Specialized Equipment Funding and Oversight
Facilities Management and Development (“Facilities”) has overall responsibility for ensuring the maintenance and safe operation of all core building and life-safety systems at Toronto Metropolitan University — these are the university’s “base-building” systems.
The Facilities team also oversees the maintenance and safety certification of “functional-use” equipment — the specialized equipment infrastructure and safety systems are operated only by particular departments for specific tasks that are essential for scholarly, research and creative activities.
Functional-use equipment includes:
- laboratory testing equipment and safety systems
- sprung floors in dance studios
- walk-in coolers and freezers
- fume hoods and biosafety cabinets
- welding booths
- machine guards in workshops
The centralized oversight of all functional-use equipment and safety systems helps to make sure that equipment is correctly integrated with existing building systems, short- and long-term maintenance planning is sustained and regulatory compliance is met. The Facilities team oversees:
- preventative maintenance schedules
- quality assurance for installation and service to ensure specifications are met
- inspection and certification schedules
- mandatory record-keeping for safety-program compliance
- connecting equipment to base-building systems correctly for safe operation
Funding responsibilities for maintenance and safety compliance
Base-building systems
Base funding is allocated by the university directly to Facilities for base-building repairs, preventative maintenance and infrastructure renewal in general-use facilities and non-specialized academic/research spaces.
Functional-use equipment and systems
Departmental, research and revenue-generating business units are responsible for funding the maintenance and safety certification related to specialized equipment and systems that are tailored to and operated by specific academic groups in specialized facilities, such as laboratories, workshops and studios.
Research facilities and equipmentResearch funding from principal investigators or departments is required for services, specialized equipment, safety systems and infrastructure that are tailored to and operated by Scholarly, Research and Creative (SRC) groups. This would also include costs related to:
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Revenue-generating business units and departments
Base-building and life-safety systems as well as functional-use equipment and specialized safety systems are funded by the department’s operating budget.
Service charges for specialized equipment support and upkeep
EHS can work with user-groups to ensure the equipment has received the required inspections and testing to maintain certification and mandatory record-keeping responsibilities. The Facilities maintenance and operations team will support maintenance and repairs to equipment that is interconnected with building systems, using internal and external technicians as required.
Costs associated with inspections, testing, maintenance and repair services will be charged back to the department owning or operating the equipment
Departments can oversee repairs to their standalone, plug-in equipment, such as spectrophotometers, 3D printers and saws.