Hello OPP,
It's one of my favorite times of the year as the weather changes. I’ve been enjoying football, and of course the chance to get out a little for archery season.
I recently had the opportunity to kickoff the Big Ten and Friends Conference as well as speak at the Smart Campus Summit. What an honor to be able to showcase all the great things we are doing to reduce our greenhouse gases while improving our overall energy use and efficiency. A big thanks to our folks who helped make those two important events happen! Both highlight our enduring commitment to sustainability and energy savings. It's exciting to be a part of an organization that truly values those efforts and really strives to lower our carbon footprint.
I also want to take the time to remind us all of the importance of incorporating a safety mindset and the need for our leadership to be at the forefront of our efforts. I’d like to challenge all of our OPP leadership to get out and about in your areas; talk about safety, see how our folks are doing, and of course recognize your folks for all the great things we are doing across the board.
I've talked about core values before and as many of you know, integrity is of high regard to me. This month, I want to highlight respect and what that value means to me. It is important to me that everyone feels like they can come to work and do their job in a welcoming environment. I can't stress enough the importance of being respectful professional each and every day. We have a great group at OPP, so let's continue our culture of respect!
On the safety front…please be careful while out driving. It’s almost that time of year for the roads to ice up at night. And of course, with my 16-year-old daughter getting her driver's permit, it seems like a good time remind folks to always be safe when traveling around campus, whether on foot or in a vehicle. Please stay alert!
Best,
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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SAVE THE DATE!
OPP Holiday Bazaar
Nov. 8, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Check your email from Rebecca Perret for more info!
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Terry Houtz accepted a position as a mechanic, grounds equipment. First day: Sept. 30
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Eric Perryman accepted a position as a stockroom clerk. First day: Sept. 30
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Bryan Ondrasik accepted a position as a design engineer. First day: Sept. 30
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Stephanie Burghard accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Oct. 14
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Caleb Sager accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Oct. 14
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Arthur Klein accepted a position as a area facilities maintenance worker. First day: Oct. 14
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Anthony Sharer accepted a position as a area facilities maintenance worker. First day: Oct. 14
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Eric McCracken accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Oct. 14
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Greg Leister accepted a position as a chilled water operator. First day: Oct. 14
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James Scott accepted a position as an automotive technician. First day: Oct. 14
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Chuck Zimmerman accepted a position as a janitorial worker. First day: Oct. 14
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Tim Smeltzer, group leader, moving and general maintenance. Congratulations, Tim!
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Cheers
Library Thank You
Clara Drummond, a curator and exhibitions coordinator with Penn State Libraries, passed along this photo of
John Daulby
and
Ashley Dutrow
, who "went above and beyond" fixing their wall and installing a new vinyl image in Special Collections. Clara noted that she appreciated the professionalism and expertise that was shown.
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Great Grounds
A guest who recently stayed at the Penn Stater completed an online survey. The guest mentioned they walked around campus and said "the grounds are lovely."
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Community Appreciation
From a member of the College Heights Association:
I would like to highly commend
Chad Spackman
for his communication with College Heights residents and the College Heights Association during the renovation of the College Heights School. He kept us well informed throughout the project and responded quickly to residents' questions and concerns. He also organized a very well-attended open house that was greatly appreciated by residents. Several people had attended the school and very much enjoyed seeing the renovated building.
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Day of Caring
From Mary Sorenson, executive director of the Centre County Historical Society:
Thank you much to the Landscape and Arboriculture Crews for all of your hard work at the Centre Furnace Mansion! As always, everyone is so professional and kind. The Mansion and Schoolhouse grounds look just amazing.
We are so grateful for all that was done and given on the Day of Caring both at the Centre Furnace Mansion and Boogersburg School historic sites. I cannot overstate that all of this work would be out of reach for us if it weren't for this donation of time, staff and materials.
Brian Phiel
Tracy Crust
Andrea Rafferty
Kyle Gallardy
Amy Sward
Theresa Heaton
Crystal Kyle
Nate Potter
Norm Parks
Jeremy Vonada
Again, please accept our deepest thanks for all that Penn State Landscaping and Arboriculture did for CCHS at the Mansion. It really means everything.
