Otis Completes Comprehensive Elevator Modernization at University Hospital Vienna

• Elevator upgrade reduces energy consumption by 40%
• Includes customized destination dispatching integrated with the building access system

Efficient, available, reliable and safe: elevators play a pivotal role in hospitals, facilitating the transportation of patients, visitors, staff, and medical equipment. Otis (NYSE: OTIS), the world’s leading elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service company, recently completed the comprehensive modernization of 10 elevators at the University Hospital Vienna, one of the largest and most renowned clinics in Europe.

Otis first manufactured and installed the original elevators – including nine passenger and bed elevators, and a fire department elevator – in one of the hospital's ward blocks more than 50 years ago. From the very beginning, the elevators were serviced by Otis technicians on site 24/7.

Otis has been a reliable partner with whom we have an extremely close and positive relationship since the installation of the first elevators in 1973, said Günther Vedral, Head of Conveyor Technology, at hospital management and operating company VAMED-KMB. We developed a detailed plan together so that the elevator modernization work was completed on schedule – and with sufficient elevator capacity always available for ongoing surgery and hospital operations – despite restrictions and other challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first modernization of the elevators took place in the 1990s with the replacement of the control systems. Now, several decades later, it was time for a complete overhaul – representing the largest elevator modernization project completed by the Otis Austria team to date.

"All elevators have a life cycle, so it was time to comprehensively modernize these systems, which are heavily used with around 1,400 trips per day, to bring them up to the latest operating standards, working in close collaboration with the experts from VAMED-KMB," explained Gerhard Gruner, Otis Branch Manager Vienna East. "Modernization provides our customers with access to advanced solutions and benefits from high-performance, digitally networked components that shorten waiting and travel times, increase availability, and significantly reduce energy consumption. For example, operational data collected before and after the modernization demonstrated a reduction in energy use of 40%.

The comprehensive modernization project includes the upgrading of the controls to Gen2® technology, including a ReGen® drive, which captures energy generated by the elevator during braking and feeds it back into the electrical system. The drive units were also replaced, new touch controls installed, and the car interiors renewed.

Otis has also updated the technology within the elevators: the CompassPlus® destination selection system acts as a "virtual concierge", assigning passengers to the elevator that will transport them to their destination with the fewest intermediate stops, significantly reducing waiting and travel times by up to 50 percent compared to conventional elevators. Otis and VAMED-KMB collaborated on developing different user profiles, such as for medical staff and patients, to customize the destination selection control system to hospital operations. The CompassPlus system is integrated into the hospital’s existing access system.

The EMS PanoramaTM system, also installed, provides complete transparency and real-time control of the new elevator systems. Additionally, with the assistance of the Otis ONE™ IoT solution, digital emergency calls can be initiated, and potential faults can be detected quickly, reducing downtime.

The University Hospital Vienna is the largest hospital in Austria and has around 9,000 employees. In 2024, it was ranked the 25th best hospital in the world by Newsweek. Around 62,000 inpatients were treated at Vienna General Hospital in 2023 and 1.8 million outpatient clinics were visited.

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About Otis

Otis gives people freedom to connect and thrive in a taller, faster, smarter world. The global leader in the manufacture, installation and servicing of elevators and escalators, we move 2.3 billion people a day and maintain approximately 2.3 million customer units worldwide – the industry's largest Service portfolio. You’ll find us in the world's most iconic structures, as well as residential and commercial buildings, transportation hubs and everywhere people are on the move. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 71,000 people strong, including 42,000 field professionals, all committed to meeting the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook @OtisElevatorCo.