Making A Difference #MAD
Facilities Management Annual Report 2014-2015
2 | FM ANNUAL REPORT 2014/2015
Welcome to our Annual Report If we had to sum up 2015 for FM in a sentence or phrase it would be ‘we are all clearly MAD - Making A Difference’ (#MAD)! We have been challenging ourselves to look at every single aspect of our operations and services to our customers, to build upon what we do very well and to strengthen those areas we believe are not quite meeting expectations. We maintain the belief that a great employee experience translates directly into a great customer experience and throughout 2015 we focussed more upon the definition, development and embedding of our positive customer-centric culture - the FM Way.
enjoy reading this summary report and share our celebration.
While some academic discussion relating to whether students are actually customers continues across the Higher Education sector, we remain convinced that they most certainly are - they pay directly for many of the goods and services provided by FM and they benchmark us against their retail and leisure experiences. In some cases they do really have a choice and, in all cases, they remain the true judge of the quality of our service. I believe that our commitment to reflect and continually improve has resulted in a really encouraging performance throughout 2015 and this has placed us in a position of real strength to embrace the challenges of 2016. We have a great FM team at Edge Hill University - with an enviable reputation across the wider FM Sector. This slightly reformatted and refreshed Annual Report records a significant number of contributions and achievements and it clearly emphasises our customer - centric culture and the positive contribution we make to the attraction, recruitment and retention of our students (and staff). There is, however, a deliberate continued inclusion of information provided within previous reports for consistency and to enable the progress we have made to be accurately mapped. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this summary report and share our celebration.
““We have a great FM team at Edge Hill University- with an enviable reputation across the wider FM Sector”
Bill Hancox Director of Facilities Management
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Ten Years and Counting 2016 represents a key milestone for Facilities Management at Edge Hill University. It is a decade since the department was born and this Report offers us a brief opportunity to reflect upon the positive evolution of our service since 2006 . . .
2016 represents a key milestone for Facilities Management at Edge Hill University. It is a decade since the department was born and this Report offers us a brief opportunity to reflect upon the positive evolution of our service since 2006, our increasing profile, and the growth of our department which now employs over 300 staff across seven core service teams: • Business Support • Campus Support • Catering Services • Customer Services • Edge Hill Sport • Housekeeping Services • Property Services In its decision to integrate several different areas covering Estates (capital projects, security, maintenance, and helpdesk), Campus Services (catering, post, reprographics and switchboard) and Student Services (domestics and portering) to create a cohesive and customer-focussed Facilities Management department in 2006, the University made a bold statement of intent, to enhance the student experience. In the subsequent years that have passed, the development of that relatively new team, in terms of its cohesiveness and operational effectiveness, has delivered an ever-improving service to our customer. We continue to focus upon delivering a consistently high quality suite of service via all elements of our opera-
tions, and the effective embedding of an employee/customer-centric culture within FM, via the FM Way, will act as an enabler and provide the ‘vehicle’ to realise this. The embedding process focusses on recruitment and selection, induction and probation, training and development and performance review,
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we have already appointed a number of high-quality candidates who are acting as enablers for positive change. We have also realised increased numbers of staff who have progressed via internalpromotion, staff who have successfully competed against high-calibre external candidates for managerial and super-
FM is all about PEOPLE – our staff, our customers
and our partners and the success of FM at Edge Hill, both to date and in the future, will be predicated on the quality and ability of our people.
creating an ‘unseen force that transforms performance.’ We have more recently invested in key positions within the team, most notably the recruitment of a Deputy Director of Facilities Management (Adrian McGillion) who will join our team in March 2016, which will significantly increase the strategic capacity of the department during what we believe represents the beginning of yet another exciting period for FM, as we plan to develop and further enhance our existing customer services provision and the campus environment. Across the seven elements of our service and under the auspices of the FM Way,
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visory positions and we believe this is testament to the continued significant investment we make to develop the potential of our staff. As we prepare to embrace the opportunities 2016 will bring, we remain confident that as long as we maintain close contact with our customers and their needs, and as long as we continue to invest in our resources, then we will thrive. As concluded in our last Annual Report, ‘We WILL succeed’.
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The FM Put the customer first! Look at things from our customers’ perspective Surprise and delight our customers with great service Respond in a timely manner to meet our customers’ needs Build a relationship and trust with our customers Keep customer communication clear and direct Solicit customer feedback to provide insight and help us to develop our services
Be passionate about service Be passionate about our services, our customers, and our University Display a positive attitude to our services, demonstrating support for our colleagues Contribute ideas and suggestions to develop our services further Celebrate and publicise our successes
Way –
Act as one
Work effective as one team Bring energy, enthusiasm an commitment to Support and tr other Make decision Recognise an diverse skills a attributes with Resolve any c constructively quickly
Making A Differ
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our core values
e team
Demonstrate responsibility and ownership
ely together Ensure understanding and clarity about our roles and your responsibilities Agree realistic and nd achievable objectives and o the team take responsibility for rust each meeting them ns together Be willing to receive requests from colleagues nd utilise the and customers and ensure and the completion of tasks hin the team Avoid making excuses, conflict identifying solutions instead y and Fulfil our promises
rence
#MAD
Be confident, receptive and willing to learn Give honest, fair and direct feedback Be open to feedback from others Listen objectively without prejudice Be confident and voice our opinions and concerns Provide a balanced view Contribute and communicate effectively at meetings and working groups Take responsibility for our own self development Continually strive for superior performance
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Putting FM @ Edge Hill On the Map Awards, recognition and accolades are fantastic for our people, our customers, and our University, however we cannot and will not become complacent . . . . of an excellent student experience.
