How SSC helped Texas A&M weather Hurricane Harvey

In late summer 2017, the areas surrounding Texas A&M saw considerable winds and rain from Hurricane Harvey. The weather event caused massive devastation, leaving in its path leveled homes, businesses, schools, nursing homes, churches and stores, and injuring or killing many. In situations such as this, our SSC team knows it is vital to be prepared, responsive and proactive to ensure the safety of everyone in our communities and get our clients up and running again as soon as possible.

Rather than waiting to see what Harvey would leave behind, our team performed a significant amount of pre-storm work. The team laid out sandbags in problematic areas and prepared the campus for the predicted rainfall. Sump pumps were checked to ensure each was in good working order.

SSC focused on coming together to work as a team to clean up the campus. During the storm itself, SSC set up a command center to react immediately to rain event issues. Additional maintenance associates were called in to assist with the influx of calls. Priority buildings were monitored during the rain event. Regional conference calls were held twice a day with SSC corporate and regional directors to determine if any other TAMU campuses needed additional resources during the event.

After the storm, SSC workers performed water extraction and repairs. Several SSC associates whose homes were affected by the storm still showed up to work. The SSC team even hosted a supply drive to help those affected by Harvey, collecting items ranging from bottled water to socks and toiletries.

There was much work to be done long after the storm to repair the structures damaged by rain. However, thanks to the hard work of the SSC team, classes started on time.

“We are very appreciative of the hard-working SSC staff, who worked long hours prior to the storm to prepare for Hurricane Harvey,” TAMU Associate VP for Facilities and Operations Jane Schneider said. “Subsequently, the response by SSC staff to weather-related issues in our facilities reflected their commitment to ensure that damage was minimized and addressed as quickly as possible. We are very thankful to SSC staff for their dedication.”

Added Executive VP and CFO Jerry Strawser, “I was amazed by the dedication of both our own staff and SSC colleagues during this period. Their immediate and effective response allowed us to welcome over 60,000 students to our campus just days after this unprecedented storm.”