Much to the delight of Jakob Zueger, chief executive officer of Schindler Americas, a $40 million contract has been awarded the company in an effort to put into placement effective solutions for the modernization of LA International Airport.

Jakob Zueger was stated as saying, “We are proud to have been chosen as the supplier of the equipment for the LAX rejuvenation and look forward to working with Los Angeles World Airports on this vital project.”

What will the $40 million contracted to Schindler be used for?

In addition to the 70 escalators, elevators, and moving walks that will be supplied by the company, Schindler will use the money to remove and replace four moving walks, modernize and update six hydraulic passenger elevators, as well as replace 60 escalators.

This major modernization overhaul at LA International Airport will also include new gates that will easily accommodate the Airbus A380; a refurbishing of the Main Tom Bradley International Terminal; as well as the airport’s own terminals.

All in all, a total of 28 elevators, moving walks, and escalators will eventually be updated and modernized at LAX.

The Schindler Group was no doubt chosen due to their extensive tract record.

Labeled as a leading global mobility provider, Schindler can be found in more than 140 countries; provides mobility in many of the world’s public transport networks and major airports; and has found success in their most recent contracts which include Germany’s recent Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport, as well as a new subway system for Mumbai, India.

An avid supporter of sustainable urban development, Schindler provides its clients with reliable, safe, and ecologically sound mobility solutions, this Switzerland based company designs, installs, manufactures, modernizes, and services escalator and elevator systems for practically every building type.

Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city is to be supplied with 339 escalators and elevators for their newly developing major subway system by Schindler. The 22km Kadikoy-Kartal line would provide an important travel system for the Asian half of the city that is highly populated.

Booked last year, this contract covers 272 escalators and 67 elevators that are to be installed in the 16 stations along the Kadikoy-Kartal line. These installations are expected to be completed by the end of 2010, after which the system is to be handed over to the city officials at the end of March 2011.

The lengths of these escalators range between three and twenty meters and are constructed with special features and materials like stainless steel landing platforms and balustrades that protect the structures from the elements. While most of the doors are installed with glass balustrades, some of them have steel on one side and glass on the other side.

This new metro line would provide a transport system for their mostly populated region, namely the Asian half of the city. It would make their commute safe, clean, effective and with less delay. This line would also serve as a connection to the European side of the city, where most of the jobs are situated.

The Turkey General Manager at Schindler, Mete Zadil is pleased and honored to work with contractor Avrasya Metro Grubu on this massive transportation assignment. He believes that the Kadikoy-Kartal subway line would aid and enhance mobility and help the people gain access to occupations and services located at the other side of the Bosphorus strait.

Istanbul accounts for 27% of national GDP and has a population of 13 million. The new line being constructed is part of a major expansion project that aims to reduce congestion within Istanbul and improve their transport system. In the past, Schindler has supplied escalators for the main airport in Istanbul and for stations at another metro line that runs under the Bosphorus.

With their headquarters in Switzerland, the Schindler Group is regarded as the leading global mobility provider. Present in more than 140 countries, this company specializes in the design, manufacture, installation, service and modernization of elevator and escalator systems for almost all types of buildings. They support the sustainable urban development by providing safe, reliable and ecologically friendly mobility solutions.

It is recommended that every person perform 30 minutes of moderately challenging physical activity five times a week, though less than one third of adults in the United Kingdom commit to this lifestyle. This along with poor diet choices has helped over half the adults in the UK become overweight. Out of that number, 23% of women and 22% of men are obese. This has caused rates of type 2 diabetes in adults and children to skyrocket which can dramatically shorten one’s lifespan and cause blindness and circulation issues.

Obesity is spreading alarmingly fast and part of the problem is not just diet, but partially because of the modern sedentary lifestyle. People can get to work using cars and trains, then arrive at their desk thanks to escalators and lifts and really only walk a few steps a days in order to go about their daily lives. Every opportunity to raise the heart rate, burn more calories, and build muscle should be taken to prevent becoming overweight.

Many people overuse the wide availability of lifts today. Ideally, this convenience should be reserved for those who can not or would have a very difficult time traveling up the stairs. Instead, perfectly healthy adults will choose to use the lift when traveling up only a couple levels. Lazy habits such as this, if incorporated in everyday life, will make a person reliant on lifts and other modern conveniences.

As a nation, the United Kingdom is dramatically gaining weight. There is no doubt that using the stairs instead of the lift daily can help improve personal health. While 80% of weight loss is a result of dieting instead of exercise, it is well accepted in the medical community that regular exercise is key in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and living longer.

It is important in combating obesity to find ways to make the most impact with every activity. This will help lung performance as well as help build muscle tissue and start up the metabolism. Muscle tissue helps burn calories throughout the day, so even when sitting at a desk, a person that took the stairs that morning, is still burning calories from that work.

On the long list of common phobias that people fear the most, claustrophobia is in the top five. For many people, even just the thought of being confined in a small space is enough to cause them to break out into a sweat and make their heart race.

This is why the ordeal Nicholas White experienced is all the more horrifying.

White worked in the McGraw Hill Building in downtown Manhattan late Friday night to meet a deadline for the publisher, he decided to step away from his desk and take a smoking break. He went outside and had a few relaxing moments, and felt rejuvenated and energized enough to get back to work. However, on the elevator trip back up to his office at the 43rd level, the elevator stopped inexplicably at the 13th floor.

Frantically, White tried every emergency button and alarm switch, to no avail. His panicked attempts were visible on the security cameras, but for some reason, no one noticed for 41 hours, until White was released Sunday.

Understandably, White was rather traumatized by his ordeal. Confined alone in such a small space, without food or water, completely deprived of any sensory stimulation, is one of the most harrowing experiences a person can experience. White has been unable to work since the event, due to his ruined mindset from the stress of the event. Some doctors believe that White has post traumatic stress disorder from the incident.