Raising our Profile
Throughout 2015 we have sought to build upon our reputation as a team at the forefront of customer-centric service provision, and as a team that positively contributes to the core business – the attraction, recruitment and retention of students. Our peers within and beyond HE are watching us and taking note. 2015 represented another truly excellent year for our FM team as we continued to raise our profile beyond the HE sector through the notable retention of awards including our Green Flag for our highly impressive campus environment, Fairtrade University status and our Customer Service Excellence accreditations. However, our work - and our impact - didn’t stop there.
Steve and Bill received a warm welcome from delegates who praised their insight into the success of the University, not least through their recognition of our students as ‘customers’, which remains an atypical approach in many HEI’s. Following the jointly delivered presentation, impressed conference delegate Chris Austin (Steelcase) stated, “There is a strong link, especially in higher education - between what you display on your potential shop front and what the students are seeing as they come through the door. With the changes in student fees, students are more tuned into what is on offer they are consumers now”.
“The progress they [FM at Edge Hill] have made...knowing they have the best practice in the world- they are seen now as an icon.I’ve got other clients in the education sector saying to me that they want to aspire to be another Edge Hill.”
ThinkFM 2015 Conference - The Competitive Edge
In May 2015 Steve Igoe and Bill Hancox were invited as keynote speakers to the internationally renowned, high-profile ThinkFM Conference event in London. With the theme of Gaining Competitive Advantage in the Workplace, Edge Hill’s presentation clearly articulated both the relevance and significance of FM in the recruitment and retention of our students, via the provision
Anne Lennox- Martin
Grosvenor House Hotel London - our Second Home
The venue is becoming familiar territory for FM and we were able to pay two visits to London in 2015 - our fifth visit overall in the space of two years.
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For the second consecutive year, alongside our Capital Developments colleagues, we were nominated for the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards (THELMAs) within the Outstanding Estates Team category. As in the previous year, we did not quite scoop the elusive award but the shortlisting continues to have a positive impact on staff motivation and our reputation within HE. As we prepare this year’s THELMA submission we are confident that the story we have to tell about the positive impact of both our excellent PEOPLE and excellent PLACES, and our positive customer-centric culture that overtly focusses on students as genuine customers, we remain confident that what we are doing is truly sustainable and worthy of recognition. Watch this space!
“In our team we talk not about cleaning and maintenance but about attracting and retaining students”
Later in 2015, we returned to the Grosvenor House Hotel having been shortlisted for a third consecutive British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) Award, this time within the Learning and Development category. Alas, ultimately the hat-trick was beyond our grasp, and while this was disappointing for our 300-strong team, the achievement in being shortlisted for a third time is unprecedented for a University and something, quite rightly, that has resulted in an enhanced reputation and increased profile for both the Department and our University. We shall again enter this year’s BIFM Awards with renewed optimism that the new award categories introduced for 2016 will present us with the further opportunities to showcase other facets of our service and formally recognise those individuals within our team who ‘shine’ and contribute to the success we have enjoyed so far.
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Stars for the Future
Although our success has truly been a team effort, individual members of FM were ‘picked out’ and formally recognised by industry bodies for their contribution to their professions and their undoubted potential to be future leaders within their field. In September 2015, Emily Hickson (Campus Support) was nominated within the ‘Female Officer of the Year” category of the prestigious Women in Security Awards and she was invited to attend the gala ceremony in London, held on a luxury river cruise on the Thames. Although ultimately unsuccessful, recognition of Emily’s contribution at these national awards represents the first nomination within this industry and again underlines the ‘reach’ and positive reputation our team’s work is gaining beyond HE. In October 2015, Danielle Doyle (Customer Services) was nominated within the category “Rising Talent in Facilities Management” at the 2015 BIFM Awards. Again, although Danielle did not win on this occasion, her personal profileand that of FM, as a team focussed upon developing talenthas been raised significantly on this international platform.
Food Glorious Food
Over the last several years there has been significant work undertaken by our Catering Services team, often ‘behind the scenes’ to meet the challenges of increasingly prescriptive regulation, and to enhance our product and service offer. With the introduction of new allergen labelling requirements under the Food Information Regulations in December 2014, it was imperative that we were properly prepared for the new legislation in terms of delivering appropriate training and awareness- raising for our catering staff and ensuring our processes met the requirements.
