IEES 2018

The successful inaugural event held in Istanbul welcomed a global audience and expert presenters.

The inaugural International Elevator and Escalator Symposium (IEES) 2018, organized by Elevator World, Inc. and Liftinstituut Solutions B.V., was held at the Renaissance Polat Istanbul Hotel in Istanbul on November 15-16, 2018. During the two-day event, leading industry experts from around the world presented 20 papers exploring the symposium’s theme of “Safety in Vertical Transportation and New Technologies.” Twelve companies also exhibited, showing off new products and services to help support the industry.

The symposium welcomed 165 attendees, including professionals from the elevator and escalator industry, architects, developers and building owners from 25 countries. Attendees and speakers came from as nearby as Greece, Georgia, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Austria, France, Iran and Azerbaijan and as far away as South Korea, India and the U.S., among other nations, to take part in this first-time event, the mission of which was to give back to the industry through both knowledge-sharing and charitable donation to the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation (EESF).

Attendees were welcomed by Marco Waagmeester, CEO of Liftinstituut Solutions B.V., and T. Bruce MacKinnon, executive vice president of Elevator World, during the opening session; both thanked attendees for traveling to the IEES and acknowledged the Turkey offices of both organizing companies for their hard work in planning the event. “We are happy to have the symposium in Turkey, a hub for the elevator industry,” said Waagmeester. MacKinnon also talked about the mission of the EESF — to teach people of all ages how to use vertical transportation safely.

Louis Bialy, of Louis Bialy & Associates in the U.S., took his place on the stage soon after, serving as the symposium’s first speaker. He received resounding applause after wishing the crowd, many of whom were Turkish, “Good morning” in Turkish. Reverting to English, the official language of the symposium, Bialy then said he is “always charmed by the warmth found in Turkey and proud to be the first speaker at the first IEES.” He discussed “The Role of Risk Assessment in Innovative Product Development,” a topic that sparked discussion from the audience in the follow-up question-and-answer session. Luciano Faletto, general secretary of the European Federation for Elevator Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, followed Bialy, saying their topics complemented one another, as he discussed the origins and history of various standards around the world in “A New Approach Necessary to Keep All New Lifts Safe and Reliable.”

The first of several coffee breaks followed, allowing attendees time to mingle, ask additional questions of the speakers, visit the booths and snack on an array of Turkish delicacies, including small sandwiches, pastries and fruit.

After the coffee break, sessions resumed with Jean Paul Bourgeat, of KONE Elevators & Escalators, France, who spoke about the company’s “24/7 Connected Services.” He was followed by Sebastian Steinert of Mayr who discussed “What Makes an Elevator Brake Safe and Reliable.”

An elaborate buffet lunch of traditional Turkish fare was served at the hotel’s upscale Marmara Sea Restaurant, which overlooks the Marmara Sea, giving attendees time to digest the morning’s information and share a meal together. The afternoon presentations began with a global group from Otis; Pascal Rebillard from Otis France, Peter Herkel from Otis Germany and Rubén Sánchez Muñoz from Otis Spain took turns explaining the “Electronic Safety Actuator” in detail. They were followed by Melih Aybey from Aybey Elektronik in Turkey, who discussed “Integrated Motor Drives.” TAK Mathews of TAK Consulting Pvt Ltd., in India, then talked about the “Impact of Cultures on Elevatoring.” He explained that what works in one country may not work in another, regarding number of elevators in a building, their capacity and frequency of use, which are often determined by the culture. This session, as did the others throughout the early afternoon, led to lively follow-up questions and comments from the engaged audience.

An afternoon coffee break featuring a bevy of Turkish desserts rejuvenated attendees for the final sessions of the day. John W. Koshak of eMCP LLC, in the U.S., covered the important topic of maintenance in “Method of Managing Maintenance,” followed by David Jones of Irdeto, in Canada, who took the audience “Inside the Mind of a Hacker,” explaining, “Knowledge is cybersecurity power.” Max Guijt closed out the day exploring the issue of computer-aided facilities management in “CAFM, an Industry Challenge.”

The night’s activities included a cocktail hour, featuring light hors d’oeuvres and a musical trio. There were many introductions still being made around the room, and enthusiasm was high. Reflections on the day were positive, with many your author spoke with commenting on the grand event setting; excellent food; comfortable classroom-style seating in the conference room; relevancy of subject matter; high caliber of speakers; diverse, global group assembled; and open, collaborative spirit of all in attendance. A welcome dinner at the hotel’s Daphne Restaurant & Grill followed.

Day two began with Liftinstituut’s Robert Kaspersma’s discussion of reducing risk through an “Integral Safety Vision.” Matthias Schiller with Schindler Digital Business in Switzerland discussed humans’ short attention spans and the era of the “Internet of Me” we find ourselves in today in “Connecting Equipment, Customers and Passengers: The Internet of Elevators and Escalators.” Murat Camgöz from Fermator explained “Fire Homologations for Elevator Doors,” sharing a video of fire tests that sparked great interest and questions from the audience.

Following the morning coffee break, Sung-In Park with Hyundai Elevator, in South Korea, shared his paper, “Studies on Characteristics and Production Concentrated Magnetic Flu-Type Elevator Traction Machine Composed of Non-rare Earth Magnet.”

Otis’ Richard Pulling followed Park and took a moment to take stock of the symposium, commenting on the enthusiasm of the crowd and the speakers, wondering if this was exclusive to the elevator industry. “It always amazes me,” he shared, before beginning a discussion of Otis’ SkyBuild elevator, a permanent elevator used during a building’s construction. His presentation, “Elevators — From Heart to Brain of the New Generation Buildings,” focused on what he called the “seamless integration” of this elevator into the completed project.

Attendees were treated to another wonderful buffet lunch at the Marmara Sea Restaurant that included traditional Turkish soups, salads, pasta dishes, vegetables and a variety of meats. Following the meal, Merih Asansor’s Emre Köroğlu discussed “Minimizing the Mechanical Losses on Sliding Door Systems,” followed by Johannes de Jong, of Elevating Studio Pte. Ltd., who presented his paper, “Voluntary Egress Elevators, Enhancements to the 2004 CTBUH Guideline.”

Following the symposium’s final coffee break, attendees were treated to a presentation on thyssenkrupp Elevator’s MULTI by MULTI CEO Michael Cesarz. “MULTI opens up new opportunities,” Cesarz said of the concepted elevator that can move horizontally and vertically through a building, the first installation of which will be complete in 2020 in Berlin. “We can run the building in a different way with MULTI. Architects are eager to work with us, and consultants are working with us to make sure MULTI works as best as possible.”

Andreas Ota and Daniel Wilfing of VIEW Promotion, in Austria, discussed “Automated Emergency Detection in Elevators,” with Ota giving background on the company’s work with the hearing- impaired public, and Wilfing exploring the technology employed by VIEW to assist them. The closing presentation of the symposium was delivered by KLEEMANN’s Dr. Iraklis Chatziparasidis on the “Safety Issues on Panoramic Cars with Handrails Mounted Directly on Stiff SentryGlas® Plus (SGP) Laminated Glass Elements.”

In their closing comments, MacKinnon and Waagmeester thanked all attendees, speakers, exhibitors and members of the organizing companies, especially Bülent Yılmaz of Elevator World and Süleyman Özcan of Liftinstituut Solutions, who helped make the first IEES a success. “You are all invited to join us in Las Vegas in November 2019 for our second annual IEES. So, we’ll leave you with ‘Viva Las Vegas,’” MacKinnon said. More details about next year’s symposium can be found at elevatorsymposium.org. A book containing the complete papers presented at the IEES is available at www.elevatorbooks.com.