September-October - Plant Operations
Transcription
September-October - Plant Operations
the University of Michigan Plant Operations Newsletter September/October 2014 plant exchange inside Director’s Message 3 Facilities Maintenance Historic Flagpole Ready for the Next 100 Years 4 Plant Operations The Flag and Plant Operations 5 Utilities and Plant Engineering Mapping Your World 6 Respect & Inclusion Resource Team Book Review 7 Plant Operations U-M Plant Operations Receives the APPA Award for Excellence 8 Plant Operations Retirement Celebration 9 Construction Services Construction Services supports the Campus WiFi Project U-M tackles increased Wi-Fi demand with upgrade project 10 11 Work Management Back cover On-Call 24/7 – The Plant Operations Call Center the September/October 2014 plant exchange The Plant Exchange is produced by members of the Plant Operations Division at the University of Michigan. Its purpose is to inform Plant Operations staff and the university community of activities, accomplishments, and information about our organization and the work we perform. new hires Cover photo: Plant Operations Call Center Front row from left: Jacki Layher, Crystal Barnes, Josh Chenier, Phyllis Oliver Back row from left: Debbie Burhans, Becky Green, Teresa Burhans, Melissa Inman, Pat Milkovich, Wes Fabian PLANT OPERATIONS Dates August 2014 - September 2014 The Regents of the University of Michigan Plant Building & Grounds Services Mark J. Bernstein, Ann Arbor Erich Keil Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor Facilities Maintenance Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse Pointe Michael Kantz Stephen Koch Arthur Pliska Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms Utilities & Plant Engineering Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor James Adams Wayne Gursinski Laurence B. Deitch, Bloomfield Hills Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor Mark S. Schlissel (ex officio) The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The University of Michigan is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex*, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or Vietnamera veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Senior Director for Institutional Equity and Title IX/Section 504 Coordinator, Office for Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388. For other University of Michigan information, call 734-764-1817. *Includes discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression. 2 Editor-in-Chief: Anuja Mudali Copy Editor: Val Amo Design & Layout: Gwen Frederickson retirements Dates August 2014 - September 2014 Construction Services Rockey C. Bennett Website Coordinator: George Benson Plant Building & Grounds Services Contact: Anuja Mudali (amudali@umich.edu) with any questions, comments or corrections. Isaias P. Celestino Eirini Kaouri Diana L. McVey William Minard Archives of The Plant Exchange are located at: www.plantops.umich.edu/PlantExchange/ U-M Plant Operations 326 E. Hoover, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1002 Telephone: (734) 763-9333 Fax: (734) 763-2590 Web: www.plantops.umich.edu/PlantExchange/ The Plant Exchange is printed with soy ink on 100 percent recycled paper. Please recycle in “Paper” recycling bins. Facilities Maintenance Russell C. Weiner Thomas H. Vanderwerp Lewis F. McQuillan Utilities & Plant Engineering Yoshiko Hill From the Desk of Executive Director Rich Robben “Greatness is a perception. It may or may not be a reality. What is important is that this reality is shared by others.” Charlotte Chandler (Lyn Erhard) Biographer This quote cuts to the core of our reality. Do you believe that we are a great organization? Do our peers? Maybe most importantly does our campus community and those we serve believe Plant is a great organization and service provider? I would like to invite any of Plant’s team members and customers to ask any questions about our operations. And I will endeavor to answer them in the Plant Exchange. I’ll pick the most interesting and challenging questions to answer (if I get overwhelmed with questions). Hopefully this can serve as a means of improving communication between my office and all of you. Send your questions to my email address and we can get started. All of the awards and recognition in the world don’t mean a thing if those we serve don’t think we are doing a great job. We have just been given significant recognition from our peers in receiving the APPA Award for Excellence. When webenchmark ourselves with other like institutions, we rrobben@umich.edu compare very favorably in all categories. When we look at our performance metrics and indicators, we seem to be hitting on all cylinders. And yet, when we ask ourselves or our customers how well we are doing, we get mostly C’s and a few D’s for