VT Moving Into New, Post-Pandemic Reality, Consultant Says

With elevators moving back into regular use — after sitting idle for months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — facility managers are finding themselves with a need to prepare their vertical-transportation (VT) units for return to operation, Facilitiesnet.com reports. Keenan Potter, a specialist in VT for U.K.-based construction engineering consultant Buro Happold, told the source that the onset of the pandemic was cause for worry within the VT industry because of the “sudden collapse of demand for all sorts of services.” While “everyone was sort of holding their breath,” the industry is making a comeback, thanks to active involvement from many governments around the world. Potter added that he believes some elevator rules, such as social distancing and sanitation, will continue post-pandemic, but that in many areas it appears likely that the desire will continue for flexibility that includes working from home. Noting that, pre-pandemic, office staffing was trending toward density, now “you’re seeing the desire for more space in the building, and that obviously is going to affect how VT designs are going to change.”