Although no mean feat, this was delivered successfully prior to the implementation date, with the use of our catering management software system, Saffron Spice, enabling us to save an estimated 100 hours of staff resources through linking directly to a centralised nutritional database, identifying the allergens present within all menus across our outlets. Despite the challenges posed, our Catering Services team have continued to enjoy external recognition for their work. Having gained and successfully retained Vegetarian Society status since 2013 we have continued to identify how we can improve the quality of our services. Although we already held the Soil Association’s Food For Life Bronze Award, we wished to do better and did so, gaining Silver status in 2015 for our demonstrable commitment to promoting and using ethically-sourced and sustainably produced fresh foods within our outlets. 2016 - Going for Gold…..
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Customer Feedback ‘Going the extra mile’ to make sure our customers receive an outstanding service . . . . We continue to actively solicit, analyse and embrace customer feedback and our team are committed to ‘going the extra mile’ to make sure our customers receive an outstanding service. Through gaining customer insight - and developing a better understanding of how our customer wishes to interact with us - we have introduced a number of measures including MyFM (see Embracing Technology) to improve the accessibility of our services. We believe it is vital that our customers have visibility of what we’re doing with the feedback they are providing us and how we are performing. To those ends customer feedback- generated through the FM Helpdesk, MyFM and other relevant media- is published to the internal and external web pages, social media and customer ‘touch-points’ within key locations on campus e.g. The Hub. We continue to see very positive customer feedback. In the 2014/15 year (September 2014-August 2015) 97% of our customers rated our services as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. This compares to an average of 94% in the previous year, underlining the impact of our regular fortnightly reviewing of all customer feedback received and the active involvement of the managerial and supervisory tiers in implementing both corrective and preventive action to resolve any areas where our service may have fallen below our customer’s expectations.
Positive Learning from Our Experience
In any department or organisation of this size, serving a large and diverse range of customers, we do make mistakes and we do sometimes fail to meet increasing expectation. Whilst we are naturally disappointed when we do not excel, we are a large human resource, and we accept that we will not always delight our customers despite our very best efforts. Our culture is open and encourages feedback at all levels – we are committed to continual improvement. We believe in turning “oops into opportunity” and throughout 14/15 we have embraced a number of challenges (some relating to financial loss), and faced some very disappointing situations, however we have responded positively by improving our systems and committing to implement preventive measures – rather than simply taking the required corrective action.
We pride ourselves on responding to and dealing with customer complaints and emerging issues promptly and informally, and that is reflected in our excellent track record (zero) with regard to formal student complaints under the Student Charter. We work very closely with colleagues in Student Services to ensure that we are able to respond to any reported issues in a timely and professional manner, and we always strive to deal with complainants in person, to show that we really do care. It works. Whilst we are open to learning from our mistakes, we are more keen to learn from the mistakes of others! As such, some of our focus throughout benchmarking exercises and networking opportunities is researching and learning how ‘others’ have faced and overcome challenges. The embedding of the FM Way encourages our staff (and our customers) to give and receive feedback, and to actively engage with improving our systems and procedures, and that commitment will continue as a priority through 2016.
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Outstanding Places, Outstanding People We overtly recognise the service we provide is only as good as our people . . . . We overtly recognise the service we provide is only as good as our people and to those ends, we rightly invest in their professional development. Not only will this ensure we deliver an excellent customer experience in every interaction, it is a long-term investment in ensuring we are leaving our business in ‘safe hands’ both now and in the future. It is in this spirit that FM have been chief advocates and participants within the University’s Development of Potential Programme (DoPP). Led by our HR partners, the programme was introduced in 2014 with applications from across the University. Through that rigorous application process, seven FM colleagues were successful in joining the initial cohort which consisted of a comprehensive twelve-month training and development programme which, upon successful completion, led to ILM level 5 accreditation.. We ‘overlaid’ the centrally-delivered programme with FM- specific workshops and training sessions which complemented the scheme which has delivered demonstrable benefits in terms of expanding the skill base of our team and enabling individuals to take on additional responsibilities and develop within their own role. Not only do we believe this to be a valuable investment in our
people, we believe that through developing those who will, ultimately, lead our service we are creating the environment for future growth and success of FM and the University - a truly sustainable business model.
‘Surrogate Parents’
There is probably no more appropriate or clearer link between the impact of our people upon the retention of students than that of two of our members of FM Housekeeping. Our colleagues, Janet Forrest and Ann Hill, have attained ‘celebrity’ status on campus, attending the Summer Graduation ceremonies as guests of honour to collect the coveted – Student Led Awards in recognition of their contribution to student life. These awards were as a consequence of their work in helping our students to ‘settle in’ to their new halls but, it doesn’t stop there. In an interview with local press covering this fantastic story Janet explained the nature of her ‘extended’ role:
“We become surrogate parents, adoptive parents, whatever you want to call us because we end up helping them with their cooking- some of them haven’t cooked before…their ironing, nursing…they come up to us when they’ve they’ve got problems.”
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The importance of Janet, Ann and the numerous other team members who undoubtedly act in this manner to help our students and ‘look after them’ cannot be underestimated. As we continue to grow the number of bedspaces we provide on campus, we are seeing an increase in retention rates amongst those who are staying on campus whereas we see a proportionate decrease in retention of those students staying off-campus.
The quality of care and attention which is provided ‘as part of the service’ by FM staff working within our Halls when interacting with our students is arguably as important, if not more so, than the quality of the rooms and buildings they are staying in.
