Top Stories
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Late in the workday, on June 7th, the Street Light crew received an urgent SR to repair a pole light out between the Purdy and Detweiller Buildings, near UBC Hospital. The crew went out and assessed the job, determined the light out required a lift to access and notified John Iampietro, the Acting Head.
First thing the next morning, the street light crew went to the Tool Crib and, with quick-thinking on the part of Tool Crib Head Steve Windle, we were able to move an AWP that was already on campus to our worksite, allowing the street light crew to promptly make repairs and save the University $$$ by reassigning an existing lift and not ordering a new rental.
Curtis Spencer, and his work partner, Dariusz Jaworski, braved monsoon-type rains on June 8th to complete the repairs and close the urgent, safety-related SR.
Thank you, Richard Gee, for submitting the story.
Life Sciences Centre Loading Area Closed on June 30th
The 2-week noise work window for the Life Sciences Centre is in effect now and will end on June 30. Please note that we will be expecting the delivery of the new back-up generator on Friday, June 30, and will require the loading area to be closed from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (12 hours) to receive and set-up the new back-up generator.
During this time, the loading area on the north side of the Life Science Centre will not be available for shipping or deliveries. A temporary loading area will be set-up on the south side of the building, next to the entrance of Perugia Café.
Please contact FM Deborah Capps at 604 822 0072 if you have questions or concerns.
Lower Mall Road Closure
Starting Monday, June 19, construction will take place at the intersection of University Boulevard and Lower Mall. Access to the West Parkade will be from the south side of Lower Mall from Agronomy Road. Pedestrian access will be maintained.
Soft Landscape Crew Responds to Large Elm Tree Failure
A large section of an Elm tree broke off and fell right in the middle of the garden between Hennings Building and Agricultural Road. Soft Landscape crew closed of the area, assessed the tree and took remedial steps. Although the large section fell at a good spot, the section broke a window in one of the Hennings second floor labs which has now been fixed.
By the end of the day, we had secured the area beneath the remaining limbs from the portion of the trunk that experienced the failure, removed some weight to help stabilize the tree and cleaned up the site and left precautionary path closures in place to wait for further assessment on Monday.
Many thanks to all who helped in the emergency. With great team coordination and communication, we are able to address the situation and save the tree!
Sharing Our Story as Campus and Asset Stewards Through the APPA Assessment Report
To celebrate and raise awareness of the great work we do, we’re preparing to submit the APPA FMEP assessment. This report is a chance to share those stories with the university community and validate the excellent and innovative work we’re doing.
Learn more about this report and why it’s important, check out the May 30th newsletter or talk to your supervisor.
We have achieved a great deal in the past couple years, and probably more than any of us realize. Here are a couple specific examples of initiative and dedication to our work great.
We have collaborated with Sauder School of Operational Excellence to review our Custodial practices so we can:
- understand what the right resourcing and schedule options are to serve the campus
- so we can build a modern tool to track our seasonal changes
- ensure our metrics for service are best in class
- validate that we were actually doing everything pretty awesome to start with – with much credit to the custodial heads
We have created a leadership development program so we can:
- provide skills and support to over 120 supervisors/managers in our organization
- learn how to give feedback effectively and constructively
- build emotional intelligence so we can appreciate how we and others react in certain situations
- deal with difficult situations with ease and create better direction and outcomes for our workforce
- engage everyone is finding better ways to get critical work done effectively
Leadership Development Training Ready To Enter Phase 2 in the Fall
In the May 26, 2016 issue of Building Operations Weekly, we said that we were going to engage our heads, subheads, managers, FMs, PCs and superintendents through a Leadership Development Program. The program is designed to create a happier, safer and more productive organization by helping those in supervisory roles improve their communication skills and handle difficult situations.
From the first session, Communicating Effectively, which was held on October 25, 2016 to the last session, Leading Change, on June 8, 2017, we:
- Held a total of 45 sessions
- Scheduled 661 staff
- Used 663 stars
- Consumed 900 cups of coffee
- Printed 4,950 handouts
Congratulations to all those who completed the program.
Our consultant Stephanie Innes will be coming back this fall to bring us into phase two of the program. This will include:
- catch up sessions for those that missed their sessions or for newly hired supervisors,
- sessions for staff who would like to build their skills, and,
- consolidated refresher courses to allow us to continue to work on what we learned in a sustained fashion.
You can help provide direction to Stephanie through focus groups happening next Wednesday the 28th. Tell us what you think employee’s interpersonal skills training needs are, give input into how and when training should be delivered and share your perspectives on what is needed in UBC Building Operations.
See the sign up poster near Tool Crib or contact April Wong for more information. Priority will be given to those who participated in Phase 1.
Quick Updates
Reminder: Building Ops Golf Tournament is on Saturday, June 24–See Tool Crib for tee time
NPS score decreased to 80% with 4 new promoters & 2 new detractors.
Joining UBC: Gerald Agustin, Jayvee Dizon, Darko Koscal and Jon Makowski
Leaving UBC: Ian Barnard
Call 2-4444 for First Aid assistance