An Integrated Methodology for Office Building Elevator Design

The authors have outlined a systematic approach to elevator system design which applies cost-benefit methodology to the design process. This approach relies on a cash flow modeling base for analysis of a total building. It then interprets the effect of elevator operation on the building's value for various traffic conditions. Elevators affect building value via direct and indirect operating costs, the opportunity cost of rentable floor area foregone for shaft space, the rental value derived from user satisfaction, and the cost of lost production time consumed in elevator travel. A computer simulation of elevator operation employing a statistical model of elevator behavior provides the measurement of elevator performance. The traffic patterns simulated reflect, via the use of probability, the nature of traffic generated by floor populations which may vary over time. The resulting methodological approach facilitates evaluation of elevators from the perspective of total building value to the client and to the users of a building.