Table of Contents

1.0 Individual Background Information.....................................................................................2

1.1 Background Information: Ooi Boon Kiat.........................................................................2
1.2 Background Information: Ooi Sui Wen............................................................................4
1.3 Background Information: Ong Weng Hong.....................................................................5
1.4 Background Information: Pang Eng Fu............................................................................7
2.0 Learning outcome:...............................................................................................................9
3.0 Equipment:...........................................................................................................................9
4.0 Safety Precautions:...............................................................................................................9
5.0 Operations:.........................................................................................................................10
6.0 Table results:......................................................................................................................10
7.0 Discussion Question:..........................................................................................................11
8.0 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................17
9.0 Reference............................................................................................................................18

1.0 Individual Background Information

1.1 Background Information: Ooi Boon Kiat
A lift or an elevator is a transport device used to move goods or people vertically.
Considered a requirement in all buildings over three stores. Minimum standard of service
one lift for every four stores with a maximum distance of 45 m to the lift lobby. Floor space
estimates and car capacity can be based on an area of 0.2 m2 per person.
Location of lift
Positioning of lift should be at locations which provide easy means of access for all building
users central entrance lobby of offices, hotels, apartments, etc. Grouping of lifts is essential
for user convenience.
Basic Components of elevator:

Elevator Car is the vehicle that travels between the different elevator stops carrying
passengers. It is usually a heavy steel frame surrounding a cage of metal and wood
panels. balanced by a heavy counterweight that weighs roughly the same amount as
the car when it's loaded half-full.
Hoist way is the space enclosed by fireproof walls and elevator doors for the travel of
one or more elevators, dumbwaiters or material lifts.
Counterweight is a tracked weight that is suspended from cables and moves within
its own set of guide rails along the hoistway walls.
Suspension Ropes are suspension means for car and counterweight, which are
represented by steel wire ropes. They are used on traction type elevators, usually
attached to the crosshead and extending up into the machine room looping over the
sheave on the motor and then down to the counter weights.
Landing (Hoistway) Doors that is seen from each floor of a building is referred to as
the outer or hoistway door. This hoistway door is a part of the building (each landing).
It is important to realize that the car door does all the work; the hoistway door is a
dependent. These doors can be opened or closed by electric motors, or manually for
emergency incidents.
A Buffer is a device designed to stop a descending car or counterweight beyond its
normal limit and to soften the force with which the elevator runs into the pit during an
emergency. They may be of polyurethane or oil type in respect of the rated speed.
Elevator Machine and Drive System Driving machine is the power unit of the
elevator, and usually located at the elevator machine room. The Driving machine used
to refer to the collection of components that raise or lower the elevator. These include
the drive motor, brake, speed reduction unit, sheaves and encoders.

Figure 1.1.1 Basic Component in a lift or elevator

Reference:

Transportation Systems in Buildings. 2016. Transportation Systems in Buildings.

[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/arkam_slideshare/transportationsystems-in-buildings. [Accessed 18 July 2016].
Basic Elevator Components - Part Two ~ Electrical Knowhow. 2016. Basic Elevator
Components - Part Two ~ Electrical Knowhow. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.electrical-knowhow.com/2012/04/basic-elevator-components-parttwo.html. [Accessed 18 July 2016].

1.2 Background Information: Ooi Sui Wen

Elevator (or lift) is a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people or goods
between floors of a building. They are generally powered by electric motors that either drive
traction cables and counterweight systems, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical
piston.
On 1853, an inventor named Elisha Otis had designed a safety system that would
catch a falling lift should its main support fail. He proudly demonstrated this breakthrough at
the 1853 Worlds Fair in New Yorks Crystal Palace. Otis stood on the elevated platform high
above the crowd then directed a burly assistant to sever the support cable with an axe. The
platform dropped a few inches but the safety system quickly stopped the descent.
A few years later when a state-of-the-art building was constructed to house the E.V.
Haughwout chinaware emporium, the architects decided to include the very first Otis
passenger elevator at a cost of $300. That same elevator is still in working condition.
The first successful passenger elevator was installed on this day at 488 Broadway in
New York City on March 23, 1857.
In 1880, Werner von Siemens invented the first electric elevator. (Elevator Wiki,
2016)

Figure 1.2.1 An Elevator / lift

Reference:

Elevator Wiki. (2016). Elevator. [online] Available at:

http://elevation.wikia.com/wiki/Elevator [Accessed 24 Jul. 2016].

