The 13th International Seminar on Elevators and Escalators Technical panels, educational workshops and a technical exhibition see expertise, cooperation on display during successful event.
by Mohammad Masoud Majidifar
The 13th International Seminar on Elevators and Escalators was held February 20 at the Koosha International Center of Applied Science and Technology with the cooperation of the Iranian Association for Elevator and Escalator Engineering and with the presence of Iran’s union of elevator, escalator and affiliated services, Iran’s syndicate of elevator and escalator, Iran’s association of elevator parts manufacturers, academic staff and industrialists.
The seminar was held with the presence of Dr. Masoumian from the technical qualification office of the University of Applied Science and Technology; the representatives of the University of Applied Science and Technology (Tehran Branch); Eng. Abbas Abrishami, the president of Iran’s union of elevator, escalator and affiliated services; Eng. Zohrevandi, the president of Iran’s syndicate of elevator and escalator; Eng. Shafahi, the president of Iran’s association of elevator parts manufacturers; experts; professors; industrialists; and foreign guests beginning at 9:30 a.m. The seminar consisted of two technical panels, six educational workshops and a technical expert.
After reading the Koran aloud and reciting the national anthem, Dr. Sajadi, dean of Koosha College, thanked outstanding industrialists, professors, foreign guests and sponsors for their presence and declared that, for the 13th time, we utilize elevator industry knowledge to achieve our goals in tough economic circumstances.
According to Dr. Sajadi, countries don’t progress unless they increase wealth in their communities, and gaining wealth is due to the strong relationship between industry and university. She then shared that the seminar secretariat had received 28 articles, and that eight superior articles would be presented throughout the seminar, along with six educational workshops, an exhibition and two technical panels. The first panel, titled “Industry Needs from politicians,” was followed by a panel on “Investigation of Fundamental Changes in Elevator Industry During the Next Solar Year.”
Following the initial two panels, Prof. Celik from Germany presented his article on energy efficiency of elevators. He mentioned that standby energy consumption and usage patterns must be carefully considered to achieve optimal energy efficiency in elevators. While traction machine-room-less (MRL) elevators with VVVF drives have been introduced as energy-efficient solutions, hydraulic elevators equipped with VVVF drives have also gained market presence, offering comparable energy efficiency. However, the efficiency of these systems diminishes with low usage, where simpler elevators with significantly lower stand-by energy requirements become more advantageous. Therefore, for low-usage home and residential elevators, hydraulic elevators with mechanical valves remain a superior choice. They offer low energy demand, affordability, easy setup, simple maintenance and high reliability, making them an ideal solution in such applications.
Then, Dr. Mohammad Ali Akhaei, an academic member of the University of Tehran (associate professor), spoke on applying AI in the elevator industry. He discussed movement optimization and traffic management, predictive maintenance and fault recognition, usage experience and safety improvement and energy consumption optimization. Finally, he analyzed the applying of AI in traffic management, safety increase, fault recognition before happening, energy consumption optimization and better usage of elevators.
Dr. Lajevardi, quality manager of Tehran Subway, followed Dr. Akhaei and presented his article on Tehran Subway challenges with elevator standards. He explained the challenges with elevators standard certificate, maintenance cost, and accidents because of equipment function. Also, he declared the solutions for the problems from Tehran Subway and cultural activities in this area.
After a short break, Dr. Talebi, college instructor, presented his article on applying AI in elevator group control with reinforcement learning methods. He investigated AI methods to optimize the systems of elevator group control.
Next, Dr. Sekhavat, college professor and managing director of SetLift Co., presented his article, which focused on optimized pits for elevators with high nominal velocity. He discussed the solutions for cost decrease and installation possibility of elevators with speeds of 2.5 – 4 m/s considering building restrictions and related standards in 2.5 m-deep pits. He explained that elevators with high nominal velocity need buffers according to their speed and pits with more than 15 m height.
Eng. Mohseni, technical manager of Elevator 110 Co., then presented on safety productivity evolution in hydraulic elevators. He discussed smart unit sensors, oil flow control sensors, oil temperature and weight control. He said hydraulic valves adjust oil flow, which tends to lead to maximum comfort in elevator movement.
