Information for Building Managers

Each building at UW–Madison is required to have a completed Occupant Emergency Plan (OEP). The OEP is an all-hazards plan designed around a building’s unique layout and function. The primary purpose of the OEP is to provide guidance to building occupants in the event of an emergency, such as a tornado, active threat, gas leak, or bomb threat.

BMs should have a copy of the current OEP and be familiar with the content. OEPs must be checked every year to confirm they are up to date. UWPD keeps the template for OEPs and follows up with Building Managers to confirm complete and up to date OEPs are on file. More information about OEPs can be found here: https://uwpd.wisc.edu/services-emergency-management-have-a-plan/

There is also an emergency procedures guide that BMs should be familiar with - https://uwpd.wisc.edu/content/uploads/2024/09/Emergency-Procedures-Guide-2024.pdf  Hard copies of this document may be posted and shared within departments.

UWPD has a campus presence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Campus Security, which is under UWPD, has a different role but both are dispatched through the Campus Security general phone number. 608-264-2677 is a dispatch office that is staffed 24/7. 911 calls for emergencies will be routed to the quickest available responder, which often will be UWPD, and 911 calls from campus may be transferred to the UWPD dispatch office.

Problem situations – by university policy, the campus facilities are open for the conduct of university business. Different buildings will have different hours and different access. When outside doors are open, general public may enter a building and access public areas. If a non-UW person (no valid status as student, faculty, staff, or on official business with one of those) enters a classroom, office, lab, or other space, they may be asked to leave. If someone with no business purpose to be present is being disruptive, any UW person may call UWPD to respond to the situation. If a non-UW person is sleeping in a building where they shouldn’t be, UWPD may be called. UWPD knows most of the homeless people in the campus area and can work with them effectively.

Building Managers are typically responsible for overall general building access and should coordinate with the departments and units occupying the building regarding their needs. Some buildings have card reader access to varying degrees, and some are equipped only with keyed locks. Campus security is moving more toward card readers as much as possible. Retrofitting existing facilities with card readers is typically a department expense; new buildings and renovations can include card readers in coordination with UWPD. Card reader access is managed by the Access Control unit within UWPD. BMs will need to work with department administrators to monitor who has card reader access and will assist when updates are needed by working with Access Control. Doors with card readers may not have keys issued to individuals or departments per UWPD policy. Electronic locks may be scheduled open or closed for access. These schedules are managed by departments through Access Control. Contact Access Control for details.

A department administrator is typically responsible for managing departmental keys. Different departments may have different details and processes for managing key records. Getting copies of keys or rekeying locks is a departmental expense and handled via the work order system. There is a separate link for ordering copies of keys on the FP&M Physical Plant customer service page: https://wiscready.assetworks.cloud/ready. 

Getting a copy of a key that is a master key requires a special form for permission. To request a master key reach out to your Regional Facilities Coordinator or Jesse Moshure, the L&S Facilities Planning Manager at jesse.moshure@wisc.edu or 608-890-3047.

Communications with other Building Occupants – Building Managers frequently serve as the notification/contact point for building wide issues ranging from scheduled power interruptions, to street closings, parking lot closings, building access disruptions or other construction issues, and anything else impacting the entire building.

In such cases the BM must determine whether other building users should be notified, and how. Some BMs keep a contact list of all building users. This is advisable for smaller facilities. Others have established contacts by floor or for individual departments assigned to a building, or they work with a "building committee" which is regularly updated on a variety of building issues. Such a method works better for extremely large, or for multi-user buildings. Communicating by e-mail or by posting notices at all exits can also be effective.

General Assignment (GA) classrooms are campus resources and are not under the control of any department. GA classrooms are controlled by the Registrar’s Office for class scheduling. When class scheduling is complete, a GA room may be requested by any other campus user for any event. Those requests are submitted to the Campus Event Services Office (CESO) under the Union. If someone contacts a Building Manager to use a GA classroom, they should be directed to the CESO. BMs are contacts for special service requests for GA classrooms within their buildings - such as the request to serve food in a room. 

Campus Event Services Office: CESO website | Phone 608-262-2511

Office of the Registrar: Classroom Scheduling | Phone 608-262-3811

Permission to access the calendar view of scheduled events in GA classrooms may be requested through the Registrar's office at https://kb.wisc.edu/107423. Once access has been granted, the calendar is available at https://25live.collegenet.com/pro/wisc/.

AV systems in GA classrooms are maintained by the Space Management Office. See av.fpm.wisc.edu for details on how to use GA classrooms with technology. This resource is also vital for departmental faculty who teach in GA classrooms. 

Campus data network infrastructure is supported by local IT teams and DoIT technicians. Building Managers should receive notices of network outages and will be the point of contact for service work. DoIT technicians may require assistance gaining entry to departmental spaces for service work. DoIT technicians carry IDs and BMs are encouraged to ask for identification verification before providing access.

BMs may also reach out to their local IT support team for assistance.

Building Managers may be contacted on issues of ADA accessibility in their buildings. Student disability related consultation and accommodation services are provided by the McBurney Disability Resource Center. Faculty and staff disability related consultation and accommodation services are provided by the Employee Disability Resources office. Employees should contact their Divisional Disability Representative (DDR). 

BMs may also be asked by these support offices about the conditions in their building. When physical accommodation is required for an accessibility need, BMs may be contacted for assistance, especially for the delivery of special furnishings or equipment. 

Each building should have a lost and found, and BMs are the default contact for this. BMs (or designee) should try to identify owners for valuable items. Until valuable items are claimed they should be kept in a secure place. If owners are not identified or items able to be returned in less than two weeks, they should be transferred to the UWPD central campus lost and found. Lost keys should be turned in to the Lockshop. Lost WisCards should be turned in to the WisCard office at Union South in person or via campus mail.

