CSC Maintenance department essential to campus

Planning responses to weather forecasts, making repairs, helping with renovations and reacting to unforeseen malfunctions of equipment all generate work for maintenance crews who report to Harold Mowry, maintenance supervisor. He manages the work orders and projects of six boiler house personnel, five grounds workers, three carpenters, two electricians, two heating/air conditioning specialists, one plumber and one painter.

“They are all very good at what they do,” said Dale Grant, vice president of finance and administration. “We are a service organization and our goal is to keep buildings and grounds maintained at the highest level. We have a fairly good system for faculty and staff to report issues and track our responses.”

The grounds crew members probably have the broadest range of work duties among the staff who report to Mowry, according to Grant. In addition to snow removal from parking lots they are responsible for removing debris after storms, sprinkler maintenance, mowing, fertilizing and aerating lawns on campus, mowing trails on C-Hill and spraying weeds.

Lucinda Mays, grounds supervisor, coordinates ground crew work including seed planting in new trail areas and landscaping around new construction or renovation sites. Part-time staff including students and community members assist with grounds maintenance.

Grounds staff also deliver materials and supplies such as copier paper across campus, move furniture, install outdoor stone signs and many other day-to-day tasks.

The boiler house, one of only a handful like it in Nebraska, has a staff of six who keep it running around the clock. Built in 1991, it uses 7,500-8,500 tons of wood chips annually from nearby forests to heat and cool buildings and water on campus. The Absorption Chiller was added in 2004.

“It is our only 24/7 presence. Although the temperature and pressure are mostly computer automated, the staff keeps the wood chips stoked, monitor trouble lights and detectors for the boiler house plus multiple systems across campus. Boiler house staff handle all after hours calls made to campus and, in turn, call the appropriate personnel for any issue and then that individual decides how to handle it,” Grant said.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) maintenance workers maintain heating and cooling units in campus buildings and regulate shutdown of the units after May commencement for annual inspections, make repairs and reactivate the systems to make buildings comfortable for summer camps.

“You don’t just flip a switch to prepare a building for occupants. There is a process and procedure that takes days,” Grant said. He noted the expedited work done by maintenance in 2006 when buildings were prepared in record time to house and feed dozens of firefighters on campus because of nearby fires.

The plumber, painter, electricians and carpenters who are part of the Maintenance department handle work orders related to their specialties as well as assisting each other and grounds workers, as needed.

With the completion of about $30 million in new construction between 2013 and 2016, upkeep of thousands of additional square feet buildings, lawns and sidewalks has been included in the maintenance crews’ workload.

“They are working hard. We’re trying to provide updated equipment so they are not spending their time repairing old equipment,” Grant said. “In addition to providing the right equipment, annual training opportunities are offered to ensure that workers are knowledgeable on how to prevent injuries and avoid accidents.”