Asia’s sixth busiest international airport—Changi Airport—handled more than 51.2 million passengers in 2012, and in 2017, that number is expected to increase to 82 million.
Schindler Lifts Singapore—the international provider of quality elevators, escalators and moving walks—will be the first European brand to supply Changi with 58 lifts, escalators and moving walks that will move millions through its terminals.
Established in 1975 to serve major businesses, Schindler has since become a global powerhouse with a team of dedicated employees, ensuring that projects are completed on time and under budget.
“As with all major projects involving high-profile customers, it is about ensuring that we always keep in mind the client’s vision and expectation throughout the project,” said Steven Foster, Managing Director of Schindler Lifts Singapore, in a recent interview.
Schindler manufactures, installs, services and modernizes elevators, escalators and moving walks for almost every type of urban infrastructure—from low-rise residential buildings to commercial and high-rise towers.
Changi Airport is simply another name to be added to their extensive list of projects as the company continues to innovate design.
Upcoming projects
Project Jewel
The Asia Pacific, including China, is the fastest growing part of the world in terms of infrastructure development. The rapid urbanization of the region—with rural communities transforming into cities—has created a need for more buildings and an effective way to handle the traffic. Schindler has stepped up to the plate to become the leader in project management and fulfillment.
Developed from two of Singapore’s most respected names—Changi Airport Group and CapitaMalls Asia—Project Jewel is a unique design by one of the world’s leading architects that will integrate a shopping mall experience in an airport landscape.
“The project is expected to be completed in 2018,” commented Foster.
Solar Impulse
The Solar Impulse airplane and its ambitious objective to fly around the world is a showcase of just what can be achieved in terms of green technologies if passion and belief are driving the innovation.
Schindler is a proud global partner of Solar Impulse, sharing the same ambitions to deliver energy-efficient solutions using green technology.
“Whilst it is unlikely that this project will allow for solar planes to be commercialized, the use of solar energy and its applications for everyday life has been clearly demonstrated,” said Foster.
Advances in technology
Elevators remain to be the most voluminous of the products provided by Schindler, and the growth in residential and commercial buildings is a testament to this. But what allows for the expansive production?
In short, the advancements in technology.
Destination Control has been a part of Schindler’s technology strategy for 20 years, but the latest generation of transit management systems has been produced by the company.
“PORT Technology is the latest in Destination Dispatch Technology which optimizes the traffic flow in the building whilst providing personalized access and control systems,” explained Foster. “At its core, PORT uses sophisticated algorithms that run around the clock to ensure the optimal utilization of an elevator group. PORT eliminates elevator runs and random stops at numerous floors, and transports passengers swiftly and efficiently.”
The basis of the system is that it groups passengers going to the same or nearby floors in the same elevator. This cuts down on the time needed to reach a destination as there are less stops along the way. In fact, the system is able to increase traffic efficiency by as much as 30 percent, as compared to conventional elevator systems.
PORT Technology provides buildings with the ability to cleverly increase traffic-handling efficiency, as evident in international landmark buildings such as the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong, HSBC in Singapore, Heron Tower in London and Barangaroo South in Sydney.
“The response from customers who have moved from conventional lift system to PORT has been extremely positive,” said Foster.
A unique advantage via green capabilities
The design and industrialization of any type of product or technology has its own unique set of challenges—which makes it difficult to make a direct comparison.
However, one thing that can be said about Schindler’s product design is that all new products have to have better eco-performance than their predecessor models.
For example, the Schindler 7000 high-rise product line, which uses carefully selected materials in its design, was cleverly thought out right through to the end of its life cycle. The design of the new machines allows for the dismantling of all major parts and a compact design of components that uses less material.
The low and mid-rise product lines have also made substantial progress.
“Over the past 10 years, the environmental impact due to raw materials and energy consumption in these segments has been reduced by about 40 per cent,” said Foster.
A good example is the Schindler 3300 AP elevator, which reduces the environmental impact of earlier models by about 40 per cent through energy savings from a more energy-efficient drive system and smart control that enables standby mode for inverter, controls and lighting.
“Moreover, the materials that we use in this product are significantly lighter and components are smaller, as compared to its predecessors, requiring less energy to move the elevator,” added Foster. Schindler 3300 AP uses Schindler Traction Media (STM) technology which delivers significant space savings since the compact design of its gearless machine requires smaller shaft space. Its machine room-less (MRL) solution reduces building construction cost, time, manpower and material to build the elevator machine room.
“Other important green features include careful building traffic planning to achieve a balance in terms of traffic increases versus energy consumption, Power Factor One converters that feedback energy generated by lift to the building power grid, permanent magnet motors, gearless drives and energy-saving modes on escalators including automatic start and stop control or automatic two-speed control—varies the escalator speed according to the passenger flow,” said Foster. “These modes are enabled by the presence or absence of passengers; hence energy can be saved during non-peak hours.”
Looking ahead
As space becomes even more of a premium in South East Asia, and in particular Singapore, the need for efficient dispatching of passengers will become even more necessary.
“Destination-control systems in commercial buildings will become standard and over the next five years,” said Foster. “In addition, as the demand for greener buildings increases and the environment is ever more in the public eye, the need for energy-efficient mobility systems will be paramount. Furthermore, the emergence of digital technology as a business tool to improve efficiency and deliver on increasing customer satisfaction will play a key part in the industry dynamics.”
“Schindler sits in a strong position and has been a pioneer in both fields and is poised to take advantage of these evolutions,” concluded Foster.
