COVID-19 Elevator Safety for Building Managers

At the moment, we’re all dealing with exceptional circumstances that require exceptional measures.  While building owners and managers hold a great responsibility to their tenants and visitors, it is important to remember that everyone plays a key part in keeping us all safe from COVID-19.

COVID-19 Risks

“Elevators are not a hot spot for transmission.  Time is our biggest risk reducer.  The short time people spend on elevators together will mitigate against large amounts of transmission.” –Dr. Todd Ellerin, Director of Infectious Diseases at South Shore Health, Weymouth, MA

There are two ways COVID-19 could spread in an elevator.  The first is from a fellow rider carrying the virus and the second is from particles expelled by a previous rider, that remain inside the elevator.  Experts agree that airborne viruses are more contagious over long periods on human contact.  As elevator rides are relatively short, the risk of transmission directly from other people is smaller than for example working together with someone in the same office for several hours.  To stay protected, it’s important to practice good hand hygiene, observe social distancing, and wear a mask.

Building Managers’ Responsibilities

We all share a responsibility to maintain safety in every aspect of using and managing our public spaces, including elevators and lobbies.  The potential health risk of using elevators is something many people are concerned about at the moment.  As an owner or manager of a residential or commercial building, you will be expected to help promote elevator safety for your tenants and visitors when using and moving through your spaces.

Elevator passengers should be prepared to wear a mask, limit the number of passengers inside the cabin, load the elevator in a checkerboard pattern facing forward, avoid conversations, and allow the person nearest the button panel to select everyone’s destination floors, using a tissue, a keyring or similar.

Elevator Safety Products

During difficult times, innovation drives new development, and we have several creative solutions available to ease the minds of elevator passengers and building operators.

Voice-activated Elevator Controls

While button controls may not be completely eliminated, voice-activated controls in elevators can help to drastically reduce physical touchpoints.

Touchless Buttons

There are several solutions available to allow passengers to avoid touching the buttons including mobile app connectivity, automated floor access, and touch free sensor buttons.

Cab Air Purifiers

Air purification inside the elevator cabin can be done using solutions with UV-C light or ozone.  Some of these devices can eliminate more than 99% of germs and viruses, and can be programmed to run automatically, triggered by people entering the cab, or set at specific time intervals.

How We Support Your Business

We believe in understanding, supporting, and communicating with our customers to provide a genuinely enjoyable and safe service experience.  Our service teams are standing by for all maintenance activities and call-back as normal, to ensure the availability of your systems.  Please feel free to contact us at 1-800-220-4046 or info@kencorelevator.com