Big Y Facilities Management

"...Pride, Professionalism and Quality."

Currently, Facilities Management consists of four departments, Maintenance, Store Design and Equipment, Construction, and Energy/Utility. In general, we are responsible for the service and maintenance of all our Big Y locations, shopping centers and Distribution Center. For the construction of new stores and remodels, our function is to supervise the print review and design, request bids and contract negotiation, coordinate the work schedule, and equipment and fixture installation.

Maintenance

The maintenance department is responsible for providing the highest quality of service work in the most cost effective way. We service over 50 locations including distribution centers, a store support center and company owned plazas. Preventive maintenance work is also done to keep the equipment operational. The maintenance department consists of six areas: HVAC/refrigeration, electrical, machine repair, point of sale, general maintenance and support/help desk.

Store Design/Equipment

This department consists of store planning, cabinet shop, merchandising, equipment purchasing, and supply purchasing. The store planning area is responsible for design and layout of new stores and renovations. This includes the creation of the floor plan, departmental blow-ups and other details. The cabinet shop makes most of the fixtures in the stores that are wood and laminate including, end displays, candy factories, and courtesy booths. We also update existing stores with replacement pieces as needed. Merchandisers coordinate the stocking of new stores and the movement and restocking required during renovations and enlargements. The equipment purchasing area is responsible for purchasing all equipment for the completion of a project, tracking the costs, and staying abreast with the latest technology and equipment that comes into the market. The purchasing department handles the purchasing of supplies, packaging, uniforms, and stationary by constantly renegotiating to get the best value.

Construction

The construction department is responsible for overseeing all aspects of new store construction, remodels, and rehab of our stores and company owned properties. The responsibilities include budgeting, tracking the budgets, bidding and contract management, scheduling, and meeting with store managers, merchandisers, and other department heads to coordinate moves on cases and displays. We are also responsible for meeting with town officials to secure permits, etc. The individuals in this department are constantly researching new materials for use in our stores such as, floor tiling and ceiling light fixtures, in order to enhance and improve each store’s appearance.

Energy/Utility

This department is responsible for managing and coordinating all the utilities at our stores and company owned or operated locations. This includes electrical, gas, oil, propane, telephone, water, and sewer. We are also responsible for maintaining and installing burglar and fire alarms, music systems, the telephone infrastructure, and satellite and cable TV where required.

Our responsibilities also include monitoring energy management systems in each store. This system controls the HVAC equipment to maintain a comfortable working environment, store lighting, and case temperatures and refrigeration pressures to insure product integrity.