Late elevator inspections currently taking place

Following reports by The Signal on the lack of inspections for over 60 Georgia State elevators, inspections are finally taking place.

Over the past two or three weeks, elevators in housing facilities, classroom buildings and the library have been inspected.

Ben Crawford, chief engineer of the Office of Insurance Safety and Fire Commissioner, said the reason for the late inspections was a change in software. In July 2013, elevator inspectors were forced to switch from using software provided by the Department of Labor to their own software to conduct inspections. According to Crawford, the education process required for inspectors to learn how to operate with the new software delayed the inspection process. He added, however, that the elevators are still safe to use two months after expiration.

“60 days after the date on the operating permit, the elevators are still good to use,” Crawford said.

However, Patton Hall elevators were expired for nine months before being inspected. Crawford said that sometimes the frames in the elevators that hold the inspection certificates are not updated because the screws are difficult to change. It is unknown whether or not this was the case for Patton Hall elevators. Records of inspections are kept with Georgia State’s Facilities Division, which remains unavailable for comment.

Patton Hall elevators have experienced frequent breakdowns during the semester and continued to break down after inspections occurred. On Oct. 28, one of the elevators broke down for a full day. Crawford said that the reason for the breakdowns can be attributed to a number of different factors.

“Sometimes it’s evident why they’re breaking down, and sometimes it’s not. It depends on the elevator,” Crawford said.

Elevators can break down due to lack of maintenance, software issues, age or a combination of these factors. Crawford added that some of the elevators at Georgia State need to be updated because of old age. This is an issue that would fall under the responsibility of the Facilities Department at Georgia State.

As previously reported by The Signal, 17,000 people are seriously injured and 30 people die each year because of elevator-related injuries, according to a study done by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Crawford advised students who experience problems with the elevators on campus to contact Georgia State’s Facilities Maintenance and Operations.