Energy Challenge, Say Watt?!

FM is hosting an Energy Challenge in the month of February.  Have an idea that will save electricity, natural gas, or fuel?  We are looking for everyone in this organization to come up with great ideas for changes that will reduce our overall energy consumption.

All employees across FM will be asked to help generate big and small ideas that we will then implement throughout the month of February.  Prizes and awards for the best and most unique ideas as well as participation prizes will be extended to those departments that demonstrate particular commitment to this challenge.  Watch for Green Team members at your staff meetings in January to explain the challenge and help you generate ideas to conserve energy in our work environment. We will also be installing sensors to turn off computer monitors when you’re not at your workstation.  This could help to save 10-20% of your workstation’s energy use every day.

How can you save energy in February?

Turn off lights.

Turn in your space heater for a free blanket.

Unplug cell phone chargers when not in use.

Turn off equipment when not in use.

Turn the key—be idle-free in your car or truck.

Take the bus to work.

Carpool with a buddy to work or to a job or meeting on campus.

FM Green Team Starts Out With a Win

Facilities Management is #1 in the state of Utah…for driving down our miles in the Clear the Air Challenge!  The newly formed FM Green Team as one of its inaugural tasks chose to focus on the statewide Clear the Air Challenge.  The Green Team worked to get as many FM employees to sign up and track how many miles they carpooled, walked, bicycled, took TRAX or the bus, and trip chained in the month of July. We are very appreciative of management’s support for this effort—not only did Associate VP of FM Mike Perez agree to prizes and a pizza party for participants, but he also went out and bought a bicycle and has been using TRAX and his bike to commute to help the FM team win #1 team in Utah.  The FM team had over 125 participants who collectively saved over 63,000 miles driving in July.  The Green Team would like to thank each and every participant for tracking their miles and hope those participants can join us for the pizza party coming up August 13th (information to follow).

What else is the FM Green Team up to?  We have been educating ourselves about recycling options on campus and what can and cannot be recycled—watch out for Green Team members to show up to your staff meeting and explain about recycling on campus with a fun video and posters.  We have also put a bin in the café room at Turpin for plastics #3-7 that Green Team members are personally responsible for taking home and recycling.  This is one of only 3 bins on campus where you can recycle those types of plastic.  The Green Team also helped inventory existing recycling bins and get an order in for over 15 more bins throughout FM buildings where they will be helpful in increasing our recycling rates.

The Green Team has a list of several more ideas to implement ranging from a campaign to turn computers and other equipment off at the end of the day, recycling toner cartridges, reducing paper usage, and many more.  If you have an idea, feel free to come to our meetings which are held the first Tuesday of every month in the Oak Room 241 in Turpin.  There is a work order number available for every Green Team meeting so that all can participate.  Homemade baked goods are also a part of every meeting—come join us!

Facilities Management is #1 in the state of Utah for driving down our miles in the Clear the Air Challenge! 

Summer Changes in Facilities

Facilities Management rose to the statewide Clear the Air Challenge and wildly surpassed all other teams competing to save trips and make travelwise choices in the month of July. Together we eliminated 7,515 trips, for a total of 62,792 miles. Under the leadership of Mike Perez, also known as Mike on a Bike, 130 employees representing all departments of FM worked together to reach this goal.

Motor Pool will now be known as Fleet Services. The name change better reflects the charge of this department to manage and provide access to a diverse selection of vehicles and services. Fleet Services oversees fuel for government vehicles, monthly leases, and repair and maintenance for university/government owned vehicles.

Earlier this summer, the Plumbing Shop changed campus locations from its previous location in VRTUSB 350 to Building 215 on Guardsman Way. This needed change provides a more spacious environment for the Plumbing Shop while creating more space for the Carpenter Shops, which will remain in their previous location. The Plumbing Shop services buildings on main campus, Fort Douglas, and in Research Park. Among other duties, they are responsible for water mains, sewer mains, storm drains, gas mains, and secondary water lines on campus. They manage and maintain hot and cold water lines, drinking water reservoirs and campus swimming pools. Stop by and visit them in their new space.

Campus Utility Systems (CUS) in Facility Operations also experienced a number of changes. Kelly Gibbons, Adam Rohde, Rick Deming, Scott Hartwig and Kevin Thomas are all now part of the Engineering Group in CUS. To better meet the growing HVAC needs on campus, Heating/Ventilation and Refrigeration will now be two shops, still both housed in the same location. John Atkins will supervise the First Responders and Facility Coordinators and a new Maintenance Manager position was created to lead the trade shops in CUS as a part of this change.

At the end of July, FM took on four employees from the UCard office. Three of those individuals will join Facility Operations, see new additions, and one, Mike Thurman, will join Chad Thurman in Business Services IT. We welcome all of four of these individuals to FM and look forward to another productive year.

Facilities Management rose to the statewide Clear the Air Challenge and wildly surpassed all other teams competing to save trips and make travelwise choices in July.

Facilities Management Green Team

The new Facilities Management Green Team is a group of staff members from diverse departments of FM that are meeting regularly to educate themselves and their colleagues about sustainability, examining the sustainability of current office and shop practices, and creating innovative solutions.  The kickoff meeting this week saw lots of energy and enthusiasm and everyone brought their best ideas to the table to brainstorm several projects to do around FM.

From the shops to Public Safety, anyone from a department within FM is welcome to join the FM Green Team.  There are about 20 other Green Teams on campus, from the Marriott Library to Health Sciences to the College of Law.

Watch for new initiatives to come out from the FM Green Team!  If you’re interested, please contact Stephanie.dolmat@fm.utah.edu or join the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UofUGreenTeam.

How can you go green right now?

1. Print double sided, or print only what you need
2. Purchase recycled paper
3. Turn your computer monitor and screen off when you leave
4. Try bicycling, carpooling, or taking TRAX or UTA to work.  You’ll be surprised at the cost savings and relaxation of not driving a car every day!
5. Remember to recycle—put it in the right bin and rinse out any food waste.