EVENT | LIFT AND ESCALATOR SYMPOSIUM ELEVATED RISK A debate on the impact of Covid-19 on lift design attracted plenty of attention at the 2020 Lift and Escalator Symposium. Nick Mellor looks at the highlights including the potential of IoT, lowenergy equipment and earthquake-proof design F or the first time since its inception, this years Lift and Escalator Symposium took place online. A new experience for speakers and delegates alike, the format proved a great success, attracting 377 registered delegates from 38 countries double the attendance of the usual in-person event. Instead of being in front of a packed room of delegates, sessions were conducted via video link, with questions submitted in advance and via a chat facility. Professor Stefan Kaczmarczyk of the University of Northampton opened proceedings, along with Richard Peters of Peters Research. Unsurprisingly, a panel debate on Covid-19 generated many questions. Chair Dave Cooper was joined by Ian Smith, Jochem Wit, Philip Hofer and Sridhar Rajagopal. Populations and operational methodology of buildings were discussed and opinion expressed about the possibility of buildings of the future moving away from high-rise. The way people live their lives and how they work was also discussed. The big question post-Covid is will buildings need more lifts to achieve satisfactory traffic handling? It was generally agreed newer systems such as double-deck, multi-car and so on are likely to be the way forward. The methodology of how calls are placed on a lift system was also debated. It was agreed that it is likely to be apps on smartphones where the user places a call on the lift system or even books a lift car in advance. This created discussion about security and those who may not have such technology. The first session, chaired by Rory Smith from the University of Northampton, focused on energy and equipment. To kick off, Lutfi Al-Sharif from the University of Jordon presented a drag and drop modular model for energy consumption. This uses MATLAB/Simulink for a model with energy components such as motors and variable frequency drives as well as mechanical components. Kaczmarczyk presented a novel system that employs a combination of fuel cells and photovoltaic panels to generate electricity efficiently for use by the elevator system while still being able to store surplus energy. Following this, Anup Balharpure, of Rewale Engineering, India, presented a design for a rope tension meter. It is customary to use rope tension meters for measuring the tension in the main suspension ropes. However, this presentation described a unit that would be used for measuring the rope tension in the door assembly. Future standards The second session was a panel discussion, chaired by Nick Mellor, on the future for standards in the lift industry. The panel consisted of five short presentations on a range of standards topics followed by a question and answer session. Esfandiar Gharibaan, chair of CEN TC10 the European standardisation organisations lifts committee presented on The future of standards for lifts, looking at the development of EN and ISO standards and the work towards ISO 8100-1 safety standard for lifts. The theme was continued by Graham Worthington, president of the Pacific Asia Lift and Escalator Association (PALEA), with an update on the implementation of ISO 8100-1 in PALEA countries. TAK Mathews, convenor of the committee for elevators and escalators of the National Building Code of India, completed the ISO 8100 theme with an overview of adoption of ISO 8100 in India. Rory Smith gave a presentation on Chinas technical specification for the internet of things (IoT) for lifts, escalators and moving walks, highlighting the implications for the industry. Mellor then gave a brief overview of the approach to the use of lifts for evacuation in CEN and ISO standards. IoT magic or myth? The second day opened with a session on technology, chaired by Richards Peters. The first paper from Rory Smith addressed the IoT and whether it is magic or myth. Smith evaluated the effectiveness of IoT 36 November 2020 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Nov20 pp36-37 Lift symposium.indd 36 23/10/2020 16:25