Riverdale, NJ — Camfil USA has released a compelling new case study video documenting how one of Texas’ largest public charter school districts dramatically reduced maintenance costs and improved facility operations by implementing high-performance air filtration systems. The video, featuring firsthand testimony from facility management leadership, provides unprecedented insight into the operational challenges facing large educational institutions and the strategic solutions that deliver measurable economic impact.
International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas), a multilingual K-12 charter school network operating multiple campuses across the state, faced significant maintenance challenges common to large educational institutions: limited budgets, insufficient staffing, and overwhelming filter replacement schedules that consumed valuable maintenance resources.
“Educational institutions nationwide are grappling with similar facilities management challenges,” noted John Davidson, Branch Manager at the Camfil office in Dallas, TX. “This documented case study provides tangible evidence of how strategic filtration decisions can transform maintenance operations while improving indoor air quality for students and staff.”
Documented Transformation in Maintenance Operations
The case study video captures the dramatic operational impact experienced by the school district after transitioning to high-performance filtration solutions:
- Reduction in filter change frequency from monthly replacements to quarterly or nine-month intervals
- 95% decrease in maintenance labor hours dedicated to filter changes (from 24 man-hours to just 1)
- Reallocation of maintenance resources to critical equipment maintenance, including HVAC coil cleaning, belt replacement, lighting, and kitchen equipment
- Elimination of storage requirements for large quantities of replacement filters
- Six-figure annual savings in maintenance labor costs
“When they said nine months, I was like, ‘You guys are crazy. Our units aren’t going to be able to handle that,'” the facilities director states in the video. “So we tested it out at a campus . . . It takes about two days for us to change filters. That’s 24 days of man-hours, and we’re now able to do it in one.”
Evidence-Based Decision Making in Educational Facility Management
The video highlights the importance of performance validation and data-driven decision-making in educational facility management. When a mechanical contractor raised concerns about the extended-life filters during a service call, Camfil dispatched engineers to conduct comprehensive airflow testing, which confirmed the filters were performing as promised.
“We were able to prove to the mechanical contractor that it was the VFD that was causing the issue,” explains the facilities director in the video. The documentation of actual performance over time provided crucial validation for the district’s innovation in maintenance practices.
For educational institutions operating under tight budgets, the case study addresses the common misconception that lower-priced filters reduce overall costs. Despite the higher initial investment in premium filtration, the school district achieved substantial net savings through dramatic reductions in labor costs and replacement frequency.
“We’re saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in man-hours every year changing filters because we don’t have to as often,” concludes the facilities director. “Luckily, International Leadership of Texas gives me autonomy to make those business decisions . . . it was a no-brainer for us to make that switch.”
Educational Focus on Multilingual Excellence
The case study also highlights ILTexas’s distinctive educational mission of providing trilingual education in English, Spanish, and Mandarin—languages that enable graduates to communicate with approximately 90% of the world’s population. The school system’s designation of Mandarin as a “national security language” underscores the institution’s forward-thinking educational philosophy.
By reducing maintenance burdens through smarter air filtration strategies, the school can direct more resources toward its core educational mission while maintaining healthy learning environments for students and staff.
The comprehensive case study video is now available on Camfil USA’s YouTube channel and website, offering facility managers in educational settings a valuable resource for evaluating potential operational improvements.
About Camfil USA
For more than half a century, Camfil has been helping people breathe cleaner air. As a leading manufacturer of premium clean air solutions, Camfil provides commercial and industrial systems for air filtration and air pollution control that improve worker and equipment productivity, minimize energy use, and benefit human health and the environment. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Camfil operates 29 manufacturing sites worldwide with approximately 5,700 employees serving customers across diverse industries in more than 35+ countries.
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