Physical Plant Services Newsletter

Message from the AVP Facilities

by John Witjes, AVP Facilities

Ah Spring at last! … a time of rebirth and

inspiration … of change and opportunity.

Quite a few exciting things have happened

since our last publication.

PPS continues to be a busy place with a full

slate of deferred maintenance projects starting

to appear on campus including some major

retrofit work on the front porch and

foundations of Summerhill. The campus will

be a busy place this summer … our new

website (http://www.queensu.ca/pps/ )

will have all the details.

On the staffing side we welcomed four summer students; Leah Kelley (Life Sciences) in our

Sustainability office will be helping Aaron pilot the very first campus Green Office Certification

program within PPS, Joshua Arduini (electrical) and Scott Parks (mechanical) will be joining our

engineering team, and Jacob Malleau (mechanical) is joining our energy team. And we have a

number of students returning to our Grounds team. We also wish Mike White, Mechanical Engineer,

every success as he takes the next step in his career closer to home in southwestern Ontario and we

wish Perry Conrad (45yrs), Area Manager, Tom Hogan (40yrs), Refrigeration Mechanic, and Bryne

Smallridge (39yrs), Custodian the very best in a well earned retirement after many years of service to

Queen’s. With Mike’s transition, we welcomed another great addition to our department as Viet

Tran, Queen’s B.Sc. (mechanical) MBA joined our engineering team.

Over 1000 responses to our Client Satisfaction Survey were received. We are in the process of

compiling all the data and will be scheduling a departmental town hall later this summer to share the

results with our staff before publishing to the broader campus community. I want to thank each and

every person that took the time to tell us how we are doing … Thank you! We’ve also been working

on a new Mission, Vision, Values initiative for our department and will be asking everyone for their

input during the town hall to help us shape the exciting future of PPS.

And finally, I’d like to congratulate both Don Conners, Area Manager, and David Crabb, Director

Finance, for graduating from the Queen’s Foundational Leadership Course recently … well done!

I hope you enjoy the pages that follow and that you find some interesting information about our

department. I am excited about the future for all of us here and always welcome any feedback or

suggestions you might have.

May 2015

Page 1

Page 2

Perry Conrad — Retirement and a New Chapter by Larry Pattison, Director, Engineering & Operations

May 2015

After a remarkable 45 years’ service with Queen’s University,

Perry Conrad will be retiring on 30 June 2015. He joined Queen’s

as a Mechanical Technician with the Department of Mechanical

Engineering in June of 1970. He completed the Mechanical Engi-

neering Technology program at St. Lawrence College through

evening courses during his time with Mech. Eng. In 1982 he

moved to Civil Engineering as the Technical Supervisor. In 1985

he accepted the Department Manager position with Electrical En-

gineering. This was a time of growth and change as the depart-

ment moved to Walter Light Hall. Perry represented the depart-

ment on the Building Committee during the planning and con-

struction of the new building. In 1996 Perry joined Physical Plant

Services as manager of Area 2 and several years later became the

manager of Area 1 and the Specialty Team.

In addition to his work responsibility, Perry contributed to Queen’s by participating in the Executive and

as President of CUPE 254 (KTU). He also participated in a variety of Administrative and University

Committees including the Harassment/Discrimination Complaint Board.

Perry is well known for his involvement in the local baseball community and was the Head Coach of the

Queen’s Men’s Baseball Team from 1997 to 2005. The Queen’s team won the 2004 National Champi-

onship under Perry’s guidance.

Perry has made important contributions to advancing Queen’s and his encyclopedic knowledge of

Queen’s, its people and its history will be missed.

Retirement Celebration

Join us for a reception marking Perry’s retirement.

Date: Friday May 29, 2015

Time: 2:00PM to 4:00PM

Where: University Club

Deferred Maintenance Success Story by Larry Pattison, Director, Engineering & Operations

Through the course of the last year we have been able to direct

Deferred Maintenance funds towards the replacement of non-

serviceable building equipment. One good example was the

main heating pump in Botterell Penthouse. The existing pump,

installed during building construction, was in poor condition and

repair parts were no longer available since the manufacturer had

gone out of business.

