Ryan Secard
Contributing Writer
On Thursday, Nov. 30, the main elevator in Lowry center stopped operating. According to Bob Henery, a manager of mechanical/electrical trades at the College, the elevator stopped working as a result of a failed electromechanical relay in the main control panel of the elevator.
“The unit stopped operating and was stuck about two inches above the first floor,” said Henery.
The main elevator in Lowry Center is the only way students or staff unable to use the stairs are able to enter the main cafeteria, so food services offered students who are unable to access the cafeteria the option to have MacLeod’s employees get food for them.
“This was something we came up with on the fly as a temporary measure,” said Marjorie Shamp, director of campus dining and conference services. She also said that, to her knowledge, no students ordered food from Lowry through MacLeod’s.
The elevator was repaired by Schindler Elevator, The College of Wooster’s contracted service organization. Henery says that the contractors were called immediately after College electricians had diagnosed the problem, and that the elevator was operational again by 4 p.m. the same day, about three hours after Schindler contractors arrived to fix it. There are about 32 elevators on campus, and Schindler Elevator is the primary company in charge of servicing elevators at The College of Wooster for maintenance and repair services.
According to Henery, nobody was harmed in the incident.
“No one was trapped, and, as is the case with all of our elevators, there are safety mechanisms in place to assure the unit locks out in case of a failure,” said Henery. The state of Ohio has also recently performed its annual state inspections on all College elevators.