Photo provided by Houston First.
teeth in facility care, starting as maintenance supervisor at Wortham Center in 1991. He has no qualms about getting down and dirty. “We share with our team our expectations about facility mainte-
nance,” Ariza said. “What seems clean to you may not seem clean to someone else. These bathrooms are the cleanest in the city. I clean mine at home once a week. Here, we do it four times a day, whether there’s a performance or not. there and show them how to clean a bathroom. You don’t just wipe a damp cloth across a counter. You start at the top and work your way to the bottom. And you can’t be afraid to put your hand in the toilet bowl. “People coming here have an ex-
pectation that they’re coming to a nice, clean place. It comes with the ticket price.”
“People coming here have an expectation that they’re coming to a nice, clean place. It comes with the ticket price.”
Ariza has used clever tactics over the years to ensure a clean facility. “I used to hide yellow Post-it notes behind the toilet bowl and other
had an expiration date on them, so if you weren’t doing deep cleaning Ariza requires monthly inspections of Wortham Center and Jones Hall, with his managers inspecting the front of the house for carpet tears, burned-out bulbs, spill stains, and anything else visible to the public. The contractor, TD Industries, is responsible for the nuts and bolts behind the scenes – HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. Ariza said it’s the responsibility of every employee to keep facilities looking top notch. or a stopped-up toilet,” he said. “They don’t have to run a problem up to be their own boss.” He also urged facility managers everywhere to take the pulse of
their patrons. “We survey ours annually and incorporate their suggestions into
the budget,” he said. “We think we know best, but our patrons often disagree. Their feedback has resulted in more lobby seating, better sig- nage and we now open our buildings earlier and keep them open later so patrons can linger.”
Ariza has been instrumental in plotting the course of Jones Hall for
nearly half of its 50 years. This has included negotiating uncharted out the lower-level infrastructure at Jones Hall. Despite the damage, the hall reopened in three months without loss of any performance dates. Another project of note was the replacement, in 2004, of every travertine marble panel that clads the building – 1,021 to be exact.
32 32 Facility Manager Maga neazineaziin Fa acilityManager Magazine aci tyManagernag M gaz n
Pay-as-you-go Promotes Managerial Focus - poration’s foremost bean counter, she might be construed as the one who says “no” to routine maintenance and repairs. And that would be wrong. “We talk about the budget all year long so none of the maintenance needs comes as a surprise,” Bazan said. “It’s not like we talk about it in October during the budget prep period and then don’t talk about it again until the following October. It’s not like that at all.” Houston First receives a long-term maintenance and capital needs projection from each facility and matches it against the corporation’s groundbreaking there. What is un- usual, Bazan said, is Houston First’s pay-as-you-go model. “We don’t issue debt for routine
pay for repairs. We have to be able to operate in a healthy economy as well as during lean times. - brows go up and their eyes get wide when I tell them we’re pay-as-you- go. It’s also a big plus for us with credit agencies, by the way.” Facility managers, like Dave Osterhout and Mario Ariza, are ex- pected to come to the budget table having done their homework. What’s a safety issue that has to be addressed now? What major repair - placed? What is merely a “wish list” enhancement that can wait? “We have a strong team [of managers], and that allows us to talk
freely at budget time,” Bazan said. Diligent maintenance is ingrained in Houston First’s culture. It’s
the responsibility of everyone on the corporate ladder, from custodian It’s a mindset that gives their facilities a perpetual youthful glow. FM
Pete Radowick is the brand manager for Houston First Corporation.
ABOUT HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION Houston as a world-class destination. In 2014, Houston First and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau aligned operations to create a single voice representing the city under the brand Visit Houston. Houston First owns the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, manages the George R. Brown Convention Center, and 10 city-owned properties, and is a driving force in developing the new Avenida Houston entertainment district. Learn more at
HoustonFirst.com and
VisitHouston.com.
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