We are scheduling a 10 minute power interruption at 7am on April 30 to test our campus generator starting equipment. Some have contacted Facilities to say that the outage might cause problems to their research equipment or experiments. Those concerns have prompted us to remind everyone about the need to plan for unplanned power outages. We have not had many of them, but it might be safe to say that there is about one each year on average. If there is a utility power outage, our systems will go through a starting procedure to make sure that all main breakers at the primary sub-station are open and then issue a start signal to the four campus generators that we have. Once they start, they need to synchronize to each other and then the three breakers feeding the main campus are closed one by one to restore power to campus buildings. Normally this process takes two minutes or less. However we have been and still continue to advise the campus to have systems in place for critical loads to cover a ten minute outage. We recommend 10 minutes because it gives us a window to work with should there be a failure in the starting sequence, alarms need to be cleared and the starting process needs to be repeated. Please allow for 10 minute outages when making plans to cover your critical systems. Thank you.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Power Outage Planned 4/30/2012
Posted by pamuller under Energy Management
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
What are we spraying on the sidewalks?
Posted by pamuller under Uncategorized
Salt Brine
After the successful results of the past couple of winters, we are continuing to spray the sidewalks with salt brine in our battle to combat ice build-up on the sidewalks. The Grounds Department uses pickup trucks fitted with large plastic tanks and spray bars on the back. The brine helps prevent the packed snow from making a hard bond to the sidewalk surface, making it easier for the snow plows to remove the build-up down to the bare sidewalk. On the days with temperatures fall below about 15 degrees F, we cannot use the salt brine due to re-freezing. During these conditions, the crews continue their normal plowing operations and go to the salt brine after the temperatures warm up. We are trying to reduce the amount of sand spread on the sidewalks, which helps reduce the amount of sand tracked into the buildings. If you have any questions or comments, please contact grounds at 487-2722 or email facilities@mtu.edu.
Friday, November 18, 2011
New Electronic Form For Custodial Requests and Minor Maintenance
Posted by dgilbert under Custodial Services
Building Mechanic, John Hackmeier changing out Chem-Sci exit lights
The campus community now has an option to submit minor maintenance repairs and custodial needs like a dripping faucet, light out, hand towel dispenser out of towels, etc. These repair requests go to the responsible facilities manager and the assigned building mechanic for
that building.
Please refer to our Web http://www.aux.mtu.edu/facilities/
Friday, November 18, 2011
Keeping The Fleet Neat
Posted by dgilbert under Fleet Services
In December of last year, Fleet Services purchased a brand new state of the art pressure car wash machine. Our student employees maintain the cleanliness of our fleet vehicles on a daily basis throughout the calendar year.
Our maintenance garage is equipped with the power washer as well as a powerful vacuum cleaner. We also maintain the interior of our vehicles with environmentally safe cleaning supplies.
If your department currently leases a vehicle from our department or you own your department vehicle please make an appointment to get your work vehicle detailed inside and out.
Our hours of operation are 7am to 4pm Monday through Friday.
Call today and we will be sure to make your university vehicle shine.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Reducing Paper Waste
Posted by dgilbert under Sustainability
Bill Mitchell
I have been involved in the recycling program at Michigan Tech for the last ten years. I have noticed that we waste a lot of paper. Here are some easy steps everyone can take that would not only save our resources, but also reduce costs for departments.
Two sided printing: Many printers and copiers are capable of two-sided printing. If yours has this capability, then set your default to print on both sides. If you need something printed on one side only, it is easy to change the settings for that print job. If you have a color printer set the default to black and white (monochrome); this will save on toner costs.
Use print selection: How many times have you printed the whole Tech Today because there was an item you wanted to keep? Instead, highlight the item you want and use print selection.
Print Preview: How many times have you printed something and the last page was blank, or had only one or two lines that are not needed? Do a print preview so you only print those pages that you need.
Reuse: If you do end up with a copy that is blank or almost blank, don’t just chuck it in the recycle bin. Use it for scrap paper, or print on the other side when you are printing a draft or something similar. Some professors on campus recycle used paper by using the blank sides to write on while using the document cameras in our classrooms.
We can all do our part to help reduce paper waste and cost.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Maintenance upgrading air compressors
Posted by pamuller under Maintenance
As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce our energy consumption, Facilities Management is replacing three air compressors on campus. The first one was completed on Thursday, September 29th, at the ATDC building. These compressors use much less electricity than the units they replace, and the project qualified for a rebate from our electric utility company. Our net investment in this project will be returned with lower electric bills in a little over a year.
Friday, September 30, 2011
2011 Summer Grounds Work
Posted by dgilbert under Grounds
This past summer has been another busy season for the Grounds Department. After all of the winter clean up was completed part of the crew worked on the athletic fields, doing the seasonal aerating, top dressing, seeding, and fertilizing.
We had a local contractor on site working on a large water main relocation project on Woodland Road. The project involved replacing a large water main that failed over the winter months. Contractors were busy all summer working on the site work and underground utilities for the new Great Lakes Research Center on the lake shore. Near the end of the summer a large building construction project kicked into high gear at the Portage Health Clinic near the SDC that involved relocating underground utilities and site work among other things.
The Grounds Department crew members worked on replacing a large number of the sanitary sewer laterals from the apartments to the main line in Daniell Heights. The crew also helped the Mineral Museum move into their new building on Sharon Avenue, which involved eight semi trailers and four self storage units full of parts and pieces.
Our gardeners kept busy with the continual improvements to the campus gardens. With a fair amount of rain during the early part of the summer, our mowing crew worked almost non-stop keeping everything looking nice. A few smaller sidewalk replacement projects rounded out the work on the main campus this summer.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Window washing on campus
Posted by pamuller under Custodial Services
Yes, it’s close to Halloween, and students and staff in our high rise buildings may be a bit frightened if they look out their window, and see a person hanging on a harness washing their window! It’s been a few years, so Facilities Management Custodial Services contracted Johnson’s Glass Cleaning out of Ishpeming to wash the exterior windows on the MEEM, Chem Sci, ERRC, Dow, and M&M buildings. The project will start Saturday, October 1st, and will take about a week. Hopefully next summer we can schedule more buildings to have their exterior windows done. Didn’t mean to frighten you.
Monday, September 26, 2011
The Campus in Bloom
Posted by gasweeti under Grounds
Click here to hear Lynn and see the gardens .
Stroll through the Michigan Technological University campus these days and enjoy enchanting flower gardens that burn bright, scent the air and catch the eye. Some of the gardens are in the sheltering shade; some are in the all-seeing sun, and all are beauties that invite you to pause, reflect and marvel.
Take, for instance, the memorial garden on the south side of the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. The basis of this planting is what master gardener Lynn Watson calls “the language of flowers.” “Plants communicate human emotion,” she says. They speak in poetry, not platitudes. Walk among them and read the little signs that describe what they represent. Learn that the white firs symbolize time; the imperial honey locust, affection beyond the grave; the yew, sorrow; the French willow, bravery and humanity; the mint, virtue; the larkspur, levity; the crimson star columbine, anxiety and trembling; the juniper, succor and protection. read more »