Industry Pioneers: Dr. Joris Schroeder and the Miconic 10

Little is known of Dr. Joris Schroeder’s early life and upbringing and no details emerged after exhaustive searches on the most popular search engines. What is clear is that Dr. Joris Schroeder had a huge impact on the vertical transportation industry particularly with regard to one specific invention but we will return to that later. He also impressed Peter Boardman on the subject in terms of its relevance to the future of lift control systems.

Career

There are more details available regarding his career. He was a graduate of Stuttgart Technical University and received a Ph.D. from the Berlin Technical University. He achieved the position of Vice President of Corporate Engineering and then Vice President of Product Research with Otis in Germany and then also in New York, USA.  In 1977 he left Otis and joined Schindler in Switzerland as a member of their Corporate Executive Committee and his remit included: engineering, production, construction and service. He passed away in the early 1990’s.

His Body of Work

During his career Dr. Joris published a number of industry leading articles and white papers including The Energy Consumption of Elevators published in 1980. If you read the piece it’s easy to appreciate that he laid the foundation for what was to come later. In 1985 he first wrote about ‘Destination Dispatching’ in the July edition of Elevator World and he followed this up in 1990 with the publication of an article in the March 1990 issue of Elevator World entitled "Advanced Dispatching" ("the Schroeder Article").

Why is Dr. Joris Schroeder so Significant?

Dr. Joris Schroeder’s contribution to the vertical transportation industry was more than theoretical, though. In 1990 he was granted a patent for the Miconic 10 along with Dr. Paul Friedli (also from Schindler). Using microprocessors Schroeder created Schindler’s Destination Dispatch system – what we now call Destination Control. The first building to install the Miconic 10 system was the Hamburg Electric Company in Germany in 1990. The first installation in the USA was in 1993 at the Ameritech building in Indianapolis.  As architects, building contractors and the public came to understand these new ‘smart button-less’ elevators their popularity grew. Energy efficiency was also 30% better with the new Destination Control elevators. Schindler, under Dr. Friedli’s guidance have progressed with the development of M10, now known as their Port system which has the ability to interface with other building elements, i.e. speed-gates and door locking systems.

All lift companies now have Destination Control systems so this idea can be seen as transformational. D&B have been specifying these systems enthusiastically for years and as a Consultancy can be considered to be leading the way.

To read more about the benefits of Destination Control click here
For details of our Destination Control experience click here

Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. Are you currently planning a project that will involve Destination Control? We would be happy to discuss with you. Give us a call on T +44 (0)20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Image credit:

http://www.elevator-world.com/Extras/GreenArticles/November%2080.pdf

Unusual Lifts: What are the Magic Carpet® Lifts of New Zealand?

Image credit: @lauralboardman - Outdraw

New Zealand has a higher proportion of self build homes than the UK, approximately 40% compared with 12% here according to the National Custom and Self Build Association. New Zealand homes also tend to be bigger than those in the UK  (an average of 1913 versus 826 square feet for new homes*) These two conditions have laid the foundation (no pun intended) for a flourishing market for lifts in private residences, usually for two or three storey homes. Often lifts are added to existing buildings rather than conceptualised at the planning stage and as a consequence homeowners install vertical transportation solutions that differ from the usual conventional lift. The Magic Carpet® Lift is an example of a different vertical transportation solution.

What is a Magic Carpet® platform lift?

The Magic Carpet is a hydraulic platform lift system that can transport passengers (there are 300 kg and 750 kg load capacity versions) up to a height of ten metres serving any number of floors within that height restriction. The ascent speed is limited to 200mm per second. New Zealanders have been installing them in ever increasing quantities since 1990. This company (link to http://www.lifts.co.nz) owns the registered trademark for Magic Carpets lifts.

How do Magic Carpets work?

Magic Carpet® platform lifts are powered by a direct-acting pumped (recirculating) water-hydraulic system. In the unlikely event of a power outage a backup battery system allows for safe and reliable descent. The Magic Carpet platform system uses a handrail mounted on a floor that is buffered from flush & smooth lift well walls by a complete carpet overlay, it moves vertically within those stationary walls. Travelling controls are incorporated within the floor-mounted handrail.

What are the benefits?

The Magic Carpet® lift system is easy to install and affordable compared to a conventional lift. There are many successful installations and happy customers in New Zealand. However, we recommend that any lift should comply with international standards and this product would not comply in anywhere other than New Zealand.

