By Brock Pfrommer
COMM 3365
The maintenance team at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, known as Physical Plant, handles a wide range of issues on campus. The team of 54 sees their work as more than a job, it is a way for them to fulfill their vocation. They serve the students and faculty by taking care of the campus from behind the scenes, maintaining buildings and residence halls, renovating classrooms, and managing the upkeep of campus lawns and grounds. Physical Plant handles more than most students think.
The primary job of the physical plant is to cover the everyday maintenance of student housing, both the residence halls and apartments, through the process of work orders. When lightbulbs burn out, dishwashers fail, or windows leak, students file work orders to get issues fixed through UMHB’s work order website. When a work order is submitted, it goes to the computer of a student worker within the physical plant who identifies the issue and sorts the request.
“It's all organized as new requests, so we are keeping our eye on that computer and trying to do them as soon as they come in,” said Helene Chaumont, a freshman nursing major and one of the student workers for physical plant.
When the student workers receive the maintenance request, they can see a detailed report of the issue, including: who submitted the order, the location of the problem, and a description of what needs to be fixed. From there, the work order is printed out and sorted into a series of mailboxes corresponding to the relevant department for fixing each issue.
The work order process is designed to be simple to use for students but does not provide details on the student end regarding the process for carrying out each order. This leads many students to frustration when work orders do not get fixed.
“My heater was broken for two weeks…” said Hagen Keener, who lives as a resident assistant in McLane Hall, “it took them that long to fix it. I spent time in Farris with friends because of it.”
“I put in an order for a noisy fridge and they had someone out the same day. When I tried to get a bathroom lock fixed it took them around three [days]” said Patrick Fischer, a resident assistant in Lord Hall, who frequently puts in work order requests for his residents.
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Some work orders take longer to fix than others, often because of the complexity of the job or lack of details.
For issues with appliances, air conditioning, or plumbing, delays can occur because of the time needed to order parts or because the issue extends to more than one room. When it comes to more specific issues, delays can occur due to a lack of specialists on hand to fix the issue. Door locks can take longer as physical plant employs fewer locksmiths than plumbing or electrical technicians which can cause delays when workers get sick or overwhelmed. Work orders are given a window of three days to be addressed from when they first come in, but technicians handle issues as soon as possible to stay ahead of new orders.
Oftentimes work orders are for common things, such as burnt-out lightbulbs, clogged toilets, or air conditioning units not working properly, but there are infrequent odd requests.
“Someone said the blade of their ceiling fan flew off and hit their roommate while she was in the bathroom, We are not sure how that happened since it was Independence Village and the fan is all the way in the living room,” Chaumont said. “We also have a lot of people saying they woke up and they have a hole in the wall, and they don’t know how it got there.”
Some of the maintenance that physical plant handles is on a bigger scale, particularly with some of the older buildings on campus such as Heard and Johnson, the latter of which has been a trouble spot in recent months according to the Assistant Director of Physical Plant Dave Marek.
“Right now, Johnson is a big [problem] because of when it rains. That roof has had it, we’re putting out requests for pricing to have that roof redone, but until then every time it rains its patching holes.”
Marek, alongside Director of Physical Plant, James Garcia, oversees a team of 54 who handle the upkeep and maintenance of campus. In addition, the physical plant manages and maintains a fleet of 70 vehicles, including work trucks, carts, and vans for student transportation. When it comes to the bigger projects on campus, such as the new Marek-Smith Center for Teacher Preparation, the physical plant takes a smaller role.
“We assist toward the end phase with what we call finish out and punch out but not through the full process of the building, that’s usually a contractor,” Marek said. “We have enough of the general maintenance and the smaller projects to do that it'd be tough for us to tackle a large project like that, we could do it, our folks have the knowledge, but we don’t have the number of manpower.”
One of the recent projects overseen by the physical plant is the updating of UMHB’s campus features to reflect the changing brand identity. Debuting for the fall 2022 semester, UMHB’s “Live on Purpose” campaign, alongside the updated logo and brand identity, has quickly taken effect. UMHB’s Vice President for Advancement, Dr. Rebecca O’Banion, outlined the vision for the new brand identity in a press release from the fall of 2022.
“At UMHB, we know a student’s college experience is about much more than earning a degree. We believe everyone is called to a life of purpose. That’s why we’re here – so students can discover and live out all they were created to be and do” O’Banion said.
As part of the changes, at the beginning of the spring 2024 semester, physical plant updated the campus entry sign located at the intersection of North Main Street and West 10th Avenue from the previous design to a more modern and updated look in line with the brand identity. In addition, the iconic letter logo sign at the entrance of Vann Creek Circle will also receive an update in the coming months to the new brand font while also being made more accessible for photographs, a change that Marek thinks will help the sign better serve its purpose.
“We are making it for the uses that it actually serves, not just as a sign. It is probably viewed more as a picture place than a sign” Marek said.
Just as UMHB’s updated brand identity encourages students to find their purpose, those who work at physical plant have found a purpose in what they do. While they accomplish everyday tasks related to the upkeep of campus, many have found a joy and sense of pride in what they do, such as the Manager of Landscape Services at physical plant, Brian Tyler.
“We like to think one of the first things you see when you enter a university is the grounds, so if we take care of the grounds this much, how good are we going to take care of the [students]” Tyler said.
Whether it is fixing the leaking roof of Johnson, battling to maintain the landscaping in the extreme heat and cold of recent years, or handling the countless work orders from students all over campus. Those within the physical plant still love what they do as they serve the community of UMHB, something noticed by student worker Helene Chaumont.
“Sometimes you’ll see them and they’ve had a busy day and they aren’t in the best mood but they are always saying how they love their job and they love what they are doing,” Chaumont said.
