Facilities Services

Facilities Services Weekly

August 10, 2026

A smiling man with a long grey beard and glasses cleans the 'POLICE' lettering on the side of a black utility vehicle with a white cloth.

Announcements

Building Services

Operations

Maintenance

Comm & Info

Utilities

Construction

Safety Stand Down

Announcements

Big Orange Flush – Wednesday AM 

Don’t forget! This Wednesday, August 12, is our Big Orange Flush for the football season. We’ll meet at Gate 21 at 9am for a briefing before heading to the restrooms to flush away! Those who have expressed interest in riding the FSC shuttle should meet at the warehouse doors at 8:30am.  

Football Training Dates Announced

Go ahead and mark your calendars to attend one session of football training if you work to support game days. Please note the location change from the FSC to the SU for the first shift sessions. Email [email protected] to sign up for the session of your choosing. 

Wednesday, August 26 Times/Locations 
0830 – SU 362A/B 
1000 – SU 362A/B 
1400 – SU 362A/B 
1700 – FSC 101/102 
2200 – FSC 101/102 

Thursday, August 27 Times/Locations 
1030 – SU 362A/B 
1400 – SU 362A/B 

FS Wellness Fair

Mark your calendars for our 2026 Facilities Services Wellness Fair on Thursday, August 20th from 11a to 2p in FSC 101/102. Vendors will be on site for personal training, spiritual wellness, information on MedSpa services and nutrition, and more! Come and go as your schedule allows. Questions? Reach out to [email protected].

Quarterly Departmental Meeting 

Our next Quarterly Departmental Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 13th at 4 p.m. Go ahead and mark your calendars now. If you have questions you’d like to submit for consideration, please send them to Sam at [email protected] or to Mike Brady.

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Building Services

  • No report received
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Operations

Moving & Event Services

  • No report received

Sustainability

What improved last week?

  • Grow Lab: Successful Be Well Garden work day; bee colonies continue to do well, with new screen bottom boards installed to improve heat and pest management. Fall student worker and volunteer scheduling is underway. 
  • Compost: Campus compost collection is ramping back up for the academic year, with bins returned to Sorority Village, HSS Pod, Mabel’s, and Vol Hall. Delivered 20 cubic yards of finished compost to OCU and Landscaping. 
  • Recycling: Continued installation of indoor recycling stations in Bass Anthropology, Torchbearer, Beacon East & West, and Cherokee Mills to improve source separation and aluminum recovery. Shipped a full tractor-trailer load of aluminum while commodity markets remain favorable. 
  • Food Recovery: Met with United Way, FISH Pantry, and other community partners to advance UT’s food recovery program, with a focus on cold storage, collection, and distribution logistics. 

What declined last week? 

  • Compost: Potential persistent herbicides have been observed in the demonstration garden.  

Where is attention needed this week? 

  • Continue fall scheduling and volunteer coordination at Grow Lab. 
  • Complete knowledge transfer ahead of Wyatt’s departure on August 17  
  • Continue football and food recovery planning and indoor recycling station deployment. 

What changes are happening this week? 

  • Compost routes are returning to their regular academic-year schedules. 
  • Pass-off and training plans are underway for upcoming staffing changes. 
  • Planning continues for the horizontal baler installation and anticipated second round of Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust funding. 

Key metrics: 

  • 20 cubic yards of finished compost delivered. 
  • 4 locations receiving new indoor recycling stations. 
  • 1 full tractor-trailer of aluminum shipped. 
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Maintenance & Repair

Housing

What was accomplished? 

  • Making our last push before the students come in this weekend.  

Athletics

What’s Improved?

  • PMs on DASH are getting cleared up as well as work orders.  
  • A new chiller is being installed at Allan Jones.  
  • New LED’S are being installed at Regal Soccer. 

What’s Declined?  

  • Nothing declined.

This Week’s Attention? 

  • Preparing the stadium for the Big Orange Flush! 
  • Preparing premium areas for events at Neyland. 
  • Daktronics and Volleyball are set up for exhibition games. 
  • Regal soccer season starts, preparing for games. 

What Changes Are Happening This Week? 

  •  No changes happening.

Dining

What’s Improved?

  • Most of the current Aramark’s requests for equipment and maintenance repairs for all locations have been addressed and taken care of. 

What’s Declined?  

  • No noticeable decline observed.

This Week’s Attention? 

  •  Restarting equipment, making sure all is up and running for the hot and cold side, hoods, exhaust fans and MUA’s. 

What Changes Are Happening This Week? 

  • No changes at this point.

Zone 4

  • No report received

Zone 5

  • No report received

Zone 6

What was accomplished? 

  • Last week we assisted with outages at the Student Union, worked with Volunteer Mechanical to address heat and condensation issues at UTPD, dealt with chiller issues at Mossman and tried to get common areas ready for students. 

What’s getting attention this week?

  • Catching up on older requests 
  • Still have multiple roof leaks waiting on approval for repair 
  • Hopefully getting a new building tech assigned to the team this week 

Zone 7

  • No report received

Zone 8

  • No report received

Building HVAC

What improved last week? 