Are you working on a project that requires vertical transportation? Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. We would be happy to discuss with you. Give us a call on T +44 (0) 20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation.

*Source - http://www.demographia.com/db-intlhouse.htm

 

What Makes the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway Different?

The Lynton and Lynmouth Railway is a funicular or cliff railway that connects the twin villages of Lynton and Lynmouth in Devon. Predominantly located in seaside towns there are quite a few working examples of funiculars dotted around the coastline of the British Isles. For a comprehensive list of funiculars in Britain click ‘here’.  In the 19th century the hill separating Lynmouth at the bottom of the hill and Lynton at the top created difficult transport conditions. It was relatively easy for food and other essentials to arrive at Lynmouth via sailing vessel but then the goods needed to be transferred via pack horse up the steep hill to Lynton. From the 1820s holidaymakers who visited Lynmouth from Bristol, Swansea and other channel ports were often deterred from visiting Lynton because of the hill. The economic prosperity of Lynton was being limited because of it. In 1881 the idea of a tramway between the two villages was first discussed publicly.

Three men were largely responsible for bringing this idea to life and they were Thomas Hewitt, John Heyward and George Newnes. Through their endeavour a dedicated act of parliament, the ‘Lynmouth Promenade, Pier and Lift Provisional Order became an Act of Parliament in 1888. Construction of the railway occurred between 1887 and 1890 and on Easter Monday in 1890 the Cliff Railway was opened.

How Does the Railway Work? 

Similar to other funiculars the Cliff Railway at Lynton and Lynmouth consists of a pair of tram like cars attached to each other by a cable. The ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other. The Lynton and Lynmouth Railway is one of only a handful of water-powered funiculars currently in existence. Both cars contain full water tanks (700 gallons) and to generate movement the driver of the bottom car discharges water from its tanks and that makes the top car heavier. The cars then begin to move then and gravity takes over. Each car has two sets of brakes that are water operated. The ‘governor’, which in turn, is driven by the main wheels, operates one set. The other set of brakes are calliper type and are permanently on - operated by a large water accumulator via the driver’s hand wheel. When the cars are unattended, the brakes clamp it to the rails making movement impossible.

No water is pumped from the top to the bottom, instead it is taken from a nearby river and the Act of Parliament mentioned above granted The Lynmouth and Lynton Lift Company the perpetual right to extract up to 60,000 gallons of water a day.

How popular were Water Powered Funiculars?

In the late 19th century there were a lot of water-powered funiculars constructed around the world but most of them were later converted into engine driven versions. There are a few still remaining at: Elevador do Bom Jesus in Portugal, Nerobergbahn in Wiesbaden, Germany, Funiculaire Neuveville-St.Pierre in Fribourg, Switzerland and of course at Lynton and Lynmouth.

What makes the Lynton and Lynmouth funicular different?

The funicular needs absolutely no power to operate (however power is required for the lighting). The funicular works on a total loss system. Water provides the power and is not pumped from the bottom to the top. Used water is dropped onto Lynmouth beach 100 metres away from the river from where it was taken. The lifts do not create any emissions and have a low carbon footprint for this reason the railway is recognised as one of Britain’s most environmentally friendly tourist attractions.

Funiculars are a very specific type of vertical transportation. Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. Are you currently planning a project that will involve vertical transportation? We would be happy to discuss with you. Give us a call on T +44 (0)20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation.

Image credit: http://www.funimag.com

Peter Boardman's May Update

We have welcomed Richard Booth to our Leeds team having recently joined from Schindler, we wish him well and look forward to his general contribution.

Ken Young is pinging back from retirement to help our Warrington team on a part time basis.  Ken retired 3 years ago and perhaps he is looking for another retirement party?

Grenville Brookfield and Jim Baynam have now retired and John Daniels will also retire at the end of May.  We are presently recruiting new people in London – so watch this space.

Recovering from the recession our business continues to grow year on year surpassing any pre-recession activity.  We are therefore confident about the future and look forward to continuing supporting our client base and team members.

- Peter Boardman

What Does Destination Control look like in practice? 2 Examples

Regular readers of our blog will remember this post, What are the benefits of Destination Control? In this week’s post we have provided two examples of Destination Control one in the form of ‘before and after’ videos and the other in the form of a statistical comparison for a lift traffic simulation of a theoretical building with 10 floors above ground and served by a group of 5 lifts.

