What Are the Risks?
It’s no surprise that elevator buttons can carry many diseases and pathogens including COVID-19. In a recent study published on the travel site Upgraded Points, CEO Alex Miller and his team set out to discover just how unsanitary hotel elevator buttons can be. In a study conducted at 12 different hotels, the average colony of bacterias found on an elevator button was 149,470 colony-forming units per square inch. In addition, many pathogens including COVID-19 can survive on the surfaces for up to 24 hrs or longer. Posing a substantial risk for building users.
As more and more people , building owners are also placed in a difficult position. As can be held liable when employees, tenants or someone else contracts COVID-19 at the premises. Depending on the situation, if a person becomes ill from contracting COVID-19 the landlord might be liable.
What solutions are there?
Simple ones, like carrying tissues to press them. There are also touchless buttons that can be activated by hovering one’s finger over them. However, these solutions require building owners to inform and educate their tenants, yet are not practical and offer no additional incentive for users to be informed.
Some elevator companies have also come up with Smart app solutions, by integrating IoT into their new elevator systems. However, the choice of smart systems are often limited by the brand and model of elevator one might have or have decided to install. These systems can be expensive and are not ideal for retrofitting pre-existing elevators.
What is the best solution?
A smart system that allows users to operate the elevator through their phone. That is easy to install and compatible with most elevator brands and models. Although there are a few reliable smart systems currently available in the US, not many are code compliant in states like California. Our solution is Sesame’s Smart Elevator System! It is an easy to install system that is code compliant in all 50 states, and because it is designed in-house from start to finish, it is affordable! Sesame’s app provides an automatic call function for users to set their app to go to their designated floors, and the app automatically calls the elevator once the user is within proximity to any elevator installed with Sesame. No tissues, no fuss, just a smartphone and a Sesame App.
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