  • SERF AHU-4.  

What declined last week?

  • nothing

Where is attention needed this week?

  • SERF, Student Aquatics, Brenda Lawson, Arena, Stadium. 

What changes are happening this week?

  • Coil replacements, CHW coil repairs, split system installs, VRF system repairs, water leak repairs, and refrigerant system repairs.

Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed?

  • SERF AHU-4, Claxton AHU-104, Arena AHU-3.

Building Electrical

What improved last week?

  • Serf new power feeds for labs and implementing a plan for Nielsen Physics Temp AC power.

What declined last week?

  • Working on campus with standard pole lights that are out. 

Where is attention needed this week?

  • Completing Serf power drops and power for the new furnace. 

What changes are happening this week? 

  • Dividing teams so we can have extra tech working on newer work orders. 

Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed?

  • Planning the power feeds for the Temp AC for Neilsen Physics. 

Building Plumbing

What improved last week?

  • Completed work orders and improved the organization and cleanliness of the Plumbing Shop at the Concord Building. 

What declined last week?

  • Insufficient staffing remains a challenge. The team is actively working to fill open positions by prioritizing experienced candidates and critical senior-level roles. 

Where is attention needed this week?

  • Scheduling interviews and conducting telephone reference checks.  

What changes are happening this week? 

  • Continued efforts to strengthen staffing levels. 

Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed?

  • A water outage at Hoskins Library was repaired. 

Lock & Key Services 

What improved last week?

  • Completion of summer projects in Neyland, Key audits and rekeys in housing.  

What declined last week?

  • Nothing to report. 

Where is attention needed this week?

  • Continued support of housing with campus move in. 

What changes are happening this week? 

  • No major changes happening this week.   
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Comm & Info

WOM & IT

What was implemented or improved last week? 

  • Additional shared spaces were set up in FSC for students, interns, and temporary employees. 

Calls for service last week: 

  • WOM processed 265 requests for service last week. 
  • FS IT processed 116 requests for service last week. 

Where is attention needed this week?

  • FSShare retired on Friday, August 7th. 

Training

What did we learn last week? 

  • Last week we evaluated the feedback from Tech Week and are excited to announce there was enough positive feedback to encourage planning of Tech Week 2.0. We’ll see you again next year with more exciting training on technology! 

What challenge can training help us solve? 

  • Are you planning your goals for the 4th quarter? What about for 2027? If you need help strategizing how to achieve the goals you’re establishing for your teams, please reach out to training so we can identify how we can assist in this process. Our goal is to help you achieve your goals! 

What do employees need to know this week? 

  • Football training is in two weeks! Get your sign ups in if you are or might be working football this year.
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Utilities & Energy

A/C Utilities

  • What improved last week?
    • Replaced gear reducer in ANRB cooling tower 
    •  Repaired Magnolia/Dogwood cooling towers 
    • SMC rebuilt heating water pump 
    • Plant Bio – repaired multiple leaks on chiller no. 3 
    • KPB – cleaned condenser coils on both chillers 
    • Mossman – replaced I/O board on chiller no. 1 
    • Allan Jones – Installing rental chiller  
  • What declined last week?
    • South Union – IGBT board failure on no.1 chiller 
    • TBA – heating water pump seal failure 
  • Where is attention needed this week?
    • Allan Jones – chiller installation 
    • Campus chiller plants and cooling towers 
    • TBA – heating water pumps 

Electrical – High Voltage Utilities

  • No report received

Plumbing Utilities

  • What improved last week? 
    • Improved team coordination and collaboration. 
  • What declined last week?
    • Nothing has declined. The team continues to work diligently to stay on top of work orders. Overall, teamwork remains strong, and collaboration has been excellent.
  • Where is attention needed this week?
    • Focus attention on upcoming repairs. 
  • What changes are happening this week?
    • Staying on top of work orders and completing jobs efficiently and promptly. 
  • Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed?
    • No.

Steam Plant

  • What improved last week?
    •  Continued work with contractors on new boiler installation. Addressed packing issue on DA tank drain valve. Cleaned / replace air filters on air compressor   Cleaned and replaced condensate strainer. Replaced pressure regulators on softeners. Repaired valves for brine draw on water softeners. 
  • Where is attention needed this week? 
    • Will work on cleanup and improvement projects around the plant. Working on leak on HDPE piping and air regulator for on control valve for DA overflow  
  • What changes are happening this week?
    • Working on any issues that arise and working with contractors on the new boiler.  
  • Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed?
    • Repair on HDPE piping

Building Automation Systems

  • What improved last week?  
    • TBA Air Handlers lower Discharge Air Temps. 
    • A&A pneumatic leaks. 
  • What declined last week?  
    • Old Invensys systems. 
    • Mossman Labs Strobic SP low 
    • AMB AHU 11 high discharge temperature. 
  • Where is attention needed this week?  
    • Prep for students returning 
    • Prep for upcoming football season. 
    • Parking and Transit’s office HVAC control repairs. 
  • What changes are happening this week?  
    • HPER pool temps. 
    • Monthly Meter Readings 
  • Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed?
    • Fume hoods at SERF and Mossman Repaired 
    • Stokely Family Residence Hall issues on 7th floor. 
    • Andy Holt Tower’s cooling issues 

