OTIS SINGAPORE RESPONDS TO LENGTHY SMRT WORK

The Straits Times recently ran Otis Singapore’s response to concerns that work on an escalator refurbishment project at 42 SMRT Corp. stations in Singapore on the North-South and East-West lines would take a very long time. Only about 25% of the work has been completed since it began in summer 2016 (ELENET 567, 658 and 787). Otis said that due to the complexity of the units, each need about four months for refurbishment: a process that requires the removal, inspection, installation and replacement of more than 1,000 parts and major components. It added that each escalator being refurbished usually has one fixed team of workers assigned to it, rather than multiple teams working on it 24 hours a day. This, it says, helps “ensure seamless continuity of work.” Some escalators may take even longer than four months to complete due to additional issues discovered only after dismantling. This is the first major refurbishment of SMRT escalators since 1987, most of which is to be completed by 2022.