Cirrus at the ABC Conference 2026

In July, Cirrus International attended the Association of Building Compliance (ABC) Conference at Christchurch Town Hall as both an exhibitor and coffee cart sponsor.

The 2026 conference theme, Building Confidence Through Competency, brought together professionals from across the building and compliance sectors to share knowledge, discuss challenges and explore ways to improve building safety and performance.

For Cirrus, it was an opportunity to connect with people working in different areas of building compliance and gain a better understanding of the challenges they face.

While our day-to-day work is focused on lift components and technical solutions, these conversations help us see the bigger picture of how lifts fit into the operation, safety and accessibility of a building.

Building safety takes more than compliance

One of the recurring themes in our conversations was the challenge of balancing compliance requirements with the practical realities of managing buildings.

Ageing infrastructure, budgets, changing requirements and competing priorities can all influence how building improvements are approached.

While everyone is working towards safer buildings, finding the best way forward isn't always straightforward.

It reinforced something we see regularly in the lift industry: meeting a requirement is one part of the equation, but understanding how a product or system will perform in practice is just as important.

For example, lift emergency communication systems need to provide reliable communication when they're needed. Passenger information and accessibility features need to be understandable and usable by the people relying on them. Door safety systems need to suit the installation and operate consistently.

Choosing the right equipment means considering its application, compatibility and ongoing support, rather than looking at individual components in isolation.

Accessibility is part of the bigger picture

Another particularly valuable part of the conference was the opportunity to talk about accessibility with people working in different areas of the built environment.

We enjoyed catching up with Louis Deverell and discussing the importance of making buildings work better for everyone.

Accessibility in lifts involves more than meeting minimum requirements. It's also about how people experience and interact with the equipment.

Braille and tactile controls, clear visual information, voice annunciation and accessible operating panels all contribute to making lifts easier to navigate for people with different needs.

These conversations are a useful reminder that accessibility is best considered early in a project, rather than treated as something to address at the end.

For us as a lift component supplier, understanding these different perspectives helps when discussing product options and custom solutions with our customers.

The value of working across industries

One of the things we appreciate about the ABC Conference is the variety of people it brings together.

Lift technicians and suppliers, building compliance professionals, facility managers, fire safety specialists and others all approach building safety from slightly different perspectives.

That diversity creates opportunities to learn from one another.

A solution that looks straightforward from a product or technical perspective may raise different considerations for the person responsible for maintaining a building, assessing compliance or managing its day-to-day operation.

We came away from several conversations thinking about how we can work more closely with our customers and manufacturers to address these challenges.

Sometimes the most useful outcome isn't an immediate answer, but a better understanding of the questions we should be asking.

Taking those conversations back to Cirrus

Conferences are valuable, but what happens afterwards matters too.

Since returning to the office, we've been following up with people we met, sharing product information and continuing discussions about ideas raised over the two days.

These conversations help us identify where customers need more information, where existing products may provide a solution and where something more specialised might be worth exploring with our manufacturers.

They also reinforce the importance of having strong relationships across the industry. Being able to pick up the phone, ask a question or connect people with the right expertise can make a real difference when working through a challenging project.

Looking ahead

Of course, the conference wasn't all technical discussions. There were plenty of opportunities to catch up with familiar faces, meet new people and enjoy the hospitality, including a memorable gala dinner and some excellent catering from Venues Ōtautahi.

A big thank you to the Association of Building Compliance for organising another worthwhile event, and to everyone who took the time to visit our stand.

We returned with new connections, fresh perspectives and a few ideas we're keen to explore further.

And that's what makes events like this worth attending. They give us an opportunity to look beyond the products we supply and better understand the buildings, people and challenges those products are there to support.