Newspapers / InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / Dec. 1, 1967, edition 1 / Page 6
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duke uniycRsity mg6lcatl ccnteR ELEVATOR SmOROME by Grace McClees (1) Have you ever Impatiently pushed the elevator button or (perish the thought), simply leaned on it hoping to bring the slowpoke a bit faster? (2) Have you ever continued to listen to a bit of gossip (hea vens! I know you weren't doing the talking) by forc ing the doors to stay open manually or by throwing the stop switch (when you c(uld have just gotten off and not delayed others)? (?) Have you ever gotten irri tated at a long wait (while the people in //2 finished their conversation) and Icicted the door (ouchi) or banged into it with one c those heavy trucks? (4) Have you ever flipped the emergency switch to keep the car from stopping until you reached your destination (this is a '•hoice little game people play)? (5) Have you ever ff "ced the inside' doors back while the car was running (another special goodiel)? (6) Have you ever complained that "these old things are out of order all the time"? (7) Have you ever wondered why they get out of order? Friend, if you answered "yes" to any one of the first five questions, you know why you answered "yes" to the last two. Technically, elevators respond to a series of relays, or electrical impulses, and one firm push on the proper button holds the electric coil in until the car's arrival cancels it. Leaning on the button can cause the coil to bum out, and ultimately failure of the call response. Have you ever noticed how distrustful people are waiting for an elevator? Each newcomer eyes the others furtively, or ignores them completely, and presses the button himself. Okay, he isn't taking any chances. But in the sub-basement? Or on the fifth floor? Daddy-0, there is only one button; that other fellow may have a suitcase, but he ain't waiting for a train. You also look a little silly banging away on the button when there's a little light indicating it has already been pushed. Until now, we've been waiting for the darn thing to arrive; let's get on and go to our floor. Uh-oh, it stopped and no one is there. Next floor, same deal. Well, here is another problem. That clown who got off as we got on pushed all of the buttons Inside the car. He's "home free" - never mind the delay, inconvenience and frustration caused by this charming little trick. These unnecessary stops, while not harmful, result in an increase in the amount of time a car will be out of use for routine maintenance. One morning there was a terrifying crashing, ripping, grinding of metal; an elevator had fallen. It slipped only one floor - thanks to.the built-in safety features - but fell'be- cause the lone passenger played the "game" in question That car was out of service for four days while the mechanism and doors were repaired. Five men tend to the 21 elevators in the hospital, the three in the Medical School, three in Bell Build ing, four on East Campus, and 28 on West Campus. Plus, they tend to three hospital dumbwaiters, two kitchen conveyors, four East Campus dumbwaiters, and ten dumbwaiters on West Campus. Lose count? There are 78. Mr. Earl W. Mangum is the supervisor of this hard working group; Thomas Pruitt (pictured below) and Earl L. Mangum are mechanics; Robert Hopkins (Butch), is an apprentice and Cecil Howard is a helper. (The last time I saw Cecil, he was four floors below me at the bottom of a dumbwaiter, cleaning the cables. ..I hope "Butch" remembered to haul him up!) So you see, about 65% of the "down time" of elevators is caused by the unthinking passenger. Why don't we all resolve to be more careful of this vital equipment - and more considerate of others? It might help if we keep the words of an old song in mind: "Josephina, please don't leana on da bell". Mr. Swanson, Director of Planning, has been bombard ed with notes asking, "Why the scaffolding outside the new main entrance to the hospital?" Actually, the scaffolding has been temporarily erected to carry materials up to the Muirhead Construction Company workers who are renovating the areas previously occu pied by Sims-Williams, Meyer, Cabell, and Drake wards. By hoisting materials this way the total cost of the renovation project was cut by approximately $50,000. "We know It is an eye sore, tho it is better than carrying everything through our crowded corridors", Mr. Swanson told us, "but we shall have it removed and the area replanted when the interior work is com pleted in April."
InterCom (Durham, N.C.)
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Dec. 1, 1967, edition 1
6
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