Air Conditioning Equipment Operator

at  US Veterans Health Administration

QUALIFICATIONS

SPANISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: As this is a bilingual position, this position requires that you are proficient in reading, speaking and comprehending Spanish in order to meet the requirements of this position. Note: Applicants will be required to complete a portion of their interview in Spanish to verify fluency.
PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORKING CONDITIONS: The Air Conditioning Equipment Operator must be able to support prolonged periods of time alone and in closed control room. He/she must be in good physical condition since work involves walking, climbing, bending and working in cramped spaces, and occasionally lifting objects weighing up to 50 pounds. The incumbent must be able to walk throughout the entire VACHS campus, machinery rooms, roof tops, and tank tops, climb tall ladders, work in hot and loud environments.
The Air Conditioning Equipment Operator and Office works rotating shifts, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven days a week. He/she must know how to read and write English in order to understand Manuals of instructions and to make reports. Some plant and cooling tower surrounding areas has variations of extreme heated and cold temperatures; and high noises, which requires personal protective equipment. Possibility exposed to burns when working on and around steam and hot water equipment. He/she must know how to read blueprints, drawings and schematics. The Facility Operations Control Center is operated twenty-four (24) hours a day, (seven (7) days a week in three (3) eight (8) hours shifts (rotating shifts).
Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications. For this position, the job element method is used to match what you, the applicant, can do against what the work calls for. Your knowledge, skills and abilities will be compared to the knowledge, skills and abilities (called job elements) needed for success. Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element (WG-2 and higher only; screen-outs are not applicable to WG-1). Applicants who appear to meet the screen out element are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated from consideration. The potential eligibles are rated against the remainder of the job elements. While a specific length of training and experience is not required, your responses to the questionnaire must be supported by detailed descriptions of your experience on your resume.

You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Dexterity and Safety
• Inspect
• Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading)
• Troubleshooting

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.
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; religious; 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.

EDUCATION

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans’ Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran’s preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

• Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

• Required Documents

As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you’re a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you’re eligible under their policies.

DUTIES

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

Operations and Monitoring of Utility Systems:

• Works different shifts, to maintain the twenty-four (24) hour, seven (7) day a week shift.
• Mans the plant and being in control of all operations, air conditioning, refrigeration, heating, ventilation, fire protection, and all other functions that are integrated and controlled through the complex computer.
• Monitors potable water pressure set points and water level of the tanks continuously and check the supply of water from the city to the underground water system.
• Operates air-conditioning systems in the FOCC, including regulating chill room and dedicated climate areas.
• Starts, operates, stops and adjusts air handling equipment and centrifugal compressors to maintain the appropriate temperatures, humidity, and to detect and diagnose malfunctions.
• Orders the bulk liquid oxygen, be present when tanks are replenished, and keep log of each service. Makes sure that the area containing the tanks always be closed-off and more importantly, that the tank pressure does not exceed more than 230 PSI.

Inspection of Utility Systems:

• Assists in the routine inspections of the chillers, pumps, exhaust fans, supply fans, air handling units, etc. to ensure that the equipment is physically capable of performing its assigned function.
• Ensures that buildings and areas are in proper working condition and also respond immediately in any case of any alarm and should promptly inform the Safety Office or Police Service of any abnormal findings.

Examining and Troubleshooting of Utility Systems:

• Attends all service calls from the Medical Center during weekends, nights, and holidays.
• Repairs air conditioning, refrigeration, heating, ventilation, fire protection, and other equipment and functions controlled by a computer system.
• Monitors, troubleshoots, and resets the systems through the computer system.
• Makes repairs on the different systems when assigned plumbers, electricians, or other specialized personnel are absent or unavailable.
• Gives preventive rounds, each shift, to ensure that the critical equipment is in total functionality and if not, take the pertinent steps to correct the problem.

Maintain Engineering Log/Reports:

• Prepares and maintains complete daily logs of all control instrument readings as of his/her shift.
• Maintains the exact temperature in the operating rooms, intensive care units, main computer room and isolation room.
• Sends daily reports to the interested/pertinent parties about specific hospital areas and data such as: temperature (OR Group, Infection Control Group and Laboratory and Pathology Group), relative humidity, oxygen supply, water supply, and cardio lab.
• Maintains a logbook where every contractor, before starting their work, must sign in and later out.

Work Schedule: Rotating Monday - Sunday; 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, 4:00 pm to 12:00am, 12:00am to 8:00am. Day off continually changes, Weekends & Holidays.
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcrip

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcrip