Annual Report 2001: Facilities and Services Division1. IntroductionDuring 2001, the Facilities and Services Division continued to provide the majority of facilities management services to The Australian National University. This included the management of capital works, building and site maintenance, security, parking and telecommunications. This annual report provides a brief outline of the major activities undertaken by the Division in its various areas of responsibility during 2001. The Division is responsible for four budget groups - Capital Management Plan, Campus-wide Services, the Division's Recurrent Budget and the Parking and Traffic Budget (the latter is a University Business Unit). Separate financial reports are available for each of these budget areas and while they indicate that there was satisfactory budgetary performance during 2001 overall, it should be noted that there were significant difficulties in preparing these reports. This largely related to problems associated with the accuracy of data inputted in to the various management systems. A process for addressing these problems has been established and I am confident that the issues will be rectified in 2002. The Division also works with several University committees, including the Campus Planning and Development Committee (formerly the Buildings and Grounds Committee), Campus Advisory Committee, Parking Reference Group, Business Continuity Planning Group and Environmental Management Planning Committee. Each of these committees produce there own annual report and therefore, this report will only note, where appropriate, the major activities undertaken by the Division in consultation with these groups during the year. Relevant Divisional Officers are also represented on Capital Works Project Steering Groups (which are serviced by the Division) and various University community committees, such as the Disability Advisory Group. Membership of the latter group of committees, allows staff to provide operational advice on relevant issues, as well as, establishing effective relationships with various elements of the campus community. During 2001, the Division, along with other Administrative areas, was the subject of an external review established by the Vice Chancellor. The subsequent report indicated that the University community was very pleased with the level of services provided by the Division and were particularly supportive of the service level agreement initiative established in 1997. The report recommended that this idea be expanded to other Administrative Divisions. 2. General CommentsThe paragraphs below detail the principle activities and achievements of the individual Sections of the Division. However, by way of introduction it useful to highlight several issues. Capital Management Plan: The CMP drives the majority of work undertaken by the Division, including the ongoing commitments to maintenance and major building and site projects. During 2001, CMP funds were available for specified projects, but were insufficient to meet all the identified needs of both the maintenance and backlog programs. Capital works projects of a total value of $35.7M were commenced and/or completed in 2001, while minor works projects with value of $4.994M were commenced and/or completed during the same period. A list detailing these projects, along with the performance against agreed key performance indicators is attached. The CMP also funded various programs, including the Backlog Maintenance Program, Campus Upgrade Program, Air Cooling Upgrade Program, Structured Cabling Upgrade, Refurbishment Program, Energy and Water Conservation Initiatives and Statutory Requirements Upgrade. A total amount of $9.2655M was spent on these programs during 2001. A further $641K was provided in seed money for the Halls of Residence (ie Bruce, Burton and Garran Halls and Toad Hall), with $1.195M being allocated to a major refurbishment project in Fenner Hall . A total of 33 projects with a current estimated value of $30,121,000 were subject to feasibility studies (F) or planning actions (P) during 2001 (note that not all projects have been assigned a budget as yet). A detailed list of these projects is attached. However, the following provides details of the major planning activities undertaken during 2001:
A total of 32 artworks projects were also managed by the Division in 2001. A list detailing projects subject to feasibility studies, planning activities or completed during the period is attached. SLAs: The Division continued its program of establishing Service Level Agreements with various client areas on campus. The following agreements were established or were being negotiated during 2001: Established
In negotiation
A process of reviewing all existing service level agreements commenced in late 2001 and will be completed in 2002. This project will involve meeting key clients and seeking their advice on ways of improving the services provided under the agreement. A number of project specific service level agreements were also established during the year. These agreements identified the service arrangements and responsibilities of parties participating in capital works and major refurbishment projects. PABX: A University decision was made in early 2001 to transfer responsibility for telecommunications (including the PABX) to the Division of Information. During the year, a number of meetings were held to establish an effective transition strategy. The area was formally transferred in December 2001 and was renamed Voice Services. However, the Division continued its role in the PABX Replacement System Project. The Director, Facilities and Services chaired the Project Steering Group and other Divisional officers participated as members of that group and in the development of a tender documents. The tender will be released to industry in early 2002. Risk Management: The Division completes an annual risk assessment of its activities. This report is presented to management in mid- February and is used to identify particular key risk areas that need to be addressed or monitored. The risk assessment for 2001/2002 did highlight several key risk areas, including:
