Know Your Elevator
Series 1
Series 1
Making
Safety Simple
At Utopias, we help architects and developers understand how elevators work. But we also believe that everyone should have basic knowledge about elevators; so we're here to make this complex topic easy to understand. By sharing this information, we hope to clear up some common misconceptions and help people feel more comfortable and less fearful when using elevators.
Why Do These Myths Exist?
Before we tackle the myths, let’s think about why people are sometimes scared of travelling in elevators. Often, these fears come from experiences that leave a strong impression. Let’s look at a couple of examples:
Example 1: The Early Morning Rush
Manoj had an early flight to catch. While taking the elevator down to his waiting cab, the elevator stopped suddenly between floors. Although he felt a bit anxious, he knew what to do because he was familiar with the safety features. Knowing how to handle the situation made it a lot less stressful for him.
Example 2: The Curious Kid
Ayan, a 9-year-old, was playing outside and took the elevator back to his apartment. Being a curious kid, he started pressing all the buttons and accidentally hit the stop button, causing the elevator to halt. Ayan panicked and started banging on the doors. Thankfully, someone heard him, but had it been late at night, the outcome might have been different. In this situation, it’s important to know that pressing the stop button again will restart the elevator. However, if that doesn’t work, you may need to call for help, which could take time. This experience could make Ayan and his parents more fearful of elevators in the future
Can situations like these be prevented?
Absolutely. By teaching children how elevators work and reminding them to stay calm, we can avoid unnecessary panic. It’s also important to know that in many places, it’s illegal for children under 12 to use an elevator without an accompanying adult. Parents could be held responsible if something goes wrong, and in some cases, they might even try to blame the elevator company, only to find out that the law is on the side of the company.
What to Do When the Power Goes Out
In many cities in India, power cuts are common, and elevators can stop working when the power goes out. But don’t worry, most elevators have safety features like battery-operated alarm bells or emergency lights that turn on when the power fails. These lights help prevent the fear of being trapped in the dark. Many modern buildings also have a feature called Automatic Rescue Device (ARD), which moves the elevator to the nearest floor and opens the doors when the power goes out. In taller buildings, elevators might be connected to backup generators, but usually, only one elevator will run on generator power until the main power returns.
It’s crucial that these safety features are regularly checked and maintained. If the emergency lights don’t work or the generator fails, the responsibility falls on both the building society and the service provider. Not keeping these in working order could lead to fines or worse, especially if there’s an accident. And if something serious happens, like an injury or fatality, handling the situation and communicating with the media becomes a shared responsibility.
A Final Word on Safety
Agree with this simple but very important explanation on safety. The key here is also to continue maintenance contracts with the principle OEM company who have installed and serviced the elevator. Clearly in the elevator business the ownership of maintenance and safety would lie with the OEM, till the contract is with them. There are many housing societies who tend to outsource the service to local 3rd party companies, due to lower service cost,
Without understanding the implications long term.
Good initiative…