A modern pump was installed by PPS tradespeople in a joint ef-

fort involving Area 3, Area 1 and the Welding Shop, Stores and

the Engineering Group. Congratulations to all those who had a

part in bringing this important and complex project to a success-

ful conclusion.

Spring has finally sprung and the campus is

starting to show its true Queen’s colours.

From the red and yellow tulips in our annual

panel beds to the blues of the crocus that are

naturalized in the lawn areas of some of our

older buildings.

The grounds department would like to wel-

come some students to our grounds crew for

the summer. They joined the team about two

weeks ago and are already fitting into their

roles contributing to the upkeep of the cam-

pus. We’re lucky to have some returning stu-

dents again this year. Connor Frost is working

his third summer with us, and Claragh Pegg is

joining us for her fourth summer.

This year promises to be another busy and exciting season for the grounds department with a number of

projects that will contribute to the overall beauty of the campus. Sidewalk replacement, the installation

of a new secured bike storage facility, and the renovation and revitalization of the gardens around Sum-

mer Hill are just some of the projects you’ll see happening over the next few months. Of course our sig-

nature annual flower displays promise to be another great show again this season. Page 3

May 2015

by Matthew Barrett, PPS Grounds Manager

Spring has Sprung

Page 4

A key component of the University’s broader objective to create a sustainable campus is developing a

safe, inviting and convenient active transportation network. Cycling provides a quick and fun way to get to

and around the University in a way that is good for both personal health and the environment. With the

ever escalating costs of fuel, reduced car parking capacity on campus and a greater awareness of the envi-

ronmental impacts of burning fossil fuels, the popularity of biking is growing.

To enhance campus cycling infrastructure the Sustainability Office will be installing a secure bike storage

facility under the walkway between Mackintosh-Corry and Dunning Hall. This new facility will allow

users to lock up their bikes behind a completely fenced, sheltered and access controlled space. The stor-

age area will have an initial capacity for about 70 bicycles, and will also feature a hard surface, new light-

ing and an emergency “blue light” phone.

An online registration portal will be launched following construction allowing registrants to pay for a full

year of access ($50) or by semester ($30).

For more information, please contact Aaron Ball in the Sustainability Office, 613-533-3379 or email

balla@queensu.ca

by Aaron Ball, Sustainability Manager

Secure Bike Storage

May 2015

Walkway between Mackintosh-Corry and Dunning

Page 5

Stores

by Berniece Ladanyi, Material Handling Manager

PPS Stores has a dedicated team of four Berniece Ladanyi, Material Handling Manager is responsible for

planning, scheduling, personnel, inventory management and business administration and contracts. Andy

Alger, Kevin Darlington and John Plumridge are responsible for processing the work-orders from the

trades people by obtaining quotes, issuing work orders, arranging delivery of parts and materials, invento-

ry control, restocking materials, shipping and receiving, courier and mail services. All Stores staff are Cer-

tified Buyers and are members of Supply Chain Management Association of Ontario.

There are three front line positions within Stores, the purchasing and order desk, inventory control desk

and shipping and receiving desk. Each of the buyers rotate positions every two weeks to ensure continued

consistency and awareness of the requirements of each position for better customer service.

PPS Stores supports the Operations Group by processing the work-orders initiated in Fix-It. Stores staff

initiate purchase orders to obtain the parts and materials needed for the trades and custodial employees to

complete their work as required. We have contracts with many suppliers to provide Electrical Compo-

nents, Plumbing Materials, Custodial Supplies and Equipment, Industrial Commodities, Carpentry Materi-

als, Professional Work Wear, the Purchase, Repair and Maintenance of Fleet Vehicles.

PPS is in the process of upgrading to a new technical inventory management and control system which

will efficiently control our central inventory location with our five satellite shops while integrating the

transactions electronically into our financial system.

Stores hours are Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (closed between 12:00 to 12:30 pm). For

more information please contact us 613-533-6074.