Mr. Amirreza Hashemi from Sicor Academy then presented his article, “How to select gearless machine for high rise and very high usage buildings in the light of IEC 60034-1.” In this presentation, Mr. Hashemi emphasized the importance of the duty cycle. The main purpose of determining the right duty cycle is to prevent elevator gearless machines from overheating. If the motor runs longer than its designed duty cycle, it may not have enough time to cool down, leading to excessive heat buildup, which leads to reduced lifespan and degraded insulation. High-rise buildings significantly affect the duty cycle calculation, as it is more vital since they require more duty cycle; this is mainly due to increased travel distances, heavier usage patterns (VDI-4707) and variations in passenger demand throughout the building. We mainly use S3 duty type (IEC60034-1) intermittent periodic cycles for elevators with gearless machines.
Following, Eng. Ebadi, gave a talk on high-speed elevator equipment. He mentioned that for installing a high-speed elevator, a high-rise building is significant to reach the maximum speed when moving. In elevators capable of high speeds, all parts, even the smallest ones, are important, and they are different from other elevators in design, calculations, hardware and software.
Next, the experts’ panel on Industry Needs from Politicians was held for the third time in Iran. Eng. Ememirad was the chairman of the panel, and the managers and experts discussed the topic. In the more-than-90-min conversation, three guests were asked about their plans considering the current economic and production circumstances, as well as how they manage their associations.
The chairman asked Eng. Shafahi about association strategic plans regarding production, and he asked Eng. Zohrevandi about establishing a provincial elevator and escalator union. He asked Eng. Abrishami about the importance and necessity of instituting a provincial union. The three guests took turns answering the questions. The discussion resulted in a decision to create a think tank for more idea convergence and better growth, particularly in education.
The next panel focused on the investigation of fundamental changes in the elevator industry during the next year. Eng. Ememirad was the chairman of the panel, and the managers and experts discussed the topic. In this discussion that took more than 1 h, questions were asked in order, and the panelists answered them in a short time. The audience participated in the discussion, also. Although the ministry of power had done a lot about energy control, they realized there are some problems in the new standard and the calculations should be done precisely and the education committee should alter it.
Eng. Zolfaqari: The standard belongs to the standard organization and, according to the current conditions, energy management in elevators can’t be executed by the ministry of power.
Eng. Farokhi: Considering Prof. Celik’s article and standby times of each elevator, the right method has not been done in energy consumption calculations.
Eng. Esmaeili: While our country always lags behind the world in new technologies, we don’t decide to improve the process in these conditions. Using gearbox engines has been abolished all over the world, and there are not appropriate conditions for energy consumption alteration in our country, as well as incorrect grading.
Eng. Naseri: Presenting an authentic pattern for correct elevator installation and according to the reasearch, he announced that in one of the projects, with changing the elevator guide shoes, the energy consumption had decreased 2 amp in the system.
Eng. Daraei: Considering current conditions, he presented the solution for energy consumption decrease in control boards and said we could accomplish that.
After the discussion and presentation of the panelists’ opinions, it was determined that correct installation, operation and training were significant, and to achieve these goals, better cooperation with the college was needed.
At the seminar, qualified articles were presented in the convention hall with the instructors present. At the end of the day, commendation letters were bestowed to the foreign guests, elevator companies at the seminar, and elevator and escalator industry experts.
Fourteen elevator companies participated in the seminar as sponsors. They were:
- General Cabin
- Set Lift
- Artia Control
- Hydro Farco
- NS Karen
- Side Cabin
- Tavana Hydraulic Asanbar
- Sicor
- Aria Faraz Arshan Trading
- Yashar Lift
- Azar Danesh Dornica
- New Lift
- Arman Lift
- Media
The presence and support of Elevator World magazine; Iran’s union of elevator, escalator and affiliated services; Iran’s syndicate of elevator and escalator; and the company sponsors are appreciated. Another significant international guest from Turkiye took part in the seminar: Mrs. Aysegul Ustundag, financial manager for Elevator World Türkiye magazine. And thus, the 13th International Seminar on Elevators and Escalators became a memorable memory.
Get more of Elevator World. Sign up for our free e-newsletter.
