What is Destination Dispatch?
The majority of multi-elevator properties are still following the traditional approach where all passengers enter any available lift and then request their destination. This is leading to increased wait times and higher energy costs.
Furthermore, the traditional elevators do not restrict users from accessing floors they are unauthorized to visit. This leads to inefficient elevator access control, which poses a threat to the physical assets of the property.
To alleviate these concerns, the property managers of multi-story buildings can install a safe, reliable, and efficient elevator system that increases building security and user convenience.
Destination dispatch, a traffic optimization technique that groups passengers heading to the same destination into the same elevator, helps property managers create an efficient elevator system. It enables passengers to request their desired floor by presenting access credentials at the access reader installed in the elevator lobby.
By avoiding unnecessary floor stops, the destination dispatch system increases the handling capacity by 30% and reduces the trip times by 25%.
Today, many elevator brands offer destination dispatch technology to facilitate touchless elevators that help organize traffic in lobbies and provide better accessibility for passengers. For instance, Schindler offers PORT (Personal Occupant Requirement Terminal) Destination Dispatch technology for a faster, more efficient, and touchless access experience in elevators.
Read on to learn more about the importance and benefits of touchless elevators for properties with multiple elevator installations.
Why Touchless Elevators are Important
A research study identified that elevator pushbuttons contain more bacteria than any other surface, including toilet flushers, in healthcare settings. Another research study revealed that elevator buttons in educational institutions could transmit pathogenic bacteria.
Beginning from the pandemic of 2020, elevator hygiene concerns intensified for all types of multi-story properties. For instance, 71 people were infected with COVID-19 because they used the same elevator the infected person used. Here, the contact points that caused the spread of the disease were the lift buttons.
Touchless technology helps property managers reduce the spread of infections and maintain elevator hygiene through contactless credentials such as proximity cards and mobile keys.
Furthermore, touchless elevators come with an advanced elevator dispatch system that helps property managers program elevators with options such as limiting the number of passengers assigned to each cab to maintain social distancing norms and automatic transportation to pre-defined floors.
Key Benefits of Touchless Elevators
Touchless elevator solutions offer a range of benefits to both users and property managers.
Easy to Use
The main problem with traditional elevators is that all people will try to take the same elevator cab, regardless of which floor they are going to. This often results in a clumsy environment, making it difficult for people with special needs to take the elevator cab.
Touchless elevators, with the help of destination dispatch technology, will eliminate this problem and increase the ease of use for passengers.
To increase the ease of use, property managers can:
- Configure elevator cabs to stop at a few selected floors.
- Create separate turnstiles for each elevator.
- Use LCD screens to display floor numbers where the elevator cab will stop.
- Guide passengers to present their access cards at the turnstile to gain access to the elevator cab that is going to their desired floors.
Physical Security
Different types of people, including full-time employees, part-time employees, suppliers, customers and others will filter through the access control systems of a global enterprise. With traditional elevators, it is difficult for security teams to restrict unauthorized people from accessing high-risk floors of the building. This makes the organization vulnerable to theft, vandalism and violence.
Touchless elevator systems may help enterprises reduce the possibility of physical security threats by restricting unauthorized people from accessing high-risk floors of the building.
Security admins can use custom access control mechanisms such as role-based, rule-based and attribute-based access control to restrict unauthorized users from accessing certain floors. For instance, a visitor arriving at the office building to meet a sales manager on the second floor will be given access to only the second floor of the building. The visitor may need to present the access card at the lobby to request an elevator cab that is going to the second floor.
Likewise, security admins can use attributes such as department and designation of the employee to restrict them from accessing elevators that are going to high-risk floors where data centers, servers and valuable assets are located.
Access from Your Mobile Device
Mobile access control is quickly gaining popularity in the market. Enterprises are implementing advanced mobile access control systems that allow employees and visitors to use their NFC or BLE-enabled mobile phones to open doors, gates and networks.
Mobile credentialing with Genea’s mobile access control can be done in three simple steps.
- Security admins assign a mobile key to the users through Genea’s access control dashboard.
- Users will receive an activation email asking them to download Genea’s mobile application and verify their identity.
- Upon verifying the identity, users will be allowed to use their mobile phones as access cards to open doors.
Depending on requirements, security admins can configure the mobile access control in a way that the users can open the mobile application to select their desired floor as they enter the building and then directly head to the elevator avoiding the crowd.
Genea’s mobile access control works with the smartphone’s fingerprint reader to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) while accessing high-risk floors. MFA restricts unauthorized users from accessing elevators through the smartphones of authorized users.
Upgrade to Touchless Elevators with Genea
Touch-free elevators will increase user convenience while enhancing building security. They enable passengers to use their proximity cards or mobile credentials to request elevator cabs going to their desired floors.
Genea offers a cloud-based access control system that can be integrated with elevator manufacturers such as OTIS and Schindler with simple API tokens. These integrations help enterprises leverage destination dispatch technology to enhance the elevator experience for users.
Genea’s integration with Schindler Elevator Control will help security admins to synchronize user access information, manage access groups and monitor user access from the ground floor to the suite from a remote location.
Genea’s integration with OTIS Compass 360 allows security admins to implement mobile credentials, set up user restrictions and manage multiple elevator installations from a globalized dashboard.
Book a demo to learn how Genea integrations with elevator controls will facilitate touchless operations for elevators at your property.