Campus elevator creates wild rides
Dan Pompili ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Issue date: 11/24/09 Section: News
Students and faculty who frequent DeBartolo Hall may be familiar with the elevator nearest the rear lobby entrance, and its penchant for going on the fritz.
The most common complaints include violent shaking when the car comes to a stop and doors that sometimes refuse to close.
A source in the English department said a student was stuck in the elevator last week, but could not be reached in time for publication.
A part-time faculty member, however, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, detailed her experience of last Friday when she was stuck in the elevator just below the second floor level for 40 minutes.
At 7:30 a.m., the car came to a halt two feet short of the second floor. The professor said she immediately called English department secretary Gwen Richards by cell phone, and Richards phoned the maintenance department.
Richards verified the incident, and said that maintenance department protocol required them to phone the elevator company service department.
She said that the elevator company, Thyssen-Krupp, immediately projects a half-hour wait time. The trapped professor said a Youngstown State University maintenance employee arrived well before Thyssen-Krupp, and that she was not even there when they arrived.
She said the employee was able to open the doors and she managed to escape the elevator.
Richards said a state safety inspector had checked and confirmed the elevator the day before.
Richards said the state inspector reported that no fault was found with the elevator during the inspection, and that the symptoms described are most likely to occur during the first few runs of the day.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor states in article 1917.116 (c) that "no elevator or escalator with a defect which affects safety shall be used."
OSHA article 1917.116 (e) states that "the results of the latest annual inspections shall be posted in elevators." None of the elevators in DeBartolo Hall display any such maintenance records or registration certificates.
Richards said she has had numerous experiences with the elevator shaking at the basement level. She said that in her 16 years at YSU, the DeBartolo elevators have always been troublesome.
"I used to work in a 34-floor building and never had a problem. I can't believe these can't be fixed," Richards said, adding that she no longer uses any of the building's elevators.
The most common complaints include violent shaking when the car comes to a stop and doors that sometimes refuse to close.
A source in the English department said a student was stuck in the elevator last week, but could not be reached in time for publication.
A part-time faculty member, however, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, detailed her experience of last Friday when she was stuck in the elevator just below the second floor level for 40 minutes.
At 7:30 a.m., the car came to a halt two feet short of the second floor. The professor said she immediately called English department secretary Gwen Richards by cell phone, and Richards phoned the maintenance department.
Richards verified the incident, and said that maintenance department protocol required them to phone the elevator company service department.
She said that the elevator company, Thyssen-Krupp, immediately projects a half-hour wait time. The trapped professor said a Youngstown State University maintenance employee arrived well before Thyssen-Krupp, and that she was not even there when they arrived.
She said the employee was able to open the doors and she managed to escape the elevator.
Richards said a state safety inspector had checked and confirmed the elevator the day before.
Richards said the state inspector reported that no fault was found with the elevator during the inspection, and that the symptoms described are most likely to occur during the first few runs of the day.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor states in article 1917.116 (c) that "no elevator or escalator with a defect which affects safety shall be used."
OSHA article 1917.116 (e) states that "the results of the latest annual inspections shall be posted in elevators." None of the elevators in DeBartolo Hall display any such maintenance records or registration certificates.
Richards said she has had numerous experiences with the elevator shaking at the basement level. She said that in her 16 years at YSU, the DeBartolo elevators have always been troublesome.
"I used to work in a 34-floor building and never had a problem. I can't believe these can't be fixed," Richards said, adding that she no longer uses any of the building's elevators.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Trish
posted 11/24/09 @ 10:27 AM EST
Well, I guess that I'll have to walk up the steps from now on!
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