Is Air in Elevators Safe?

California Buildings News • Q3 2020

Is Air in Buildings Safe to Breathe?

Experts Say Good Ventilation, Clean Air Are Essential — Especially in Elevators

Airborne transmission of COVID-19 is said to be the most insidious, with dangerous coronavirus particles floating in the air long after the person who coughed, breathed heavily or sneezed has gone.

There is no “zero risk reduction process” that can ensure perfectly safe air quality inside buildings, San Francisco architect Ned Fennie Jr. recently told a webinar audience sponsored by griddig, the office leasing software company. The goal must be, he said, “building trust” that makes it easier for people to return to their offices, and that begins by creating higher levels of transparency. The principal of the firm Fennie & Mehl Architecture said there will be a powerful new focus now on offices that protect the health of employees and customers. But is that possible?

Guttman & Bloevoet engineers Tunde Munz and Ashwin Pandt have designed air handling systems for environments as critical as hospital operating rooms as well as general offices. In their opinion increasing mechanical air circulation makes workplaces much safer, especially drawing in more outside air and flushing out air that has been contaminated.

Air Quality and Surfaces Inside Elevators

Ensuring safer air in elevators is crucial. Tall buildings rely on vertical transportation, and when long lines await a lift that allows only four people at a time in a cab, morning, lunch hour and evening rides will get hectic. Unless elevator companies can come up with new technology.

UV-C is promising, but rarely used yet and needs review.

Honeywell Buildings Technologies “can work with customers to deploy UV-C lights in commercial elevators. The UV-C lights are installed on the elevator ceiling and operated only when the space is unoccupied based on occupancy sensor data. The lights can also be scheduled to run at specific times based on occupancy (i.e., during off-work hours at a specific site),” says spokeswoman Megan McGovern.

Fujitec makes elevators that ventilate air. Specifically designed for cab interiors, its product IONFUL ® transports ions via generator through the ventilation system where they attach, surround and break down potentially harmful particles, releasing purified water vapor as the byproduct. (See page XX for more information.)

SCS Elevator Products, a leader in making braille buttons and signage, is offering TouchPoint, a 3M urethane film with antimicrobial properties infused with silver ions to combat pathogens. (See page 12.)

“As buildings plan for graduated reentry,” says Schindler spokesperson Kim Hoskins, “Schindler has developed several technologies that help to mitigate the risk of bacterial spread while providing greater peace of mind for our customers and their tenants: Ultra UV/UV Pro &

California Buildings News • Q3 2020

CleanRail handrail sanitization solutions that use UV-C light and antimicrobial innovations to treat handrails; a variety of touchless elevator operations options including Schindler PORT/myPORT and ElevateMe technologies that provide advanced rider customization and tailored traffic flows, and Shuttle modes, which run the elevator like an escalator, continuously moving from floor to floor.” She said, “We understand this is a time of unprecedented stress for building owners and managers. It’s our goal to be the greatest partner we can be, problem-solving alongside them and helping navigate the transition to our collective ‘new normal’.”

UV-C and Other Elevator Technology Explained

“National Elevator Industry Inc. members have been hard at work to prepare elevator and escalator equipment for the safe reopening and maintenance of buildings amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” says spokeswoman Nicole Van Velzen. “This includes the introduction and/or modernization of ultraviolet light (UV) sterilization technologies. Many manufacturers have a variety of UV solutions available to sanitize elevator cars, and escalator and moving walk handrails. In addition, touchless elevator operations have been in development for years, and the global recovery from

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California Buildings News

Making Elevators and Escalator Surfaces Safer to Touch

SCS Elevator Products Inc., the leader in elevator braille, buttons and signage, is partnering with RailEyes’ TouchPoint product line to protect elevator surfaces from harmful microbes and pathogens.

TouchPoint is a 3M urethane film with antimicrobial properties that is infused with silver ions to combat pathogens. This internationally-certified product works by pathogens upon contact, thus killing micro-organisms and inhibiting their growth. Our tear, slip, scratch, scuff, and slide-resistant product protects surfaces for two years, providing a long-term solution.

