Staff in Action

Photo of person conducting path repairs.

Decomposed Granite Pathway Repairs

Highly trafficked visitor pathways constructed from decomposed granite were repaired behind Arboretum Headquarters and within the Mary Wattis Brown Garden of California Native Plants.
Photo of workers standing on roof.

Roofing Projects Across Campus

They repair and maintain roofs and gutters out in the baking heat and then search for often tiny cracks through which water can leak during winter rains – it isn’t easy being a roofer.
Photo of fire alarm crew.

Kemper Hall Gets Fire-Ready

A deferred maintenance project to upgrade the gas detection and alarm system in Kemper Hall is underway, with the fire alarm crew taking the lead. The new fire alarm panel will be able to better detect smoke and gas, providing better protection for the building.

Photo of employee working with water pipes.

Valves Matter

There are haves and have nots on campus. When it comes to valves, Meyer Hall, which houses Animal Science, Nutrition and others, was lacking. That is, until the VMS Plumbing Shop secured DM funding and installed 300 water shut off valves throughout the building’s lab spaces. Plumbers love valves. According to Mick Pretti, Plumbing Shop foreman, “plumbers install valves when working on a project because they know they’ll eventually be back to maintain some piece of equipment at the end of a pipe.”

Photo of staff standing next to cage washer machine.

Bringing the Heat to CHE

For about 10 years, the cage washer at the Center for Health and the Environment (CHE) wasn’t getting the steady, continuous flow of steam needed to quickly heat water to 180 degrees Fahrenheit – the state mandated temp for sterilizing their research equipment.
Photo of worker installing plexiglass

BMS Going to the Dogs!

Out at the ARS facility kennels, the upper and lower plexiglass panels shielding the dogs from the elements were in rough shape. None of the panels were a uniform size to begin with, so when the weather turned cooler and staff needed to reinstall the top panels (which are removed to improve airflow in the summer), they stuck them where they thought they fit best and drilled them into place. After six years of drilling in the top panels combined with dogs pawing at the lower panels, there were holes throughout.

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