64 ACCESSIBILITY & LIFTS
level entry to enable smooth entrance and exit. The relevant standard will ensure compliance to much of these but consideration should be given to landing entrances as part of the specification.
Passenger lifts These lifts can range in size from three to 33 person capacity and beyond, though eight-person is the most common, as it is specified in Part M. There are different types of passenger lifts, depending on the environment such as firefighting and evacuation lifts used in case of an emergency, or heavy duty or vandal resistant lifts for more demanding environments. Passenger lifts fall under the Lifts Regulations 2016, meaning they travel faster than 0.15 m/s, allowing for relatively rapid movement of people through a building – typically, a journey takes around 18 seconds between floors. The installation of a passenger lift requires a lift shaft to be built to house a passenger car and mechanism.
They can be designed to fit most sizes of lift shafts and structures and are best suited for new buildings, where pre-construction makes it easier to fit, or where there is an
existing shaft. Of course, there will be a requirement in a building where the lift will get extensive use – either due to the building size or because the lift will be the primary means of travelling between floors, or one that demands better management of high traffic flow of people and large capacities.
Platform lifts
Platform lifts are best suited to smaller passenger numbers travelling shorter distances. These access lifts can range in size from one person/wheelchair user to up to five people. There are many variants within the platform lift ‘family.’ Due to a slower speed, they are designed to provide vertical movement between floors in a low rise building – typically between two to four floors. A platform lift’s speed is limited to 0.15 m/s or less (they fall under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations, so travel time between floors averages around 22 seconds). Platform lifts can be used indoors or out for both vertical and inclined travel and are good for low rise buildings or where space is tight.
Alastair Stannah is managing director at Lifts Distribution & Service (UK)
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF DECEMBER 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