Master of Ceremonies
In preparation for the Summer 2015 graduation, the hunt was on for a new Mace Bearer to lead the ceremonial processions It was imperative that the appointee possessed the correct attitude, behaviours and manner to fulfil this important, high-profile role. The subsequent choice of Edward (‘Ted’) Coxhead, a member of our FM Campus Support team, proved incredibly popular amongst the University community and, despite some initial reluctance and humility on Ted’s part, he executed his duties to the highest professional standards and he has now secured his place for the 2016 ceremonies. On a daily basis in FM we see the contribution and impact that one individual can make and it does make a difference. When this is achieved collectively as a team, it becomes overwhelmingly powerful and compelling.
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Raising The Bar We shall continue to offer the best value service via our extensive in-house team . . . . Market Trends
The estimated total value of the UK FM market is £125 billion of which £75 billion is outsourced provisions. In terms of trends within the FM industry, there is a significant shift to the model of integrated FM - whereby all aspects of traditional FM service provision are delivered by a single outsourced provider. Within the context of contracting budgets within central government and local authorities, this option is very attractive albeit it is recognised that government procurement is often driven by price, not necessarily the quality of the service. In this environment, we believe it is only by applying the best attributes of commercial FM principles within the University, developing our staff so they have the necessary expertise and, moreover, the motivation to be the best in what they do, that we shall continue to offer the best value service via our extensive in-house team.
Professional Standards
In 2015 we engaged Anne Lennox-Martin, a highly-regarded and hugely influential figure within the FM industry, to support in the delivery of bespoke development sessions for our Development of Potential cohort. Anne’s vast experience of FM, delivered with her highlyinfectious enthusiasm, provided a unique insight for our team into commercial FM and the opportunities available to them. While all those team members who participated were overwhelmingly positive in there feedback to this event, it was Anne who was incredibly impressed by the team and FM at Edge Hill. While this was an overwhelmingly successful event, it was paramount that this was built upon and supported with a more rounded and structured programme for our team based upon the development of core FM skills, leadership and management. This programme was not intended to replace the DoPP, but to complement the scheme and extend the learning and development to members of the group outside of the DoPP cohort. Consequently, at the beginning of 2016, we have delivered two separate sessions – Building Surveying and Contract Management to a select group of participants from across our
teams. Facilitated by BIFM, this training focuses upon current, recognised best practice within the commercial FM industry and enables our team to identify how they may readily apply these principles into their work at the University. It is fundamental that the training we provide is relevant to the work of our team and not abstract- hence we spend significant time with training providers to tailor the training so it accurately reflects our requirements and delivers the intended outcome - developing competency and capability. Throughout 2016 we shall continue to work alongside BIFM as we seek to implement the formal Facilities Management Professional Standards across our team. These standards provide a competency framework, which supports individuals to follow specific FM career pathways and create the FM professionals of the future at Edge Hill University. We will provide the means whereby the ambition and aspiration of our team members are supported and unhindered and, through retaining those individuals’, ensure a highly professional FM service continues to be delivered at the University.
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Benchmarking and Networking
As previously reported, we have continued to actively research best practice from across the FM and customer services sectors to identify trends or initiatives that we can integrate into our operations to effectively improve our provision. A key aspect of this is networking and our increased, positive profile within those respective areas has enabled us to engage with those companies seen as ‘market leaders’ or innovators and we commonly find that not only are they aware of who we are when we contact them, they are as keen to understand what we’re doing so effectively at Edge Hill and we readily share experiences and practices with those peers. Throughout 2015 team members conducted benchmarking visits to several organisations. In early 2015, colleagues visited Centre Parcs at Whinfell, Cumbria. Providing residential, leisure and retail services across 400 acres of woodland, our focus was upon the quality of ‘hotel’ services offered to residential guests, the variety of retail and dining choices for customers and the logistics of maintaining the site i.e. how maintenance was conducted. The visit proved useful in confirming that the use of mobile technologies, particularly in regards to maintenance of the site, was absolutely vital and informed our decision to expand our use of PDAs and tablets within our own service (see Embracing Technology).
In preparation for the opening of the new Sports Development facilities, FM representatives visited the National Football Centre - St. George’s Park, at Burton. The visit enabled colleagues to understand the challenges faced with maintaining state-of-the art sporting facilities and how the FA team had approached this. The findings from the visit were then reviewed and, wherever practical to do so, any measures that could be implemented to improve how we serviced and maintained the Sport Centre, were incorporated into the design process. At the beginning of 2016 we plan to visit Northern Gas Networks HQ- a company nationally recognised for their customer service and employee engagement (gaining 12 awards including the National Business Award in 2015). We shall also visit the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff in January. The value of these exercises is how we utilise the best aspects of their service provision- what they do particularly well- to enhance what we do. Through the re-establishment of a refreshed FM Customer Service Development Forum in early 2016, the group will integrate benchmarking within their review of customer service development and oversee and enhance the existing formal framework for benchmarking visits.
