The task of planning and designing an elevator can be stressful and time consuming. But there is a better way - Schindler’s Plan & Design tool. We had an opportunity to talk to an enthusiastic user, Jean Guillaume de Cottreau, in Paris about his experience.
How can you improve life for architects and project managers? Well, one thing is to make it easier for them to plan and design the elevators in their next project.
At Schindler, we know quite a bit about elevator design. And how to plan for them as well. We have been doing this for a long time, in many parts of the world and for almost every type of building. So, we parked our knowledge in one place and made it available to our customers – in the Schindler Plan & Design tool.
The Schindler Plan & Design tool makes it possible for users to plan and design elevators based on the requirements of their construction project. It consists of three different modules:
A planning module that helps customers define the requirements for their elevator based on the expected building use.
There is the design module. Where customers can design and render the interior of the elevator in 3D, changing the decoration, lighting, mirrors, etc. to fit their needs.
Finally, there is the Project Cloud, like a personal library. Here, customers can download their specific escalator or elevator planning data in various formats, such as CAD and BIM.
To find out how the tool has been received, we talked to some of our customers who use it. One of them is Jean Guillaume de Cottreau. He works as a Project Manager at Aequo Construction in Paris, France.
It’s a general contractor company that works together with other companies to plan and construct buildings. As a general contractor, Aequo Construction supports their clients every step of the way, from the first draft of a building to facility management after completion. Jean Guillaume’s job is to make sure that all the technical information in a tender is accurate and feasible. He oversees the entire construction process to make sure that all the companies working on site are communicating, and that both the timeline and budget are met.
Jean Guillaume de Cottreau found out about the Schindler Plan & Design tool early, using the very first version of the tool. He was happy with it then, but now really appreciates the new features and functionalities that have been implemented.
I’ve used the tool for both commercial and residential projects. In the commercial segment, I’ve used it for new office buildings. It also helped me to prepare well for a new school project in a Paris suburb.
Jean Guillaume, Project Manager at Aequo Construction
The Schindler Plan & Design tool helps Jean Guillaume with his planning process. He has a lot of experience working with Schindler Elevators and the tool offers a lot of assistance when defining the layouts.
"The tool is very easy to use and very intuitive. I can quickly check shaft and car dimensions thanks to the drawings available for download and I can easily select the right elevator for the project," says Jean Guillaume.
Another benefit is that the tool makes it easier for him to do his work in his own time. No more waiting for someone else to provide the information needed to get his work done.
I’m extremely happy with this tool as it was clearly designed to make my life easier. From the early stage with a "traffic analysis" up to the design stage, the Schindler Plan & Design has a solution to support the process.
Jean Guillaume, Project Manager at Aequo Construction
The role of project manager puts Jean Guillaume in close contact with the clients. He has found that the tool helps him deliver quality service to his customers as well.
So, what part of the tool does Jean Guillaume find most useful?
"My favorite part is definitely the car design module. Thanks to this very valuable feature, I can share renderings with my customer during the design talks. Everybody sees the same thing and there is no doubt about how the final elevator will look. It really helps to save time and avoid miscommunication with the client! Also, in addition to the renderings the module provides a professional, easy-to-read summary sheet with all the design specs."
When working on a new project, he always creates several designs. That way he can show them to his customers and talk about the pros and cons of each. To Jean Guillaume, it’s apparent that his customers appreciate that he shares clear choices and options with them.
They are all extremely happy to be able to see the car rendering and the design specification, so it allows me to do my job better and improve the relationship with my customers.
Jean Guillaume, Project Manager at Aequo Construction
Before the tool was available, Jean Guillaume had to rely on brochures and create the car design in his head. If it was a big tender, he would ask the Schindler Sales representatives to provide a custom-made picture of the car.
All of this took a lot of time and effort. When Jean Guillaume began to use the Schindler Plan & Design tool, he achieved dual success – happier customers and a lot less time spent chasing designs.