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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.