Transportation System

Lift and Escalators

Seminar by
SHARANABASAPPA C
A brief history of lifts
The first reference to an elevator is in the works of the
Roman architect Vitruvius, who reported that
Archimedes (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) built his first
elevator probably in 236 BC. In some literary sources of
later historical periods, elevators were mentioned as
cabs on a hemp rope and powered by hand or by
animals. It is supposed that elevators of this type were
installed in the Sinai monastery of Egypt.
Other important inventions
In 1874, J.W. Meaker patented a method which
permitted lift doors to open and close safely.
In 1887, American Inventor Alexander Miles of Duluth,
Minnesota patented a lift with automatic doors that
would close off the lift shaft.
In 1888 Nikola Tesla invented the first practicable AC
motor and with it the polyphase power transmission
system. Tesla continued his work on the AC motor in the
years to follow at the Westinghouse company.
A brief history of lifts

Man has always devised ways of raising and lowering

loads from one level to the next. Counterweighted
levers were used in Ancient Egypt to carry water to
irrigation ditches for agricultural use. The 2000
columns of the temple of Diana in Ephesus were raised
to the top by using a ramp made of sandbags.
Archimedes invented the Archimedean screw to lift
buckets of water and other types of heavy material. In
the early 13th century, the monks of the Abbey of Mont
St. Michel on the coast of France used a treadmill-
hoisting machine that was pulled by donkeys. 
A brief history of lifts

Since man started living in tall buildings, he faced the

question of vertical transport for people and cargos. 
Archaeological excavations revealed that, since the era of
Ancient Rome, people were being ascended on platforms,
tied with ropes and pulled by slaves of the Romans. 

In Tibet and Greek Meteora mountains, both individuals

and merchandise were lifted at large heights, into baskets.
These primitive mediums of vertical transport had a very
significant disadvantage. If a rope would break, people in
the ascending medium would fall, without any possibility of
being saved. 
A brief history of lifts

It is said that a visitor of Meteora, once asked a monk: 

- How often do you change the lifting rope? 
- Each time it breaks, he naturally answered. 
Primitive elevators were in use as early as the 3rd
century BC, operated by human, animal, or water
wheel power. In 1743, a counter-weighted, man-
powered, personal elevator was built for King Luis XV
connecting his apartment in Versailles with that of his
mistress, Madame de Chateauroux, whose quarters
were one floor above King Luis.
A brief history of lifts
 19th Century Elevators

From about the middle of the 19th century, elevators

were powered, often steam-operated, and were used for
conveying materials in factories, mines, and warehouses.
In 1823, two architects Burton and Hormer built an
"ascending room" as they called it, this crude elevator
was used to lift paying tourists to a platform for a
panorama view of London. In 1835, architects Frost and
Stutt built the "Teagle", a belt-driven, counter-weighted,
and steam-driven lift was developed in England.
19th Century Elevators

The history of modern lift begins with the adjustment

of the regulation of the safety gear, which eliminates
the possibility of a free fall of the cabinet. In 1852, in
the United States, E.G.OTIS caused panic to his
viewers by cutting the ropes of the platform where he
was standing on. The platform started falling, and
suddenly it stopped on the spot. The safety gear had
worked. Since then, technology in the lift field made
huge steps of progress. 
19th Century Elevators

In 1857 the first lift is installed in New York for public use. It
was steam-driven, burning coal.
 In 1870 the first hydraulic lifts operated in New York.
 In 1889 the first hydraulic lift operated in the DEMAREST
building in New York.
 In 1894 the first hydraulic lift with push buttons and no
driver operated. 
n 1900 the first escalator operated in the Paris Universal
Exhibition. 
In 1903 the first lift with traction sheave (drum) and counter-
weight operated, having the form we are today familiar with. 
 ElishaOtis
Inventor:ElishaGravesOtis
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Elisha Graves Otis, invented the first safety brake for

elevators. With his installation of the first safe elevator in
1853 he literally started the elevator industry. His
invention enabled buildings – and architects’
imaginations – to climb ever skyward, giving a new and
bolder shape to the modern urban skyline. Today you can
ride an Otis elevator with confidence, knowing that it
represents 150 years of experience in both safety and
quality.
What is a lift?
Definitions:–
“Lift” Conveyance of persons/goods, by
a car, running in a well on fixed guides.
–“Escalator” power-driven inclined
stairway with moving steps and rails.
–“Passenger conveyor” a power driven
installation with a continuous moving
walkway,
incorporating a moving belt/pallets and
handrails.
Lifts mean taller buildings!
The Equitable Life Building completed in 1870 in New
York City was the first office building to have passenger
lifts. They served 8 floors.

