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THE EYES HAVE IT–MARCH IS WORKPLACE EYE SAFETY AWARENESS MONTH
The human eye is often taken for granted, many rarely consider their vision health. Eye injuries in the workplace are surprisingly common. According to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, over 700 Canadian workers per day sustain eye injuries on the job. The right eye protection could lessen the severity or even prevent 90% of eye injuries in accidents.
Luckily, here are some things that you can do to decrease these dangers on the job:
- Be aware of hazards in your workplace and eliminate them before starting work. Use machine guards, work screens, or other engineering controls.
- Always wear the appropriate safety eyewear, even if you are just passing through.
- Choose protective eyewear that is designed for the specific duty or hazard. For example, be sure to wear safety goggles with side shields if you’re working in an area with lots of particles or dust.
- Always wear safety goggles or face shields to protect against splashing chemicals.
- Hazardous radiation like welding, fiber optics, or lasers, needs specially designed safety goggles and helmets made specifically for these tasks.
- Keep safety eye wear in good condition and replace when necessary.
- Make sure your protective eyewear fits and is worn consistently.
- Protective eyewear used in Canada must meet Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards.
- Follow the safety procedures for your workplace: know the location of eyewash stations, first aid and how to use them.
Remember that something as simple as putting on a pair of safety glasses can help prevent serious eye injuries.
HAVING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS? SIGN UP FOR THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SESSION BY APRIL 5TH
This session is considered by many to be the best course of the series. Who wouldn’t want to handle those difficult conversations with more skill and less stress? Registration is open to all staff so sign up soon before spots fill up. Contact April Wong by Thursday, April 5, to register.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE KEYS YOU USE TO ACCESS CAMPUS SPACES
Over the past year we have been working closely with Access Services to ensure that the keys we own and use on a daily basis are accounted for and kept securely. As part of this initiative we updated Building Operations’ Policy and Procedure I-C-06 to formalize the current key ordering, lost key reporting, and key returning processes.
Here’s what you really need to know regarding the keys you use to access campus spaces:
- When in use they must be tethered to you with a key back device
- When not in use they must be stored in your assigned lockbox
- A key in a keyset must not be removed or separated
- Keys assigned to an individual must not be shared
- If a key gets stuck in door, and the locksmiths are unavailable to help, the key must be broken
- Broken or unusable keys must be returned to the Access Desk for replacement
- Lost grand master and master keys must be reported as soon as practical and before the end of the day to your direct supervisor and manager, after every effort has been made to find the misplaced keys
- Employees leaving UBC, transferring departments or moving jobs within their current department that no longer requires the use of their grand master/master keys or certain keys must return their keys to their direct supervisor
- All returned keys must be taken back to the Access Desk
- Random audits of lockboxes will be conducted to ensure keys not in use are being stored appropriately
If you would like to read the entire policy and procedure you can find it on shared drive S:\Policies & Procedures\I-C-\I-C-06 Grand Master Keys.pdf.
UBC LIFE BUILDING ON PARTIAL OCCUPANCY
The main concourse inside the Life Building Henry Anderson/The Ubyssey
UBC Life Building has not been handed over to Building Operations fully. Building Operations is responding to the following systems in occupied spaces only:
- Fire Alarm
- Sprinklers
- Elevators
- Custodial
We will provide an update when demonstrations are scheduled.
ZONE REVIEW PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS SELECTED
The zone review project has kicked off and the project team has been created with representatives from each trades group. Please feel free to approach anyone on the team to learn more about the zone review project and its progress. Thanks to the project team for offering up their time and expertise! There will be many opportunities in future for all staff to provide insight and suggestions regarding the zone model and the best fit for UBC in the future!
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Peter Lincoln – Zone Controls Electrician |
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Clayton McMullen – Head Plumber |
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Mark Donald-Jones – FM & previously Zone Millwright |
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Francois Desmarais – Facilities Manager |
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Kevin Morris – Architectural Trades P&P Manager &previously Head Painter and Zone Painter |
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Deb Capps – Project Manager |
A reminder that anyone is welcome to drop in USB Room 042A in the following sessions to discuss the new zone customer labour numbers and the zone review project in general.
- Wednesday, March 28, 2018 11:00 – 11:30 AM
- Thursday, March 29, 2019 11:00 – 11:30 AM
- Tuesday, April 3, 2018 11:00 – 11:30 AM
WELCOME NEW PAINTERS IN THE ZONES
Recognizing that we are short in resources, we have successfully filled some vacancies. As part of our continued effort to provide better customer service, let’s welcome the painters to the following zones:
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Pino Lopriore – Teal Zone |
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Scott Runquist – Green Zone |
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Connor Knudsen – Red Zone |
PLAN MAINTENANCE WORK AROUND EXAM WEEK–APRIL 10 – 25
Exams start on 10 April through to the 25 April. When planning jobs please be mindful of exam locations and noisy work around these locations during this time frame. Here is the link to see if a location you are going to do work in has an exam scheduled https://students.ubc.ca/enrolment/exams/exam-schedule
The April ‘Final Exam Schedule with Locations’ has been posted on the Exam website (http://students.ubc.ca/enrolment/exams) as well as the SSC (https://ssc.adm.ubc.ca/sscportal/servlets/SRVSSCFramework) and SISC (exam schedule screen).
SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY–HABITAT FOR HUMANITY THANKS BUILDING OPERATIONS FOR SUPPORT
The Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver appreciates the support of Building Operations. Through the donation of tiles and accessories, Building Operations is helping Habitat’s mission to mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership opportunities as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty.
To appreciate the tremendous support, the Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver presented Building Ops with an award of appreciation. Our tangible impact on the lives of others in our community made us one of the Top 50 Corporate Donors in 2017.
Pictured here from left to right are Pam Wasylyshen, Florante Navarra, Scott Alsop, Manager of Procurement, Facilities and Environment at Habitat for Humanity, Kishani Gibbons, Caroline Soriano and Stephen Lee. Thanks to Bill and others in Building Operations who coordinated the donations.
STAFF AND FACULTY SPORTS DAY REGISTRATION OPEN
Registration for the 2018 Staff and Faculty Sports Day is open. This year’s event is on Friday, May 4 and will run from 2:00 – 4:00 pm.
Come and join in, enjoy some fun teamwork games and celebrate the end of the school year! Put together a team of 4 – 6 people and participate as Competitive or Just For Fun team. You and your teammates have a choice of physical and/or intellectual challenges.
Stay tuned for more updates and news about Sports Day!
Quick Updates
STORES & TOOL CRIB CLOSING AT 3:30 PM ON THURSDAY, MARCH 22
NPS SCORED INCREASED TO 83% WITH 5 NEW PROMOTERS, 1 NEW DETRACTOR.