From accessibility and safety to operational performance, lifts and escalators are critical building assets. Our new vertical transportation service helps clients maximise their value throughout the building lifecycle.
Building owners are under growing pressure to improve safety, accessibility, compliance and operational performance. Yet one of the most important systems in any building is often overlooked until something goes wrong.
Lifts and escalators shape how people move through and experience a building every day. They influence accessibility, support building safety and play a significant role in operational efficiency. As assets age and regulations evolve, owners and operators need clear, independent advice to help them make informed decisions throughout the lifecycle of their vertical transportation systems.
That’s why we have launched a dedicated vertical transportation service, led by James Fraser-Chalk, an industry specialist with more than 20 years’ experience across the lift and escalator sector.
Bringing specialist expertise together
James joins us with extensive experience spanning commercial, residential, healthcare, education, retail, government and mixed-use developments. His career began with a full engineering apprenticeship at KONE before moving into engineering inspection and compliance with HSB Engineering Insurance Services and later into consultancy.
Throughout his career, he has advised organisations including Selfridges, JLL and Workman. At Selfridges, he was responsible for overseeing the performance, compliance and modernisation of lift and escalator assets across all four stores, supporting millions of visitors each year.
His experience reflects a growing market need. Building owners are increasingly looking for independent advice that helps them balance performance, compliance, reliability and long-term value rather than focusing on individual projects or maintenance contracts in isolation.
Looking beyond installation and maintenance
Vertical transportation is about much more than specifying a lift or replacing ageing equipment.
Our new service supports clients at every stage of a building’s life, from concept design and procurement through to handover, maintenance, modernisation and lifecycle planning. Services include condition surveys, maintenance audits, tender support, compliance reviews and long-term asset strategies.
By understanding how lift and escalator systems interact with wider building requirements, clients can make better decisions earlier, reduce risk and avoid costly interventions later.
As Head of Vertical Transportation, James sees a significant opportunity to improve how these systems are considered within the wider built environment.
Vertical transportation plays a critical role in how buildings function, influencing everything from accessibility and safety to user experience and operational performance. Yet lifts and escalators are often only considered in detail once a project is well underway or when an existing system starts to fail.”
James Fraser-Chalk
Partner, Vertical Transportation
By bringing specialist expertise in-house, we can help clients make informed decisions from the earliest stages of design through to maintenance, modernisation and long-term asset planning. We’re focused on helping clients get the very best performance from their assets.
A multidisciplinary approach to building performance
What makes the service different is the ability to draw on expertise from across our practice.
Vertical transportation rarely exists in isolation. Decisions about lifts and escalators can have implications for fire safety, accessibility, building services design, architecture, project delivery and compliance. Bringing these disciplines together enables a more joined-up approach to solving complex challenges.
For building owners and operators, that means receiving advice that considers the wider performance of the building, not just a single asset.
As demand grows for safer, more efficient and more accessible buildings, specialist expertise in vertical transportation is becoming an increasingly important part of successful asset management. By expanding our offer in this area, we’re helping clients take a more strategic approach to one of the most critical systems in any building.
Let's talk
For more information, please get in contact with James