The Tallest building in the world is currently

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai with 160 floors.
Another successful Lerch Bates lift design!
Elevator

Elevators are more than just little moving rooms that

quickly sprint up floors, helping you save out on the effort
of climbing tedious staircases. Pack these with luxury and
you’re bound to end up having a pleasant time traveling up
and down floors!
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that
efficiently moves people or goods between floors (levels,
decks) of a building, vessel or other structures. Elevators
are generally powered by electric motors that either drive
traction cables or counterweight systems like a hoist, or
pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.
How elevators changed our lives
Elevators changed our lives in many different ways.
For example, if elevators weren’t invented, we wouldn’t
have the Sears Tower. We wouldn’t have any
skyscrapers. We wouldn’t have certain landmarks.

The first elevator being demonstrated was a freight

elevator in the New York Crystal Palace exposition in
1853. The first elevator to be in a public place was in
1857 It was also a freight elevator being operated on at
a department store.
Escalator

An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor

transport device for carrying people between floors of a
building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of
individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks,
allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.
Escalators are used to move pedestrian traffic in places
where elevators would be impractical. Principal areas of
usage include department stores, shopping malls,
airports, transit systems, convention centers, hotels,
arenas, stadiums and public buildings.
Escalators
Jesse Reno, a graduate of Lehigh University, produced
the first working escalator (he actually called it the
"inclined elevator") and installed it alongside the Old
Iron Pier at Coney Island, New York in 1896.
Piat installed its "stepless" escalator in Harrods
Knightsbridge store on Wednesday, November 16, 1898
Customers were given Brandy to recover from the
experience!
Escalators move people!
A single 1mtr wide escalator can move up to 4500
passengers in an hour
Can be used in stacks to cover up to 4 floors
Suitable for able bodied adults
Not unsupervised children, persons with disabilities or
elderly persons.
Moving Walks Move people and trolleys!
Available as flat walkways to reduce walking times
Or inclined at up to 12 degrees (10 degrees is best)
Can transport up to 3600 passengers per hour
Or 900 shopping trolleys with passengers
Not suitable for unsupervised children, the elderly and
disabled
Paternosters
First built in 1884 by the engineering firm of J & E Hall Ltd
of Dartford as the Cyclic Elevator, the name paternoster
("Our Father", the first two words of the Lord's Prayer in
Latin) was originally applied to the device because the
elevator is in the form of a loop and is thus similar to
rosary beads used as an aid in reciting prayers.
 Can move up to 1400 passengers per hour
Best up to 6 floors
The Arts Tower serves 21 floors!
Not suitable for the elderly, disabled passengers or children
Must not be used to transport goods
Moving Goods
 Lift, Escalator and Passenger conveyor
Regulations,1994
Regulation: Definitions:
– “Registered person” means a person registered with
the Engineering Council of South Africa, after he has

satisfied the Council:

(a) has sufficient knowledge of the rules and
specifications.
(b) has appropriate practical experience. (installation,
testing and maintenance)
Permission to install and use:

(1) No person shall install or permit the installation of

a lift, escalator or passenger conveyor unless:
(a) Provincial Director has been notified in the form of
Annexure 1, who shall allocate an official number.
(b) He has been allocated an official number.
(c) The installation meets the requirements of these
regulations and complies with standards and
specifications. (SABS codes)
Permission to install and use:
(2) No person shall put into use a lift unless he is in
possession of a comprehensive report:(Annex A)
– Report to be completed by a registered person not
older than 36 months
– new comprehensive report - after each
modification/failure.(Annex C)
Types of Lifts
Hydraulic Lift
Electric Traction (Cable) Lift
 Rack and Pinion Lift