Please watch this video. The video is a great example of the impact a Destination Control system can have on passenger traffic.

Here’s the second example

Lift traffic analysis comparison of Destination Control with Conventional Collective Control.

The two sets of results on the PDF above are for a lift traffic simulation of a theoretical building with 10 floors above ground and served by a group of 5 lifts.

The first page of each set of results details the input data used and it can be seen that in both the values used are identical except for the passenger loading and unloading time.  These have been reduced in the Destination Control simulation to account for the fact that typically people waiting in the lobby will gather outside their assigned lift rather than waiting in the middle of the lobby with conventional control and when stopping on an upper floor a number of people will exit together.

The Passenger Demand graph shows the passenger demand profile and is the same as the classic office up-peak template described in CIBSE Guide D with a peak demand of 15%.

The key results graphs are the “Queue Length”, “Car Loading” and “Average Wait and Time to Destination".

The Queue Length graph shows that during the 5 minute period with peak passenger demand the queue length likely to be experienced with a Destination Control system would be significantly less than with a Conventional Collective Control system which is operating on the point of saturation.

The Car Loading graphs highlight that the Destination Control system manages the passengers in a more efficient manner thereby reducing the maximum number of people in each lift during the peak compared with the Conventional Collective Control where the lift cars fill to the maximum allowed.

The Average Wait and Time to Destination graphs show that for this example the use of Destination Control would result in an average wait and time to destination approximately half of that which could be achieved with Conventional Collective Control.

In summary, Destination Control lifts have the capacity to move more people in a given time period than those with Conventional Collective Control though in some situations the average waiting time may increase.

Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. Are you currently planning a project that will involve Destination Control? We would be happy to discuss with you. Give us a call on T +44 (0)20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation.

Spotlight on Innovation: What is Switchable Glass?

http://www.beamingsuccess.com/images/diffused-glass-IMG.jpg

Switchable Glass is glass that can be turned from transparent to opaque at the flick of a switch. A company called Taliq founded in 1986 invented, patented and commercialised polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) window film technology. In 1988 this company changed its name to Citala Ltd. The company was founded by Ronen Lin in Tel Aviv. Ronen remains very much involved and is currently Chief Executive Officer and President. Citala Ltd is private company, headquartered in Israel with R&D and manufacturing in Sunnyvale, California and employs approximately 20 people. The company sells its products directly in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Far East. Many companies around the world now produce switchable glass products.

How does Switchable Glass Work?

 Photo credit: Citala Ltd

In polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices (PDLCs), liquid crystals are dissolved or dispersed into a liquid polymer followed by solidification or curing of the polymer. Typically, the liquid mix of polymer and liquid crystals is placed between two layers of glass or plastic that include a thin layer of a transparent, conductive material followed by curing of the polymer, thereby forming the basic sandwich structure of the smart window. The smart window is then connected to electrodes and when a voltage is applied the window will change from opaque to transparent. The smart windows can also be created via other technologies – specifically Suspended Particle devices (SPDs), Electrochromic devices and Micro-blinds instead of PDLCs.

What are the Benefits of Switchable Glass?

- The benefits of switchable glass are as follows:

- Privacy control at the flick of a switch

- Smart glass can create climate adaptive building shells that can reduce costs for heating, air-conditioning and lighting

- No need for install and maintain light screens, curtains or blinds

- Smart glass blocks ultraviolet light (in most cases) and reduces fabric fading

How does this relate to the Vertical Transportation Industry?

Switchable glass can he applied to lifts, escalators or inclinators.  Technological advancements including self adhesive Smart Window Film means that it has become more affordable for both commercial and residential usage. Practical applications are for glass cars where a counterweight is passing at high speed or where passing through a dead zone or when travelling into the basement areas, again with glass cars.

Where has Switchable Glass be used?

Switchable glass has been used in the automotive, aircraft, marine and architectural industries. In architecture switchable glass technology has been applied to windows, skylights, doors and partitions.

Dunbar and Boardman keep a watching brief on technological advances within the vertical transportation industry to better serve our clients. Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy.

Do you have a current or planned project that would benefit from using Switchable Glass? We would be happy to discuss any such requirements and how we may be able to assist. Give us a call on T +44 (0) 20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.