Elevators are of course common place; it would be difficult to find an office building without one. Most people do not think twice about walking into an elevator. Yet elevator-related incidents, injuries, and deaths do occur. For instance, Dr. Hitoshi Nikaidoh entered an elevator in a Houston-area hospital in 2003; as he was walking into the elevator, the doors shut around him, and instead of releasing when they touched his body, the elevator started to raise while Nikaidoh struggled to escape. He was gruesomely killed in the accident, right in front of the other person in the elevator.

In a single year, elevators and escalators kill about 30 people and injure over 17,000. Current mandates do not demand inspections or approvals at the federal level, and instead leave it up to the states’ rulings.

In need of a face lift, of sorts, the Derriford Hospital, a large teaching hospital that serves Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall, recently had their bed lifts repaired. The hospital asked Bristol to refurbish both of the hospital’s 32 person bed lifts. Bristol, a branch of Stannah Lift Services, specializes in refurbishing lift systems of any type. The traction driven bed lifts inside the Hospital’s Terence Lewis building were completely overhauled as part of the hospital’s initiative towards continued excellence in patient care.

A high level hospital manager commented that one of the hospitals highest priorities is to ensure the safety of Derriford patients, and that ensuring that equipment as important as bed lifts function at their most optimal is an important part of the safety initiative. Thus, the hospital commissioned Bristol to completely overhauled the bed lifts, replacing everything: stainless-steel lift cars, entrances, controllers, and slings; every replaceable piece of the lifts were replaced with new components, helping to ensure that patients at in the Terence Lewis building are treated on safe beds. The revamped beds should now provide dependable, lasting service – something that is very important in an environment as fast paced and important as a hospital.

This highly sophisticated, and expensive, dual bed lift technology ensures that the hospital can provide superior service to their patients. Having the Bristol branch of Stannah Lift Services on hand to complete these upgrades has made hospital life easier for patients and staff alike.

Stannah Lift Services custom builds bespoke lifts, to meet any customers unique needs and specifications. Stannah also maintains, services and refurbishes every type of lift, including bed lifts, escalators, and moving walkways. While they specialize in repairs to the Stannah family of products, Stannah repairmen are adept at renovating lift equipment made by any manufacturer.

KONE is once again teaming up with the illustrious building team of Sorouh, Khatib & Alami, and the Arabian Construction Company to create the new Gate Towers in Abu Dabi. KONE will be supplying a total of 41 elevators to this massive and impressive series of structures, which should see completion in the latter part of 2012.

KONE has been designing world-class elevators for over 100 years. They specialize in what they call “people flow”, a term used to describe getting people where they need to be in the most effortless way possible, and with short wait times. One of the global leaders in this industry, KONE has designed and installed elevators and escalators all over the world, and creates innovative solutions for maintenance and priority placement in ways that will maximize human traffic and comfort.

The new Gate Towers will sit at the entrance of the island of Al Reem and will create an incredible new skyline. KONE will provide three different types of elevators for the buildings: 11 KONE MonoSpace Special Platforms; 27 KONE MiniSpace elevators; and 3 KONE TranSys freight elevators. There will also be an installation of 4 KONE TravelMaster escalators.

The Gate Towers will be a part of the Gate District in SHAMS. Existing Towers 3,4 and 5 are 65-storied buildings, and Tower 7 is 22-storied. The Towers have already won the prestigious Best High Rise Award by the International Residential Property Awards.

Sorouh Real Estate developed the Towers. The architects responsible for designing the unique and commanding buildings are Khatib & Alami. Construction is being handled by the Arabian Construction Company and is being overseen by Hill International, one of the world’s largest construction and consultation firms whose reputation is impeccable.

KONE has stated that they are excited and proud to be a part of the project. Their aim is to provide the most sophisticated technology and the ultimate in comfort and movement for the people who will be living and working inside these new towers. The integrity of their craftsmanship and dedication to their goal has made them world-renowned.

Take a look at the bike escalator which is helping cyclists to take their bikes up stairs giving them better access in heavily populated cities where bikes are the popular means of transportation. 

The escalators are located in the metro stations at Tokyo and Kyoto and are very friendly to the environment; we hope it’s only a matter of time before we see this idea implemented to European cities.

The makers of the lifts say hilly cities can deter cyclists from using their bikes as often as they could, but the bike lift encourages more riding.

The Elevator Company Otis has secured two contracts to provide more than a thousand elevators for housing estates in Singapore. The contracts were awarded as part of a Lift Upgrading Program by the Singapore Housing and Development Board (HDB). 

The work will require Otis to supply and install 1,300 elevators in public housing estates to replace existing elevators and improve accessibility.

Otis is the world biggest supplier of products such as elevators, escalators and moving walkways offering products and services in over 200 countries.  Their HQ is based in the US at Farmington, Connecticut and employs 61,000 people.

The escalators on the newly-built Jubilee Line Extension are currently out of service after a mechanical problem was found and there was a fear for public safety.

Commuters will now have to use the long staircases on new £3.5bn line because of the problem. 

The issue was first discovered on several of the down escalators so all the elevators were taken off line with immediate effect.

“The problem could have led to the escalator suddenly stopping,” said one London Underground spokesman.

This is the Bailong Elevator, a glass elevator that is built into the side of an enormous cliff in Zhangjiajie, China.

The Bailong Elevator claims to be highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world. 

It measures 1,070 feet high and the set three world Records – The world’s tallest full-exposure outdoor elevator, the world’s tallest double-deck sightseeing elevator and world’s fastest passenger traffic elevator with biggest carrying capacity.