 Fireman’s Lift (See Course Materials

on Fire Services Installations
or MOA code)
• Dump-waiter (Service Lift)
• Observation Lift
Types
Elevators
 traction
 gearless  medium-high speed passenger
 geared  low speed passenger
 hydraulic
 plunger
 hole-less
 roped
Hydraulic Lift (Crane)
In 1846, Sir William Armstrong introduced the
hydraulic crane, and in the early 1870s, hydraulic
machines began to replace the steam-powered
elevator. The hydraulic elevator is supported by a
heavy piston, moving in a cylinder, and operated by
the water (or oil) pressure produced by pumps.

A Hydraulic Lift (Crane)

Hydraulic
Found in two types:
Plunger type and
Roped hydraulic

Hydraulic -
Roped hydraulic
 Hydraulic - Plunger type

Hydraulic
Hydraulic - Plunger type
 This type is the most common
and consists of an elevator car
mounted on top of a long
hydraulic piston. The piston is
generally not telescopic, so there
must be a hole in the ground as
long as the distance the elevator
travels.
Electric Elevators

Electric elevators came into to use toward the end of

the 19th century. The first one was built by the German
inventor Werner von Siemens in 1880.
Black inventor, Alexander Miles patented an electric
elevator (U.S. pat#371,207) on October 11, 1887.
Electric - Traction type
Electric - Traction type
Controller
 This is the most common type of DC motor with sheave
Machine room
elevator for high-rise buildings. It Speed governor

consists of a driving sheave, over

which the hoisting ropes pass
coming from the elevator
crosshead and going to the
counter weights.
 Electric traction type elevators can Guide rails

be used in buildings of any height. Counter weights

Hoistway doors
 Drumtype

 Drum – Consists of a large drum

in the machine room around
which hoisting cables and Drum type
counter weights ropes are
wound. Not used in tall
buildings because of the large Drum with hoisting cables

drum size that would be

necessary.
 This is an old type of elevator
and obsolete. The machine
room for this type of elevator
could be located on the first
floor next to the shaft, in the
basement or overhead.
Elevator terminology and
components
Counterweight
 A tracked weight that is suspended
from cables and moves within its
own set of guide rails along the
hoistway walls. Counter
 This counterweight will be equal weight

to the dead weight of the car plus

about 40% of the rated load.
Counter weight

Counter weight
Hoistway

 The shaft that encompasses the elevator car.

 Generally serving all floors of the building.
 In high-rise buildings hoistways may be banked. With
specific hoistways serving only the lower floors and others
serving only middle or upper floors while traveling in a
blind hoistway until reaching the floors that it serves. A
blind hoistway has no doors on the floors that it does not
serve.
Elevator car

 A heavy steel frame surrounding a cage of metal and wood

panels. The top of the car frame is called the “crosshead”.
Cabled elevators are usually suspended from the crosshead.
 The bottom of the frame is usually referred to as the “safety
plank”.

Safety plank
Cross head
Elevator car

 The elevator car door travels through the hoistway with the
car.
 A toe guard is present at the bottom of some cars. This
guard protects the passengers from being exposed to the
open hoistway under the car if the doors are opened when
it is not at the landing. The guard is between 21” and 48”
long.

Toe guard
Elevator door

 These doors can sometimes opened on the inside by hand,

except where anti-egress devices are installed.
 This will also break the electrical interlock which will cut
the power to the car.

Anti-egress lock
Hoistway doors

 Horizontal operating hoistway doors are generally hung

from the top on rollers that run in a track, with the bottom
of the door running in a slot.

Interlock opening mechanism

Hoistway doors

 Forcing these doors at the middle or at the bottom will

cause damage to the doors and their mounting hardware.
The doors can also be knocked out of their track and fall
into the hoistway.
Hoistway door interlock

 The hoistway door locking mechanism provides a means to

mechanically lock each hoistway door. They are also
interconnected electrically to prevent operation of the
elevator if any of the elevator’s hoistway doors are open.

