3.11.3 Physical Facilities

Comprehensive Standard: The institution operates and maintains physical facilities, both on and off campus, that are adequate to serve the needs of the institution’s educational programs, support services, and mission-related activities.

  X  Compliance
       Partial Compliance
       Non-Compliance

Narrative:

Georgia State University (GSU) with about 26,000 students (head count) is the largest institution of higher education in the metropolitan Atlanta area and the second largest in the state of Georgia. It has about 5.6 million gross square feet (gsf) of space in over 50 buildings. While a majority of these buildings are located in downtown Atlanta, it also has facilities at a North Metro Campus, (Alpharetta), Brookhaven, Buckhead, Panthersville (Dekalb County), Henry County, and Mt. Wilson (California). Facilities Management Services (FMS) is responsible for planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of all facilities at GSU. The goal of FMS [1]   is to provide safe, clean, attractive and energy efficient buildings that are conducive for teaching, research, living and recreation activities.

While the department of Building Services [2] provides day-to-day clearning and maintenance, the Maintenance and Operations department [3] provides a program of preventive maintenance and a customer focused system for response to specific customer requirements.  The preventive maintenance process is centered on a prioritized listing of critical equipment and represents approximately 54% of the department’s direct labor and material expenditures.  This process is used for those 50 major facilities located at the central campus area in downtown Atlanta and also for remote academic, research and recreational facilities.  The North Metro campus located in Alpharetta has all maintenance services provided through a private contractor.  The combination of preventive maintenance and recent major capital equipment replacements has resulted in a significant improvement in the working environment for students, faculty and staff.  Maintenance services are provided through an in house work force and selective contract services for roof repair, elevator maintenance, fire alarm systems, building environments controls, automatic door maintenance and fire protection systems.   Customers can place requests for special needs or report problems in their facilities through the customer center.  This single point of contact allows the customer to place their request for maintenance, design or construction services.  The customer center then channels the request to the appropriate branch of facilities while creating a computer record of each customer request for tracking and performance measurement purposes. University housing has its own internal work force that handles maintenance of student housing facilities.

Funding to support the maintenance of the University also comes from the University System Office. It operates under a formula funding system developed in 1982 and implemented in the FY1984 budget request. The formula is a mathematical device that aggregates the funding needs of all institutions to provide a continuous level of support for the Resident Instruction activity of the University System. A portion of the funding is for the operation and maintenance costs of the physical plant and varies each year based on the square footage of the university that is utilized for resident instruction. [4] 

Custodial Services provides services to the cafeteria operation of Auxiliary Services at the University Center and staffing to the Student Recreation Center. They also support the Athletic department with staffing and set-up for intercollegiate games in the Sports Arena. Grounds Services provides landscape services to the Student Center and Student Recreation Center and off-site facilities (Indian Creek Lodge, Panthersville Athletic fields and the Language Research Center).

Services are prioritized and scheduled in a variety of ways. Basic custodial services (restroom cleaning, classrooms, common areas, entrances, offices) are done daily or on a predetermined schedule.

Services are prioritized and scheduled in a variety of ways. Basic custodial services (restroom cleaning, classrooms, common areas, entrances, offices) are done daily or on a predetermined schedule so that we are cleaning between APPA level 3 and 4. APPA is the association serving education facilities professionals (formerly the Association of Physical Plant Administrators). The following information comes from the APPA Staffing Guidelines for Educational Facilities, 2nd edition.

Level 4 - Moderate Dinginess

  • Floors are swept or vacuumed clean, but are dull, dingy, and stained. There is a noticeable buildup of dirt and/or floor finish in corners and along walls.
  • Dull patches on hard floor and/or obviously matted carpet in the walking lanes.
  • Vertical and horizontal surfaces have conspicuous dust, dirt, smudges, fingerprints and marks. Lamp fixtures are dirty and up to 5 percent are burned out.

Level 3 - Casual Inattention

  • Floors are swept or vacuumed clean, but upon close observation there can be stains. A buildup of dirt and/or floor finish in corners and along walls can be seen.
  • There are dull spots and/or matted carpet in walking lanes. There are streaks or splashes on base molding.
  • All vertical and horizontal surfaces have obvious dust, dirt, marks, smudges and fingerprints. Lamps all work and fixtures are clean.
  • Trash containers and pencil sharpeners holding daily waste, are clean and odor-free.
  • Restrooms are cleaned daily but appear to need attention after peak periods.

Foremen, superintendents, operation managers and directors plan, schedule and prioritize projects and special requests.  The timing and prioritization of events also dictate the prioritizing. For moving and surplus service the unit head coordinates with the customers to prioritize the schedule. Requests are called or faxed in and the customer is contacted within 72 hours to work the schedule.  Landscape and hardscape services are similar to custodial in that some tasks are daily or on a predetermined schedule. The season of the year and special events dictate the remainder of the prioritization. Set-ups are all driven by the customer’s request.

The Office of University Housing [5] is responsible for operating and maintaining safe, clean and comfortable housing units to the students. The University currently has 2000 beds at the Commons and 435 beds (in 231 apartments) at the Lofts. Other plans are also underway to supplement the housing needs of students.

Supporting Documentation:

  1. Facilities Management Services
  2. Facilities Management Services Department of Building Services
  3. Facilities Management Service Department of Maintenance and Operations
  4. Funding Formula Information
  5. Office of University Housing