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- July 2021
- July 2021
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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
In times of the current corona pandemic, as we perceive our environment consciously, more and more potential dangers to our health become apparent. This increased awareness will continue to accompany us even after Corona. Personal & public Hygiene plays a major role in containing the spread of any diseases. Touch is a major hygiene factor and the first thing that many would come in contact are elevators that have to be invariably touched to be operated.
Elevators are confined spaces and have many contact surfaces that may be contaminated and pose a serious risk of disease. We explore options for registering calls without any contact as well as options to ensure adequate hygiene inside the cabin.INTRODUCTION
Elevators these days are very intelligent, nevertheless require human intervention to be operated. With various control systems and operating logics, it very important to understand human interference and make decisions for contactless operation.
We shall first explore hygiene and then look at the contactless operation.ANIT-MICROBIAL COATING
A permanent anti-microbial coating may be applied on all exposed surfaces that are prone to contact and prevent any contamination. Coatings need to be applied/sprayed in intervals of 6 months to 1 year period depending on the product. Surfaces are coated with a transparent, chemicals-resistant and abrasion-proof layer system with a lasting, antimicrobial effect. This permanently prevents the formation of new bacteria and stems in the continued growth of existing bacteria.
Products that may be exploredhttps://liquidguard.de/en/#Function
http://www.techexpertindia.com/antimicrobial-nano-coating
The product and its application require expertise and may be dealt with exclusively.
AIR IONIZERS INSIDE THE LIFT CABIN & LOBBY
Air ionizers create negative ions using electricity and then discharge them into the air. These negative ions attach to positively charged particles such as dust, bacteria, pollen, smoke, and other allergens.
The new generation of air purifier products not only cleans your air but sanitizes surfaces and significantly increase indoor air quality (IAQ), will kill microbes, including most bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and mould, that are commonly found in residential and commercial establishments. Some moulds produce certain harmful chemicals, such as mycotoxins and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Some types of electronic air ionizers may release small amounts of ozone as a byproduct that is safe and naturally occurring, but this isnb t the case when the amount of ozone released is greater than 0.05ppm.
Elevator companies like Fujitec provide Air ionisers as a product offering. They have a tie-up with sharp industries of Japan for the supply of Plasmacluster. Sharp's exclusive patented PlasmaclusterB. ion technology eliminates microscopic pollutants that traditional filters cannot trap, by replicating nature's own cleaning process of producing positive and negative ions from water vapour in the air. These ions refresh the air without any harmful chemicals or perfumes.
This product can also be directly obtained from Sharp and can be installed separately if the elevator vendor is unwilling to provide.
CONTACT-LESS LIFT ACCESS
Majority of the commercial buildings and few residential buildings, these days have elevators with Destination Control System (DCS). The absence of Car operating panel and a single registration point in the hall for DCS reduces multiple contacts. In standard group control systems, a passenger has to register calls at two locations -a) at the lift lobby & b) inside the car while In DCS the passenger registers a call only at the lobby. Even here if access control through proximity cards or face recognition is provided, the system will become 100% contact-free in Up-Peak condition.
For inter-floor and down the peak, an integration through Bluetooth may be provided to link the call registration to individual phones through an exclusive app.
QR code-based apps are also being developed but we feel in a crowded building, accessing the QR code in itself will be a big challenge and may add to the queuing and wait times.
Currently, we do not have many elevator vendors providing app-based elevator call registration. However, some third party access control companies have developed mobile apps and can integrate it with the elevators. Elevator vendors provide potential free leads in respective floors for integration.
The same logic can be applied for elevators without DCS. These are predominantly parking lifts or Jump lifts, Service lifts, VIP lifts and lifts in residential buildings. It must be noted that any intervention through indirect call registration using phone applications are bound to increase queuing and waiting times.
Retrofitting is a big challenge. The controllers if not provided with the option for access control integration at both hall and car will need major modifications. However current trends should be to include in the lift specifications provision for access control integration by a third party (for both hall and car in case of standard group control) at all floors.
Some third-party integrators
https://www.idcubesystems.com/integrating-access-control-dcs/
There are many access control providers who may be able to integrate the system with the elevators. New elevators can be specified with provision for access control integration. However, retrofitting existing elevators will be a major challenge.
The other major challenge will be sustainability. In an age where barrier-free access and seamless integration are the norms, the access system may prove to be a deterrent. The system that may be adopted should allow an enable/disable function to provide better flexibility during operations.
