INSPECTION OF ELEVATOR/FIRE EXIT MONITORS

High-rise buildings will usually have elevator monitors located usually at or near the security post located on the first-floor lobby. Depending on the age of the elevators, automatic controls may exist that simply require a security officer to note their status. Elevators can be placed on automatic timers to coordinate their operation during non-business hours. Other types of elevators may require manual manipulation of controls by security personnel. Each facility

is unique. These responsibilities need to be reviewed in your post orders and with your immediate supervisor.

Elevator controls will also be integrated into a facility’s fire notification system. When an alarm is initiated, override controls will return all elevators to the ground floor and will not permit their continued use unless a fi re department emergency key is inserted into the control panel located inside each elevator’s control panel.

Emergency or fi re exit doors should always be locked from the outside preventing unauthorized access from the exterior of the building. Alarm panels with illuminated and audible alarms will signal when a door has been opened.

When beginning a shift, security personnel need to inspect the control panel to ensure it is functioning properly. In addition, while conducting a patrol of the facility, all exit doors

should be closed and the alarm panel reset, if necessary. With no-smoking policies in effect in most workplaces, many of these exit doors are used by smokers during scheduled work breaks. Security officers need to understand the particular restrictions on the use of these emergency exits.