Earlier in the previous posts “Lift Expert” wrote about possibility to install and actively use card readers in the lift industry. However, today in the lights of events in Zhitomir we’d like to raise the same issue again. Lift workers seriously consider an idea to install new equipment in their lifts.

In 2000 a big number of elevators were not put into operation because of the debt for the utilities. At the time, card readers became a solution and literally saved lift industry from devastation. Gradually all hoists and lifts were restored and the conflict with citizens of the city was resolved. Nevertheless, representatives of the opposition fraction “Front of changes” demanded to come back to the payment scheme that had been used to pay for technical lift maintenance services before. To put it another way, they demanded to stop using card readers and come back to a basic rate that would be included in the pay rent.

The officials took into account the fact that those people who have got facilities can’t actually use them, hence they developed the project “About taking measures to change lift maintenance in housing of Zhitomir Tower Council”.

Ad hoc commission of deputies and housing representatives was investigating current situation. After long negotiations they’ve come to the conclusion that this choice (whether to use card readers or not) should be made by people who live in this or that condominium in particular.

Gennadiy Zubko, a member of Parliament,  has informed the media that he declared cancellation of cards in his election campaign and he’s happy that a fraction has managed to regulate and realize at least half of the assigned tasks.

However, the question is, what will such disassembly of technical equipment result in regarding the lift industry? By far, it’s not easy to give an answer. Two years down the road, Gennadiy Zubko pointed out that return to the previous payment scheme won’t be beneficial for everybody.

On one hand, the cost of a single card is 25 hryvnia (100 trips). If a resident of the house uses this card in a rational way, he or she can easily travel by lift for a month and a half or so. On the other hand, those families which consist of four or more members will have to pay minimum 100 hryvnia each month, which is 2,5 the price of a basic rate.

Vladimir Deboy, the Mayor of the city, says that a decision should be made by the citizens. There are many advantages and disadvantages of using card readers, thus, he leaves making this choice to people. To read more about this topic, read the next issue of “Lift Expert”!

According to the portal “Lviv Express”, lifts of Lviv are going to be maintained by a

a special utility company. Yuriy Golets, the Head of Tower Council has made an official announcement that one of subdivisions of the enterprise “Lvivsvet” is going to resume work after its restructuring in the nearest future. He will be a responsible person to monitor technical maintenance and all repairing works of hoisting cranes. Local deputies have allocated a budget of 3 billion dollars to invest in works of mechanics and lift industry on the whole. They are going to train the staff, reconstruct the workshop and purchase new equipment.

It’s preliminarily planned to hire more than 50 employees. The enterprise will send young electromechanics to Kiev so that they can take working practices. The Tower Council has allocated 3,000 hryvnias for this educational project.

Yuriy Golets says that a new utility company will replace all private companies. It will start to maintain lifts from the 1st of July, 2013. A crew of mechanics will have rebuilt seven hoists by the 1st of September, 2013. It’s got to be mentioned that more than 1,500 lift of Lviv have already expired their normative term of operation.  

According to the information released by online edition “20 minutes”, on the 27th of March a young man fell a victim to an incident — an elevator rope broke in one of the lifts of Vinnitsa city. This happened in one of hardware stores at approximately 7 p.m. A man of 31 years age wanted to transport the fridge in the service lift but the rope didn’t withstand the load and fell right into the pit. Thanks to on time first aid, he is alive; however currently he has to stay in the intensive care unit.

Journalists of “Lift Expert” magazine report that a man is seriously injured. Doctors have diagnosed traumatic brain injury, abdominal injury and fracture of the pelvis.

In the meantime territorial administration has created a special commission to investigate this case. Read our next issue to find out the details of this investigation.

According to data of “Interfax Ukraine” Dnepropetrovsk Metro administration plans to continue to build their main branch using the funds collected from European Reconstruction and Development Bank. Victor Sergeev, an Advisor to the Chairman of public administration in Dnepropetrovsk region has reported that building works will start in the second half. Currently metro administration holds a contest between local administrations to find the one that would take on this project. According to the plan, future contractors will be using modern technologies, shield tunneling in particular, that can speed up the run of tunnels. However, considering soil peculiarities, one of the enterprises that will definitely be involved in this project is going to be “Dneprometrostroy” which specializes in blasting.