grades. I often ponder this issue and I can’t say that I have any great answers to give, but I would like to offer some thoughts. Sometimes I think some of us have lost sight of our mission, or never had a good view. Plant Operations is a maintenance organization. We clean, repair, operate and modify facilities to keep them in a state that serves the university community’s needs and mission. We strive to provide operational excellence to the community and yet, some of us rebel against the very processes, unit flexibility, proactivity and even new technology that is needed to maintain our excellence. Are we too comfortable in the “old ways” that we have lost sight of the mission? Perhaps we don’t present ourselves as a high performing organization to our customers. In our small actions, how we dress or communicate and how we approach our work tells volumes about us to the community. Image is very important in building impressions. Are we presenting our best effort when we interact? Deep Change is very disruptive. It can shake the foundations we are built on. Perhaps the change we have gone through the past ten years (and I include the external environment) has been too unsettling. Maybe we have become more attached to our war stories then we are with the reams of data that show a different view. I’m sure and there’s no doubt in my mind, that many of you can present other thoughts and I would be very glad to hear them (rrobben@umich.edu). The bottom line is, however is that we don’t have the luxury to stand in place and ponder different realities. Rather, as we are being swept along by the winds of change, we must remain vigilant of our course, so we can control our destination. My last observation is that Plant Operations is a great organization working for a great University! All of you, whether happy or not about the changes, whether you think things are working or not, have turned the corner and are showing the rest of the University how to implement change. You all deserve to feel good about this recognition and to celebrate your accomplishments. We will continue to work on the issues and together, we will work to create a great reality. Thank you. Rich rrobben@umich.edu University of Michigan Plant Operations Newsletter September/October 2014 3 Facilities Maintenance HISTORIC FLAGPOLE READY FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS By Julie Ashley, FM Special Events In 2012, the University launched a survey of existing flagpoles on campus to evaluate their current condition and to repair as needed. The case of the central campus flagpole (located on northside of the Diag) is particularly interesting. First constructed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the flagpole was purchased by the University of Michigan in 1898 for $375 and originally installed near the current site of the Hatcher Graduate Library. In 1918, it was moved to its current location and embedded in a 10’ cement foundation. Flag Tom Walterhouse, Senior Project Manager (AEC) was assigned to manage the project and worked with an engineering firm to redesign the foundation. The end result—a new foundation system which consists of four caissons sunk to a depth of 25’ with anchor bolts to secure the 146’ flagpole. Lead paint was removed and the pole was then covered with three applications of non-yellowing white marine paint. Thanks to the collaboration between AEC, Power & Lighting, and the FM Welding Shop, a new lighting concept was designed and will be installed this fall. The new design will include flat LED panels angled toward the ball of the flag pole and will be mounted on the four existing light posts. Dave Lammers, Foreman-Power & Lighting/Utilities & Engineering, and Tom Walterhouse worked together on the custom lighting concept and design. Dale Turner, Welder in Facilities Maintenance, is now fabricating tapered metal extension sleeves to fit over the top of the light posts. Fred Miller, Electrician-Power & Lighting, will install the lights and sleeves to the posts. Walterhouse stated, “What started as an enhancement design has evolved into a safety and energy-saving project. Plant will no longer need to access roofs to maintain the lights installed to illuminate the flags. For years, occupants working at night reported distracting glare through the windows. This project will address both issues as we are replacing the fixtures with energy efficient, low maintenance LED lights.” Dave Lammers added, “It is great that this installation is being completed entirely using Plant Operation’s resources.” Kenn Rapp, University Landscape Architect, is working with Bill Kronberg, Horticulturist, and Alex Sulzer, Construction Project Manager, to develop a plan to revise the perennial beds surrounding the flag pole. New plants will be installed this fall to provide color to the area in spring and summer. So, the next time you walk past this gorgeous flagpole, waving our country’s colors and the maize and blue block ‘M’, remember to salute our Plant employees who take pride in ensuring this monument will be here for all of us to enjoy for the next 100 years. 