The latter remains one of the Division’s major concerns. The lack of funding to address critical back log maintenance issues has resulted in a situation where key plant has exceeded its life cycle and it is no longer possible to statistically “predict” when a failure may occur. This will only be exacerbated by any further funding cuts which would inevitably lead to reductions in preventive maintenance programs, the Division’s primary means of early identification of problems. A particular risk applies to major plant, such as chillers as this type of equipment is not manufactured in Australia. Consequently, if a major chiller has a total system failure and cannot be repaired, the lead time for replacement equipment would be between 15-20 weeks. The possible impact on the University activities supported by this equipment (for example, environmental conditions in teaching areas) is obvious. While the Division has established risk management strategies to minimise the likelihood of this type of incident, these are governed by the available funding. The Division has also established an emergency response strategy to deal with the implications of an extended power failure. Emergency generators have been purchased to provide limited power supply to designated building and a response group has been formed. As indicated above, fire remains a major risk for the University. While there are well developed plans for dealing with a fire emergency in buildings, the bushfires at the end of 2001, highlighted potential risks to University property, particularly the Mt Stromlo campus. The Division is currently reviewing these risks as part of a process of developing an effective management strategy. Relations with External Authorities: In terms of planning and development, the University is subject to approvals by both Commonwealth (National Capital Authority - NCA) and ACT (Planning and Land Management - PALM) planning authorities. Up until 1999, the responsibilities for the University's Acton site as a whole were with the NCA and the land was designated and any boundary issues were also discussed with PALM. This changed in 2000 when, after many years of negotiation the University acquired a lease for ITA which is on ACT land and subject to PALM approvals. This means that there are now two authorities covering the ANU site. The Division also has dealings with other authorities, including the National Museum of Australia, which formally opened on the Acton Peninsula, in March. The popularity of the NMA, and its inadequate parking facilities, combined to create some initial problems for the University, in that many visitors have been parking on campus property, in some cases causing damage to the landscape. In negotiations with NMA, we have an established a “good neighbour” policy, which allows some overflow of visitor parking to the campus, provided drivers park in legal manner. This arrangement will continue in the medium term, while the NMA establishes additional parking facilities on its site. However, it will be monitored to ensure that University staff and students are not adversely affected. University Outreach: The Division continued to foster its close links to public artworks on campus. There are funds within the CMP for artworks and I am a member of the Drill Hall Gallery and Art Acquisitions Committee, the Public Artworks Committee (as the Chair) and the Creative Arts Advisory Committee. I am also a member of the Outreach Group chaired by Dr Michael Gore. The Division has also established strong links to the student and academic communities through its environmental management area and the Unisafe committee. Additionally, a formal process of meeting with management representatives from Colleges and Halls of Residence was established in 2001. Meetings are held once per semester, at which the group identifies any particular facilities management issues affecting campus residences. The Division also meets with representatives of the Campus Child Care Centres at least once per year, to address any facilities management issues affecting those areas. Audits: As part of its ongoing process of quality management, the Division has initiated or been involved in various audits , reviews and post occupancy evaluations during 2001. These included the following internal audits which were completed by Divisional staff:
Space Issues: The effective management of space remains one of the University’s key operational challenges. The Division completed the first phase of a University wide space audit during 2001. This involved surveying all areas of campus to determine space allocation. The resulting data have provided a useful tool for analysing future space needs. The second phase of this process will be completed in 2002 and will involve physical space audits to determine space usage. The scope of the audits will be expanded to include a review of parking arrangements on campus. In total, space data for 280428.79 square metres of space were collected during 2001. Contract negotiations: The Division negotiated several major contracts during 2001, including the campus cleaning contracts, electricity and gas supply contracts and the grounds maintenance contract. The total value of these contracts is approximately $11M per annum. While, the tariff negotiated for gas supply saw a reduction in charges of approximately 20%, market increases in the cost of electricity saw that tariff rise by 40%. All market advice suggested that the cost of electricity would continue to rise and consequently, after consultation with relevant managers in the University departments, it was agreed to establish a five years contract which would provide some pricing stability. The cost of cleaning also increased under the new contract, by approximately 9%, in real terms. This increase was consistent with current market trends and was essentially driven by statutory rises in award salary rates, superannuation, work cover and long service leave Overall, I feel that the tenders delivered the best value for money for the University available at the time of letting the contract. Environmental Management: The Division continued in its campus environmental management role, which included the implementation of the University Environmental Management Plan. Specific achievements in this area included the establishment of minium energy conservation design standards for all new capital and minor works projects and the