Holiday Shutdown Checklist

Assign responsibilities for unoccupied area of your building to an individual or individuals to ensure that it is properly shut down and reasonable precautions are in place to protect the facility, provide reasonable assurances for fire safety, and ensure that it is locked up prior to going home for the holidays. Examples of areas that may be overlooked are:

Classrooms
Conference rooms
Visiting personnel Offices
Kitchen and break areas
Warehouses/Storage areas
Stairwells
External storage areas

Consider the following when you are beginning to close down your areas for the holidays.

Fire Safety

Perform an inspection of your area and clear your spaces of any clutter, papers, and materials that may fuel a fire.
Unplug all holiday decorations from the wall
Unplug all personal space heaters from the wall
Turn off and unplug coffee pots
Extinguish all flames, such as candles
Properly store any highly flammable items in an approved flammable storage locker (ex, aerosols, sprays, thinners, paints, etc)
Remove any flammable chemicals and store them in an approved chemical storage locker
Close all doors before you leave, just in case of a fire gets started, this will help prevent it from spreading

Energy conservation Measures

turn off all lights
turn off all radios
turn off your computer and printer
Reduce the thermostat to 40 degrees F in your areas
Turn off any fans, space heaters, lamps, or other energy consuming devices
Ensure that shop/lab exterior doors are closed and secured.
Check and report any broken windows to Facilities Management (325-2005)

Custodial and Cleanliness

Remove all Holiday food and take it home or place in appropriate garbage dumpsters before the holidays
Make sure all kitchenette areas are free of food, treats, cookies, etc that can spoil
Remove all foods from the refrigerator that may spoil over the closed periods, such as milk products, egg nog, left over foods, etc.
Ensure that all Trash is emptied

Protection of all Facilities

Close all windows and exterior doors
Notify Facilities Management (325-2005) of any storm drain issues, exterior unprotected water pipes, dripping faucets, running toilets, or other plumbing issues, or any other facilities issues that need immediate attention

Faculty Housing

Visit the Faculty Housing Web Site (http://www2.msstate.edu/~pmr1/FH/) and review the Winter Weather Preparation posting
Notify Faculty Housing management (325-1880) if you are going to be out-of-town during the holidays or get a friend or neighbor to look after your unit in the event of very cold or severe weather
Verify that utility room heaters are working and keep set at point indicated on the thermostat
Notify Facilities Management (325-2005) of exterior unprotected water pipes or any crawl space which has not been closed off

Interior Plants

Consider taking home your office plants during the holidays if they are sensitive to cooler temperatures or temperature changes, or require a lot of water

Report any Facilities issues to 325-2005 during normal hours and to the University Police Department after hours at 325-2121.