525.000 - Facilities Services

The College shall develop and implement procedures and systems to ensure the routine and emergent maintenance, repair, setup, cleaning, equipping, and heating/ventilation of College facilities. The Board delegates to the president or designee responsibility for these procedures and systems.

525.001 FACILITIES SERVICES

Facilities Emergencies

A facilities emergency is defined as an event requiring prompt action to avoid cancellation of classes, minimize facilities/equipment damage, or to correct a health/safety hazard. To report or request prompt action, call Facilities Services. Call Security/Safety after normal office hours. 

Routine Services

Call or e-mail Facilities Services to request routine custodial, maintenance or grounds services. Routine services include trash removal, spill cleanup, health/safety hazard mitigation, heating/cooling repairs, roof leaks, and general maintenance or repairs to facilities and equipment.

Work Orders

A Facilities Services Work Order Request form must be completed to request the installation of new equipment or furnishings; moving and setup of furniture and equipment; remodeling, construction and modification.

Instructions for completing the Work Order Request form are printed on the back of the form. Contact Facilities Services to obtain the forms.

525.005 SETUPS AND CLEANING

An enterprise account is used to include all facilities use charges as revenue and all expenses incurred associated with the use of the facility. All costs of setup will be charged by Facilities Services to the facilities use account. Facilities Services will endeavor to keep charged-out costs as low as possible without detracting from the primary mission of the custodial/maintenance and grounds staff.

Costs of standard setup are included in the established charge for that facility. Non-standard setup costs will be added to the facility charge for public service and commercial type users.

All facilities use and non-instructional setups for other than food service areas are to be coordinated through the Events Services Office.

All instructional setups are to be coordinated directly through Facilities Services.

Culinary Arts is to arrange setup in non-food services areas through the Events Services Office. Food service areas include the faculty and staff dining room, banquet room, and the cafeteria.

Ordinarily, student activity areas will not be vacated for setup purposes sooner than 2:00 p.m. the day of the event. Use of these areas prior to 2:00 p.m. must be approved by the president or Executive Cabinet.

Setups other than standard setups require the presence of a coordinator from the requesting department to direct the Facilities Services staff. Drawings showing placement of furniture and/or lists of required equipment may be requested of the user.

Requests for setup or special cleaning are to be given to Facilities Services at least two working days prior to the event and ordinarily as soon as the need is identified.

525.010 INSTRUCTIONAL EQUIPMENT SERVICE

To clarify the division of responsibilities for providing service for instructional equipment, the following guidelines have been developed:

  1. Facilities Services will attempt to serve instructional and student service areas having equipment with special and unique needs. Facilities Services will give higher priority to repairing of existing equipment and lower priority to the installation of new equipment or system enhancements.

  2. Some support activities, such as keeping a specialized parts inventory or picking up parts, cannot be provided by Facilities Services.

  3. Generalized parts will be furnished by Facilities Services (nuts, bolts, and the like). Parts unique to specialized equipment or high cost items such as motors will be charged to requesting department.

  4. Departments must not cancel purchased service/maintenance agreements on the assumption that Facilities Services will subsequently provide the labor and parts when the equipment malfunctions.

  5. Unit deans are encouraged to assist Facilities Services in prioritizing service needs in their areas.

  6. The purchase of instructional equipment that will require connection to the facilities, utility services, special handling, or present a fire, health, or safety consideration requires the completion of an Instructional Equipment Planning Guide prior to initiating a Purchase Request. Supervisors will ensure that the faculty or staff member ordering the equipment completes the form; the equipment order will not be placed until the form has been submitted to Facilities Services. Facilities Services will notify the supervisor and the associated faculty or staff member if an incomplete form has been submitted. 

Contact Facilities Services for information and assistance in completing the Planning Guide. This process will ensure proper equipment selection and will expedite the purchase and subsequent installation of the equipment.

                                                                                                                                                         Revised Policy/Procedure Approved by Executive Cabinet
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                July 21, 2020

525.015 CAMPUS FURNITURE/EQUIPMENT MOVES

All furniture and equipment moves at the College are initiated by completion of a Facilities Services Work Order Request form. The Work Order Request form is approved and signed by the dean/director and submitted to Facilities Services. If a move entails the relocation of inventoried equipment, then the requester must also attach an inventory form indicating where the equipment and furniture will reside after the move.

