The Elevator Shop is currently working on a project to replace the elevator control systems and other components on the six (6) elevators located at YRL (Young Research Library). This project is led by Elevator Mechanics Tim Burhans and Charlie Uribe, pictured above, with support from our shop team and several other trades.
The David Geffen School of Medicine commissioned Facilities Management to replace a non-functioning autoclave in the NRB (Neuroscience Research Building). The building’s autoclave has been defective for several years, and any equipment sterilization had to be scheduled on a different floor within the building. Typically used for healthcare or industrial applications, an autoclave is a machine that uses superheated steam to kill various harmful bacteria, viruses and spores on items that are placed inside a pressure vessel.
Facilities Management’s Carpenter Shop completed modernization of outdated kitchenettes/break areas located in CHS, Semel, Moore Hall, and Bunche. The completed upgrade showcases a fresh, clean and streamlined look.
Jimmy Ray Torres has been a part of the landscaping staff at UCLA since 2012, and he's now a part of the UCLA community in another capacity - as a student! Read more about his unique journey towards this magic moment at UCLA Newsroom.
UCLA’s landscape is nationally recognized for its beauty, but also for its biodiversity.
When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, six Gingko trees were among the few living things to survive within a short radius of the blast site—and they're still standing today. Thus, the Japanese regard the Gingko tree as “the bearer of hope.” It is also known as “the survivor” and “the living fossil”. The UCLA Botanical Gardens is honored to have a descendant from the small cluster of surviving trees.
Recently, the Roofing Shop, consisting of Emilio Martinez, Carlos Montes, Gabriel Rodriguez and Antony Vazquez, replaced the leaking second floor patio roof on Knudsen Hall. The roofing on Knudsen Hall was least replaced 35 years ago and was showing lot of wear and starting to leak. The Roofers utilized a single ply roofing product and an acrylic sealer to redo the roof surfaces. The Roofing Shop’s outstanding work and premium product selection will keep Knudsen Hall watertight for the next 30 years.
In memory of Professor William (Bill) Klug, who was tragically killed on June 1, 2016, Professor Klug’s faculty colleagues reached out to Facilities Management Maintenance & Alterations (M&A) to renovate and rename Boelter Hall seminar room 8500 in his memory. M&A Project Manager Roland Amrhein was honored to take on the task to dedicate and renovate the seminar room in the name of Professor Klug as a lasting remembrance for his family and the UCLA Campus Community.
George Tsutakawa’s Fountain #10, built in 1963 was removed from School of Public Health entryway rotunda during the remodeling of the area in 2011 and was placed in storage for over a decade. UCLA Fine Art Curator Victoria Steel was tasked to find a new home for the historic fountain and during her search she realized the Faculty Club fit the bill perfectly. Victoria reached out to Facilities Management Maintenance & Alterations (M&A) to install the fountain at the front entrance of the Faculty Club.
The halls of knowledge are shining once more, thanks to the efforts of our floor care team.
Custodial Services is hard at work brightening up corridors and common spaces to greet new occupants for the start of Fall term. Summer is a demanding season for Facilities Management, and while many of us enjoy last-minute vacations or organize plans for the coming academic year, our floor care crews are busy buffing, scrubbing and waxing hard flooring across campus, providing us with fresh work and study spaces and removing marks left behind by campus social-distancing initiatives.
As we celebrated the return of the UCLA All Staff picnic this August with fantastic food, entertainment and fellowship for faculty and staff, Facilities Management was on hand to remind attendees to stay safe and sanitized. Representatives from Facilities Management greeted long lines of party-goers with bottles of hand sanitizer to help promote sustained safe gathering practices and sanitation awareness as we continue to navigate the COVID 19 pandemic and other public health concerns.
This summer a group of Groundskeepers participated in the California Native Plant Landscaper Certification Program facilitated by the Theodore Payne Foundation. This unique nine-week course aims to train our team in the specialized maintenance of native plant life in support of UCLA’s ongoing efforts to improve water conservation and mitigate the effects of statewide drought conditions on our campus.
Powell Library remains one of UCLA’s most iconic structures. Finished in 1929 as one of the first four buildings on the Westwood campus, Powell features a 63-foot-high interior dome supported on interlaced trusses with intricately painted ceiling panels. Powell houses over 200,000 volumes of books, more than 100 computer workstations and 800 seats for reading.
The Facilities Management Carpenter Shop has an in-house fire extinguisher team that is focused on the critical maintenance of the campus’ more than 8,000 fire extinguishers. Certified Fire Extinguisher Technicians Scott Hicks, Jon Wilson and Marcos Sarabia (pictured above, left to right respectively)are responsible for the equipment maintenance to ensure that each device will operate at 100% capacity in case of an emergency
In conjunction with Capitol Programs Seismic Upgrades, Facilities Management (FM) refurbished several rooms at UCLA’s Faculty Center. Over the course of over a year, Maintenance and Alterations Project Manager Roland Amrhein managed the Paint, Carpenter, Electrical, Flooring, Mason, Engineering, Plumbing, Lock, Sign, Sheetmetal Shops, Custodial and Grounds teams in the renovation.
During a recent inspection of the Dodd Hall roof, it became apparent to Maintenance & Alterations Director Doug Grode and to Carlos Montoya, Manager of FM’s Paint, Mason, Roofing and Sign Shops, that the existing Dodd Hall roof access route was very clumsy and potentially unsafe. The Sheetmetal Shop was subsequently able to modify existing louvers in a penthouse machine room to now allow for a far more accessible and safe access route onto this roof area.
KidsConnect Early Childhood Partial Hospitalization Program and the Achievement, Behavior Cognition Child Program at the UCLA's Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital is a short-term integrated day treatment program for young children ages 2 - 6 who have been diagnosed with, or may have, autism, developmental disabilities, and behavior disorders.
The Plumbing Shop in Facilities Management recently responded to a call of water running down De Neve Drive. The Plumbers determined that one of our main water feeds servicing the North West side of campus had ruptured underground and under the street. The existing shut off valves were inoperable and the Plumbing crew (Lead Plumber Marc Corey, Journeyman Plumber Rahsonn McGlothen, Apprentices Armando Real and Douglas Alvarenga and Facilities Worker Victor Flores) got creative and quickly bypassed the valves and stop the water from leaking.
The Laboratory Ventilation Risk Assessment (LVRA) is a key component for the Smart Buildings and Labs Program, led by Facilities Management, to safely reduce energy in state-funded buildings and assist with achieving UCOP energy initiatives such as carbon neutrality by 2025 and 2% reduction of energy use intensity on an annual basis. The program adopted the LVRA process from a ventilation consultant, 3Flow, which also worked with University of California Irvine to develop the Smart Labs concept at their institution as well.
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