Elevators

The University of Texas at Austin currently houses 436 pieces of equipment providing vertical transportation to students, faculty and staff. These units include, but are not limited to, elevators, escalators, wheelchair lifts and dumbwaiters. There are additional elevators still in the design phase for future projects.

What You Should Know

If you need to report a problem with an elevator or escalator, call the corresponding building’s Zone Shop or Planning and Scheduling at 471-7221. Please provide a complete description of the problem and the unit (location, etc.).

Should you become stuck in an elevator, do not panic! Remain calm and use the in-car emergency phone to call for help. A technician will be dispatched as quickly as possible to correct the problem and get you back on your way.

DO NOT attempt to exit the elevator by yourself. Wait for a trained technician to assist you. Passengers maybe inconvenienced by this delay, but are much safer in the cab as opposed to exposing themselves to the dangers of moving equipment in open hoistways.

Elevator certificates are available for review at the Elevator Section offices within the Hal C. Weaver Power Plant. For information, please contact 232-7526.

About Elevators On Campus

Various types of units on campus range from the most common to some of the more elaborate and unusual. The most notable are highly specialized elevators not found anywhere else. For example, the roof-top elevator installed at the Engineering Teaching Center, serves two floors within the building, as well as the roof of the building. This elevator is designed for normal traffic between floors of the building and has restricted key operational use for transporting large experimental equipment to the roof. Another unusual elevator recently installed is the only one of its kind to date in the State of Texas. It has 3 openings in the cab, one front, and two side openings, serving 8 landings, with 9 openings, between the Benedict and Mezes Buildings. This unit was especially designed to serve the split nature of these two buildings and the new infill area between them. Persons using this elevator soon learn they need to know where they are, and where they are going, to get where they want.

There are high-speed gearless cars serving floors in Ashbell-Smith, Bellmont, Ernest Cockrell, R.L. Moore, and the Tower at the Main Building. These units travel 500 feet per minute and are designed to shuttle hundreds of people between floors. As an example of this, R.L. Moore was recently modernized with new microprocessor controls. These controls report the average number of trips these elevators make in a day to a Central Monitoring System. These 4 units answer over 6,000 calls, and travel a distance of roughly 270 miles, a day. These elevators move literally thousands of students, faculty, staff, and their materials between the lobby floors and their places of higher learning (no pun intended).

There are numerous other elevators and lifts which move everyone on campus safely to and from their classrooms and offices on campus. There are stage lifts, which move entire orchestras or performances to different levels in the various concert halls and theatres on campus. There are numerous ADA lifts, which provide vertical assistance to those requesting a key for their operation. All of these units require untold amounts of wire, indicator lamps, safety switches, hoist ropes, and hydraulic equipment. In addition to these hardware items, there are thousands of hours spent performing preventative maintenance and inspections. Technicians and the Utilities Department Elevator Section personnel inspect each unit annually as required by law.

In 1993, the Texas Legislature mandated regular inspection of these transportation devices. The university complies fully with all State and Federal guidelines regarding elevator safety and operation, and maintains compliance with the latest ASME A17.1 and ASME A17.3 safety codes. The Elevator Section of the Utilities Department is responsible for the inspection, review and management of maintenance contracts. In addition, this department provides and reviews all equipment specifications for both modernization and new construction projects.

The Elevator Section is overseen by Utilities Associate Director Albert Schuman, P.E.; Electrical Engineer for The University of Texas and a Professional Engineer for over 25 years. Department personnel are James Bailey, Q.E.I., Elevator Inspector, 33 years industry experience; David Hensley, Q.E.I. Elevator Inspector, 8 years industry experience; and Bud Hensley Q.E.I. Project Manager with 26 years industry experience. With over 90 years of combined experience, these men are responsible for maintaining current certification on each unit with the State of Texas. They work daily with the service mechanics from several outside vendors to ensure the end user gets to where they are going on safe and reliable equipment.

Remember ~ those of us who work on, or use, elevators and escalators are subject to experiencing ups and downs in our lives.