TouchPoint does not interfere with any mechanical functions—it can be applied to a variety of surfaces ranging from touchscreens to buttons to handles, among

others. Particularly, it can be applied to elevator buttons, panels, and many other surfaces without any interference. Moreover, social distancing messaging can be added with SCS Elevator Products’ new line of aluminum signs, static clings and vinyl feet decals to double down on safety.

RailEyes also offers graphics on antimicrobial escalator handrails, steps, and risers. Art and ads on escalator moving parts capture attention and recall. Focusing escalator riders’ attention on moving graphics is proven to improve rider safety.

The new normal requires normalizing new solutions. SCS and RailEyes are committed to covering all the bases to keep high touch surfaces safer. To learn more contact

Michelle at michelle@scselevatorproducts.com.

www.scselevatorproducts.com

California Buildings News • Q3 2020

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Healthy Air Is Essential

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COVID-19 will undoubtedly make these innovations highly popular for building owners. While we do not yet have information to indicate how many of these technologies have been adopted or implemented, we are working actively to gather that data.

“Since the start of the outbreak, NEII has been working diligently to prepare recommendations for both facility managers and riders as it relates to vertical mobility, updating as necessary to ensure those recommendations are in line with both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Beyond technologies and in alignment with global health organization expertise, the industry encourages facility managers to regularly clean and disinfect the elevator buttons and other high-touch surfaces. We know social distancing decals and signage are being utilized in elevator cars and lobbies, and NEII recommends all riders to wear face masks and avoid speaking in elevators to minimize the transmission of airborne germs,” Van Velzen explained.

Frank Agraz, at Eco Engineering Inc. and Dr. Timothy D. Unruh, Executive Director of the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) said this about UV-C: “One of the major COVID-related challenges facing facility owners and operators nationwide is the disease transmission risk presented by elevators, restrooms and other essential high-traffic indoor spaces. A type of ultraviolet light known as UV-C has emerged in recent months as a leading-edge and effective technology that helps mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by inactivating the virus on surfaces and in the air. While UV-C light has been used to disinfect industrial surfaces and water for decades, it’s now being rapidly adopted by the commercial and public real estate sectors as a health and safety measure.

“UV-C light fixtures can disinfect the air in several ways, including by exposing unoccupied indoor rooms to sustained ultraviolet irradiation and by irradiating airflow as it passes through heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. This technology, now designed as smaller devices with motion sensors that can be mounted on walls, can be calibrated to regularly disinfect elevator buttons and surfaces in restrooms while spaces are unoccupied. Combine this with the disinfection of the airstream and building owners can rest assured they are better mitigating the predominant risk faced by tenants—airborne disease transmission.

California Buildings News

Emerald Plaza Events Confirm KEARNY’s Decision to Implement Kings III Phone Monitoring

Active Shooter Drill Reveals How Kings III Helped Close Gaps in Security

KEARNY hosted and participated in a large-scale active shooter drill soon after Kings III's installation. The event was organized by BOMA San Diego to include first responders and was sponsored by Kings III. During the drill, the shooter entered the building and accessed office tower floors via the elevators. Participants simulating injured victims were able to access nearby elevator phones to call for help. Highly trained dispatchers demonstrated a skilled response to the situation, staying on the line while simultaneously contacting necessary authorities included in the demonstration. This drill simulated a real-life scenario from another Kings III customer where there was an active shooter on property and exposed the gaps in systems that rely on in-house security to call for help.

A Word from Kearny... "We believe we can now provide the highest and best service to our tenants and customers, knowing they have the ability to get immediate assistance in the event of an elevator issue, entrapment, or other emergency that may arise." — Sonia Miro, RPA, Director of Property Management Evaluating a vendor relationship requires reporting data and time, but nothing resonates quite like real life events to demonstrate firsthand the benefits a trade partner brings to the table. KEARNY Real Estate experienced just that, twice in fact, soon after implementing Kings III for their elevator phone monitoring at Emerald Plaza, an iconic 30-story Class A Office Tower in San Diego.

