APL Apollo
IIF EPC World Hindi

Otis maintains more than 1.9 million elevators and escalators globally

To show our commitment to service, we conduct an AES, or Annual Equipment Survey, a complete health check up of all elevators we maintain Sebi Joseph, President, Otis India

 

The global elevators and escalators market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1% by the year 2020, what is your outlook, what will be the role of the Indian market in this scenario?

According to a United Nations report, World Urbanization Prospects 2014 revision by UN DESA’s Population Division, 54 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66 percent by 2050. Projections show that urbanization, combined with overall growth of the world’s population, could add another 2.5 billion people to urban populations by 2050, with close to 90 percent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa.

The research also notes that the largest urban growth will take place in India, China and Nigeria. These three countries will account for 37 percent of the projected growth of the world’s urban population between 2014 and 2050. By 2050, India is projected to add 404 million urban dwellers. As urbanization drives the increased need for housing, the elevator industry plays an important role in supporting that growth.

Broadly speaking the elevator and escalator market derives revenue from new installation, maintenance, and modernization. How important is the role of maintenance in this gambit, what are the packages offered by Otis for long term maintenance of its products?

Otis maintains more than 1.9 million elevators and escalators globally and over 60,000 units in India.

Our commitment to customer focus, with outstanding equipment performance, is key to our business success. For example, the Otis Elite™ service program combines cutting-edge technology with our service expertise to deliver a priority service that goes beyond maintenance to offer an array of customer focused benefits.

Further strengthening the services offered is eService for Otis customers. This service allows building owners and managers who have an existing maintenance contract with Otis to view their elevators’ performance details around the clock.

Apart from this, Otis provides 24/7 service and support in major metropolitan areas via the centralized helpline – OTISLINE. To ensure easy access to customers we have the largest service network with 80 centers servicing
300 cities.

To show our commitment to service, we conduct an AES, or Annual Equipment Survey, a complete health check done on all elevators we maintain. At the end of the check, each elevator is certified as safe and is checked on important parameters. This is done irrespective of the type of maintenance contract the customer holds with us.

 

In India the mass transit systems are gradually being modernized, do you feel this will open up the market in India? In this regard, what are the solutions,Otis can capitalise on?

Infrastructure development presents a great opportunity for growth with the new government’s initiative to build 100 smart cities. This commitment toward speeding up the pace of urbanization by investing in smart cities, ports, metros and airports could provide immense growth to the elevator segment.The Indian government’s Smart City initiative will fuel the need for smart and efficient technologies such as ‘green’ elevators supported by Otis’ flagship technology, the Gen2™, to aid urban growth.

 

Otis was also planning to supply the neighbouring markets of from India. What kind of inroads you have made so far?

Otis recently announced that it has been selected to provide high-speed elevators to the prestigious Altair project in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which when complete will be the tallest residential building in Sri Lanka and will have the country’s fastest elevators. Altair will reach 240 meters — 68 floors — consisting of two towers with one tower leaning against the other.

Indocean Developers (P) Limited, a venture of South City projects (Kolkata) Limited, chose Otis to supply a total of 19 elevators, including Sri Lanka’s fastest elevators with a travel speed of 5 meters per second. Seven out of the 19 units will be supplied from Otis India’s Bengaluru factory.

 

Given the fact that most of the Indian cities are turning into vertical cities with an increasing number of skyscrapers, Where does India stand today in the race of high-speed elevators? What are the solutions Otis offers in this regard?

Over the past 100 years, Otis has provided elevators to eight of the 10 title holders as the world’s tallest buildings, including the BurjKhalifa, the Petronas Towers in Malaysiaand the iconic Empire State Building in New York City.

The tallest building in the world, the BurjKhalifa in Dubai, uses fast Otis SkyRise™ elevators at 10 meters per second. There is an opportunity for growth in this technology, especially in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. With the recently expanded facility in Bengaluru, which has tripled in size and doubled in manufacturing capacity, Otis India is positioned to deliver to this growing segment. The Bengaluru facility includes a new elevator test tower, standing at a height of 51.2 meters with the ability to test up to six elevators at a time.

In 2015, Otis India introduced the Gen2 Infinity. Locally manufactured at the Bengaluru factory, this is a higher speed (1.75 meters per second) passenger elevator that will cater to mid-rise residential buildings, which are fast becoming a common feature across tier 1 and 2 cities in the country today. The Otis Bengaluru factory is gearing up to offer even higher speed elevators on Otis’ global flagship technology platform – the Gen2.

