Smith R, Peters R, Al-Sharif L US Patent no. 2005/0189180 AI, Method and apparatus for reducing the energy consumption of elevators equipped with SCR drives (1st September 2005).
Dr Lutfi Al-Sharif
Position
Consultant
Qualifications
UMIST, Manchester
1992
Engineering Doctorate in the applications and use of simulation and neural networks in vertical transportation systems
UMIST, Manchester
1990
MSc in Remote Lift Monitoring
University of Jordan
1987
BSc Hons in Electrical Engineering
Chartered Engineer
Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Career Overview
Lutfi Al-Sharif has a degree in Electrical Engineering, a Ph.D. degree in the applications and use of simulation and neural networks in vertical transportation systems and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration. He is a Professor at the University of Jordan and a Visiting Professor at the University of Northampton. He is a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Prof Al-Sharif worked as a Lift and Electrical Project Team Leader and headed a Business Unit at London Underground before joining WSP as an Associate Director, and then running his own consultancy firm. Currently he combines his university teaching schedule with consultancy and training for Peters Research Ltd.
Professional Experience
Consultant, Peters Research Ltd
2016 – present
- Development and delivery of lift and escalator training courses
- Lift and escalator research and consultancy
Professor, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
2006 – present
- Development of Liftsim, a lift simulation program using Microsoft Visual C++. This program provides an enhanced analysis of lift system performance.
- Specialist advice on vertical transportation given to project and design teams. Contributions to numerous national and international projects including offices, hotels, residential buildings, hospitals and museums. Engaged as an expert witness in legal disputes concerning lifts.
- Enrolled on the Environmental Technology Engineering Doctorate programme at Brunel University. The project, Vertical Transportation Planning in Buildings was sponsored by Arup and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.
Director, Al-Sharif Vertical Transportation Consultancy Limited
2002 to 2006
Providing consultancy services to clients in the railway and building industries in the UK, USA, German, Denmark and India. Projects include:
- Developing of modelling software for whole life planning for lifts and escalators for London Underground
- Development of a weightless weight testing programme for Tyne & Wear Metro escalators
- Oberoi Garden City, 50 storey residential Tower, Mumbai, India
- Jordan Gate (Twin tower building, Amman, Jordan)
- Kuwait Business City (50 storey office tower)
- Moscow Federation Tower, 88 storey building using Twin lifts, Moscow
- Burj Dubai, plots 37 and 38 Residential (55 storeys): Concept to Detailed Design
- Larnaka Airport: Concept and detailed design
- Copenhagen Concert Hall: Pedestrian Flow Analysis
- Lift energy Consumption Modelling and Simulation for a Manor US lift company
- New York Metro Station Facility sizing analysis, New York Subway, USA
Associate Director, Buildings Transportation, WSP Group
2001 to 2002
Vertical Transportation consultant, covering areas of traffic analysis, pedestrian circulation analysis, specification and tender documentation preparation and controller design. Projects include:
- Busan Tower, Korea (120 storey tower)
- New Arsenal Stadium, London, UK
- Thameslink 2000 St Pancras Underground Station
- National Space Centre, Leicester, UK
- New Royal Bank of Scotland Headquarters, Scotland, UK
- Heathrow, Termainl 5 CIP Lounge lifts traffic analysis for BA
Delivery Manager (Lifts & Escalators/Electromechanical), Stations, London Underground
1988 to 2001
Head of business unit in the Stations Systems Consultancy, responsible for replacement and refurbishment project on London Underground Stations. Responsibilities included:
- Full accountability for the running of business unit
- Carrying out feasibility studies and business case analysis
- Ensuring compliance with British and European standards and HMRI requirements
- Achieving ISO 9001 compliance for the Lift & Escalator section
Senior Station Modeller, London Underground Ltd
1988 to 1999
Senior modeller for the Whole Life Asset (WLAP) Plans for stations.
Team Leader (Lift & Electrical Projects), London Underground Ltd.
1995 to 1998
Heading a team of 5 engineers who solve technical problems, write specifications and provide technical support to refurbishment and replacement projects for lifts and escalators.
