Frequently Asked Questions

Students – Contact a Residential Assistant (RA), Community Assistant (CA; if you live in South Hall), or Residential Director (RD) within your residential hall. Be as specific as possible in describing the issue or service to be done and where the issue or service is located.

Faculty, Staff, and Student Employees – You can report the service needed to your departmental admin assistant or you can submit one using our online work order form. Please note: if you have a time-concerned request, i.e. emergency situation, a work order will not need to be submitted online. Instead, please call our main office at extension 7380 (253-535-7380), or if our office is closed, Campus Safety at extension 7441 (253-535-7441), and provide as much detail as possible and a contact name and number.

The following are reasons why you may not have a received a number:

1. The work order was not submitted online:
   • For calls made to our office we do not provide the work order number unless it is requested and contact information is provided at the time of submission.
2. The work order was submitted online but no email address was provided in the contact information section of the work order form:
   • If an email address is not given, we do not know where to email the work order number.
3. A work order was submitted online and the form was completely filled out:
   • Sometimes there are network issues that can affect the functionality of the work order form. If this happens, you may not receive a submittal receipt, in which case you may retry submitting the form. If further problems persist, please contact our office at extension 7380.
   • It may be that the work order has not been processed. We ask that you allow two business days* for your work order to be processed. If you have not received a work order number within that timeframe, please contact our office at extension 7380.

*Our office is closed weekends and PLU holidays.

All service requests are prioritized by the impact to life, safety, and continuance of academic study. The following prioritizing categories are:

• Emergency
• Priority
• Regular
• Maintenance

Emergency
Facilities Management handles emergencies immediately. Emergencies include water line breaks, flooding, out-of-service elevators, power failures, roof leaks, and broken locks and windows that are safety concerns.

Priority
These work orders are given priority and will be looked at first. They include snow and ice removal, heating and cooling concerns, defective electrical fixtures, and clogged drains.

Regular
Regular, or routine, maintenance will be prioritized accordingly and taken care of in a timely manner. These types of services include missing window screens, light bulb replacement, hanging blinds, minor plumbing repairs, ceiling tile replacement, work on athletic fields, and repairs to PLU vehicles.

Call us! Our office is open 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, except for PLU holidays. You can reach us at extension 7380 (253-535-7380). Our receptionists will direct the request to a technician via a paging system. All after hour emergencies should be reported to Campus Safety at extension 7441 (253-535-7441).

Chargeable services are submitted by work order request. These services are not routinely supported by Facilities. They include:

• Gasoline for PLU vehicles
• Non-PLU sponsored event support
• Office moves or alterations
• Painting beyond the regular maintenance schedule*
• Removal of hazardous materials; please contact environmental services for more information (x7385)
• Replacement of recycling receptacles
• Trash support beyond routine service; this also includes the disposal of refrigerators; electronics, such as computer parts and televisions; and non-PLU furniture and carpet

Chargeable work will be estimated for cost in both time and materials.

*Painting due to usual wear and tear is not charged.

As implied by our departmental name, Facilities Management handles building maintenance and the surrounding landscapes. While Facilities handles the maintenance around campus, there are certain areas that are not handled through our department:

• Cable, email, Internet, and all computer-related problems: contact the Computer Center Helpdesk at extension 7525 (253-535-7525).
• Customizing carpentry, however, we can help you choose and install. Please contact our office for more information (x7380).
• Loaning out tools such as ladders, jacks, or hammers.
• Personal furniture moves.
• Repair/assistance to personal vehicle.
• Shredding
• Storage of materials.
• Table and chair rentals: contact Anderson University Center Conferences and Events at extension 7450 (253-535-7450).
• White boards and bulletin boards for offices; you purchase, we install.

A work request that requires more extensive work and planning is a project. Projects are handled through our projects sub-department.

No, but we can assist in choosing what furniture or equipment to purchase.

No. However, you may submit a work order to have your office or room painted for you.

No. We can, however, assist in set up needs that are relative to PLU business and require tools and equipment unavailable within your department. If you do require assistance, please submit a work order. We ask that you provide seven-day advance notice to ensure that we can assist you at a designated time. If a work order is not submitted seven days in advance, we cannot guarantee that we can help you at the designated time.

Only in certain circumstances.  Generally, temperatures are set according to approved industry guidelines for both energy efficiency and to provide comfort for the majority of occupants.  This strategy helps PLU to conserve it’s resources and meet it’s obligations to multiple climate commitments.  For questions about this policy, please see the “Documents and Forms” section > “PLU Temperature Set Point Policy” or call the Facilities Management Office