The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a world-leader in teaching, collaboration, research and workforce development – and a conference has helped position Illinois as a leader within the state and region for those who perform similar work to F&S.
The Illinois Chief Engineers & Facility Mangers Conference was a two-day gathering held in March, meant to spur discussion and find solutions to common issues at all state and nearby universities, among those who care for and maintain the material world.
Read about the 2024 conference here, including presentations on culture and leadership, Illinois code on all-gender restrooms, and a retrocommissioning project in a cleanroom.
As the largest university in the state, Illinois has taken a leadership role, hosting the event and offering speaking opportunities for F&S leaders to detail offerings and opportunities that can be accomplished at smaller schools with fewer employees.
Jeff Angiel, associate vice chancellor and executive director, outlined pride points and challenges regarding F&S and the state of utilities and maintenance at large public universities like Illinois during his keynote speech.
Other topics ranged from energy conservation to automation, construction and chilled water systems. Attendees came from University of Illinois Chicago, Illinois State University, Washington University, and local public school districts. More than 100 people registered for the conference.
High Energy
Angiel noted the size and scale of the entire energy ‘enterprise,’ shining a light on last year’s honor as System of the Year from IDEA (International District Energy Association). Abbott Power Plant is the key to much of why campus energy and utility use is so special, as it is a co-generation plant, meaning it produces both electricity and steam.
Solar Farms add to the electric grid, and the university also purchases supplemental power from the regional supplier, Ameren. The efficiency of Abbott’s production allows the university to avoid higher costs and national grid uncertainty.
Angiel noted he is looking forward to a possible micro-nuclear reactor and third solar farm as added options for energy generation.
“When you think about nuclear reactors in the past, that the there’s always been a concern about safety. But this micronuclear power is really changing that paradigm and changing the perception of what happens with nuclear power. These installations are still growing, still an evolving technology, but it’s something we’re really excited about and think it would be very useful here on campus. I think we’re uniquely positioned with a co-generation power plant and the centralized scheme of systems that we have to be able to incorporate a technology like this in the future. So, we have been working with the federal government and several partners to help realize that.”
“Things Don’t Get Cheaper”
Angiel also noted challenges, of which many are just as relevant for the largest operators, like Illinois, as well as a family wanting to update their home mechanical systems: cost and speed. Deferred maintenance, or the accrued cost of *not* updating systems and buildings on-time, is also growing, ballooning over $1 billion a few years ago.
“Our deferred capital maintenance burden was measured at $1.3 billion [in 2023],” said Angiel.
He took a breath and reacted, “Whoa.”
“When a piece of equipment comes to the end of its useful life or a building comes to its useful life, we have been delaying the repair and replacement. We try and extend that life and just say, ‘You know what, we can get a few more years out of that. Let’s kick the can down the road and we’ll deal with that problem later.'” It’s a common thought, but Angiel stressed that responding to a reactive or emergency scenario is always more costly than doing the proper predictive or preventive maintenance.
“If we don’t do any spending on capital deferred maintenance by 2033, that’ll grow to $2.5 billion.”
Talking Through It
“One thing that that I’m trying to do is, as a new person here on campus, is communicate all of these things as much as I can,” Angiel said. “I’m engaging in a lot of conversations with our university leadership, and trying to educate our partners on process and realities of our current business systems. What I’m trying to do is educate our consumers.”
“I want to hear everybody’s concerns and thoughts about how we do things and what’s important to them, because sometimes if you don’t pay attention, if you don’t listen, we could be focusing on the wrong things, and having the wrong priorities.”
“Managing the interests of a campus of hundreds of buildings has a different goal than just managing a single project. We’re balancing these goals and strategic initiatives of campus, not just the cost of a single construction project. The overall cost of a project needs to assess the total cost of ownership and decision making, and our campus needs to understand that when we approve a project, we’re not just approving the construction costs.”