Hoistway door interlock

Interlock for freight elevator
Hoistway emergency door keys

 Carried on trucks and the squad, permit the unlocking of

the hoistway door interlock.
Escutcheon tube

 The keyhole on the upper portion of a hoistway door that

accepts a hoistway emergency door key and permits
unlocking of the hoistway door locking mechanism.
 These keyholes are usually located at the bottom and top
floors, but may also be on other selected floors or all floors.
 You may find a lock covering these keyholes on some new
elevator installations. Locate these keys during pre-fires.
Escutcheon tube

Escutcheon tube
Car top operating station

 Provided on some cars for operating the car from the car
top. To be used by the elevator technician when servicing
the car.
 This station should only be operated under the direct
supervision of the elevator technician.

Operating station
Photo-electric and infrared sensors

A sensor between the hoistway and car doors that

detects objects in their path and prevents the
doors from closing.
Photo-electric eyes were problematic and are
being phased out.

Infra-red sensor
Roller guides

 A set of three wheels that roll against the guide rails.

 Usually mounted to the safety plank and crosshead. They
keep the car in contact with the guide rails and prevent
sway.

Roller guide on
Safety plank
Roller guides on Cross head
Safeties

 Emergency braking mechanism that stops the car by

wedging into the guide rails when over speeding has
occurred.
 It is activated by the speed governor sensing over speeding
of the elevator car.
Safeties

Safeties
Governor rope
Hoisting cables (or ropes)

 Used on traction type elevators, usually attached to the

crosshead and extending up into the machine room looping
over the sheave on the motor and then down to the counter
weights.
 Hoisting cable are generally 3 to 6 in number. They are steel
with a hemp core to keep them pliable and lubricated.
 These cables are usually 1/2”or 5/8” in diameter. The 1/2”cables
have a breaking strength of 14,500lbs and the 5/8” 23,000lbs
each.
 However, at 900 degrees the wire steel rope contains only
about 13% of its original tensile strength.

Hoisting cables (or ropes)
Hoisting cables

Wedge clamp

Sheave
Guide rails

 Tracks in the form of a “T” that run the length of the

hoistway, that guide the elevator car.
 Usually mounted to the sides of the hoistway, at the middle
of the elevator car.

Guide rail

Guide rail
Governor sheave

 Provided to detect over speeding of the car

 Usually a cable is attached to the safeties on the under side
of the car, called the governor rope. This rope runs down
through a pulley at the bottom of the shaft and back up to
the machine room and around the governor sheave.
 When over-speeding is detected, the governor grips the
cable which applies the safeties that wedge against the
guide rails and stops the car.
Governor rope

Governorsheav
e

Governor sheave
Car emergency exit
Usually located at the top of the elevator cars,
sometimes on the side, other times not present.
Top exits open from outside the car.
Side exits are extremely dangerous to use and are
no longer being installed. Existing side exits have
been disabled by being permanently bolted shut.

Top emergency exit Top emergency exit

Machine roomFor electric traction type
 Usually located above the hoistway in a penthouse or two
floors above the highest floor it serves, but may be in the
basement if overhead space is unavailable.
 Generally containing hoisting machines, controllers,
generator, speed governor and the main electrical
disconnects to the elevators.

Elevator car number

Elevator car number

Elevator car number
Fire phone

Intercom
Machine room For hydraulic plunger type

 Usually located in the basement or first floor, but could be

anywhere.
 Generally containing the electric motors, pumps, oil
reservoirs, controllers and electrical disconnect to the
elevators.
Choosing the Right Equipment
Hydraulic Lifts are best for:-
Heavy Loads > 2000kg
Low travel < 18metres
Low number of starts per hour max 120
Temperature stable environments
Slow travel speeds max 1 m/sec
Life expectancy < 20 years
Some Machine room less versions
Choosing the Right Equipment
Traditional Electric lifts are best for:-
Busy lifts with >180 starts per hour
Fast performance up to 18m/sec, 1.2m/s2 2m/s3
Excellent ride quality < 10mg
Longer travel up to 150 m
Loads up to 5000kg
Life expectancy 25 to 40 years!
Choosing the Right Equipment
Machine Room Less (MRL) lifts
Do not need a machine room
and so save space
Limited to about 40m travel
Limited to 180 starts per hour
Limited to 3.5m/s
Limited to 3000kg
Efficient gearless drives are best
Life expectancy <20 years
Beware of tied in maintenance!
Moving People

But not with lifts!

