The Electric Shop

The Saint John’s Electric Shop consists of three (3) full-time personnel – one licensed journeyman electrician (Gerard Huhne); one journeyman-qualified, but unlicensed electrician (Clarence Fowler); and one low-voltage communications technician (Jason Anderson).  The Electric Shop has not grown in personnel during the last decade, which has seen 22% growth in the area to be maintained.  The crew is responsible for maintenance of high voltage switch gear and other devices within the Power Plant, high voltage distribution about the campus, fiber optic installation and terminations, elevators, the telephone and fire alarm systems, KMC digital controls, hundreds of electric motors, and tens of thousands of electrical devices like lighting fixtures, light switches, electrical outlets, voice, data, and video jacks.

Despite the heavy maintenance workload, the electric shop has absorbed the electrical subcontract on a number of major capital projects – the completion of Sexton Commons; the renovation of Ground Mary (the electrical engineering having been done in-house); and the renovations of Luke Hall, Wimmer Hall, First Quad, and, most recently, the Liturgical Press.  When undertaking an electrical subcontract on a major capital project, we normally supplement our crew with student employees from the Saint Cloud Vocational-Technical College – providing Saint John’s with less expensive labor and providing the student employees with valuable experience.

The electricians are a hard-working crew.  They possess the talent and the stamina to “hold their own” on a full-blown construction site.  Their ability to subcontract on capital projects has saved the institution a great deal – and gives the electricians a full understanding of the very systems they will be called upon to maintain.

Beyond the installation of new electrical systems, the electrical crew is experienced at trouble-shooting older, existing systems.  Effective trouble-shooting involves knowledge, which goes beyond basic components – it involves an insight into how the overall system works together as a whole.  Their in-house, first-hand knowledge of our electrical and communications systems is essential to effective problem solving, and contributes to a safer, more reliable environment at a lower cost.

Nearly all of the new voice/data/video wiring on campus which was installed as part of Project Impact was done by our own personnel.  All routing of this campus-wide “nerve system” was captured in an electronic database with CableMaster software – allowing for much faster upgrades and repairs since all punchdowns and terminations are mapped out when a work order is processed.  Our communications technician also performs fiber optic terminations for The College of Saint Benedict.

Due to our involvement in larger capital projects, we have been able to negotiate better pricing and preferred delivery.

All of our electricians are available for call back should an emergency arise, and they are experienced at maintaining older equipment which may need to be retrofitted or re-built because replacement components are no longer available.