Dave Irvin, associate vice chancellor of facilities services, recently extended a well-deserved thank you to the more than 80 members of his team who worked tirelessly during the June 29 power outage that impacted the SERF Building on the Hill.
“It was our team members’ extensive knowledge of our campus buildings and expertise that helped to save the research of more than 170 faculty members in SERF,” Irvin said.
The restoration of power to this critical research building was a team effort within Facilities Services, and everyone swung into action immediately.
“Our staff knows the buildings on campus better than anyone,” Irvin said. “As they worked to get power back up, they were able to anticipate setbacks and attempt different solutions in a way no outside company could.”
In addition to restoring power, many team members provided other essential services during the outage.
Locks were changed to ensure building safety, staff members escorted faculty into the building, miles of cable were run to temporary power equipment, emergency provisions were distributed to the team, and UT Alert was used to continually communicate with all those impacted by the emergency.
The employees worked around the clock during the 60 hours it took to restore power.
Irvin said his team members knew how to respond when both the main service and the building’s emergency systems were inoperable, and they knew where critical equipment was located.
“We had key parts on hand so we did not have to wait for emergency equipment deliveries in order to begin repairs, and engineering and emergency contracts were in place so outside consultants could immediately provide any assistance needed,” he said.
Due to these efforts, all team members who worked to restore power and assist during the outage have been named the Facilities Services Exceptional Team for July.
Team members involved in the effort are:
Air Conditioning Services
Beau Baker, Wally Beets, Frank Bunner, Steve Costner, Austin Hackworth, Chris Hinshaw, John Lewis, Chris Merical, Tyler Nicley, Greg Parton, Robert Patty, and Gary Robertson.
Building Services
Terry Capps, Amber Frayer, Jack Hammock, Mary Parker, Rebecca Saylor, and Patrick Smith.
Construction
David Bryant, Rick Gometz, Kenny Lane, Randy Mathes, Roger McDonald, and Kyle Moffett.
Electrical Services
Rick Cannon, David Blaylock, Steve Bodenheimer, Wayne Cowden, Cory Cox, Olen Cox, Ethan Harvey, Edward Jeter, Cesar Penalba, Radovan Psar, Travis Reno, Michael Ritter, Joshua Chad Smith, Justin Treece, William Wainwright, and Chris Webb.
Lock and Key Services
Jordan Doane and Ed McDaniel.
Zone Maintenance
Toni Adams, Derek Bailey, Matt Barlow, Kevin Beeler, Dennis Brock, Jerry Carr, Pat Childress, Scott Cross, Brian Elder, Steven Evans, James Faulkner, Billy Floyd, Ann Free, Rob Frick, Mark Gammon, Denny Gann, Melvin Godfrey, Jason Hughett, Bill Hutchins, Corey Jones, Herbert Jones, Clayton Kelly, Rocky King, Michael Leeper, Jerry Lethco, Perry Longmire, Joe Murray, Jason Ogle, Dennis Owens, Britt Patterson, Jim Pelfrey, Rich Perrone, Mike Raper, James Rowland, James Saunders, Vernon Smith, Tim Thompson, Don Turney, Ed Vargo, Mark Wagner, Carl Weaver, Cecil Woody, and Jimmy Wyrick.
