Transportation isn’t just taking the bus or riding a bike. It’s also how we move within a place.
The flight of stairs up to the lunchroom. The bridge that connects from one building to another. We are constantly in a state of moving, often taking for granted all the little ways our world is made accessible to us. Commercial elevators, in particular, are a great feat of engineering and practicality. Without them much of what we know and love would either be difficult or downright impossible! Residential elevator installation is a resource you can’t afford to overlook if you’re a contractor or a manager…
…and that’s why we’re going to take a look at what goes into installing a working elevator, from the history of the craft to modern lifts. Onward!
Elevators have been around for far longer than you think. Throughout history several forms of lifts have been built, some little more than pull lifts operated by rope and others through steam technology. It wouldn’t be until the mid 1800’s that the elevator shaft would be created in New York (often the hub for some of the most prestigious technology of the time). This was a lot of trial and error for engineers, as they not only had to consider the average weight of passengers, but ongoing maintenance. Anything less than the best could put people’s lives in danger.
Commercial elevator installation has since been adopted into everyday life. According to a study by United Technologies, elevators are responsible for carrying the equivalent of the world’s population every nine days. That’s as many as seven or eight billion people! The United States alone is home to over 700,000 elevators, with over 10,000 residential elevators being installed on a yearly basis. American elevators are hard at work making over 17 billion passenger trips every year…how can you keep up?
It helps to brush away common misconceptions on the matter. Many people today are afraid, even terrified, of going on elevators. Believe it or not, elevators are actually twenty times safer than escalators — despite the fact there are twenty times more elevators than escalators, there are merely a third of the accidents. Commercial elevator installation has never been more routine and more careful than it is today. Any time you wonder as to the long-term safety of a lift, just take a look at these statistics and be rest assured your investment won’t go to waste.
There are five types of elevators today, varying in size, capacity, and overall use. You have passenger elevators, freight, LULA, home, and personal. Passenger elevators are often hydraulically driven, going up to a maximum travel height of 50 feet. They can also be traction driven, though, for medium or high-rise architecture. The majority of elevators today are located within commercial, retail, or residential property — in fact, commercial elevator installation is set to be even more common thanks to increases in the population.
Once upon a time elevators used to require a two-man dispatcher and operator team to function. Thanks to navigational buttons these jobs have now been rendered obsolete, allowing engineers and maintenance workers to instead focus on upkeep, improvement, and marketing. Elevator maintenance is done several times per year, even when the machine seems to be working just fine. It’s a complex piece of hardware that needs double-checking to ensure the longest lifespan possible. Elevator repair is as simple as calling your elevator company and asking for an appointment.
Transportation is often in the little details. How are you making sure your residential lifts are safe and accessible for all?