New Installation & Design Projects
RealWorld Experience
Because we are not deskbound theorists and have actual first hand experience of lift escalator and Façade Access Equipment (FAE) operation in the real world, we can bring to bear our knowledge in the design of new schemes.
That isn’t to say that we pay no heed to published design norms, in fact our Director, John Newbold, sits on the BCO Technical Committee for lifts. We carry out lift traffic analysis and software modelling using institutionally accepted criteria (such as BCO and CIBSE) but also feed in our knowledge of actual lift capabilities and people behaviour.
People by nature do not behave uniformly and can upset the best theoretical models of lift system performance. Fortunately, we carry out many observational ‘clipboard’ surveys of lifts in use and so can use this to help design systems that people can easily use.
Cost in use and environmental impact is of course a key consideration of a whole building’s design, including lifts and escalators. In support of that we can produce fully calculated BREEAM justification reports using our database of lift energy data.
Product knowledge in the marketplace is a prerequisite and we invest time in understanding product options and emerging trends to make sure our design and specifications meet the requirements of the end user. Again, our real world experience influences our decisions so we also consider whether the equipment can be supported readily when installed and is indeed maintainable. There is little point in a scenic lift installation being architecturally minimalistic when the machine cannot be removed when it fails (it may well be a fine ‘still life’ installation though).
BIM modelling as a platform for shared data is becoming the norm in many design teams and whilst we do not design installations in BIM we do have BIM capability meaning we can view, participate and alter, if required, the BIM model.
BREEAM andBIM Modelling
Installationand Handover
Our duties usually extend to installation and handover.
Commissioning is vitally important to ensure that the equipment enters service to a good quality; meeting standards, performance, specification, and is in fact safe. We of course are used to witnessing commissioning but we also have engineers qualified to NVQ4, the qualification to actually undertake the commissioning of lifts themselves. This means you and your clients can be assured that your lifts, escalators and FAE enters service ready for use.
Our involvement doesn’t stop at commissioning for most progressive thinking clients.
We work to provide a smooth transition to steady state after entering service too. This ‘soft landings’ approach often includes: identifying lift system ‘tuning’ to reflect actual traffic patterns (people again!), introducing short term modified maintenance tasks to address bedding in, facilitating systems training for building management and operatives and providing a root cause analysis for initial breakdowns to shorten the teething problems period.
All of this, when done properly, means we can move on to the steady state period when we can help you manage lifts and escalators.
Root CauseAnalysis
Talk to John Newbold about this service
View our latest Lift and Escalator projects in our portfolio
SVM Associates, expert lift consultants and authorising engineers, provide
a comprehensive lift, elevator and escalator service including:
- Lift Modernisations
- Lift Installations
- MEWP Risk Assessments
- Lift Technical Support
- Vertical Transportation Consultancy
- Lift Maintenance Contract
- Lift Risk Assessment
- Elevator Risk Assessment
- Escalator Risk Assessment
- Escalator Replacement
- Lift Performance
- Building Maintenance Units (BMU)
- Window Cleaning Cradles
- Façade access equipment
- Comprehensive Lift Maintenance Contract
- Passenger Release Training
- Annual Maintenance Contracts for Elevators
- Lift Traffic Analysis
- Expert Witness
- Maintenance Audit
- Authorising Engineer under HTM 08-02
- Elevator consultant services
- Escalator consultant services