1.3 Background Information: Ong Weng Hong

The general purpose of a building transportation system is to enable the guests,
occupants and goods to move or be moved in a reasonably comfortable, quick and efficient
way. Lift also known as elevator is one of the important building transportation system in
every high rise building like residential condominium, shopping complex, office buildings,
hospital, institution building and etc. Lift or elevator is one type of vertical transportation
equipment that efficiently for moving peoples or goods between floors (level, decks) of a
building, vessel or other structure. A lift or elevator are generally powered by electric motors
that either drive cables, hoist, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.
(Hall, 2011)
Next, there are few importance or advantages of lifts in every building, it was because
the high land cost, buildings design nowadays is more in vertically and higher like all the
high rises of condominiums or apartment, so the lift is a must and it bring a lot of advantages
and convenient for the people of the building. And also a lift is a basic need in the levels
building for moving the goods from floor to floor such as in the shopping mall, a lift is used
to deliver goods. Furthermore, a lift that constructed in the office buildings will improve their
working efficiency and comfort needs. Based on Uniform Building by Law 1984 stated that
in part VI clause 124, For all non-residential buildings exceeding 4 storeys above or below
the main access level at least one lift shall be provided.
Lift or elevator can be classified into few types, which include passenger lifts, goods
lift, stretcher lifts, observation lifts, dumbwaiters, paternoster, scissor lifts, and inclined lifts.
Different lifts or elevators have different operating function and components include with the
uses. (Shafiza, 2013) The most common lift we are using in our daily life is passenger lifts.
In addition, there are few components in every lifts to operate the lift or elevator in
good, functional and safety condition, such as (Hui, 2010):
a) Lift Car - act as a platform where the passengers or goods is to be transport. Usually
constructed with steel or iron materials attached with the steel frame.
b) Equipment of a car landing doors, floor panel indicators, landing pushbutton of
request, phone, emergency button, lighting, ventilation and enough emergency
supplies.
c) Lift shaft to accommodate the loading and fire resistance and constructed with
reinforced concrete.
d) Governor Usually placed at the top of lift shaft, contain with electric motor, safety
gear, guard rail, diaphragm motion and gear.
e) Guard rail a safety device to hold the lift from crashing down if the rope was break
f) Buffer to absorb the impact of the lift car when it fell, and it was placed in a room
called lift pit.
g) Counterweight - it connected with a wire rope of the elevator car and it used to grip
the lift car, reduce the power of generator and brake to stop the lift car.

Figure 1.3.1 Components of an electric traction passenger lift

References:

Hall, F., 2011. Building Services Handbook. 6th ed. Burlington: ButterworthHeinemann.

Hui, S. C. M., 2010. Lift and Escalators: Components and Control. [Online]
Available at: http://www.mech.hku.hk/bse/mech3005/mech3005_1011_lift03.pdf
[Accessed 18 July 2016].

Shafiza, N. N., 2013. Lift. [Online]

Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/NurulAdha2/lift-29150998
[Accessed 18 July 2016].

1.4 Background Information: Pang Eng Fu

Lift also known as elevator is a lifting device consisting
of a platform or cage that is raised and lowered mechanically
in a vertical shaft in order to move people from one floor to
another in building which people usually install in high rise
building. (Farlex.com, 2014)
Figure 1.4.1 A lift or elevator

Back in the history, the first lift was designed in 1743 by King Louis in France. It
does not look like lift of today but it was called as a flying chair. The flying chair was used to
travel from one floor to another and it was operated manually by Kings command. Soon in
1850, another lift was introduced which was called hydraulic and steam elevator. It was built
by Elisha G Otis, introduced first ever safety lift because in case of rope failure, spring
pushed ratchet to bring forward saw tooth iron bar, securing the lift. (EngineersGarage, 2014)

Figure 1.4.2 flying chair

Figure 1.4.3 Elisha G Otis's lift

Figure 1.4.4 hydraulic elevators

According to hoist mechanism, lift was classified to 4 main types which are hydraulic
elevators, traction elevators, climbing elevators and pneumatic elevator. Hydraulic elevators
also known as push elevators, it is support by piston at the bottom of elevator that pushes the
elevator up. (Knowhow, 2016)
Traction elevators also known as pull elevators which the elevators are lifted by ropes,
which pass over a wheel attached to an electric motor above the elevator shaft. (Knowhow,
2016)
The next one will be climbing elevator, this type of elevators usually uses in
construction area. (Knowhow, 2016)
The last one is pneumatic elevators, which are raised and lowered by controlling air
pressure in a chamber which the elevator sits. (Knowhow, 2016)
7

Figure 1.4.7 pneumatic elevators

Figure 1.4.5 traction elevators

Figure 1.4.6 climbing elevators

References:

EngineersGarage, 2014. EngineersGarage | Inspiring Creations. [Online] Available

at: http://www.engineersgarage.com/invention-stories/elevator-history [Accessed 24
July 2016].

