Sign coming into P6 parking lot on SAIT campus. (Photo by Jenna Willox)
By: Jenna Willox
Picture this; You’re on your way to an early class, you arrive at the Stan Grad building on campus and head towards the escalator only to be met with a bright yellow gate around it with an “out of order” sign posted to it.
A small yet recurring issue causing frustration amongst students who look to these facilitates to get around campus seamlessly. I sat down with Lisa Brown, manager of facilities management operations on the SAIT campus for her expertise to give students the answers they are looking for. The interview has been edited for clarity.
Lisa Brown sitting down for an interview in the facilities management office on SAIT campus in Jan. 2024 (Photo by Jenna Willox)
Q: What is the process for getting the escalators and elevators repaired at SAIT?
A: So, when somebody identifies that an elevator or an escalator is not functioning, they can either e-mail the helpline, the FM helpline at SAIT.ca and report it and then the helpline administrator would submit a SAIT works request to have a tech go and take a look. And we do have a full-time technician on site.
Q: Is that tech outsourced?
A: It is third party, but he's here. We have somebody here all-day during business hours, everyday Monday to Friday.
Q: And what is the timeline for repairs typically?
A: That's a tricky one to answer because it really depends on what's wrong with it. And it could be so many different things, right? It also depends on the vintage of the elevator or escalator. So, the older it is, the more challenging it can be to find the parts to replace the ones that are broken.
Q: Could that be one of the reasons why the escalators in the Stan Grad building are frequently out of order?
A: Yes, for sure.
Q: Do you know when they were built in that building?
A: Off the top of my head, I don't, but I could find that information out for you, if you like. They're some of our older ones on the campus. So, part of the reason why they can be out is something needs repair like something goes down escalators. Specifically, we get rocks under the steps. Particularly in the winter when we get all the gravel outside and the sand, they get tracked in, in people's boots. And when they get in there, it's like the escalators can stop once they sense them. They will stop. We're not allowed to just restart them, right? For safety reasons, we have to go in, and we have to actually do a proper job cleaning it out. The other thing that can happen is we do very regular inspections of the elevators and escalators. If we note something that's amiss in an inspection, then sometimes we need to put that elevator or escalator out of service as well.
(In a follow-up email Brown stated that the elevators in the Stan Grad building were built in 2000.)
Q: So, it’s a safety issue?
A: Yeah, even if it's just a small thing. Like, rarely do you get an issue that's actually going to be an immediate safety concern, right. Any kind of wear and tear will often result in having to replace this part, or that part before we put it back in service.
Q: I have a question specifically about the elevators in the P6 parking lot. What has SAIT done to accommodate those with disabilities who rely on escalators or elevators to get around?
A: The parking department could give you a more specific answer. There is the digital sign leading into it that does say that the elevator is out of order, so they can be accommodated in another surface lot.
Q: What can students expect to see in the next couple of months in terms of repairs?
A: we keep a building outages and maintenance page active and updated on SAIT.ca or on your SAIT alert app. There's a buildings outages button that you can go to and that gives our current estimated time of date of repair to get it back in service so you can see that there. So, offhand, I don't know exactly what they are for each unit, but again, it typically depends on the availability of parts. So, we have got all the technicians that we need. Labor is not an issue, it's the parts.
