KOLKATA: Kone Elevator India plans to double the number of connected elevators in its India portfolio within a year to minimise downtime caused by technical snags and prevent passengers from being trapped in non-functional lift cars. At present, 30% of its elevators in India or around 50,000 lifts are connected and can be controlled remotely.Speaking to TOI, Kone global president and CEO Philippe Delorme said connected-lift technology allows company engineers to carry out preventive maintenance by analysing data and predicting failures before they occur. It also enables remote rescue of passengers trapped inside elevator cars. The technology is installed in nearly 50% of the 18 lakh Kone elevators in service worldwide.
Kone global president and CEO Philippe Delorme
“When someone gets trapped inside a lift, a few minutes can seem like an hour. The automatic rescue device installed in elevators ensures that the lift moves to the next level and the doors open so those inside can exit. But if there is a battery issue or a mechanical fault and people get trapped, we can remotely control the lift and ensure they get out,” said Delorme, who is based in Helsinki and visits India at least twice a year.The company is actively using artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict faults and failures.
Kone that will be providing elevators in the under construction Jeddah Tower that will be the tallest building in the world
Delorme said connected technology had helped the company address customer concerns. At a boutique hotel in Kolkata, 80% of issues were resolved after the introduction of connected technology, while at a hospital in the city, the resolution rate was 98%.Kone ranks behind Otis and Schindler globally, followed by ThyssenKrupp Elevator (TKE), Mitsubishi and Hitachi. With Kone and TKE announcing a merger, it is set to become the world’s largest elevator company.In India, Kone, which began operations around four decades ago, has already overtaken Otis, which installed the country’s first elevator at Kolkata’s Raj Bhavan, then known as Government House, 134 years ago.Apart from connecting more elevators, Kone is also working on replacing lifts that are 30 to 40 years old. “In India, the intensity of usage is five times higher than in the US or Europe. For instance, if a lift in Europe clocks 1 lakh starts in a year, in India, the number is over 5 lakh. In addition, humidity, heat and dust take a toll. So we are trying to tell our customers that lifts need to be modernised over time to ensure safety and reliability,” Delorme said.
