Philip Hofer has over 26 years of experience in all fields of the lift industry including having received his MSc in Lift Engineering at the University of Northampton. He has worked at Schindler lifts for the past 25 years being involved in installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, Product safety, Ride Quality Engineering and new product development during 12 years within the R&D organisation.

Previously he was Project Manager for new Installation methods for High Rise lifts in Shanghai. Currently he is the Head of Field Engineering at the Jardine Schindler group in Hong Kong.

The installation of lift guiding systems are fundamental to the ride quality felt in the car. This paper will look at typical elevator installation methods and the technological journey of elevator installation in the construction business.

Traditionally elevators were installed by fitters using scaffolds to access the hoistway, aligning the guide rails and adjusting the distance between them. The process was often quite challenging for the installation teams as safety was the main concern along with the physically strains, working in a harsh environment. The process then progressed further to Scaffold-less installation methods with temporary suspended platforms, that offered improved safety standards according to the guidelines defined in EN 1808 & GB T 19155. At the same time climb elevators were developed as the building industry required elevators to be installed and operational whilst the buildings were progressing in the construction phase.

Today new technology has allowed robots to become mobile, leaving the factories for robotic installation systems for lifts on construction sites. The repetitive tasks and harsh environments that challenged humans can now be done with the high quality and precision of robots.

Technology redefining the future of elevator installation methods for high rise buildings

Philip Hofer¹, Miguel Castro², Urs Püntener²

¹Jardine Schindler Group, Hong Kong, ²Schindler Elevator Ltd, Switzerland.