Building Infrastructure Care & Maintenance | Facilities Management

Facilities Management Maintenance Services Department is responsible for repairs and upkeep of building systems. The department is made up of dedicated, skilled building personnel and the licensed trades department. Building maintenance personnel, commonly referred to as Building Mechanics, manage the day to day operations of their assigned buildings.

The department performs preventative and reactive maintenance to ensure that building systems are operational and functioning properly. Facilities Management resources are often prioritized within buildings to minimize system failures and address public spaces. Buildings are not necessarily prioritized, but incidents and their potential for disruptions to campus are triaged to minimize impacts to students, faculty, and staff. For an example of how responses might be ranked, consider a minor roof leak in a custodial closet versus the same roof leak in the stacks at the Van Pelt Library. The potential damage to the library’s collection would be a factor when prioritizing response activities. Despite these efforts, the department relies on capital funding and deferred maintenance funding to address significant facilities maintenance issues.

Maintenance Services have aligned our operational strategies and maintenance activities with APPA, formerly known as the Association of Physical Plant Administrators. APPA has established maintenance services levels to assist staff and managers with assessing and quantifying facility condition and staffing effectiveness. The service levels, or guidelines, use a 1 to 5 scale with 1 being the highest rating and 5 being the worst level of service. The following provides a summary of APPA’s rankings and the facility descriptors associated with each.

Level 1: Showpiece Facility

Maintenance activities appear highly focused. Typically, equipment and building components are fully functional and in excellent condition. Service and maintenance calls are responded to immediately. Buildings and equipment are regularly upgraded, keeping them current with modern standards and usage.

Level 2: Comprehensive Stewardship

Maintenance activities appear to be somewhat organized, but they remain people dependent. Equipment and building components are usually functional and in operating condition. Service and maintenance calls are responded to in a timely manner. Buildings and equipment are regularly updated, keeping them current with modern standards and usage.

Level 3: Managed Care

Maintenance activities appear to be somewhat organized, but they remain people-dependent. Equipment and building components are mostly functional, but they suffer occasional breakdowns. Service and maintenance call response time are variable and sporadic without apparent cause. Buildings and equipment are periodically upgraded to current standards and usage, but not enough to control the effects of normal usage and deterioration.

Level 4: Reactive Management

Maintenance activities appear to be somewhat chaotic and are people-dependent. Equipment and building components are frequently broken and inoperative. Service and maintenance calls are typically not responded to in a timely manner. Normal usage and deterioration continues unabated, making buildings and equipment inadequate to meet present usage needs.

Level 5: Unkempt Neglect

Maintenance activities appear chaotic and without direction. Equipment and building components are routinely broken and inoperative. Services and maintenance calls are never responded to in a timely manner. Normal usage and deterioration continues unabated, making buildings and equipment inadequate to meet present usage needs.

APPA has developed similar service levels for Custodial Services. APPA’s custodial and maintenance service levels have been developed to describe conditions across campus and to assist with department resource allocations. More information about APPA service levels and the categories used for ranking custodial and maintenance services are available on APPA’s website.