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Custodial Thanks
Carolyn Gette, marketing communications specialist for Undergraduate Education, passed along appreciation for the work of
Tim Meyer
:
I wanted to say thank you to the OPP staff that helped with a problem in Wagner Building yesterday. Someone had gotten sick in a restroom so I called Area 1 and they were able to send a custodian very quickly. The gentleman was so kind, quick, and did a great job.
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Game Ball Winners
Many members from OPP help make Penn State Football game days possible each week. A couple of them were recently recognized for going above and beyond to see that the games are all they should be for the fans. This season,
Tim Smeltzer
(left) and
Dave McCool
(right) have each received tickets to a game to watch from the press box and meet athletic director Sandy Barbour.
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"Amazing Job"
From Christine Ebeling, center director, The Child Care Center at Hort Woods:
Barb Foose
has really had a positive impact on the evening janitorial crew. I can see the relationships she has built with her team. She is here every night checking on them and providing them with the tools they need to do the job. Our building has been thoroughly cleaned with vast improvements this fall. I have especially noted to her directly the cleanliness of the kitchen and bathrooms. She has done an amazing job and we are thrilled to work alongside her.
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Excellent Customer Service
From Joyce Stamm, strategic communications:
It's been a few weeks since my office moved out of University Support Building 1 and we are getting settled into our new building. Nonetheless, I wanted to be sure to send an email expressing our department's gratitude for everything that both
Donna Ash
and
Lisa Reschke
had done to expedite countless paper, trash and everything in between that was being dumped prior to our move. My department was housed at USB 1 for 30+ years, so one can only imagine the undertaking that was required and we simply couldn't have done it without them. Both Donna and Lisa need to be recognized and commended as they both were extraordinary in executing a system that immensely kept our office on time and accountable. They both presented themselves with poise, patience, and excellent "customer service" that was so pleasant (especially on the days that we, ourselves just wanted to give up). On behalf of the staff at University Marketing ....... THANK YOU to both Donna and Lisa! We are missing them both.
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In the News
The Office of Physical Plant, in conjunction with Housing and Residence Life, recently installed the first of two planned “hammock groves” near East Halls. Check out the story via
Penn State News
.
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Project Showcase: CBEB
The new Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Building (CBEB) was featured in the July issue of "Modern Steel Construction."
Check it out
!
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D&I Insight
Many OPP employees enjoyed the Hispanic Heritage Month luncheon with Finance and Business leaders and other F&B employees at the Penn Stater on Sept. 25. They were treated to a Flamenco dance performance known as “Sevillanas,” and participated in “World Café” conversations. The World Café format featured a welcoming and intimate opportunity for dialogue with speakers with heritage from various Latin American countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. The World Café speakers were varied Penn State colleagues and accomplished local professionals, graduate and adult World Campus students, and visiting Humphrey Fellows, who are accomplished mid-career professionals from Latin America participating in a one-year hybrid academic and professional development program at Penn State’s College of Education. A good time was had by all!
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Safety Spotlight
- Supervisors are reminded that annual evaluations for all employees authorized to perform Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) for their jobs are due this month. The evaluation is a mandatory regulatory requirement and is intended to evaluate the effectiveness of our Lockout Program. The evaluations are geared at ensuring that all employees who have the need to control hazardous energy know and understand the PSU nine-step lock out procedure. Link to form: https://opp.psu.edu/sites/opp/files/appendix_e_loto_and_electrical_work_evaluation_checklist.pdf
- Supervisors are reminded that all portable ladders that OPP owns shall be inspected on an annual basis. The ladders should be equipped with a ladder inspection sticker on the inside of the right support rail about head high. Whoever inspects that ladder marks the date and initials the inspection sticker showing that it was inspected for this year. In addition, users are required to inspect a ladder prior to each use and must ensure the integrity of the ladder is not compromised in any way.
- Supervisors are reminded to notify their safety coordinator any time one of their employees is injured or transported to the ER from work.
Questions about safety? Reach out to the Safety Office at
oppsafety@psu.edu
or stop by 103 Physical Plant Building!
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Cellular Support Transition
All support for cellular devices will go through the F&B IT Service Desk.
Below are the links for any type of cellular support request. These links can also be accessed from the OPP Intranet page
ITS Helpdesk
.
To order a new mobile device:
To have a device set up:
An issue with a mobile device:
If you have any questions or concerns with these new procedures, please feel free to reach out to
Joe Laskowski
or the F&B IT Service Desk.