Electrical Control and Fire Alarms

  • What improved last week?
    • Finishing up Fire alarm and sprinkler testing before classes start back
  • What declined last week? 
    • Batteries and smoke detector issues 
  • Where is attention needed this week? 
    • Assisting contractors with fire alarm and sprinkler testing 
    • Continue working on leak detection at IAMM 
    • Traffic signal install at Volunteer and Pedestrian walkway 
  • What changes are happening this week?
    • New Traffic signal cabinet 
  • Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed? 
    • Correcting Deficiencies at multiple buildings. 

Commissioning

  • No report received

Chemical Treatment

  • What improved last week?
    • Housing Closed Loop system health, equipment installs for TBA, SERF 
  • What declined last week? 
    • Not declined more than it already is, but Nursing loop is being opened to Claxton chilled loop 
  • Where is attention needed this week? 
    • Chill water closed loops for TBA, Claxton, and SERF 
  • What changes are happening this week?
    • Ability to feed chemicals into buildings that need it. As well as extra makeup water capacity in Claxton loop to prevent “drying” out the system. JARTU cooling tower monitoring/feeding install 
  • Any critical repairs or outages that were addressed? 
    •  Claxton 
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In-house Construction

  • New projects received: 5
  • New estimate requests received:  3
  • Construction Projects of Note:
    • Tickle Engineering Building room 503 
      • Removing a wall, replacing lights, adding furniture for student study area 
    • Tickle Engineering Building room 526 
      • Renovating room to make 2 offices-add wall, door, replace lighting and add office furnishings  
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Safety

Safety at a Glance – July Review 

July’s Injury and Accident report 

Below is a summary of the on-the-job injuries and vehicle accidents reported during the month of July compared to the same period last year. As the data shows, the number of reported incidents has increased, with vehicle accidents seeing a significant rise. 

Type of Action July 2026 July 2025
Reported Injuries 9 6 
Reported Auto Accidents 6 2 
Reported General Liability 0 0 
Reported Near Misses 9 0 
Reported Safety Concerns 2 0 
Reported Safety Suggestions 1 0 

As we continue preparing campus for the return of students and the start of the fall semester, it is important that we do not let the increased workload compromise safety. Please take a few extra moments before driving to walk around your vehicle, check your surroundings, and ensure your intended path is clear of people, equipment, or other obstacles that may not have been there when you parked. 

Every injury and accident is preventable. By staying alert, avoiding distractions, and taking the time to perform a quick safety check before starting work or operating a vehicle, we can help protect ourselves, our coworkers, and the campus community. Let’s make safety our priority as we finish the busy summer season strong. 

What Improved last Week? 

  • A new ladder was installed on the pressure washing truck, providing safer and more secure access to the truck bed and reducing the risk of slips and falls. 
  • Hazardous waste collection at Steam Plant Hill has been successfully completed, improving housekeeping and reducing potential environmental and safety hazards. 
  • Utilities personnel enhanced their knowledge and skills in excavation and trench safety by attending specialized training, strengthening safe work practices and regulatory compliance in the field. 

What Declined last week? 

  • Driving Safety: The number of vehicle accidents increased this month, highlighting the need to refocus on safe driving practices. Before moving your vehicle, take a moment to walk around it, check your mirrors, and be aware of pedestrians, equipment, and other obstacles. Eliminating distractions and remaining attentive while driving can help prevent unnecessary accidents. 
  • Timely Incident Reporting: Please remember that all on-the-job injuries and vehicle accidents must be reported within 24 hours. Reporting requirements include notifying CorVel or the State, as applicable, and completing the Risk Management report in Origami. Prompt reporting ensures employees receive the appropriate care, allows investigations to begin while details are fresh, and helps us identify opportunities to prevent similar incidents in the future. 

Where is attention needed this week? 

  • Hazardous Materials Management: Ensure all hazardous waste, universal waste, chemicals, and compressed gas cylinders are properly stored, labeled, handled, and disposed of in accordance with university policies and regulatory requirements. 
  • Equipment Training: Employees who operate or may be required to operate an aerial lift or forklift must receive the appropriate training before use. If you or a member of your staff needs training, please contact Troy Soumeillan to schedule a session. 

What Changes are happening this week? 

Introducing the Facilities Services Near Miss Reporting System 

Have a near miss, safety concern, or safety suggestions? Let FS Safety know by scanning the QR code. 

A near miss is an unplanned event that could have resulted in an injury, illness, or property damage but did not. 

All reports are anonymous. Please provide a clear description of the issue and include the location (building and room number) so we can investigate and address it promptly. 

Safety is everyone’s responsibility. We know you’re busy, so we’ve made this reporting process quick and easy. Taking just a minute to help prevent the next incident.

FS Safety [email protected] 

865-974-9833 

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