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Improving Our Performance Estates Management Report (EMR)
As reported last year, the EMR (previously Estates Management Statistics) was formally reviewed and modified by the Higher Education Statistics Agency in 2013. Since that time the methodology for collating the information has improved, albeit there are annual developments and changes in the method of reporting which affects some of the historical benchmarking data. There remains sufficient validated and published EMR data, supported by our own internal estate data, that may be used to provide meaningful analysis of the performance of our estate “The University Estates sector is often taken for granted but through demonstrating that its annual turnover is larger than 346
between 2041/2015 and 2013/2014 EMR data. While the 2013/2014 data has been submitted to HESA and validated, the 2014/2015 has been collated but has yet to be submitted. In November 2015, the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) published its third Higher Education Estates Statistics Report. The report recognised the significant changes within the HE Sector and their impact upon the estates sector specifically the increased utilisation of space, reduction in carbon emissions and increased capital investment in residential accommodation. The headlines from the 2015 AUDE Report are as follows: • The turnover of the sector has risen again for the tenth consecutive year rising to £28 bn. (an increase of £1bn. from the 2012/2013 year). •
Capital expenditure on estates (excluding residential) has increased to over £2.5 bn. (from £2 bn. In 2012/2013) with over a dozen institutions spending in excess of £40 m in 2013/2014. This is the highest recorded annual spend.
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Total revenue costs of supporting the HE estate remains static at £1.9 bn. per annum.
of the FTSE 350 top revenues, I hope that people will appreciate the size, quality and impact of HE estates to both local and the UK economy.”
in comparison with peer HEs and we illustrate those metrics here. In the interests of clarity, this report makes a comparison
The University’s estate data for the 2014/2015 EMR submission has now been collated and internally verified, however it is not due for submission until March 2016. A comparative summary of the validated 2013/2014 data is offered in this report:
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•
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The gross internal area (GIA) data collated for the 2014/2015 submission is 112,238m2 compared to 108,801m2 submitted for 2013/2014. The continued growth of the campus does have a positive impact on the overall condition rating for the University portfolio in 2014/2015 with an impressive 99% of non-residential and almost 92% of residential property being in category A or B (RICS Definitions – excellent and good) compared to the 2013/2014 submission (98% and 91% respectively).
and 91% respectively). •
The quality, condition and functional suitability of the estate is reflected well in the collated 2014/2015 maintenance costs which remain within the lower quartile, which is a result of our continued investment and achievement of VFM.
•
Both FM and Capital Developments continue to make excellent progress in the use of carbon reducing technologies in our new buildings and the work carried out under the auspices of Carbon management, and this has resulted in energy costs of £11.67 per m2 for 2014/2015 compared to £11.82 per m2 submitted for 2013/2014 (within the lower quartile nationally).
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Income per m2 of estate remains positive at £1,060.43 per m2 with the median of LQ £853.31 per m2 and UQ £1,236.43 per m2.
The continued positive trend with regard to the University EMR metrics and performance indicators provides clear evidence of the successful ongoing implementation of the Estates Strategy, and the continued engagement of all those staff involved in the construction and operational process. •
The important functional suitability rating of the estate has continued to improve overall in 2014/2015 with 98% of the non-residential and over 92% of residential property being reported as category 1 and 2 (EMR definitions – excellent and good) compared with the 2013/2014 submission (98%
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Risk Management
Given the nature of FM operations, risk management is a core component of everything we do. In our previous report we highlighted an incident whereby business continuity was threatened, but effectively avoided, through the implementation of the University’s emergency management planning (EMP) processes. Since that event, the University has conducted a full and comprehensive review of its EMP, including the subordinate operational response plans that underpin it. Further to that review, in February 2015 Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) undertook a systematic audit which focused upon, “the University’s overall approach to business continuity planning; the ongoing development and implementation; and testing the effectiveness of Business Continuity Plans (BCPs)”. With a responsibility for assisting in the development of emergency management processes on behalf of the University, FM were principal leads for the audit exercise. Upon completion of their review, PwC summary found:
“The University has an effective framework for Business Continuity Planning. It is clear that business continuity (BC) is treated as a key element of risk management… controls, procedures and corporate oversight evidenced during our review suggested that BC is both mature in its nature and well embedded within the culture of EHU”. This external, objective appraisal provides a clear indicator that sound and proportionate risk management principals are ‘embedded’ in everything we do. However, as we enter 2016 we shall again conduct a review of our emergency preparedness and our BC planning (of which emergency management is a part) to ensure plans remain relevant to risk and cognisant of a changing risk environment to ensure we maintain resilience in the event of any potential disruption to the University’s business.