What was the biggest challenge with the Sowwah Square project in Abu Dhabi?

Sowwah Square, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Image credit: Viskotech 

Sowwah Square is the name of a recently constructed district in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The district is located in the centre of the island Sowwah, northeast of the current city centre of Abu Dhabi. This island is now known as Al Maryah Island. The Sowwah Square project, included four high-rise office towers (150 metres height) and also features the iconic new headquarters building (53 metres height) for the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The High Rise Towers are named Sowwah Square Tower 1, Tower 2, Tower 3 and Tower 4. Now that the area’s development is completed Sowwah Square comprises of 450,000 sqm office, retail and hotel space. Construction for Sowwah Square commenced in the summer of 2007 and completed in 2012.

What was the biggest project challenge?

When Dunbar and Boardman were commissioned to work on the project by Mubadala – Oger and the architects, Goettsch Partners we identified that the biggest challenge would be to hide the 10 Building Maintenance Units (BMU) necessary for the buildings. This was particularly challenging because of the lower parking area.  Additional challenges were presented by the restraint spacing for the towers’ adjustable cradles and the shutter door requirement over the Stock Exchange (low rise) building BMU.

What was the solution?

Dunbar and Boardman worked with XSPlatforms based in the Netherlands to deliver Façade Access and Maintenance (BMU) services that included the following stages:

Facade Access Concept Design Review

Facade Access Specifications Review

Tender Review and Analysis

Technical and Material Submittal Reviews

Shop drawings Reviews

Installation Reviews

Post  Construction Reviews

The technical solution comprised of ten fixed and movable telescopic roof cars supplied by XSPlatforms, Netherlands. The vertical telescopic machine base (for out-of-sight parking), 30-metre jib outreach, luffable jibs and telescopic cradles make this project special. For the headquarters building, there are two traversing telescopic roof cars with a reach of up to 38 metres.  All ten telescopic machines are provided with glass replacement units for lifting weights of up to 650 kg. Also, there are approximately 700 metres of monorail, including self hoisting suspended cradles and special trolleys, turntables to cover the internal side areas and the underside ceiling of the headquarters building.

What were the results?

BMU are performing efficiently and contributing to the positive impact the project has had as part of the urban framework plan, entitled Plan Abu Dhabi 2030.

Are you currently planning a project that will involve Façade Access and Maintenance? We would be happy to discuss with you. Give us a call on T +44 (0)20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.

Innovation: What is special about the lifts at the QT hotel in Sydney?

At Dunbar and Boardman we keep a watching brief on innovation within the vertical transportation industry and bring it to your attention. In 2013 new technology was installed into the 5 Otis traction lifts at the QT hotel in Sydney located in the historic Gowings Building. The new technology created interactive installations and was the work of a company called Alchemy.This technology enables the lift to change music dependent upon who’s inside much to the amusement of passengers riding the lift. The interactive installations have cemented the hotel’s quirkiness and have been largely well received.

How Do the Interactive Installations Work?

The hotel’s lifts have heat sensors that detect how many people are in them. Fewer people will generate slower music and more people equals party music. Specifically if the lift senses that travelling alone, it plays songs like Elvis's "Are You Lonely Tonight?" or Eric Carmen's "All by Myself." Should another person hop on the lift, the music will adjust to different tunes, including "Just the Two of Us" by Bill Withers and "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor. Get four people in the elevator and it's fiesta hour: everything from Prince's "1999" to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" will get the party started. It is worth pointing out that interactive music installations can be muted. In addition to the music the lifts also feature the digital art installations of Daniel Boyd, which combine elements of indigenous Aboriginal art with the European artistic traditions.

What are the Benefits of these Interactive Installations?

The QT hotel has been able to generate a lot of publicity related to their unique lifts and anecdotal evidence indicates that some people are visiting specifically to ride in the lifts.

You can see the lifts in action ‘here’.

Dunbar and Boardman keep a watching brief on technological advances within the vertical transportation industry to better serve our clients. Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. Do you have a current or planned project that would benefit from using an interactive installation? We would be happy to discuss any such requirements and how we may be able to assist. Give us a call on T +44 (0) 20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.

Where is the world's highest Outdoor Elevator?

