Air Conditioning Equipment Operator

Summary Responsible for the air conditioning and maintenance at the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salem, Virginia which includes making major and minor repairs, modifying programming, performing preventative maintenance, and acting as a first responder to emergency situations and repairs. Must posses an EPA Universal certification. Responsibilities Reads and interprets work orders, specifications, technical literature and blueprints for installations, modifications and trouble shooting in order to determine the best methods to accomplish the work with a minimum of instructions concerning the work methods or materials to be used. Monitors, evaluates, controls, and modifies station energy management system using Siemens “APOGEE” System. Operates, controls, monitors and modifies set points and devices using the “Trane Summit” computer system, to efficiently distribute chilled water throughout the campus and cycle the three 1200 ton centrifugal chillers and associated cooling towers. Takes samples and make corrections to chemical content in three 1200 ton cooling towers to provide continuous treatment for the condenser water system and chilled water closed loop system and maintain daily records of plant operations and properly file records for future use. Maintains, installs, hooks up, troubleshoots, and puts into operation all types of refrigeration, air conditioning equipment along with electric and pneumatic controls for offices, conference rooms, pharmacy, labs, test areas, X-ray rooms, operating rooms, computer rooms, walk-in coolers and chiller plant. Recognizes the cause of faulty equipment and is able to make necessary repairs, modifying and relocating equipment on various special-purpose air conditioning and refrigeration systems that require close tolerance temperatures and humidity. Alters systems to provide specific and critical climate conditions in different locations such as laboratories, operating rooms, nuclear medicine laboratories, pharmacy, computer rooms, ICU and CCU areas, morgue coolers, walk-in boxes, blood banks, clinics, offices, patient wards and chiller plant. Responsible for maintenance and repair of the A/C Equipment in the Plant which hosts many exceptional differences from normal plant configurations to include 4160volt centrifugal compressors, multiple chilled water loops and pump configurations. The Plant consists of 3 ea 1200 ton, 4160 volt Trane centrifugal chillers, Three Two Cell 1200 ton Baltimore Cooling towers, six 75 hp condenser water pumps, six 40 to 150hp Chilled water pumps and Three 125 hp Variable Speed plant Pumps which push the Chilled water out of the Plant to serve 17 Campus buildings with industrial size chilled water systems. Most of the buildings served are greater than 40years in age with the oldest ones built in 1933. The 17 buildings mentioned have two secondary pumps each to circulate the chilled water and many tertiary and zone pumps for each building. These additional pumps total over 63 with varying horse powers from1 /2hp to 30hp. Maintains, installs, troubleshoots, re-designs, modifies, and repairs many different manufacturers types of “DX” systems along with chilled water systems such as low and high velocity air handling units, variable air volume systems, packaged A/C systems, mini split systems, chilled water coils, reheat and preheat type coils, steam, water and infrared humidifiers, compressors, motors, dampers, motor actuators, air diffusers along with pneumatic and electric control systems. Locates, identifies, trouble shoots, and make repairs or modifications to the design of all pumps and peripheral components of the chilled water, hot water and steam piping systems, often with little or no supervision. Knowledge of domestic, commercial and industrial refrigeration, air conditioning and a high degree of understanding of the gas boilers, electrical, plumbing, carpenter and biomedical trades. Experience in operating a centrifugal air conditioning plant, safely and efficiently. Knowledge and skill to apply the principles of water pressures and fluid dynamics to accurately start and stop pumps, chillers and regulate valve positions .Knowledge of operating principles of a High Voltage operating system in order to troubleshoot and repair this area of the plant serving the three electrically driven centrifugal chillers due to the dangerous level of voltages that are being used. Knowledge of the operating principles of steam in order to regularly open, close, and control steam weather vanes which heat buildings by supplying steam to pressure reducing valves serving radiators in the buildings. Knowledge of pneumatic and electric control systems, air balancing in order to modify, alter or substitute components and to react to malfunctioning systems to achieve design. Work Schedule: 7:00pm – 3:30am, Monday – Friday, Must have the flexibility to work outside the normal tour of duty which may include weekends and holidays. Must be able to cover or fill other A/C Operator shifts when necessary. Position Description Title/PD#: Air Conditioning Equipment Operator/PD017960 Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards. SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements: Decision Making Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair Interpret Instructions, Specifications (includes blueprint reading) Operate Safely (Non-Motor Vehicle) Operation of Equipment/Machinery Physical Strength and Agility Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Education Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPMs Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.