Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. This week’s news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: http://www.elevatorbooks.com
L.A. RELEASES ELEVATOR/ESCALATOR AUDIT
The Los Angeles City Controller's Department of Building & Safety has released its "Elevating Safety: Audit of the Department of Building & Safety’s Elevator Inspection Program" report for 2018. Given the number of conveyances upon which people ride daily, accidents involving conveyances are modest. The department logged 311 accidents reported in 2015 and 2016. Of those, 295 (95%) were determined to not be caused by an equipment malfunction or code violation. The largest portion of accidents and injuries involved escalator passengers losing their balance and/or falling, while the conveyance was found to be safe. This comprehensive report and others from the L.A. Audit Services Division reports are available at website.
FMI PREDICTS 7% INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION SPENDING
Management and investment consultancy FMI Corp., in its first-quarter outlook report, is predicting a 7% total increase in engineering and construction spending for 2018, which is well above the 4% increase for 2017, Construction Dive reports. FMI also forecasts that spending growth in 2018 will be led by residential improvements (12%), single-family residential (7%) and office construction (9%), accompanied by healthcare, education, transportation and communication projects. Multifamily, hotel, manufacturing, power and highway spending are expected to remain stable, at 0-4% growth. Flat federal investment and rising interest rates are expected to have a negative effect on public-private partnerships, and the construction industry is bracing for price increases on steel and aluminum associated with possible tariffs.
11 NEW ESCALATORS PLANNED FOR INDIAN RAIL STATION
The Ahmedabad division of Western Railways is planning to install 11 new escalators at the Kalupur station by the end of 2018, DNA India reports. Before the announcement, Kalupur had only one escalator, in the entry area of the station. Of the new units, three will be placed at the exit and the others at each of the eight platforms. Kalupur station has elevators at each platform, but they are often crowded, and many passengers, particularly senior citizens, have trouble using them.
MASSIVE BROOKLYN PROJECT DRAWS PROTESTS
A proposed massive, mixed-use complex in Downtown Brooklyn that includes two high-rise towers is meeting with community resistance, Architectural Record reports. During a public hearing for residents of the New York City borough, protests over plans for the project, 80 Flatbush, ranged from its scale and density, shortage of school openings, inadequate affordable housing and the burden its 900 new apartments would put on transit and other infrastructure. Others protested that the tallest structure, a 74-story tower standing nearly 1,000 ft. tall, would block sunlight and views of the Art Deco clock tower of the former Williamsburg Savings Bank Building. In addition to the tallest tower, the plan by Alloy Development calls for a 38-story high rise, two new schools and the refurbishment of two 19th-century buildings into cultural venues.
EXPATRIATE WORKERS KILLED IN MALAYSIA ELEVATOR CRASH
Three construction workers in Malaysia were killed on April 8 when cables broke, causing the elevator they were riding in to crash to the ground, BDNews24.com reported. The source said the men, from Bangladesh, were working at the site of a 50-story tower being built in Johor Bahru Forest City in Kuala Lumpur. They had gone to Malaysia for construction jobs about three years ago, family members said.
Image: Pixabay
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