Machinery
Directive devices
Choosing the Right Equipment
Slow- less than 0.15m/sec
Unsuitable for more than 10 to 30 operations per hour
Unsuitable for travel over 3 metres (NB approval
required).
Require limited pit and headroom
Mostly designed for transporting disabled passengers
and not goods.
Some designed for transporting goods but only trained
operators as passengers.
Elevator Selection Parameters
Definitions
Interval (I) or lobby dispatch time
 average time between departure of cars from lobby

Waiting time
 average time spent by a passenger between arriving in
the lobby and leaving the lobby in a care quals (0.6 x I)
Definitions
Car passenger capacity (p)
 passengers per car
Definitions
Handling Capacity
(HC)
 maximum number of
passengers handled
in a 5 minute period
when expressed as a
percentage of the
building population
it is called percent
handling capacity
(PHC)

HC= 300(p)
I
Definitions
Average trip time
(AVTRP)
 average time from
passengers from
arriving in lobby to
leaving car at upper
floor

Note: car size floor to

floor height
Definitions
Round-trip time
(RT)
average time
required for a car to
make a round trip
Parameters
Building population
 typical area per person
based on net area and
building type
Parameters
Office building efficiency
 net usable area as a percentage of gross area
Sizing Equations
Handling capacity (HC): HC=300p/I

Interval (I): I=RT/N

5-min. handling capacity (h): h=300p/RT

Number of cars (N): N=HC/h

Elevator Design Example
Example Problem
Design an elevator system for a 10 story, single purpose
tenant, office building that provides an “good” level of
service.

Construction level is “normal”

Floor height: 12’-0” floor to floor

Floor area: 15,000 net square feet (nsf) each

1. Determine Percent Handling Capacity
(PHC)
Office building
Investment

range  11.5-13 %
say 12%

PHC=0.12
2. Determine Interval (I)
Office building
“Good” service

I=25-29 sec
3. Determine Building Population
Office building
Single tenant
Normal construction

range  90-110 sf/person

say 100 sf/person

Pop= 9 floors@15,000 nsf

100sf/person
Pop=1350 people
4. Determine Handling
Capacity (HC)
PHC=0.12
HC=0.12 x 1350 people

HC= 162 people

5. Determine Rise & Select Car
9 floors (above lobby)
12’-0” floor-floor

Rise=9 x 12’-0’
Rise=108’

Select Car:
2500# car
@400 fpm
6. Determine Average Trip Time(AVTRP)
12’-0”
floor-floor
2500# car
400 fpm
9 floors

AVTRP= 64 sec
7. Determine Round Trip Time (RT)
12’-0”
floor-floor
2500# car
9 floors
400 fpm

RT= 112 sec

8. Verify Single Car Capacity (p)
2500# car

p= 13 people
 9. Determine 5-minute Handling Capacity (h)
h=300p/RT
h= 300 x 13/112
h= 34.8 people
10. Determine number of cars (N)
N=HC/h
N= 162/34.8
N= 4.7 cars
say 5 cars
11. Confirm Interval (I)
I=RT/N
I= 112/
I= 22.4 sec
Required I  25-29 sec
Design exceeds performance requirements

12. Repeat Until Performance

Complies
Try 4 cars (2500 lbs., 400 fpm)
Elevator Lobby Requirements
Lobby Parameters
 Proximity to other
cars
 single zone
 multizone
 Proximity to
emergency
exits/egress stairs
 Adjacent to main
lobby
Elevator Lobby Requirements
Lobby Sizing
Size based on peak interval
 15 or 20 minute peak time
 5 sf/person

From previous example using 15 minute peak

h=34.8 people/5-min. 104.4 people/15 min.

