[CAUT] What to do???

[Crane, Alan]

Hi Paul,

Welcome to the club!  Its that season here in Wichita too...
My shop in the music building is at 22% RH and 73 degrees F... 35 degrees & falling outside... no heat on at all (steam lines run right under my floor!).

Its not too surprising to hear the response to your scatter-gun approach to the problem (ask me how I know... :(
The best thing I can do for my administrator is to make him/her look good and make their job easy (and, in a very real sense, that's part of my job since it pays such huge dividends in every area of my work here).
I would take issue, however, with the assertion that one has to "go through the channels of authority to get anything done in "such a large university."
That's an approach to take if you want people to do something because of who *you* are... and its notoriously inefficient and unreliable.
A better strategy might well be to make friends with the people  (plural) who actually control the humidity levels in the building(s)... take an interest in what they do and let them know how important they are to you and the work you do.  This takes time and sincerity but can be well worth it in the long run.
You may find out that they're doing the best they can for you already (they may even be bending over backwards to try to help... you never know).
You may find that they know a thing or two about how best to address the situation given the less-than-ideal state of equipment and buildings.
They may be as frustrated in their area of expertise as you are in yours.
Its often much (!) easier to get people to do things because of who *they* are (to you) than because of who you (or the people you know) are.

The other side of this coin is that its probably not in your job description to control and maintain the relative humidity in the building(s).
You can indeed just do the best you can with what the university gives you, especially given the apparently substantial body of evidence that you've tried to address the situation and have presented its pros & cons to your administrator(s).

Your question, "How come Richard was able to just get the steam turned on?" is a good one.  If I were you, I'd ask him.

Best of luck with this, Paul.
Let us know what ends up working for you (I'd like to try it here at WSU!).   :)

Regards,

Alan B. Crane, RPT
School of Music
Wichita State University
alan.crane at wichita.edu



From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Paul T Williams
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 4:52 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: [CAUT] What to do???


Hi all!

I always appreciate your input.  Here's a new twist...

Our building is currently dangerously dry...
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