New elevators and escalators, communications components, and more
Otis Launches Advanced Service Solutions, High-Rise Gen2 MRL and Escalator
Otis launched two service-related products in May. First is its Otis ONE™ Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled intelligent service platform. The “connected elevator solution” is designed to personalize the service experience through real-time, transparent information sharing, proactive communication tools and predictive-maintenance insights. Otis explains its “insights” leverage data from more than 300,000 connected units to offer a more proactive service solution for customers. The combination of remote monitoring, cloud technology, machine learning and IoT also aims to provide customers, passengers and service teams with an entirely new, connected experience to offer real-time equipment health information.
Otis President Judy Marks remarked:
“Otis ONE digital tools provide real-time insights and integration with our customers’ systems so we can predict issues before they happen and minimize downtime. It’s about putting the latest technology and predictive equipment insights in the hands of our service professionals to enhance proactive service and strengthen our customer relationships. And it’s about building a service platform that’s sustainable and flexible enough to grow with the future of technology.”
Otis also debuted Signature Service®, its new service offering, which includes its efforts of equipping most of its 33,000 technicians with iPhones and a suite of service apps. Plans are to “continue until there’s a smartphone in each technician’s hands,” the company says. The program incorporates new digital technologies to “reimagine the customer-service experience.” Tony Black, Otis Service president, added, “It is powered by the investments we continue to make to ensure Otis is a seamless part of our customers’ daily journeys and digital touchpoints.” By combining the strengths of commitment and connectivity, the enhanced suite offers instant updates for customers to ensure their buildings are operating at peak efficiency.
The company also launched its first high-rise Gen2® MRL elevator. The high-speed unit is intended for the global tall-building market. The new, faster machine-room-less (MRL) system is designed for buildings with a rise up to 150 m, or 50 floors. Its maximum speed of 3.5 mps makes it the fastest Gen2 model and uses the same steel-coated, flat-belt technology (designed to save space and energy) as the others in the series, which has sold more than 700,000 units.
The new model will be offered with the Otis Ambiance package of aesthetic options, which combine to offer more than 400,000 possible combinations of textures, colors, lighting and materials. It will also be available with Otis eView™, eCall™ and CompassPlus® connected technologies, in addition to the smaller, energy-efficient ReGen™ drive.
Finally, Otis introduced an enhanced global escalator product, the Link™ commercial escalator that offers upgrades on quality, safety and reliability. As “the result of multidiscipline teams of product experts, engineers and operations leads from around the globe working together,” the escalators are designed to complement customers’ unique requirements in any commercial space, whether retail or office, with a compact footprint, elegant aesthetics and sustainable design elements.
Also sporting ReGen drives, Link escalators use 60% less energy compared to escalators without regenerative drives and consume 98% less oil compared to manual lubrication systems. Also, 90% of the materials used to make them can be recycled. A new diagnostic tool, Otis’ proprietary Dr. Step™, allows mechanics to quickly diagnose escalator deterioration and assess their performance and quality during a routine service visit. Lastly, an advanced electronic safety system activates brakes quickly and consistently when it detects an issue.
Updated Line Loss Indicator for Phones
K-Tech has introduced the second generation of Line Loss Indicator, the ET98A. Initially released in 2011, the Line Loss Indicator and auxiliary equipment can help building owners and elevator contractors meet requirements to monitor the phone line at the elevator phone per ASME A17.1/CSA B44-2016.
K-Tech says that, when used with its ET901-series phone and that phone detects the loss of the telephone line, it sends a signal to the ET98A. The ET98A then sends its own signal to a board in the lobby, triggering a flashing LED and buzzer. LEDs in the ET98A enable quick identification of which elevator has the line failure, and the unit has a built-in test button and startup test sequence for easy troubleshooting. The company can supply any or all the components to OEM or fixture manufacturers, so they can build custom panels.
New Home-Elevator Models
101 Mobility of Boonton, New Jersey, has installed its first Lifton Home Elevator in Hopatcong, New Jersey. While available in other states, the Lifton has only just been approved there, due to what 101 Mobility calls “New Jersey’s particularly rigid requirements for the installation of home elevators.” What it calls a “unique, modern alternative to stairlifts and old-fashioned residential elevators,” the product is designed for not only senior citizens. Its drive system is self contained and designed to be as quiet as possible.
The Lifton Duo Lift is a compact platform lift that requires minimal home modifications. Available in the Classic or Thru Car models, this version can be customized and carry up to 375 lb. The Lifton Trio Lift is a modular, ergonomic mobility platform that can provide vertical transit for both luggage and persons. Due to it being larger than the Duo (yet having “the smallest footprint of any wheelchair lift”), it remains accessible for those using standard wheelchairs, walkers and rollers, with its 485-lb. capacity. Also available in Classic and Thru Car models, it also comes in Vista.
Advanced Remote Monitoring Rolled Out in Europe
Following its acquisition of elevator specialist Microkey, Avire has launched its Digital Communications Platform (DCP). The technology-based solution provides a two-way data link from the lift to the outside world and can be used to extract data from any connected device in the lift to a secure cloud platform. It combines Global System Mobile and Machine-to-Machine gateways, and emergency telephones to enable remote configuration and lift data extraction. DCP is situated in a machine room and will continuously connect to elevator systems to check status, enabling maintenance companies to more accurately predict when maintenance is due or a technical fault has occurred. This can improve building safety by ensuring standards are being met and faulty equipment is fixed efficiently.
To ensure the information gathered from the DCP is digestible, the end user will receive any outcomes and analytics through Avire’s cloud system, Avire Hub. This is intended to allow both the lift companies and facility managers to simplify their operations. Having seen its initial launch in the U.K., Germany and France, the technology already “holds a large percentage of the Spanish market,” the company said. It added that DCP is “the building block to a complete ecosystem within the lift.”
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