Douglas Diaz dreamed of one day becoming a chef in a Las Vegas casino. Somewhere along the way, though, his career path turned to facilities. Now as director of facility optimization for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, he is applying his skill for finding the right mix of resources to improving the performance of his facilities.
When you graduated from high school or college, what career did you plan to go into?
Douglas Diaz: My ultimate goal was to become a chef at a prestigious Las Vegas strip casino, which might seem ironic given my background. However, cooking has always been my passion, and I constantly experiment with new recipes and techniques in my kitchen. Just as I do at work, I am always looking and testing how I can find the most efficient way to complete tasks while optimizing the most favorable outcome for the customer, company, or organization.
What was your first facilities-related job?
Diaz: During high school, I worked summers as a janitor cleaning and maintaining floors in shopping centers and grocery stores. I never thought that job would lead me to my current role as a leader of the maintenance department for the nation's fifth-largest school district and in the same K-12 district where I attended.
What has surprised you about facility management?
Diaz: What has surprised me about facility management is the ever-evolving changes. Every day is different. We must grow and learn to change to match the daily demands. Stay up to date with facilities management best practices. We must be prepared to learn every day. Most importantly, always consult with your counterparts.
One of the significant strengths a facility manager will need to be successful is being a problem solver. I feel I have the ability to see a situation from various perspectives. I believe my communication skills are top-notch. I am just as comfortable presenting to senior executives and board members as I am mediating an issue between junior team members. Facility management requires constant adaptation to daily demands and staying up to date with best practices. Effective communication and problem-solving skills are essential for success.
What has been your proudest achievement in facilities management?
Diaz: I have achieved several accomplishments as a facility manager, but choosing just one is difficult. One of my proudest achievements is ensuring that all 367 schools' HVAC systems function correctly, meeting the start of the school year deadlines, and creating a conducive learning environment for students. Another is being part of a federal incident emergency management team that combated a 30,000-acre forest fire and provided a command center and housing for 1,100 personnel at a high school. Lastly, I am working with a team to reduce the district's water consumption by converting grass to synthetic turf at 50-plus high schools and converting evaporative cooling to air-cooled chillers, saving approximately 400 million gallons of water per year from the Colorado River system. It means a lot to be part of something that directly impacts the students, staff members and community at large.
What insights can you share with someone starting out in facilities management?
Diaz: The responsibilities of a facility manager evolve to encompass maintaining building operations, ensuring safety and security, managing costs and fostering relationships with vendors and staff. Additionally, emerging trends include creating personalized employee experiences and forming strategic partnerships. The position also involves incorporating sustainability efforts and working with capital improvement teams.
Be open to new approaches and strategies, learn from everyone, and take the best attributes from those you work with and your junior. Along with learning from those, you should inspire and be a mentor to your team by teaching them what you have learned throughout your career. Treat everyone with respect, and be transparent.
With the shortfall of finding tradesmen and women to work for companies or organizations, we seek vendors to fill those gaps. It is just as vital that we build connections and partner with them for the long haul. This means establishing relationships around a shared mission and nurturing those relationships with open and honest communication. These partnerships increase vendor trust and translate into more and better response time.
Other important facility management idealizations that to focus on are:
I have always been motivated by the challenge of finishing projects on time as I help the organization achieve our FOCUS 2024 goals. I want to be successful in my job for my personal satisfaction and for my employer and our customers of 310,000 students and the 42,000 faculty serving our incredible Clark County, Nevada, community.