Senior Electrical Engineer (Lifts & Escalators) in the Chief Engineer’s Department, London Underground Ltd
1992 to 1995
C++ Real Time Software Programmer, Intelev Ltd, Bolton, UK
1989 to 1992
Electronic design engineer and Head of Electrical Department, Jordan Lift & Crane Manufacturing, Madaba, Jordan
1985 to 1989
Publications
Conference Papers
Al-Sharif L Electrical Noise Control Techniques in Elevator Controllers Elevator Technology 3, Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technology (Elevcon ’90), Rome, Italy, March 1990.
Al-Sharif L Memory Requirements in the Design of Remote Lift Monitoring Outstations Interlift ’91, Proceedings of the International Convention for Elevator Technology, 23-24 September 1991, Munich, Germany.(Reprinted in: Lift Report [in English & German], November/December 1991.)
Al-Sharif L New Concepts in Lift Traffic Analysis: The Inverse S-P (I-S-P) Method Lift Report, Elevator Technology 4, Proceedings of the International Conference of Elevator Technology (Elevcon ’92), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 1992.
Al-Sharif L Bunching in Lift Systems Elevator Technology 5, Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technology (Elevcon ‘93), November 1993, Vienna, Austria.
Al-Sharif L Topics in Escalator Electrical Design Elevator Technology 6, Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technology (Elevcon ‘95), March 1995, Hong Kong.
Al-Sharif L Lift & Escalator Energy Consumption Proceedings of the CIBSE/ASHRAE Joint National Conference, Harrogate, UK, 29 Sept. – 1 Oct. 1996, (pages 231-239, Volume I).
Al-Sharif L Escalator Passenger Numbers from Energy Consumption Elevator Technology 7, Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technology (Elevcon ‘96), October 1996, Barcelona, Spain.
Al-Sharif L Asset Management of Public Service Escalators Elevator Technology 9, Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technology (Elevcon ’98) Zurich, Switzerland, October 1998. (Reprinted in: Elevator World, June 1999 (page 96)).
Al-Sharif L Introduction to Electric Shock Protection Elevator Technology 10, Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technology (Elevcon 2000), May 2000, Berlin, Germany. (Reprinted in: Lift Report [in English & German], March/April 2001 & Elevator World, July 2001 (page 110-115).)
Al-Sharif L Lift Safety Gear Testing without Weights: a Critique and Overview Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Elevator Technologies, Elevcon 2002, Milan, Italy, June 2002. (Reprinted in: Lift Report and Elevator World.)
Al-Sharif L, Peters R, Smith R Lift Energy Consumption: Modelling and Simulation CIBSE Lift Group Annual Conference, November 2003, Balham, London, United Kingdom.
Al-Sharif L Lift Energy Consumption: General Overview (1974-2001) Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technologies, Elevcon 2002, April 2004, Istanbul, Turkey. (Reprinted in: Elevator World October 2004)
Al-Sharif L, Peters R, Smith R Elevator Energy Simulation Model Proceedings of the International Conference on Elevator Technologies, Elevcon 2004, April 2004, Istanbul, Turkey. (Reprinted in: Elevator World November 2004.)
Al-Sharif L Intelligent Braking Systems for Public Service Escalators Proceedings of the 1st International Conference Building Electrical Technology Professional Network (BETNET) Conference, BETNET 2004, October 2004, Hong Kong, China.
Al-Sharif L Escalator Human Factors: Passenger Behaviour, Accidents & Design Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Building Electrical Technology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 2006.
Al-Sharif L Experimental Investigation into the Relationship between Passenger Comfort on a Stopping Escalator and the Kinematics of the Stop Proceedings of the 6th Jordanian International Mechanical Engineering Conference (JIMEC’6), 22nd – 24th October 2007, Amman, Jordan.
Al-Sharif L Experimental Investigation into the Effect of Mechanical Design of an Escalator and Passenger Loading on its Energy Consumption International Conference on Mechanical Engineering 2008 (ICME08) part of World Congress on Engineering 2008 (WCE08), 2nd to 4th July 2008, Imperial College, London.
Taifour S, Al-Sharif L, Kilani M Modelling & Design of a Linear Variable Differential Transformer presented at MS’08 Jordan, The International Conference on Modelling And Simulation, Petra, Jordan, 18th -20th November, 2008.
Al-Sharif L, Taifour S, Kilani M Simulation and Experimental Verification of the Axial Force of a Tubular Electromagnet on a Concentric Cylindrical Permanent Magnet Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Modeling, Simulation, and Applied Optimization (ICMSAO’09), Sharjah, U.A.E. January 20-22, 2009.
