The heat is on. (Facilities Management & Repair).

It's one of the little ironies of life that while you're out there slaying dragons, some little gnat comes along and bites you in the, well, you know. Not that we all can't handle a gnat bite now and then, mind you. (And not that dragons shouldn't be slayed.) But when enough of those gnats swarm and mobilize, there's usually a mighty uncomfortable spell ahead.

That's pretty much what's happened with facilities maintenance and repair. After years of competing for high-quality students by pouring dollars into academic programs and quality faculty, colleges and universities are now faced with crumbling facilities, antiquated heating and cooling systems, hazardous air issues, inefficient lighting, even significantly outdated campus dormitories and learning facilities. Yes, those high-quality students did make it to campus. But they're now broiling in stifling classrooms in the summer, and complaining about drafty windows in the winter. And all the while, your institution's energy costs are skyrocketing, and your maintenance budget is falling under the ax of 2002 statewide higher education cuts.

"The issue of crumbling facilities is now referred to as a ticking time bomb," says Art Lidsky, president of Dober, Lidsky, Craig and Associates Inc. (www.dlca.com.), a campus- and facility-planning consultancy in Belmont, MA. "Many institutions have long ignored or deferred the maintenance of their buildings. Increasingly, those decisions are coming back to haunt them."

Adds William Weirick, acting director of Facilities, Capital Projects, and Campus Planning at the University of Louisiana at Monroe: "It's so easy to place priorities on fully accredited programs; it's so simple to hire more faculty members. Why not worry about maintenance and repairs later? After all, the obvious place to squeeze dollars is in infrastructure support--until it turns around and bites you."

A LITTLE HISTORY

No one could have foreseen in the 1960s and '70s that the rash of college campuses, dorms, and buildings erected to keep up with the influx of baby boomers would verge on obsolescence only decades later. Yet, during an era of cheap energy and expanding coffers, schools didn't spend a lot of money insulating buildings or worrying about energy efficiency, says Theodore Weidner, associate vice chancellor for Facilities and Campus Services at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Instead, universities simply threw more money at the buildings, to keep them warm or cool. Then, from the '70s through the '90s--as student populations grew, and tuition and fundraising dollars swelled--universities became accustomed to large utility and operations budgets, and relied on them to operate and maintain their energy-inefficient structures. It was only after the nation's serious energy crisis in the '70s, followed by an era wherein universities and colleges funneled dollars into academic programs and faculty (the '80s and '90s), that facilities management was placed on the back burner, or simply relegated to patch-up work, Weidner says.

And the problem has not only been one of dollars and cents. The energy conservation efforts that began in the late '70s and '80s actually resulted in the creation of new problems--for instance, poor indoor air quality. Schools were encouraged to replace ill-fitting windows and doors with new or repaired ones, which sealed off air leakage; ventilating fan speeds were reduced to save electricity. The result was reduced ventilation, and increased likelihood of stagnant air--both of which resulted in mold growth in hard-to-reach spots, which in turn, increased allergic reactions in building occupants who were sensitive, says Weidner. "Repairs suddenly became very costly--or the health issues did," he adds.

Light began to dawn in the late 1980s. The first glimmers arrived in the form of a report entitled, "The Decaying American Campus" [Sean C. Rush and Sandra L. Johnson, Coopers & Lybrand, APPA, 1989, for the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers]. That study pointed to the then looming $60 billion in capital renewal and replacement needs across the nation's campuses. It targeted an additional $20.5 billion worth of "urgent needs," Weidner says.

University leaders were seeing--as though for the first time--their energy-in-efficient heating and cooling systems, aging plumbing and electrical systems, crumbling bricks, deteriorating art, bad

xxx lighting, and hazardous air problems. Not to mention the need to provide contemporary network and communication infrastructures. To many administrators, building new structures from the ground up almost seemed easier. And indeed, it often is.

INNOVATIONS IN RETROFIT

But according to Lidsky, many older buildings (those 40 years old and older) are typically difficult to retrofit with contemporary air-handling units for energy savings. "This is particularly true in older art, science, and engineering buildings," he says. "These structures generally were not designed to accommodate the more sophisticated fume hoods, exhaust systems and per-hour air changes now required by building codes," he explains. But there were ways to retrofit almost any building to improve energy conservation, he points out. Installation of double- or triple-glazed windows can help conserve energy, and solar panels can trap heat, to heat buildings or water.

Some institutions have installed heat sinks, he says, to take advantage of thermal heat within the earth, circulating water through underground pipes in order to heat structures during the winter, and cool them in the summer.

Updating heat exchange systems. At Richard Stockton College in Pomona, NJ, there exists one of the largest geothermal heat-exchange systems on a college campus, with more than 400 "wells" sunk below a campus parking lot, providing energy-efficient heating and cooling to many campus buildings. New York's Bard College also is using geothermal technology to heat and cool campus buildings--in this case, nine student dormitories. The move will save the college more than $100,00 per year, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, says Lidsky, but just as importantly, it will help the institution to keep a lid on rising energy costs.

