新冠肺炎疫情可能将为电梯行业带来瓶颈

随着新冠肺炎疫情持续发展，有的国家希望可以通过采取谨慎的措施重新开放办公写字楼，而由于社交距离的要求，大部分国家也认识到全球正面临着一种“新常态”。据《每日邮报》在5月8日的报道，澳大利亚工作安全委员会建议人们在搭乘电梯时保持1.5米的距离。确实，没有哪里预计会比摩天大楼的大堂更值得关注了，因为人们不得不聚集在这里等电梯。这意味着在很多时候，一台电梯里只能同时搭乘两名乘客。Futurespace设计公司总经理Angela Ferguson说道，考虑到电梯多设计为限载10人，现在把搭乘人数降为两人，意味着每个工作日办公楼里只有10%的人能有效地乘坐电梯。而负责管理数百座建筑的JLL公司的Richard Fennell，称此举很可能会让等电梯的队伍更长，而且每层都需要安排安保人员确保空梯回到大堂。Quartz在5月7日报道，美国旧金山的Salesforce软件公司计划让员工每天下班前都“签到”，以取得一张规定特定时间搭乘电梯的“票”。“这几乎和去迪士尼玩需要预约是一样的”，公司CEO Marc Benioff说道。

COVID-19 EXPECTED TO CREATE BOTTLENECKS FOR ELEVATORS

With some companies hoping to reopen office buildings in careful steps as the coronavirus pandemic continues, many are acknowledging that the world is facing a “new normal” in light of social-distancing requirements. Nowhere is this expected to be more noticeable than in skyscraper lobbies, as mass gatherings of people will be forced to wait for elevator service. For example, the Daily Mail reported on May 8 that Safe Work Australia is recommending people maintain a 1.5-m distance from others inside elevators. In many instances, this will mean no more than two people per car at any time. Angela Ferguson, managing director of design firm Futurespace, said that, considering an elevator designed to carry 10 people, limiting it to two would mean only 10% of the building’s occupants could be efficiently “moved” during a typical workday. Richard Fennell of JLL, a company that manages hundreds of buildings, said the procedure will likely involve staff to enforce elevator queues and that security guards may be stationed on every floor to ensure empty cars are sent back down. Meanwhile, Quartz reported on May 7 that San Francisco-based global software company Salesforce plans to have employees “check in” for work before leaving home, at which time they will receive a “ticket” for a specific time to ride the elevator, “much in the same way that you would arrive at Disney for a ride,” CEO Marc Benioff said.