Al-Sharif L Twenty Engineering Principles for Mechatronics Undergraduate Students Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Mechatronics and its Applications (ISMA ’10), 20th to 22nd April 2010, Sharjah, UAE.
Al-Sharif L, Saleem A, Tutunji TA Mechatronic System Design: The Ideal Capstone Course Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Mechatronics and its Applications (ISMA ’10), 20th to 22nd April 2010, Sharjah, UAE.
Al-Sharif L Electrically Based Intelligent Escalator Braking Systems Proceedings 18th International Congress on Vertical Transportation Technologies (Elevcon 2010), 2nd to 4th June 2010, Lucerne, Switzerland.
Al-Sharif L Three Dimensional Scanner using Laser Triangulation Technology 23rd Canadian Conference on Applied Mechanics, 6th – 8th June 2011, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Aljnaideh O, Al Janaideh M, Al-Sharif L, ElShaer A Control of Hysteretic Smart Actuators 23rd Canadian Conference on Applied Mechanics, 6th – 8th June 2011, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Al-Sharif L, Abdel Aal O.F, Abu Alqumsan A.M The Use Of Monte Carlo Simulation To Evaluate The Passenger Average Travelling Time Under Up-Peak Traffic Conditions The 1st Symposium of Lift and Escalator Technologies, September 2011, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom
Al-Sharif L, Al-Adhem M Overview & Comparison of Four Methods of Elevator Traffic Analysis & Design Elevator World Virtual Elevator Event 2012, 11th July 2012.
Al-Sharif L, Aldahiyat HM, Alkurdi LM, Al-Adhem M Evaluating the Elevator Round Trip Time under Up-Peak Traffic Conditions using the Monte Carlo Simulation Method in Elevator Technology 19 (pp 166-177), Proceeding of the 19th Congress on Elevator Technologies, Elevcon 2012, 22nd to 24th May 2012, Miami, Florida, USA.
Al-Sharif L, Abu Alqumsan A.M, Abdel Aal O.F The HARint plane: A Graphical Method for Visualising the Optimality of an Elevator System Design Option The 2nd Symposium of Lift and Escalator Technologies, September 2012, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom
Al-Sharif L, Abdel Aal OF, Abuzayyad MA, Abu Alqumsan AM Converting the User Requirements into an Elevator Traffic Design: The HARint Space The 3rd Symposium on Lift and Escalator Technologies, 26th-27th September 2013, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom.
Khaleel R, Al-Sharif L, Salahat M Derivation of an Elevator Round Trip Time Formula Under Up-Peak Traffic for the Case of Four Special Conditions The 3rd Symposium on Lift and Escalator Technologies, 26th-27th September 2013, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom.
Al-Sharif L A New Paradigm for Assessing the Effectiveness of Up Peak Group Control Algorithms The 4th Symposium on Lift and Escalator Technologies, September 2014, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom.
Al-Sharif L, Abu Alqumsan A, WGhanem W, Tayeh I, Jarrar A Modelling of Elevator Traffic Systems Using Queuing Theory The 4th Symposium on Lift and Escalator Technologies September 2014, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom
Al-Sharif L, Al Sukkar G, Mansour M, Gharbieh M, Farraj E, Jarrah R, Milekh R, Zaben N Extracting the Value of the Round Trip Time under Up Peak Traffic Conditions from Simulation The 5th Symposium of Lift and Escalator Technologies, September 2015, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom
Al-Sharif L, Al Sukkar G, Hakouz A, Al-Shamayleh N A Towards a Systematic Methodology for the Design of Elevator Traffic Systems in High Rise Office Buildings The 6th Symposium of Lift and Escalator Technologies, 21st- 22nd September 2016, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom.