construction of the Ian Ross Building using ESD principles. The building subsequently won an award from sustainable design from the ACT Chapter of Australian Institute of Architects (?) . The Division also reviewed the energy conservation program that was funded through CMP and implemented over the past five years. While there is limited base data against which saving can be measured, a reasonable assessment indicates that the investment of approximately $240K in specific energy conservation initiatives has returned a saving of $327K per annum, based on current electricity tariffs. The Division will be looking for further opportunities to establish energy and environmental projects which provide a positive environmental, as well as, financial outcome. Additional information on the Division’s environmental management program is detailed in the Section report from the Executive Officer’s Group. Budget Report:The following details the budget summary (as at 31 December 2001) for all major budgets managed by the Division:
Area ReportsPlanning Office: The major activities undertaken by this area are detailed in the introductory section of this report. However, during 2001, the Planning Office was re-organised to focus on its key areas of responsibility:
This reorganisation saw the separation of the Planning Office and the Drawing Office, the transfer of the responsibility for Space Auditing to the Executive Officer’s Group and the appointment of a Project Office Manager for the Planning Office. Construction Office: The major activities undertaken by this area are detailed in the introductory section of this report. A list of projects managed by the area is attached.
Maintenance: By mid year, the rate of equipment failures was so high, particularly in heating, cooling and ventilation systems, that it was likely to generate a budget overspend in the order of $500K for 2001. While the high rate of failure continued, the budget overspend was restricted to 0.03% primarily by reducing expenditure in the preventive maintenance program. This is a short term budgetary strategy which creates potential maintenance problems in future years. Additionally, a number of split and multi-split room, cooling and heating systems, installed by individual areas during the 1990s have now reached the end of their useful life and are beginning to fail. Under the service arrangements established since the initial installation of these systems, the Section has taken over maintenance responsibility for the equipment and consequently must fund repair or replacement. If failures continue at the same rate over the next few years, current funding levels will eventually be totally devoted to reactive maintenance, rather than any long term preventive strategy. During the reporting period,University Maintenance assumed responsibility for several new areas of operation including the management of Corporate and Halls of Residence cleaning contracts (valued at $2.7M per annum), management of the Facilities and Services store, management of the Signage Unit and the management of the Divisional vehicle fleet. The Section also established an induction training program for contractors, aimed at ensuring all contract staff are aware of their OH&S obligations and comply with Divisional and University regulations, when working on campus. The Section produced an induction booklet and ran 3 courses during the reporting period, training the supervisory staff of all contractors currently employed by the Division. The Section’s key performance data are detailed in the attachment to this report.
Gardens and Grounds: During 2001, the Gardens and Grounds Section initiated a significant change to the method of delivery of grounds maintenance services. The essence of this change was the termination of the general grounds maintenance contract with the current contractor and the establishment of an arrangement that saw some contracted services transferred to in house staff. (Under the old arrangements, the contractor completed tasks such as mowing, weeding and sweeping while the Gardeners Section performed all the technical horticultural tasks.). The new arrangements saw a contract for grass mowing / edge cutting established, with other services being undertaken by Grounds staff. This allowed the Section to appoint three additional grounds staff, within existing funding. They also allowed the Section to divide the campus into 15 areas with an individual gardener being assigned to each section. The anticipated result is a greater sense of staff ownership, which will see the quality of grounds, already assessed by many in the University community to be high, improve even further. Associated with the new grounds maintenance strategy is the formulation of a Section Work Manual (SWM) for each of the 15 sections. Each SWM describes the basic work schedule pertaining to a particular section on a weekly, monthly and seasonal basis. Although some tasks described are common to all the sections, each SWM is focused on the priorities for each section. For example the section which encompasses Union Court has a special focus on the regime required to maintain the presentation of the pavement in Union Court to highest possible standard. (Note that savings from the new contract arrangements allowed the Grounds Section to purchase a high quality pressure cleaner to facilitate the cleaning of the pavement in Union Court.) From the 1 January 2001, the Grounds Section began supplying garden maintenance services to Bruce, Burton & Garran Halls. This follows similar arrangements established with Graduate House, University House, Burgmann College, JohnXXIII College and Ursula College, in the previous year. The provision of these services is monitored through a Service Level Agreement and the cost Grounds Officer required to service this arrangement is fully recovered The Grounds Section continued to be responsible for managing development and renovation projects associated with the landscape, roads, pedestrian paths and bicycle paths. The projects are funded through the Infrastructure Budget within the CMP and are part of a five-year plan. The list of projects in the five-year plan and their relative priority is reviewed quarterly by Divisional Management Group. Projects undertaken in 2001 are listed below:.
