Plant Services

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General Operating Guidelines

Our primary mission and goal is to have each school ready for business with all building systems functioning properly on each student or teacher work day. We provide design and construction management services for school construction and renovation.

When calling Plant Services, give your request to whoever answers the phone. You do not have to talk with the shop responsible. Your work order will be processed more reliably and quicker if you use the office staff instead of the shop foreman.

Additionally we will contract for some maintenance and repair items and all new construction, roadwork and large-scale renovations.

We will maintain and repair anything that has to do with the building and site, proper. Some examples of this are:

  • We coordinate with utility companies for any problems with water, sewer, electric, gas, etc. Call us; we will contact them if necessary.
  • Outside grounds maintenance to include lawn mowing, beds maintenance, underbrush clearing, drainage problems.
  • Roads and sidewalks are handled under contract.
  • Building fire detection and security monitoring is handled on contract. Technology maintains the equipment
  • New telephone lines, service and cell phones are handled by Technology Support. There is a special form to use, which is included herein for use on regular phones, not cell phones.
  • We will repair some furniture and appliances if feasible/ not damaged beyond reason. We have a one-hour time limit on appliances.
  • We supply minor hand tools to the custodians for use in the following maintenance: ceiling tile replacement, light bulb replacement, fluorescent tube replacement, switch plate cover replacement, receptacle cover replacement, chair glide replacement, window glass replacement and light lens replacement.
  • Movement and acquisition of furniture and bookcases are handled through SCOT Warehouse and School Purchasing.
  • Dumpsters are handled through Custodial.
  • The City Sign Shop through Plant Services handles all signs of a permanent nature.
  • Fire extinguishers and building sprinkler systems are handled under contract. Turn in work orders for services.
  • Carpets and rugs are replaced as needed as funding allows. Rugs are in place for grades K-2 only.

The office opens at 6:30 each workday. We close at 4:30 p.m. Do not wait until 4:25 to call in with a problem. The night crew consists of the Paint Shop and the HVAC filter crew. They are not geared to after-hour responses, so try to plan ahead.

If you have an after hours emergency, call our normal phone number and the auto attendant will page someone. You can also call Multra -Guard and ask to have the On-Call technician respond.

Work Order System
We have a computerized system for managing work orders. In FY 2010, we completed over 14,000 work orders. We do not accept work orders from everyone. Use our internet accessible work order system to turn in work requests. Emergencies may be called in, but must be followed by a work request entered into the computerized system by the school or locations.

Information that should be included on the Work Order Request is:

  • School name and Room number.
  • As complete a description of the problem as possible. This will allow us to send the best person suited for the repair. Some items require specialists, others do not.
  • Time when space can be accessed to do the work.

We will accept telephone requests to repair the following items only:

  • NO heat building wide/ NO air conditioning building wide
  • Plumbing leaks which may flood the building if not immediately addressed
  • Power outage
  • Roof leaks
  • Life/Safety emergencies of any sort

Graffiti removal, particularly obscene and racially motivated, will be removed as soon as we can get someone to the school. Until that time, the custodian should cover the graffiti with paper, clay or something else. "Tagging" should be handled via the normal Work Order Request system, but it will receive priority treatment.

Special Event Request for Heating or Cooling and Lighting
A special event is any event that takes place outside the normal school day operating hours . It also includes any event that takes place in the middle and high school auditoriums. The special request must be submitted by an authorized requestor at your location in FS Direct 48 hours prior to the event. There is some lighting, both exterior and interior, that is controlled by our Energy Management System that would have to be scheduled also.

Problems with Performance
If Plant Services employees appear to be non-productive, or are disruptive to your staff's time due to "visiting", please feel free to ask them what work order they are working on - they will get the message. If they do not, notify Mr. Webb or Mr. Beverly. Have the person's name if possible, their truck number if you cannot get their name, or at least what shop you think they are in. Each worker is required to have his School Division ID plainly visible, so do not hesitate to ask to see it if it is not readily apparent.

Storage in Mechanical / Electrical Spaces
Nothing should be stored in the boiler rooms or rooms that have electrical equipment in them. Not only is it against the law to block electric panels and transformers, severe safety hazards exist within the boiler rooms should things combust.

Building Inspections
We will inspect your building from time to time, but do not wait for us. Write up work orders as you find the need. This should be one of your lead custodian's prime responsibilities. Do not wait until June to send us a long list. Summers are reserved for large projects. We try to do routine maintenance during the year, so don't wait too long.

