Manager's Career Built on Responding to Change

1/18/2024

Anthony Harvey brought his experience in food service, construction and housing management to facilities maintenance, and the varied background has served him well. As associate director of facilities maintenance with Clemson University, Harvey's career has revolved around his ability to respond to a rapidly changing series of challenges.

Facilities Maintenance Decision: What did you think your career would be when you graduated from college? 

Anthony Harvey: When I graduated from college, I wanted to work in the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. I majored in criminal justice at East Carolina University, and that type of work seemed both interesting and challenging to me. 

FMD: What was your first facilities-related job, and why did you take it? 

Harvey: I worked in the restaurant industry for a little over two years during high school. I continued working in restaurants throughout my time in college and immediately after graduation. Prior to getting involved in facilities after college, I worked in the residential building industry for several years and worked for a flooring company. 

After working with Clemson housing for a couple of years, housing took on oversight of the dining program and facilities. Shortly after that, a position came open for the associate director of dining facility maintenance. I thought that was a good fit for me with my previous construction and food service experience. I had a lot of things to learn but thought the work was very interesting, and there was something new each day. 

FMD: What has surprised you most about facilities management? 

Harvey: The thing that has surprised me the most is how quickly our facilities teams can react to a problem and ultimately resolve it. In many situations, building occupants or stakeholders may not even notice our presence or our work. Even if we need to notify building occupants and stakeholders, our team can normally make the repairs needed while keeping classrooms and residential spaces open. 

One great example occurred a few weeks ago when one of our HVAC team members doing preventive maintenance in a residential building found a motor that was getting close to the end of its life. The motor controlled the heating of water, so a failure would impact the heat in the facility. 

Our team ordered a new motor, and by the next day, the old motor had stopped running. The motor was delivered on the day of the failure, and the team installed it within two hours, thereby negating a difficult situation for the building occupants. 

FMD: What accomplishment in facilities management are you most proud of? 

Harvey: On Christmas Eve 2022, temperatures reached a low of 6 degrees with 30 mph winds. That morning, we had a natural gas curtailment that impacted the heat in our buildings. We then had issues switching over to fuel oil. As a result, we had busted chilled water lines, sprinkler lines and domestic water lines in 32 buildings with damage topping $5 million. 

I had the opportunity to take a project management role for the water remediation and restoration of the facilities. Since the flooding happened over winter break, we were challenged with getting classroom and housing facility spaces back to normal before students returned in January. We were able to bring all of the classrooms back online other than three with the help of our great campus facilities team and campus partners. 

During the initial response on Christmas Eve, we called in team members from several of our shops to help stop the water flow and begin repairs. No one declined to help during the emergency, and I am extremely appreciative that our employees responded during a time of year when the focus is typically on family. 

I was awarded the Thomas Green Clemson Award for Excellence for my efforts with this project. I was very proud to be nominated for the award and am very appreciative of our team members for their hard work. Without everyone working together, the start of the semester could have been delayed, and financial repercussions could have been much more serious. 

FMD: What would you tell someone thinking of entering facilities management? 

Harvey: It’s a very rewarding career where your plan for what you need to do that day may totally change based on a phone call and often does. It is also not an 8-5 job where you leave work and turn off your phone when you get home. To be successful, you have to be willing to respond to emergencies after hours and on weekends and holidays. If you are willing to put in the work, you will be rewarded with a challenging career where it is always fun to see what comes next. 

Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.