P1 Completes Quick-Turn Touchless Fixture Project for KU

Recently, CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) funding has made its way to many organizations, including the University of Kansas (KU). When the University received the funding, one of the projects they decided upon was replacing faucets and flush valves with touchless fixtures in public spaces.

P1 Group was awarded a portion of the installs, which had to be done across the campus in just two weeks.

Project Manager Todd Mihalchik says it was a tall order, so P1 Group put a team of 15 techs and field associates on the job.

P1 installed 636 flush valves in 409 lavatories across 15 campus buildings.

“Fortunately, we have excellent knowledge of the campus due to our long-standing relationship with KU,” Todd said.

Todd says the project was very challenging, but due to the help and direction from KU and the professionalism of the P1 team, it went smoothly.

“This was not only a high-profile project for KU, it was also a very short time frame to do a lot of work,” Todd said.

And of course, COVID restrictions didn’t make things easier.

“Moving materials and manpower to different buildings every day under COVID rules was challenging, but we had a well-executed plan,” Todd said.

Todd says that plan included walking through all 15 buildings in advance to ensure understanding of each facility, as well as planning out how many men could be in which buildings and when.

In addition to the flush valves censors, the team retrofitted approximately 36 actual flush valves, and installed gateway endpoints for all 409 lavatory faucets. The gateways are a cost-saving measure that prevent the faucets from staying on if an object were to block or sit in front of the sensor.

At the end of the day, Todd says the project went great, and P1 Group helped KU take an important step toward even greater levels of safety for students and visitors of the campus.

Project Team

Todd Mihalchik, Project Manager/Estimator
Mike Mihalchik, Estimator
Wayne Foster, Foreman
Shawn Lightfoot, Lead Service Plumber
Justin McKinley, Apprentice
Josh Huff, Journeyman
Tristano Carmack, Apprentice
Christopher Yates, Journeyman
Kent Wingert, PL/PF Foreman
Elijah McCray, Journeyman
Dennis Madere, Journeyman
Bob Patterson, PL/PF Foreman
Paul Darnell, Apprentice
Darrick Hoffer, Service Technician
Steve Nicolay, Journeyman
Vern Brooks, Journeyman
Travis Hower, Apprentice