4 Four caissons sunk to a depth of 25’ will support the 146’ flagpole. Photo by Tom Walterhouse. Plant Operations pole THE FLAG AND PLANT OPERATIONS The 121-year-old flag pole has become an iconic symbol on Central Campus. Ron Cheesman and Dan Vogel, millwrights in Facilities Maintenance, have the task of raising and lowering the United States flag when the president of the United States or state governor order flags to be flown at half-staff to honor those serving our country. The U of M flag is always secondary in flag etiquette and is flown exactly 30 feet below the U.S. flag. Another important official flag code regulation states the U.S. flag can only be flown at night if properly illuminated. Ed Wilson, Asset Supervisor-Central Campus East, maintains the flags. Ed explained, “Building Services raised and lowered the American flag daily until 1987 when lights were installed on the roofs of the Chemistry and Krause Buildings to illuminate the flag. At that time Plant Operations requested that the University of Michigan flag also be flown. Because this flagpole is a focal point in the mall, we purchased a larger 20’ by 30’ lightweight nylon U.S. flag that flies in the lightest breeze.” Ed added that the University flag is 15’ by 20’. Crane returning the flagpole as it is anchored to new foundation—resting place for another hundred years. Photo by Ed Wilson. 3/4” thick shrouding encloses the flagpole base, pictured here with Tom Walterhouse (left) and Ed Wilson. Photo by Samantha Brandt. American and University flags as they are raised for the first time on the newly restored flag pole. Photo by Samantha Brandt. More information about the flagpole as public art is available at: http://public-art.umich.edu/the_collection/campus/central/51 University of Michigan Plant Operations Newsletter September/October 2014 5 Utilities and Plant Engineering MAPPING YOUR WORLD By Ray Garrett & Monique Manners Based on name alone, you might not think Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, is anything sensational. After all, what could possibly be new or exciting about another information system? As it turns out, plenty. GIS provide ideal platforms for managing information linked to a geographical location, information where the position, connectivity, and directional relationships between objects are important. The system lets you visualize these relationships, trends, and patterns in maps. In other words, GIS make it possible to represent real objects in digital space. Not impressed yet? GIS is also able to provide a high level of positional accuracy. It can triangulate the exact location of an asset or utility. The latest generation also features integrated key plans, document access, external databases, high quality printing, high quality aerials, and tighter integration with the Facilities Management System (FMS). This is not just an incremental improvement. GIS has been redesigned to provide users with groundbreaking new functionality. GIS had humble beginnings that began with the formation of the Utilities Records Integration Department, or URI, whose mission was to document the University’s utility infrastructure. The main task was to transfer a room full of fragmented paper maps and drawings of utility systems into a single entity. It was determined early in the development process that in addition to the FMS system, which holds work order and asset data, something more was necessary. A way to visualize and model data was essential, and GIS was the answer. At the start, ESRI’s desktop mapping software was used to gather utility data and then map that information. From there, we looked for an easier way to get that information into the hands of the end users. The desktop software was cumbersome and paper maps became outdated quickly. The solution? The World Wide Web! 6 The first generation (G1) of the URI GIS website was geared towards Utility personnel. It was not long before it was realized that there was a lot of great information there that would be of benefit to a wider audience. The website was rewritten (G2) to meet the needs of that wider audience. We collaborated with AEC, OSEH and ITS fiber, utilizing their information to provide a robust website that not only serves many areas of Plant Operations but also many within B&F. So, what is next? MOBILE! We are currently in the process of writing generation three (G3) of the website which will enable mobile users on tablets, iPADs, Android systems, and smart phones to access the system without using a VPN. We