Farlex.com, 2014. Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary.

[Online] Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Lift+(elevator) [Accessed 24
July 2016].
Knowhow, E., 2016. Electrical Knowhow. [Online] Available at:
http://www.electrical-knowhow.com/2012/04/elevators-types-and-classificationpart.html [Accessed 24 July 2016].

Experiment 2 Lift System Demonstrator

2.0 Learning outcome:
1. To learn the basic components and operation of a building lift system.
2. To determine the speed of rise and fall of the Building Lift Demonstrator.

3.0 Equipment:
A lift system demonstrator, with six floors height complete with lift lobby floor slab on each
level

Figure 3.1 Lift demonstrator

4.0 Safety Precautions:

1. The lecture in charge should supervise the students performing the experiment.
2. Switch off the power supply when the Lift System Demonstrator is not in use.
3. Pull off the plug from the power supply after turning it off, to prevent voltage surge
during thunderstorms.

5.0 Operations:
1. 240V AC, 50 Hz single-phase source is connected and the main switch is turned on.
The PLC system is allowed to warm up for a few seconds before performing the
experiment.
2. The UP or DOWN button is pressed (say, floor 3) to request for the CAR.
3. When the CAR arrived to the requested floor, the DOOR OPERATION opened the
lift door for passenger to travel in.
4. At this moment, when the Force Door OPEN button is pressed, DOOR
OPERATION is forced to open the lift door for a moment of time closing back the
lift. For Force Door CLOSE button, lift door will forced to close when requested to.
5. If no force buttons were pressed, the DOOR OPERATOR closed the lift door and the
CAR travelled to passengers requested floor, say from G to 3.
6. When the CAR arrived too the passengers requested floor, the DOOR OPERATION
opened the lift door for passengers to walk out. After a per-programmed time (7 to 10
seconds), the DOOR OPERATOR closed the lift door.
7. The CAR stayed and waited for a new request signal (to move to next floor).
8. The scale-down size of the in-between floor span for the Lift System Demonstrator is
measured by filling the table given below.
9. The time taken for the CAR is determined to travel from one floor to another floor by
filling the table given below.

6.0 Table results:

CAR Position
Ground Floor
Second Floor
Ground Floor
Third Floor
Ground Floor
Fourth Floor
Ground Floor
Fifth Floor

Destination
Floor
Second Floor
Ground Floor
Third Floor
Ground Floor
Fourth Floor
Ground Floor
Fifth Floor
Ground Floor

Distance
Travelled (mm)
385
385
576
576
769
759
960
960

Time Taken
(second)
15.88
15.55
20.35
20.17
25.07
24.41
29.25
28.77

Speed(mm/s
)
24.24
24.76
28.30
28.56
30.67
31.09
32.82
33.37

10

7.0 Discussion Question:

1. a) What is the scale-down average floor to floor height for the Lift System
Demonstrator?
385
576
769
960
+(
+(
+(
(
)
)
)
2
3
4
5 )
Distance Travelled
=
Number of Floor

192.5+192+192.25+192 768.75
=
=192.19 mm
4
4
b) What is the average speed for the rise of the motor?
Formula=

Speed
Number of floor Travelled

(Ground Floor to Second Floor)

24.24
=12.12 mm/s (Ground Floor to Third Floor)
2
28.30
=9.43 mm/s
3
(Ground Floor to Fourth Floor)
30.67
=7.67 mm/s
4
(Ground Floor to Fifth Floor)
32.82
=6.56 mm /s
5
(Total average speed)
12.12+9.43+ 7.67+6.56 8.95 mm
=
4
s

11

c) What is the average speed for the fall of the motor?