Improving our Services, Reducing Costs
We never lose sight that we must demonstrate and deliver value for money across all our operations. The FM Revenue budget is significant at over £12 million and this overview provides an update with regard to the key FM activities, which are enhancing our service provision, whilst delivering significant cost savings. Having successfully received funding as part of tranche 4 the Revolving Green Fund (RGF4) scheme we have successfully implemented over £1 million worth of energy efficiency projects, significantly improving the working and learning environment within campus buildings while reducing energy consumption which will deliver year on year cost savings. Similarly, despite the major increase in campus size, including significant numbers of student accommodation, annual water consumption remains similar to 2009/2010 levels i.e. 31% below the 2008/2009 baseline. This is attributable to the effective integration of water conservation and management measures within the development of the estate i.e. use of sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) with local percolation, use of attenuation tanks to store water for irrigation purposes etc. combined with smaller schemes, forming part of refurbishments or minor works. Through a comprehensive review of our cleaning operations we have achieved a cost saving of 53% on cleaning materials and consumables while the successful trialling of mattress covers within our residences has enabled us to save £26,000 per annum through reducing the number of replacement mattresses which were formerly purchased. Within our Catering Services operation, through the use of The University’s Catering Organisation (TUCO) consortium’s approved suppliers we have made cost savings of £103,944 during 2014-2015. However, we have continued to use non-consortium suppliers where it has been more cost effective to do so (and quality not been compromised) using local producers wherever possible and saving a further £11,000 in doing so.
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The in-house sandwich production facility continues to be successful with the operational costs representing a £64,000 annual saving when compared to the use of an external supplier, while this also affords us greater flexibility in enabling us to change ingredients and the product range to suit our customer’s requirements. Car parking and traffic management is seldom a positive topic however the implementation of a more robust management regime has certainly optimised the use of car parking spaces and incrementally improved the experience of users of these facilities year-on-year. Within this context, a review of the parking permit system, formerly provided by a third-party supplier, identified the opportunity to bring the process in-house. This was implemented in August 2015, resulting in an enhanced customer experience (improved online application, reduced time between application and receipt of permit) and a cost saving of over £30,000 per annum. These activities represent a sample of what FM is doing to demonstrate we provide the best value-for money service to the University. Our team members treat the University’s money ‘as it’s our own’ and understand that we have a major part to play in refining processes and reducing both waste and cost so monies can be reinvested to deliver an exceptional student experience. Through ‘watching the pennies’ we shall ensure that we continue to deliver the highest quality of service using the most cost-effective methods.
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Maintaining a Safe and Healthy Campus Delivering tailored advice and support . . . . . The recruitment of a corporate Health and Safety Advisor in 2015 was as a consequence of a comprehensive review of the corporate safety function and in recognition of the continuing expansion of the University in terms of the scope and scale of our activities. The post was identified as pivotal in providing departments with a ‘helping hand’, delivering tailored advice and support to enable Heads of Department to effectively execute their safety management responsibilities.
Building upon this momentum remains vital in ensuring safety management is integrated into all aspects of the University’s business and we shall continue to critically assess the integrity of our management systems to ensure we identify areas for development and provide the appropriate level of advice, guidance and support to deliver a positive safety culture.
We have successfully completed all planned audits for 2015 calendar year as part of the cyclical departmental safety audit programme. A total of 22 audits were completed during that period by an external safety management consultant to provide an independent and objective assessment of risk management controls within University departments (appropriate and proportionate to the nature of activities and ‘net’ risk within those areas).
“On behalf of the department, thanks
Through that process it was greatly reassuring to find that there continues to be a significant amount of work being undertaken across the University with regards to the effective safety management. It was also incredibly encouraging to find best practice being delivered in many parts of the University and we were keen to ensure this was both commended and ‘nurtured’ through sharing and implementing this in other areas. To those ends, the refreshed Departmental Safety Representatives forum was reintroduced in Summer 2015. This informal environment has formerly proven effective in engaging colleagues from across the University to share their experiences, discuss what works particularly well with regards to monitoring and managing safety. The group- led by the University’s Health and Safety Advisor, has already realised an unprecedented increase in engagement with these sessions- held on a bi-monthly basis- attracting 53 attendees at its last meeting in December 2015.
for the commendation. The credit [for the positive audit findings] goes to the Bio team ... ...thanks also to FM. One of the key things that emerged was knowing who was responsible for particular actions. The clear delineation of roles and our recognition that your responsibilities were fully met meant that we could concentrate on our own duties”. - Paul Ashton, Head of Biology
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Positive and Productive Partnerships Embrace the invaluable support from other teams . . . . Whilst FM provides one of only a few 24/7 customer-focussed services to all campus users – students, staff, visitors, partners and the local community – we cannot do so without the invaluable support from other teams and key stakeholders across the University. Having already touched upon our work with HR with regards to the hugely successful DoP programme, some of the other more significant collaborative partnership arrangements and successes have included: •
Our IT Services team who continue to provide a vital support and ‘enabling’ service to FM -and ultimately our customers- assisting us develop a number of in-house flexible software solutions for MyFM, room inventories, workplace inspections, car parking permits etc.;
•
Working closely with colleagues from Learning Services, FM led the procurement and implementation of a pan-University Managed Print Services contract – which is proving to be hugely successful in terms of service and cost;
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Working with managers from within Student Services, a joint review of the ‘Out Of Hours’ service provision across the campus was conducted, resulting in the integration of two teams to create a revised Campus Support service that will deliver an enhanced range of high-quality service provision with particular focus upon our resident students;
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Colleagues in Finance have supported our ongoing critical review of systems and procedures to enhance our financial administration processes and we have introduced shared resources i.e. a team member working in both Finance and FM, to ensure consistency and compatibility of processes to improve productivity and effectively manage risk.