Al-Sharif L, AlOsta E, Abualhomos N, Suhweil Y The Passenger Transfer Efficiency coefficient (PTEC) for Double Deck Elevators under Incoming Traffic Conditions The 7th Symposium on Lift & Escalator Technology (CIBSE Lifts Group, the University of Northampton and LEIA) (2017)
Al-Sharif L Escalator Weightless Weight Testing: A Case Study from a UK Metro Proceedings of the 9th Symposium on Lift & Escalator Technology (CIBSE Lifts Group, the University of Northampton and LEIA) (2018)
Al-Sharif L, Peters R D Using the Monte Carlo Simulation to Evaluate the Round-Trip Time Under Destination Control Proceedings of the 9th Symposium on Lift & Escalator Technology (CIBSE Lifts Group, the University of Northampton and LEIA) (2018)
Al-Sharif L, Gerstenmeyer S, Niebling J, Peters R D, Abbi M Using Monte Carlo Simulation in Lift Traffic Systems to Compile the Probability Density Function (PDF) for the Car-Load Data and Drive-Motor System Loading Proceedings of the 10th Symposium on Lift & Escalator Technology (CIBSE Lifts Group, the University of Northampton and LEIA) (2019)
Al-Sharif L A Template for an Undergraduate Elective Final Year Lift (Elevator) Engineering Course Proceedings of the 10th Symposium on Lift & Escalator Technology (CIBSE Lifts Group, the University of Northampton and LEIA) (2019)
Journal Papers
Al-Sharif L, Taifour S, Kilani M I Simulation and Verification of the Axial Force of a Linear Permanent Magnet Synchronous Actuator International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (Publisher: IOS Press) Volume 32, Number 4 (2010), pp 249-265.
Al-Sharif L The effect of multiple entrances on the elevator round trip time under up-peak traffic, Mathematical and Computer Modelling 52(3-4):545-555 (2010).
Al-Sharif L, Seeley C The effect of the building population and the number of floors on the vertical transportation design of low and medium rise buildings BUILDING SERV ENG RES TECHNOL, August 2010 vol. 31 no. 3, pp 207-220, doi: 10.1177/0143624410364075.
Al-Sharif L Modelling of Escalator Energy Consumption Energy & Buildings (Publisher: Elsevier), February 2011, 43, 6 (2011) 1382-1391.
Al-Sharif L, Dahyat H, Al-Kurdi L The use of Monte Carlo Simulation in the calculation of the elevator round trip time under up-peak conditions Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, volume 33, issue 3 (2012) pp. 319–338, doi:10.1177/0143624411414837.
Al-Sharif L, Dado M H, Habash N, El Rawashdeh Z, Al-Shubbak A, Modeling and verification of the kinematics of passenger falls on escalators SIMULATION: Transactions of the Society for Modeling and Simulation International 0037549712436433, Volume 88, Issue 8, pp 988–998, first published online on February 21, 2012 as doi:10.1177/0037549712436433.
Saleem A, Tutunji T, Al-Sharif L Mechatronic system design course for undergraduate programmes European Journal of Engineering Education, DOI 10.1080/03043797.2011.593094, volume 36, issue 4, 2011, pages 341-356, available online: 22 Jul 2011.
Al-Sharif L, Abu Alqumsan A M, Khaleel R Derivation of a Universal Elevator Round Trip Time Formula under Incoming Traffic with Stepwise Verification Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 2014, Vol. 35 issue 2, pp 198–213, doi 0143624413481685.
Al-Sharif L, Hammoudeh A Evaluating the Elevator Round Trip Time for Multiple Entrances and Incoming Traffic Conditions using Markov Chain Monte Carlo International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IJISE), Inderscience Publishers, 2014 Vol.18, No.1, pp. 51 – 64, DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2014.064340.
Al-Sharif L, Al-Adhem M D The Current Practice of Lift Traffic Design Using Calculation and Simulation Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, July 2014 Volume 35, issue 4, pp 438-445, published online before print, 26th September 2013 as doi:10.1177/0143624413504422.
Al-Sharif L, Algzawi H S, Hammodeh A T The Use of the Markov Chain Monte Carlo Method in Deriving the Elevator Round Trip Time under Incoming Traffic Conditions and a Single Entrance Advanced Modeling and Optimization, September 2013, volume 15, issue 3, pp 689-695.
Al-Sharif L, Abdel Aal O F, Abu Alqumsan A M, Abuzayyad M A The HARint Space: A Methodology for Compliant Elevator Traffic Designs Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, January 2015, Volume 36, Number 1, pages 34-50, first published online June 20, 2014, doi: 0143624414539968.
Al-Sharif L, Abu Alqumsan A M Stepwise derivation and verification of a universal elevator round trip time formula for general traffic conditions Building Services Engineering Research & Technology, July 2014, first published online 9th July 2014 as doi:10.1177/0143624414542111.
