Escalators and elevators

Dialers in elevators have been around for over 30 years. Nothing new there. The units inside the elevators are 2 way voice dialers. The central station can have a 2 way conversation with the person when they pick up the emergency phone.

As far as the trouble and alarm supervision. Those usually get installed in the mechnical room. Most elevators & escalators are computer controlled. So it is not far fetch to have trouble or alarm relay outputs to trigger a digital dialer. For that matter, you can even use a standard alarm panel to do the same job.

The real problem that plagues the elevator industry is annual inspections. There was a news story here in Tampa where elevators went without inspection sometimes 3-5 years. But yet people are allowed to continue to use them. And at that same token, if a small, well run daycare goes 1 day past their annual fire alarm inspection, the Fire Marshal will close it down...but then there are public schools that have non functional fire systems sometimes going on 15 years without an inspection...stupid politics.

Jim Rojas

Thanks Jim on that!!

But I must add that I just wanted to know whether or not you can just hook up a telephone line to the elevators, program an account number and the phone number of the CMS and you can monitor the status of the elevator without adding anything?

I guess the two-way voice tranmittion is done over the "listen-in" feature. Has anyone done something like this? As they are using "Contact ID" protocols there surely must be someone out there that is actually using this??

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jim is correct that phones in elevators have been around for years. What changed the picture was the introduction of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Before that Act was passed, local codes dictated whether a phone was required in an elevator. It varied from city to city. What the ADA said was IF the local codes required an elevator phone, then that phone must provide equal access to everyone, including those with disabilities. That meant that phones with dials, whether rotary or touch tone had to go because they couldn't be operated by anyone with a sight impairment. Think about it, you're blind and stuck in an elevator. How can you dial out?

The next part of the ADA said that the phone couldn't require written instructions in order for the person to use it. Same reason--for the vision impaired. Also an important feature if you're in an elevator during a power failure and can't read the instructions because it's pitch black.

The ADA also dictated where the phone could be located in the elevator. In the past, most of these phones were mounted at eye level. But, if you're in a wheelchair, you can't reach that high. Also, if the phone had a cord, it had to be of a minimum length so a person in a wheelchair could use it.

After all these ADA regs came out, manufacturers developed elevator phones with dialers built in. They operate from a single push button. The ADA also said that there must be some visual indication that the emergency call has been received. So manufacturers made provisions to light a "Call Received" light. That's for hearing impaired users. On that same issue, the ADA requires a higher minimum volume level that's beyond most telephones.

Since most elevator occupants don't have a clue what the building address is, or what elevator cab they are in, the manufacturers started adding a built in location identifier.

Ultimately, some manufacturers starting including Contact ID format to handle all the ID information.

So, the bottom line is you cannot use an ordinary telephone with a dialer and still stay within the ADA requirments.

S>Hi to all...

Just a small note regarding these telephones. If the elevator your talking about is older, you most likely have a phone cabinet. Many of the new ADA telephones are very easy to program and can be done by the building manager. The issue you've got is this. If your elevator doesn't meet ADA code right now and is an older system you might not have to worry about it. The idea of mounting an ADA phone in a telephone cabinet is done all the time but isn't code compliant. At the same time the operable item of the telephone, the pushbutton is supposed to be between 33" and 48" from the finished floor. Don't quote me on that dimension as it varies from side and front return height. So the issue here is this, your current elevator system most likey doesn't meet ADA code but adding one isn't too difficult to do as they plug right into the existing line that the handset was on.

Tom is mostly correct in his last posting.

Many elevator manufacturers are now offering a built-in emergency phone. It's a standard ADA-complaint emergency phone that's sold without the case and mounted behind the control panel.

And yes, they offer contact I.D. format.

Years ago elevator companies used to receive the calls from elevator phones. That's because they were usually the first people you wanted to call if you were stuck in an elevator. These days building owners are much more liabilitiy conscious and want either onsite security or an alarm company to monitor these phones. That's because the elevator company is the last place you want to call if there's an assault inside an elevator. You want an ambulance and police, not an elevator repairman.

That's why manufacturers started offering Contact I.D. format. Monitoring elevators is easy money for alarm installers. It really is as easy as plugging the ADA compliant phone into the existing elevator telphone wiring. Programming can be done by calling into the phone and using touch tone commands.

However, you really should be up to date on the ADA regs and local code. Viking Electronics

offers an online pdf booklet covering all the ADA information. It's called ADA Guide in Plain English.

As long as the telephone cabinet meets ADA height requirements--no more than 48" from the floor and the door handle meets ADA grasping requirments, you can install and ADA compliant phone inside the cabinet.

Here are the other ADA specs:

1) A phone handset cord must be at least 29" long.

2) The phone must be hearing aid compatible OR offer a minimum 12 decibel volume boost above normal.

Here's another reason for contact I.D. directly from the ADA

"The emergency phone must NOT require voice communications alone. It is essential that emergency comunication not be dependent on voice communications alone because the safety of people with hearing or speech impairments could be jeopardized."

Contact I.D. gives the central station the exact location of the emergency.

3) Telephones must have push-gutton controls where service for such equipment is available.

4) Phones must have a visual indicator to let elevator occupants know that their call has been received.

The same way they found their way into the elevator and pressed the button for the correct floor, the biggest problem for a blind person would be finding the phone, not pressing the right buttons once they have located the thing..

Doug L

was the introduction of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

in an elevator. It varied from city to city. What the ADA said was IF the local codes required an elevator phone, then that phone must provide equal access to everyone, including those with disabilities. That meant that phones with dials, whether rotary or touch tone had to go because they couldn't be operated by anyone with a sight impairment. Think about it, you're blind and stuck in an elevator. How can you dial out?

I haven't seen an elevator phone with a rotary dial or dial pad on it in many years. All new models I've run across are programmed to dial a designated number when someone lifts the handset or presses the emergency call button.

instructions in order for the person to use it. Same reason--for the vision impaired. Also an important feature if you're in an elevator during a power failure and can't read the instructions because it's pitch black.

Most modern elevators have emergency lighting installed for just that reason but you really don't need to dial anything (see above).

past, most of these phones were mounted at eye level. But, if you're in a wheelchair, you can't reach that high. Also, if the phone had a cord, it had to be of a minimum length so a person in a wheelchair could use it.

These really are not unreasonable requirements. If you were in a wheelchair you'd certainly want to have access to an emergency calling system.

with dialers built in. They operate from a single push button. The ADA also said that there must be some visual indication that the emergency call has been received. So manufacturers made provisions to light a "Call Received" light. That's for hearing impaired users. On that same issue, the ADA requires a higher minimum volume level that's beyond most telephones.

While some manufacturers may have waited until ADA forced their hands, auto-dialling elevator phones have been around since a long time before ADA. We used to monitor a few of them. I've sold a few to electricians and even an occasional building owner who didn't want to hire a tech to replace an existing unit.

or what elevator cab they are in, the manufacturers started adding a built in location identifier.

Yep. Otis uses is caller ID. Their database displays the address, contact information and even the elevator cab number on multi-unit sites when the call comes in. They also employ electronic ID technology on their newer installations since it allows them to bank several cabs on a single phone line.

all the ID information. So, the bottom line is you cannot use an ordinary telephone with a dialer and still stay within the ADA requirments.

Correct. That would never make it past the inspector.

building owners use them, you open yourself and your customer up to huge liability issues if you try to skirt the telephone requirments by using an ordinary telephone.

True. The local AHJ might also cite the owner or worse.

Regards, Robert L Bass