Over the past ten months, while much of the UCLA campus community worked remotely during a statewide Safer-At-Home directive, the majority of the FM team continued to report to campus each day to wield their amazing skills and keep UCLA operational. This group included the FM Trades, Custodial & Grounds, Material Management, Trouble Call Center, Design & Project Management Project Superintendents, and a small but vital cadre of the other support personnel in and out of FM’s operational units.
A classic example of the critical work that these dedicated employees performed over the past several months occurred at the Rehab Building on UCLA’s southwest campus. Built in 1965, Rehab was experiencing significant concrete spalling on its façade, directly over a heavily used building entrance, shown in the photo on the right. The client submitted a service request to the FM Mason Shop, who provided their customary swift response. The photos below on the left, and on the right, provide evidence of the problem, and in particular the safety concerns associated with falling pieces of concrete above a busy UCLA entryway.
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The photo on the right illustrates the challenges involved with this complex project, including working off of a scaffolding system at significant heights. The repairs included removing the cracked concrete sections of the façade, inserting reinforcing steel to support the new concrete, building a small form around each cracked row of the façade, and placing the new concrete. It was a very labor-intensive project involving complicated logistics requirements. Carlos Montoya, Manager of the Paint, Roofing, Mason and Sign Shops, proudly exclaimed, “These men did a fantastic job repairing the cracked concrete.”
The photo on the left shows the completed project, which looks as good as new! We thank and recognize these stellar FM employees for their long lasting contributions to the safety and appearance of UCLA’s critical Rehab Building:
Mason Shop: Jesse Banales, David Mendoza, Doug Van Engen, Antony Vazquez, Luis Lemus, Jorge Huerta, David Lamberth.
Paint Shop: Ernesto Sanchez, Nicolas Cuevas, Victor Garcia.
Sign Shop: Jehoshua Sandoval
