Elevator repairs to be completed by October

By Dylan Pichnarcik

Associate Editor

Five elevators on campus have malfunctioned over the past few months and have been repaired or are scheduled to be repaired, according to Maureen Fowler, chief environmental health and safety officer. 

The elevator issues are unrelated to one another, as differing components are breaking in each system, she said.

“I think they are isolated incidents that are just happening all at once,” she said. 

Elevators in the McCarthy Center, Henry Whittemore Library, Hemenway Hall, and Corinne Hall Towers have all been repaired as of press time. Additionally, an elevator in Miles Bibb Hall is scheduled to be serviced during the month of October, according to Fowler. 

​During the week of Sept. 1, a relay switch malfunctioned, causing the McCarthy Center elevator to be out of service three times, according to Fowler. 

​A relay switch is an electrical component that acts as a switch for controlling electrical circuits, she said. The relay switch is responsible for controlling the elevator's movement, leveling, and safety systems. 

​The relay switch was reset by Delta-Beckwith, the University’s elevator service provider, to ensure the elevator returned to its normal operation, according to Fowler. 

​Delta-Beckwith is an elevator service provider based in Canton. Their services include installation, repairs, and refurbishment, according to the Delta-Beckwith website. 

The Framingham State University Police Department (FSUPD) notified the FSU community by email that the McCarthy elevator was out of service on Sept. 4, Sept. 5, and Sept. 6. 

Additional emails were sent each day when the elevator temporarily returned to service. 

After the repairs on Sept. 4 and 5, a repair of the elevator’s relay switch has returned the elevator to service. 

The elevator has remained operational since the last repair, according to Fowler, at which time a subsequent email was sent on Sept. 8 notifying the community the elevator was back in service.

​Fowler said the repair was a “simple fix,” and the elevator has functioned properly since the repair was made. 

​The total cost of the repair was $6,120, which was paid for using the facilities maintenance budget, which was used for the cost of labor, according to Fowler. 

FSU has a standing purchase order with Delta-Beckwith and was not required to pay for the cost of any parts, she added.

​On July 17, the McCarthy elevator was approved for use and inspected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Department of Occupational Licensure, according to the elevator's certification, which is posted in each elevator on campus. 

Each year, the elevators on campus are inspected by the Department of Occupational Licensure and, upon approval, certified for use, according to Fowler. 

Every five years, the elevators are tested using weights to ensure they will hold the maximum amount of weight required, she said. 

The elevator inspector performs tests using weights that total five times the approved weight limit of the elevator, she said. Additionally, they inspect all safety features, lights, and air conditioning.  

According to Fowler, the McCarthy elevator was originally installed in the 1970s and was upgraded in 2005. Currently, there are no plans to replace or upgrade the elevator. 

“They work fine. That's just a piece of equipment that works, and they keep working until they break,” she said. 

The elevator in the Henry Whittemore Library was also installed in the 1970s and was upgraded in 2008. 

Fowler said Delta-Beckwith had to repair parts in the library elevator pit in August. 

The elevator pit houses a piston that raises and lowers the elevator. 

The total cost of the elevator pit repair was $21,510, which was funded through the facilities budget. 

There is no immediate plan to replace or refurbish the library elevator, she said. 

According to Fowler, the general working life of an elevator is between 25 and 30 years without refurbishment. 

​She said she anticipates the McCarthy elevator and Whittemore Library elevator will continue service for an additional 10 to 15 years. 

Additionally, the elevators in Corinne Hall Towers were repaired by Delta-Beckwith over the summer, according to Fowler. 

The Towers elevator ropes, which pull the elevator up and down, needed to be replaced along with the elevator drive, according to Fowler. 

An elevator drive is an electrical component that powers the elevator's movement. 

The total cost of repair to the two elevators in Towers was $43,704 and came from the facilities budget, Fowler said. 

The elevators located in Towers were installed in 2004 and are located centrally in the building's lobby, she said. 

Currently, the Towers elevators are fully operational with no reported outages. 

However, on days when the elevators are in heavy use, such as move-in days on campus, Delta-Beckwith is on site as a precaution to provide immediate service in the event of an outage, according to Robert Totino, vice president of Finance, Technology, and Administration. 

According to Fowler, this has been a practice at FSU for the last 20 years, and there has not been an issue during that time.  

“It's just so important to get students out in a quick manner that we have a standby person. Because one time, some years before we started this process, the elevators failed to work properly. So now we bring them in to make sure,” Fowler said.

She said she is not concerned about the elevator issues on campus. “I don’t think students should be, either.” 

Another residence hall, Miles Bibb, which has a newer elevator powered by a computer, will also need to be repaired, according to Fowler. 

The Miles Bibb elevator has been out of service during the week of Sept. 22 and is expected to be repaired sometime in October. 

Totino said he believes the elevator issues on campus are a “hardship” for the FSU community. “I have empathy and I don’t appreciate that they go down on certain occasions. … I hope that the community does not feel in any way that there is inequity.”   

On Aug. 21, one of the elevators in Hemenway Hall malfunctioned, causing repeated calls to FSUPD, which blocked other calls from being received through FSUPD dispatch, according to Michael Zinkus, executive director of infrastructure and operations. 

According to Fowler, the elevator's emergency call button was reset by the Department of Information Technology Services. The elevator and its emergency call button have not had any malfunctions since Aug. 21. 

Sophomore Drew Etheart said the elevator outages do not affect him but “I know there’s a lot of students who have disabilities that might suffer.” 

Last year, Etheart lived in Towers and said the elevator was down frequently. He said he was bothered by the frequent outages. 

Freshman Darshany Wilson said he feels the elevators on campus are “never working.” 

Freshman Aquila Youtehypeolit said she thinks the University can “do better. 

“It’s very slow and there are people who are missing classes or meetings. And there are people who can’t really use the stairs,” she said.

Freshman Alex Thomeson said he has not been in a building when an elevator was out of service but understands why it is inconvenient. 

Freshman Taylor Brennan ​does not use elevators on campus because she “doesn’t like elevators.”