Utility Systems Repairer-Operator

Utility Systems Repairer-Operator

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Detroit, Michigan

Salary Range: $37.62 - $43.86 Per Hour

Job Summary: The Utility Systems Repairer-Operator performs work that primarily involves repairing and operating several utility systems in the Detroit Medical Center facility. Such work requires the incumbent to start, stop, and regulate the utilities and their system components for optimum efficiency and to troubleshoot, maintain, and repair them. Preventive maintenance will be accomplished according to predetermined routine guidelines on various mechanical equipment and systems.

Major Duties:

• The Utility Systems Repairer-Operator (USRO) is responsible for the air conditioning and boiler plant operation and maintenance. Must be able to make major and minor repairs, preventative maintenance, and emergency repairs. Operations responsibility includes: Operating and maintaining all the aforementioned items at maximum obtainable efficiency. When on duty alone the USOR is the "operator in charge" and is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the Energy Center. Maintain a constant observation over the controls, gauges, and charts to make the necessary adjustments for proper fuel and air flow to maintain system pressure and proper emission levels. Maintains Fuel oil pumps. Monitor the Siemens Energy Management System, report alarms, and take action as required. Maintains, test, repairs, and operates the Boiler Plant with maximum capacity. Completes steam fitting, plumbing, electrical, painting work, and housekeeping for upkeep of the plant. Inspects and replaces packing on all valves and rebuilds valves as necessary. Make inspections and adjustments to all boiler controls, combustion equipment, water level regulators, steam regulators, oxygen recorder, automatic oxygen trim system, safety devices, instrument, flow meters, feed pumps, gas regulator, and air regulators, etc. to insure safe working conditions and efficiency of plant operation. Test and treat boiler water and condensate return water in order to control corrosion in piping and equipment in accordance with VA regulations, ASCE regulations and ASME Standard. Operates five 850 ton air conditioning chillers, monitoring them to ensure proper and safe operation during the cooling season; making minor repairs to the chillers as well as performing yearly tear down and maintenance. Oversees that all necessary preventive maintenance of the Boiler and Air Conditioning Plant is carried out and tested on schedule. Prepares all boilers for contracted internal and external boiler inspection. S/he tears down, inspects, repairs, and replaces, as necessary, all air conditioning plant equipment and auxiliaries during off season. This shop covers 24 hours, 7 days per week; afternoon, midnight and weekend tours may be necessary to cover the Energy Center Operations. EPA CERTIFICATION: In accordance with 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F, EPA, people working in this type of position must have and maintain proper EPA Certifications for working with refrigerants. You must have these EPA Certification Types I, II and III (or universal certification) in order to meet the requirements of this position. Note: The position is under Classification Consistency Review and is subject to possible down grade at the conclusion of the consistency review. Work Schedule: Tour of duty varies to cover shifts to provide 24/7 coverage of the Energy Center; will start out on days for the first 3 to 6 months before being eligible/required to work other shifts Compressed Work Schedule: May be available per approval from supervisor Position Description Title/PD#: Utility Systems Repairer-Operator/PD09806A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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: Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair, etc. Technical Practices Measuring Equipment Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (including blueprint reading) Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Knowledge of Materials EPA CERTIFICATION: In accordance with 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F, EPA, people working in this type of position must have and maintain proper EPA Certifications for working with refrigerants. You must have these EPA Certification Types I, II and III (or universal certification) in order to meet the requirements of this position. 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. Note: The position is under Classification Consistency Review and is subject to possible down grade at the conclusion of the consistency review. Physical Requirements: Heavy lifting (45+lbs); Heavy carrying (45+lbs); Straight pulling (2+hours); Pulling hand over hand (2+hours); Pushing (2+hours); Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (6+hours); Standing (6+hours); Crawling (1+hours); Kneeling (2+hours); Repeated bending (4+hours); Climbing, legs only (1+hours); Climbing use of legs and arms; Both legs required; Operation of crane, truck, tractor, or motor vehicle; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaegar 1 to 4; Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other; Both eyes required; Depth perception; Ability to distinguish basic colors; Ability to distinguish shades of colors; Hearing (aid permitted) Work may be performed outside and inside; In excessive heat; In excessive cold; Excessive humidity; Excessive dampness or chilling; Dry atmospheric conditions; Excessive noise (intermittent); Constant noise; Dust; Silica, asbestos; etc; Fumes, smoke or gases; Solvents (degreasing agents); Grease and oils; Radiant energy; Electrical energy; Slippery or uneven walking surfaces; Working around machinery with moving parts; Working around moving objects or vehicles; Working on ladders or scaffolding; Working below ground; Working with hands in water; Vibration; working closely with others; Working alone; Protracted or irregular hours of work WORKING CONDITIONS: The work requires exposure to temperature extremes, drafts and to standing, kneeling, or bending while working in dampness and water. The work also requires the incumbent to be exposed to noise, vibration, gases, fumes, dust, grease, and soiling of clothing and skin surfaces. The incumbent will be subject to 24-hour calls and may be required to rotate shifts. Incumbent shall be called upon to perform other miscellaneous functions as needed so as to attain a safe and efficient plant operation as directed by patient care and primary goal of the Medical Center. The employee may be exposed to noise levels exceeding 85dBA for up to eight hours per day. This exposure may adversely affect hearing. The wearing ear protective devices while in the Boiler Plant and Air Condition Plant is mandatory as is participation in the Hearing Conservation Program. The employee must be able to hear while wearing protection at a level to safely perform assigned duties. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/09/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12859537. 1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. 2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-09