The Utilities Management plan establishes guidelines for maintaining a functional and safe environment for faculty, staff, patients, students, and visitors.

This is accomplished with a comprehensive program of identifying, monitoring, and maintaining key components of the many utility systems in the facility in a manner designed to reduce or eliminate failures in a proactive fashion. The objective of the Utility Management Plan is designed to provide a safe patient care and treatment environment by managing the risks associated with safe operation and the functional reliability of the facilities' system.

In accordance with the purpose and objectives of this plan, UTMB Property Services provides for utility systems that are designed and installed to meet operational needs whether this is for a hospital, research, academic, or institutional support facility.

UTMB Property Services maintains a complete inventory of all utility equipment. Inclusion of equipment in the utility systems management program is based on risk criteria that include the component's impact on life support, infection control, environmental support, equipment support, and communication.

Utility components included in the program based on this risk assessment will be listed in the inventory, which is divided into life support, infection control support, and non-life support components for the purpose of calculation of maintenance completion rates. Property Services defines "High Risk", "Infection Control" and "Non-High Risk" equipment in its written inventory.

The Utilities Management Plan categorizes equipment as High Risk and Non-High Risk. High Risk equipment shall include equipment that meets the following criteria and shall be referred to as type "A" equipment. Equipment Non-High Risk will be referred to as type "B" equipment. UTMB adopted to apply the rigorous healthcare requirements set forth by The Joint Commission to all facilities at UTMB regardless of being a hospital, research, academic, or business entity.

Definition of High Risk Type "A" equipment: critical equipment that supports life and/or the prevention or passage of pathogens through water or air to patients in the healthcare facilities. Type "C" equipment meets the same definition, but for non-healthcare facilities.

Definition of Non-High Risk Type "B" equipment: the remaining equipment in our inventory that is not High Risk. Type "D" equipment meets the same definition, but for non-healthcare facilities.

All Types "A", "B", "C", and "D" equipment must have a completion rate of 100% and be completed on time 100% per the requirements of The Joint Commission.

Property Services has the following expected turnaround times on repairs and service requests.

• STAT - Response to situations that are life threatening or could pose significant financial damage to the institution and/or equipment where time compounds the impact directly. Response time to the impacted area is less than 30 minutes, with repairs completed as soon as possible.
• URGENT- Repairs to equipment and systems that are impacting our customer's ability to provide their service or maintain operations. Most repairs are completed within 48 hours.
• ROUTINE - Repairs to equipment and systems that does not impact our customer's ability to provide their service or maintain operations. Most repairs are completed within 2 weeks.
• PROJECT - Major repairs that require per-planning and scheduling to minimize interruption to our customer. Most repairs are completed within 4 weeks.

Defined as the maximum wait time prior to a technician making a site visit or communicating with the service requestor. Property Services has the following expected response times on repairs and service requests.

• STAT - less than 30 minutes with on-campus emergencies and 60 minutes with off-campus emergencies
• URGENT - less than 8 hours
• ROUTINE - less than 72 hours
• PROJECT - less than 2 weeks

Property Services uses a computerized maintenance management system Maximo by IBM to manage all preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance and service requests. Figure 1 below shows the distribution of all preventive, predictive, and correct maintenance across all four UTMB campuses.

UTMB Property Services is committed to advancing operational excellence through continuous staff development and cross-departmental collaboration.

Staff Training & Regulatory Readiness
We are enhancing our training programs to ensure every team member possesses the knowledge and confidence to respond effectively to facility issues while maintaining compliance with Joint Commission, NFPA, CDC, and other regulatory requirements. This focus on proactive education equips staff to anticipate challenges, minimize risk, and deliver consistent, high-quality support for all UTMB missions.

Collaboration & Resilience
To strengthen organizational resilience, we are expanding collaboration with other Business Operations and Facilities (BOF) departments. By integrating expertise, standardizing practices, and aligning resources, we build a unified framework that improves response times, prevents disruptions, and supports the highest standards of patient care, research, and academic excellence.

Through these initiatives, UTMB Property Services will foster a culture of preparedness, accountability, and teamwork—ensuring reliable facility operations that empower UTMB’s mission now and into the future.