Electrical

Includes: appliance repair, arts and crafts, business machine repair, fire extinguisher, electrical, electronics, telecommunications.

Ron Gallegos, Manager (21 years with M&O, manager 17 years)
40 technicians and support personnel

Craft Shops include Electricians; Industrial Arts Repair; Audio Visual; Electronics; Business Machines Repair; Fire Extinguisher Service; Telecommunications, and Equipment Service and Installations.

In meeting the District’s numerous electrical needs, from basic lighting to upgrading and maintaining complex systems, the Electrical Department focuses on keeping up to date with the latest energy saving retrofits and “replacing” where it is more cost efficient than “repairing.”

The scheduled maintenance dollar value surpassed the reactive work order dollar value in the 2009-10 fiscal year. Scheduled maintenance work largely focuses on the main distribution panel (MDP) of schools and administrative buildings, as it controls the entire facility’s electrical system. Preventing problems with the MDP can result in not experiencing total power outages that close schools down.

The Department’s primary challenges include upgrading electrical capacity to accommodate new technology in the schools, staying constantly on top of Fire Marshal regulations, and retrofitting aging facilities to be more energy efficient, albeit with dwindling budgetary funds.

In addition to electrical services, the Industrial Arts Repair Shop maintains all equipment used in auto, wood, and art classes, and the Fire Extinguisher Shop keeps the District’s fire extinguisher equipment up to code.

The Electrical Department Shops have steadily added PM work every year, realizing the most dramatic increase from 2008-09 to the 2009-10 fiscal year - an increase on 276%.

Highlights

Retrofits (in progress and performed as funding made available)

Work outlined in last year’s Year-End Report continued:

• Converting from magnetic ballast to electronic solid state and T-8 lamps.
• Saves 56 watts per fixture.
• All APS high school gyms have been retrofitted and 14 Middle School gyms are in progress.
• 55% energy savings.
• Gyms demand the highest electric usage on school sites; high wattage T5H0 fixtures designed specifically for high bay environments are required.
• 34 APS schools have been completely retrofitted, four in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
• Total retrofit at a school results in 12-32% savings in the school’s total use/bill.

Conducted a successful energy conservation pilot program at Sandia and Highland High Schools

• The $750,000 investment will pay for itself in less than four years.

Note: See Successful Energy Conservation Pilot Program.

Dual lights switching in gyms

Dual light switches are installed in gyms to limit the amount of light at any specific time.

• Saves energy and costs.
• Provides instant on and instant off.

Brought all gym retrofits in-house

With the purchase of a two-man scissor lift, the Electrical Department is now performing all gym retrofits in-house.

• 3 technicians dedicated to gym retrofits full-time (14 in progress).
• 50% savings over hiring contractors.

Gym Retrofits

New retrofits

• Completed main distribution panel upgrade at Hoover and Wherry Elementary Schools (both on same meter).
• In progress at A. Montoya and Zia Elementary Schools.
• Energy savings due to upgrade is approximately 15%, reducing kilowatt use by about 100,000.

Energy rebates

Working with APS Energy Conservation Coordinator to take advantage of PNM energy rebate programs. (See programs).

Increasing use of sensors

Automatically shut off lights while space unoccupied.

Upgrading PBX phone equipment (Avaya) District wide (in progress)

• 80% of District has been upgraded from digital and analog to designated circuits, increasing telecommunications capability and services.
• 81 schools working with 24 phone lines each (up from three or six lines).
• 87 schools have been equipped with Voice-Over Internet Protocol technology and now have capability to upgrade to the new standards at a lower cost over replacing all equipment.
• Upgrade has reduced number of proactive work orders.

Fire Extinguisher Shop PM work now outnumbers reactive work

• The Fire Extinguisher Shop, which is 100% self-sufficient with no work contracted out, performs more PM work than reactive work by 22% and has increased its PM work cost ratio by 276.4% since 2007.

Drastically improved work time performance

• The Electrical Department has decreased the time to perform work orders 56.1% since 2007and 8.9% since the 2008-09 fiscal year.

New PM programs

Electrical Shop: Effective June 1, 2010, automatic PM work orders are generated with regard to shutting down power at all schools for walk-through inspections of back-up generating systems and assessment of emergency lighting.

• Work is proactive versus reactive with regard to the Fire Marshal report/inspection conducted annually.
• Problems are addressed in summer months when school is not in session.
• Not disruptive to classes.
• With power off, easier and faster repairs of new problems found and those tracked during previous school year.
• Relieves time to perform standard duties and maintenance during school year.

Elevators: Work orders are automatically generated and forwarded to outside contractors to conduct monthly inspections and where fault found complete repairs. (51 elevators under contract).

• Improved SchoolDude/FIMS feature to better track work by contractors.
• Line item detailed tasks.

PM programs (on-going)

• Securing, cleaning, tightening, and photographing with infrared camera all electrical equipment and transformers and main distribution panels (MDP).
• Testing, checking, and draining of batteries on all exit lights and emergency lighting at every school.
• Elevator inspection and service.
• Fire extinguisher, sprinkler, and alarm inspection (decreasing reactive work orders from several hundred a year to a dozen).
• Fire suppression systems inspection.
• Emergency generators inspection.
• Implemented the District’s PBX (telephone exchange system) Avaya guidelines maintenance program.

Goals

Status of 2009-10 Fiscal Year Goals

• Extend PM program to address minor repairs that can be taken care of quickly and reduce reactive work orders: Done.
• Increase electrical capacity to accommodate new technology; improved capacity performed at 35% of schools to date: On-going as funding is available.

2010-11 Goals

• Fine tune SchoolDude/FIMS to track work performed by outside contractors in all Electrical Shops (done with elevators).
• Work with FD+C in upgrading electrical capacity District wide.
• Continue lighting retrofit at all schools to reduce energy use and increase efficiency.
• Stay ahead of federal regulation in replacing magnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts.
• Retrofitting versus replacing (such as with LED lighting) when most cost and energy efficient (LED produces heat and increases cooling costs; is not yet regulated; warps quickly).

Note: Current federal regulations (Department of Energy) are stringent due to energy conservation demands caused by global warming and rising costs. As such, the introduction of new technology coupled with meeting strict regulations will result in the need to continuously upgrade electrical systems.

• Install daylighting sensors in gyms where daylighting is available and occupancy sensors in gyms where daylighting is not available.
• Saves on resources (pipe, wire, etc.).
• Saves energy and costs.
• Decrease backlog of work orders open longer than 14 days by 25%.
• Consider adjusting schedules to allow more off school hours time to accomplish tasks.