NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

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A pair of elevators in Building 31, one of which displays sign above, "Not in service."
Elevator maintenance is a constant challenge across NIH.

Feedback: 

The main elevators in Bldg. 10 south lobby are horribly slow and do not appear to properly synchronize/coordinate with one another. These elevators are the most frequently used elevators by staff, patients, deliveries, maintenance workers and other guests and should be functioning at an efficient capacity.
For the past month, these elevators have been slower than ever, leading to wait times of up to 10 minutes or more. This is a safety issue.
When will this problem be addressed appropriately?

Response from Office of Research Facilities

Thank you for your feedback. Judging from the timing of your question, the issue cited appears to have been caused by a high volume of ridership resulting from the unscheduled shutdown of two elevators on the east side of Bldg. 10. The passengers who would normally ride east elevators migrated to the center elevator bank at a time when one of the four central elevators was out of service for scheduled repairs. 

Since the time of this complaint, the elevators in question were repaired and placed back in service. 

Another regrettable aspect of elevator reliability is that vandalism of the interior components or doors has repeatedly occurred. If anyone notices acts of vandalism, please report them to the NIH Police. The Office of Research Facilities is also investigating the feasibility of installing surveillance cameras in elevators to deter vandalism. 

Overall, despite mechanical failures and acts of vandalism, Bldg. 10 elevators are operating at 90 percent availability. We do our best to schedule repairs and preventive maintenance, taking into account elevators already out of service. Our goal is to have no more than one elevator in a bank out of service at any one time. We appreciate your understanding.  

The NIH Record

The NIH Record, founded in 1949, is the biweekly newsletter for employees of the National Institutes of Health.

Published 25 times each year, it comes out on payday Fridays.

Assistant Editor: Eric Bock
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Staff Writer: Amber Snyder
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