Custodial Methods

The Palomar College Facilities/Custodial Services employees, at the Escondido Center, provide services to over 78,477 gross square footage.  They perform most of their duties in two main shifts.  First, our dayshift has a start time of 7:00 a.m. and runs until 4:00 p.m.  Our nightshift has a start time of 9:00 p.m. and ends at 6:00 a.m.

The Palomar College Escondido Center is divided into custodial areas/zones that are tended to by a group of individuals and their respective Team Lead. This change has proven to be more productive, easier to supervise, and requires less equipment.

A strong commitment to the College is the driving factor for this Facilities team to perform their best.  They value their commitment and combine it with pride and a strong sense of family to function effectively as team.  Each individual consistently participates to the overall team success, as you will often find individuals covering areas for others when assistance is required.  Our staff follows policies and procedures that assure compliance with campus standards, California Health and Safety Codes, California Code of Regulations, OSHA standards and San Diego County ordinances.

The following duties are generally performed by Custodial Services on a daily basis in Classrooms & Offices:

• Empty trash cans in offices, classrooms, and academic/administrative common areas
• Clean chalk boards, chalk trays, erasers, and dry erase boards in classrooms
• Empty out classroom pencil sharpeners
• Check office floors, spot clean floors and clean-up spills
• Clean restrooms and restock paper products
• Empty trash cans throughout the campus grounds
• Pick-up trash around buildings
• Clean drinking fountains

The following duties are generally performed by Custodial Services on a weekly basis in Classrooms & Offices:

• Dust mop or sweep non-carpeted floors completely
• Vacuum carpeted floors completely

The following duties are generally performed by Custodial Services on a daily basis in all District Restrooms:

• Flush toilets and urinals. Check for stoppage.
• Remove trash, empty napkin receptacles and replace paper bag
• Replenish supplies (soap, paper towels, toilet papers, and toilet seat covers)
• Dust (with a damp cloth or sponge) tops of mirror frames, top of tiles, top of toilet stall partitions, all containers, lights, vents, and shelves
• Dust mop floor
• Spot clean doors, walls, partitions, and waste receptacles
• Clean sink basins, rinse and polish chrome, and clean mirrors
• Clean toilets and rinse with disinfectant solution
• Clean around and behind bowls, toilets, and urinals
• Wet mop floor, remove all scuff marks and clean in corners
• Pour one gallon of clear water down the floor drain to prevent sewage odor

Office Moves

The Custodial Services crew is your complete campus moving service with the exception of computers, copiers and musical instruments.  Please review our helpful hints to save you time and make your move less stressful:

Forms & Phone Contact Information:

• Process a Facilities Work Request Form for all office moves.  For questions, please contact the Facilities Office at extension 2629 or via email at FacilitiesOffice@palomar.edu
• Contact the Information Services Helpdesk for questions regarding computers, telephones, etc., at extension 2140 or via email at Allhelpdesk@palomar.edu
• Contact Comet Copy for questions regarding copiers at extension 3077.
• Contact Fixed Assets for questions regarding surplus at extension 2896 or complete the on-line Inventory Request form.
• To recycle prior to your move, please complete the on-line Recycling Request Form.  Click “submit” and form will be sent automatically to the Facilities Office for processing.
• Contact Environmental Health & Safety for questions regarding hazardous materials and/or chemicals at extension 3677.

Furniture

• Empty desks completely
• Empty all open bookcases
• Lateral and Regular file cabinets must be emptied
• Two-door storage cabinets must be emptied
• Clearly label each item with new room number
• We do not disassemble furniture, please contact the manufacturer that you purchased your furniture from to coordinate this aspect of your relocation.

Computers, copiers,  facsimiles, telephones, etc.

• Submit a Data/Telephone Service Request form to the Information Services Helpdesk for all relocation requests involving computers, facsimiles, printers, telephones, etc.
• Contact Comet Copy for assistance in relocating District copier machines.

Boxes

• Please contact the Facilities Office at extension 2629., Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., regarding availability of moving boxes.
• Leave at least a 2” space at the top of each carton.
• Pack working papers, letter trays, books, and other desk top items.
• Empty desk drawers and seal paper clips, pens and other loose items in envelopes, then pack them in the boxes.
• Label each box with your name, a description of its contents, and the location and room number of your new work area.
• Ensure that the box is taped and closed.

Equipment

• We do not disconnect gas, air, water, or electrical lines.  Please contact the Facilities Office at extension 2629 for assistance., Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• We do not disassemble equipment, please contact the manufacturer where you purchased your equipment from and check your warranty.
• We do not remove and install partition walls, please contact the manufacturer where you purchased these items from.
• We do not hang bulletin boards, maps, pictures, whiteboards, etc.  Please submit a Facilities Work Request Form.

