Crews work begin work at 3 a.m. to maintain campus

By Katie Krall | Published 06/15/14 11:04am | Updated 06/16/14 3:46am

Westphalia, Mich., resident Brian Arens assembles a grid system to construct a ceiling June 11, 2014, in the School of Packaging. Brian has been working with MSU Facilities for 16 years. Corey Damocles/The State News

May through August are busy months on campus forInfrastructure Planning and Facilities, or IPF, with maintenance projects scheduled throughout the summer.

An overnight cleaning at Ramp 5 near Trowbridge Road last week was one of many projects to take place this summer. Crews are responsible for power washing the stairwells and cleaning the decks in each ramp.

Gum and graffiti are removed as needed throughout the year, but deep cleaning happens when most students leave for the summer.

Crews cleaning the decks of a ramp start from the highest level and work their way down, first street sweeping the concrete and then putting down environmentally-friendly products to break up oil stains and other chemicals left by parked vehicles throughout the year.

An oil separator is hooked to the drains in the ramp and the crews come back through with a power washer to rinse each level.

Project manager Adam Lawver said each ramp takes at least five full working days to clean and crews have to adjust their schedules from day shifts to shifts that start around 3 a.m.

Were really fortunate we have a good, dedicated crew thats willing to work those hours, Lawver said.

Crews are made up of full-time staff and seasonal staff, all employed by IPF. Lawver said while it used to take six employees to clean a ramp, new procedures have been put in place for efficiency, leading to the number now being two employees.

See the original post:
Crews work begin work at 3 a.m. to maintain campus