University of Houston Houston, Texas PUTTING IN THE WORK To save money, Benjamin worked with Fastenal to have the plumbers and technicians on his team handle the installations. He looks back on the “very methodical approach” with a chuckle before describing how they went building by building, floor by floor, restroom by restroom, through the entire campus. “Our plumbing team did an amazing job on this project and knocked it out of the park,” said Benjamin. “Being in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and installing equipment to increase safety while also increasing savings is a win-win situation. We estimate the possible savings as 20 to 35% on paper products.” The new faucets and paper towel dispensers fit the existing spaces. Kemp and Benjamin still talk about paper towel dispensers. But now the topic has shifted from “huge project” to “huge win.” Benjamin admits it’s too early to know the full outcome, but he expects their water consumption will go down thanks to the metered faucets. He pauses before adding that, thanks to the cost savings, the university will be able to reallocate resources to other priorities because they aren’t spending that money on paper towels as much anymore. “By partnering with Fastenal, they brought to the table a less expensive alternative to what we already had,” said Benjamin. “This option not only reduced capital expenses but also will help our maintenance and operation expenses moving forward. To me, this was a really big win for the university in terms of maintaining future operations. MAKING A RUN LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS For Kemp, the search for new paper towel dispensers started before the pandemic even hit. He was dissatisfied with the service being provided by the existing supplier. That company wanted the university to switch away from a brand before it was scheduled to be discontinued. However, the product they suggested as a replacement concerned Kemp. He felt it would be a step backward in quality and it came with a cost hike. To avoid a dramatic increase in cost for the university, Kemp turned to Fastenal. “I engaged Justin, our on-site GM, and asked him to leverage the Fastenal network to find another paper towel and to look at the possibility of going touchless,” Kemp said. “I told him that I needed two options to present to the facilities leadership. He came back with two solutions: the touchless paperless and touchless paper. Before reaching the Final Four, as the University of Houston played deeper and deeper into the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Kemp kept coming back to one thought. “The university’s athletics department received a lot of sanitizing supplies through this partnership, and they were appreciative of facilities’ support,” said Kemp. “We were in the process of selecting a solution when the pandemic hit, and it accelerated the timeline to move the project along. My recommendation was to use the Fastenal private label touchless paper because of the significant cost savings, a rebate, and the supplier being a HUB vendor .”
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