UW Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) and Building Services Department (BSD) recently partnered up for the Safety & Health Investment Project (also known as the SHIP grant project or Participatory Ergonomics Project). Funded by State of Washington, Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), the project team engaged BSD custodians and leadership, UW EH&S leadership, Facilities Services Safety Team, and professional ergonomists in a year-long collaboration.
Every summer when the Northwest’s gray skies give way to a beautiful blue, shining views of Mt. Rainier and a long-awaited burst of warm weather, the Power Plant’s skilled maintenance staff take apart campus’ boilers for their yearly inspections.
FS Blog: Tell me about what you do for Facilities Services.
Daniel Jung: My name is Daniel Jung and I’m a window washer lead here for Facilities Services’ Building Services Department. I started here in 2013 as a window washer.
UW Recycling, of Facilities Services' Building Services Department, is the proud recipient of a Washington State Recycling Association (WSRA) 2016 Recycler of the Year award.
The power plant electrician asks the group if they’re ready with their stopwatches, then counts down. Three—two—one—the lights go black for a beat. Five giant diesel engine backup generators, each larger than a pickup truck, begin to roar.
The lights are back on; surgeries continue without missing a beat, and priceless research continues to stay frozen in a lab on campus. It’s a monthly test of the University’s backup power generation capabilities down at the Power Plant.
For the past few months, UW Recycling has been using their new application, Streams, to better connect their administrative office to crews in the field. Through smart phones and tablets, Streams enables employees across campus to access their collection routes online, and log changes that occur throughout their day.
Stepping Stones is a training program offered by the FS Training Center, in conjunction with the sponsoring department, which gives frontline staff opportunities to learn leadership skills that are necessary for moving up to lead, supervisor and management positions.
You may not ever think about what goes on behind-the-scenes when you walk into a nice warm building or hot water comes out of the faucet, but for a dedicated crew of around-the-clock engineers at the power plant, keeping campus comfortable is their highest priority.
The tower was purchased by the University of Washington from Safeco in 2007, and with it came a dedicated staff of around-the-clock maintenance workers.
