Top Stories
2016/17 fiscal year close out – unplanned capital spending successes – improving building FCI
Over the next few weeks we are going to feature successes from our 2016/17 fiscal year. This week the subject is Unplanned Capital.
Part of our role is make sure the spaces on campus perform as they are expected to. And often that is easier said than done. With $4 Billion worth of building assets and up to 1/3 of them at or nearing end of life it is no surprise that parts fail unexpectedly. While we do our best to use good operations and maintenance strategies, and in the coming years with EAOS fully implemented we will only get even better, unplanned capital is the funds required to fix things that break unexpectedly.
In past years we have logged these costs in with the general operations GPO expenses. While easy from a recording perspective is does nothing to give us better data on our efforts to repair and maintain campus. This past year Kishani led all of the Heads through training to help identify capital purchases and have them logged separately from operating expenses.
Our budget for 2016/17 was set at $1.2 million and the bad news is we overspent this amount by $350k which means more equipment failed than we guestimated would. However the good news in all of this is that we were able to track these expenditures toward improving our buildings FCIs and we created an accurate accounting of expenditure which positions us well for AVED reimbursement should extra monies become available from the Province at year end.
Great work to all the Heads who tracked the costs, the crews who executed the work and the PCs who coordinated the contractors and crews to get some of the more specialized and complex projects done. This year we made $1.55 million in facility condition improvements to our buildings outside of the planned routine capital program, and that helps create reliable spaces for our campus users.
Kudos for creating a welcoming space for hundreds of visitors during the Reconciliation Pole ceremony
With several hundred spectators—volunteers and community members—in attendance, the Reconciliation Pole was raised in a ceremony this past Saturday, April 1st. Read more about the event on Professor Ono’s blog or watch this 60-second video, which includes a time-lapse of the ceremony.
For providing space for the pole carving on campus, transporting the pole down from MOA down Main Mall to Forest Sciences Centre, notifying nearby building occupants of work, excavating the area, engineering the rope pulling, and preparing the event area with water, power, and furniture; a special thank you to the crews and teams from both Infrastructure Development and Building Operations who supported this event. Photo credits: Paul Joseph and UBC Public Affairs.
Road Closure near UBC Farm April 3 – 21, use Gray Ave or Wesbrook Mall instead
From April 3-21, the intersection of Ross Drive and Birney Ave will be closed due to construction. To access UBC Farm, please use Gray Ave or Wesbrook Mall.
Exam Period April 10 – 28
Note the upcoming exam period is from Mon, April 10 to Fri, April 28. There are no exams scheduled over the Easter weekend (Fri, Apr 14 to Mon, Apr 17). Please work with your Head or FM to plan any loud, disruptive work that may impact exams.
On April 5, more of your e-mails may be sent to spam folder or marked with [Potential SPAM] warning
Starting April 5th, UBC is adjusting the process so that more phishing and spam emails will be blocked from reaching UBC-Hosted mailboxes. In addition, UBC will tag suspicious emails with a [Potential SPAM] warning in the subject line. As a result, you may see an increase in the number of messages detected as potential phishing and spam.
What email messages will this affect?
These changes will only apply to email messages that are sent from outside of the UBC Network and routed through the Cisco Email Security Appliances, which includes all FASmail domains.
What if an email is tagged as [Potential SPAM] but is legitimate?
Over the next few weeks, please keep an eye on your emails. If you receive a legitimate email that was flagged as potential spam, please send it as an attachment to not-spam@ubc.ca (don’t include personal information in the message).
For more information, contact your department IT support or the UBC IT Help Desk, or visit www.privacymatters.ubc.ca.
Safety Boots Reimbursement are PST exempt
A reminder that safety boots are exempt from PST, provided that they meet the eligibility criteria outlined by the Provincial Sales Tax Act. Boots whose sole purpose is i.e. weather protection, will not be exempt from PST and will not be reimbursed.
Driver Training Program: Up to 67% completion
To date, 67% of Building Ops drivers have successfully completed the online Driver Training Program module: Eco Driving Techniques. That’s a 40% bump in just the last week! This training is required to maintain our E3 rating (as the greenest fleet in Canada) and helps reinforce fuel efficient driving techniques that not only save money wasted on fuel but help reduce stress on our vehicles. Let’s spend our money on people and tools, not on wasted fuel and unnecessary wear and tear on our vehicles.
For those who have yet to take the training, take the training at: http://ariinsights.arifleet.com/driver Please use the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser (not FireFox or Chrome), available on all shop computers. Contact Pearle Lundeen at pearle.lundeen@ubc.ca for assistance.
3 steps to help you prepare for an active shooter on campus – Run, Hide, Fight
You may never encounter an active shooter on a UBC campus. Even so, it could happen—either here or elsewhere.
This is one of the risks we are addressing to support campus safety and security at UBC. UBC has researched the best approach and joined the RCMP and a group of Canadian universities to embrace a simple three-step response.
For anyone who suspects that there is an active shooter nearby or receives a specific UBC Alert message: Run, Hide, Fight:
- If you determine it is safe, RUN(get out)! This is your first and best option.
- If getting away is not possible, find a place to HIDE.
- As a last resort, and if you feel that your life is in danger; FIGHT.
Recognizing this topic can be sensitive for some people, we are approaching this campaign with the softest touch we can for such a dramatic topic, while still making the maximum number of people aware of the three steps.
Most of you have now completed this training that was provided by Kishani Gibbons, Barry Brooks, Pamela Wasylyshen and Thomas Shields. For those of you that missed this training or would like to go through it again please visit rms.ubc.ca/activeshooter and take the brief online course.
We all have a role in making our campuses safe