CATEGORY: Sustainability
Tulsa Community College
Overview:
Tulsa Community College (TCC) faced a daunting challenge. Five years ago a strategic decision was made whose result inevitably saved TCC hundreds of thousands of dollars and improved the quality of life for the students at TCC by Mina Lotti, Director of Physical Facilities, by reorganizing the department and placing Facility Managers over each of TCC's four campuses. They would serve to provide the detailed, hands on approach necessary to deal with all maintenance related requests and concerns. This wise decision served to stem the overwhelming deferred maintenance tide.
However, not completely. For while many of the maintenance related items were now being addressed in a timelier manner and substantial improvements made overall to the campus, this also coincided with the economic downturn, thereby making the significant energy maintenance improvements — lighting retrofits, replacement of aging and inefficient chillers, and water management for starters — an impossibility. Necessary capital and operating improvements were seemingly unfundable.
Yet through the efforts of the President, Dr. Tom McKeon, Dr. Gary Crooms the now retired CFO/VP, and the unwavering support of the Board of Regents, who all had a vision of what a sustainable college could look like, TCC entered into an energy performance agreement with Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) for over $13.7 million dollars. This agreement included a lighting retrofit and upgrade to T-8 lighting for all four campuses, installation of a power management system to all the PC's, water retrofit to install low flow toilet valves, removal of the absorption units and installing energy efficient chillers and boilers at the campuses, new cooling towers and control systems, as well as a rain garden and solar panels to heat the kitchen water. Several roofs were able to be replaced through this project as well, reducing leaks and improving the livability and environment for the students and faculty.
So for the past eighteen months, in addition to the "normal" facility responsibilities TCC the Facility Managers and Maintenance Engineer Supervisors were also tasked with overseeing all the improvements, ensuring the work is done on time and in accordance with code requirements, and that it best fits the maintenance needs of TCC. Given the wholesale energy improvements, this was no small task, as virtually every area of the physical plant would be touched at each of the four campuses. Work was performed in a manner not to interrupt the operations of the campus. Despite these challenges, the maintenance staff at TCC pulled together, changing shifts — and even campuses — as necessary, and as the project is just now wrapping up the end product is a giant step forward at Tulsa Community College with regard to being more sustainable.
As the Facility Managers will be quick to rightly add, we are not caught up with deferred maintenance, nor was every piece of equipment that needed to be replaced ultimately removed. A laundry list of capital replacements continues to exist. Yet for TCC, though the innovation and support from all levels of the organization, TCC now is experiencing lower electrical, gas, and water usage, saving TCC money on its utility bills. An interesting by-product of this project has resulted in an increased awareness of sustainability throughout the college. Definitely a win-win for TCC and for Sustainability.
In-house participants:
Dr. Tom McKeon, PresidentDr. Gary Crooms, now retired CFO/VPJeff Nevins, CFO/VPMina Lotti, Director of Physical FacilitiesSteven Cox, Assistant Director of Facility MaintenanceRick Kennedy, Facility Manager, Metro CampusRonnie Sink, Maintenance Engineer Supervisor, Metro CampusDanny Stratton, Facility Manager, Northeast CampusJerrid Jones, Maintenance Engineer Supervisor, Northeast CampusCarolyn Pense, Facility Manager, Southeast CampusJack Layne, Maintenance Engineer Supervisor, Southeast CampusRick Melton, Facility Manager, West CampusEric Martin, Maintenance Engineer Supervisor, West CampusRandy Smith, Maintenance ElectricianSally Osburn, Administrative Assistant IIVeronica Carlisle, CAD Technician
Judges will add the point totals for each submission to help choose the winners in each of the four categories.
Tulsa Community College is a 2011 Winner!