How did you get into Facility Management?
I left the Carpenter’s Union in September 1987 and accepted a position as Building Mechanic Helper at PECO. I progressed through the required training levels to become a Facilities Mechanic. In 2001, I accepted a position at PECO as a Facilities Operations Supervisor. After moving into the Supervisor role, I decided to pursue a degree in Facilities Management which led me to Delaware County Community college followed by Widener University and also my membership in IFMA.

Tell us about a favorite project
Over the years in facilities, there have been many projects I have enjoyed completing. However, I would have to say that replacing all the 50+ year old fire and domestic water lines at our Berwyn Campus (4 buildings over 100 acres) was a tremendous learning experience that truly required a team effort. There were many people involved from various departments at PECO. The coordination, safety focus and attention to detail between various PECO departments and the General Contractor, Engineering Firm and AQUA was outstanding.

What is your greatest success story?
Early in my tenure as a Facilities Supervisor, I was asked to participate on a “water intrusion team” tasked with investigating and mitigating water intrusion into substation buildings. The team was comprised of subject matter experts from the Facilities Department across the Exelon Operating companies. The effort resulted in the development of an annual inspection program for roofing and the building envelope conditions across all the buildings in our portfolio. The program generates and annual report which is used to prioritize capital roof replacements as well as categorize repairs 1) immediate 2) preventative 3) no repair needed.

The team developed a list of summer and winter maintenance tasks which are preloaded into our CMMS system to ensure the mitigation of potential snow and rain infiltration. The inspection process and capital roof replacement plan has created a focus on the importance of the roof and building envelope condition and resulted in increased customer reliability through the reduction of customer outages caused by roof issues.

Tell us about a challenge or obstacle that you faced in the Facilities field and how you overcame it.
The most difficult challenge I can recall in my career in Facilities was the transition from my role as a mechanic/peer to the position of Supervisor. While I understood the challenges for a mechanic because of my past experience, I found it very difficult that people I was responsible to manage didn’t necessarily understand my new responsibilities as a supervisor. I overcame this challenge by attending a company sponsored training program for new Supervisors. The program was an opportunity to learn a about myself and my leadership style as well as providing tools to improve my communication skills, conflict resolution skills and build solid, lasting working relationships.

What is something that most people do not know about you?
In my early 20’s I skied in Innsbruck, Austria.

What learning experience would you pass onto future FM’s?
Learn, understand and be passionate about this business. Build strong relationships, find a mentor & trusted confidant. Most of all, remain teachable, and when faced with a problem, seek solutions and don’t be afraid to ask for help.