Innovation Assessment Guideline (iAG) for innovative air treatment technology designed to prevent COVID contamination in lifts

KOMO certification based on new Innovation Assessment Guideline now available

COVID-19 has now had us in its grip for more than 18 months. Besides many obstacles and difficulties this is also a time in which solutions and ideas bubble up. The initiative to improve air quality in lifts and allow more people to go safely up and down in buildings arose this way. The engineering firm ABT collaborated with Interland Techniek, to develop an air treatment technique (Eleminair) to make this possible. The air cleansing solution even won Netherlands’ most prestigious engineering prize, De Vernufteling 2020, awarded by Koninklijke NL Ingenieurs! (Royal NL Engineers)

Change of distance in lift, from 1.5 meters to 30 cm

The installation displaces and removes viruses from the air in the lift, which enables normal lift occupancy. The application helps enormously, particularly in high and medium-high buildings. An example to illustrate the significance of such a system: the Delftse Poort office (twin-tower skyscraper complex next to Rotterdam train station) has 41 floors. Ten lifts continuously transport people. Under the Corona measures, only 2 people at a time can use any of the lifts. This causes congestion, especially at the beginning and end of the working day, resulting in vacant top floors. By means of the new technique, the lift capacity can be increased to approximately 6 people, depending on the lift dimensions. Through this technique, the standard distance of 1.5 metres can be decreased to 30 centimetres.

We talk to Jeffrey Bogaard, certification manager SKG-IKOB (Dutch certification organisation for the building and real estate sector) and Patrick van Sambeek, technical advisor/sales engineer at Inatherm and Interland Techniek, about the development of the Innovation Assessment Guideline (iAG). Both companies are closely involved in this process.

From first phase via expert team, to KOMO Quality Assessment Committee approval

Jeffrey Bogaard talks about the run-up to the innovation Assessment Guideline: “ABT already called on the services of Interland Techniek during the initial phase in order to convert the concept into a workable system that could be put into practice. The need arose to certify the commissioning of a passenger lift operating with COVID-19 solutions and later on certification was also required for the process and installation of the system. All based on innovation Assessment Guideline 6101. This brought us (certification body SKG-IKOB, ed.) to the table.

Since this concerns a new assessment guideline, when speaking of the Innovation Assessment Guideline we refer to it as an iAG (in abbreviated form). We drew up an action plan for a risk analysis, the innovation assessment guideline and the admission examination for the innovation certificate.”

In consultation, an expert team was composed of more than one technical expert from the applicant ABT, in addition to an independent technical expert and a technical expert from the certification body. The expert team consisted of: Richard Claessen (ABT), Ad van der Aa (ABT), Patrick van Sambeek (Inatherm and Interland Techniek), Jeffrey Bogaard (SKG-IKOB) and Bastiaan Benz (SKG-IKOB).

Patrick van Sambeek was involved right away from the drawing board stage. He explains the role of the expert team: “The expert team started by putting what was required on the table. A risk analysis was then drawn up. The Innovation Assessment Guideline was drawn up on the basis of this risk analysis. In total we got together about ten times. Unfortunately, our intended aim to obtain approval for the Innovation Assessment Guideline in early 2021 did not succeed, but at the beginning of November 2021 the KKTC approved the iAG and companies can now acquire certification!”

KOMO certification for this iAG?

“Now that the iAG has been approved, installers and companies can acquire certification on the basis of the different parts (see end of article, ed.) of the iAG,” says Jeffrey Bogaard. Stricter Corona measures have now been enforced again. So I expect plenty of interest in this newly introduced type of KOMO certification.”

Would you like to know more about the iAG or would you like to apply for certification? Call SKG-IKOB on 088-2440100 or send an email to: info@skgikob.nl

See the SKG-IKOB website to read more about the KOMO quality mark and the applicable certification.

The iAG 6101 in three parts:

• iAG 6101-01 Process certificate for the assembly of COVID-19 solutions for passenger lifts.
• iAG 6101-02 Service certificate for commissioning approval of COVID-19 solutions for passenger lifts.
• iAG 6101-55 Attestation for COVID19 solutions applicable to passenger lifts.