LIFT AI, MBTA EMBARK ON PILOT ELEVATOR-MONITORING PROGRAM

       In partnership with Newark, Delaware-based Liberty Elevator Experts, Internet of Things company Lift AI is starting a pilot elevator-monitoring program with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) under a two-year contract with two one-year options. The program will start with 10 elevators and, if deemed successful, be rolled out to additional elevators. The package includes set pricing for hardware and software and staff training for one year. If successful, the MBTA will use grant money to purchase additional remote-monitoring systems. Monitoring is set to start in a few weeks. MBTA tells ELEVATOR WORLD that, currently, elevator outages are reported manually as they are discovered, and the data is entered into a maintenance software tracking tool, which then publishes to the MBTA website and other digital channels. MBTA seeks to trial real-time monitoring to potentially automate the reporting of elevator outages to ensure that customers do not encounter elevators that are unknowingly out of service. MBTA adds that monitoring elevators over time will also allow it to better plan for upgrades and replacements.