Facilities Funded Service Requests

The University provides funding to GW Facilities Management for the maintenance of University buildings on the Foggy Bottom Main Campus (with a few exceptions*), Mount Vernon Campus and Loudoun Campus and associated campus grounds.  Thus, there is no charge for these Facilities Funded Service Requests.  

Examples include:

• fixing a leak
• responding to a pest problem
• repairing a broken window
• unclogging a toilet
• trash removal

* On the Foggy Bottom campus, there are a few University buildings for which Facilities Management is not funded to maintain. These specific buildings have Property Managers who authorize payment to Facilities for all repairs and maintenance.  More detail is provided below under Foggy Bottom Buildings Having Property Managers.

Faculty and Staff offices located in leased commercial space: see Non-University Owned Buildings below.

Chargeable Requests (Customer Funded Requests)

Chargeable Requests are those maintenance and repair requests that are beyond routine maintenance and are paid for by the Customer (the requesting department.) Examples of such requests include:

• repairing furniture and equipment (for example, lab equipment);
• hanging a hot file, or bulletin board;
• ordering keys for new faculty or staff members;
• painting;
• setting up for a special event; or,
• having a tradesman such as an electrician on site for support during an event. 

Chargeable Requests also Include

• Alterations which are often referred to as remodeling. An Alteration is the addition to or modification of an existing structure or office space. For more information on Alterations, click here.
• Non-building-related requests such as memorial plaques. Please click here for more information on Plaques.
• Customer requested office moves. For more information on Moves, click here.
  

Permits

Certain types of work require GW Facilities to obtain a Permit from the District of Columbia. Staff and Faculty are required to notify Facilities of all work planned in any University building. Failure to comply will result in the responsible department paying any fines levied by the District. 

Required lead times for Permits from the District can be as long as several months so advance planning and notification to Facilities is crucial.

Requesting and Paying for Chargeable / Customer Funded Request

Chargeable Requests are Customer Funded Requests and the requesting Department must provide their Oracle Alias when requesting services.  Chargeable Requests cannot be submitted online via FIXit (unless you have applied to be a FIXit Power User; for more information on being a Power User click here).  The requestor is required to complete a Chargeable Request Form.

The Chargeable Request Form can be filled out online (but not saved) and then printed or can be printed and filled out by hand (please print) for faxing.  Click here for the Chargeable Request Form. Fax the completed form to GW Facilities Customer Service at 202-994-0026. For a full discussion of University Chargebacks, see below.

Foggy Bottom Building Having Property Managers

As explained above, the University provides funding to GW Facilities Management for maintaining most University-owned buildings on Main Campus (Foggy Bottom) and therefore there is no charge for Service Requests. The exceptions to this are buildings which have Property Managers who authorize payment for all repairs and maintenance performed by GW Facilities Management.

Foggy Bottom Buildings Having Property Managers 

• Marvin Center and University Club
• Medical Center:  Ross Hall, Himmelfarb Library, Warwick Building, Building K and GW Hospital 6th Floor only (submit requests directly to: Ken Crossen, Property Manager @ mcakac@gwumc.edu).
• Health and Wellness Center
• GW Parking Garages: all parking garages and lots including the parking spaces in academic, administrative, and residence hall buildings. (For a complete list of GW parking garages, click here).

When faculty or staff submits a FIXit request for maintenance in one of these buildings, (except for Medical Center) FIXit will display a message notifying the requestor that the Property Manager must first approve the request before it is submitted to Facilities Management for service. It is important to note that until the Property Manager approves the request, Facilities Management does not receive the request and therefore cannot take action on the request.

When the Property Manager approves or rejects the service request, FIXit will send an email to the requestor that the Property Manager has approved or rejected their service request; if rejected, the Property Manager will provide an explanation for rejecting/not approving the request. If accepted, FIXit forwards the request to Facilities Management; Facilities Management will process the request in the order received.

In Non-University Owned Buildings

Some classrooms and faculty and staff offices are located within leased commercial space locations in DC, MD and Virginia listed below:

• Move: a minor move
• E-cycling pick-up

Additional services which are considered Chargeable Requests are available in these spaces as well:

• Providing a key or fixing a lock for a file cabinet or desk
• Office furniture repair
• Hanging a hot file or picture
• Sign: a new sign

Please Note: Services beyond the selected services listed above are not provided by Facilities Management to faculty and staff occupying these leased spaces due to the specific lease terms which restrict the types of maintenance that can be performed by tenants, as well as related insurance and liability requirements. Typically, the building’s property manager is responsible for maintenance requests; thus requests for maintenance and repairs must be submitted to the building property manager for assistance/service.

Each leased space has a designated GW site contact. Questions concerning maintenance in these leased spaces should be directed to the appropriate GW site contact or to the Office of Real Estate at
202-994-1700.
 

University Chargebacks

The Interdepartmental Charges Policy authorizes departments to seek reimbursement for costs incurred when providing service to another department.

Facilities Interdepartmental Chargebacks Overview

The Facilities Management Department’s primary mission is maintenance and operation of University property. Departments are NOT charged for routine maintenance performed in residence halls, administrative or academic buildings. Maintenance of those facilities is centrally funded.

