Project Profile: Electrical-System Retrofit
Part 1: City Adopts LEED as Building Standard
Part 2: Project Team Replaces Switchgear, Specifies Direct Digital Controls
Part 3: Green Technology: Solar Wall Impacts Heating Loads
Part 4: Maintenance Staff Influences Building Design, Product Specification
Part 5: States Develop Green Building Guidelines
Maintenance Staff Influences Building Design, Product Specification
By Chris Matt, Managing Editor - Print & E-Media - March 2010
The project still influences the way the city designs, builds, and maintains facilities. Also, involving maintenance early in the projects has created a sense of ownership within the facilities department.
Whether the issue is providing input on mechanical and electrical systems or bringing to light operational challenges, such as the number of electrical outlets to install or the type of soap dispensers to specify, everyone in the facilities department brings expertise to the table. And project teams listen, leading to more maintainable facilities.
"That's one of the reasons it's become so much more formal now is they understand they have a part to play," Miller says.
Maintenance staff played a part in keeping operations as smooth as possible during the project. A great deal of staging and coordination had to take place each day to make the project a success. Without the help of those responsible for maintaining the facilities, that coordination would have been a much more difficult task for the project team to tackle.
Says Miller: "It's incredibly helpful. We're not getting the complaints anymore after the building opens that these facilities are impossible to maintain. Having their input, even simple things, like where things are installed in the building, (is important)."