FP&M Physical Plant (PP) takes care of repair and maintenance issues for campus buildings. PP Customer Service handles service requests for routine and special services. There are three ways to request service:

Web: Request Service via Assetworks ReADY (NetID authentication required)

Email: Send email to ppcustomerservice@fpm.wisc.edu

Telephone: Call 608-263-3333 for immediate assistance. After hours, dial 0 at the recording to reach an answering service.

Services requested become work orders and can be tracked through FP&M’s AiM system -  https://wisc.assetworks.hosting/fmax/screen/WORKDESK. It is necessary to be authorized to access this system, which can be requested through FP&M. The AiM system allows users to look up a list of PP work orders by building or details for specific work orders.

PP Customer Service is staffed until 4:30pm Mon-Fri. For after-hours service, call the phone number and dial 0 to get an answering service. With limited Physical Plant workers available after hours, dispatch for weekend/evening emergency calls can take 30-60 minutes. Customer service will respond to requests from anyone, but some departments require all work orders to be submitted by a Building Manager. When an item is deemed by Physical Plant to be a departmental issue, they will ask for a department Billing number. Typically, service for specialty equipment or fixtures will be a departmental expense, even if it is incorporated into a room or building.

Physical Plant also provides custodial services in most campus buildings. A BM should have contact info for the custodial supervisor for their building to coordinate cleaning issues. When unexpected cleanup is needed, PP customer service should be contacted for immediate attention. Some routine cleaning issues can be addressed directly with a custodial supervisor, and larger cleaning issues may need work orders submitted through customer service. Custodians are diverted to snow removal tasks when winter weather happens, and this can disrupt regular cleaning. Extra cleaning services, such as weekend or evening requests, are usually a departmental expense and a billing/B number must be provided with a work order. Please plan ahead and allow time for these requests.

Fire alarms, sprinklers, elevators, and generators are all subject to annual inspections and testing. Relevant Physical Plant or contractor personnel will contact Building Managers to arrange this. There is usually a certain amount of flexibility in scheduling to minimize disruptions to department operations. BMs are provided with inspection reports for some things, like fire safety inspections. In some cases, the inspection will result in actions that are needed to establish compliance with safety regulations. Departments may need to take some action, and work orders will be needed for items affecting building equipment/systems.

The designated Building Manager will be notified of upcoming fire drills. Fire drills require full building evacuation, so the BM may request some minor adjustments in timing. The BM should exercise discretion in sharing scheduled drill information. Depending on activities and staffing, a BM should let their unit director and/or administrator know about the fire drill. The BM should know where the fire panel is for their building. A BM is not expected to control or operate a fire panel, but when an alarm goes off that is where responders will report to. By reading a fire panel display, a BM can identify the location/source of a fire alarm, which can be useful.

Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) is the campus unit that conducts safety inspections, maintains facility egress plans, supports AEDs and other health and safety services on campus. EHS can provide consultations and advice when there are questions or concerns about environmental, health, and safety. For departments with sensitive laboratory requirements, EHS should be involved in reviewing lab safety requirements and procedures.

Physical Plant does all trash and recycling for campus. For major cleanups, a dumpster may be requested from Physical Plant for waste and/or metal recycling. Surplus items are collected for SWAP, who maintain drop-offs in some buildings, and can be contacted to arrange other pickups.

All parking on campus is controlled and managed by the Transportation Services (TS) unit. Questions about parking should be directed to TS, including the use of loading docks and parking for loading. Building Managers should be familiar with TS parking rules local to their unit, and with loading areas at their building.

A BM may be responsible for shipping and receiving for their building. 

• Campus interdepartmental mail is delivered to a designated receiving area by Campus Mail. 
• Regular delivery services (FedEx, UPS, USPS) are usually good about using a designated receiving area.
  • USPS will pick up outgoing mail at the designated receiving area, if the postage is paid. 
• For large shipments delivered by a freight service, their drivers or dispatchers will often call a Building Manager to confirm and arrange delivery. 
• Amazon deliveries are notorious for leaving packages anywhere if they don’t have a clearly understood delivery point.

All departments and units are responsible for their own postage and shipping arrangements.

The Physical Plant unit called Campus Services can be a valuable resource for Building Managers to assist with physical tasks in a department. Campus Services can provide moving services to move large furniture between offices or buildings, can deliver items acquired on SWAP, can pick up items going to SWAP, and other tasks like these.

When working with Campus Services for the removal or redistribution of furniture, plan to create a request 2 weeks prior to when furniture needs to be removed through the Assetwork Ready system. The following information should be known when making the request:

• Where the furniture is.
• How many pieces there are and details on what they are.
• Where the furniture is going.
• For temporary moves, provide the dates the furniture needs to be out of the space and when it can go back in.
• If there is a lot of furniture being disposed of, a dumpster may be needed. Campus Services typically handles the ordering of this, but you may need to find a location for it.

For items going to SWAP:

• First, document the items by taking pictures and filling out the form at https://businessservices.wisc.edu/documents/swap-pick-up-request-form/.
• Be sure to check the box that states the items are being dropped off at SWAP, not picked up.
• Have your email with asset disposal approval completed before Campus Services picks the items up.
• Any items not accepted by SWAP will have to be disposed of by Campus Services.

A funding string will be required when work is requested.

See other KB articles for details on submitting requests for remodeling of General Assignment classrooms or departmental instructional and support spaces.

Some years, dependent on the college budget availability, L&S offers grant programs to support Instructional Laboratory Modifications (ILM) to provide support for remodeling and new equipment in departmental instructional facilities. The college will contact departments via email to request ILM proposals when funding is available.