Smartrise Engineering - Nonproprietary elevator control systems – 2019 Series

Colley Elevator experience with Smartrise Engineering –  I tell this story frequently. Colley Elevator ordered their first Smartrise Control system 12-13 years ago.  At that time I was not a believer in the backwards compatibility and other functions they where selling.  We ordered one and for a period of time we went to other vendors.  We started using Smartrise regularly about 4-5 years ago and had a main solid state board issue on the first one we installed[12-13 years ago] and they said “take a spare board from the shelf and plug it in”, we did.  It worked.  No lead time on parts, no next day shipping, we did all the programming through a lap top, the elevator was up and running the next day.  After that I was a believer. Sales and tech support have been very good and flexible.  We are on track to install 50-60 controllers from Smartrise this year.

[Two car traction control modernization]

[Hydraulic elevator control modernization]

Brief history of the company[age, ownership, location, other companies attached, etc.]  Smartrise was founded to satisfy the industry’s demand for a simpler elevator controller. Simplicity, coupled with superior tech support, available after hours, has propelled Smartrise Engineering to its position in the industry. Launched in 2004, Smartrise Engineering has become the largest independent open-market elevator controller manufacturer in the United States. Smartrise is owned and operated by four veteran elevator engineers with a combined century of elevator experience and expertise. To keep up with the demand and maintain a high level of support services, Smartrise has expanded once again, this time to Irving, TX. This allowed Smartrise to better serve our customers by decreasing shipping times and extending Tech Support hours even further. Smartrise’s Support Team is now in the office from 6:30 AM EST to 8:30 PM EST. This change will not impact after hours support, and Smartrise always has a technician on-call.

What is the company’s philosophy on non-proprietary technology?   Smartrise believes open-market is the next step of non-proprietary technology. An open-market controller allows for non-custom parts, such as VVVF drives and hydraulic soft-starters so future repairs can be easily done with minimal downtime.
Furthermore, Smartrise controller parts are available from multiple 3rd party vendors. As an open-market controller company, Smartrise provides controller systems that have minimal wiring requirements, low-cost spare parts that are available directly from Smartrise or 3rd party vendors and universal printed circuit boards that provide product consistency from jobsite to jobsite. Open-market controllers provide all the key concepts of non-proprietary but with the added benefits of ease of serviceability and product longevity. 
•    No Special diagnostic/adjustment tools are required.
•    Equipment can be maintained by any elevator contractor.
•    Parts can be sourced from multiple vendors.
•    Parts are available off the shelf.

What competitive advantage/strength does your control system have versus the competition?  Smartrise Engineering manufactures elevator control systems that are engineered to seamless provide continues elevator functionality, long term product reliability and serviceability to the highest of elevator industry standards. Smartrise specializes in the development of U.S certified elevator controller systems that maintain consistency by providing controllers and are “one-board systems”, “non-proprietary” and “open-market”. A one board system is a controller design specific to Smartrise that allows us to base our controller system off “one” primary PCB for simplicity and uniformity purposes. Non- proprietary elevator controller systems can be maintained by any certified elevator service provider with no special interfacing adjustment trouble-shooting tools required. Open-market controllers is unique to Smartrise and embodies the non-proprietary concept and more, by open-market Smartrise controllers have 3rd party vendors that also provide parts and direct access to Smartrise support services.

Some of the competitive advantages of Smartrise Controllers are: 
•    Limited expensive repair bills due to the open-market design and low cost of replacement parts
•    Provides ease of the installation process due to minimal travel cable requirements
•    Uniform product design between hydraulic and traction elevator controller systems
•    Removes the need for special tools
•    Available after hour technical support service, based out of the U.S
•    Minimize installation out-of-service times, due to minimal conductor requirements
•    Top recommended industry-rated support services

What markets do you service[low rise, mid rise, high rise, material lifts, etc]?  

Smartrise specializes in elevator building applications from 2-stop hydraulic to high-speed, multiple car groups with destination dispatch technology.
Additional information regarding Smartrise applications can be found at:
•    http://www.smartrise.us/
•    http://www.smartrise.us/about/
•    http://www.smartrise.us/products/

What is your controller’s primary platform[PLC, Microprocessor, etc]?  

Smartrise controllers are designed using state-of-the-art microprocessor technology.

What do you like most about the Chicago market?  

Besides the city’s rich history and large elevator community, Chicago has been a great place to continuously build a large portfolio with a wide range of elevator applications. From custom glass elevators to airports, to the downtown skyscrapers, it has been great to be a part of the constant elevator renovations and improvements in the Chicagoland area.

What challenges do you have in the Chicago market?  

The challenges we see in the Chicago market is insuring mechanics are aware of the training options Smartrise offers. Smartrise is able to provide over-the-phone, live online training, in person, and onsite training. There are also videos at http://www.smartrise.us/support/training-videos/ that are designed to be quick reference guides.

What are some marquis, challenging or fun projects you have done in the national market and more importantly the Chicago market?

Early on, Smartrise modernized (8) 55-stop traction cars in upper Downtown Chicago. The project was challenging because it was one of the first opportunities Smartrise had to show the capabilities of Smartrise traction control systems.
Smartrise has also recently renovated (4) traction 1,000 FPM elevators in Philadelphia. Integrating new equipment into old hoistways can be very challenging, also with the demand of high-speed cars the Smartrise engineering team was able to provide a modernization solution that greatly improved the ride quality, floor to floor times and overall building elevator traffic flow. With the team of Smartrise engineers that was part of the overall success of the installation, the project became another successful modernization for everyone involved.

