Administration
This office works closely with the university's Human Resources Department and
handles all Physical Plant personnel actions.
This includes timekeeping
functions, recruitment, personnel job descriptions, performance evaluations and
disciplinary and
grievance procedures.
Building Commissioning and Warranty
The Building Commissioning and Warranty Branch is responsible for new building
design input to improve maintainability and
operability. This branch represents
Physical Plant interests during the design, construction, startup and warranty
phase of
new construction. It recommends the adoption of building standards for
new buildings and renovation work to ensure past
problems experienced are not
repeated and to allow well performing materials and equipment to be procured
again when
needed. During the construction of a new building/renovation project,
this branch provides information on existing systems
and conditions along with
assisting in the coordination between the Contractors and other University
Departments.
Upon completion of a new building/renovation project, this branch
tracks and distributes As-built Drawings for archival,
Operation and Maintenance
Manuals, Equipment and Systems Training and any required Extra Materials
included in the project.
Additionally, the Building Commissioning and Warranty
Branch maintains warranty information for new buildings/renovations
and manages
work performed by contractors under the conditions of the warranties.
Code Compliance
As a State agency, George Mason University has received delegated authority to
act as agents for the Virginia Department of
General Services, Division of
Engineering and Buildings (DEB). In this capacity, George Mason is responsible
for ensuring all
non-Capital Outlay construction work being performed on George
Mason University property meets the requirements of the
Virginia Uniform
State-wide Building Code (VUSBC). The Code Compliance Office fulfills this
responsibility by providing plans
review, building permits, and inspections
similar to that of the local building code official at the city and county
levels. The
Code Compliance Office is also tasked with quarterly and annual
inspections of all fire alarm and fire suppression systems
as required by the
VUSBC and Fire Prevention Code. We also perform annual inspections and
maintenance of over 950 fire
extinguishers distributed throughout the
university.
Contracts
The Contracts Department administers and oversees the work accomplished through
numerous contractors around the university.
This includes oversight of over 25
service contracts for work such as grounds maintenance, building alterations,
HVAC repairs,
concrete and asphalt site improvements and repairs. The work is
done using open-ended contracts for specific type of work,
and through one time
bids for larger projects.
Customer Service Center
The Customer Service Center receives, processes, schedules and tracks all work
requests received from university departments,
either by telephone, submitted
work request forms or online.
Energy Management and Building Automation
The Energy Management & Building Automation office manages Mason's Building Automation and
Energy programs.
The Mason Energy Department's plan is to aggressively pursue energy-saving
activities and to provide adequate support of
these activities to consume energy in the most efficient
manner possible. To that extent Mason has installed and utilizes a
comprehensive Building Automation
System linking every facility by Fiber Optics and Ethernet to the Facilities Management
Energy
Management Office. Energy savings are achieved through improved monitoring and control capability
for key systems:
Heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. Verification for proper temperatures, set
points, setback or shutdown of systems,
monitoring of energy usage in real-time and detection of
degraded energy efficiency contributes to more efficient operation
and expected energy savings. The
department develops effective strategies to manage energy consumption and initiates
programs to
decrease energy usage. The department works closely with our utility vendors to insure Mason receives
timely
bills that are accurate and based on our contracted rates. The department works closely with
D.M.M.E in planning performance
contracts for energy savings, working with State Contracts that insure
Mason the best possible rates and meeting the
requirements of current Executive Orders on energy use.
Engineering
The Engineering Department provides estimate for work requests for customers
that are initially looking for pricing and
scope determination for their
projects. These projects usually involve more than one building trade and
require site investigations
and engineering calculations. Estimates and sketches
are done using both in-house estimates and open-ended Architect /
Engineering
contracts. The use of Architect / Engineering contracts require funding by the
requesting organization.
Housekeeping
The Housekeeping Department seeks to provide a clean and healthy environment for
students, faculty, staff, and guests
in the academic campus buildings.
Presently, the Housekeeping staff is responsible for approximately 2,000,000
square feet
of space that is used by more than 28,000 people.
Infrastructure and Records
The Infrastructure and Records Office is responsible for the facility condition
assessment and inspection of all buildings
and infrastructure at the three
George Mason University campuses, and the history files and records for those
assets.
Examples of the files and records include the final project as-built
drawings, and equipment and material submittals and
catalog cuts. The Office
works closely with the other Physical Plant departments, especially Contracts
and Operations,
to verify the accuracy of project scope and documentation.
Operations
This department manages both the routine and special operational, financial, and
personnel activities relative to maintenance,
repair, minor construction,
alteration, and operation of the grounds, buildings and other physical
facilities of the university.
This includes almost all of the Physical Plant
shop forces with a staff of approximately 80 full-time regular and skilled trade
personnel and approximately 40 wage employees. The professional staff plans,
organizes and directs the carpentry, painting
and signs, grounds, electrical,
HVAC, plumbing and waste management and recycling program. Also included under
this
department are the emergency response programs for snow, wind damage and
flood occurrences.
