A day in the life of a building operator
Come behind the scenes with Lead Hand Jeffrey Avramenko to see what daily life looks like for the engineers that keep our campus buildings running smoothly
Every building at the University of Toronto St. George campus relies on a network of complex systems — heating, cooling, ventilation, plumbing, pressure control and more — and it’s the job of the Utilities team to make sure those systems work. Behind the scenes, dozens of dedicated engineers are monitoring, testing and maintaining these systems, responding to service calls, troubleshooting problems and planning for repairs.
It is work that is mostly invisible, so to better understand what goes into keeping our campus running, we (your F&S comms team) followed Lead Hand, Utilities and Building Operations, Jeffrey Avramenko, around for a day to find out — and to report back.
7:30 a.m.: The day begins
It’s an early start for Jeff and his team. Each day starts with a trip to the locker room to change into work boots and to grab any other safety gear required for the day. Once dressed, it’s time for a coffee and a quick check in with the other engineers who share the office space in the basement of the Medical Sciences Building.
7:45 a.m.: Checking the chiller plant
Before doing anything else, Jeff will analyze the temperature readings and operation of the chiller plant, which produces chilled water for air conditioning and cooling purposes, and cross-reference that data with the Building Automated System (BAS) to ensure the systems are functioning in alignment. The BAS is a real-time graphic display that shows building temperatures, ventilation, air pressure and more. It allows operators to monitor a building’s status, analyze trends and troubleshoot faults and outages.
8:15 a.m.: Getting into service
U of T is monitored by on-site building operators 24/7. When Jeff comes in, he reviews any notes or ongoing issues from the previous shift and assigns unresolved or complex issues, as well as any new service calls, to on-shift engineers. These issues usually come from the BAS or university staff and faculty reporting HVAC-related issues, anything from “too hot!” to “too cold!”, water drips, or issues with humidity or air pressure.
10:00 a.m.: Doing the rounds
Now that tasks have been assigned, Jeff heads out to assist and support the building operations team, often traveling via the basement network that connects many of the buildings on the St. George campus. Each operator oversees a building or group of buildings, which have their own unique needs depending on their age, use and size. This includes labs with critical temperature and air pressure control requirements, libraries with controlled humidity levels or large lecture halls that need constant air circulation.
Jeff visits the MSB mechanical room and offers a second set of eyes on a tricky issue, and then heads up to the roof to check that the chiller plant cooling towers are all in good working order.
11:30 a.m.: Logging orders
Records and tracking are key pillars of an effective and efficient team, and Jeff spends the next chunk of the morning back at his desk logging service orders, communicating with the Trades team, and using a detailed spreadsheet to track each request by building and trade for easy cross-referencing.
An operator lets Jeff know a pump is leaking, and this could mean there’s a pump having issues, a new seal is required, a tradesperson from U of T Trades is needed or something else entirely. In this case, it’s a plumbing issue, and Jeff connects with the plumbers at the Tradeshop to resolve the issue. This is swiftly done as it’s important, as Jeff says, to “keep the water in the pipes!”
12:00 p.m.: Lunchtime!
1:00 p.m.: Ongoing investigations
Back at the office, Jeff tackles a few more complex projects. A project contractor wants a utilities shutdown for a particular area, so Jeff has to safely isolate the water supply there so that the work can be done without a major mess.
Jeff investigates the best way to isolate the working zone and compiles a list of areas, be they ventilation, water, heating, or otherwise, that would be affected by the shutdown. He notifies the property manager, letting them know the scope and scale of the work, the timeline and any other details. When everything is confirmed, a notification will go out to affected U of T community members. (Wondering what’s happening in your building? Sign up for service alerts.
3:00 p.m.: Final round of checks and preparation for the night shift engineers
It’s now time to triple-check that all systems are happily working. Jeff shows us how they test the chiller plant’s water for the right chemical balance, and further reviews the BAS system. Any unresolved issues from the day are communicated, along with their level of urgency, to the night shift staff, and Jeff ensures that any alarms have been addressed and cleared.
4:00 p.m.: Heading home
And that’s a wrap!
We thanked Jeff for taking us around, and I privately vow to get a mantra like “Keep the water in the pipes!” for myself.
This work, often quiet and invisible, requires deep technical skills, fast problem-solving and constant coordination to make sure everything runs the way it should so the university community can focus on teaching, learning and research without interruption.
Want to learn more about our Utilities team? Check out our web resources.
Too hot or too cold in your space? Call a building operator! Learn more about the process.
[Disclaimer!]: This article depicts an average day on the St. George campus and does not reflect the totality of the duties performed by Utilities team engineers.