Electronic elevation

As the Middle East sees the ever increasing construction of high-rise buildings dotting its landscape, the need for efficient transportation to move people up and down these towers becomes ever more apparent. The taller the buildings become the greater the number of elevators are needed, with more space being taken up to accommodate them. The introduction of advanced electronics in lifts has resulted in a greater efficiency and a reduction in the number of lift shafts that are needed in a building.

The late 1990s saw the replacement of the electro-mechanical controller with a microprocessor-based version. "The old technology was based on relay controls," explains Yusef Shalabi, general manager of Otis Middle East. "With the advances in technology the lift controller is now a microprocessor. This takes away the need for a large roomfull of relays and contactors on control panels. It can be provided with a fuzzy logic program and artificial intelligence, which makes the operation of a bank of lifts more efficient."

One of the new features that has been incorporated into the design of elevators is destination selection control. Here a touch screen operating panel is placed outside the cabin in the lobby of the building. By entering their desired floor the passenger will be informed which elevator will take them to their destination the quickest.

"The main advantage to this system is that it improves the efficiency of the elevators by up to 25%," explains D M Nehru, manager field support with Kone. "They will take you to the floor you want to go to quicker. So one elevator will be designated floors one, two and three for example and another will stop at floors four, five and six. It also gives the architect or the building owner the option of placing the elevators anywhere in the building they want rather than having them all positioned next to each other."

This increase in efficiency means that the amount of elevators needed in a building can be reduced. It can also result in considerable gain time and raised productivity in an office. The technology that is used is standard computer electronics. "We use Pentium 4 computer technology in our lift electronics system, so it is nothing new," states Nehru.

The one problem Nehru can see with the new system is educating passengers on how to use the new technology. "Obviously new users might find it difficult at first to understand that the buttons are on the outside of the lift. But this is only a question of education and it is down to the building manager to inform the general public that this is how the elevators operate," he adds.

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