Hygiene must be treated as one of the most important ingredients for a disease-free society along with space. Densities in buildings should come down. Nature should be allowed to integrate with the built environment.
Note: The service providers and products mentioned in this article are for reference purpose only. Users are expected to carry out proper due diligence before purchase or implementation.
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There are many organizations that provide inspection services in the exclusive domain of Vertical & Horizontal transportation and Car Parking Systems. PAPL Stands out among them.
What makes PAPL so unique?
1) PAPL is the first and only accredited organization providing inspection service in this specialized domain
2) PAPL has the technical competence to undertake the inspection of Vertical & Horizontal transportation & Car Parking Systems
3) PAPL has the resources to do the work
4) PAPL inspectors comply to suitable codes of conduct to ensure inspections are carried out impartially and with integrity
5) PAPL has proper management systems in place
6) PAPL has adequate safeguards in place, e.g. effective complaints and appeals procedures, in case difficulties arise.
Inspection body accreditation is a formal means of determining the technical competence of inspection bodies to perform specific types of inspections.
Accreditation provides a ready means for customers to identify and select a reliable inspection service provider with adequate domain expertise and is a means of confirming technical competence of the inspection body.
The Accreditation process uses critical criteria and procedures specifically developed to determine technical competence of the inspection company. Specialist technical assessors conduct a thorough evaluation of all factors in an inspection body that affect the outcome of inspections.
The accreditation criteria are based on internationally accepted standard ISO/IEC 17020: Conformity assessment b requirements for the various types of bodies performing inspection, which are used for demonstrating the competence of inspection bodies throughout the world.
Accreditation bodies use this standard specifically to assess factors relevant to an inspection bodyb s ability to produce consistently reliable and impartial inspection results, including consideration of the following:
1) Technical competence of staff (including qualifications, training and experience)
2) Appropriateness of inspection methods
3) The use of suitable equipment (properly calibrated and maintained)
4) Safeguards to ensure impartiality and confidentiality
5) Code of conduct and processes for working safely
6) Effective quality assurance procedures
PAPL has been accredited by NABCB (National Accreditation Board for Certifying Bodies) a constituent of QCI (Quality Council of India) for compliance with the criteria and procedures specifically developed to verify technical competence. Inspection bodies must demonstrate, to an accreditation body, that they have the necessary competence to perform specified tasks before they can achieve accreditation.
PAPL is re-assessed regularly to ensure continued compliance with requirements, and to check that the required standard of operation is being maintained since Inspection is an essential part of ensuring the operational safety of many items that the public use in their daily lives.
PAPL's Inspection methodologies involve a critical examination of Vertical & Horizontal transportation & Car Parking Systems installation, to determine conformity with general or specified standards and requirements.
PAPL, an Accredited inspection body is authorized to issue inspection reports or certificates bearing NABCB Symbol/ endorsement indicating their accreditation. You may verify our status at PAPL NABCB Accredited Certificate
In pursuit of excellence, PAPL ensures robust and accurate processes that have been developed over several years of uncompromising fieldwork.
Earthing is a primary requirement for any electrical equipment for safety and performance.
The importance of the double Earthing is more emphasized in the vertical transportation equipment design. Quality of power is a common issue. Faulty wiring of grounding system leads to transients, harmonic, high frequency noise, voltage swells and sags and total power loss at times.
Elevators today are designed with systems and redundancies to minimize the loss of power. However, the important issue to be emphasized is the quality of power. Proper double earthing of the elevator is one of the ways to make sure that the elevators are abundantly safe and perform at acceptable levels.
Earthing is the reference point for all controller logic and data cabling communications. These connections use the ground as the reference point for processing data. If the ground reference for these devices or networked systems is not correct then system reliability is compromised which can cause malfunctions, software and hardware failures and elevator system downtime.
Improper earthing is predominantly due to the ignorance of the lift installers and if found during the inspection it is the duty of the inspector to create awareness on the seriousness of the requirement. It is also the responsibility of the elevator companies to impart adequate knowledge on the importance of earthing to their team to overcome such issues.
It is important to insist the electrical contractor to check the quality of the earthing from the origin in the interest of electrical safety and equipment safety.
The IS 3043 calls for the double earthing as below, thus making it a statutory compliance.
Amend No. 1 to IS 14665 (Part 2/Sec 1): 2000 / Clause b 8.4.4.7 -There shall be separate earth pit for lifts.
IS 3043; 1987 / Clause 4.2 - All medium voltage equipment shall be earthed by two separate and distinct connections with earth.- Load more...
