Although healthy, climbing stairs is a rather annoying “task” for many people. Sometimes there is no elevator nearby and sometimes – it doesn’t work.
There are elevators with chairs to climb the stairs seated, but they usually have several drawbacks — for one thing they take up a lot of space. Also, if someone is using it, no one else can pass. AL-SUS Step Lift, the one-person lift for avoiding stairs, was designed as an ingenious alternative.
There are a few things that make it ingenious; for start, it doesn’t require construction as it is basically a kind of deck that is placed over the stair railing that adds a personal lifting platform. Plus, AL-SUS Step Lift is small enough to be fitted virtually anywhere – it is only 15 centimeters (about 6 inches) wide.
The lift is hidden in the side of the railing itself, so it doesn’t get in the way or take up space. At the push of a button, this one-person elevator unfolds, ready to lift or lower a person. A handle is included to tell the system whether you want to go up or down.
AL-SUS Step Lift can carry up to 150 kilos (around 330 lbs) and can be used at the same time as other people go up or down the other railing. So it doesn’t get in the way or occupy the entire staircase.
However, if something does get in the way, AL-SUS Step Lift will automatically stop. Also, it moves slowly, so it is not a problem.
Another cool feature is that the system can work in a coordinated fashion. For instance, if you touch the button for floor 1 and go up to floor 2, when you get to floor 2 – the platform will automatically unfold so you can go up to floor 3 without having to call it.
The AL-SUS Step Lift is already installed in several hotels, hospitals and public buildings in a few countries. It is also available for home environments, and there is an option to add a chair to the platform, if necessary.
Takeaway
In that sense, Singapore-based AL-SUS Technologies — which is the maker of this lift — dubs it as an alternative to the existing elevators and escalators in the market.
The AL-SUS Step Lift is already installed in several hotels, hospitals and public buildings in a few countries. It is also available for home environments, and there is an option to add a chair to the platform, if necessary.
Action point
Many city buildings are old and don't have elevators. While installing them will make the city services more accessible to the general public, especially the elderly, the cost of doing so could easily go through the roof. The AL-SUS Step Lift is a more affordable alternative that gets the job done for the fraction of the cost. Therefore procuring one or more of them could be the right thing to do while also providing (political) points to the person initiating such a project.
Distributing AL-SUS Technologies' products sounds like a good business especially in markets with many old buildings where installing elevators could be rather expensive. The AL-SUS Step Lift is a more affordable alternative that gets the job done for the fraction of the cost. Therefore offering them to the local government(s) makes perfect sense, with the city officials being able to brag about how they make the city services more accessible to the people. Sounds like a plan!