A groundbreaking Program that benefits both the environment and the local economy is making a splash in maintenance, thanks to the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA).
Maintenance WAVE, shorthand for Weatherization and Value Enhancement, enables upgrades that reduce energy consumption while improving the value of PHA properties. The WAVE program employs craftsmen and craftswomen who might otherwise be out of work in the current economy.
Crews install energy-efficient lighting, fix plumbing problems to conserve water and check for possible electrical hazards. The Maintenance WAVE is another example of PHA’s commitment to reducing energy costs while re-engineering properties and improving their value, and is a demonstration of its stewardship of the environment.
Since the Maintenance WAVE began in spring 2009, more than 8,800 preventive repairs and upgrades have been completed at more than a dozen PHA sites.
“This is a unique approach to efficiently weatherize thousands of units,” says PHA Executive Director Carl Greene. “These repairs are intended to reduce costs by decreasing energy and water use. The program also has the added benefit of creating new jobs during this economic downturn.”
WAVE uses the skills of carpenters, electricians, plumbers and glaziers in four teams. Two teams of approximately 35 people handle work at PHA’s conventional sites, while two smaller teams of seven people each handle scattered site homes.
The teams work seven days a week, allowing work to take place in units during weekends. In a special agreement with the building trades, team members work shifts of 10 hours a day, four days a week.