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August 29, 2005/Baltimore, Md.: When faced with the challenge for inventive and creative thinking, Vertical Transportation Excellence (VTX) accepts the challenge and develops a solution to meet the needs of their clients. One of VTX’s recent inventive accomplishments is the Parametricoder™ time and displacement encoding system that enables VTX to secure a range of motion performance data from operating equipment.

The concept started when Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) expressed a need to measure and record step/pallet tread deflection data under load on escalators and moving walks at the Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport. VTX’s design consulting experience and inventive spirit led to the development and implementation of the required instrumentation and step/pallet loading to address MAA’s needs.

VTX exceeded MAA’s requirements by applying additional criteria to the basic measurement needs. These criteria allow the measurements to be true diagnostic measurements that could be used to monitor changes within the escalators and moving walks over time. VTX professionals quickly noted additional capabilities that were possible with the solution developed for MAA and expanded the system into the Parametricoder time and displacement encoding system.

VTX is constantly incorporating new skills and resources into their growing list of consulting services they are able to provide to their clients. The time and displacement encoding system is a tool that supplements their consulting services and has been successfully used at BWI and with Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

VTX is always on the move, constantly evolving, and identifying new capabilities that could be applied to the vertical transportation field and beyond. VTX is currently using these capabilities and developing applications to:

• Measurement of step/pallet tread deflections under an applied load while the escalator or moving walk is operating at full speed.
• Speed measurements of handrails and step/pallet bands for escalators and moving walks to assess performance characteristics and changes within the system.
• Starting and stopping acceleration and deceleration performance for escalators and moving walks.

VTX believes that the time and displacement encoding system opens new avenues for performance testing and recording in the field. The data and procedures developed behind the system provides VTX with information that benefits their Clients both in short-term assessments and long-term evaluations of equipment performance and the effectiveness of preventive maintenance programs.

VTX is honored to have experienced staff and an instrumentation system capable of recording a variety of other time and displacement based measurements that are applicable to the vertical transportation industry.

“It is all to help us better serve our clients.
We find the means to solve our client’s problem.”