Elevator quality innovation led by a parts manufacturer
D&D, an elevator parts specialist company (CEO Lee Hyo-yong), completed construction of its own test tower with an investment of approximately KRW 3 billion. The facility is 30 meters high and can test-operate up to four elevators at the same time, an investment that is highly unusual in Korea’s small and medium-sized elevator industry.
In most cases, elevator test towers are built by finished elevator manufacturers, but D&D, despite being a parts specialist company that does not manufacture finished products, unusually built a test tower itself.
CEO Lee Hyo-yong said, “The reality is that most domestic elevator companies are small and lack the financial capacity to equip themselves with test facilities,” and added, “As a supplier of TM (Traction Machine), we decided to build the tower in order to provide an environment where customers can properly use our products and test their performance.”
Why is a parts manufacturer building an elevator test tower? “For mutual growth with finished-product manufacturers”
D&D is not an elevator manufacturer. However, that point rather further highlights the significance of this investment.
CEO Lee said, “The elevator industry is not a competition only of finished products. The entire system becomes stable only when the parts are good. We have a structure in which we do well only when elevator companies do well. That is why we had no choice but to step forward first.”
In particular, in the reality where small and medium-sized manufacturers install and adjust parts at rented sites without a proper test environment, D&D expects this tower to serve as a foundation for improving the quality of finished products.
After elevator companies install elevators on site, there are many cases in which there are no problems under the specifications, but customer complaints arise over noise or vibration. However, facilities in operation have limitations in repeatedly conducting various tests.
CEO Lee explained the reason for building the tower, saying, “To accurately determine whether these on-site issues are problems of design or assembly, or problems of interference between parts, a space where repeated testing is possible is necessary,” and “The process of mounting a product, changing it, running it, and testing it creates quality. Such experiments are difficult on site. That is why this space was needed.”
An in-house test tower is a ‘practical alternative’ that reduces cost and time
Another key purpose of the test tower is to reduce the burden of “cost and time” in the testing and certification process. To test the safety of its Safety Gear, D&D traveled to and from the Elevator Safety Technology Institute test site in Geochang, Gyeongnam, spending approximately KRW 80 million. It was a massive burden, including rail transportation, installation, removal, labor costs and travel expenses.
CEO Lee said, “We did not want to repeat this, and because other companies are experiencing the same difficulties, we thought we should try it first.”
CEO Lee’s calculation is that if companies conduct safety tests directly at their own towers and receive certification, they can reduce time and costs by more than half compared with testing at the Geochang site. This is because the structure only requires the certification officer of the Korea Elevator Safety Agency to confirm safety at the company’s test tower site. In fact, since the introduction of the safety certification system, companies with a certain level of order volume often own test towers for this reason.
However, one disappointing point is that the agency prefers Safety Gear tests to be conducted at the Geochang Technology Institute test tower. This is a policy intended to increase the utilization of facilities built with tax revenue, but to companies equipped with their own test towers, it may appear to be a double standard.
CEO Lee said, “We understand the agency’s position, but more flexible operation is needed in consideration of practical inconvenience and cost issues.”
Testing possible for 12-ton elevators and 5-ton TM...contributing to the overall industry as an open test tower
This test tower was designed in accordance with elevator certification standards, and testing of elevators up to 12 tons and 5-ton-class Traction Machines is possible. Considering conditions close to an actual operating environment, windows were installed on both sides of each floor to secure natural light, and a structure was adopted that can measure noise and vibration during testing. Its distinguishing feature is that it was designed around actual test efficiency and quality verification, rather than simply emphasizing height and scale.
In addition, above all, the policy is to open this tower to outside companies without conditions. D&D’s position is that it will not even charge electricity fees.
“If we had built it only for our own use, we would not have invested this much money,” CEO Lee said, adding, “Any company truly interested in quality improvement is welcome to come and use it as much as it wants.”
Responding to overseas exports and securing buyer trust
D&D exports various elevator parts to Japan, Vietnam, the Middle East and other markets. Visits by foreign buyers have also become more frequent, and physical test facilities that can give them confidence in D&D as a manufacturer were needed.
CEO Lee said, “When buyers visit our company, we can also use the tower as a space to show them the facilities and explain how much we have invested in quality. It is different from simply looking at products.”
A formal test tower completion ceremony is also scheduled to be held around this coming autumn, with major customers and overseas buyers invited. Test operation is planned to begin around June, when the elevator installation is completed, and certification testing by an elevator company receiving model certification with D&D’s TM is scheduled to proceed.
D&D hopes that this investment will be interpreted not simply as a choice for its own competitiveness, but as an attempt to improve the overall constitution of Korea’s elevator industry.
CEO Lee said, “Regulations are being strengthened, and elevator-related laws and regulations are becoming stricter every year. Companies must also recognize that the era has arrived in which it is difficult to survive any longer by doing business only in the existing way. I hope this tower will become one opportunity to accept such change.”
