FEATURE


LIFT OFF


Matt Davies, Head of Strategic Marketing at Avire, asks whether your lift’s alarms are ready for the digital switch.


Over the last few years Openreach, the UK’s telephone line infrastructure provider, has been rolling out fibre telephone lines as part of their ‘fibre first’ program. The legacy copper telephone line-based network has served the UK well but is no longer able to keep pace with our ever-increasing demand for data over voice services.


However, telephone lines service several applications other than internet connections, notably: lift alarms.


Traditionally lift alarms were connected to copper phone lines. The copper network was inherently resilient as the lines carried their own power and battery backups existing in the network to ensure the telephone line was always available. Short of the cables in the street being damaged by roadworks copper lines were there when you needed them.


Fibre lines change this picture dramatically. Fibre cannot carry power so relies on the mains power of the building. This has led to Communication Providers (CPs) warning customers that fibre lines cannot be relied upon in the event of a power failure.


Unfortunately, power failures are also a key cause of lift trappings. This then raises the very real possibility of a lift becoming stuck, trapping a passenger and the lift alarm equipment being rendered useless due to a simultaneous failure of the telephone line.


Lift alarm equipment includes a backup battery in case of a power failure and places regular test calls to prove that the equipment is in working order. The monitoring and recording of these test calls then becomes your audit trial.


It’s estimated that over 80% of all lift alarms in the UK are connected to telephones landlines today. Understanding what type of lines your lifts are connected too is now of critical importance.


Openreach announced in 2020 the beginning of their ‘Stop Sell’ programme. This means that when an exchange area reaches the point where 75% of the lines are fibre, no ‘new’ copper services will be provided. Reading a little


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deeper you find that the programme also includes no changes to existing copper lines either. This means that, for example, if you were to change your communication provider you would be switched from a copper line to a fibre service.


It’s therefore entirely likely that lifts have been switched from copper to fibre lines without lift owners necessarily understanding that the change has taken place.


How to ensure lift alarms have a


resilient communication link? Some communication providers have an optional battery backup available. Whilst this is an option, you’ll need to think about where that battery backup is located and how it will be monitored and maintained to ensure it’s in working order when it’s needed.


The alternative is to move away from fixed lines all together and switch to a GSM gateway connection for the lift alarm. This approach has several benefits:


• The on-board battery backup can be monitored remotely and can pro-actively issue alerts when the battery needs replacing.


• Roaming SIM cards ensure maximum signal strength and are typically cheaper than fixed lines.


• All the lift alarm’s test call data and information on gateway battery health, etc. can all be reported to one platform providing a full audit trail.


Speak to your lift maintenance provider as a matter of urgency to understanding the type of lift alarm you have installed and whether those alarms are connected to telephone lines or GSM gateways.


If your lift alarms are connected to telephone lines check if those lines have been switched over to fibre. If the lines are fibre, then consider switching to GSM.


www.avire-global.com/en-gb/digital-switch-uk/ TOMORROW’S FM | 27


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