09. Administration

16,000 Messages received

88 RTW’s

30,000 items of PPE

11,000 Messages sent

Additional Work Practices

The commencement of 2021 saw the continuation of working from home for the B&E administration team as the Covid 19 pandemic continued, with additional tasks incorporated into each administrator’s working day. ♦ The introduction of Business Response Plans for those departments intending to return to campus e.g., researchers and chief technical officers charged with preparing labs for face-to-face teaching as well as professional support staff were all submitted to the B&E administration team for processing, distribution to the relevant teams and maintaining a line of communication with the requestor. The team processed 88 RTW’s during 2021. ♦ B&E administrators continued to process PPE Requests throughout 2021, tasked with the receipts of requests, the ordering and distribution process for PPE equipment to those researchers and essential staff returning to work. During 2021 we processed requests for more than 30,000 items of

PPE.

Positive Changes

It is 24 months since the campus first closed due to the Covid 19 pandemic and we have learned so much about ourselves, how we work best and what we want to change. For the administration team the biggest positive changes include: ♦ The move to Sharepoint for collaboration on common documents for the department that the administration team contributing to Audit files, project files etc. ♦ Movement of maintenance request logs to Sharepoint ensured all teams could access the logs simultaneously eliminating being “locked out” of a log when in use by someone. ♦ The use of MS Teams meetings in lieu of face-to-face meetings when gathering was not permitted improved time management. ♦ The hybrid working model facilitated uninterrupted time to focus on demanding/ time sensitive tasks. ♦ B&E Help desk - The introduction of customer generated request forms for some (not all) types of requests currently received by buildingsmaintenance@ul.ie was circulated within the B&E department only and has proved a success. The helpdesk is expected to significantly reduce the number of emails received by buildingsmaintenance@ul.ie. In 2021 alone the team responded to 16,000. emails

Covid Initiative

♦ C-19 Declaration and Training: All B&E staff underwent training and contact tracing procedures in order to return to a safe working environment on campus, no matter how short the visit. The administration staff commenced a rota of weekly visits to campus to assist customers with the issuing of keys, parking permits etc. Though interrupted in November 2021, this rota continues. ♦ Workers Representatives: The B&E Department appointed C-19 Workers

Representatives for each discipline within B&E and those staff members including administration staff underwent training and these duties remain. ♦ PPE Expenditure Tracking: The B&E Department was assigned the duty of tracking Covid-19 related expenditure around PPE, cleaning, ventilation and security with the goal of facilitating researchers and essential staff to return to work safely. As Government guidance documents were constantly updated, we must be able to react promptly.

Insurance

The B&E Department operates in an ever-changing environment and challenged even further with the onset Covid 19. This has changed how we do business on so many fronts including our approach to the protection of the UL Estate/occupants in the insurance space. The following insurance policies are administered by the B&E Department on behalf of the University of Limerick and Specified Associated Bodies:

Property Damage & Business Interruption, Public & Products Liability, Employers’ Liability, Professional Indemnity, Motor, Computer, Directors and Officers Liability, Personal Accident, Travel for staff and Erasmus students only, Marine Hull, Crime, Engineering, Fine Arts, Environmental Impairment Liability and Cyber Liability. ♦ UL is a member of the IIMG (Intervarsity Insurance Management Group).

The purpose of the group is to ensure that all opportunities for collaborative working are identified and evaluated in the short, medium and long term and to assist in ensuring that an effective insurance programme is in place across the six member universities. The members are UL, UCC, NUI Maynooth, NUI

Galway, TCD and DCU. ♦ 2021 saw the creation of many new universities and this may open up opportunities to bring new member into the group at the appropriate time if it proves advantageous to both parties. IIMG collectively purchase Property Damage/Business Interruption, Employers Liability, Public/Products Liability, Professional Indemnity and Motor insurance. 2020/21 saw the impact of Covid 19 on higher education institutions, in particular costs associated with increased costs of working. Every member of the IIMG sustained increased costs and significant losses due to loss of income and as a result, business interruption claims are now in progress.

