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"Performance Review"
A regularly
featured interview with one of our chapter's
professional members.
Meet Crystal Heinrich, Project Coordinator for Austin Energy
Provide some insight on your Employer/Company's core
function/service.
Austin Energy (AE) is a
municipality. The core business is producing and distributing
electricity and service.
Identify Company's total number, sq. ft., types, and locations of
offices, e.g., corporate, industrial, owned, leased, downtown, suburban,
local, regional. How many square feet are you responsible for?
AE has 608,000 total square feet, which includes office space,
payment centers, service centers, control center, power plants, and
warehouse space. We have several locations for each type: North Austin,
Downtown Austin, East Austin, and South Austin.
I'm responsible for 421,681 square feet.
Identify Company’s total number of employees.
Approximately 1,500.
What are your primary job functions?
My job duties include meeting with internal employees to assess business
needs for office space; space plan all office space of the sites in
AutoCAD and maintain all the seating charts; draw as-builts in AutoCAD.
I also coordinate and oversee small interior construction projects,
specify and order furniture for all sites, track the orders and
coordinate installation, request repairs for furniture, and aid in
specification for bid process; coordinate all office moves; aid and
coordinate the selection of interior finishes.
How long have you been in the FM field?
Education, certifications?
I have worked in the FM field for
approximately 12 years. I have
a BA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas, and am
currently working on LEED certification.
Who do you report to?
I report to the Facility Manager.
Who reports to
you?
I coordinate and oversee work groups and contractors that have
involvement with our projects, however, there are no direct reports to
my position.
What functions do you outsource?
AE outsources janitorial, landscaping, and large maintenance items
(elevators, vending, major plumbing, etc.).
Describe your recycling program, if applicable.
AE has a recycling program for paper, plastic, cans, etc. We also
have a reclamation department that recycles electrical equipment.
Ed.: Computerworld
magazine recognized Austin Energy in 2008 as one of its Top12 Green-IT
users. Treehugger calls Austin home to the greenest power
grid in the U.S.
Describe any
energy conservation measure you have implemented in your facilities.
AE utilizes T-8 lamps and, in certain areas, has motion sensors to
control lighting. AE has also implemented a controlled HVAC system
that monitors and distributes efficient use of air. Our buildings
have low flow toilets.
Identify some FM challenges you face within your organization.
*LEED in existing buildings with
the most value and least impact on budget;
*Limited office space – better utilization, with the least disruption
and cost;
*Master plan of A.E.
Identify
some challenges the FM industry as a whole must face in the near future.
Sustainability.
What are some of your hobbies and interests outside work?
Painting, the performing arts, and the great outdoors.
Thank you, Crystal!
"Cold Call"
A regularly featured interview with one of our associate members.
Meet Debby Cole of Greater Texas Landscapes
Describe your company's core
competency and (if applicable) any of its affiliations.
Greater Texas Landscapes (GTL) is a full service landscape
management firm. GTL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Environmental
Earthscapes of Tucson, AZ.
Describe your primary job functions.
I am
President of GTL but also provide support for the sales team, marketing
team, accounting team, HR team and executive team.
Describe an average day.
After
28 years in business, no two days have EVER been the same. I meet
regularly with sales, production, accounting groups. I also meet with
branch managers in Austin (2) and San Antonio. I am involved in various
associations (BOMA, CAI, IFMA) and love serving these groups. I have
been heavily involved in our transition to becoming a 100% employee
owned company (since August of 2008) which involves systems integrations
for the most part. All other business is as usual!
What type of clients do you work with?
We work with
commercial building owners and managers, Homeowner Association Managers
and Community Leaders, Retail and Industrial site owners and managers,
resort communities and golf courses.
What percentage of your work and clients
is local/regional/national?
Austin
and San Antonio comprise one-sixth of the total company business. The
rest of our work is in Tucson, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Reno and
St. George, Utah.
How long have you been in this field?
Tell us briefly about your career, education, certifications.
I have an
AA degree in computer science from Kilgore College, a BS from UT in
biology and history, and an MS from Texas A&M in landscape
horticulture. I have taught horticulture at Austin Community College
and in the Austin public schools, and have been with GTL for 28 years.
How's business right now?
FUN!!!!
Tell us about
an interesting situation you’ve encountered related to your current
work. End result?
We bid a LOT of work. Because of that we ask a LOT of
questions. Sometimes the client is sure how to ask us for a bid or
isn’t sure how to even bid out a contract. My all time favorite
situation came from a client who put out some bid specifications she had
found on the internet. The specs were so general and “out of our
market” that it was easy to tell there was little usable information in
the document. I put together a list of questions that needed to be
answered in order to provide an accurate bid. I submitted the questions
in writing via email as indicated in the specs. The customer’s response
was “I won’t answer these questions. If I answered yours, I would have
to answer everyone’s.” This was a prime illustration that some buyers
aren’t comfortable bidding out work. End result was that the client
made no change from her existing vendor.
What's the best
lesson you've learned from a client?
Listen before acting/reacting.
Identify some challenges in your industry.
Stricter
regulation of water. Stricter requirements for licensing. Stricter
environmental regulations. These are all GOOD things.
Tell us about your personal life, family,
hobbies and interests outside work.
I am
married to a super geek chemist who travels extensively (‘cause he is
really smart and people need his brains). I have two daughters -- an
attorney in Washington D.C., and a college freshman at Rhodes College in
Memphis. All three are my favorite people and best friends. For the
past seven years I have spent a lot of time chasing my youngest daughter
around the state/country going to volleyball tournaments. She is
playing in college as well. I love the out of doors and love to
travel. My favorite country is Peru (hiking in the Andes) and my
favorite trip was a bike trip through south France. Right now I am
heavily involved in putting on a wedding for the oldest daughter. I
love my work and do that a LOT. My life is in transition right now with
all kids gone (about to sell our big house) and my social life has
picked up because my time is my own again!
Can we quote you on that?
“Winners
do things that losers don’t like to do.”
Thanks, Debby!
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