Another exciting product from Otis is the CompassPlus™ Destination Management System. Using Otis’ patented technology, the system constantly evaluates real-time passenger traffic to improve flow and travel time in busy mid- and high-rise buildings. Instead of using standard hall call buttons, passengers register their specific floor in the lobby before they enter the elevator. The system assigns passengers traveling to nearby floors to the same car. This minimizes the number of stops per trip and significantly reduces car crowding, as well as passenger wait and travel times. The technology has also been adapted to integrate with security systems.

 

Elevators, escalators or moving walks, in all these cases, highest standards of safety and reliability is not a requirement but mandatory, what are the quality procedures followed by Otis to ensure these parameters are catered to in its products?

At Otis, safety is a top priority. Otis worldwide follows the ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence) operating system used by our parent company, United Technologies Corp. and all its business units. The ACE systemis designed to ensure world-class quality in our products and processes. It is used successfully at our facilities around the world to improve quality and customer satisfaction. The Bengaluru factory is guided by UTC standard workplace practices and Otis worldwide jobsite safety standards.

The Bengaluru factory’s mechanical and electrical test labs that are equipped with high-end test equipment staffed by our technical team to ensure all new products are tested and qualified to stringent Otis safety, quality and reliability standards.

The facility has a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) that employs state-of-the-art manufacturing technology with high levels of quality and safety standards. The new Gen2 controller lines are set up with the help of tools such as 3P, VSM and Kaizen to ensure single piece flow and high quality. The facility also maintains a consistent focus on continuous improvement, including a focus on preventative maintenance. 

Bengaluru factory has a site level program to certify all critical manufacturing processes, both in-house as well as at suppliers. This continuous effort results in measurable improvement in product quality. Field module implementation for shipping finished products significantly improves shipment quality and helps in reducing installation time.

At Otis there is a focus on lean supply chain principles to ensure smooth flow of material by dual sourcing, supplier education on quality and lean process certification for critical safety parts, while ensuring the compliance and upgrading of the overall system quality. In addition there is a UTC-wide Supplier Gold Program to ensure a high level of supplier performance, which is monitored globally.

 

Gearless, Geared or Machine Room Less (MRL) what is the way forward in a timeline when India is actively thinking about smart cities?

The Indian government’s Smart City initiative will fuel the need for smart and efficient technologies to support urban growth. This will bolster the already increasing demand for ‘green’ elevators. As of May 2016, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has 3.61 BN SQFT of registered real estate under development as “Green”. This constitutes over 3,629 buildings. Otis’ flagship technology, the Gen2 elevator, caters well to the need for vertical transportation that is sustainable and smart. 

Otis’ flagship products from the Gen2 family leverage our flat, polyurethane-coated steel belts and a compact permanent-magnet gearless machine to deliver outstanding performance, reliability and design flexibility. Some of the key components of the Gen2 range are the coated steel belt, the ReGen™ regenerative drive, the permanent magnet machine and the PULSE™ monitoring system. All of these components working together enhance elevator efficiency, safety and reliability. Otis is the pioneer of this environmentally responsible technology and helps achieve substantial energy savings.

The Gen2 system replaces conventional steel ropes with smooth, polyurethane-coated steel belts, which are up to 20 percent lighter. Since the belts are highly flexible, they have a much smaller bending radius, resulting in a compact machine that is up to 70 percent smaller than a conventional machine.

The Gen2 elevator system also features the ReGen™ regenerative drive, which, when combined with the Gen2 machine, reduces energy consumption by up to 75 percent compared to conventional systems with non-regenerative drives. The ReGen regenerative drive captures energy generated by the elevator and feeds it back into the building’s grid, where it can be used by other building systems connected to the same network.

In addition, the Gen2 system delivers outstanding reliability. Its long-lasting belts, smooth crowned sheaves and reduction of moving parts in the machine dramatically reduces wear, increases durability and considerably minimizes operational noise. The PULSE system monitors the belts 24 hours per day, seven days a week, providing greater safety and peace of mind through its immediate, automatic reporting of belt status.

Otis has sold more than 500,000 Gen2 elevators worldwide since its launch. The reason for this tremendous success is that developers and building owners alike recognize the value of sustainable buildings and are aiming for green certifications like Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). The Gen2 elevator system and ReGen regenerative drive technology are an energy-efficient addition to green buildings.




  • About Us

    EPC World Media Group is a one stop knowledge information hub for Infrastructure, EPC and Construction sector. It strives to promote, propagate and assist the decision and policy makers from government and private organizations along with the technology developers and service providers to enhance and develop their capabilities. EPC World Media facilitates knowledge transfer to grassroots and strengthens their productivity.....

    Read More.....
  • Featured Videos

  • Connect Us