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Introduction to School Facilities Maintenance Planning

8/25/2017 10:28:00 am




INTRODUCTION

When maintaining a school, we pay not only for bricks and mortar, but also student and staff well-being. Effective school maintenance protects capital investment, ensures the health and safety of our children, and supports educational performance. 

Why Does Facilities Maintenance Matter?
As America's school buildings age, we face the growing challenge of maintaining school facilities at a level that enables our teachers to meet the needs of 21st century learners. While the construction of new school facilities supports this task, many older buildings have developed modularly over time. A 1920s-era school may have gotten an addition in 1950, which in turn got an addition in 1970, and yet another addition in 1990. The task of caring for these old school buildings, some of which are historically or architecturally significant, at a level that supports contemporary instructional practices is substantial. At the same time, maintaining the finely tuned workings of new, more technologically advanced facilities also demands considerable expertise and commitment. 

Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that facilities issues arise at all educational levels, prekindergarten through post-secondary, and all sites, both school buildings and administrative offices alike. Challenges arise in both new and old facilities, although the types of concerns may differ. For example, even a brand-new building may have problems with inadequate air circulation, which can lead to indoor air quality (IAQ) problems unless remedied. Older buildings, on the other hand, more frequently face age-related issues such as inefficient energy systems that can lead to uncomfortable indoor climate and high utility bills.

What causes facilities problems? Certainly extreme environmental conditions and a lack of maintenance funding contribute to building deterioration. But many facilities problems are not a function of geography or socioeconomic factors but are, instead, related to maintenance staffing levels, training, and management practices.

Because we know that routine and unexpected maintenance demands are bound to arise, every education organization must proactively develop and implement a plan for dealing with these inevitabilities. Thus, an organization must plan to meet the challenges of effective facilities maintenance. It is simply too big of a job to be addressed in a haphazard fashion. After all, the consequences affect teaching and learning, student and staff health, day-to-day building operations, and the long-range fiscal outlook of the organization.A sound facilities maintenance plan serves as evidence that school facilities are, and will be, cared for appropriately. On the other hand, negligent facilities maintenance planning can cause real problems. Large capital investment can be squandered when buildings and equipment deteriorate or warranties become invalidated. Failing to maintain school facilities adequately also discourages future public investment in the education system.
However, school facilities maintenance is concerned about more than just resource management. It is about providing clean and safe environments for children. It is also about creating a physical setting that is appropriate and adequate for learning. A classroom with broken windows and cold drafts doesn't foster effective student learning. However, neither does an apparently state-of-the-art classroom that is plagued with uncontrollable swings in indoor temperature, which can negatively affect student and instructor alertness, attendance, and even health.

School facilities maintenance affects the physical, educational, and financial foundation of the school organization and should, therefore, be a focus of both its day-to-day operations and long-range management priorities.

Who Should Read This Document?
Meeting legal standards with regard to facilities maintenance is the bare minimum for responsible school management. Planners must also strive to meet the spirit of the laws and the long-term needs of the organization.
Because facilities maintenance planning is constrained by real world budgets, planners must often think in terms of trade-offs. Thus, they must weigh routine tasks against preventive maintenance that pays off only over the long run, while always needing to be prepared for emergency responses to broken air conditioners, cracked pipes, and severe snow storms. The difficult job of planning for facilities maintenance is most effective when it relies upon up-to-date information about the condition and use of buildings, campuses, equipment, and personnel. Thus, staff who are intimately involved in the day-to-day assessment, repair, and maintenance of school facilities must also play an active role in the facilities maintenance planning process. Yet facilities maintenance planning is not solely the responsibility of the facilities department. Effective planning requires coordination of resources and commitment at all levels of the education organization.
Our vision for this Planning Guide for Maintaining School Facilities is to encourage information-based decision-making in this crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of schools management. Because no two school districts face precisely the same challenges, this Planning Guide does not attempt to provide a single template for an all-inclusive facilities maintenance plan. Rather it focuses on best practices that can be undertaken to develop a plan that meets the unique needs of an education organization.
In a Nutshell...
Experience at the local, state, and national levels suggests that effective school facility maintenance planning can:
 
contribute to an organization's instructional effectiveness and financial well-being
 
