Utilities Outages

Scope

This policy applies to all buildings owned and operated by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).

Policy Statement

The policy and procedures for all utility or building service outages will have two classifications, “Planned Outages” and “Emergency Outages.” The “Responsible Party" is the person who will remain as the single point of contact throughout the outage, for the Facilities Maintenance and Operations Department’s Area associated with the work.

Reason for Policy

This policy is meant to guide utilities outages, both planned and unplanned, throughout UNL’s campus.

Procedures

The following are the procedures for steam; chilled & domestic water; Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning and/or electrical outages in UNL buildings.

Planned Outages
Planned outages shall include all repair projects with enough lead time to allow them to be accomplished on a non-emergency basis and all Architectural and Engineering Services projects which require outages during construction.

Scheduling of “Planned Outages” is as follows:

1. The Responsible Party of the planned outage shall provide a minimum notice of three working days to the Facilities Service Desk.
2. The Responsible Party of the planned outage shall develop a preliminary plan, length of time, and schedule for the outage.
3. The Responsible Party of the planned outage shall contact the Facilities Service Desk to inquire if the preliminary outage schedule will disrupt the Department’s classes, experiments, etc. The Facilities Service Desk shall contact all appropriate units for mutual approval of the schedule.
4. When the mutually agreed-upon schedule for the outage is approved, the Facilities Service Desk shall contact the Responsible Party of the planned outage with the scheduled date and length of time of the outage.

In seeking outage approval, if affected, the Facilities Service Desk personnel shall contact the following parties prior to the planned outages as follows:

• Facilities Coordinator for Facilities Management and Planning Department
• Building Maintenance Reporters
• Building Operations and Maintenance
• Control Systems Group
• Custodial Services
• Information Services
• Utility Services
• University Operator
• Landscape Services
• Campus Recreation
• University Housing
• Vending Services

Emergency Outages
Emergency outages are the type of repairs that must be accomplished immediately to safeguard property and health. Telecommunications has a record of Departmental Personnel, Facilities Management and Planning Personnel and Security Personnel telephone numbers and names, which they contact as standard procedure. The Responsible Party handling an emergency outage shall call the Facilities Service Desk (472-1550) if an outage occurs during normal working hours and call the University Telecommunications Operator (472-1198) if outage occurs during non-working hours and relay as much information as is possible at that time. The University Operator or the Facilities Service Desk will contact the appropriate people at that time.

Definitions

Planned Outages – Include all repair projects with enough lead time to allow them to be accomplished on a non-emergency basis and all Architectural and Engineering Services projects which require outages during construction.

Emergency Outages – Repairs that must be accomplished immediately to safeguard property and health.

Responsible Party – The person who will remain as the single point of contact throughout the outage, for the Facilities Maintenance and Operations Department’s Area associated with the work.

Additional Contacts

University Telecommunications Operator - Questions

402-472-1198

Facilities Service Desk - Questions

402-472-1550

History

• This policy was reformatted in 2020. No content edits were made.