Formula=

Speed
Number of floor Travelled

Second Floor

Floor)

24.76
=12.38 mm/s (Third Floor to First Floor)
2
28.56
=9.52 mm/s (Fourth Floor to First Floor)
3
31.09
=7.77 mm/s (Fifth Floor to First Floor)
4
33.37
=6.67 mm/ s (Total average speed)
5
12.38+ 9.52+ 7.77+6.67
=9.09mm / s
4

2. a)

Most lifts work just like a pulley. A very strong metal rope is joined to the top
of the elevator car and goes up through a sheave in the engine room above the lift.
The sheave is like a pulley wheel with grooves in it to hold the rope tightly. On the
other side of the rope is a weight, which is about as heavy as the lift car when it is half
full. This balances the car, so that not too much energy is needed to move.
(Communications, 2016)
Both the weight and the lift car are held in place by guide rails at the sides of
the lift shaft. A motor turns the wheel in either direction so that the lift either go up or
down. When button is pushed inside the lift, the motor is active. When the motor
stops, the grooves in the pulley wheel keep the rope in pace so the lift stops moving.
(Communications, 2016)

The parts that used in lift which is landing doors, over speed governors, car slings, and cars.
i.

Landing doors is the door that prevent passenger from

failing into the hoist way.

ii.

Over speed governors can be engaged at any point along

perimeter of pulley and assure high life time due to
limited pulley wear. (Heckenstaller, 2015)

Figure 7.2 landing door

12

Figure 7.1 how lift work

Figure 7.3 over speed governors

13

iii.

Car slings are the frameworks which enclose the cab. The
ropes, guides and platform will attach to the car slings.
(ELEVATOR, 2015)

iv.

Cars are a moveable room that transfer passengers from a

floor to another floor.
Figure 7.4 car slings

Figure 7.5 car

b)

Are lift safe? Yes, it is, because there are few safety measures in lift which can
prevent accident happen.

The first safety measure is safety brake. If the cable is broken, it can prevent the lift
car crash to the floor. This great innovation that Elisha Graves Otis made in the 1860s. The
lift wasnt just supported by ropes; they also had a ratchet system as backup. Each car ran
between two vertical guide rails with sturdy metal teeth embedded all the way up them. At
the top of each car, there was a spring-loaded mechanism with hooks attached. If the cable
broke, the hooks sprung out ward and jammed in to the metal teeth in the guide rails,
locking the car safety in position. (Woodford, 2016)

Figure 7.6 safety brake

14

Second is the safe work practices which can prevent accident happen by make sure
that worker who operate lift are properly trained in the safe use of the equipment. Then,
maintain and operate elevating work platforms according to the manufacturers instructions.
Furthermore, never override hydraulic, mechanical, or electrical safety devices. And then, do
not exceed the load limits of the equipment, allow for the combined weight of the worker,
tools and materials. (Administration, 2004)
There are some lifts issues always happen nearby us. The first one is long wait times.
Long wait times may be caused by malfunction as simple as a defective relay, or problems
may be caused by the age and overall condition of the elevator. (FacilitiesNet, 2015)
Second issues will be overheating. In electrical traction lift, the equipment is located
in a penthouse above the buildings roof. The penthouse is seldom heated or cooled. So when
the temperature is rising, it might cause the lift overheat. (FacilitiesNet, 2015)
Third of the issues is frequent breakdowns. This is one of the most common
symptoms of a system in need of overhaul or modernization is increasing service call
frequencies. As components wear and age, they more readily go out of adjustment, either
shutting down the system or interfering with its operation. (FacilitiesNet, 2015)

Question 3:
a) When was the first lift installed?
the first ever elevator was designed to lift a passenger in 1743. This was made exclusively for
King Louis in France. Though this looked nothing like elevators of today, it was called a
flying chair. Carefully placed outside Kings balcony, the flying chair was used by the king to
travel from one floor to another. It was operated manually on Kings command.
b) How did this first lift works?
The first elevator wasnt much more technologically advanced than those used in Rome. To
make it work, the mechanism consisted of a carefully balanced arrangement of weights and
pulleys hanging inside a chimney. Men stationed inside the chimney then raised or lowered
the Flying Chair at the king's command.