Al-Sharif L, Hamdan J, Hussein M, Jaber Z, Malak M, Riyal A, AlShawabkeh M, Tuffaha D Establishing the Upper Performance Limit of Destination Elevator Group Control Using Idealised Optimal Benchmarks (IOB) Building Services Engineering Research & Technology, January 2015, first published online on 13th January 2015 as doi:10.1177/0143624414566996.
So A, Al-Sharif L, Hammoudeh A Traffic analysis of a simplified two-dimensional elevator system Building Services Engineering Research and Technology. 2015; 36(5): 567-579. doi:10.1177/0143624414568728.
So A, Al-Sharif L, Hammoudeh A Concept design and derivation of the round trip time for a general two-dimensional elevator traffic system Journal of Building Engineering. 2016; 5(2016): 165-177.
Technical Articles Published in Elevator Trade Journals
Al-Sharif L Safety relays for interfacing escalator safety devices Elevation, Summer 1995.
Al-Sharif L Lift Power Consumption Elevation, Autumn 1995. (Reprinted in: Elevator World May 1996.)
Al-Sharif L Applications of artificial intelligence in lift systems [in English & Italian], Elevatori, March/April 1990, page 45-49.
Al-Sharif L Bunching in Lifts Elevation Winter 95/96. (Reprinted in: Elevator World, November 1996.)
Al-Sharif L The Use of Power Measurement to Calculate the Numbers of Passengers Travelling on an Escalator Lift Report [in English & German], January/February 1996.
Al-Sharif L An overview of AC induction motor testing in accordance with BS4999, part 143 Lift Report [in English & German], March/April 1996.
Al-Sharif L Escalator Electronic speed detection unit, Elevatori [in English & Italian], March/April 1996.
Al-Sharif L Electrical Safety Systems in Escalators Lift Report [in English & German], May/June 1996.
Al-Sharif L The Lift Directive and the Rope Brake Elevation, Summer 1996. (Reprinted in: Elevatori, [in English & Italian], May/June 1996.)
Al-Sharif L Deriving DC motor parameters from in-situ testing [in English & German], Lift Report, July/August 1996. (Reprinted in: Elevator World August 1997.)
Al-Sharif L Escalator Handling Capacity Part I: Elevatori July/August 1996; Part II: Elevatori, September/October 1996, [in English & Italian]. (Reprinted in: Elevator World, December 1996.)
Al-Sharif L Escalator Stopping, Braking and Passenger Falls Lift Report [in English & German], November/December 1996.
Al-Sharif L The General Theory of Escalator Energy Consumption with Calculations and Examples Lift Report [in English & German], May/June 1997. (Reprinted in: Elevator World, May 1998 (page 74).)
Al-Sharif L Lift & Escalator Motor sizing and selection with calculations and examples [in English & German], Lift Report, January/February 1999.
Al-Sharif L Variable Voltage AC Drive Systems Lift Report [in English & German], November/December 1999.
Aladem M, Al-Sharif L Discrete Event Elevator Simulator Architecture Lift Report, volume 40, issue 2, 2/2014, March/April 2014, pp 18-29.
Al-Sharif L The Impact of Standards on Escalator Electrical Control Prepared for publication in the bilingual lift magazine, Elevatori
Books
Lutfi Al-Sharif et al, Linear Variable Differential Transformer Design and Verification Using MATLAB and Finite Element Analysis, in the book MATLAB for Engineers – Applications in Control, Electrical Engineering, IT and Robotics, published by Intech, October 13, 2011 under CC BY 3.0 license, in subject Computer Science and Engineering, doi: 10.5772/1533.
Educational Material
Author of electronic material for Measurements & Transducers course.
Author of electronic material for Mechatronics System Design course.
Author of electronic material for Variable Speed Drives course.
Author of electronic material for Vertical Transportation Systems course.
Author of textbook on variable speed drives in elevator systems for an MSc distance learning course.
Author of three sections in the second and third editions of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Guide D on Vertical Transportation Systems, United Kingdom.
Patents
Smith R, Peters R, Al-Sharif L US Patent no. 2010/0000825 A1, Elevator System to maintain functionality during a power failure (7th January 2010).
Smith R, Peters R, Al-Sharif L US Patent no. 7,540,356 B2, Method and apparatus to prevent or minimise the entrapment of passengers during a power failure (2nd June 2009).
Smith R, Peters R, Al-Sharif L US Patent no. 7,374,020 B2, Energy Efficient Elevator System (20th May 2008).