Team Spotlight: Instrumentation & Controls
Behind many of UC Davis’ essential utility systems is a highly skilled team working behind the scenes to keep campus operations safe, reliable, and running smoothly: the Instrumentation & Controls Team.
The group was established in October 2006, giving the team two decades of experience supporting UC Davis’ utility infrastructure. Today, this seven-member electrical group includes electricians and project managers who bring approximately 174 years of combined experience to their work.
Their expertise spans everything from maintaining and troubleshooting complex control systems to designing and building custom programmable logic controller (PLC) panels for campus utility projects.
PLCs serve as the brains behind many automated utility systems, allowing equipment and processes to be monitored, controlled, and adjusted safely and efficiently. The Instrumentation & Controls Team can support projects from the earliest planning stages through panel design and construction, installation, programming, testing, commissioning, and troubleshooting.
By building PLC panels in-house, the team can develop solutions specifically tailored to the needs of UC Davis utility systems. Just as importantly, team members bring an in-depth understanding of the campus’ existing infrastructure, operating conditions, and unique system requirements. That combination of hands-on experience and technical knowledge allows the team to develop practical solutions that are both effective and maintainable.
The Instrumentation & Controls Team consists of Brian Keating, David Inglesby, Damodar Homagain, Scott Peuse, Emilio Solorzano, Jesus Orosco, and Nick Harden. Their capabilities extend beyond their day-to-day responsibilities and provide a valuable resource for other groups throughout Facilities Management (FM).
Teams planning projects that involve new or upgraded control systems are encouraged to engage the Instrumentation & Controls Team early in the process. Early collaboration can help identify practical solutions, improve coordination between trades, reduce potential problems during installation, and ensure new equipment integrates properly with existing campus systems.
The team maintains and supports the controls behind some of the university’s most critical infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant; stormwater and sewer lift stations; domestic, utility, and agricultural water wells; and campus heating and cooling plants.
“Our most important responsibility is ensuring that the controls for the utilities systems stay up and running,” said team superintendent Nick Harden. “When there is an issue, we work to fix it quickly and avoid downtime.”
Because these systems are essential to campus operations, emergency repairs are the team’s highest priority. Project work, including building PLC panels for new installations and system upgrades, follows, with routine maintenance rounding out the team’s workload.
The team’s expertise was put to the test during a project at the Central Heating and Cooling Plant when a contractor accidentally cut a conduit containing energized wires. The incident disrupted a portion of the primary PLC controlling the boilers.
Lead Electrician Damodar Homagain quickly diagnosed the problem and helped restore the boiler controls before the campus experienced any noticeable effects. The response demonstrated the value of having experienced controls and electrical expertise readily available when an unexpected problem threatens critical utility operations.
But the team’s work did not stop once the immediate emergency was resolved. Members evaluated what had happened and identified changes that could be made to future panel wiring to reduce the potential impact of a similar incident.
That ability to turn real-world experience into improvements in design and construction is an important part of the team’s approach. Lessons learned from one project can be applied to the next, strengthening the reliability, resiliency, and maintainability of campus utility systems.
Innovation is another important part of the team’s work.
At several campus facilities, water tanks without automated controls were using more water than necessary. One particularly challenging location had a well situated hundreds of yards from the tank it supplied.
To address the problem, the team identified a wireless device capable of transmitting the tank’s water level to the variable frequency drive (VFD) at the well. The new system allows the well to maintain a specific water level rather than continuously filling and overflowing the tank.
The result is a simple but effective solution that conserves water, reduces waste, and improves operational efficiency.
Projects like this demonstrate how the team combines technical expertise with creative problem-solving. Rather than simply maintaining existing systems, the team looks for opportunities to improve how campus utilities operate.
Safety training, professional licenses, certifications, and continuing education help team members stay current with industry standards, regulations, and emerging technologies.
Since its formation, the Instrumentation & Controls Team has built a reputation for technical expertise, reliability, and innovation in support of UC Davis’ critical utility systems. Whether building a customized PLC panel, supporting a major campus utilities project, responding to an emergency, troubleshooting a complex control system, or developing an innovative solution, the team provides specialized expertise that benefits Facilities Management as a whole.
By partnering with the Instrumentation & Controls Team early in the planning process, campus groups can take advantage of an experienced in-house resource dedicated to keeping UC Davis’ utility systems safe, reliable, efficient, and resilient.