Hi OPP,
It’s been an exciting kickoff to the school year. Last week I had the chance to present both the Henning and Willard projects to the Board of Trustees, who approved both projects. These two projects address facilities with significant maintenance issues and will modernize our College of Ag Sciences and Bellisario College of Communications. Thanks to some thoughtful approaches to recapitalization, we have already started the demolition on both facilities and will get the new construction underway shortly. Additionally, we are nearing the final stages of schematic design for the College of Engineering facilities that will replace Hammond and the Engineering units…what an exciting time for our physical plant. Finally, on the new facilities front, we opened the new Steam Services Building, which is a tremendous improvement to our own facilities. Thanks for all those folks who helped pull this across the finish line!!!
Football season started with three home games in a row and we, OPP, responded fantastically. Thanks to all of you who help make game day a success. With more than 100 folks engaged on game day, it’s too hard to mention every one of you but wow…what an effort to make this a success! We have folks from custodial crews, elevator crews, heat/vent, scoreboard, and of course tailgate cleanup, plus many others. Just last year we had over 50 tons of recycling material collected from our home football games. Great jobs, folks.
Now we are just a few weeks away from opening day for archery season, and yes, I did manage to get a doe tag in the second round. I’m excited and hoping to find a few days to sneak into the woods in October. As many of you know, safety is a big concern for me so please take the time and extra steps to have a safe hunting season!
Another exciting effort I had the privilege to be part of was the recent groundbreaking in Franklin County for our offsite solar PPA which shifts our purchased electric from fossil fuels to solar generated electricity. This project will account for 25% of Penn State’s state-wide electricity requirements for the next 25 years and lower our greenhouse gas emissions by 57,000 metric tons, which is the equivalent of taking 12,100 cars off the road each year…wow, what an impact!
I just want to say a personal thanks to all of you out there making things happen…it’s greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Bill
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Provide Excellent Facilities Services for Penn State
OPP Mission
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Integrity | Respect | Responsibility | Discovery |
Excellence | Community
OPP Values
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William Barr accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Aug. 19
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Courtney Shaffer accepted a position as a facilities specialist. First day: Aug. 19
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Cole Burghard accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Sept. 3
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Cathie Hazel accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Sept. 3
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Dale Roach accepted a position as a planner estimator. First day: Sept. 16
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Christie Kocher accepted a position as security coordinator. First day: Sept. 16
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Shane Ekdahl accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Sept. 16
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Emily Hummel accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Sept. 16
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Terry Shadduck accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Sept. 16
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Michelle Stasko accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Sept. 16
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Travis Sherman accepted a position as a heavy equipment mechanic. First day: Sept. 16
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George Conklin, regional EHS coordinator. Congratulations, George!
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Les Carlson, stockroom clerk. Congratulations, Les!
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Bob Franks, lead utilities analyst, Waste Water Treatment Plant. Congratulations, Bob!
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Steve Gross, heavy equipment mechanic. Congratulations, Steve!
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Deb Moyle, maintenance worker. Congratulations, Deb!
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Peter Pinkevitch, janitorial worker. Congratulations, Peter!
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Jeanne Higgins, administrative support coordinator. Congratulations, Jeanne!
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Denny Fetters, technician, television and electronics. Congratulations, Denny!
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Melanie Gianopoulos, janitorial worker. Congratulations, Melanie!
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Alan Haagen, lead maintenance mechanic, Steam Plant. Congratulations, Alan!
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Michael May, heating and ventilation technician. Congratulations, Michael!
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Bob Richardson, electrician. Congratulations, Bob!
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Cheers
Congratulations!
From
Rob Gavlock
, facilities supervisor:
District 51 custodial supervisor
Doug Hagman
graduated from the APPA Institute for Facilities Management, in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Institute curriculum is composed of four core areas covering general administration and management, maintenance and operations, energy and utilities, and planning, design and construction. In order to graduate, students must complete all of these areas. This curriculum increases the effectiveness and success of individuals in the facilities management profession by developing their leadership, managerial and technical skills; and elevating and broadening their understanding of the profession.
Congratulations, Doug!