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Positive working relationships with Edge Hill Students’ Union (EHSU) has resulted in the ongoing transition of Student Sport from EHSU over to Edge Hill Sport, the further development of their commercial operations within ‘The Street’, and the progression of joint feasibility studies into other collaborative ventures e.g. an FM/SU Information Helpdesk within the Hub.
When we reflect upon our success, we believe it is absolutely vital and correct to recognise the contribution of our peers who support us deliver our service and this is a principal reason why we shall continue to develop our relationships with other departments to ensure we are providing the highest quality of service to our customer.
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Embracing Technology Embrace and utilise new technologies to make processes more efficient . . . . To ensure we can deliver optimal levels of performance, we need to embrace and utilise new technologies wherever possible to make processes more efficient and deliver a more timely response to our customer while minimising unnecessary administration.
MyFM
This concept was developed through analysis of customer interactions with FM services, principally via our FM Helpdesk platform. Over a five year period, there was a marked shift in how our customers accessed our services from face-to-face and telephone requests to email. The concept has been built using this data and evolved to incorporate different elements.
MyFM is all about ensuring our customers can access our services when they want and how they want. Its development is truly customer-centric and unlike many of the Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) software packages available within the market place, its design and architecture will be built to meet the requirements of our customers at Edge Hill. We recognise that the current software platform, Oracle, has limitations in its functionality and therefore there is a risk that it will be incapable of meeting our future needs as we continue to develop the MyFM concept.
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To those ends, we are developing a statement of user requirements which captures both our current and planned needs so we may explore alternatives CAFM systems that may fulfil those requirements. We will also continue to explore software applications used successfully within other areas of the University including RMS – used by our Student Services team to effectively manage and administer our residential spaces during term-time; Ask Us- a knowledge base utilised by our Learning Services team, where these systems may be utilised to enhance our own processes.
Use of Mobile Technologies
The effective use of mobile technologies across our services is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a necessity in many of our operations given the scale and complexity of some of those activities undertaken. To provide context, there were a total 29,017 job requests processed via the FM Helpdesk between September 2014 and August 2015. Of those jobs 57% were allocated to our Property Services team and related to various elements of maintenance and repairs across the campus.
Using the former manual task allocation system, team members would be assigned physical ‘jobcards’ which would describe the category (preventive maintenance/ reactive/compliance), the location and nature of the issue which, once the task was completed, would need to be returned to the FM Supervisor’s office for formal ‘sign off’.
from 2016. The ability to use mobile technologies as part of that process- to confirm the room has been vacated in to acceptable standard or alternatively note any damage which may incur cost while in the presence of our customer ensures there is clarity and ensures the return of deposits or billing can be process far more efficiently than the former ‘paper’ records.
However, with the introduction and expanded use of mobile devices (tablets and PDAs) across our Property Services team, operatives may be allocated jobs electronically, provide live status updates i.e. ‘awaiting parts’ and sign off jobs as complete while update ‘in the field’, minimising operational downtime.
With the more prevalent use of smartphones and contactless card payment (including ApplePay) within the retail environment, we have upgraded our EPOS system across our catering outlets to enable customers to use these payment types. Through this process we have also revised and reduced the minimum transaction threshold as a response to customer feedback.
More importantly, the capacity to monitor jobs enables our team to proactively contact our customers, keeping them fully informed of the job status at any given time. The success of this enhancement has undoubtedly improved our customer feedback and we have assessed other areas where this could improve operational performance. Consequently our Housekeeping Services team, who conduct 1-2-1 room inspections with our residential students at the end of their tenancy, will utilise this technology
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Campus Development - New Horizons The creation of some fantastic buildings and facilities We are very grateful to our colleagues in our award-winning Capital Developments Team for the creation of some fantastic buildings and facilities throughout 14/15 including a 144 bed residential complex (phase 10) and our absolutely stunning new Sports Centre.
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Directorate – Minor Refurbishment;
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Campus Wide – Update of directional signage;
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Campus Wide – Access Barriers;
Our close working partnership with the Capital Developments Team has ensured a very effective handover to FM and ultimately a seamless occupation by our customers. As we reflect on these fantastic developments, we should also focus on the recent decision to create additional residential accommodation (Phase 11), and a new Technology Hub (extension to MATEC). We acknowledge that we are very fortunate to benefit from the continued investment in the campus infrastructure, and with the same commitment to invest in our people, we are creating and maintaining an excellent student experience.