And at Mt. San Antonio College just east of LA, through a consulting partnership with CMS Energy-Viron Energy Services (www.cmsenergy.com/mst/viron.html), air conditioning is now provided to the school's two largest buildings via a new thermal energy storage system. The idea for a thermal energy system surfaced about a year ago when the college faced escalating energy costs, according to Kent Smith, director of Maintenance at the college. At the same time, the school had to replace a corroding eutectic salt field system, which comprised 30,000 salt bottles that were each four feet long. The bottles were stacked in an underground tank, and were employed to make ice to chill water that was sent to cool the campus buildings. (About 20 schools in southern and central California and southern Arizona utilize such salt field systems; the region's dry heat supports the underground model.) Smith says the new thermal energy system makes ice at night, when electricity is cheaper.

More cost-saving measures. The college also installed a direct digital-control system, which--with the help of an ingenious but simple airflow device--moderates the air temperature inside individual classrooms, at specific times. The device raises and lowers the temperature of a given room, by pushing ceiling air (always a few degrees warmer or cooler than the rest of the room) down into the inhabited portion of the room. By the end of 2002, the college plans to install these controls in every one of the 65 buildings on campus, Smith says. Looking for more ways to improve the facilities without dramatic expenditure, he says the school is overseeing the cleaning of air conditioning units to improve performance. Comprehensive lighting retrofits on walkways and outside buildings are also underway, in order to replace high-pressure sodium lights with more efficient metal halide fixtures. Finally, 11,000 energy-efficient fluorescent light fixtures are replacing less-efficient lights across campus, Smith says.

CREATIVE FINANCING, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ENERGY AUDIT

According to Nancy Rice, vice president of Administrative Services at Mt. San Antonio, the new systems will pay for themselves in eight years; after that, the college will save $700,000 annually. It's just that kind of return on investment that the school was after.

Well-plotted ROI. At Dutchess Community College (NY), a soon-to-be-completed $2.4 million project to replace an old water-cooled electric air conditioning unit with a gas-fired air cooling device is being funded by grants, capital project funds, and savings, according to John Dunn, dean of Administration at the school. The college's utility budgets will remain static, he says, with the money saved on energy used to pay for future upgrades to the system. The unit, comprising two 300-ton chillers, will be located in one central plant on campus, and will reduce the college's electricity consumption by 750,000 kilowatt hours per year, adds the dean; that means it will cut summer energy consumption by a whopping 50 percent. In hard dollars, the new unit will save the college $1.2 million in energy costs over 15 years, or a savings of $80,000 annually. More good news: The college expects to be eligible for about $300,000 in energy-saving rebates from New York State Energy Research and Development.

The audit. The project at Dutchess was launched about a year ago, says Dunn, not long after the college initiated a search for a company to audit the school's energy profile and come up with a comprehensive plan to save energy. Three companies responded, but only Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. (www.johnsoncontrols.com) came up with a comprehensive plan to save money, Dunn reports. "Oil and natural gas prices have skyrocketed," he points out, "and Governor Pataki has mandated we conserve renewable energy sources and reduce energy usage 35 percent by 2005." Under the contract with Johnson Controls, computerized climate controls, which will provide optimal energy conditions, will be installed in eight campus buildings. The college now employs "circon" controls as well, which are used to turn on heat and air conditioning in buildings only when they are occupied. The controls can be manipulated at each site and/or via computers or laptops that HVAC technicians access with unique codes.

"Some of the money we're saving by using all of these devices will go into operations, and directly into educating students," Dunn says. "In this economy, every little bit helps." Dutchess also is among the first community colleges in the state to partner with the U.S. EPA's Energy Star Program, which recognizes organizations for their conservation efforts (that recognition comes in the form of rebates and awards from the EPA).

Officials at UMass Amherst, too, are now seeking an energy auditor. Ted Weidnet says they need that auditor to save the school 15 percent on utility expenditure as the school tries to keep up maintenance in the face of a $15 million cut to its overall budget. The university had already made attempts to reduce energy on its own, but it ended up with buildings that were cooler in winter and warmer in summer, and dimly lit campus areas that compromised safety for students and staff. "They weren't very good ideas," Weidner admits, but "we're learning." He adds that the school's energy-update needs have now become so urgent, they can't be put off. But, at the same time, says Weidner, there are budget cuts that must be dealt with; cost-effectiveness is the order of the day.

Right now, for instance, the university is replacing high-pressure sodium outdoor tights with lighting that consumes less than half the electricity. The school also has begun to replace steam tines, still an efficient means of sending heat over long distances. But better insulated steam lines translate into a facilities operating-budget savings of 1 or 2 percent each time a couple hundred feet of old steam line are replaced, Weidner explains. The school is also hoping to replace some mammoth AC units: "Big ticket items," Weidner says, "each costing about a half-million dollars. It would take five to 10 years to start seeing the savings," he confesses. And a new steam and power plant--needed 20 years ago, he readily admits--also is scheduled to be built in the next three years. It will be more efficient than the old system and will allow the campus to generate some of its own electricity, he explains, but adds that it will be 20 years before the university starts to see savings from a new power plant. "The existing power plant is in such poor shape, it's now really a matter of survival," he says simply.