Area= 104.4 people x 5 sf/person = 522 sf

Design Considerations
Door openings
 >3’-6” for simultaneous loading/unloading
 <3’-6” for singular loading
Hydraulic Elevator
Components
Machine room
 7’-9” minimum clear

Bottom of Beam (OH)

 12’-0” – 12’3’’

Pit (P)/Plunger
 4’-0”
Passenger Elevator
Components
Hydraulic
 car
 plunger/piston/jack
 elevator machine
 controls
 hoistway
 rails
 penthouse/headway
 pit
Traction Elevator
Components
Machine room
8’-6” minimum clear

Bottom of Beam (OH)

17’-6” – 20’6’’

Travel
number of floors

Pit (P)
10’-1” – 11-5”
Passenger Elevator
Components

Traction Elevator
Car cables
elevator machine
Controls counter
weight Hoistway
Rails Penthouse pit
Codes and Standards
ANSI/ASME Code A17.1

NFPA 101  Life Safety Code

NFPA 70  Electrical
ANSI A117.1  Barrier Free
Performance Criteria
Ideal Performance:
 minimum waiting time
 comfortable acceleration
 rapid transportation
 smooth/rapid slowing
 accurate leveling
 rapid loading/unloading
 quick/quiet door operation
 good visual travel direction/floor indicators
 easily operated controls
 comfortable lighting
 reliable emergency equipment
 smooth/safe operation of mechanical equipment
Fireman’s’ lift
Fire
If a ‘fireman’s’ lift exists does it perform satisfactorily?
If a ‘firefighting’ lift exists are the arrangements in
place for the Evacuation Do the building construction
content documents permit that any lifts be used for
evacuation purposes, if so are the relevant building
management systems and periodic testing
arrangements in place ? necessary tests to be
undertaken?
Alarm systems
 Alarm systems
It will also be advisable to check on the adequacy of the
communications/alarm system for when persons may become
entrapped in the lift car. Many existing lifts rely upon an alarm
bell to attract attention, this may not be sufficient particularly
where the equipment might be used when the building has
been otherwise vacated. Often a telephone or some form of oral
communication system will be necessary even if the extent of
access to external lines is restricted. There are a number of
possibilities which will depend on the building usage and
degree of internal security.
Note: Under The Lifts
Lighting
Lighting
Is there adequate emergency lighting in the lift car and
motor room? In the event of a power failure such
illumination will assist in comforting passengers and
in gaining safe access to the machine room to enable
release procedures to be carried out.
Inspection or Checking
Lifts
1 Visual inspection of the lift car operating panel.
2 Check that all the indicators are working correctly.
3 Ensure the alarm/communication system functions
correctly.
4 Check that the lift doors open when the ‘door open’
button is depressed.
5 Check that all position indicators on the landing are
working correctly.
6 Check all lighting is in working order.
Inspection or Checking
7 Check any mechanical/electronic door protection
device (safety edge) such that:
when the safety edge is operated the door re-opens.
after operation and removal of any obstruction the
door closes.
8 Check that the floor in the immediate vicinity of the
landing door is in a clean and safe condition.
9 Check the landing doors/gates and architraves
ensuring there is nothing which can snag a passenger’s
clothing.
Inspection or Checking
10 Clean door bottom tracks.
11 Undertake a full ascent and descent to assess for any
unusual noise.
Inspection or Checking
Escalators
1 A visual inspection of the escalator/moving walk for any
deficiencies I e cracked glass or loose panels.
2 Check all lighting.
3 Check escalator stop buttons.
4 Check that all walking surfaces are free from tripping or
slipping hazards.
5 Check handrails for damage.
6 Check skirting/deflector devices are securely fixed.
7 Check that the escalator/moving walk operates free from
excessive noise.
Inspection or Checking
8 Check that the comb plates at the top and bottom of
the escalator or at the ends of the moving walk do not
contain broken teeth.
9 Check that all safety pictographs are clearly visible