Written by: Sebi Joseph, President, Otis India
As recent years have shown, technology is reshaping countries, businesses, and the way we function. The use of technology has been further accelerated to enable the needs and preferences of consumers today. Moreover, when it comes to the infrastructure and construction industries in India, technology has taken a lead in all spheres of business operations. From designing to serving customer to remote tracking & diagnostics, technology has become a leader. In view of the same, there is a significant technology thrust in the elevator & escalator industry too with its various offerings like:
Riding touchless
Elevators are the spine of a building. They are a necessity in residential as well as commercial buildings, and one cannot refrain from using it. Keeping the safety of passengers in mind while pressing the buttons to reach their destinations, elevator companies have resorted to touchless technology for travel using e-call apps. The app allows passengers to call for elevators and select the floor destination from their mobile phones, making the ride process completely touchless.
To further elevate this touchless experience, elevator and escalator players are leveraging voice and video technology from adjacent domain. The idea is to enable a two-way voice network. It means, the passengers can speak to the helpline and remote diagnostics experts through a voice enabled devices. Similarly, video interactions are enabled with LCD screen, through which the maintenance teams can centrally manage the customer requests like moving from floor-to-floor, moving material, managing events, etc. Additionally, these voice & video technologies ensuring security of passengers by introduction of controlled access to elevators which in turn prevents chances of unauthorized entry into the building.
Riding quick
In a world where time is money, people are always in a hurry to reach from one destination to another. Therefore, keeping up with the value of time, the vertical mobility industry is striving to deliver solutions towards congestion-free passengers’ movement with destination management systems. The system continuously evaluates the real-time passenger traffic and assigns nearest elevator car to passenger requests which effectively reduce the waiting time of passengers. This smart system developed using advanced algorithm offers quick travel to passengers and thereby solves problem of over-crowding & eliminates long waiting periods for passengers.
Riding safe
Performance analysis and customer service go together. A prolonged downtime of an elevator is likely to block many people’s mobility, majorly in a mid or high skyrise building, which can cause a delay in work. To get elevators back into service faster, the on-field elevator technicians are equipped with service apps that offers multiple features like performance dashboard, ride quality and health monitor of the elevator. Additionally, these apps are connected to company’s rich digitized data & spare parts management system that enables quicker actions by technicians. By harnessing the power of real time data, machine learning and data analytics, the elevator companies are trying to prevent potential shutdown and continuously monitoring performance data and servicing of the elevator remotely.
As the future is digital, the vertical mobility industry is harnessing the power of IoT and digital algorithms to build various apps connected with smart elevators that can communicate with passengers, building managers, service staffs, and other systems. These comprehensive, digitally connected systems offer real-time service solutions and proactive maintenance of elevators that enhances customer ride experience and ensures reliability, efficiency and safety to the passengers.
Riding the digital wave
Another trend that will take shape in the elevator & escalator industry will be the online sale of elevators where customers can select, customize, and book elevators at the right price. This feature will make the booking process easier, more accessible to customers and when compared to the traditional booking system, the online booking platforms will reduce the procurement process time to half. In line with the same, Otis India launched its online order booking platform in August 2021 to completely digitize its business operations, from booking to products to services.
In conclusion, smart digital solutions in the elevator and escalator industry are not only being used as means to offer enhanced product features but also to improve the overall customer experience at all stages and also integrate safety.