Partnering for dollars. At Eastern Michigan University, buildings and windows--in addition to heating and energy systems--are being updated, says Pat Doyle, vice president for Business and Finance. Yet it is an array of partnership agreements that is saving the university thousands of dollars, which in turn, the school is targeting at facilities maintenance, Doyle says. In addition to a slew of partnerships not related to facilities management (but from which they will glean facilities-intended funds), the university is also partnering with the city of Ypsilanti, MI, to provide street sweeping and salt for snowstorms, saving the school $20,000 a year. In addition, the university has a gas transportation agreement in place with the local gas company, reducing the institution's outlay for electricity and heating, and saving $120,000 over the next four years.

Designing maintenance/repair initiatives-and sticking to them. At the University of Nebraska, where many of the facilities were built more than two or three generations ago (and where the Lincoln campus was established in the 1860s), competing budget priorities and limited resources have left little money to repair or replace major building infrastructures. In the late 1990s, a Deferred Maintenance Initiative (which included two state bills) uncovered a backlog worth $110 million in deferred maintenance across the university's four campuses. That backlog swelled to $150 million in 2000, reports Rebecca Koller, assistant vice president for Business/Finance, and assistant director of Facilities, Planning, and Management. The ensuing funding plan (initiated in 1998) proposed a two-pronged approach to address the issue: 1) increase annual expenditures on building upkeep, and 2) plan aggressively, to eliminate the worst of the backlog.

Initially, the state's plan was to put forward $1 million a year for building upkeep, says Keller. Unfortunately for the state of facilities management, due to the tough economy the larger part of those funds went towards faculty and nonfaculty salaries. The school needed to redirect the facilities funds, to keep the school competitive with its peers, Keller says. In the end, the initiative was directed at only 15 of the 680 buildings in the four-campus university system. In one library building, asbestos was removed and an updated HVAC system was installed to halt deterioration of books. In the fine arts building, which houses a sculpting studio, the HVAC system was updated to flush out hazardous air that resulted in part from fumes emanating from sculpting materials. In the school's Sheldon Art Gallery (in Lincoln), a "crisis situation" was averted by installing a window wall where windows were "endangering people," says Keller. The HVAC system there was also upgraded, because the artwork was deteriorating due to moisture issues. Much more facilities repair work has yet to be undertaken, she concedes, including the renovation of the labs and medical center at the Lincoln campus. Classrooms also need repairs at three of the four U Nebraska campuses.

"The initiative got the ball rolling, to take care of the worst problems," she maintains, and points out that even though the initiative did not live up to original expectations, new financial guidelines have been put into place to try to stem the ballooning maintenance deferment problems. Now, if the university acquires a building, builds a new structure, or participates in renovations that total 15 percent more than the replacement cost, 2 percent of the total project cost is placed in a trust fund (which, after five years, can then be used for Further renovations). In the meantime--despite the best intentions of the school and the state making real headway into the original Deferred Maintenance Initiative will just have to wait.

"Oh sure, anything can wait," sighs Keller. "But every day you wait, it just falls into more disrepair."

Vendor and Consultant Directory

3D/International
Integrates facilities assessment, construction
management, architecture, engineering,
and environmental services.
www.3di.com

Adams Consulting Group
Specialists in educational facilities and
management.
www.adams-grp.com

Alliant Energy
Offers a spectrum of energy and environmental
services.
www.alliantenergyisco.com

ARAMARK Facility Services
Oversight and leadership of all facilities
functions, technical and energy management
services, and capital program management.
www.aramark.com

CMS Energy--Viron Energy Services
Energy-efficient services to education
customers nationwide.
www.cmsenergy.com/mst/viron.html

Dober, Lidsky, Craig and Assoc.
Provides all aspects of campus and facilities
planning services.
www.dlca.com

Johnson Controls Inc.
Integrated facility management and
workplace consulting services, facility
operations and maintenance services,
and technical support.
www.johnsoncontrols.com

KeySpan Business Solutions (KBS)
Engineering, architectural, mechanical
contracting, operations, and maintenance.
www.keyspanenergy.com

Pacific Partners
Consulting Group
Specializes in research, analysis, and
management problem-solving.
www.keenancomm.com/PPCG/

Professional Services
Facilities Management & Maintenance
Offers maintenance, housekeeping,
construction management, strategic planning.
www.profserve.com

Sebesta Bloomberg
Engineering-based consulting services.
construction services, and facility
management support.
www.sebesta.com

Siemens Building
Technologies, Inc,
Single-source supplier of engineered
products, systems, and services.
www.ca.landisstaefa.com

Sodexho
Food and facilities management services.
www.sodexhoUSA.com

UNICCO Service Company
Outsourced maintenance, engineering,
cleaning, operations, lighting, and
administrative/office services.
www.unicco.com

VFA
Facilities management solutions combining
innovative business and
technology practices.
www.vfa.com

WFF Facility Services
Physical plant maintenance, grounds cam,
and custodial services.
www.cybermill.com/wff/