are also working on enhancements such as red lining, Miss Dig integration, location analytics, and enhanced FMS integration. In addition, we are working on a 3D campus and BIM integration. But, in order to make a great system even better, we need help and feedback from you, our end users. If you have any suggestions that would make your job easier or more cost-effective, please submit them to PO-UE-GISHelp@umich.edu, and we will do our best to incorporate them into the next release. Please also let us know if you spot any errors in our maps so we can work on updating or correcting them as soon as possible. To use the GIS website you will need to obtain your supervisor’s permission, attend a two hour training course, and recertify annually via a web form. If you would like to be notified of our next training course, let us know via the email address above and we will send you the training dates once they are determined. GIS, bringing our campus together. From Respect & Inclusion Resource Team Book Review A BOOK REVIEW BY RICK SIMMONS One of my interests for the last 30 years has been studying & sometimes collecting old photographs. Although my main focus is on military subjects, I enjoy collecting images from the 1850`s through about 1920. Recently, I was hunting for a book on my and came across my copy of Hidden Witness: African- American Images from the Dawn of Photography to the Civil War. It’s an excellent book. Collector ! Hidden Witness: African- American Images from the Dawn of Photography to the Civil War By: Jackie Napolean Wilson Publisher: St. Martin`s Griffin (February 9, 2002) ISBN: 10:0312267479 Jackie Napolean Wilson of Detroit has gathered 70 outstanding images. He provides personal commentary on each one giving us his impression & any known facts on the subjects. Here are images of African Americans from all walks of life from slaves, to freemen and women, to tradesmen holding the tools of their craft, and of course Civil War soldiers. While there are a few rare outdoor pictures most are studio portraits with many of the subjects dressed hand me downs or in the latest fashions. If you have never experienced viewing old photographs you will be stunned by the clarity and power they can convey. No matter what walk of life they come from the overall impression they impart is one of pride & dignity. They seem to be looking at you right out of history. I believe this book can be enjoyed on many levels. This book is still in print and is available to purchase. University of Michigan Plant Operations Newsletter September/October 2014 7 Plant Operations U-M PLANT OPERATIONS RECEIVES THE APPA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE By Anuja Mudali On July 22, 2014, U-M Plant Operations received the APPA Award for Excellence from the APPA organization at the Annual APPA conference in San Diego, California This was the second time U-M has received this award; the first time being in 2006. “U-M is by the largest public research university to receive this award,” said Rich Robben, the Executive Director of Plant Operations. “This award is belongs to all the great employees in Plant Operations and the customers we serve.” Applying for the Award for Excellence is a rigorous process which involves application, documentation and site visit by APPA award committee. For the application, Plant Operations described its entire business process, including questions about leadership, strategic planning, customer satisfaction, development and management of human resources and much more. Each department provided thorough supporting documentation for review. During the site visit, the APPA award committee met with Plant Operations employees and customers to review materials and get feedback. For the APPA conference awards ceremony, U-M produced a non-traditional music video showcasing the work done by Plant Operations. The video was well received by the ceremony attendees and Plant Operations staff. For details about the video, see article in the previous issue of the Plant Exchange http://www.plantops.umich.edu/ PlantExchange/2014_jun_julPE.pdf 8 About APPA: APPA promotes leadership in educational facilities for professionals seeking to build their careers, transform their institutions, and elevate the value and recognition of facilities in education. APPA is the association of choice for more than 10,000 educational facilities professionals from 1,300 educational institutions in North America. This is APPA’s 100 year anniversary. Educational facilities professionals develop and sustain the physical environment of the institutions that they serve. In support of this work, APPA provides information, training, and research based on four core areas of competency– • General Administration and Government, • Operations & Maintenance, • Energy, Utilities & Environmental Stewardship, and • Planning, Design and Construction For more information, please visit: http://www.appa.org Plant Operations RETIREMENT CELEBRATION – AUG 2014 By Gina Flowers & Von Hardesty Plant Operations had a tremendous turnout for the August 5, 2014 Retirement Celebration! We were thrilled to be able to recognize seven of our long-time employees. Many of our employees and visitors commented on the vast number of people who came to visit with the retirees. This celebration’s participating retirees were: • Dennis Boone, Maintenance Mechanic II, Facilities Maintenance - 34 years of service • Terry Johnson, Construction Engineering Manager, Construction Services - 33 years of service • Jim Vibbart, Region Manager in Central Campus East, Facilities Maintenance - 33 years of service • Mark Wawrzaszek, Mason, Construction Services - 30 years of service • Frank Williams, Spray Painter Construction Services - 27 years of service • Marge Eadie, Custodial Supervisor, Plant Building and Grounds Services -25 years of service • Sandra Metler, Custodian II, Plant Building and Grounds Services - 20 years of service Together, these retirees have a combined total of 202 years of service to the University. The celebration was held in the big dining area in Building 18 of the North Campus Research Center (NCRC). Lowell Hanson, Associate Director for Facilities Maintenance, stood in for Rich Robben as the Master of Ceremony. During Lowell’s welcome address to the large crowd, he asked for the retirees’ family members to stand if they currently work at the University or have worked at the University in the past; a large number of people stood in response. This shows there are families who are working to help Make Blue GO! Presenting plaques and honoring retirees were: Marilyn Hindbaugh, Custodial Supervisor honoring Sandra Metler; Carie Kloak, Building Services Area Manager honored Marge Eadie; Rich Gross, Construction Services Sr. Supervisor honored Frank Williams; Dave Hawks, Construction Services Sr. Supervisor honored Mark Wawrzaszek; Paul Guttman, Construction Services Associate Director honored Terry Johnson; Lowell Hanson, Facilities Maintenance Associate Director honored Jim Vibbart; and Camie Munsell, Asset Supervisor at Central Campus East honored Dennis Boone. Before the refreshments and after the presentations, photos were taken of the retirees with their families and members of the University community. We would like to give a very big thank you to Dan Pope for being our celebration photographer. His photographs of the celebration are something our retirees appreciate being able to have as a keepsake. For those of you planning to retire this year, we would like to encourage you to participate in the next Plant Operations Retirement Celebration which will be held February 17, 2015. Your co-workers and friends on campus would like to have the opportunity to celebrate your accomplishment with you, to have a chance to say goodbye and wish you well and to meet your family members. For more information on upcoming retirement celebrations, please contact the committee member from your department. Retirement Celebration Committee by department: Team leader-Julie Ashley, Facilities Maintenance; Plant Building & Grounds Services-Tammy Johnson; Construction Services-Jeanette Craft, Louann Walch; Facilities Maintenance-Gina Flowers, Sue Nylen; Plant Administration-Betty Alberts (continuing to participate on the Planning Committee after retirement); Utilities & Plant Engineering-Ron Crawford; and Work ManagementVon Hardesty. University of Michigan Plant Operations Newsletter September/October 2014 9 Construction Services CONSTRUCTION SERVICES SUPPORTS THE CAMPUS WIFI PROJECT By Alan Swan Construction Services has been tasked with supporting ITS with providing the infrastructure for the campus WiFi project. The ultimate goal for this project is to provide reliable and higher capacity WiFi service in UM-Ann Arbor campus buildings for U-M students, faculty, staff and visitors/guests excluding athletic buildings and dormitories. To date, many Construction Services employees have teamed closely with the ITS Campus WiFi team. Construction Services has supported ITS with investigative engineering support as well as conduit installations. CS has completed the infrastructure in a number of buildings on Central campus. The initial phase of this project encompasses public Wifi areas such as wireless ticketing areas in Mendelssohn 10 Theater, Palmer Commons, Rackham, and Pierpont Commons. We have also completed 100% coverage projects in the Michigan Union (which has over 200 wireless access points), SAB, and the Alumni Center. Upcoming projects include Health Services, Michigan League and Ruthven Museum. This is a great opportunity for Plant Operations- Construction Services to