Overview
SAIT is home to legacy buildings with aging elevator infrastructure across campus. We are actively working to address both modernization and maintenance, and understand frustration goes up when elevators and escalators go down.
Before heading out to campus, you can also check the status of outages on the existing Facilities Services and Maintenance page and through the SAITALERT app.
We’re committed to finding solutions to improve accessibility and reliability throughout our facilities. Here’s a bit more about the current state and next steps.
What’s being done
SAIT has established a committee comprising key stakeholders from various departments and disciplines to address immediate challenges effectively. This committee, with its cross-campus representation, will be able to prioritize elevator and escalator modernization projects based on their significance to our community's accessibility and operations.
The Facilities Management team has thoroughly assessed all elevator and escalator assets, evaluating their condition and performance. This assessment is our foundation for outlining modernization priorities, enabling us to put maintenance and replacement efforts where needed. The elevator committee will provide increased insight into which elevators experience heavy usage by students and employees as well as specific accessibility considerations. Heavy-usage elevators and aging elevators prone to outages are being flagged for immediate attention.
Senator Burns
Work will soon begin on elevator modernization in the Senator Burns building. The main bank of elevator cars will be replaced with new models, and prep work will start in March. Replacements will be staggered, ensuring functioning elevators throughout the process.
Timeline
Johnson Cobbe
Though the elevators in Johnson Cobbe are newer models, they have experienced frequent outages. We’ve been working with elevator manufacturer OTIS on troubleshooting, and our next step is replacing the control board. We will keep the community updated through the Facilities Services and Maintenance page and appropriate signage.
If you have mobility challenges and need access to the fourth floor of Johnson Cobbe, or cannot use the escalators to the second and third floors, please call Campus Security at 403.284.8530 for access through the freight elevator.
P6 Parkade
This elevator has been successfully repaired. We worked with OTIS and our third-party maintenance provider BGIS to replace the control board.