Adjusting the temperatures of ultra-low freezers is just one way members of the UMB community are finding operational efficiencies.
Photo: Franck Dumetz from the School of Medicine stands next to a wall of ultra-low temperature freezers.
Forget “Netflix and Chill." The latest thing trending at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is “Net Savings via Less Chill."
Recently, Franck Dumetz, PhD, a research associate at the Institute for Genome Sciences in the School of Medicine, reached out to Dawn Rhodes, DBA, chief business and finance officer and senior vice president, Administration and Finance (A&F), to suggest the ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers at UMB be adjusted from -80 degrees C to -70. It might not sound like a lot. But given that a single ULT freezer uses as much energy as a single-family home, “raising of the thermostat” will actually generate some cool savings.
“There's data that show that DNA and RNA are not being impacted when we store them for a long time at minus 70 and not at minus 80. It's the same for cells. I’m often surprised that nobody knows this, but it’s right there on the NIH website,” Dumetz said.
But the savings don’t end there. There are also indirect savings.
“When we’re running these units at minus 80, they produce a lot of heat in generating that low temperature. As a result, we also need to run the air conditioning in the ULT farm, which contains around 45 individual cooling units. Plus, running these units at minus 70 can extend the life of the units by 50%," he said.
With the state facing a structural budget deficit, everyone from the president of UMB to front line workers are being asked to do their part to help find operational efficiencies. We reached out to a number of leaders within A&F and asked how they and their team are preparing for budgetary belt tightening. Here’s what they had to say:
In Change Management Advisory Services (CMAS), the team is looking for opportunities to partner with other departments to share the cost of subscriptions and memberships for services. CMAS recently partnered with the Office of Sustainability to share a Constant Contact account so they could both utilize the service to produce a professional newsletter. They’ve also started reusing nonconfidential documents for scratch paper while moving to electronic notes to reduce purchases like notepads, pens, ink/lead refills, and copier paper.
In Strategic Sourcing and Acquisition Services (SSAS), the Mail Center was able to eliminate two routes, consolidate morning pickups from the post office, and change the daily shuttle to College Park to an "as needed" shuttle service with a biweekly pickup only for payroll.
SSAS also transitioned to a new shipping software that leverages the U.S. Postal Service commercial package rates as opposed to the standard rack rates previously used. This reduced the annual shipping cost for packages by approximately $5,000. These changes in mail services also enabled the University to reduce the number of hours needed to provide a similar level of service while reducing fuel/vehicle maintenance cost, all of which helped minimize the carbon footprint of the Mail Center, which is an unintended consequence that aligns with our Guiding Principle of sustainability.
In the A&F Office of the Senior Vice President, the team has digitized in-office processes, curbing the need for many office supplies. The team has also embraced virtual travel and training where possible, slashing its travel budget by $7,000 annually. And in a serendipitous act, several members of the A&F team have formed a “grant writing team” to help find new options for funding some programs and needs.
While none of these individual actions will make a huge impact, taken collectively, they will make a significant difference. Because saving the University money and doing things more efficiently is always chill.
We want to hear from you. What are you and your team doing to help make ends meet? Is there something that would help you work more efficiently? Do you have a grand idea for the University? Send your suggestions to us at dan.reed@umaryland.edu.