“Lift Expert” with an editorial office in Dnepropetrovsk reports that this week 30 workers of “Dneprometrostroy” have picketed near the office of Regional Administration demanding their wages. During the last four months company’s debt has increased to 3 million hryvnia.

Dmitry Kolesnikov, a Chairman of Regional public administration, gave his colleagues instructions regarding searching for investors and obligees. In addition, he voiced a pledge of the Cabinet of Ukraine to give one billion hryvnia for satisfying debts of those companies which worked on public projects last year.  

A communal enterprise “Kharkovgorlift” has launched a pilot project of automatical system for condominiums. Engineers have spoken with journalists from local TV channels and told them about the novelties.

A new system is called “a smart staircase” and consists of numerous massive iron doors, modernized intercom, automatic dimmer and lift management system. All a resident has to do is to just bring his key to an intercom pivot. An external side of such intercom has got a screen that displays all important information. Electronic moving text can inform people about new tariffs, for example, repairing works and debts.

Petr Lazarenko, a designer of this system, pointed out that “a smart staircase” has got several useful functions. For example, when someone comes close to a door gate, a dimmer automatically comes up. People feel much more secure with this function working.  When there’s none near the gate, the light fades away. Energy savings is not the only advantage of “a smart staircase”. When one brings his or her key to the intercom pivot, simultaneously a lift goes down on the ground floor and a resident of the house doesn’t have to wait. Another great function of the system is a possibility to get in a building with a single mobile call. Now if you’ve lost or forgotten your key somewhere, you still can get back home.

Anatolii Kandaurov, a head of a communal enterprise “Kharkovgorlift” has reported that designers are working on functionality improvements of “a smart staircase”. They plan to produce individual keys and set the alarm system. In case of a gas leak it will automatically open emergency exits and trigger an alarm. A head of the enterprise emphasized on safety guarantees of such system. The prices for the system are not known yet. Local officers need to repeatedly test and approve this system before it actually can be put into operation.

Press-people of the Ukrainian TV-channel TSN have reported that in the last couple of days Kiev subway has been making incredible profits. Heavy snowfalls caused a number of problems on the road and made people change their usual mini-buses for sleds and snowmobiles. Those ones who can’t ski, use subways. As a result, every morning you can see long queues in front of subway gates. According to preliminary data, only during the last day more than 200,000 people used Kiev Metro (that’s twice as many people as originally used to travel by subway). Yesterday subway workers managed to make about 400,000 hryvnia. Administration of the subway issued an order to shorten time interval between each train. And yet, in order to get into the train, people had to miss 1–2 runs. It was not easy to get to the platform as well. People had to wait in long queues for about 20 minutes to get to the escalator. Fortunately, no damage is done despite big crowds on “Vokzalnaya”, “Kreschatik” and “Maydan Nezalezhnosti” stations. Sergey Tkachuk, a head of communal enterprise “Kiev Metro” has reported that subway workers decided to regulate people flaw and speed of escalator to avoid big crowds and throngs.

No one is ready to predict the consequences  of such overload. We can only hope that weather conditions are going to improve in the nearest future and all escalators are going to be tested.

Today, according to the official data of online edition “Odessit.ua”, a woman of 54 years age came to militsiya department in district Suvorovski and informed law enforcement authorities about disorderly conduct in the condominium where she lives. A few strangers dismantled metal elevator doors and a video surveillance camera in the front. Militsiya officers spent a day investigating this case. Consequently two inhabitants from Odessa were taken under arrest. Young men of 28 years age admitted that they’d stolen metal elevator doors and video surveillance camera to the address during investigation. When they were asked what reasons coerced them to do that, they refered to work difficulties. The head of press-center of Head Ministry of Internal Affairs made an announcement that both malefactors are going to be imprisoned for the committed crime.