Smart Technology for lifts – How could it help with social distancing?

Social distancing has potentially become the most used term of 2020 so far, and with the re-opening of buildings and the need to re-adjust to a ‘new normal’ it is a vital behaviour that will be a part of daily life for quite a while to come. Lifts have long been equipped with an overload alarm to ensure that if the maximum weight limit is exceeded the lift will not move. However, we have now moved into a new time where an overloaded lift is not only defined by a weight limit, but also the maximum number of people allowed within the lift car whilst still maintaining social distancing.

Lifts are a key area of risk due to the enclosed space, and understanding how many passengers are in a lift at any one time, and whether passengers are following social distancing guidelines, will become a crucial piece of data to analyse the effectiveness of social distancing policies. Occupancy sensing and people counting in the lift car, long considered “nice to haves” or even gimmicks in the lift industry, will become increasingly important to help support buildings in their re-opening safely.

Lifts will be put under increased pressure

Lifts will be put under increased activity with the need to reduce the number of passengers in the lift car at any one time. Even with the number of people in a building reduced there will be an increase in the number of journeys carried out by the lifts.

In some cases, a lift rated to carry 20 passengers will only be able to carry 2 passengers whilst following social distancing guidelines. Staggered start and finish times in office blocks will also have an impact on lift usage, as well as the reduced capacity for carrying passengers.

This increase in the number of journeys could mean more frequent maintenance visits to account for increased wear. Re-opening buildings is likely to be stressful enough without lift breakdowns causing even greater queues and crowded lobbies.

Even simple data such as the number of times the doors open and close can give valuable insight into how much additional wear a lift is experiencing and this will help lift maintenance companies to determine if your lifts need greater attention during this period.

Other considerations to improve people flow in buildings whilst enforcing social distancing

  • When planning traffic flow through the building (depending on the height of the building) consider using the lifts as the “up route” and the stairs as the “down route”.
  • If you have more than one lift, consider splitting the lifts into “up” and “down”.
  • As cleaning regimes are increased be careful that equipment in the lift car is not being damaged by cleaning products. Consider using removable wipe clean button covers rather than applying cleaning products directly to buttons. Small gaps around the buttons allows for moisture to get through and can short circuit the electrics which is dangerous and will put a lift out of action.

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