improve the cleanliness, orderliness, and safety of an education organization's facilities
 
reduce the operational costs and life cycle cost of a building
 
help staff deal with limited resources by identifying facilities priorities proactively rather than reactively
 
extend the useful life of buildings
 
increase energy efficiency and help the environment
The Planning Guide does the following:
 
argues that school facility maintenance is a vital component in the responsible management of an education organization
 
focuses specifically on the needs of an education audience (i.e., it is written specifically for education administrators and staff at the building, campus, district, and state levels)
 
stresses strategies and procedures for planning, implementing, and evaluating effective maintenance programs
 
describes a process, not a canned set of "one size fits all" solutions
 
includes "best practice" recommendations, not mandates
 
supports recommendations from another National Forum on Education Statistics publication, Facilities Information Management: A Guide for State and Local School Districts (http://nces.ed.gov/forum/publications.asp)
This Planning Guide is not:
 
a how-to manual of maintenance procedures and instructions
 
an attempt to dictate policy-making in local and state education agencies (although it can and should serve as a guide to policy-makers as they consider their options and needs)
Planning for School Facilities Maintenance
GOALS:
To explain why planning is an essential component of managing school facilities maintenance activities

To communicate that effective facilities management requires the support of many stakeholders throughout the organization and community

To confirm that informed decision-making demands ready access to high-quality data that describe the status of the organization's facilities, needs, and capabilities
An essential component of an effective school program is a well-conceived school facilities maintenance plan. A properly implemented plan provides school administrators comfort and confidence when contemplating the future of their campuses.

Effective Management Starts with Planning
Unless facilities maintenance planning is a component of a greater organizational management plan, it is doomed to failure. After all, how else can maintenance planners be certain that other policy-makers share their priorities? Or that funds will be available to achieve their goals? And how else can they learn about demographic and enrollment projections and the ensuing changes in building demand? Thus, facilities maintenance planning must be an element of the overall organizational strategy-part of the "master plan."
aving said this, however, planners must also accept that the future is not now (despite the adage that suggests differently). In other words, change takes time, and improvements in organization-wide endeavors most often occur in steps. If a school district finds itself in need of a major overhaul in its facilities maintenance management system, it cannot expect to jump to the head of the field in one or two years. Instead, planners must institute improvements over longer time frames and accept that progress is measured relative to the organization's starting point rather than by comparisons with other organizations that may or may not be working under comparable circumstances.
Why Collaborate during Planning (and with Whom)?
In many ways, the process of planning is more important than the outcome. The process of formulating a plan establishes a forum through which interested parties have a chance to voice their opinions about the future of the organization. This opportunity, and the dialogue (and even debate) that ensues, is an effective way of infusing fresh ideas and new perspectives into school management. Collaborative planning also helps stakeholders feel that their views are respected and valued. In turn, this atmosphere of respect often fosters staff and community support for the decisions being made about the future direction of the organization (and, perhaps more importantly, the day-to-day steps that must be taken to achieve these goals).
Training Facility  

Overview

A professional's need for education and training does not end upon completion of his or her formal schooling years. Today, more than ever, continuing education is paramount to maintaining and enhancing one's skills, especially in response to changes in technology that impact virtually every profession. While most state licensing agencies and professional associations require continuing education credits for professional certification, individuals may seek educational opportunities to achieve other personal and career objectives.
Typically, K–12 educational facilities do not meet the requirements for educating adult students in a continuing education environment. As such, this WBDG building type page addresses the fundamental attributes and features of training facilities designed for adult professionals in particular. Note that this page does not cover specialized technical training facilities, such as pilot flight training, or overnight accommodations provided at some training facilities. Also, academic laboratory and library buildings are covered elsewhere in the Whole Building Design Guide.

Building Attributes

A training facility for adult professionals must have flexible and technologically-advanced learning environments that are safe, healthy, comfortable, aesthetically-pleasing, and accessible. It must be able to accommodate the specific space and equipment needs of the training program and curriculum. Support spaces geared toward adult needs, such as a business station that allows students to carry out some business functions during their training sessions, must be seamlessly integrated into the facility as well.

