Facilities management team works around the clock to keep campus clean

Throughout the majority of the year at almost any time of the day, a facilities management employee can be seen performing various tasks on Southeast Missouri State University's campus. Many students and faculty often see the employees doing custodial work, planting flowers or making small repairs, but there are many other duties that go on behind the scenes that may be overlooked.

Custodial services, with more than 60 employees, has three daily shifts: day, night and weekend. During the day, custodial workers will often be seen in the auxiliary buildings, such as the residence halls and recreation centers, while evening and weekend shifts are more classroom-focused.

Custodians, whether they work part time or full time, must go through a training process in order to make sure duties are consistently done correctly. Student workers must also take this test to be able to become assistants to full-time employees. Custodial employees are assigned to a specific building each semester and are responsible for all duties within it until they are assigned to a new building in the next semester.

Grounds services, with more than 35 employees, maintains 300 acres of the main campus, along with the 17 acres of the River Campus, on a daily basis. Grounds services employees, like custodial services, must take a training course to keep all areas consistent and well-kept. They are divided into two sub-departments for both campuses, the Campus Beautification Committee and the Grounds Section. The beautification committee is responsible for planting and removing flowers, trees, shrubs and other plant life around campus as well as maintaining the grounds around it by fertilizing and watering them. The beautification committee also has a specialized arborist and horticulturist to oversee roughly 500 square feet of flower bed areas on both campuses. The Grounds Section is responsible for all grass areas, including the athletic and band fields, accompanied by an irrigation specialist. Together the department as a whole works together to do campus-wide litter clean up, snow removal and pest control.

There are also several smaller departments of facilities management that help the university run smoothly, although they may not be as public as custodial or grounds employees. Under operations support are the sub-departments of keys and locks, work order requests, recycling and pest control. Through building coordinators for each building on both campuses, these small tasks are directed and are called to attention as needed.

At the head of facilities management, director Angela Meyer oversees 170 employees and all functions that go on within the various departments.

"No matter what department someone is in, we're like a big family," Meyer said. "When an emergency happens, something like a pipe bursting, we pull everyone we can together to work as a team to do what they can. Just like with the snow removal we had within the past few months, although we have specific grounds workers to do this, we have other departments help as much as they can to resolve the issue fast."

With employees being able to help out in other areas, many of them have been trained in several departments, although they are generally assigned to one department at the beginning of each year.

"Many of us have been here for a while and have worked our way up through various positions, like myself," Meyer said. "There are also a lot of great benefits full-time employees get, so a good majority of our employees are here for the long run."

Employees that are around for several years and have shown a great work ethic are also rewarded for their achievements within the department. One employee in particular that has been recognized recently for their hard work has been lead painter Joe Stark. Stark's recognition was due to his role of showing leadership and communication qualities over the years.

"I can't say enough about Joe's professionalism and work ethic," Meyer said. "I wish we could clone him."

Every year in January, Meyer, along with her executive staff, create plans for the upcoming year for different areas within facilities management that need attention. These plans are then presented to President Kenneth W. Dobbins and the major capital budget committee to receive funds to make these plans possible whether they are everyday tasks or large projects.

"As of right now we are wrapping up all of our 2010 projects, like the renovations to Magill, building New Hall and what will soon be the new River Campus additions," Meyer said. "After that, we are planning on maintenance and repair to minor things on campus, like replacing older pipes in buildings that have been around for decades."