The Late Show at MU

by Jon Stemmle

hen most people are walking to their cars to go home and cozy up to the dinner table, Jake Moyer is just beginning his day. A custodian in Custodial & Special Services, Moyer is one of more than 100 Campus Facilities employees who makes their living after the sun goes down.

From days to nights

Night employee Nat Grosz, a pipefitter in Maintenance, works on welding a new pipe fixture in the basement of the Dalton Cardiovascular Building in Research park. Grosz is one Maintenance's 31 night employees.

Thirty years ago night employees like Moyer were a rarity. In today's 24-hour society of convenience, however, night employment is one of the fastest growing segments of the business sector. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1997 27.6 percent of all full-time U.S. employees worked rotating, flex or night shifts, up from 15.1 percent in 1991. This increase was reported as "widespread across demographic groups, occupations and industries."

Campus Facilities has been riding at the forefront of this trend for the last 15-plus years, increasing its night staff and creating a rotating shift schedule for employees at the MU power plant.

"Our goal at Campus Facilities is to be completely service oriented," said Alan Warden, assistant vice chancellor for Facilities. "In order to best serve the university and provide around-the-clock service we have added night employees in Maintenance, Custodial & Special Services and at the power plant. We are at the point now where we have staff on duty or on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."

A night in the life

It's been almost four years since Doug Durst came to Campus Facilities as a pipefitter. Durst started on the night crew, a shift with which he was comfortable after years as a rotating-shift employee in an oil refinery.

Although Durst's title in Maintenance has gone from pipefitter to supervisor of skilled trades, he remains on the night shift. Working from the University Avenue Garage, Durst runs the projects crew, which typically takes care of major equipment replacement. The other two night crews are primarily responsible for the day-to-day repairs and preventative maintenance.

All Maintenance night-shift employees work 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. four days a week, with a rotating starting-day of either Monday or Tuesday. This gives employees four-day weekends every other week, helping to compensate for the 10-hour days and to maintain a high retention level.

Durst and Supervisors of Skilled Trades Bob Davidson and Gary Hofstetter arrive on campus before their night crews to check their e-mail and see if there were any problems that need to be handled by the night shift. If there are any questions or emergencies, they call the proper party and get a full assessment. If everything is "normal" the night crews arrive and go about their regular business.

Maintenance Supervisor Doug Durst (far right) talks with Mike Taylor (left) and Randy Conklin about a steam coil replacement project in the basement of the Fine Arts Building. This is one of the many projects done at night when any inconvenience to the campus population is at a minimum.

"Our job at night is to try and access those areas on campus that aren't accessible during the day," said Durst. "We're doing work like fixing a light fixture over a secretary's desk or repairs in a teaching lab that is usually filled with students. Evenings are nice because we can work without disturbing any of the occupants."

"At every shift change managers fill out maintenance-information sheets to let other crews know what major tasks were done during their shifts and what problem areas remain," said Marty Esser, assistant superintendent of Maintenance. "The groups work closely in what we call sister zones. One day and one night crew work together to cover the others areas for emergencies. We also have staff on call over the weekends year round."

Seeing is believing

CF's night crews usually go about their business without incident. At the power plant, day and night tend to merge together as workers deal with boilers and turbines under the glow of artificial light.

For others around campus, however, when the moon rises strange things have been known to happen.

"You see it all at night," said Maintenance's Durst. "A year-and-a-half ago I was working near Walter Williams and saw streakers run through the archway into the Quad.

"We've seen people try and break into vehicles and called the university police, and drunken students passed out on benches after basketball games and parties," he added. "If you keep working nights then sooner or later you'll see everything."

Other night-time employees see their share of pleasant goings-on.

"There are a lot of activities that go on over at Jesse, like the concert series," said Moyer, who has cleaned Jesse Hall for 14 years. "I've seen a lot of the performers in hallways and back room before they go on over the years."

Good night, bad night

Regardless of which night employee you talk to there is always one common topic — sleep.

"Sleep is a tough one," said Durst. "People tend to deprive themselves of sleep during the week. Either they're busy with personal things in the morning or they have a long commute or part-time jobs during the day. Our shifts with the short work week help fix a lot of those problems though."

In addition to sleep deprivation, there are other difficulties unique to night work.

"Communications with customers can be a problem," said Ken Albright, a Maintenance supervisor. "Sometimes we'll go to a job and find nothing wrong. You can't call because nobody's there so you have to leave a note for a clearer explanation. One of the reasons supervisors come in early is to avoid these situations."

Another unique night-time problem concerns the accessibility of parts. "Sometimes we'll be working on a major project and not have a part we need," said Esser. "We're working when parts and supplies are unavailable, so we have to pre-plan as fully as possible. That's one of the reasons we added a maintenance supply storeroom this year."

The hosts of the Late Show

While many opt to leave the night shift at the first chance, others, like Moyer, are night lifers. "Some people prefer days, some prefer nights," said Moyer. "I've done both, but I know that I'm not a morning person anymore."