Across both CSU campuses, numerous elevators and wheelchair lifts are running with expired safety inspection certificates, some of which have expired as recently as January of 2024 while others are nearly two years past due.
In the state of Georgia, elevators, wheelchair lifts, and other kinds of similar equipment are required by the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner to have periodic inspections ensuring their safety.
As stated in Rule 120-3-25-.06 of state regulations, updated Certificates of Inspection must be “conspicuously placed” inside the elevator for display and are “required in addition to the operating permit[s].”
On Main Campus, most elevator inspection certificates expired in January of this year. The following is a list of Main Campus facilities with expired elevator safety inspection certificates:
- Arnold Hall
- Synovus Center for Commerce and Technology
- Simon Schwob Memorial Library
- Jordan Hall
- Stanley Hall
- LeNoir Hall
- Richards Hall
- Student Recreation Center
- Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center
- Parking Garage
- University Hall
- Schuster Student Success Center
- Howard Hall
- Shannon Hall
- Illges Hall
The wheelchair lift in the Health and Wellness Center has a Certificate of Inspection that expired in March of 2022, and the certificate in the Ragsdale Field wheelchair lift is blank and unsigned.
Elevators on Riverpark campus are further outdated regarding safety inspections; most CSU elevators downtown have certificates that expired in 2022. The following is a list of Riverpark campus facilities with expired elevator safety inspection certificates:
- One Arsenal Place
- Riverside Theatre
- Oglethorpe
- Corn Center for the Visual Arts
- Saunders Center for Music Studies
- Columbus Hall
The Broadway Crossing elevator no longer displays any Certificate of Inspection.
Certificates of Inspection indicate that an elevator has been recently inspected by a professional and is safe for use.
Elevators used frequently are subject to wear over time, which can impact function. Thus, annual inspections ensure that equipment is working properly and indicate safety.
Failure to comply with state-required annual inspections can result in mechanical damage going unseen, creating a potential hazard for users.
As covered in a 2021 article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, oversight of elevator integrity can allow fatal collapses to occur.
