June 2006Strategic Execution Plan
DESIGN & ARCHITECTURAL /ENGINEERING (A/E) TECHNICALSUPPORT DEPARTMENT
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Organizational Chart
Richard Luke
Director
Design and A/E Technical Support
Department
Senior Facilities Project Manager
Asset Planning and Tracking
Assistant Director, Design
Standards and Technical
Specifications (Provisional)
Facilities Records
Management
Unit
Special Projects
Unit
Relocatable
Housing
Unit
Design and Architectural/Engineering Technical Support
Design Standards
Unit
Design
Specifications Unit
Senior Facilities Project Manager
Design Management
Architectural and
Engineering (A/E)
Technical Unit
Structural
Engineering Unit
Financial Support
UnitCivil
Engineering Unit
Senior Facilities Project Manager
A/E Technical Support
Design
Management Unit
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Existing Facilitie
s Strategic Execution Plan - June 2006
Mission
The mission of the Design and A/E Technical Support Department is to:
• Develop and maintain Design Standards and Technical Specifications for the Facilities
Services Division for New Construction and Existing Facilities Branches, and to ensure
the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) standards are achieved in
every classroom;
• Stay on the leading edge of design for all school classrooms and facilities in
conformance with all applicable codes and regulations;
• Provide architectural and engineering services including design, Division of State
Architect (DSA) liaison, project review, and design management for specific projects
in support of Existing Facilities Construction and Maintenance and Operations; and
• Maintain the Facilities Services Division’s building data files and drawing archive.
Vision
Our vision is to create optimal teaching and learning environments by applying the Design and A/
E Technical Support Department’s technical expertise to each and every facilities project.
Guiding Principles
The following principles guide the efforts of Design and A/E Technical Support:
• Creativity
• Dependability
• Responsibility
• Professionalism
Design Principles
The following sustainable design, greening, and joint use objectives will be incorporated, to the
extent possible and within the identified scopes and budgets:
Sustainable Design
• Design for the long-term and consider life cycle costs
• Minimize maintenance and focus on improving energy efficiency
• Maximize the use of natural ventilation
• Obtain existing classroom acoustics with reverberation times in the range of 9.4 -0.6
seconds and background noise levels below 45 dBA with the target of obtaining 40
dBA
• Use laminated glass on windows and glass doors that face noisy streets
• Specify affordable, durable, sustainable materials and equipment
• Use reflective or light-colored roofing materials
• Use water-conserving fixtures
Design & Architectural Engineering (A/E)
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Shared Use of Facilities
• Incorporate designs that make schools accessible in the evenings and on weekends
and promote lifelong learning as a community value;
• Design in such a way that the private areas of the school can be secured while the
library, multipurpose room, playgrounds, and sports fields are open to the community
in the evenings and on weekends;
• Use design aesthetics that respect the neighborhood context and are done through
partnerships with local governments, businesses, and community groups;
• Find shared use opportunities and utilize adjacent sites with libraries, auditoriums,
playgrounds, and other multi-purpose facilities.
Diverse Needs
• Design with special needs students in mind and diminish potential hazards with
obstacles to children with disabilities.
Environment
• Maintain a balance between hardscape and usable green space for outdoor play areas
and teaching areas
• Design creative playground surfaces and incorporate different shapes, colors,a n d
designs to add visual interest
• Specify hardy grass to withstand constant use
• Utilize artificial turf when it is cost effective
• Maximize the use of daylight and provide an even level of illumination th roughou t
the classroom
• Provide sound-insulating windows when appropriate
• Specify greater sound insulation inside common walls with back-to-back wallboard
• Utilize the whole classroom environment to maximize display space, tackable
surface, and storage
• Provide storage for backpacks, books, coats, etc.