A. Types of Spaces

A training facility incorporates a number of space types to meet the needs of adult trainees, trainers, and staff. These may include:

Classrooms

  • Auditoriums: Large-size rooms designed for lecture-style instruction and training. Auditorium may be equipped with partitions to create smaller training venues. To facilitate circulation and ease of access, locate auditoriums on the first floor of the building near major parking facilities.
  • Conference Rooms: Multiple purpose medium-size instruction rooms. Depending on the seating configuration, the rooms may accommodate lecture-style instruction or encourage interaction in the form of roundtable discussions and teleconferences. Often two or three conference rooms can be combined to form a larger conference room by opening movable partitions that slide or fold into pockets in the walls.
  • Seminar Rooms: Multiple-purpose, small-size instruction rooms, usually used to accommodate a small number of people within close proximity.
  • Audio/Visual-Equipped Rooms: Rooms equipped for audio/visual and Internet-based instruction.
  • Computer Training Rooms: Rooms equipped with computer workstations and Internet access for each student.
  • Dry Laboratories: Media based, such as electronics.

User Support Spaces

  • Trainee Storage Spaces: Lockers, coat closets, or cubbies for trainees to temporarily store their possessions.
  • Library or quiet reading room with study cubicles.
  • Observation Rooms: Spaces adjacent to classrooms for simultaneous translation of instruction into a second language.
  • Business Stations: Space equipped with computers with Internet access, phones, and fax machines for trainees to quickly connect with their organizations.
  • Convenience Store, Kiosk, or Vending Machines
  • Bookstore
  • Lobby: Central location for building directory, schedules, and general information
  • Common Space: Informal, multi-purpose recreation and social gathering space
  • Cafeteria or Dining Hall
  • Infirmary: On-site health care facility with a private office for health care provider
  • Restrooms

Administrative Support Spaces

  • Administrative Offices: May be private or semi-private acoustically and/or visually.
  • Trainer Offices: May be shared space and equipment, including computers, phones, fax machines, desks, libraries, and supplies.

Operation and Maintenance Spaces

  • General Storage: For items such as stationery, equipment, and instructional materials.
  • Food Preparation Area or Kitchen
  • Computer/Information Technology (IT) Closets. See WBDGAutomated Data Processing: PC System for related information.
  • Maintenance Closets

B. Important Design Considerations

Flexibility

At some training facilities, programs and schedules vary frequently. Furthermore, instructors have different and evolving training methods. As such, flexibility within the building's design is critical to the success of an enduring training program. The following strategies can be used to meet the challenge of designing a training facility around evolving teaching styles and emerging technologies:
  • Cluster instructional areas around central, shared support and resource spaces. Shared resource spaces may include informal gathering spaces, shared seminar rooms, computer kiosks, and trainer offices.
  • Use an appropriate combination of stand-alone movable partitions, movable modular furnishings, and large double doors between classrooms and shared spaces.
  • Create classrooms of various sizes. Equip larger rooms with movable partitions to accommodate a wide variety of group learning sizes.
  • Arrange spaces in keeping with the educational and programmatic goals of the facility.
  • When connecting semi-private or enclosed spaces to more open areas, ensure moderate visual openness and acoustical privacy.
  • Where possible, allow for individually controlled temperature and lighting.

Technological Connectivity

Technology has become an indispensable tool for business, industry, and education. Many training courses are specifically designed to enhance a trainee's competency with new software and hardware. In some cases, technology has even changed the way instruction is provided: from traditional live instructor-led courses to self-directed learning and individualized instruction. Distance learning using telecommunication technologies like cable television, Internet, satellites, and videotapes, is popular because it allows students from across the nation to participant in courses remote from the point of instruction.
Given that technology is driving a variety of changes in the organizational and architectural forms of training facilities, consider the following issues when incorporating it, particularly information technology (IT), into a training facility:
·         Currently, many training facilities provide IT connection in only a few areas, like computer training rooms, business stations, and media centers. Because IT is becoming an integral part of training curricula, designers should plan new training facilities to have a distributed, robust, and flexible IT infrastructure, which would allow technological access in virtually all the spaces.
·         During the planning stage, identify all necessary technological systems (e.g., voice/cable/data systems such as audio/visual systems, speaker systems, Internet access, and Local Area Networks [LAN] / Wide-Area Networks [WAN] / Wireless Fidelity [WI-FI]), and provide adequate equipment rooms and conduit runs for them.
·         Allow for computer and Internet connectivity at desks, as appropriate. Consider equipping fixed desks with under-top computers to ensure adequate sightlines between trainers and trainees.
·         Consider and accommodate for wireless technologies, as appropriate.
·         For existing training facilities, consider improving access to the IT infrastructure as renovations are undertaken.

