Remote monitoring of lifts adds reliability at lower cost

A new fleet monitoring system is keeping Aritco lifts up and running at lower cost and reassuring people that all is well with their lift. It’s part of Aritco’s emphasis on offering the latest connectivity solutions, which also include an app for users.

The fleet management system, which has been implemented on the Aritco HomeLift, means that instead of your having to call Aritco to say there’s a problem with your lift, Aritco can often be the one to call to say we’ve detected a problem with the lift and in some cases say what to do to fix the problem.

“For example, if someone has accidentally pressed the emergency stop without realizing it, we can save a trip to the site by an engineer and just tell the customer to pull the button back out,” says Ben Long, Head of Operations at Gartec, an Aritco agent in the UK. “This is a weekly occurrence.”

Not only does this save time and money, it’s also reassuring to know that the elevator is being monitored and that problems will be detected right away. “It’s nice for a customer to know that someone can see how their lift is working and that immediate assistance is available,” Ben says.

For people with disabilities, it’s especially urgent to keep a lift up and running at all times. “If their lift breaks, they may not be able to get to their bedroom, for example. It really impacts the way they live their life. It’s like if my car breaks and the garage can’t fix it, I can’t get to work. These people are in a similar situation, but in their own home. So it becomes very, very emotive very, very quickly.”

The system also has the potential for flexible maintenance contracts based on use instead of time. “People who use their lift infrequently would save money because we could inspect and service less frequently,” Ben explains. “On the other hand, if someone had high use, we could inspect and maintain more frequently to reflect that.”

Currently, Gartec has implemented the system on Aritco HomeLifts, but is looking into implementing it on other models, starting with elevators for homes and then public lifts.

“This type of monitoring is standard across the conventional lift industry, but not for platform lifts,” Ben says. “We could be able to say that we can deliver the best service and maintenance because we have this maintenance portal, we can see your lift with remote monitoring, so we can deliver a really strong support package that no one else can.”