partner with ITS, another U-M service provider to improve the campus environment. For more information about the specifics of the project and schedule, please read the following article from ITS. For more information, please visit: http://www.itcom.itd.umich.edu/ wireless/wifi-upgrade/ U-M TACKLES INCREASED WI-FI DEMAND WITH UPGRADE PROJECT By Patty Giorgio, ITS (reprinted with permission from ITS) In the last few weeks, as U-M faculty and students returned to campus with laptops, smartphones, tablets and other electronic gear, the demand on the MWireless network has continued to soar. The number of devices connecting to MWireless has more than doubled in the past year. In 2013, a Campus Wi-Fi Upgrade project was approved as a key initiative, with the provost approving major capital investments for Wi-Fi upgrades to public-facing U-M facilities. Further improvements to the Wi-Fi network in additional buildings on campus have been proposed and are in the approval process. “Staying on top of the ever increasing demand for Wi-Fi connectivity is an ongoing priority,” said Andy Palms, executive director of ITS Communication Systems and Data Centers. “Ensuring our Wi-Fi service can scale to the demand of our faculty, staff, students and visitors is critical to the university’s ability to further its mission. The U-M community expects Wi-Fi connectivity anytime, anywhere.” U-M is not alone in the race to keep up with the demand for higher capacity Wi-Fi networks. According to the Educause IT Issues Panel, the demand on campus Wi-Fi networks is the No. 1 IT challenge facing higher education. Students have made their voices heard about how important they believe Wi-Fi connectivity is to their educational experience at U-M. According to PC Magazine, students rate the need for Wi-Fi alongside their need for food and water, with 90 percent saying it is essential to their educational success. Faculty and staff at U-M agree, said Dan Maletta, interim executive director of Information Technology at the College of Engineering. “The upgraded Wi-Fi across campus will allow for the use of new tools in education and provide the ability for students to be active participants in the classroom in a manner not possible prior to the upgrade,” Maletta said. In an effort to meet these expectations, high-traffic public buildings on the Ann Arbor campus were targeted for upgrades first. Over the past year major upgrades occurred on Wi-Fi networks at Palmer Commons, Buhr Remote Shelving Facility, Shapiro Undergraduate Library and the Hatcher Graduate Library. Upgrades at the Michigan Union, Student Activities Building and Pierpont Commons are expected to complete in the next month. These buildings are often the first that people encounter on campus and are some of the most frequently visited buildings at U-M. Faculty, staff, students and visitors should soon have a much better Wi-Fi experience in these university hubs. After a rigorous request-for-proposal process, a network hardware vendor was selected for the project. “By combining the needs of the campus, the university was able to significantly reduce the cost of hardware needed to build and maintain the MWireless network,” Palms said. “Historically, this had been done unit by unit. The pricing negotiated through this process is also available to the rest of the University of Michigan community, including the U-M Health System, UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint campuses.” University of Michigan Plant Operations Newsletter September/October 2014 11 Work Management ON-CALL 24/7 – THE PLANT OPERATIONS CALL CENTER By Debbie Burhans The Plant Operations Call Center is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. They take incoming calls for maintenance, building services and pest management. In addition to the calls, they also process on-line and fax requests for work orders from customers. Occasionally they have customers walk in with a request to be processed. The call center also provides service for the Academic side of campus, along with Housing and some hospital buildings. Meet the new Call Center Manager:: Pat Milkovich, Call Center Manager, joined our team in June. Pat comes to us from the Otolaryngology Call Center where she was the supervisor. Previous to that, she had been a radiology call center representative, and worked at a facility services call center at Glacier Hills Senior Living. Pat also worked in the construction industry as a bookkeeper, scheduler and then manager. Pat has her degree in Business Administration and Accounting. Pat enjoys working in the Plant Operations Call Center because she’s back in the facilities services world and learning all the intricacies of making Blue Go efficiently. The Plant Exchange University of Michigan Plant Operations 326 E. Hoover, Ann Arbor, MI 48109