• Maximize multi-use equipment opportunities and whiteboards that can double as
projection screens
Organization
Design and A/E Technical Support is organized into five synergistic but functionally independent
areas:
• Design Standards and Technical Specifications
• Asset Planning and Tracking
• Centralized Design Management
• A/E Technical Support
• Administrative Support Unit
These five areas are described below and depicted in the organizational chart that follows.
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Design Standards and Technical Specifications This section, managed by the Assistant Director,
Design Standards and Technical Specifications, develops and maintains District design standards
and specifications for the New Construction and Existing Facilities Branches.
The Design Standards and Technical Specifications Section is subdivided into two separate units:
• Design Standards: This unit publishes the official School Design Guide, which contains
general and technical design principles and Educational Specifications, which contain
typical standard space configurations for primary and secondary schools. The unit
also develops and maintains Standard Technical Drawings; oversees the Facilities
Services Division’s Implementation of the criteria for the Collaborative for High
Performance Schools (CHPS); and provides support for the development of School
Programs for the various grade levels and special Facilities programs.
• Guide Specifications: This unit develops and maintains the technical Guide
Construction Specifications and supports internal and external architectural services
to optimize design, construction, and cost savings efforts.
Asset Planning and Tracking This section maintains the archived drawings for all sites in the
District, places and relocates bungalows and portable buildings, and provides financial support
services throughout the department. The Asset Planning and Tracking Section is comprised of
four units:
• Special Projects: Manages particularly complex projects that extend beyond the
typical scope of the Asset Planning and Tracking Section. This unit is responsible for
the Modified Consent Decree Accessibility Program and the Special Education Rapid
Response Program.
• Relocatable Housing: This unit coordinates the placement and installation of single-
story portable buildings District-wide. Single-story portable buildings primarily support
modernization and repair projects requiring student interim housing, e.g.,
modernizations, structural upgrades, and asbestos abatement, as well as the District’s
need for additional classrooms in response to enrollment growth programs. The
Relocatable Housing Unit also manages the placement and installation of other movable
structures, such as equipment storage containers and lunch shelters.
• Facilities Records Management: This unit provides the following three technical
services:
• Plot Plan: Calculates and maintains square footage and area records for all
school facilities and administrative offices throughout the District. The unit also
maintains the spatial data for all facilities in the Asset and W ork Order
Management System (Maximo).
• Plan Vault: Maintains the District’s record drawing archives and provides District
staff and commissioned architects/engineers with copies of as-built drawings
for all existing schools.
• DSA Processing: Submits and retrieves all documents to and from the Division
of State Architect (DSA) for the District.
• Financial Support Unit: This unit processes all invoices and purchase orders,
generates job tickets, maintains operational budgets, and monitors departmental
expenditures.
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Central Design Management This section performs the design management responsibilities
associated with projects being implemented by the Construction Department using Measure K, R
and Y funds. The goal of this centrally managed function is to produce greater consistency in the
application of LAUSD Design Standards throughout the District. The Central Design Management
Section manages the design services of in-house staff and consulting architects and engineers.
The section is responsible for confirming project scope and budgets, establishing and monitoring
design schedules and negotiating design services agreements.
A/E Technical Support This section is comprised of licensed architects and engineers who
provide technical support and quality assurance/quality control for design projects in Existing
Facilities and New Construction Branches.
The A/E Technical Support Section is subdivided into three units:
• A/E: This unit provides architectural, electrical, and mechanical engineering
technical support, including construction administration services as the LAUSD
Architect of Record (AOR). The Supervising Electrical Engineer is the District’s
Electrical Engineer of Record and the Supervising Mechanical Engineer is the District’s
Mechanical Engineer of Record.
• Structural Engineering: This unit provides structural engineering support
services for Maintenance and Operations, Existing Facilities Construction, and
New Construction projects. Staff in the unit analyze and provide repair
recommendations for structural failures and other emergencies throughout the District.
This unit also provides Geotechnical Engineering and Testing Laboratories technical
support through professional services contracts. The Supervising Structural Engineer
in this unit serves as the District’s Structural Engineer of Record.