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Student Information Centre – Additional consultation rooms;
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Car Park ‘A’ - Improved Lighting Scheme;
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Sporting Edge – Sports Box- Automated window actuators to improve environment;
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John Dalton - New moot room facility for the Law School;
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Green Lane – Pedestrian footpath – Improved lighting scheme;
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Magnolia – Multi-Faith room;
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Biosciences – Additional reaching room blinds to improve AV projection;
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Main Building – HR Test Centre;
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Main Building – John Dalton – Staff Development and Office Facility;
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Revolving Green Fund Projects including energy- saving lighting schemes across many areas of Campus and the installation of thermostatic radiator valves across key locations;
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Senior Common Room Annexe – Research Facility;
In addition to the aforementioned large-scale developments, the FM Property Services team have managed over £1.2m of refurbishment and remodelling projects to suit specific business needs, reduce operating costs, and to enhance the student experience: The Hub – Walk in Cold Room and Freezer to meet growing client base needs. Helping to reduce the need to hire cold room storage for Open Days, Corporate Events etc; •
The Hub – Replacement safety flooring to the kitchen area;
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Smartjog Ymagis – National Theatre ‘live’ broadcasting to The Arts Centre;
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Creation of new International Office within Stanley 10;
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The Arts Centre – Corridor, wall mounted chilled water fountain;
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Main Building – Clough and Stanley – Minor Refurbishment of Male and Female Toilets;
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Derby Hall 4 – Refurbishment to accommodate Student Union Merchandise Shop;
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Main Building – Secondary glazing to office spaces;
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The HUB – Student Union – Reposition AV equipment to provide open access for Student Clubs and Association Meetings;
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Faculty of Health – Creation of Call Centre to basement location;
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University Library – Alteration to provide Assistive Technology Room;
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LiNC – TV Studio – Conversion of recording room to Office Space;
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Student Information Centre – Lenel Door Access to provide authorised access for staff outside of normal working hours;
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Student Information Centre – New Student ‘Self Help’ PC bench and seating area;
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Hargrave (57 St Helens Road) – Alterations to increase occupancy for FoH staff;
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Faculty of Health and Social Sciences – Improved lighting to external footpath/steps location;
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Sporting Edge – To form 5 additional Teaching Rooms within the old Edge Hill Sport – Fitness Suite and Squash Court areas;
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Wilson Centre – W2 to relocate the Treatment Room to W11, to form new offices within W2 to accommodate 7 – 9 staff members.
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Celebrating Success “Making A Difference” . . . . To cap another successful year, we held our annual Celebration event in December 2015.
very fortunate to be entering 2016 in a position of strength and with significant momentum.
Over 40 FM colleagues were awarded in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the service, many of whom were nominated by our customers and their peers. FM Ambassador Awards- presented to those staff who have ‘gone the extra mile’ - were presented to 30 FM team members while seven Customer Choice Awards- where nominations were exclusively from our customers- were presented to colleagues recognised for “Making A Difference” to our customer’s experience.
Whilst we remain very proud of our achievements and positive impact on the student experience during 2015, we will not become complacent. We maintain that our customers remain the true judge of the quality of our service. Our customers do not compare or benchmark us with another university experience; they are more likely to compare our accommodation, and services with those they have experienced previously on the high street or in a social/retail/leisure environment. Benchmarking against commercial providers and actively engaging with customer feedback remain critical to our success.
This year’s Director’s Award, recognising consistently exceptional performance throughout the year, was presented to James (‘Jim’) Weston. Remarkably, Jim is one of the newest recruits to our FM team, having only started his career with us in early 2015. Despite this, Jim received an unprecedented number of individual nominations for his “unswerving commitment to the development of our (FM) services to customers and for his incredibly high standards”. It underlines the importance of “recruiting people for attitude” into a clear framework which clearly articulates our expectations at the outset - our Mission, Vision and Values. The campus and infrastructure continues to develop and improve at an impressive rate and this naturally has a direct impact on FM operations and performance. Reflecting upon this context and the numerous achievements of FM during 2015 is an incredibly positive experience. Once again, we are
As alluded to in this and previous reports to Resources Committee, the imminent submission of the Estates Management Report (14/15 period), provides evidence of continual improvement in condition, functional suitability, energy performance and estate costs generally across the whole estate. In comparison to the sector as a whole, the performance of Edge Hill University in terms of the management and development of its estate continues to be measurably improving and the envy of many peers. The high quality of core business events such as Open Days, Applicant Visit Days, Welcome events, Graduation Ceremonies etc. remains a priority for our University. With an increasing programme of high-profile conferences and events taking place through 14/15, and us once again hosting the Lancashire UCAS
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Fair 2016 (based on the success of the 2014 and 2015 events), FM are provided with numerous opportunities to ‘shine’ and to demonstrate our worth to the University. In summary, it is incredibly satisfying to summarise that we have once again enjoyed an extremely positive and very rewarding year. There are definite indicators that 2016 is going to be equally exciting and probably more successful. We will continue to develop and maintain positive relationships with our stakeholders and we remain focussed on our continual improvement. Unlike many other FM teams within the HE sector, we will continue to positively contribute to the attraction, recruitment and retention of our students with our great PEOPLE and our great PLACES. We are very aware that we are operating in a highly competitive market within a dynamic and challenging landscape, however our success will be in our agility and our ability to quickly adapt and respond to customer needs and increasing expectations. We have achieved a great deal since our formation in 2006, however our journey has only just begun. Thankfully our customers are keeping us right on track and telling us we are heading in the right direction!
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“We walked on the moon. We made footprints somewhere no one else had ever made footprints, and unless someone comes and rubs them out, those footprints will be there forever because there’s no wind.” Frank Cottrell-Boyce - Honorary Doctor, Edge Hill University