Digitalisation – a subject for lift construction

The 4th German Lift Day boasted record participation. More than 100 representatives of the lift industry, lift and component manufacturers accepted the invitation of the VDMA.

Also component manufacturers and leading personalities from among operators, testing institutions and those participating in standardisation and legislation made it to the in Hotel Kempinski in Berlin.

The main subject was highly topical. "Call it a coincidence or not, but today we are celebrating Lift Day 4.0,” noted Albert Schenk, chairman of the VDMA Trade Association Lifts and Escalators in his opening speech. Indeed – it was the fourth German Lift Day of the VDMA and "Real estate business in digital transformation” was simultaneously the key word of this event.

Fourth industrial revolution

"Industry 4.0”, defined as the fourth industrial revolution, focused on digitalisation, was the core subject of this industry event. The lift industry is already active in various sectors. The thematic focus was the adaptation of "Industry 4.0” to the building or lift sector. The building industry also has to deal with digitalisation and it is very probable that without digital data very little will be possible in major projects in the building industry.

Public authorities in particular have announced they intend to become the driving force in digitalisation in this sector. Many other aspects of digitalisation were shown at the German Lift Day with the aim of determining where this development is leading us in relation to handling the product "lift.”

The subject was examined from various perspectives: the talks dealt with the driving forces of this development in the building industry, with current examples from the lift world and trends in the real estate industry.

BIM - building information modelling

The first talk by Dr Jan Tulke looked at BIM - building information modelling – which undoubtedly represented a central component in the digitalisation in the building sector. Ingo Oppelt illustrated what digitalisation in the service business of the lift industry could look like with a practical example and also pointed out general trends in the lift service area in this area.

Professor Volker Eichener considered the subject of digitalisation from the perspective of the resident or user and presented requirements, products and trends in the real estate industry. The key concept here is smart homes: for example, when the building is informed of the presence or absence of its residents, it can regulate the heating correspondingly, switch the lights on and off or if necessary also call the lift.

The participants were inspired by the talks, asked questions and then discussed their views on the subjects during dinner and at the bar. "The task today is not to find solutions. What counts is learning what could also be possible in future,” said Sascha Schmel, managing director of the VDMA Trade Association Lifts and Escalators. In view of the extraordinary success of the event, one can look forward to the 5th German Lift Day of the VDMA in two years.

Odo Hake, spokesman Communication Committee in VDMA

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