Alteration to Buildings or Property
Any alteration or improvement to the building or site must have the approval of the Director of Plant Services. See accompanying policy ECB.

Energy Management
All our buildings' HVAC systems and some new buildings' lighting systems are controlled centrally via a web-based energy management control system. This system controls when things come on or go off as well as how hot or cold they will be. We never turn the HVAC system off completely.

Use of this system has enabled NNPS to save money in energy consumption, thereby allowing its use to educate the students of NNPS. Since 2006, NNPS has saved approximately $7,000,000.

In summer months, we put unused portions of the schools at an 80 degree temperature setting. This addresses humidity control within the buildings, provides a cooler environment than outside for workers, and saves money. It will not damage the building contents (not even the computers).

Asbestos
Each school has an AHERA Management Plan which details the location of all asbestos within the school. It is a public document, which any citizen can request to view. Do not let it leave the office. Do know where it is at all times. If there is a question about whether something contains asbestos, call Plant Services. We provide annual training to all maintenance and custodial workers on this issue.

Security and Fire Alarms
Monitoring of the fire and building security systems is done on contract. All maintenance and repair is handled in-house by Technology Services. Do not call the monitoring service to make repairs or changes.

Keys
Each building has an established keying system, which sets up individual and master keying of the entire building. Having a key control system is important to everyone's safety. Be able to account for all your keys. Collect them each summer before teachers go home. Retrieve them upon termination of employment. Re-keying a school is prohibitively expensive . We generally will not re-key an entire school, so safe guard your keys.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
We have developed some in-house capability to deal with IAQ. There are specific steps to take in the investigation and forms that must be filled out. Our HVAC Shop assists in this important function, but the cleanliness of the building is also crucial, so do not automatically assume it's the HVAC system. Whatever the ultimate cause, we'll pursue the investigation. Turn in a work order request to initiate the process.

Heating and Air Conditioning
Total lack of these functions may be called in. When they are called in, we log them into our work order system so we can track problems. It is important to the process that you call in or submit a work order each and every time you experience the problem. That will ultimately help get it fixed faster. Do not rely on the mechanic assigned to your building being told by the custodian of a problem.

Each building has an HVAC Technician assigned to it. Handle routine requests through him. Changes to your computerized system are done through him. Your Technician will call on your building daily, typically interfacing with the custodial staff.

Roof Leaks
Roof leaks are handled via called in requests for service. Call Plant Services every time the roof leaks, even if you called it in the same leak the day before. Leaks are hard to trace sometimes and the roofer may think he's solved the problem if we don't hear from you. As with the HVAC calls, roof leaks are logged into a book so we can track problems. Help us help you by calling in the leak; do not tell the roofer when you see him; we will take care of telling him.

The custodian should replace the ceiling tile every time the roofer tells him he thinks he has fixed the leak. The ceiling tile is a great indicator of success or failure. Leaving an old tile in place is unsightly, not useful as an indicator, and ultimately unhealthy, as mold grows quickly in wet tile. Change the tile as often as needed. It does not cost the school a dime. The custodial staff shall date any replacement ceiling tiles every time they change to the new tile.

Lighting Replacement
The school's custodial staff is tasked with interior bulb and lamp replacement. Custodial provides the bulbs and lamps, via SCOT Warehouse. Fluorescent lights should be re-tubed every few years, whether they are burned out or not. Blackened ends on the tubes mean it's time to replace them. Failure to replace tubes causes damage to the starter mechanism; which then requires a work order to fix. The Electric Shop is tasked with all exterior lighting lamp replacement and repairs. The Custodial staff is tasked with conducting a monthly exterior light check and reporting any lights out via their school's light map.

Building Improvements
The majority of our budget is dedicated to maintenance of the existing buildings. We do have limited funds for building improvements and will discuss them on a case by case basis. Projects which impact the instructional delivery will take precedence over projects that merely improve the appearance of the work environment.

If you are in the running for a Blue Ribbon Award or some other special recognition, Plant Services will provide special attention to your building if we are given adequate notice.

Construction Projects
The staff of Plant Services manages projects at your site. We will attempt to get your input and approval prior to the project starting. After the project starts, the contractor will be advised to work with you in coordination issues, but changes to the work in any way MUST be done through Plant Services. The contractors are told they will not be paid for work not approved by Plant Services prior to commencement of the work. Do not put the contractor in a hard spot. Do not ask him to make changes.

General Notes
We receive many phone calls each day. If you want to talk to Wade Beverly or Greg Harrow, use of e-mail is the best way. We try to respond promptly to e-mail. Phone calls may take a while.