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Area Boundary Changes
Over the next month the following facilities will be shifted from Area 1 to Area 6. This will improve workload balance
and customer service. It
will also take advantage of the proximity of the Area 6 Shop.
- Nittany Apartments
- Pollock Halls
- South Halls
- Eastview Terrace
- Simmons, McElwain, and Atherton Halls
- Benedict, Beecher-Dock, and Gardner Houses
- Pollock Landscape Shop
- Bennett Family Child Care
For questions, please reach out to
Bruce Smith, senior manager of building services.
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A&FS Staff Retreat
The Administrative & Financial Services Division held its biennial staff retreat, or “family reunion” as director
Terri Parker
likes to call it, at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center on Thursday, Sept. 19. The day had a “bee” theme as the group worked backwards from the OPP mission statement to think first how they could individually “bee excellent” in order to contribute up through their teams, departments, and division to the organizational goal of providing excellent facilities services for Penn State. Assistant vice president
Mark Miller
joined the group for breakfast and the first half of the morning’s activities. Guest speakers included Dee Bagshaw from the Centre County Beekeepers Association and
Doug Wenger
from OPP Commonwealth Services. Dee gave a fascinating presentation on honeybees and the lessons on teamwork that humans can learn from them. Doug, as the project manager for the recent renovation and expansion at Shaver’s Creek, gave an overview of the project and spoke specifically about how A&FS units supported it. The group enjoyed a tour of the facility, including the new Raptor Center. Team Development Center facilitators (Stacey Budd and Olivia Stas) from Shaver’s Creek led the group through self-reflection exercises in the morning and team-building activities in the afternoon. The retreat planning committee consisted of
Bekah Detwiler
and
Mary Caldana
(OPP Stores),
George Benko
(OPP Safety),
Erin Barto
(OPP Training), and
Kristin Sykes
and
Beth Clark
(A&FS). Photos by
Tracy Gunsallus
.
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ERAPPA 2019
Nearly 500 participants representing over 100 educational institutions attended the 2019 ERAPPA Annual Meeting in Erie, Pennsylvania from Sept. 29 through Oct. 2. The conference theme was “Chart Your Course: Learn. Grow. Succeed.” Keynote speaker Adam Kreek – Canadian Olympic athlete (rowing) and management consultant – spoke to the assembled audience about learning from failure. Plenary speaker Jack Uldrich – a global futurist – captivated the audience with his stunning statistics and examples of the exponential rate of technological change.
The 2019 conference was hosted by the Keystone Chapter of APPA (KAPPA) under the leadership of Pete Buchheit (University of Pittsburgh - Bradford) and OPP’s own
Beth Clark. Three additional OPP employees served on the 17-member core host committee responsible for the planning of the event –
Phillip Melnick,
Erik Cagle, and
Tammy Zeigler. Over the course of three years, the host committee created an engaging and thought-provoking educational program which included a five-track professional development program, selected keynote and plenary speakers, engaged a variety of Business Partners to fill a 100-booth Hall of Resources, and planned special events including an evening of networking and local cuisine at the Erie Maritime Museum along the Presque Isle Bayfront.
Over 20 OPP employees attended the conference in total; three employees were able to attend through the ERAPPA Ambassador Scholarship Program –
David Coleman,
David Bradley, and
Doug Wenger. More than a dozen OPP employees were recognized during the First-Time Attendee (FTA) Reception on the first day of the conference. One such first timer,
Bill Waugh, was lucky enough to win one of the FTA raffles and was gifted a free registration for APPA U in 2020. Among the ERAPPA Board members elected at the Annual Business Meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Phillip Melnick was reelected to his position of Treasurer for the organization.
At the Awards Banquet, Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to all members of the core host committee (Melnick, Cagle, Zeigler) as well as onsite conference volunteers including
Allen Bonsell
. An ERAPPA Merit Award was given to Beth Clark for her service as committee co-chair. Penn State will host the next KAPPA meeting in April 2020 at the Nittany Lion Inn. More information about both organizations, their professional development opportunities, and scholarship programs can be found at
www.erappa.org
and
www.erappa.org/KAPPA
.
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e-Builder Implementation Process Update
As a reminder, Phase 1 of the e-Builder implementation process is live. For available training,
click here. Work on Phase 2 implementation continues and will go live July 1, 2020.
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Last week, an event was held to celebrate the completion of the Orchard Road solar PV array and to recognize those involved in the project.
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