Figure 7.7 pulley lift system

4. Discuss the types of modern lifts available nowadays. (Elevator Wiki, 2016)
Figure 7.8 Passenger
Lift
15

Passenger Lift is designed to move people between a

building's floors. Passenger elevators' capacity is
related to the available floor space. Generally,
passenger elevators are available in capacities from
4502,700 kg in 230 kg increments. Passenger
elevators in buildings eight floors or less
are hydraulic or traction, which can reach speeds up
to 1.0 m/s hydraulic and up to 2.5 m/s traction. In
buildings up to ten floors, traction and gearless
elevators are likely to have speeds up to 2.5 m/s, and
above ten floors speeds begin at 2.5 m/s up to 10 m/s.

A freight elevator, (or service elevator, cargo elevator, or goods lift in the United
Kingdom) is an elevator designed to carry goods, rather than passengers. Freight
elevators are generally required to display a written notice in the car that the use by
passengers is prohibited, though certain freight elevators allow dual use through the use
of an inconspicuous riser. Freight elevators are typically larger and capable of carrying
heavier loads than a passenger elevator,
generally from 2,300 to 4,500 kg. Freight
elevators may have manually operated doors,
and often have rugged interior finishes cab to
prevent damage while loading and unloading.
Although hydraulic freight elevators exist,
traction elevators are more energy efficient for
the work of freight lifting. These elevators are
specially constructed to withstand the rigors of
heavy loads.
Figure 7.9 Freight Lift

Double Deck Elevator is a type of elevator

consists of two cabins attached together.
Example, one car stops at even floors and
the other stops at the odd floors. Depending
on their destination, passengers can mount
one car in the lobby or take an escalator to a
landing for the alternate car. Double-deck
elevators save time and space in highoccupancy buildings by mounting one car
upon another. The world first double-deck
elevators are installed in the Empire State
Building by Otis in 1931.

Figure 7.10 Double Deck Elevator

16

8.0 Conclusion
After this Building Laboratory Practical, we had learned about what exactly lift is and
the basic component of the lift. Lift means a system permanently installed that serves for
vertical transport of persons or goods in lift cars or on platforms.
In this laboratory, we also study about the speed of rise and fall of the building lift
demonstrator. By certain produces, we had been collected all the data we need to calculate the
speed, includes the high of each floor and the time taken for lift to reach the setting floor. By
using these data, we had form a table.
According to our data collection, time taken for the lift rise form ground floor to
upper is longer than the time taken for the lift fall from upper floor to lower floor. This is
because when the lift rise from lower floor to upper floor, the force is actually work against to
the gravity, thats why it needed longer time to reach upper floor from lower floor.
Based on the longer time taken, the speed had been affected. Longer the time taken,
slower the speed of lift moving. Going down is always faster than going up, same as the
building lift demonstrator. Our data collection also proof that the theory is right.

17

9.0 Reference

Elevator Wiki. (2016). Types of elevators. [online] Available at:

http://elevation.wikia.com/wiki/Types_of_elevators [Accessed 24 Jul. 2016].

Administration, O.S.a.H., 2004. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

[Online] Available at: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/aerial_lifts_safety.html
[Accessed 24 July 2016].

Communications, D., 2016. Discovery Kids. [Online] Available at:

http://discoverykids.com/articles/how-do-elevators-work/ [Accessed 24 July 2016].

ELEVATOR, T., 2015. Elevators Escalators Moving Walks | ThyssenKrupp Elevator

America. [Online] Available at:
https://www.thyssenkruppelevator.com/webapps/classroom-ondemand/LessonViewer.aspx?lesson=16415 [Accessed 24 July 2016].

FacilitiesNet, 2015. Facilities Management Cost-Saving Ideas, Jobs, Experts,

Technologies, Articles, News and Education for the Building Manager. [Online]
Available at: http://www.facilitiesnet.com/elevators/article/Keeping-Up-To-AvoidGoing-Down-Facilities-Management-Elevators-Feature--4810 [Accessed 24 July
2016].

Heckenstaller, J., 2015. Wittur - Safety in motion . [Online] Available at:

http://www.wittur.com/en/elevator-components.aspx [Accessed 24 July 2016].

Woodford, C., 2016. Explain that Stuff. [Online] Available at:

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-elevators-work.html [Accessed 24 July 2016].

Who Invented the Elevator (Lift)? History of Elevator Invention. 2016. Who Invented
the Elevator (Lift)? History of Elevator Invention. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.engineersgarage.com/invention-stories/elevator-history. [Accessed 18 July
2016].
Phil Ament. 2016. Elevator History - Invention of the Elevator. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/elevator.htm. [Accessed 18 July
2016].

18