Campuswide electrical testing Aug. 12-13 at the University of Oregon in Eugene is an important and necessary event by the Utilities and Energy staff for testing systems and planning for emergency preparedness.
If all tests go smoothly between the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., you won’t even notice. But if there is a power glitch, you could experience a ten-second outage. If that happens, go with the flow and embrace the analog adventure.
First, some facts about electrical testing:
- UO can operate independently of EWEB’s power system.
- Your cell phone can still make calls.
- Wi-Fi is affected by power outages, even though it’s wireless.
- If your job and supervisor allow, you may work remotely.
- Take the stairs if possible. Elevators may shut down in a power glitch.
- A power outage that lasts 10 seconds could cause a network outage that lasts 10 minutes.
So what to do during these blips? Take advantage of the time to put down your devices and get caught up with analog tasks.
- Meet face-to-face with a coworker and hammer out details on that task you never quite get to. Fair warning: A Zoom or Teams meeting could get disconnected during a network outage.
- Take a walk and explore a part of campus that is not on your regular route.
- Read a few chapters of the hottest professional development book.
- Freshen up your workspace, toss those dried-out pens and take out the recycling.
- Pull out a notepad and set goals for the upcoming academic year.
The electrical testing day webpage lists important information on technology impacts, unaffected buildings, how to report problems and more. Facilities liaisons and principal investigators have been receiving updates for the past several weeks. A previous Workplace story explains why the testing is necessary.
—Jennifer Archer, University Communications