The Physical Plant Department is responsible for creating, maintaining, and operating a physical environment that enhances the learning, teaching, and research activities of Haverford College.

The Arboretum Office of the Physical Plant Department is responsible for conducting educational programs in all facets of horticulture, e.g., conducting nature walks, lectures, and the identification and labeling of campus trees. The Arboretum Office also provides a plant-sitting service for student arboretum members during the mid-year break.

Inquiries concerning these services should be directed to the Arboretum Director at (610) 896-1101.

The Grounds Division of the Physical Plant Department provides a planned program of grounds care for the campus lawns and athletic fields and the landscaping of the 216-acre campus. In addition, it is responsible for the care and feeding of plant beds and flower tubs; the maintenance and repair of roads and walks; and snow and ice removal. Since hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and visitors use the campus daily, it takes a conscientious effort on everyone's part to keep the campus grounds attractive and clean.

Inquiries concerning these services should be directed to the Grounds Manager at (610) 896-1105.

The Housekeeping Division is responsible for the cleaning of administrative and academic buildings. The housekeeping staff also maintains common areas, i.e., stairways, hallways, and toilet facilities of the dormitories, and the entryways of faculty apartment buildings. No housekeeping service is provided in student rooms or within faculty housing units.

Housekeeping services are provided on a scheduled basis. Generally, all spaces are cleaned daily Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Special cleaning programs such as waxing and rug shampooing are normally performed during periods when the academic program is in recess, i.e., Fall and Spring Breaks, between semesters, and during the summer.

Inquiries concerning Housekeeping Services, including emergency cleaning needs, should be reported to the Housekeeping Manager at (610) 896-1098.

The Maintenance Division provides comprehensive maintenance services to academic, administrative, athletic, and dormitory buildings as well as to faculty housing. These services are provided by a staff of carpenters, painters, locksmiths, electricians, plumbers, and maintenance mechanics to ensure a safe and pleasant educational environment.

The maintenance staff also conducts routine preventive maintenance checks on various physical plant systems in all campus buildings. The purpose of preventive maintenance inspections is to detect and correct facility deficiencies or defects before the system as a whole breaks down. Building occupants can assist by reporting any deficiencies or defects directly to the Maintenance Work Receptionist at (610) 896-1096 as soon as they are noted.

Questions concerning maintenance and repair services should be referred to the Maintenance Manager at (610) 896-1099.

The Physical Plant Department is budgeted to provide basic maintenance, repair, and operational functions to enhance the College's physical environment. In the past, budgetary restraints precluded accomplishing everything that needed to be done. As a result, the Physical Plant has a Backlog of Maintenance and Repair (BMAR) that totaled over 6.3 million dollars as of June 1998. In view of this backlog, the Physical Plant Department must direct its resources to the most acute problems and may not be able to take care of every request that it receives.

Generally, requests for maintenance and repairs take precedence over requests for alterations or improvements. All work requests received by the Physical Plant Department are assigned a priority based on the following criteria:

Routine Maintenance and Repair. Minor items may be called in to the Maintenance Work Receptionist at (610) 896-1096. More complex requests should be sent by campus mail to the Physical Plant Department. Attn: Maintenance Work Receptionist.

Emergencies. During normal working hours, call the Maintenance Work Receptionist ((610) 896-1096) immediately for any security and/or safety-related problems. The Work Receptionist will, if necessary, direct the closest worker to correct the problem. As these calls take precedent over all other high-priority jobs, please use good judgement when calling in an "emergency." After working hours, call Security at (610) 896-1111 or on an emergency phone.

When the Maintenance Work Receptionist receives a work request, it is entered into the Physical Plant Department Work Order System. A four-part Work Order is printed and distributed. The yellow copy is sent to the originator of the work request to acknowledge that the Physical Plant Department has the request. The originator should check the scope of the work to ensure that the request has been interpreted properly. Once work has been completed, the originator will get a pink Work Completion Notice. This is the originator's opportunity to evaluate the work done by checking off the "Satisfactory" or "Unsatisfactory" box and adding any comments on the quality of the work and responsiveness to the request. The completed form should then be returned to the Director of the Physical Plant by the originator.

Members of the Physical Plant Department staff are available and welcome the opportunity for discussion and consultation with members of the College community. Please call (610) 896-1100 or write to the Director of the Physical Plant via campus mail for an appointment or referral to the appropriate departmental manager for attention to a particular problem or question.