Press Release  Bump Finds Elevator Inspection Backlog in Public Safety Audit

Boston — State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump today released an audit of the Department of Public Safety which identified an increasing backlog of elevator inspections and potentially more than $3 million in uncollected fees.

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a regulatory, inspection, and licensing agency within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). The audit, which reviewed fiscal years 2011 and 2012, focused on DPS’s oversight of elevators, amusement rides, and ticket reseller operations.

“The Department of Public Safety is the public’s watchdog to ensure building owners are held accountable and elevators are safe. Too be accountable itself, the agency must raise itself to higher standards,” said Auditor Bump. “This audit provides the impetus to rethink the inspection process.”

Today’s audit found that as of October 10, 2012, 14,211 elevators, or approximately 36 percent of the 39,461 elevators registered with the state, were operating with expired inspection certificates. Despite hiring an additional 14 inspectors, the backlog of elevator inspections has increased since a 2010 audit of DPS identified a 30 percent noncompliance rate. Under state law, elevators should be inspected annually, yet auditors found more than 1,700 certificates which had been expired for more than four years.

Uninspected elevators not only represent a safety risk to the public, but also lost revenue to the Commonwealth. Elevator owners must submit an annual inspection application and fee to DPS in order to renew certification. Of the 14,211 expired certificates identified in the audit, 5,089 elevator owners had not applied for inspection or submitted the corresponding fee. As a result, DPS may have potentially forgone more than $3 million in revenue.

Meanwhile, DPS had received an application and inspection fee for 8,655 elevator inspections; however, no inspection had yet been completed. DPS’s database did not list the inspection fee payment status for 467 elevators.

In addition, the audit found that DPS’s elevator database is not up to date, complete, and reliable. As a result, elevator compliance reports periodically sent to the Legislature may be inaccurate.

Other audit findings include incomplete documentation for elevator mechanics, amusement device certified maintenance mechanics and certified inspectors, a lack of monitoring of amusement operators and ticket resellers, and inconsistencies between DPS revenue records and those in the Commonwealth’s accounting system.

In response to the audit findings, DPS has implemented new processes to notify elevator owners by mail when their certificate is set to expire within 90 days. Following completion of the audit, DPS stated that it will begin using new electronic systems in early 2015 to better address inspection backlogs.

The Office of the State Auditor conducts technical assessments and performance audits of state government’s programs, departments, agencies, authorities, contracts, and vendors. With its reports, the OSA issues recommendations to improve accountability, efficiency, and transparency.

The Department of Public Safety audit is available here.

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