Emergency Avoided During Planned Electrical Shut Down

In spite of notifying tenants multiple times during weeks leading up to it, a planned building-wide electrical shut down created a real-life emergency situation. As soon as the power shut off was scheduled, a tenant became trapped in an elevator.

The entrapped person was able to call for help via the Kings III elevator phone that has a built-in battery back-up. The Kings III dispatcher immediately notified on-site security staff and the tenant was freed within 15 minutes. Before installing Kings III, the previous intercom system would not have worked without electricity, which would have resulted in the tenant being stuck for up to 10 hours overnight.

See the full story: go.kingsiii.com/emerald-plaza Learn more about Kings III: www.kingsiii.com (833) 339-0616 s sales@kingsiii.com

California Buildings News • Q3 2020

Healthy Air Is Essential

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“Given that many COVID-related mitigation techniques Control and Protection,” says Margie J. Harvey, senior can significantly increase energy consumption, facility marketing manager. owners and managers should only consider these changes in “For example, we recommend frequent cleaning of combination with a comprehensive energy approach, such elevator fixtures, increased ventilation and air treatment, as those offered by NAESCO-accredited energy service updated car occupancy restrictions, mask requirements, companies (ESCO).” and the use of technology and adjusted equipment settings

The International to manage rider traffic Ultraviolet Association and reduce the need to (IUVA) believes that UV touch elevator fixtures. disinfection technologies Adjusted settings might can play a role in a mulinclude allowing elevators tiple barrier approach to to run at higher speeds reducing the transmisto minimize time in the sion of the virus causing car. Some buildings can COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, reduce travel and wait based on current disintimes with destination fection data and empirical dispatch systems like evidence. UV is a known our Destination Oriented disinfectant for air, water Allocation System and surfaces that can help (DOAS ® ). To eliminate to mitigate the risk of interaction with elevator acquiring an infection in fixtures, we offer a new contact with the COVIDsmartphone application 19 virus when applied “UV-C light fixtures can disinfect the air in several ways, including that enables authorized correctly. by exposing unoccupied indoor rooms to sustained ultraviolet users to summon an eleManaging Elevators irradiation and by irradiating airflow as it passes through vator from anywhere in During the Pandemic Managing the flow heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems." the building.” Boston Properties of people using eleva— National Association of Energy Service Companies Danny Murtagh, vice tors is a major issue. president for engineering, Technology can be used says, “Many elevator conto mitigate problems. Glenn Good, general manager of the sultants have concluded that a max capacity of four persons iconic Tishman Speyer-managed 333 Bush Street Tower in (one in each corner) in an elevator is acceptable, providing San Francisco, says, “In the high-rise, Schindler was able face coverings are worn and persons all face away from to modify the destination dispatch software to only accept each other and distance to the four corners of the elevator. four passengers per elevator by way of counting hall calls Another consideration is the actual time in the elevator to for the elevators. In the low-rise, Schindler altered the conget to the floors. Most elevator trip times are less than a few troller programming by changing the maximum load of minutes, and we know now that the contact or dwell time each elevator to 25% capacity which is 750 lbs. When any for an infection is much more than that. low-rise elevator hits its 750 lbs. capacity, it will not move “Now when you have four people in an elevator in many until someone gets off the elevator and it will not accept any cases, you will be slightly less than 6 feet apart, but as more new call assignments from the controller until there mentioned above, other factors, like face coverings, facis less than the capacity riding it. This is important to note ing away from each other and trip or time to destination because the elevator will NOT move.” or floor being about a minute. If you lower the count to

“Mitsubishi Electric manufacturers and services three using the Pythagorean theorem in the above elevator elevators, so we mitigate risks for passengers through our you can usually get to the 6 feet spacing with a triangular technology, our best practices during servicing, and by positioning approach and is an option as well. Now that’s recommending adherence to guidance from experts like speaking to typical office elevators. Smaller elevators exist in the National Elevator Industry, Inc and Centers for Disease parking garages, offices in low-rise or 2-3-4 story buildings