May 2015

From left to right: John Plumridge, Kevin Darlington, Andy Alger, Berniece Ladanyi

Page 6

Tool of the Month: Infrared Camera by Shawn Milne, Mechanical Engineer

This month’s “Tool of the Month” is the FLIR i40 THERMAL IMAGING IR CAMERA. An infrared camera is a non-contact device that detects infrared energy (heat) and produces a thermal image on a

video monitor. The FLIR i40 is a combination of infrared camera and digital camera. It includes LED lights making

it possible to work in dark environments. Li-Ion batteries give 5 working hours between charges. The camera can

save JPEG images and visual digital images for download to a computer.

A building diagnostics inspection with a thermal imaging camera can help:

Visualize energy losses

Detect missing or defective insulation

Source air leaks

Detect badly insulated areas

Locate thermal bridges

Locate water infiltration in flat roofs

Detect breaches in hot-water and steam pipes

Find faults in supply lines and district heating

Detect electrical faults

Locate faulty steam traps, steam leaks

Health & Safety Minute—Safety First by Joint Health & Safety Committee

Correctly applying Lockout Tagout is one of the easiest and

most effective ways to keep yourself and others safe in our

work place. It’s also the law. If you work with electricity,

steam, natural gas, compressed air or stored mechanical

energy there is a means to properly Lockout and Tagout the

equipment or system you are working on.

Refer to SOP A6 for the correct procedure for the work you

are doing. Check with your supervisor if you are in doubt

or if you require additional lockout devices.

Remember, each worker who is working on the equipment

to be locked out must apply their own lock and properly

completed tag. Multi-locks and tags are available from

FIXIT.

May 2015

Page 7

Tell Us What You Think!

Do you have a news story or an announcement you

would like to make, or a cartoon or photograph

you’d like to share? We’re looking for submissions

to add to the next publication that will come out in

August 2015.

All ideas and suggestions on the newsletter’s name,

design and content are welcome. Submission dead-

line for the next edition is July 15, 2015.

You can submit your ideas to any of the newsletter

committee members:

Larry Pattison, pattison@queensu.ca

Llynwen Osborne, lrao@queensu.ca

Tracy Elliott, tracy.elliott@queensu.ca

Announcements

Memorable Milestones

New Faces

Jamie Plumb, Carpenter, 6 month term, March 9,

2015

Viet Tran, Mechanical Engineer, May 5, 2015

Fond Farewells

Perry Conrad, Area 1, Manager, June 30, 2015

Tom Hogan, Refrigeration Shop, June 30, 2015

Bryne Smallridge, Custodian, Area 1, June 30, 2015

PPS Website

“Hi, Folks! Just wanted to drop a quick note to say good job on

the new website – looks great, and the forms are su-

per-tight and just a pleasure to work with.

You guys rock!

Shari”

New name plates for

Stauffer Library - A job

well done

Greetings,

Over the last two days one of your newer staff mem-

bers has been removing a number of old name plates

and installing new ones here in Stauffer Library. I

think his name might be James and he is part-time

and I believe he might be an apprentice.

I just wanted to let you know how pleased we are

with his work. He was very polite, listened to in-

structions and worked quickly. Most importantly,

some of the older name plates that had been mount-

ed on glass were difficult to remove. He removed

them all meticulously, cleaned up all the residue and

didn’t leave so much as a smudge on the glass. The

new signs look great.

We would appreciate it if you would pass this along

to him.

Sincerely,

Kathy

Jamie Plumb is a 6 month term in the carpenter shop

Queen’s Centre Pool is back

in business

Great news, Perry's shop over in PPS (Ed/Dave spe-

cifically I believe) were able to repair and reinforce

our existing drain cover. Thank you guys! Your

quick efforts are most appreciated, our swimming

community thanks you.

Ed Perry is an Area 1 Millwright and Dave Dumond is

an Area 2 Building Operator

May 2015

Twitter @queensuPPS “Really tough walk in today - appreciate the great

work @queensupps does on the sidewalks”