At 03:19 PM 12/15/95 -0700, you wrote: >>I need some help in how to present to the director of the physical plant at >>the college where I work (Colby College in Waterville, ME) the need for >>consistency in temp. and humidity in the music building. The music faculty >>seems to understand this. Their primary concern is a S&S D in the >>auditorium. Apparently the heat is lowered to 50 or 55 degrees at night, >>making my tuning efforts as permanent as ice sculpture in Death Valley. (I= >'m >>told that the piano students wear coats and gloves while waiting to play in >>their rep. classes.) >> >>The tricky part of this is the phys. plant wants to save heating $$$, and t= >he >>music dept. wants the climate controlled, but doesn't want the expense to b= >e >>added to the music dept budget. The piano teacher requested that I write t= >o >>the physical plant director in my capacity as piano technician for the >>school. >> >>I am interested to know how you CAUT's have dealt with this issue. The >>bottom line, no doubt is money. The college can pay to have the heat kept >>up, or have the instruments serviced more often, but which budget will it >>come from? I don't expect the plant director to know much (or care to kno= >w) >>about pianos, so I don't want to be too verbose, but I want to make a stron= >g >>(and convincing) point. If the pianos fall apart, the music dept. will hav= >e >>to pay to have them fixed. Can anyone suggest how to convince the >>maintenance dept. that _they_ have an interest in preventing such damage? >> >>(I'm also trying to get the music school to have Dampp-Chasers installed) >> >>Gordon Large, RPT >>Maine > >Gordon, > >I've found 2 things effective. 1. Find the person responsible for turning >the screwdriver to have your problem fixed. It is prudent to go up the >chain-of-command, but in the end it's the attitude of the people doing the >greasing and fixing that make things happen. And, when you find them, make >friends with them - particularly this time of year. A bottle of favored >libation makes more humidity than anything. > 2. Collect data and send it up the chain-of-command. I have a >humidity gauge in each heating unit area. We read these gauges every week >and send the numbers off to the physical plant. This gives instant >feedback as to what the conditions are and how their units are operating. >Our heating plant is now bragging about how well they take care of us, >instead of ignoring our plight. > As for operating both heating and humidfying units on computers. >Before our humidifiers were put into use the temps in our classrooms were >averaging 74=BA and 15% RH. After we got the physical plant to turn the >humidity on they found that classrooms were confortable at 68=BA and 40% RH. >Surprise! They were saving money by operating with less heat. > Don't stop at soliciting piano faculty for support. The best >squeakers were faculty from voice, woodwinds, strings,- almost everybody >got on the bandwagon. Musicology and theory were not impressed as the >windows dripped condensation onto their stacks of papers filed on the >floor. So be it. > Let us know how soon the humidity comes on line. > > All, Please let met add my two cents worth.. Joel accurately lays out a comprehensive plan guaranteed to get some positive results. The secret is getting each participant in a given situation to get at least _part_ of what they want. In most cases, the overall improvement will be such that all will be pleased. Years ago I had vitually the same experience re: heat and humidity at a similar institution. Best to all! Horace Greeley Horace Greeley Email: horace@compadept.com CompAdept Corporation Voice: (415) 988-9560 x203 1032 Elwell Court, Suite 240 Fax: (415) 988-9905 Palo Alto, CA 94303-4309 http://www.compadept.com
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