Small app with a large impact – LIFT Check App

It is not only consumers with their smartphones and tablets who are always online using various news, sport, and entertainment apps. Mobile apps have also successfully found their way into the world of business. They spark particular interest is when they can be used for digitalizing manual and labor-intensive processes, thus simplifying them dramatically, increasing efficiency, or reducing costs. Hence, with LIFT Check App we are offering a large impact with just a small app.

LIFT Check is a smart app which performs a digital analysis of an elevator’s operating quality during just a single ride. In the course of a development partnership between DEKRA DIGITAL and TK Elevator (formerly thyssenkrupp Elevator), the application was evolved to perform an acceptance test during the installation of new units, evaluate test runs, and monitor service quality. In addition, LIFT Check can be used during modernization measures to record a before-and-after comparison of data in order to ensure transparency and acceptance. Following a successful pilot phase, which partially took place in the test tower in Rottweil, LIFT Check is now being rolled out by TK Elevator worldwide.

How does LIFT Check function?

LIFT Check functions as follows: When the smartphone is placed on the floor of the elevator car, it measures ride quality, vibrations, noise, speed, and rail running as the elevator moves through the shaft.

Within just a few minutes, a detailed test report on ride quality and elevator condition is produced and sent by e-mail to the user – at any time and location, and irrespective of elevator type and manufacturer. The test report – and, more recently, an FFT vibration analysis – are also displayed in a dashboard. A user management system enables other colleagues to gain access to interpret the data.

LIFT Check Use Cases

We encounter elevators everywhere in our daily lives – at home, in company buildings, or as freight elevators. The use cases are manifold, which is why LIFT Check has been positioned specifically as a clear innovation driver that harnesses digitalization and offers enormous cost-saving potential. Anyone who has been instructed can perform measurements with the LIFT Check app, without the need for additional training or expensive hardware. This high degree of efficiency represents a significant competitive advantage. Customers are thus able to define a benchmark which makes new installations and the maintenance and modernization of elevators more transparent and efficient on a global scale.

On the product side, the solution offers a simple operating concept for both iOS and Android smartphones. It is therefore accessible to a broad spectrum of users. Digital analysis and app-based data recording enable individual forms of evaluation and visualization that can be accessed online at any time. The report is therefore not just an individual elevator analysis but can also be used for comparison with installations worldwide and with previous measurements. This makes it easier to monitor quality standards efficiently.

“LIFT Check gives anyone the possibility of quickly and inexpensively checking the quality status of elevators” – Says Dr. Sebastian Sigle, member of the Executive board of DEKRA Automobile GmbH. It was his team which came up with the LiKos app used by DEKRA DIGITAL as the basis for developing LIFT Check.

Interview with Timo Bimbös, Head of International Technical Services at TK Elevator

In the following interview, Timo Bimbös, Head of International Technical Services at TK Elevator, discusses various issues, such as what makes elevator maintenance challenging and what the development partnership with DEKRA DIGITAL means for his company’s strength of innovation.

What are the daily challenges in elevator maintenance?

Elevator maintenance includes, for example, servicing, modernization measures, and regular safety checks. However, it’s also a matter of quickly and reliably identifying and localizing special customer requirements and deviations from the standard. This can only be achieved using state-of-the-art technology which is easy to use and delivers intelligible results. It is the only way of implementing specific and rapid improvements to the installation and thus for customers.

Increasing digitalization is also an innovation driver, especially when it comes to making work processes more efficient. What advantages do you gain from using LIFT Check?

Thanks to LIFT Check, we are able to make our service working processes even more efficient. The fast, straightforward analysis of elevators using the app helps to reduce downtimes. In addition, TK Elevator not only ensures problem-free mobility for customers of its own installations but also for the users of competitor systems. It is an additional advantage for us that LIFT Check can be used irrespective of elevator type or manufacturer.

Why did you choose to collaborate with DEKRA DIGITAL?

The collaboration owes its existence to the fact that both companies could use their own strengths and complement one another. TK Elevator contributed its many years’ of experience in elevator technology – addressing in particular the requirements associated with a digital solution that records and assesses ride comfort and performance.

DEKRA DIGITAL delivered the necessary software expertise. This combination enabled us to quickly and successfully implement our expectations for the measurement and analysis of elevators, which was already evident in the pilot phase.

During the pilot phase, a development partnership was established between DEKRA DIGITAL and TK Elevator in order to customize the LIFT Check dashboard to the company’s own needs. Could you explain what approach you took?

High acceptance among our service employees was essential to the success of the roll-out. That is why the smartphone software needed to be simple and intuitive, and its use as straightforward as possible. It was also important that the analysis of the measurements and the resulting recommendations for action are clear and understandable.

How is the roll-out going and what has been the reaction to LIFT Check in the various countries?

Our service teams worldwide have accepted LIFT Check very readily. We can see that an increasing number of engineers are using the app. We are also constantly receiving positive feedback. For this reason, there is great interest in continuing to refine and optimize the app.

Anyone who wants to try LIFT Check can download the free trial version and generate three reports free of charge.

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