft-copying systems can prevent unintended car movement, or UCM, to protect technicians who are in the shaft, and save power by activating energy-saving mode during low traffic. This, Bayrakli pointed out, not only saves money, but increases property value. His presentation replaced that of Yuval Valiano-Rips of Israel-based Rips Elevators Group, who was unable to attend. Valiano-Rips’ excellent paper, “Elevator Market AI Revolution; Not What You’ve Had in Mind,” is available in the IEES book. 

Before the next presentations, Oosting invited attendees to the exhibition in the adjoining room, where they enjoyed tea, coffee and pastries and learned about exhibitor offerings. Solutions Engineering held a whisky tasting at its booth and raffles for AirPods and industry books. At the Genemek booth, your author learned about a unique elevator keypad for the blind Genemek invented for charity from Chief Technology Officer Devrim Gecegezer, as well as the origin and meaning of Kapok 88’s catchphrase, “Bashability,” from MD Richard B. Annable. Meanwhile, Waagmeister and the MacKinnons slipped out to acquire some kilts for that evening’s gala dinner.

Presentations cranked back up with Lift AI founder and CEO and Wurtec Chairman of the Board Rob Wurth’s “Rethinking IoT Applications in the Elevator Industry,” which he described as a “professional focus and a personal passion of mine.” Wurth observed that IoT has great potential to change the VT industry but that it is not working commercially — yet. The main problem, Wurth said, is that VT companies have a fundamental misunderstanding of their customers. He told a personal story of a disconnect between Lift AI and a customer: Wurth and his team had worked hard to develop a new dashboard device that displayed all the client’s VT data. “The property manager told me, ‘I will never look at that dashboard,'” Wurth recalled. The reason? She barely sat down at a desk. So, Lift AI changed course and developed an audible alert system for the client’s 150 cars.

Another client purchased 35 devices to monitor his portfolio of 850 cars — but not to handle maintenance proactively. Rather, he used it to monitor the performance of his VT maintenance provider. Ideas for rethinking IoT in lifts include standardizing data protocols to achieve interoperability, collaboration and new, innovative solutions; balancing near-term value and long-term strategy; and focusing more on user needs.

Prior to lunch, Alfonso Gappo, MD of Brazil’s Gappo Elevators & Consultants, presented “Flexible Zones for Elevators.” The paper explained how Gappo’s team configured an elevator system serving a two-tower, mixed-use development in São Paulo to maximize efficiency. The remaining presentations of the day were:

• “Sustainability in the Elevator Industry — Impact Review,” TAK Mathews, president of TAK Consulting, India
• “Balancing Act: The Conflicts Between Cybersecurity and Functional Safety,” Tijmen Molema, functional safety certification specialist, Liftinstituut, Netherlands
• “Connected Lifts, Digital Evolution,” Julio Gil, chief digital officer, MP Elevators, Spain
• “The Relationship Between Building Performance and Sustainability in the Post-Pandemic Era,” Kadir Keles, associate consultant, WSP, U.K.
• “Changing Demographics and Accessibility,” Alea Guillemi of Guillemi Group, Argentina

After a few hours’ rest, those who were physically able gathered in The Balmoral lobby to make the short trek over Old Town’s glistening cobblestone streets to Mansfield Traquair Centre — location of the traditional gala dinner — less than a half mile away. The venue is in Mansfield Place Church, a neo-Romanesque building designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson and completed in 1885.[3] Its interior is decorated throughout with colorful murals depicting angels, Jesus and Biblical scenes by Phoebe Anna Traquair, to which it owes its nickname as Scotland’s Sistine Chapel. Adorned with Christmas wreaths, the center’s red arched doors were impossible to miss. Inside, guests were greeted warmly by Bilibio handing them sparkling flutes of champagne. Bagpipers filled the vast, high-ceiled space with traditional Scottish music, and attendees cheered the occasion at large round tables as they enjoyed a feast of roast beef, potatoes, fish pie and haggis — the much-maligned national dish of Scotland. A savory “pudding” containing sheep’s heart, liver and lungs mixed with onion, spices, oatmeal and fat, it was more than edible and faintly reminiscent of boudin of the U.S. South, in your author’s opinion.

