The majority of public buildings you visit are likely to have elevators. Elevators are a necessity for shopping malls, multiple story buildings, and hotels. You are also likely to find them in office buildings and even in some restaurants. They are important for easy mobility from one level of the building to another. While stairs are usually an option, they are not always practical or a possibility. If you are a business that is considering a commercial elevator installation, you will want to keep the following considerations in mind.
The levels of your building
How many levels are there in your building? How many of these levels are open to your customers? While a specific number of elevators are often required for any business with multiple levels, it can actually be beneficial to provide them with an increased number of elevators. Most customers prefer to use elevators when frequenting a business and are more likely to be dissatisfied if the elevators are constantly full or in use. More levels within a building usually means that the elevators take longer, and additional ones should be installed.
The frequency of your business
Smaller businesses may be able to get away with just one elevator. However, if your business increases over time, so should your number of elevators. Some people are only able to take the elevator, and having to wait for an extended period of time can significantly reduce their level of experience. According to United Technologies, elevators carry the equivalent of the world?s population every nine days. You will also want to keep elevator repairs in mind. You may have to wait for an elevator company to come out and make elevator repairs, making one of your current elevators temporarily out of use. Ensure that you have enough backups to satisfy the frequency of your customers.
Consider your product
It may be surprising that you should also consider the type of product sold when evaluating your commercial elevator needs. Some businesses, like gyms, health food stores, and exercise stores tend to have fewer elevators than other types of businesses. That is because these businesses are either not selling products or are selling smaller items. These are items that do not require a great amount of labor to carry. If you are selling heavy clothing items, luggage, or groceries, however, your customers will need an easier way to transport their new items. America currently has over 700,000 elevators, with many of these being in businesses that sell larger items.
Remember your employees
Employees might also require elevator transportation. There are currently five types of elevators that can vary in size and capacity, passenger, freight, LULA, home, and personnel. The personnel elevators are generally a little smaller and are made to carry employee products. They are also usually placed in the back of the business, without access to employees. These elevator stops go to employee breakrooms, cleaning rooms, and other employee accessible business areas.
Many business owners make the mistake of only installing one employee elevator. This can be a problem for many reasons. If the elevator requires elevator repairs, employees are left taking over the customer elevators. Additionally, if the business grows and an increased number of employees are needed, it can become very hectic. Employees can be late to work or have trouble completing these required work tasks in a timely manner.
The importance of elevator safety standards
Regardless of the number of elevators you choose to install into your new business, safety should always be a priority. Customers expect a safe elevator with no issues. Although elevator repairs do occur sometimes, they should be prevented with regular elevator inspections from an experienced elevator safety company. Elevators should be closed as soon as a problem is identified.
Elevators are essential to many businesses all over the world. They transport customers from one level of a business to another. Evaluating the type and number of elevators in a new business can be difficult. You will want to consider the number of levels within the business, the size of the company, the frequency of the customers, and the overall employee numbers.