I really enjoyed the Capital Planning presentation by Bob Waddle, Mike Schuessler, and Ryan Miller. I thought all three men did a good job of recapping the importance of facility planning with the class. I was glad that they talked about how important it is to be flexible and have back-up plans in place if something goes wrong. Working as a Construction Administrative Assistant in the BGSU Purchasing Department, I definitely understand what they mean by this. I constantly receive Change Orders for different projects because the project managers ran into controversies with the planning of their facilities.
However, I do wish that they would have talked more about the Campus Master Plan and the Energy Conservation Measure project phases. They briefly touched base with ECM (1 and 2) but I think these projects would be of interest to the class. These projects also go into a different aspect of facilities – renovations. Renovations are extremely important to facility because if something changes (like the need for more classrooms in a building) then you can’t always just demolish the existing facility to build a brand new one. A lot of this type of planning is included in the Campus Master Plan.
Some of the rewards in the profession of facility design is being recognized for your facility. The architect on the Wolfe Center will almost inevitably be up for various awards because of the pure design aspect of the building. Also, being able to have a LEED certified building is a huge accomplishment, especially being the dimension and size of these facilities. One of the biggest rewards of facility designing is how the end user is pleased, though. Being able to give someone what they asked for is a huge reward because you will receive a sense of accomplishment and pride for what you have achieved. I think that knowing a facility that I have planned will be used for its sole purpose and exceed the standards would be a great reward. Also, knowing that it is helping solve small problems that occur within the existing facility and making the work and stay in the new one better and at ease is a tremendous triumph.
BGSU’s Capital Planning mission statement is “We strive to combine the best elements of Bowling Green State University’s past history, current strengths, and future strategic planning to become the premiere learning community in Ohio.” When compared to University of Toldeo’s Facilities and Construction Team mission statement, “The Facilities and Construction Team’s mission is to provide a functional and aesthetically pleasing environment that facilitates the best possible patient care, education and research”, I think it is fair to say there are some visible differences. The mission statement of an institutions Capital Planning department really defines their priorities for the university at hand. BGSU is more concerned with using all facets of history, current, and futuristic planning where as UT defines more on aesthetics and functionality.
When looking at Ohio State University’s Capital Planning records I have noticed that they don’t have nearly as many construction projects as BGSU does. I found this to be really odd. Taking an even closer look, the projects that OSU does have are all primarily renovations and replacements. Their records haven’t shown a new project in years, whereas BGSU has multiple new projects. The BGSU Refurbishing datasheet provides examples of many new buildings being constructed on campus, such as The Stroh Center, The Wolfe Center for The Arts, Commons Dining, McDonald Dining. Which this makes me wonder if OSU is simply not concerned about providing new facilities, or if the ones they are doing are through private sectors (much like both new residence halls being built at BGSU)?
Overall, great informational presentation!