Covid-19 is impacting a broad range of insurance lines with varying degrees

High

Hardening Market

Low

Aviation

Downstream Energy

Cyber

Upstream Energy

Terrorism

Motor Construction

Marine Professional Indemnity

General Liability

Employers Liability

Trade Credit

Political Risk

Low

Directors & Of cers

Property & Business Interruption

Contingency

Travel

High

Following a crippling cyber-attack on Ireland’s Health Service Executive and other large organisations in 2021, premiums were driven up, cover reduced for those who had cyber liability insurance, and many organisations who did not have cover cannot buy it at this time. This is proving an increasing challenge for our procurement colleagues around cyber liability insurance limits of indemnity clauses in contracts. During 2021, design teams and contractors alike experienced increasing difficulty in securing Professional Indemnity insurance. The impact of Grenfell is being felt across the entire building industry and the Office of Government Procurement recently issued guidelines around the limits of indemnity public service organisations are permitted to seek in their Requests for Tender (RFT’s). This year UL in collaboration with NUIG ran a tender for the engagement of specialist building consultants to carry out a review of UL’s estate portfolio over a five-year period and provide building reinstatement valuations for each property. This project proved critical to ensuring the UL infrastructure is insured to the appropriate level with increases experienced across the estate. At insurance renewal 2020 we were in a “hardening market” causing renewal rates to increase on key lines of cover. The last significant hard market occurred after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The underlying causes of an already hardening- market were: ♦ Claims: Natural catastrophes costing more than $220bn ♦ Social Inflation: substantial increase in the cost of punitive-damage awards brought about by demographic, societal and jury composition changes and attitudes collectively. ♦ Profitability: Historically low interest rates, a decade of declining insurance and reinsurance rates brought about by excess capital and (re)insurer competition. Re-underwriting, reduction or withdrawal of insurance capacity as insurers tackle troubled or under-priced lines of insurance and aim to reduce volatility. ♦ Reinsurance: Increase in the cost of reinsurance, driven by claims experience.

Changes to risk tolerance of the insurance linked securities market following successive years of insured Catastrophes and then

Covid-19 struck.

The impact of Covid 19 on: ♦ Property: markets continue to trend upwards. ♦ Capacity: Insurers still seeking clarity around business interruption values. ♦ Challenges: Accounts with losses and poor risk management, heavy risk exposure occupancies; hospitality, senior living, woodworking, metal processing, manufacturing ♦ Coverage: Underwriters tightening, reduction in sub limits and increased excesses.

Significant changes within terms and conditions of certain policies held by UL also occurred, the most significant changes being: 1. Covid 19 General Policy Exclusion wording: The insurers will not pay any claim directly or indirectly as a result of or is contributed to, by or is a consequence of: ♦ Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) or ♦ Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) or ♦ Any derivative or mutation of either A or B ♦ 10% rate increase in excess layer Employers Liability and Public Liability insurance cover due to rising reinsurance costs. 2. Brexit: Unknowns attached to the UK withdrawal from the EU otherwise known as “Brexit”. 3. Directors & Officers Liability and Crime: The Financial Lines insurance market is really challenged at the moment with insurers reducing limits of cover, increasing policy excesses and applying significant rate increases. 4. Travel: Travel pattern decreased along with decreased projections and the Covid 19 exclusion referred to in 1 above. 5. Cyber Liability: an emerging risk with significant impact on limits of cover, policy excesses and increased rates.

IIMG / B&E Insurance Future Goals:

During 2021 the IIMG members attended webinars arranged by the IIMG’s insurance brokers on the following topics during 2021: ♦ Cyber Risk ♦ Future proofing your Life Sciences Business IIMG insurance brokers will continue to assist with arranging forums on topics of growing interest to the group as we endeavour to stay abreast of new developments within the insurance space and UL strives to grow their share of regulated and unregulated clinical trials, address the increasing concern around cyber security and the challenging Professional Indemnity insurance market.

Procurement And Audit Compliance

The commencement of 2021 saw the continuation of working from home for the B&E Procurement and Audit Compliance Team as the Covid 19 pandemic continued, with all the challenges that presented. The following are some of the achievements of the Team in the last 12 months.

♦ The number of audits managed by the B&E Procurement and Audit

Compliance team grows annually and during 2021 we participated in eight such audits carried out by both internal and external auditors. The audits ranged from Capital Projects, Non-Capital Projects, Small Capital

Projects to the B&E recurrent budget expenditure, all of which took significant time and commitment to respond to the auditors queries in a comprehensive and timely manner. ♦ The Procurement and Audit Compliance Team provides support to

Project Managers, Facilities Managers and other Managers within the

Department and administers the use of the etenders.gov.ie platform to upload proposed projects, send invitations through existing

Frameworks created by B&E, manage clarification questions submitted by tenderers and manage the receipt of bids and tender openings to ensure government procurement audit compliance. During 2021 the

Procurement and Audit Compliance Team managed the administration of projects in excess of €36m through this platform. ♦ Securing professional procurement advice should they be required by

Managers within the Department. ♦ Preparation of the B&E’s Multi Annual Procurement Plan (MAPP) following consultation with Project Managers, Facilities Managers and other

Managers within the Department. The University of Limerick’s MAPP is important to assist the EPS/OGP National Procurement Plan and as

Facilities Management and Maintenance contributes €425m of the MAPP

Education Sector spend of €1.8bn B&E’s contribution is critical. ♦ Another project being taken on by the Procurement and Audit

Compliance Team this year is the migration to Sharepoint to facilitate collaboration to share Audit files, project files etc. to expedite responses to queries/clarifications submitted by internal/external auditors.