                                               http://planetoftravel.com/bailong-elevator

There are many truly amazing elevators around the world and one elevator that consistently makes it into top ten lists is the world's highest outdoor elevator. We are referring to the Bailong Elevator also known as the Hundred Dragons Elevator inside the World Heritage Site at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province in China. Designed and operated by The Bailong Elevator Company the elevator  was built between 1999 and  2002 at a cost of  120m yuan, or around £12m. It was opened to the public in 2002. There are three double-deck glass elevators that vertically transport passengers 330m high (1,070 feet) to a plateau near Shuiraosimen. The first 154 metres run through an underground shaft and the remainder via an above ground derrick.  There are earthquake detectors installed so that the lifts can be  evacuated quickly in case of disaster. The elevators have a passenger capacity of 50 and take 2 minutes from top to bottom giving a daily capacity of 18,000 people.

The Bailong Elevator project met stiff resistance and not just from the quartz sandstone column that the lift shaft was dug into. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1992. When the project was first muted in the 1990s environmentalists claimed that the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park already had enough tourists at 5 million annually and that the proposed Bailong Elevator Project was likely to increase this number and cause damage to the environment. Controversially  the local government built the elevators without consulting the World Heritage Committee. This was the view of Edmond Moukala, then program officer of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Similar structures in World Heritage Sites are forbidden so the Bailong Elevator is one of a kind in more ways than one. In 2002 -2003 the elevator was closed for 10 months as safety concerns were resolved. Since reopening in September 2003 the elevator has remained open to the public. Perhaps the final word on the, 'should it have been built' debate should go to Project chief engineer Zhuo Zhiyuan who told Beijing Today, “Such elevators are really convenient for tourists. But from the angle of environmental protection, they shouldn’t have been erected.” However, he added, it was now too late to talk about whether the project should have been allowed or not. Now all we can do is to take it as a lesson and never make a similar mistake again.”

From the perspective of a passenger the Bailong Elevator is spectacular – the views of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park are breathtaking and you have a 360 degree panoramic view that stretches for miles. The area is where the movie Avatar was filmed. The elevators save pedestrians three hours of walking. Are you planning a vertical transportation project? Do you have problems you are now facing?

Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. We would be happy to discuss any such requirements and how we may be able to assist. Give us a call on T +44 (0) 20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.

Marine Elevators – When was the first elevator installed on a Yacht?

Photo credit Mrs Ethel Pook, Gosport. Her husband was Shipwright Officer for 7 years

This week we are returning to our series of world firsts in the vertical transportation industry. If you are new to the blog you may want to read the following posts: Double-Deck elevators, Curved escalators & Travelator. 

 Marine elevators are elevators installed onboard yachts and ships.  The production, installation and maintenance of marine elevators is very specialist work. 

When was the first elevator installed on a ship or a yacht? 

The first marine elevator installed was on the third incarnation of the Royal yacht, Victoria and Albert III in 1900.  The elevator was made and installed by London-based Richard Waygood & Co. Waygood and Co were later responsible for installing the marine elevators in the Titanic. The firm was bought by Otis in 1914 and became part of their company.

The lift installation was completed successfully but the yacht did have an accident. The Victoria and Albert III was 380 feet in length, 40 feet in the beam, and draft of 15 feet, giving her a displacement of 4,700 tons. Her double- bottomed hull was made of steel sheathed in wood, and covered in copper.  Just before scheduled launch in 1900 the yacht was undergoing final preparations in dry dock. When the dock flooded the yacht toppled over due to 700 tonnes of excessive weight around the centre of gravity of the yacht.  The repairs caused a delay in the launch and Queen Victoria never sailed in the new Royal Yacht. The Victoria & Albert III eventually launched in 1901 and was in royal service for 38 years.

What are specific challenges for marine elevators?

Marine elevators often require an extremely efficient use of space, weight and to be energy efficient. Any required maintenance has to be managed around a ship’s itinerary.  Specialist Marine elevator companies with engineers located around all the world’s shipping routes have been created to enable efficient maintenance. There are also specialised monitoring systems for these lift to operate in rough seas, as well as dedicated power suplies in case of an emergency occurring.

What is the Marine elevator market like today? 

The current marine elevator market is dominated by Kone who have over 50% of the market and have created a specific range of products for each of the following: cruise ships, ferries and cargo ships.

Are you working in the marine or offshore environment? Do you have a current or planned project that includes marine elevators or escalators?  

Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. We would be happy to discuss any such requirements and how we may be able to assist. Give us a call on T +44 (0) 20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.