A year ago tomorrow, the Ohio State community was stunned with the news of the tragic death of student Andrew Polakowski on an elevator in Stradley Hall.
Since the accident, OSU has taken steps to improve the safety of campus elevators and communicate to students the importance of proper elevator riding procedures, OSU officials said.
Elevators on campus are safe and in compliance with all state tests and inspections, and some have additional safety measures that were added after the accident, Director of Facilities Planning and Support for the Office of Student Affairs Molly Ranz-Calhoun said in an e-mail.
“The accident last October was a terrible tragedy … our elevators were in compliance with the state law, had been regularly maintained and inspected and had excellent safety records,” Ranz-Calhoun said. “Since the accident, we have looked at every aspect of our elevator system to see if there are additional steps we can take to make our elevators safer.”
According to a Nov. 1, 2006 article in The Lantern, Polakowski was on the Stradley Hall elevator with 23 other students. He tried to escape when the elevator descended with the doors open, pinning him between the elevator and the third floor.
To prevent another accident from occurring, additional safety measures have been taken. These include continuing with regularly scheduled maintenance and inspections, emphasizing to students the importance of elevator safety and having rope grippers installed on some elevators.
A rope gripper is a device that assists the elevator brakes if an elevator experiences brake failure, said Matt Mullins, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Commerce.
The Department of Commerce is responsible for inspecting and testing all elevators twice a year.
OSU also has an independent elevator contractor, Oracle Elevator Company, that maintains and oversees residence hall elevators, Ranz-Calhoun said.
Oracle has technicians on campus 80 hours each week dealing with maintenance and inspections, she said. They also have someone on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to service calls.
After the accident, according to a Department of Commerce report, the elevator in Stradley Hall failed a brake test at 100 percent of its weight capacity, which is 2,500 pounds.
Mullins said for an elevator to pass the test, the brakes must function properly when the elevator is carrying 125 percent of its weight capacity.
These brake tests are done every five years. Prior to the accident, the Stradley Hall elevator passed the brake test in August 2003.
Following the accident, the Department of Commerce also tested the brakes of other elevators in Stradley Hall and other south campus dorms.
Elevators in Morrison Tower and Smith, Park, Steeb and Siebert Halls were tested and many received new brakes and rope gripper devices.
“Some of the work (done on the elevators) was a result of the testing that was conducted right after the accident and some of the work was (part) of regular upgrades scheduled prior to the accident,” Ranz-Calhoun said.
She also said the Department of Student Affairs hired an independent consultant to review the elevator program and recommend new safety equipment and training programs for students.
Since the accident, the OSU has increased communication to students regarding elevator safety and the proper use of an elevator. This includes not overcrowding elevators, adhering to posted weight limits, not jumping around and using the call button to get help if something is wrong with the elevator, Ranz-Calhoun said.
These things were communicated to freshmen through brochures upon move in and were also discussed by all resident advisers at the mandatory “Autumn Safety Hour” that freshmen attend in their residence hall at the beginning of the quarter, she said.
Lindsay Betz can be reached at [email protected].
