Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. This week’s news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: http://www.elevatorbooks.com

LACK OF ELEVATOR TECHS CREATES PROBLEMS IN SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco’s construction boom has resulted in so much work for elevator technicians that there are not enough to handle an estimated US$71 million in elevator and escalator repairs needed by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni), the San Francisco Examiner reports. Muni approved the funds in August as part of a multibillion-dollar, 20-year capital-improvement plan. Muni operates 52 units, including 44 in stations. Repair and expansion of vertical-transportation systems at various stations, including Powell, Van Ness and Forest Hill, are needed as units are frequently out of service. As of August, at least one elevator was out of service for 50 out of the last 61 days, according to Muni data.

NEW SITE SERVICE SOFTWARE DIRECTOR OF SALES
Site Service Software has hired Erin Cain as director of Sales. Cain comes with more than five years of experience in managing teams, increasing product sales and applying expertise in data-driven/long-term business planning. A graduate of Arizona State University, she was most recently a sales representative for Paycom, a Brooklyn, New York, technology company.

NEW RENDERINGS OF VIÑOLY-DESIGNED RITZ CARLTON IN NYC
By 2021, a 40-story, 580-ft.-tall Ritz Carlton hotel designed by Rafael Viñoly should be complete at 1185 Broadway in Manhattan’s NoMad (north of Madison Square Park) neighborhood, New York YIMBY reports. Fresh renderings show the property, set to contain 164 large hotel rooms starting on the eighth floor, amenities that include two ballrooms and first-floor retail. Although it is only a few blocks from the Empire State Building, the hotel is expected to command a prominent spot on the skyline as its only, comparable immediate neighbor is the 476-ft.-tall Virgin Hotel a block away. Flag Luxury Properties is the developer, and construction is expected to start in 2018.

DIGIPARA FOCUSES ON CAD PRODUCTIVITY
Industry building-information-modeling (BIM) software provider DigiPara' theme at Interlift will be "Elevators. BIM. Automation." It has updated its Liftdesigner product to what it calls its "2018" edition. In addition to its typical use of drawing automation through enterprise resource planning systems, it is now also possible to load and reuse computer-aided-design (CAD) models from common CAD programs with it. Users can also export their CAD data as 3D BIM models. The 3D CAD files can come from SolidWorks, PTC Creo and Autodesk Inventor. Manufacturers can provide their entire elevator as a 3D BIM model to architects.

Image courtesy of sfexaminer.com:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/muni-construction-boom-gobbles-technicians-delays-elevator-rebuilds/

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Lack of Elevator Techs Creates Problems in San Francisco

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today's podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com.

SCHINDLER VT SYSTEM TO SERVE NYC’S ONE VANDERBILT
One Vanderbilt, a skyline-defining building in New York City (NYC) ELEVATOR WORLD has been watching closely, now has a vertical-transportation (VT) partner in Schindler, with a contract awarded by construction manager AECOM Tishman Construction. The 58-story, 1.7-million-sq.-ft. office tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox is being built in Midtown adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. SL Green Realty Corp. is the developer, and the terminal will receive US$220 million in infrastructure upgrades. One Vanderbilt will be outfitted with 42 elevators and five escalators. Thirty of the elevators will be equipped with Schindler's PORT destination-dispatch technology. The building is expected to open in 2020.
 
TEXAS-BASED HEARTLAND ELEVATOR ACQUIRED BY KONE
KONE announced on April 3 it has acquired the service and repair business of Heartland Elevator, LCC, of Lewisville, Texas, including its operations throughout the Dallas area. Observing the acquisition strengthens KONE's local operations and brings additional talent and experience to the Dallas area, KONE said Heartland was founded in 2014 and has built a "solid reputation of performing high-quality service, modernization and repair work." Executive Vice President for KONE Americas Larry Wash welcomed Heartland employees to the KONE team.
 
ALIMAK BMUs FOR CENTERPIECE OF EXPO 2020 DUBAI
Cimolai Rimond Middle East has placed an SEK32-million (US$3.8-million) order with Alimak Group for its CoxGomyl building maintenance units (BMUs) to maintain and clean the special fabric elements that form the external skin of Al Wasl Plaza, the centerpiece of Expo 2020 Dubai. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the structure will be topped by a dome trellis structure 67.5 m tall and 130 m wide. When finished, it will consist of 13,600 m of intricate steelwork and weigh 2,265 mT. Alimak's CoxGomyl will supply, install, test and commission the BMUs, with delivery anticipated by mid 2019.
 
EMR REDESIGNS WEBSITE
Electric Motor Repair Co. (EMR) has launched a new website. In addition to easier navigation, there is a new blog, EMR Today, featuring such useful topics as industry trends, expert advice and technician tips. With additional online form options, businesses can now submit more comprehensive service maintenance requests. The company added that there are also “updated imagery, features and content. EMR’s roots date back to 1927 in Baltimore, and the site reflects the growth of the brand today."
 
CHILD DIES AFTER RESIDENTIAL LIFT MISHAP IN DHAKA
A 10-year-old girl was pronounced dead after she was critically injured in a lift in a multistory residential building in the Shantinagar area of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 29, the Dhaka Tribune reports. The source said the child became trapped in the lift door and was hit in the head when her family boarded the lift and it went up. The building contains 180 flats and is served by six elevators and three lift operators. The victim's family, as well as other residents, said the elevator's sensors were not working properly — an issue a building employee said he was unaware of.
 
JAPAN AIMS FOR FULL STEP-FREE ACCESS AT AIRPORTS, STATIONS
Looking ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the Japanese government aims to increase step-free access to 100% from 87.2% at facilities with more than 3,000 daily users by March 2021, Japan Today reports. Major train stations, bus terminals and airports will be the focus. Japan also aims to provide more low-floor buses and, according to the source, "create easily accessible environments and promote urban planning for them."

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Schindler VT System to Serve NYC’s One Vanderbilt

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Lack of Elevator Techs Creates Problems in San Francisco

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