/ins  KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has introduced a range of people flow solutions to help make buildings and cities safer and healthier places to live, work and commute. The solutions are built on KONE's deep expertise and knowledge of people flow, which is vital when addressing the challenges of adapting to a new way of life in the face of the current pandemic.

As facilities gradually begin to open, people's health and well-being is a major concern, considering physical distancing measures as well as the need for people to be able to move around in shared spaces. The KONE People Flow Planning and Consulting service has been tailored to better support planning a safe return to offices and other buildings, in light of these kinds of measures. By using data, simulation tools, and expertise from KONE's interior architects and data scientists, customers can quickly see how to reduce crowding and bottlenecks and enable people to move around safely. In addition, other new solutions improve air quality in elevators, help disinfect escalator handrails and reduce the need to touch surfaces.

The experience of using residential buildings and public premises such as metro stations, shopping malls or offices is changing. For KONE customers, a key benefit of the health and well-being focused solutions is that improvements can be introduced easily, in an era when hygiene and physical distancing are vitally important.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming the way people move and interact in cities and buildings. All buildings now have different people flow challenges, from door to destination. As a pioneer in people flow, we want to help our customers with a holistic approach to health, well-being and safety as restrictions on both the movement of people and businesses begin to ease in different countries," says Hugues Delval, EVP, Service Business, KONE.

"We play a vital role in keeping society running during these unprecedented times. Elevators, escalators and the related maintenance are crucial in enabling people to carry out essential activities. Solutions like KONE 24/7 Connected Services can be a great support in business continuity, especially in today's environment, so that our customers' operations can be restarted quickly, equipment can be managed in real time and premises can be made safer for people to move around," added Delval.

Several existing KONE products and services are more relevant than ever today. 

KONE 24/7 Connected Services brings increased safety, transparency, and intelligence to elevator and escalator maintenance, at a time when usage is critical, even when physical distancing measures are in place. The service enables faults to be predicted before they happen, and equipment status can be monitored around the clock. KONE DX Class elevators include anti-microbial surfaces for elevator car walls and handrails to protect against indirect contamination. With KONE DX Class elevators, built-in connectivity means new digital services can be introduced quickly and features can be upgraded in order to adapt to new needs.

The new KONE health and well-being solutions being introduced are:

• KONE Elevator AirPurifier to improve air quality in the elevator car by destroying most potential pollutants, like bacteria, viruses, dust and odors. It uses Photocatalytic Oxidation (PCO) technology developed by NASA for removing contaminants from spacecraft cabins.
  
  
• KONE Handrail Sanitizer uses ultraviolet light to gradually disinfect escalator handrails. Continuous chemical-free cleaning happens inside the escalator, with no risk for passengers. Exposure to ultra-violet radiation helps remove and inhibit the reproduction of micro-organisms such as bacteria or viruses.
  
  
• KONE Elevator Call lets people call an elevator from anywhere nearby using an app on their smartphone. It works together with the KONE Flow app as well as selected social messaging apps on different mobile operating systems, completely removing the need to touch elevator buttons and screens. 

The health and well-being solutions will be launched globally now. Local introduction in different countries will depend on the availability of features, solutions, and services in each area. New solutions will be continuously introduced to different areas.

For more information about these solutions, please visit our website. Related images and videos are available at KONE's Material Bank.


For further information, please contact: 
Hanna Rutanen, director, External Communications, KONE Corporation, +358 41 5071361, media@kone.com



About KONE
At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. In 2019, KONE had annual sales of EUR 10 billion, and at the end of the year approximately 60,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.
www.kone.com


The services, products or solutions described here as KONE health and well-being solutions promote health and well-being. However, the solutions do not ensure that no new diseases or infections will occur at premises where they are being used. KONE cannot be held liable for any infections or diseases occurring at such facilities or the resulting medical consequences.