Modern Lift Controls

The earliest modern lifts were manually controlled by an operator or lift boy who was always present in the car. The introduction of the single-button collective control system marked a further stage of development. It allowed external calls to be accepted and stored by a memory mechanism, even when a car was occupied. Today, the most common control system for both single and group lifts is the up-and-down collective mechanism, with two external call buttons – one for each direction of travel. At the end of the 1980s, the Schindler lift company developed a storey-selection system, which allow the desired destination to be entered externally at the various stops. This operating system is now available from all major lift manufacturers in Germany.