The custodial services manager coordinates and directs all furniture and small equipment moves. The moving of large equipment requiring a forklift or other lifting device is coordinated by a maintenance mechanic or is contracted to a professional moving firm if special rigging or handling is required.

The custodial staff performs minor office furniture moves that require less than two staff hours on graveyard shift. If a furniture move must be performed during day shift, it is scheduled for Friday afternoons only.  Furniture moves requiring more than two staff hours are generally scheduled for the academic quarter breaks.

The person requesting the move is required to initiate a request for computing services and telecommunication support. Facilities Services coordinates with other departments to ensure that activities and moves are appropriately scheduled.

Facilities Services absorbs the labor costs for minor moves. Larger moves of office furniture are charged to the requesting departments. The cost of moves related to capital construction/remodel is charged to the capital projects budget.

Departments requesting the move of equipment are responsible for the moving cost and any utility relocation.

525.020 HEATING, VENTILATION, AND AIR CONDITIONING—HVAC

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems on campus are controlled by a central computer and are programmed to operate during normal College hours and when programs or activities are scheduled.

Normal hours of operation are 6:30 a.m.—10:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 6:30 a.m.—6:00 p.m., Fridays. HVAC systems do not normally operate during weekend, holiday, or quarter breaks unless specifically programmed for scheduled programs or activities.

The Office of Instruction provides Facilities Services with room scheduling information for instructional programs, and the Events Services Office does the same for programs and activities scheduled through that office.

The established space temperature comfort range for office and classroom spaces is 70-72° F during the winter heating season, and 74-78° F during the summer cooling season in accordance with the latest Washington State Energy Code.

The use of portable electric heaters is restricted and must be specifically authorized by the Facilities Services HVAC manager. Electric space heaters create a significant fire hazard and can generate electrical and data problems. Facilities Services will provide approved electric heaters for use whenever the HVAC system is malfunctioning.

In order to preserve indoor air quality, the use of hazardous and odoriferous products such as air fresheners, spray adhesives, pesticides, paints, and cleaners are restricted. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the environmental health and safety/employee development program manager or Facilities Services.

Contact Facilities Services by telephone or e-mail to report problems related to the indoor air quality or HVAC system operation.

525.025 INSTITUTIONAL FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT

Institutional furniture and equipment is that which benefits the entire College, or at least is not considered the specific domain of an employee or department. Institutional furniture and equipment is generally considered part of a "pool" of items frequently moved by facilities services to where the need exists.

Institutional furniture and equipment includes:

  1. Classroom chairs
  2. Classroom tables
  3. Mounted chalk boards/bulletin boards
  4. Reception area furniture
  5. Dining tables and chairs
  6. Curtains/blinds/drapes
  7. Locker room fixtures
  8. Auditorium chairs
  9. Podiums/lecterns
  10. Portable dry erase boards
  11. Wall mounted projection screens
  12. Trash receptacles

Non-institutional furniture and equipment is generally considered the property of a department or division and includes the following:

  1. Office furniture (desks, chairs, bookshelves, cabinets, tables)
  2. Wall decorations
  3. Digital cameras and recorders, projectors, portable screens, monitors, etc.
  4. Instructional or laboratory equipment

Funding

Each year, each vice president will be asked to submit requests for institutional furniture and equipment in priority order. The vice president of administrative services, after consulting with the director of facilities services, will summarize the requests in proposed priority order. This proposal will be presented to Executive Cabinet for action.

To the extent possible, institutional furniture and equipment will be included in capital projects, RMI projects (fixed equipment only), purchased from other sources of funds, or obtained as donations, in order to preserve the operating budget equipment allocation for programmatic use.

Revised Policy/Procedure Approved by Executive Cabinet
May 4, 2010

525.030 REPAIRS AND MINOR IMPROVEMENTS (RMI)

The College normally receives capital funds each year for the repair and minor improvements to facilities.  Capital funds are restricted and cannot be used for the purchase or repair of furniture and instructional equipment. The vice president of administrative services notifies the vice presidents when RMI project requests will be accepted. Requests are analyzed, prioritized, and a cost estimate developed for review and approval by the Executive Cabinet.

Facilities repair and the abatement of health and safety concerns are generally the highest priority requests.  Improvement/enhancement projects are generally limited to $10,000. Projects that benefit many are given higher priority than those that benefit few.

Priority considerations are also given to projects with the potential of decreasing operating costs, decreasing facility repair/maintenance or replacement costs, and increasing facilities use.