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To complete one of the most prestigious addresses in
Toronto on time, construction workers can’t afford to
waste up to an hour of their valuable shift time every
day waiting for transportation to higher floors. Yet that’s
exactly what happens at construction sites across the
globe as skyscrapers reach ever higher heights.
To meet its demanding construction schedule, developer
Great Gulf chose the innovative KONE JumpLift solution
to accelerate construction work and enhance safety at
its construction site. Unlike a traditional external hoist
often seen at construction sites, the KONE JumpLift uses
a mobile machine room within the building’s permanent
hoistways, which are moved up as the construction work
progresses. Once construction is complete, the KONE
JumpLift machine is converted into a permanent elevator
ensuring an efficient use of space in a prime real-estate
location.
“At four meters per second, KONE JumpLift runs four
times faster than a traditional external hoist, making
ONE BLOOR EAST – TORONTO, CANADA
FAST LANE FOR
VERTICAL COMMUTERS
The 75-story condominium tower, One Bloor East, in downtown Toronto rises from one of the best-known intersections
in Canada. Long before its completion, the project has become the city’s most sought-after residential address.
a real difference at the beginning and end of shifts,”
explains
Ebbey Jacob
, Project Manager for KONE Major
Projects Americas. “Our joint analysis with the customer
of the three phases of construction showed an estimated
saving of 80,000 man-hours thanks to our KONE JumpLift
solution, which is significant.”
Beating the odds
Taking advantage of the internal structure also helped
combat two of the project’s other challenges: the
building’s wavy design and the often unpredictable
Canadian weather. Last year alone, Great Gulf lost more
than 30 days of work to wind and weather that forced
the closure of external hoists.
“With our KONE JumpLift, you eliminate the outside
environmental issues. You don’t have to worry about
snow and rain and cold,” adds Jacob. “Great Gulf is
always on the lookout for innovative solutions. When
they heard about the KONE JumpLift they were keen to
test it out. As a company, we have experience installing
KONE JumpLifts at sites around the world, yet this was
the first time the technology was used in North America.
As such, there was a lot of collaboration between our
engineering teams.”
Meeting expectations
On completion, One Bloor will be home to a total of 11
KONE elevators and two KONE escalators, but it’s the
benefits gained during construction that have already
delighted the customer.
“We decided to implement the KONE JumpLift system
into our construction for the One Bloor project because
it was very important for us on a tight site to be able
to construct in a safe, quick and secure manner,” says
Christopher Wein
, President, Great Gulf Residential.
“KONE JumpLift is a perfect example of how technology
is helping us better manage our construction site. We
had more efficiency, more productivity, a safer interior
environment and we didn’t have to worry about the
outside elements. We are very pleased with everything that
has happened with our use of the Jumplift and we would
definitely use it for future projects,” concludes Wein.