Personal Items

• You will be responsible for moving your own personal items (plants, fountain pens, photographs, personal papers, money, lamps, radios, etc.).  Our employees cannot be held responsible for any missing personal items that were left behind. 

Other Items

• Have layout maps of your new area posted on each door or provide a copy with the Facilities Work Request and Data/Telephone Service Request forms.
• Submit Key/Card Access Request Form for each employee for their new office.
• Submit Key/Card Access Return Form for each employee for their old office.

All belongings must be packed up and labeled by the close of business the day prior to your scheduled move date.

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Spill Clean-Up

Custodial Services is responsible for the general cleaning of all academic and administrative buildings on campus.

If materials (bodily fluids, drinks and food) are spilled on carpeting, linoleum or tile, please contact the Facilities Office immediately at extension 2629, Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  After these hours and on weekends as well as holidays, please contact Campus Police at extension 2289 or 760/891-7273.

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Pest Control

For pest control problems including bees, ants, roaches, mice, rats, spiders or termites, please contact the Facilities Office at extension 2629 or via email at FacilitiesOffice@palomar.edu , Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 P.M.  After these hours and on weekends as well as holidays, please contact Campus Police at extension 2289 or 760/891-7273.

The Facilities Office will dispatch Custodial Services to visit the room and take whatever measure possible.  If this does not suffice, an exterminator will be asked to make a visit to the infested area during a routine visit to the campus and will follow-up in subsequent visits to see to it that the pest is controlled.

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Skilled Maintenance Technicians

Our Skilled Maintenance Technicians main responsibilities are to respond and complete minor maintenance calls for the Palomar College campuses.  The Skilled Maintenance Technicians responsibility is to respond, evaluate and make recommendations.  The SMT completes the call if it is within their scope.  If the service call is outside the SMT’s scope, the maintenance repair call is returned to the Facilities Office to be redirected to the appropriate trade.

The following are examples of services provided by the Skilled Maintenance Technicians that are generally not chargeable to the requesting department:

• Ceiling/Roof leaks
• Install banners/signage.
• Lubricate hinges
• Replace ceiling tiles
• Repair/replace floor tiles
• Repair/replace door closures
• Repair and replace missing cove base (not entire rooms)
• Repair downspouts and gutters
• Repair some broken furniture (i.e., chairs, desks, tables and podiums).

Services that are usually charged to the requesting department include:

• Hang bulletin boards, pictures, plaques and whiteboards
• Install cabinet/desk locks
• Install drapes, mini-blinds
• Removing walls
• Repair/replace windows

NOTE:  From time-to-time, campus personnel purchases furniture that has not been pre-assembled.  Others request custom-made cabinetry or shelving for their offices or classrooms.  With labor costs as they are, it is normally to the benefit of the District to purchase pre-assembled furniture and shelving.  Only under extraordinary circumstances, can requests for furniture assembly or cabinetry be filled.  Purchasing pre-assembled furniture and shelving will eliminate this problem.

Nature of Work/Skilled Maintenance Technicians:

Skilled Maintenance Technicians have skills in many different crafts.  They repair and maintain machines, mechanical equipment, and buildings and work on plumbing, electrical, and air-conditioning and heating systems.  They build partitions, fix windows, doors, floors, and other parts of building structures.

Skilled Maintenance Technicians inspect and diagnose problems and determine the best way to correct them, frequently checking blueprints, repair manuals, and parts catalogs.  They obtain supplies and repair parts from distributors or storerooms.  Using common hand and power tools such as screwdrivers, saws, drills, wrenches, and hammers, as well as specialized equipment and electronic testing devices, these workers replace or fix worn or broken parts, where necessary.

Skilled Maintenance Technicians – Parking Lots

Our Skilled Maintenance Technicians – Parking Lots main responsibilities are to perform daily inspections of parking lots, roadways and signage for maintenance and repair needs, ensure parking lots and roadways are clear and safe.

The following are examples of services provided by the Skilled Maintenance Technicians that are generally not chargeable to the requesting department:

• Dead animal removal
• Paint crosswalks, directional arrows, curbs and strips in roads and parking lots; repair cracks and potholes in roads as needed.
• Repair and/or install news signs and sign posts in parking lots and roads as needed.
• Street sweeping
• Trash Removal

Please do not contact our Skilled Maintenance Technicians directly:  Questions, please contact the Escondido Center Facilities Operations Office at extension 8104, Monday through Friday, from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• To request new work, please submit a Facilities Work Request Form (this is a chargeable service) to Facilities.
• To request a repair, please submit a Maintenance Request Ticket (MRT) to Facilities.
• If this is an emergency, please contact the Escondido Center Facilities Operations Office, at extension 8104, immediately.