• The Facilities Department does seek reimbursement for certain services provided to University departments in accordance with the University’s Interdepartmental Charges Policy. Work that is considered an alteration or “non-standard” maintenance will be charged to the requesting department’s budget.  All work completed within buildings having Property Managers is considered reimbursable, regardless of whether it is routine maintenance or an alteration. 

Calculation of Chargebacks

The Interdepartmental Charges policy authorizes departments to seek reimbursement for ACTUAL costs plus overhead for the provision of service to another department. Facilities charges for the direct labor, material and contract costs incurred in fulfilling such work requests and do not charge for overhead related costs.

Interdepartmental Chargeback Calculation Methodology Summary 

The Facilities Department uses a Job Cost Accounting System to process service requests and charge for services provided to our customers. Facilities staff is expected to enter labor and material costs no later than 5 business days after costs are incurred. Contract costs are expected to be entered within 30 days of receipt of the vendor’s invoice. When the vendor doesn’t invoice the Facilities Department in a timely fashion, the timeframe between the completion of work and entering the charge to the customer may be longer than indicated above.

Facilities will not bill costs until the shop assigned to the work indicates that the work has been completed. Once the costs are entered into the Job Cost Accounting System, it will transmit the charge to the University’s Enterprise Accounting System (EAS) at the next semi-monthly billing run. The EAS billing calendar can viewed at http://eas.gwu.edu/home/gwufin/home.html 

The Facilities Management Department places great emphasis on timely entry of costs and their subsequent billing. It has implemented procedures and tools to monitor for service requests not completed within a reasonable timeframe. Generally speaking, departments should expect that charges will appear on their budget summary reports 5 to 45 business days after the cost is incurred.

Accuracy of Chargebacks

Facilities Management has implemented charge code filters to ensure that service requests are charged to the correct department.  These filters have resulted in a high rate of accuracy for interdepartmental charges. However, if a charge appears to be allocated incorrectly, please contact the person listed in the Chargeback Methodology Summary table above for assistance. Facilities will promptly research and correct any inaccurate charges.

Additional Information on Specific Types of Requests

Carpeting

Carpeting is replaced at no charge when the carpet is worn and no longer serviceable.  If staff and/or faculty request carpet replacement before it needs to be replaced, it is considered a chargeable request. Similarly, if carpet cleaning is requested before it is scheduled, it is a chargeable request. For questions about schedules, contact Facilities General Services at 202-994-6706.

Floors: Cleaning and Polishing:

Facilities Management maintains schedules for routine vacuuming, cleaning and polishing of floors. If staff and/or faculty request service before it is scheduled, it is considered a Chargeable Request. For questions about schedules, contact Facilities General Services at 202- 994-6410.

Keys and Locks:

Building and office keys: The University Key Control Policy governs who may request keys for access to offices and buildings. Key requests are considered chargeable requests.

File Cabinet, Desk and Display Case Keys: New or replacement keys and/or  lock repairs for  office furniture are not subject to the University Key Policy but are chargeable requests.

Keypads for Room Access:

Departments may request the installation of key code pads to control access into departmental space(s). Access privileges to these spaces are controlled by the requesting Department; requests to have access must be addressed to the Department who is responsible for control of that space.

Painting:

Offices and building common areas are painted on a revolving cycle. If staff and/or faculty request painting of their offices or other space out-of-cycle, it is a chargeable request. Specific paint color requests may incur an additional charge.

Trash Removal and E-Cycling:

Trash is removed from offices on a daily basis five days a week as part of general housekeeping. Trash pickups from building waste and recycling bins are performed on a routine schedule.  Pick-up of Bulk trash items should be requested via FIXit and is considered a non-chargeable request. This is also true for e-cycling of PCs and other electronic items. Please to be sure to specify the item(s) and quantities that are to be picked up within your FIXit request. 
 

Alterations and Remodeling:

Alterations can be as simple as hanging a hot file or as complex as multi-phase remodeling projects.

Examples of Alterations include:

• changing location of a door
• cutting new keys for a new staff or faculty member (subject to the University Key Policy).
• constructing a half-wall
• assembling office furniture
• hanging a picture, hot file or bulletin board
• painting an office out-of-cycle (before it is scheduled for repainting) or an out of inventory paint color
• setting up for a special event

For both simple and complex Alterations Requests, the requestor must first submit a Chargeable Request form with all known details of the work being requested. If the work is complex and/or requires multi-phases, Facilities Management will contact the requestor to obtain additional information and discuss the project scope and timeline as required.

Historic Preservation Plan

Any alterations to the exterior of any designated landmark buildings within the Foggy Bottom Historic District will be subject to the Historic Preservation Maintenance Guidelines and review/approval by the DC Historic Preservation Office prior to alterations being made.

The development of a comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan is a fundamental component of the Foggy Bottom Campus Plan: 2006-2025. Its purpose is to help ensure that the appropriate campus resources are identified, preserved, and maintained while accommodating the University’s academic and housing space needs.  The Historic Preservation Plan proposes the landmark designation of select campus buildings as well as the creation of a Historic District.