What is on the horizon for the company?

With the completely redesigned Smartrise C4 controller, Smartrise is taken high-speed, high-rise applications to a whole new level. Smartrise has taken their standard SRA traction control system and modified it to be simpler to install but added the processing power to provide the latest technologies such as: destination dispatch, A.I. parking, Built in Pattern Generator, and Smart Pattern Tablet adjustments. The new C4 controller has the ability to move elevators 2,000+ FPM and 128 F\R openings. To see more you can visit us at smartrise.us or contact Smartrise sales at 916-457-5129 ext. 344

Additional information that makes the company unique

•    Smartrise is the largest privately owned and operated elevator controller manufacturer in the U.S. 
•    All Smartrise PCB boards are manufactured in the U.S
•    Smartrise offers 24/7 technical support services
•    Built on the industry leading Smartrise platform, C4 integrates a sophisticated pattern generator designed to minimize floor-to-floor times, adapt to elevator traffic fluctuations, and boost high-speed elevator traffic flow.

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.

Virginia Controls - Non proprietary elevator control systems – 2019 Series

Colley Elevator experience with Virginia Controls – Colley Elevator has a long and rich history with Virginia Controls.  The Chicago area market has a lot of Virginia Controls controllers installed by Automatic Elevator and Barnard Elevator, both companies are now defunct but they sure did install a lot of VC equipment.  We probably have 150-250 Virginia Control controllers in our maintenance portfolio. Everyone we have interacted with at the company over the years have been great!

Brief history of the company[age, ownership, location, other companies attached, etc.] Virginia Controls, Inc. (VCI) was founded in 1967. Since the company was founded we have had only 3 owners and now VCI is under the ownership of Fred Landon. Fred Landon just recently celebrated 29 years of ownership of VCI in January 2019. VCI is located in Richmond, VA and has been since the company was founded. VCI remains one of the only privately and locally owned controller companies in the industry.

What is the company’s philosophy on non-proprietary technology? VCI views non-proprietary as a product that can be maintained, serviced, and repaired by any journeyman elevator mechanic. We also believe that parts and tech support should be made available to whichever elevator contractor the end user decides will maintain this equipment. VCI provides free tech support for the life of our products and has parts available for all elevator contractors preforming service and repairs to our equipment. 

What competitive advantage/strength does your control system have versus the competition? When VCI asks it's very loyal customer base this very question the answers generally come back to 3 majors subjects. The first advantage that our customers mention is our great tech support. While tech support is more service based we believe it is an extension of the product that is very important. Our tech support is handled by our engineers and our in-house quality control experts. The next advantage is product durability and reliability. We feel that this is equally important to the tech support. Lastly, after unveiling our newest Vision 2.0 serial controller, our customers have been giving great feedback on how much easier and quicker our product is to install. This feedback comes after the recent release and install of our Vision 2.0 controller system. 

What markets do you service[low rise, mid rise, high rise, material lifts, etc]? While most of the projects that VCI are a part of fall into the low-rise and mid-rise market we are certainly capable of and involved in much more. VCI has a huge presence in the low-rise and hydraulic market but also have a long history of high rise traction work as well as many specialty projects. VCI has been the standard hydraulic controller of choice for many of the hydraulic elevator package companies over the years so that tends to be our largest market. VCI is also often the go-to controller company for special projects such as material lifts, explosion proof, harsh environment, and transit authorities. We are also involved in the ever growing LULA market as well.

What is your controller’s primary platform[PLC, Microprocessor, etc]? Most of VCI's controllers are microprocessor based. VCI also does have a long history with PLC based controllers as well. Currently we do still offer both options to make sure we best meet our customer's needs.

What do you like most about the Chicago market? VCI has a very long history in the Chicago market and very much enjoys the people and relationships that come with this market. It is also a great market in our eyes due to the variety that the market offers. This fits well with VCI as we offer products to fill the needs of this very diverse market.

What challenges do you have in the Chicago market? VCI's largest hurdle with the Chicago market is probably being able to stay in front of the market as it changes and grows. Over the last few years VCI has become even more involved in this market and we continue to work on this every year.

What are some marquis, challenging or fun projects you have done in the national market and more importantly the Chicago market? VCI's marquis jobs really stretch all over the board. Some of our more notable projects include LAX Airport, New York City Housing Authority, Kennedy Space Center, World Trade Center Transportation Hub and many transit authorities all over the country. VCI has also been part of many Government projects in and out of this country. The project that stands out most for VCI in Chicago is the original Marshall Field's building in Downtown Chicago. While this project is a bit dated now it is still a project that VCI recalls quite well and was a large part of VCI's history in Chicago.

What is on the horizon for the company? VCI is currently in the process of releasing our latest controller system to the market known as Vision 2.0! Vision 2.0 is VCI's second generation serial controller which is a blend of our first generation serial controller (Vision) along with the wish list items taken from our wide spread customer base. 

If you have any questions or would like additional information feel free to contact me at CraigZ@colleyelevator.com or 630-766-7230 ext. 107.

Also check us out on Instagram @Colleyelevator see what we have been up to.