This general information about Cyert Hall is provided for its Computing Services occupants. Please see the Cyert Hall campus page for a campus map, location and description of services and other information not included here.

Building Facts

• Occupied: 1984

• Size: 100,500 sq. ft.

• Original names: Information Technology Center (ITC), University Computer Center (UCC)

• Street Address: 4910 Forbes Avenue

• Official campus abbreviation: CYH

Building Policies

The following policies generally apply to Cyert Hall access, usage and operation. Individual departments may have their own policies or procedures in addition to those below.

• Access to the building is restricted to members of the CMU community and their guests.

 
• No smoking is allowed anywhere in the building.  Smokers should take care to allow free entry and exit by builiding users.

 
• All activities which will affect the building's environment -- repairs, testing, renovations, use of cleaning chemicals, painting, utility outages (HVAC, electrical, water, telephone, data network), etc. -- must be approved by your departmental Facility Cordinator.

 
• Automatic entrance doors are for use only by those requiring assistance while entering or exiting the building.

• Storage of materials of any kind in hallways, corridors or under stairwells is prohibited.  Any materials stored in these areas for more than 1 day may be considered trash unless special arrangements have been made with your departmental Facility Coordinator.

• The Forbes Avenue entrance is locked at 11pm and unlocked at 6am every day. The campus (south) entrance is always open, except in case of building shutdowns. All other entrances are to reamain locked while not in use and should not be propped open except for brief periods.

• Building entrance keys and keys to internal spaces may be requested from your departmental secretary or Facility Coordinator.

• Non-public hallways on the 1st floor and A levels are locked between 6pm and 8am on weekdays and all weekend.

• 2nd floor access is available via the elevator or either staircase during normal business hours.  A key is required for access at other times.

• Building-wide fire alarm testing is scheduled to occur on the last Thursday of each month, between 7 and 9am. It is not necessary to evacuate the building during these tests.

• In the event of a fire alarm, please proceed calmly to the nearest exit, as indicated by emergency evacuation maps or as directed by your group's Emergency Coordinator.

• In the event of a fire alarm, the building's only elevator is programmed to go to the A level, open the doors and deactivate.

Reporting Building Problems

The normal procedure for reporting problems is this: If you discover a problem in the building -- in your own office or in any other area -- you should report it to your departmental secretary, who will then report it to FMS or let you know if a report has already been made.  Your departmental secretary should also be able to estimate when the problem will be solved or tell you the current status of the repair.

If the normal procedure does not apply or if you believe it is not working, please bring it to the attention of your supervisor or Facility Coordinator.
 
 

Building News

From time to time you may be alerted to building problems or procedural changes via electronic mail.  Usually, though, such news is posted on one or both of the following electronic bulletin boards:
 

• org.acs.ucc-discuss - This bboard was originally named when the building was called the University Computing Center (UCC).  It is the place for:

 
• Keeping track of building-related announcements, such as scheduled maintenance, service outages, safety issues, status of major problems, etc.
• Posting or discussing issues you believe concern all building occupants, including major problems, policies, etc.
• cmu.fms.announce - This bboard is used by FMS to alert the campus to any facility-related issues.

Cyert Hall hosts several resident departments, each with its own Facility Coordinator. These individuals look after the facilities interests of their home departments and serve as liaisons between their departments and both Facilities Management Services (FMS) and the CMU custodial contractor, Central Property Services (CPS).

Here is a list of the current facility coordinators. If you have a question about building policies or procedures or if you would like to report a problem, please contact your departmental representative.

• Computing Services - Ken Burner, x82641.

• Administrative Computing & Information Services (ACIS) - Sally Love, x82835.

• Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) - x82091.

 

Here is a list of the current emergency coordinators.
 

• (This list is not yet available)

Meeting and Function Rooms

The following chart lists areas of Cyert Hall that can be reserved for meetings and other departmental or university functions.
 

Room	Table Seating	Max Capacity	Function	Contact
Atrium	16	30	Reception	Computing Services, x82638
157	10	16	Meeting	ACIS, x82835
273	20	35	Meeting	Computing Services, x82638
279	10	24	Meeting	Computing Services, x82638

HVAC

Since Cyert Hall is a "closed building" in which few windows can be opened, the building ventilation system is very important to its occupants.  Ventilation is supplied by a variable air volume (VAV) system.  In this type of system, the temperature in each area is regulated by the amount of cold air supplied to that area.  Heating is provided by some warm-water baseboard radiators located along perimeter walls, but mostly by the "natural" heat generators within the building: computers and other electrical equipment, sunlight and the building occupants themselves.

Each room is equipped with one or more of the following air supply devices and may or may not contain an air return duct.

• Carrier Moduline^® VAV diffuser.  All spaces were originally equipped with these units, which combine a thermostat, variable vent and diffuser in one ceiling-mounted unit.  Room temperature is controlled by a small tab on each unit.  Sliding the tab in the direction of the red arrow restricts the supply of cool incoming air, allowing the room to get warmer.  Conversely, sliding the tab in the direction of the blue arrow increases the supply of incoming air, cooling the space.  Small movements of the control tab will result in significant changes in room temperature.  The mechanism takes up to 15 minutes to react to a new setting and begin affecting room temperature.

• Slot diffuser with single-setpoint thermostat.  These units consist of a VAV damper box, located above the ceiling, which supplies an ordinary ceiling-mounted diffuser vent.  Control is provided by a conventional wall-mounted thermostat, which is operated in the obvious way.

• Slot diffuser with dual-setpoint thermostat.  These units consist of a VAV damper box, located above the ceiling, which supplies an ordinary ceiling-mounted diffuser vent.  The difference between these units and the type described above is that a reheat coil is provided which is able to warm incoming air.  In this system, the supply of air can be regulated independently of the room's temperature.  The lower thermostat setpoint (marked "HEATING") controls how cold the room can become before incoming air is heated.  In this way, air can continue to be supplied without over-cooling the room.  The upper thermostat setpoint (marked "COOLING") works similarly to the above system, increasing the supply of cool air when the room temperature reaches the setting. These units are very expensive to install and operate and have therefore been installed only in areas where significant environmental problems have occurred.

Interior ventilation in Cyert Hall is provided through eight air handling units: two rooftop "Mammoth" brand units and six "Blazer" brand units located in mechanical closets throughout the building. These units are cooled by a system of plastic pipes which circulate a propylene glycol (antifreeze) and water mixture throughout the building and into cooling towers located on the roof of Warner Hall. Occasional repair and maintenance of hvac equipment will cause outages in specific air zones. To find out which HVAC zone contains your office, see the appropriate map, below.

2nd Floor

1st Floor

A Level

IAQ Committee

Since 1993, a committee chaired by VP and then CFO Pat Keating has been meeting regularly in a concerned effort to improve the building's indoor air quality (IAQ) and respond to occupant IAQ concerns. The IAQ Committee's latest report of activities and projects is available online.

If you experience problems with the building environment, please bring it to the attention of your departmental secretary or Facility Coordinator (listed above).

If you are interested in more information about indoor air quality and related issues, please see the IAQ Links Page.

Comments, questions and suggestions about this page may be sent to ken.burner@cmu.edu.