By Todd Belie and Linh Tat
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Many of the 270 elevators on campus have permits that have
expired or will expire in the next few weeks ““ and they
won’t be updated for awhile.
Despite expired permits, all the elevators are functioning
reliably, said Jack Powazek, associate vice chancellor of
Facilities Maintenance.
“The campus elevators are safe, irrespective of the date
on the permit,” he said. “Additionally, the permits
have only recently expired.”
Ackerman Union, Kerckhoff Hall, the College Library, Murphy
Hall, Mathematical Sciences and the Medical Center are among the
buildings with elevators that have expired permits. Only five of
the 36 buildings sampled on campus had current permits in all their
elevators.
Many of the permits expired in mid-November and one in Life
Sciences expired in 1997. The permits will be renewed by the state
during spring quarter, Powazek said.
While elevators have not been inspected for new permits, Powazek
said ones on campus receive several weekly inspections by nine
full-time mechanics certified to work on elevator maintenance.
Because UCLA is a state institution, only engineers from the
California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of
Occupational Safety and Health may inspect and issue new permits
for the elevators on campus.
“We have contacted the state elevator inspection branch,
but unfortunately that department currently has a backlog,”
Powazek said.
According to Susan Gard, spokeswoman for Cal/OSHA, the
department has 49 inspectors employed statewide, 24 of whom are
stationed in Southern California. Also, there are approximately
100,000 elevators throughout the state. The city of Los Angeles
regulates about 20,000 of these elevators.
Because notice of a permit expiring does not appear on
Cal/OSHA’s database until after the fact, the department
rarely reissues new permits before the expiration date.
“It’s not that uncommon for a permit to be expired
because the process (of inspection) begins at the expiration
date,” Gard said.
Even after the state receives notice, it does not immediately
send an inspector to the site. More priority is given to inspecting
newly installed elevators, Gard said.
“There are more elevators to be inspected than there are
inspectors,” she said. “Especially with the
construction boom that we’ve had over the year, new
construction becomes a priority.”
Regardless of when an inspector is available, building owners
are ultimately in charge of ensuring proper elevator
maintenance.
“The responsibility to keep the elevator in good working
condition is the building owner’s,” Gard said.
“If there’s a problem with the elevator, we can cite
the owner and shut the elevator down.”
Though the state has authority to shut down an elevator, it
rarely takes such actions, she continued, and said that close to no
fines are issued per year.
“Of course there are fines if someone is flagrantly
dismissing the law,” she said.
Raoul Gras, chief elevator inspector for L.A. and Westwood, said
one reason for the delay in renewing licenses is a lack of
personnel statewide for the task.
But outdated permits aren’t a significant problem, he
said.
“In terms of injuries and fatalities, elevators are one of
the safest forms of transportation,” Gras said. “We are
proud of our record. While there are occasions of accidents, they
are seldom fatal or result in injury.”
Updating campus permits may not occur until spring, but all
upgraded elevator systems are inspected by state officials before
they become operational, Powazek said.
Roughly 100 elevators on campus have been upgraded over the past
five years. At approximately $75,000 per elevator, Powazek said,
upgrading projects have reached more than $7 million so far, three
quarters of which were paid for with state funds.
Primary upgrade to campus elevators involves installing new
computerized Light Emitting Diode control systems. The newer
system, which will replace the 37 different control units currently
used, has a longer lifespan and is more efficient, Powazek
said.
“With the upgrades we can move more people more
efficiently,” Powazek said. “It’s almost as if
we’re adding another elevator.”
Of the 170 elevators that have not been upgraded, 105 are
relatively new and won’t need an upgrade for nearly a decade.
These newer elevators, most under 15 years old, have a typical
lifespan of 25 years, Powazek said.
Elevators in buildings to be demolished within five years
won’t have new systems installed.