Day 2 — Wednesday, December 6, 2023

After a gloomy, rainy several days, the sun shone brightly into the conference room windows on Day 2, which kicked off with CEDES U.S. CEO Patrick Bass presenting “Sensor Fusion Driving Elevator Communication and Data Hub; the Future.” Oosting observed that the good weather was a “sign of a fruitful day to come.” Bass eased into his topic by telling the audience about his own IoT journey, which includes bringing the MAX predictive-maintenance solution to market when he was CEO and president at TK Elevator. Sensor fusion, Bass said, is about bundling different data to realize more insightful preventive and preemptive remote-monitoring capabilities. “Any deviation from the norm you are able to see on a real-time basis,” Bass said. “A mechanic knows where to go and what to look for.” He spoke about how CEDES and relayr partnered to create SKYLER Elevate, a cloud-based platform that enables smart elevator management, optimizing service with predictive-maintenance insights. CEDES is among those looking to take IoT and data fusion to the next level, thereby improving customer satisfaction and enhancing passenger and mechanic safety, Bass said.

Following Bass were Ivan Ferranini and Paolo Tattoli of EFESME Italy with “The Transition to the Circular Economy from the Lift SMEs’ Point of View.” The pair talked about the primary challenges of transitioning to the European Commission’s First Circular Economy Action Plan that established concrete and ambitious actions, with measures covering the whole product life cycle: from production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials.[4] Ways the VT industry can contribute, they said, is by increasing the use of recycled materials in products and eliminating the use of hazardous materials. Ferranini and Tattoli said they believe circular economy verbiage should be woven into VT standards.

After a coffee break, Pascal Rebillard and Alper Caliskan of Otis presented “The Gen360 Platform, The Next Generation of Digital and Sustainable Elevators.” Rebillard talked about what makes the machine-room-less platform unique, including its space-saving, safety and service capability features. From the get-go, he said, Gen360 was built as a global platform, embodying “a set of interfaces, parts, components, modules and subsystems that form a common structure from which a stream of derivative products can be efficiently developed and produced.” The Otis ONE predictive-maintenance platform is part and parcel of all iterations of the IoT-native platform. Otis Product Security Officer Vijay Lakamraju went on to speak about cybersecurity and a secure product development life cycle. “Secure product development is key,” Lakamraju said. “Since attacks on products and installations are constantly increasing, digitalization must always have cybersecurity next to it as not something built on, but built in.”

The remaining presentations on Day 2 were:

• “Performance Comparisons of Acoustic Insulation Element for Guiderail Connections Using Anchor Channels or Dowels,” Prof. Dr. Mazen Ayoubi, manager, Research and Innovation, PohlCon GmbH, Germany
• “Benefits of Intelligent Elevator Monitoring for Operation of Large Elevator Portfolios” by Philip Molineus and David Mansfield of Henning GmbH, Germany
• “Towards Smart Elevators” by Dr. Giorgos Georgiadis of KLEEMANN, Greece
• “Using Circular Economy Business Models and Life Cycle Assessment to Improve Sustainability of Elevators” by David Griffin of Northern Drives and Controls Ltd., U.K.
• “Elevator Loading Requirements for High-Rise Elevators” by Ville Josefsson and Jaakko Kalliomaki of KONE, Finland

To cap off this year’s IEES, a panel on the “Role of Digitalization in the VT Industry” addressed such topics as how sustainability is incorporated into ESG (or Environmental, Health and Governance) initiatives, how choosing the right materials can contribute to sustainability and how to make digitalization user-friendly for SMEs. Moderated by Liftinstituut MD John Van Vliet, the panel consisted of ELA President Roberto Zappa, EFESME VP Damyan Petrov, Otis EMEA Codes and Standards Manager Caliskan, TAK Consulting President Mathews and GENEMEK Lift Components Chairman Devrim Gecegezer. 

For many attendees, the journey home would be long, so it was time to relax, unwind and reflect on another successful and enriching Symposium. The next IEES is set for The Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas on November 12-13, 2024.

References

[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Town,_Edinburgh
[2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_Castle
[3] mansfieldtraquair.co.uk/history
[4] environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/first-circular-economy-action-plan_en
[5] edinburghunwrapped.com/the-edinburgh-clock-that-is-always-wrong
[6] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princes_Street