A big lift for elevator company

The mammoth task of maintaining and servicing thousands of elevators across the European continent is now considerably easier and much more efficient thanks to a wireless communication solution from Ericsson.

The company responsible for some 60,000 elevators discovered that by installing Ericsson modules in every single unit it could save huge amounts of time, energy and money in its day-to-day operations.

The modules enable the elevators to "report in" at pre-determined intervals, keeping the company continuously informed of functionality, the extent to which each elevator is being used and even which components need attention.

This information allows the company to plan preventive maintenance more efficiently – and to supply its customers with a highly professional and reliable service.

How to save money ‘just-in-time'

Instead of having to physically check its vending machines in order to determine if and when they need refilling, a Swedish company is now automatically informed if stocks start to run low.

The secret is wireless communication modules from Ericsson which are making a big contribution to the firm's efficiency and profitability.

As part of a campaign to step up its replenishment operations, the vendor installed the modules in all of its machines. These now continuously monitor the product mix and enable the company to determine which drinks or snacks to provide for each individual machine.

In addition, the modules provide information on the status of the systems in the machine and their likelihood of failure, enabling the owner to take preventive action.

In the process of rationalizing its operations, the company also set itself a target: to reduce the refill safety margin from 30 to 10 percent – close to what manufacturers call "just-in-time" deliveries. This excellent efficiency level, coupled with a system of computerized truck routing, has resulted in considerable cost savings all down the line.

One truck is now able to refill 11 machines a day instead of 10 and, ultimately, the company expects to service the same number of machines with only seven trucks, reducing its fleet by three.
An added bonus is that the Ericsson modules also report disturbances to functionality such as whether coins have become stuck in the mechanisms or if the machines have been vandalized.