• Civil Engineering: This unit provides civil engineering, landscape architecture and
land surveying technical support services for Maintenance and Operations, Existing
Facilities Construction and New Construction projects. Staff in the unit is responsible
for defining and updating the District’s civil engineering design standards and
specifications. The Civil Engineering Unit also prepares the emergency evacuation
maps for all District sites.
Administrative Support Unit - This unit is responsible for coordinating all administrative and
clerical functions of Design and A/E Technical Support, implementing District and departmental
policies, and managing all personnel activities in the department. The Administrative Support
Unit is also responsible for generating project management, task order contract management,
and personnel management reports.
Staffing
Design and A/E Technical Support is comprised of approximately 216 employees.
Program Management and Major Funding Resources
The Existing Facilities Director of Design and A/E Technical Support is the Program Manager for
the District’s Design Standards, Design Specifications, Facilities Records Management, and all
Relocatable Housing units including Enrollment Growth and Class-Size Reduction Programs.
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The Director of Design and A/E Technical Support is responsible for the programming andbudgeting these programs.
The majority of Design and A/E Technical Support staff charge time to Bond and non-Bondprograms on a project-by-project basis.
• Portable, Modular, and Bungalow Classroom Programs
• Enrollment Growth and Class-Size Reduction: Since 1996, the RelocatableHousing Unit (RHU) has placed more than 4,200 portable classrooms as partof the Enrollment Growth and Class-Size Reduction Programs. To date, all ofthe portables have been placed and the RHU is completing the ancillary projects,such as Access Compliance and Fire Alarm upgrades. This work has beenfunded with a combination of BB Bond and Measure R funds.
• Measure K Bond Programs: Utilizing Measure K Bond Programs, the RHU iscurrently working with Facilities Projects and the Local Districts to install newportable buildings for locally determined needs.
• Measure R Bond Program: The RHU will seismically retrofit approximately900 District bungalows, which are 30 to 60 years old. This process will reducethe risk of earthquake damage to existing wood-framed buildings bystrengthening the structure-to-foundation connections. By June 2006, it isestimated that approximately 280 seismic retrofit projects will be completed bythe RHU.
A current list of bungalow, modular and portable classroom projects is included in the ProjectExecution Plans by Local District.
Project Management Responsibilities
Special Education
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section504), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other applicable federal and state lawsmandate that children with disabilities have access to a free and an appropriate education in aleast-restrictive environment. In response to the Special Education requirements proposed bythe Modified Consent Decree (MCD), the District has established the MCD Accessibility and theSpecial Education Rapid Response programs to comply with these special education requirements.
• In May 2003, the MCD Accessibility Program committed the District to expending atleast $67.5 million dollars over a five-year period on accessibility renovations or repairsat existing school sites. This program is monitored by the Special Projects Unit withinthe Asset Planning and Tracking Section.
• The Special Education Rapid Response Program is managed by the Division of SpecialEducation and addresses individual student requests related to accessibility. TheSpecial Projects Unit executes the identified projects utilizing A/E Technical Supportstaff and task order professionals to rapidly provide minor renovations related toprogram accessibility.
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Early Childhood Education
The A/E Technical Support Section provides planning and A/E services for the Early ChildhoodEducation Measure K Modernization Program.
The Relocatable Housing Unit assists the Early Childhood Education Division with the Ready forSchool (RFS) Grant from First 5 LA to place portable buildings at various schools tol house earlyeducation, counseling, and nursing support services staff for school children ages 0-5.
Full-Day K Kindergarten Program
The Relocatable Housing Unit, in collaboration with the New Construction Program for the Full-Day Kindergarten (FDK) Program will be placing portable buildings necessary to effectivelyacoomplish the FDK Program and goal.
The Relocatable Housing Unit is the Project Manager for the procurement and placement of
portable buildings for the FDK Program. By September 2008, it is estimated that approximately
91 portable classrooms will be placed in support of this program.
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