Category: Announcements

Spring Hydrant Flushing

Posted on by Cheryl DeJager

Dear Campus Community,

The City of Kalamazoo will begin spring hydrant flushing in our area this week. This planned maintenance is necessary to keep sediment from building up in the water lines. This will very likely cause the water at taps throughout campus to run a rusty orange color. This is from iron buildup in the lines and is not hazardous. If you notice this, please just run the tap until water returns to normal.

Occasionally this process will cause a problem with a filter or faucet. If something isn’t working as expected (aside from discoloration), please submit a work order, and a technician will resolve the issue.

Facilities Management

Fall Hydrant Flushing

Posted on by Cheryl DeJager

Dear Campus Community,

The City of Kalamazoo will begin fall hydrant flushing in our area this evening.  This planned maintenance is necessary to keep sediment from building up in the water lines.   This will very likely cause the water at taps throughout campus to run a rusty orange color.  This is from iron buildup in the lines and is not hazardous.  If you notice this, please just run the tap until water returns to normal.

Occasionally this process will cause a problem with a filter or faucet, if something isn’t working as expected (aside from discoloration), please submit a work order, and a technician will resolve the issue.

Susan Lindemann
AVP for Facilities Management

Facilities Management Service Requests

Posted on by Cheryl DeJager
Dear Campus Community,

With so many new faces on campus, this is a good opportunity to share the most effective ways to request services from Facilities Management.  Please use the systems below in lieu of sending e-mails to individual staff members.  These are monitored by multiple people and are much more likely to yield an efficient response.

Repair and Maintenance:   If some part of a building is not working properly and needs to be repaired, please use the Work Request system.  Anyone with a Kalamazoo College network log-in can use the same credentials to submit a request.  You will receive an e-mail when the request is assigned.  Please be as complete as possible when explaining the problem, and give a realistic descriptor of the magnitude.  Hyperbole makes it more difficult to prioritize work, we typically have over 500 open work orders.  We know everyone’s request is important, please do not call a drip a flood.

Event Set-Up:  Please list your needs with your room reservation when you book the space.  Do not enter a separate work request for set-up.   Due to the time sensitive nature of these requests, it is much easier for the support team to get this information from the daily event calendar.  Only enter a work request if the space you are using is not available in the room booking application.

Vehicle Rental:  Please use the vehicle reservation form to request a rental,  reservations must be made a minimum of (5) business days prior to the scheduled trip.   Service vehicles are not available for rental, please submit a work request if you need help moving something.

Emergencies:  Emergencies are events that threaten life-safety, cause significant property damage, or inhibit basic services.  If you have an emergency, please call the Facilities Management offices at 269-337-7308 between 7am – 3:30pm or campus safety after hours and they will contact the correct responder.

Capital Improvements:  If your request involves making a building modification, adding new equipment or making an upgrade of significant cost or complexity, please rout these requests to the Vice President for Business and Finance.  These will be added to the capital plan and prioritized for resources.

If you have questions about an existing work order, please do not enter an additional work order, please contact our Service Administrator, Cheryl DeJager at cheryl.dejager@kzoo.edu or 337-7308. We want to provide you with the best service possible, following these methods will help us get to your request most quickly.

Susan Lindemann
Associate Vice President for Facilities Management

Dow parking lot closure 6/28/23

Posted on by Cheryl DeJager

Facilities Management staff will be closing the parking lot between Light Fine Arts and Dow Science on 6/28/23 from 6:30am to 8:30am for a bulk acid delivery. We will re-open the lot as soon as the delivery is made. This should not be any later than 8:30am.

Chris Buckhold
Maintenance Manager
Facilities Management

Facilities Work Request System Restored

Posted on by Cheryl DeJager

The on-going connectivity issues with the Facilities Management Work Request System have been resolved.  As a reminder, the quickest and most effective way to get support for a building maintenance issue is to enter a work request.  Event set-up needs should be entered along with the reservation in the Facilities Calendar. If you have an urgent need or questions, you can phone the Facilities Management office at 269.337.7308 between 7am-3:30pm, or you can e-mail the Service Administrator at Cheryl.DeJager@kzoo.edu.

Susan Lindemann
AVP for Facilities Management

Work Request System Down

Posted on by Cheryl DeJager

The Facilities Management Department’s work request system, HIPPO, is experiencing technical difficulties, and we are not able to connect to the system, nor are users able to submit requests.  We have also been unable to get an estimated restoration schedule from our provider.  If you have a work request in the meantime, please e-mail our Service Administrator, Cheryl, at Cheryl.DeJager@kzoo.edu. We hope to have this problem resolved soon.

Susan Lindemann
AVP For Facilities Management