CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – Every day, about a thousand elevators take people up and down on US military installations in South Korea. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Far East District is working to streamline the design, construction and maintenance of these lifts by updating their design specifications to incorporate Korean codes opening the door to local manufacturers to supply products on future projects.
The FED team dedicated to making the changes presented the changes to stakeholders and industry partners in an event jointly held with the Korean Lift Association (KOLA) and Korean Elevator Safety Agency (KoELSA) in Seoul, South Korea, on May 3, 2024.
“Thanks to the diligent efforts of experts across the Republic of Korea and the United States, I’m thrilled to announce that we have received approval to integrate Korean elevators into Corps of Engineers projects,” said Col. Heather Levy, district commander. “This achievement marks a significant milestone and is a true win for the ROK-US Alliance.”
Over 100 stakeholders and industry partners participated in the event in-person and virtually. Attendees learned the technical requirements of the updated specs and FED provided an overview of how to do business with the district.
“The updates intend to cut costs and timelines for construction of U.S. Forces – Korea (USFK) facilities by sourcing materials locally,” said Sarah Woo, FED Engineering Division chief. In addition, maintenance will be faster and less expensive as replacement parts and experts will be locally available.
Denny Headrick, project manager, spoke about how the effort at its heart was focused on the people that live and work on the installation.
We often think of installations as just service members, but we also have families that use facilities like schools and housing that need to be able to use elevators for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes and strollers, he said. He told the story about how long maintenance timelines directly impacted a student at school on U.S. Army Garrison – Humphreys that needed it for accessibility.
The industry day was the culmination of more than two years of effort from the team at FED. The team reviewed Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) and Korean elevator code side by side before proposing the adoption of Korean code except for life, health and safety features. On April 16, 2024, FED received Tri-Service Working Group approval to use updated specs that include Korean manufactured elevators and safety codes. On April 18, 2024, the district signed a Memorandum for Record (MFR) approving those updates for use in USACE projects in South Korea moving forward.
FED worked alongside KoELSA on these changes to ensure a seamless inspection process for the projects that incorporate the changes. At the event, a representative from the Korean agency said that all inspections of elevators for US military installations will be conducted by their headquarters.
“This has been a challenging process, but thanks to engineering expertise from within FED, KoELSA, and the Tri-Services working group, we've been able to create a new elevator specification that will help alleviate many of the challenges that USFK has faced throughout the peninsula,” Headrick said. “We look forward to the response from industry and the manufacturing of locally sourced reliable elevators.”
Moving forward, FED can include Korean elevators in their project designs and future construction efforts, adjusting the updated specs as they learn lessons from the implementation along the way. They will look to their industry partners to create the updated products to safely transport future service members and their families.
“Your participation in this Elevator Industry Day is appreciated as we continue to innovate to deliver better quality projects to our stakeholders at lower cost,” Levy said. “Thank you to KoELSA, KOLA and the Far East District team for getting us here today. And thanks to representatives from the Korean elevator industry for taking us into the future.”
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