Facilities Operations

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Facilities Operations Section provides facility maintenance, regulatory compliance management, contract management, and maintenance project management to support the Sheriff's Department's 56 facilities. The primary mission of Facilities Operations is to perform the essential maintenance and repair services necessary to keep the OCSD facilities operational and in compliance with legal requirements set forth in various administrative codes. Minor alterations necessary to restore original function and building systems performance may be included in this category of work.

World-Class Challenge
Modeled upon world class maintenance operations and built on best practices, formal work planning and pro-active preventive maintenance, the facility maintenance effort has steadily reduced failures, reduced and managed costs, and improved service to our internal customers. Most challenging to the maintenance effort is the high-security work and specialized environments used for and by the Sheriff's Department. These include Jails, Forensic Laboratory, Coroner, Emergency Operations Center, Administration and Communication sites. Access to these facilities is tightly controlled and granted only to authorized employees and contractors who have been cleared for limited work areas under constant supervision. The Facilities Operations Section consists of 94 staff members organized into 4 Units.

Maintenance Planning Unit
 
A team of maintenance planners order repair parts and materials needed for each job in advance, preparing a "ready to work" job schedule for each maintenance shop. Specialized maintenance services and project work appropriate for outsourcing is coordinated and supervised by a team of project managers. Both teams combine their efforts to produce an effective balance of contracted services and services performed by employees. Critical to this effort is communication between the teams, their internal customers, and the maintenance shop supervisors for prioritization and scheduling of the workload.

Warehouse
Material support is a key component of world class maintenance programs. The Maintenance Planning Unit's warehouse staff assemble pre-packaged materials ordered by the maintenance planners into our staging area, ready to deliver to the jobsite on schedule. The warehouse also stores critical replacement parts and supplies, special tools and emergency response equipment needed for rapid responses by maintenance shops when needed.

Maintenance Shops Unit
 
The Maintenance Shops Unit consists of 60 craft workers and 7 supervisory staff. These workers are distributed throughout 5 shops located at various facilities. This Unit performs the in-house preventive maintenance and repair services for a variety of specialized buildings and facilities. A broad range of craft and maintenance specialists are represented in Facilities Operations.

TIGER (Tenant Improvement Group/Emergency Repairs)
TIGER is a special projects group organized within the Maintenance Shops Unit. This team performs coordinated maintenance and emergency projects and in-house alterations/improvements where the opportunity exists to expedite critical projects and to reduce costs. A unique aspect to the TIGER team is that it is a "virtual" shop; one Shop Planner is the only permanently assigned employee. Craft workers are drawn from various shops to staff a scheduled project or activity, then return to their "home shop" when the project or activity is completed.

Compliance Management Unit
 
The Compliance Management Unit covers a broad range of mandated inspections, environmental protection, safety, and fiscal responsibilities related to maintaining the operating systems of the Departments buildings. A full-time staff of 4 is supplemented by employees from other units who contribute to the accomplishment of several responsibilities assigned to this unit.

Budget planning and tracking is included in the Compliance Management Unit.
The Compliance Manager is responsible to coordinate the development of the annual budget plan and to monitor the expenditures throughout the budget cycle. Known responsibilities and planned maintenance account for approximately 80% of Facilities Operations annual budget with the remainder expended throughout the year to correct the inevitable breakdowns and emergencies that occur in buildings operated on a 24/7 schedule.

Regulatory Compliance is included in the Compliance Management Unit.
Mandates include documentation and initiation of air quality control actions, combustion equipment inspections and permitting, Fire/Life/Safety maintenance and inspections, vertical transportation maintenance, underground storage tank permitting and inspections, storm water runoff control inspections and workplace safety inspections. The unit also serves as a checkpoint for compliance with purchasing regulations and internal business rules.

Contract Management is included in the Compliance Management Unit.
A full-time contract services supervisor oversees approximately 80 contracts covering a wide range of specialized maintenance services, parts, and supplies. Assisted by shop supervisors and craft workers, the work of contractors is monitored and documented by this individual to ensure the quality and value of services provided.

Division Safety Training Program included in the Compliance Management Unit.
A division-wide training program addresses mandated safety training, job knowledge and trade skills required for the work environment, and professional development goals for each R&D Division employee. 1 full-time Staff Development Specialist facilitates a combination of professional educational services, County-wide training opportunities, and in-house "train the trainer" programs. Each year, a formal training plan is reviewed with staff, updated, and executed to deliver the training needs identified. Full documentation is retained to meet CAL/OSHA and County workplace safety requirements. The Staff Development Specialist also acts as the Deputy Division Safety Representative to ensure that maintenance-related safety mandates are properly managed.

Maintenance Control Unit
 
The Maintenance Control Unit provides the daily workload management tools and performance measurement reports that provide a visible means to continuously assess and improve the maintenance program. Using the Asset Management modules of "Facility Center", an Enterprise Management software package, this team of 3 full-time employees defines Facilities Operations predetermined service schedules, analyzes breakdown and repair histories, and performs failure/cause analyses that guide supervisory and management decision making. Work orders, materials requisitions, and a wide variety of reports are produced regularly, using the Facility Center software.

Maintenance Control Team
The Maintenance Control Team provides the daily upkeep and administration of the Facility Center database. These individuals are the experts in its complex relational database structure. As Facilities Operations develops new capabilities, the Maintenance Control Team configures Facility Center to incorporate each new capability. This repository of information is accessible to all planning, control, and supervisory staff.

Maintenance Engineering Team
Working in concert with the Maintenance Shops and Maintenance Planning Units, the Maintenance Control Unit also provides maintenance engineering services focused upon continuously improving maintenance procedures, materials inventory and defining the major maintenance projects needed to extend the lifecycle of the Departments buildings and equipment. To draw upon the broadest base of in-house knowledge and experience, the Maintenance Engineering Team is structured as a 12 month rotational assignment for up to 5 craft workers and 1 maintenance planner. Using data extracted from preventive maintenance records stored in Facility Center and field inspections to define projects for renewing building structures or to replace worn out and obsolete equipment, the team also produces a 5-year maintenance and repair plan to be submitted for funding in the forthcoming budget year. The purpose of this plan is to identify major equipment replacements and maintenance issues before breakdowns can occur. This has helped to reduce unplanned maintenance and repair costs over the past five years.