Exceptional Landscaping
From
Derek Kalp
, landscape architect:
The plant combinations in the hort areas this year have been really good, even better than past years! However, the bed in front of Grange Building is exceptional. Keep up the great work,
Daniel Frechen
!
Thank You From Football
Penn State Football reached out to thank crew members who performed work in Lasch Building this summer, noting their diligence, professionalism, timeliness and sense of humor. Kudos to
Ray Yeckley
,
Chad McGovern
,
Ken Stover
and
Jeff Keller
!
Excellent Work
From Ruth Weber, Assistant Vice President for Research Operations, Office of the Vice President for Research:
Justin Keister
(project manager) and
Neal McNutt
(facilities project coordinator) are doing an excellent job at the Navy Yard. They are handling themselves very professionally in getting the work done.
Fresh Start Collaboration
From Donna Meyer, director of student programs for Schreyer Honors College:
WE ARE..so proud of all who stepped up to volunteer during the Penn State Fresh Start program on Sunday, Sept. 8 and we want to personally thank and recognize members of the Office of Physical Plant team who were instrumental in collaborating with Fresh Start and the Schreyer Honors College this year.
We are especially grateful for the professional leadership and commitment of
Tom Flynn
who has provided oversight and coordination of the sites near Atherton Hall for volunteers. We also want to recognize and applaud
Laurie Henry
,
Brian Phiel
,
Dan Frechen
,
Jason Hockenberry
,
John Ronk
and
Buddy Houck
for their time in site preparation and dedication to service. Each of them served as important role models to our students and we can't thank them enough for helping make this service opportunity a success! The campus is a little greener and our community a little brighter!
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In the News
Penn State University Libraries’ newest space, a four-story expansion and ground-floor renovation known as the Collaboration Commons and Central Atrium, opened Thursday afternoon (Aug. 22) in Pattee Library and Paterno Library on Penn State’s University Park campus. Check out
the story via Penn State News
.
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Breaking Ground on the State's Largest Solar Project
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Support for Rod Henry
Rod Henry, a janitorial worker and member of our OPP family, has been out of work since early July due to a serious health issue. His brother Ken, also a member of our OPP family, passed along more information, including how you can help support Rod during a time in need (
click here).
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Diversity & Inclusion Insight
The
Diversity Mentoring Program
is designed to provide new employees from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups in Finance and Business (F&B) with mentors to assist them in performing successfully in their current positions. The goal is to retain a diverse workforce within F&B. This program is intended to be a 12-month experience during the first year of the new employee's appointment to the University. This is a wonderful opportunity that past OPP employees have participated in as both mentees and mentors.
If you're interested in learning more about the program, or becoming a mentor/mentee, please reach out to Maddy Cantu at
mac56@psu.edu
.
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Safety Spotlight
Transforming the Culture of Safety with Leading Indicators:
A leading indicator is a measure preceding a future event used to drive and measure activities carried out to prevent and control injury. Some examples include: safety training, safety surveys and workplace hazards that are identified and corrected.
Some of our leading indicators, by the numbers for this year:
- More than 1,100 safety audits completed
- More than 1,100 Tool Box Talks delivered
- About 60 safety work orders in progress
Questions about safety? Reach out to the Safety Office at
oppsafety@psu.edu or stop by 103 Physical Plant Building!
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Workday Change
Effective
August 15
, exempt staff employees will no longer need to submit their monthly timesheet for an Exception Pay – Holiday time block.
The WorkLion Management Office (WMO) has reconfigured the Exception Pay – Holiday time block to no longer populate on timesheets. Previously, this occurred when an employee submitted time worked or a time off request during the same week as a Penn State holiday.
The process for requesting time off around University holidays will now be no different from requesting time off at any other point during the year.
There are, however, two important items to note:
- Impact to Previous Pay Periods – If there are any changes to a previous timesheet where the Exception Pay - Holiday time block was already approved, the employee would need to resubmit their timesheet for approval.
- Unsubmitted, Future Exception Pay Holiday – Time Blocks – The WMO will be removing any unsubmitted Exception Pay – Holiday time blocks on employee’s behalf.
Contact:
Questions regarding holiday eligibility should be directed to your manager or Human Resource Consultant.
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Solar Project Groundbreaking - Sept. 6
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