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Office of Facilities Planning
Newsletter Update #13 – March 2001

If you would like to have this Update sent directly to you by e-mail,
please send your e-mail address to Joe Levy at jlevy@mail.nysed.gov

Please continue to send in your comments and requests. Our purpose is to provide information, which will help all Consultants and Facilities Planning provide a quick concise review of all projects. This will help the schools get their construction projects out to bid in a timely manner.

Electrically Operated Folding Partition Advisory:

Specific signage for folding partitions must be posted at all electric operating stations. The school must also have a procedure that will assure training of all persons that use electrically operated partitions. Signage must be included in bid packages that include folding partitions submitted to the Office of Facilities Planning for review.

Please advise all educational institutions that you deal with in New York State of Education Law 409-f. The law covers all levels of public and private institutions including colleges and universities. The following field memo is being distributed by the Office of Facilities Planning:

In January 2001, a 12 year old boy was fatally crushed by an electrically operated folding gym partition. In March of 1991, a 9 year old girl was fatally injured in the same manner.

Education Law 409-f, effective June 23, 1992, requires every "public or private school or educational institution within the state, wherein classrooms or other facilities used by students are found to have electrically operated partitions, doors or room dividers, shall arrange for, and require, …" signage be posted, and training of persons that operate these doors.

To assist schools in meeting these legal requirements:

The following suggested or similar wording for this notice must be posted at every control station:

 

CAUTION

ELECTRICALLY-POWERED PARTITION

 

Only Appropriately Trained Staff may operate this partition.

Control stations must be attended by staff members while the partition is in motion.

Staff members must stand on opposite sides of the opening or closing partition.

Students must stay away from the partition when in motion.

 

Training should cover, at a minimum, the following topics:

Similar signage and training is appropriate for the operation of curtain dividers in gym spaces or any other mechanically operated devices, such as bleachers, that individuals may come in contact with.

If you need any further information please contact the Office of Facilities Planning at (518) 474-3906.


Get to Know Us Better
:

Please meet Terry Cranfield, another valued member of our support staff. Terry has worked for this office for almost 12 years and there is a very good chance that when you call our office, she will answer the phone. In addition to that extremely important task, Terry also processes final approvals, change orders, addenda, Form A's, does some filing, and opens the mail.

One of our architects, Bob Lavery, once described Terry as "the spirit of our office." She's our "social director" and loves to organize office parties and other functions that involve the whole staff. She has a fantastic sense of humor and her laughter is contagious. We depend on Terry to help us chill out when the office workload starts to burn us up.

Terry has a lovely grown daughter, Michelle, and an adorable little granddaughter named Zoe. Terry's motto for life is, "Live, Love, Laugh."


Final Submissions--Specifications
:

Please note that the specifications for all projects should be properly bound and not submitted in three hole binders or sent in loose with just a rubber-band around them. It is very difficult and inconvenient to review specs when not properly bound. In fact, we will dispose of any specifications received from this point on that are not appropriately bound and ask for a new submittal.

In addition, the project managers and the support staff person who is helping us check in projects (i.e., Barbara Castracani) are losing a lot of time looking for the wage rates, non-collusive certification and equivalency clause in the specifications. This is a reminder that those items must be paper-clipped by the sender. If 155.5 items are not in the table of contents of the specification, paper-clip them also.
 

We are happy to hear from you. If you have a subject you would like addressed, feedback on the material you read, input or general comments please send them to Joe Levy at jlevy@mail.nysed.gov.

We plan to address any subject which will help the schools and consultants quickly and efficiently receive their project approvals.