Indoor Environmental Quality

All educational facilities, including training facilities, must have high-quality indoor environments to promote learning as well as productivity. The following strategies support good indoor environmental quality that can positively influence task performance and attention spans:
·         Quality Acoustics: Trainees should be able to hear their instructors clearly, and vice versa. Ensure low ambient background noise and appropriate acoustics in classrooms and support spaces through a combination of space planning, sound absorption, and sound transmission reduction techniques. For example, avoid placing mechanical rooms next to classrooms, conference rooms, auditoriums, offices; libraries, laboratories, and computer centers may be adjacent to classrooms. Consider sound amplification and/or speaker systems for auditoriums and other appropriate spaces. Provide accommodations for hearing impaired trainees.
·         Appropriate Lighting: A high quality, energy-efficient lighting system that utilizes both natural and electric sources as well as lighting controls is optimal for a learning environment. Ensure the lighting design is appropriate for the task at hand. Consider indirect/direct luminaries for ambient lighting in classrooms and support areas. Allow individually controlled lighting in study areas and workrooms where possible. Design appropriate exterior lighting for facilities that will be used at night.
·         Daylighting: Use daylighting to enhance the visual environment of classrooms as well as support spaces. Coordinate the daylighting scheme with the design of interior lighting and controls as well as other energy efficiency measures. Specify energy-efficient windows. Install proper sun control and shading devices to reduce glare (especially in computer training rooms) and allow for room darkening (for rooms with A/V equipment).
·         Environmentally Preferable Products: Use low VOC paints and finishes for interior surfaces. Consider selecting renewable materials such as bamboo flooring. Specify no-formaldehyde panels and cabinetry. Use non-toxic cleaning products. See WBDGEvaluating and Selecting Green Products and Sustainable O&M Practices for more information.
·         Good Sightlines: Ensure adequate and appropriate sightlines in auditoriums, conference rooms, and seminar rooms. Consider sloped floors, which promote good sightlines and are more accessible than tiered floors.
·         Comfort and Aesthetics: Allow users to adjust seating, computer equipment placement, light levels, table or desk heights, classroom layout, and ventilation. See WBDGProductive—Provide Comfortable Environments for more information. Make a learning environment more conducive with colors.
·         Thermal Comfort and Ventilation: Ensure fresh air intake and adequate airflow rates. Specify high-performance heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning equipment (HVAC) zoned to accommodate varying occupancy rates. Commission the system to ensure functionality. At a minimum, comply with American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, and ASHRAE Standard 62.1 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality (ANSI Approved). Refer to ASHRAE Applications Guide, Chapter 6 for guidance on designing HVAC systems in educational spaces. Incorporate natural ventilation, if appropriate. See WBDGProductive—Provide Comfortable Environments for more information.

Business Resource Centers

In 2008, the Utah State Legislature signed into law the Utah Business Resource Centers Act.  Business Resource Centers (BRC) will increase the success rate of Utah businesses, providing services that will ultimately allow new and existing businesses to grow and flourish.
BRCs are entities established by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development at Utah public institutions of higher-education or other appropriate community locations. They are certified one-stop resource centers providing coordination of business support, education, tracking of clients, access to sources of funding, training, technical expertise, talent, and networking for new and existing businesses.
BRCs will partner with various business service providers located in their local service area and assist in the coordination of their activities, identify gaps in provided services, develop initiatives and provide opportunities.  Business service provider partners will include federal, state, county, city, academic, private and any other business service providers that desire to participate with the BRC.
Business Resource Centers are required to secure matching funds for this effort. Matching funds may be in the form of cash or in-kind (facilities, services, personnel, etc.) or as approved by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development will provide administrative oversight for the BRCs, maintain decision authority and act as fiscal agent.  A Business Resource Centers Advisory Board, formed by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, provides operational oversight of, and

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