FM project round-up
January 31, 2023
A summary of a few recent projects completed by FM teams
Facilities Management teams were involved in several emergency repairs as well as planned improvements over the past two months. Here's a round-up of a few of the projects.
Christmas holiday flooding
Due to extremely low temperatures around the Christmas holiday, Facilities Management employees jumped into action to assist with emergency repairs in multiple buildings.
Gilmer Hall, Clark Hall and the West Complex all experienced significant flooding, in addition to several other buildings that required close monitoring to prevent damage from occurring.
On Christmas Eve, the basement mechanical room of the Gilmer addition flooded with water reaching as deep as four feet at one point. McCormick Zone Maintenance Supervisor Paul Veselinovic responded and called in the help of the Utilities team to use their large capacity pumps to remove the water. Senior Plumber Gary Bickers and Pipefitter/Steamfitter Cole Williams contributed over 18 hours of time over the holiday to remove the water. Multiple other teams also assisted with ensuring all building systems were back online prior to the return of occupants after the break.
Employees on the following teams responded to the above emergencies and others over the winter break: Utilities, Heat Plants, Chiller Plants, Systems Control, McCormick Zone Maintenance, Power & Light, Fire Protection, Central Grounds Zone Maintenance, Housing Maintenance and HSPP Zone 1 North.
University Hospital gift shop upgrade
Construction & Renovation Services teams completed a quick project to upgrade the University Hospital gift shop right before the holidays.
The project addressed a heating issue in the gift shop, allowing the shop to stay at a more moderate, comfortable temperature. The plumbing, sheet metal, electrical and carpentry teams assisted with the project that was completed in two weeks with most of the work completed over one weekend.
The plumbers and sheet metal technicians removed a main line duct and ran chilled water lines from the upstairs mezzanine into the gift shop to hook up and install four chilled water fan coil units.
“I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the entire team who worked on the Gift Shop HVAC project prior to the holidays. They made a complex process with innumerable moving parts look simple,” UVA Health Facilities Planning & Capital Development Manager Michael Payne wrote in an email.
The team included: Plumbing team members Christopher Turner, Robert Manz, Terry Mason, Zouzek Abhadlhusain, Gabe Adler and Christopher Morris; Sheet metal team members Kevin Houchens, Greg Clements, Robert Zakaib and Edward Noland; Electrical team members Trevor Harlow, Paul Norford, Rebecca Hord and Robert Kincaid; Carpentry team members Dave Simpson and James Collier; and Project management team members Kyle Jennings, Neal Aldridge and Hans McIntruff.
Shumway Hall utility work
Power & Light team members recently contributed to the Shumway Hall construction project.
The group installed a temporary switch and transformer to be able to power telephone services and the construction trailers. The team — which included Daniel Oliver, Tim Gibson, Keith Greene, David Dulaney, Dwayne Wood, Shannon Gentry and Shawn Wills — pulled more than 1,500 feet of cable and performed 70-plus splices in the vaults to relocate the duct bank section that was in conflict with the new building footers.
The team worked through modified schedules and in challenging weather conditions to ensure the old duct bank section could be demolished in time to keep the project on schedule.
Jane Centofante
Communications senior generalist
UVA Facilities Management
(434) 982-5846
janecentofante@virginia.edu