<Copyright ⓒ Monthly Elevator & Parking Systems(www.liftasia.com). Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited>
Elevator quality innovation led by a parts manufacturer
D&D, an elevator parts specialist company (CEO Lee Hyo-yong), completed construction of its own test tower with an investment of approximately KRW 3 billion. The facility is 30 meters high and can test-operate up to four elevators at the same time, an investment that is highly unusual in Korea’s small and medium-sized elevator industry.
In most cases, elevator test towers are built by finished elevator manufacturers, but D&D, despite being a parts specialist company that does not manufacture finished products, unusually built a test tower itself.
CEO Lee Hyo-yong said, “The reality is that most domestic elevator companies are small and lack the financial capacity to equip themselves with test facilities,” and added, “As a supplier of TM (Traction Machine), we decided to build the tower in order to provide an environment where customers can properly use our products and test their performance.”
Why is a parts manufacturer building an elevator test tower? “For mutual growth with finished-product manufacturers”
D&D is not an elevator manufacturer. However, that point rather further highlights the significance of this investment.
CEO Lee said, “The elevator industry is not a competition only of finished products. The entire system becomes stable only when the parts are good. We have a structure in which we do well only when elevator companies do well. That is why we had no choice but to step forward first.”
In particular, in the reality where small and medium-sized manufacturers install and adjust parts at rented sites without a proper test environment, D&D expects this tower to serve as a foundation for improving the quality of finished products.
After elevator companies install elevators on site, there are many cases in which there are no problems under the specifications, but customer complaints arise over noise or vibration. However, facilities in operation have limitations in repeatedly conducting various tests.
CEO Lee explained the reason for building the tower, saying, “To accurately determine whether these on-site issues are problems of design or assembly, or problems of interference between parts, a space where repeated testing is possible is necessary,” and “The process of mounting a product, changing it, running it, and testing it creates quality. Such experiments are difficult on site. That is why this space was needed.”
An in-house test tower is a ‘practical alternative’ that reduces cost and time
Another key purpose of the test tower is to reduce the burden of “cost and time” in the testing and certification process. To test the safety of its Safety Gear, D&D traveled to and from the Elevator Safety Technology Institute test site in Geochang, Gyeongnam, spending approximately KRW 80 million. It was a massive burden, including rail transportation, installation, removal, labor costs and travel expenses.
CEO Lee said, “We did not want to repeat this, and because other companies are experiencing the same difficulties, we thought we should try it first.”
CEO Lee’s calculation is that if companies conduct safety tests directly at their own towers and receive certification, they can reduce time and costs by more than half compared with testing at the Geochang site. This is because the structure only requires the certification officer of the Korea Elevator Safety Agency to confirm safety at the company’s test tower site. In fact, since the introduction of the safety certification system, companies with a certain level of order volume often own test towers for this reason.
However, one disappointing point is that the agency prefers Safety Gear tests to be conducted at the Geochang Technology Institute test tower. This is a policy intended to increase the utilization of facilities built with tax revenue, but to companies equipped with their own test towers, it may appear to be a double standard.
CEO Lee said, “We understand the agency’s position, but more flexible operation is needed in consideration of practical inconvenience and cost issues.”
Testing possible for 12-ton elevators and 5-ton TM...contributing to the overall industry as an open test tower
This test tower was designed in accordance with elevator certification standards, and testing of elevators up to 12 tons and 5-ton-class Traction Machines is possible. Considering conditions close to an actual operating environment, windows were installed on both sides of each floor to secure natural light, and a structure was adopted that can measure noise and vibration during testing. Its distinguishing feature is that it was designed around actual test efficiency and quality verification, rather than simply emphasizing height and scale.
In addition, above all, the policy is to open this tower to outside companies without conditions. D&D’s position is that it will not even charge electricity fees.
“If we had built it only for our own use, we would not have invested this much money,” CEO Lee said, adding, “Any company truly interested in quality improvement is welcome to come and use it as much as it wants.”
Responding to overseas exports and securing buyer trust
D&D exports various elevator parts to Japan, Vietnam, the Middle East and other markets. Visits by foreign buyers have also become more frequent, and physical test facilities that can give them confidence in D&D as a manufacturer were needed.
CEO Lee said, “When buyers visit our company, we can also use the tower as a space to show them the facilities and explain how much we have invested in quality. It is different from simply looking at products.”
A formal test tower completion ceremony is also scheduled to be held around this coming autumn, with major customers and overseas buyers invited. Test operation is planned to begin around June, when the elevator installation is completed, and certification testing by an elevator company receiving model certification with D&D’s TM is scheduled to proceed.
D&D hopes that this investment will be interpreted not simply as a choice for its own competitiveness, but as an attempt to improve the overall constitution of Korea’s elevator industry.
CEO Lee said, “Regulations are being strengthened, and elevator-related laws and regulations are becoming stricter every year. Companies must also recognize that the era has arrived in which it is difficult to survive any longer by doing business only in the existing way. I hope this tower will become one opportunity to accept such change.”
<Copyright ⓒ Monthly Elevator & Parking Systems(www.liftasia.com). Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited>