Ensuring the safety of building occupants – especially students at a K-12 school district – is the first and foremost top priority of facility managers regardless of the kind of building.
Sometimes those decisions aren’t popular with occupants, but the best FMs have to block out the distractions and do what’s best for the people they’re paid to keep safe. Kristian Byk learned this the hard way as the director of operations at Watchung Hills Regional High School in New Jersey.
“Probably one of my biggest challenges is making sure I am responsible to the community that has all different needs and wants,” says Byk, a 2023 Facility Champion. “For instance, when we had a safety issue with lighting on our turf field, I made the unpopular call to not allow the football team to use the lights, which required games to be moved to afternoons.
“However, despite bad press in the local papers, and pushback from the coaches and parents, I stuck to my decision for the safety of the students, fans and staff. It wasn’t politically popular, but I would rather err on the side of caution.”
Byk came to Watchung Hills as a groundskeeper 22 years ago and was promoted to his current position six years ago. He found his way to the facilities world after operating a landscaping, construction and excavation business as well as a car and motorcycle restoration and detail shop. Watchung High School’s grounds include a 400,000 square foot building and the property covers 96 acres, of which 33 acres are maintainable. Through his position with the school and his past work experience, Byk has learned that things don’t always go as planned, and an even-keeled personality works best to thrive in facilities.
“There are things that are out of my control, no matter how much maintenance or new projects we try to do to ensure that everything works exactly as it should be,” he says. “However, I want teachers, staff and students to know that I am accessible, and my first priority is to them. One of my sayings is, ‘I can’t fix it unless I know it is broken.’ It’s not a bother to me if something is wrong, that is what I am here for, to make sure it gets corrected.”
Communication is vital to the success of any facility manager, and Byk prides himself on keeping everyone involved with a project up to date and aware of what is happening. Instead of encouraging staff and students to text and email him with their concerns and suggestions, Byk makes it a habit of walking his building daily to give his position a public face.
“I have made it a priority to increase communication throughout the school,” he says. “This includes not only the chain of command, but getting everyone who needs to be involved to be informed. For instance, when something is going on at the school, I make sure all of the people I over see in my maintenance and grounds department are aware of what is happening. This way, everyone not only is made privy to what needs to be done and what is going on but takes and feels ownership.”
Dave Lubach is the executive editor of the facility market.