The process of maintaining the gardens and grounds of the ANU landscape generates a substantial volume of waste. Consistent with the University Environmental Management strategy, the Grounds Section has established systems to recycle green waste wherever possible. Comparative data for 2000 and 2001 is detailed in the following table, along with information on estimated savings. :
The Section responded to 110 vandalism events in the grounds during 2001. The cost of repairing the damage was estimated to be $15,331 (an average of $1277 per month). The monthly average for 2000 was $2000, suggesting a reduction. However the costs remain high and do not reflect the cost of repairing any vandalism to the outside or inside of buildings, unwanted posters removal and the cost removing litter from the grounds1. The estimate for recurrent expenditure (including salaries) for 2001 was $1,513,715 and the actual expenditure was $1,560,408, which represents an over expenditure of 3.08%.
Security and Parking : A total of 1206 campus incidents were reported during 2001. This is a slight fall on 2000 (when 1236 incidents were reported which was a significant increase on 1999 statistics). The following table breaks down the reported incidents in 2001, into categories.
While reported incidents of violence remain relatively low (3.3% of the total incidents reported), the area of major concern continues to be property offences (both theft and vandalism) on the campus. There constitute a total of 39.5% of all incidents reported. With this in mind, the UniSafe Committee implemented a program during 2001, which was spearheaded by a new poster that targeted the locking of offices to protect valuables. To improve the quality of incident reporting data, the Section purchased a new incident reporting system. The installation of this system began in November 2001 and it is anticipated that the system will be operational in February/March 2002. The implementation of Cardax across campus continued during 2001, with RSPhysSE and RSES being added to the network. All external doors in both areas are now electronically monitored. The CCTV tender closed in December 2001 and the selection panel is finalising technical issues with the preferred tenderer. It is anticipated a contract will be let in early February 2002 with construction commencing in March 2002. The introduction of CCTV will see changed roster arrangements in the Security Section, with a control room being established to monitor CCTV, Cardax and alarms. These new arrangements will come into full effect in early 2002 and will be accompanied by a formal training program for Security staff. This will make use of commercial training providers, including programs conducted by the Australian Protective Services.
Parking: Parking remains one of the Division’s key areas of client service. Consistent with the aim of providing better parking facilities on campus wherever possible, the Division coordinated the construction of the Baldessin Parking Station during the reporting period. This car park provided an additional 500 spaces for students and staff. The construction of surface carpark opposite Old Canberra House provided a further 102 spaces. When adjusted to reflect losses in other areas of the campus, the net gain in parking spaces during the period was ????. The current Parking Permit system runs on the University Mainframe, which is due to be phased out in mid-2003. As a consequence, the Division will need to implement a new system before that date. Given that, a project team was formed to coordinate the selection/development of the new application. The new system will be based on web architecture and will need to interface with relevant Peoplesoft modules. The primary aim of the project will be to develop a system that will service a broad range of campus client needs.
Engineering Services: The Section was actively involved in the provision of mechanical and electrical service support for new and existing buildings. Activities undertaken during the reporting period included:
Section officers also participated as members of various Divisional groups, including the Electrical Emergency Response Team, Energy Conservation Committee and the Risk Advisory Group. Fire and Safety: During the reporting period theFire Safety Unit provided a range of services, including competency based emergency response training for staff and students, investigations and reports of risk incidents which occurred on campus, “in House” consultancy to University officers (eg. Divisional project officers) and the management of Fire Safety works funded from the Capital Management Plan and the Lift Upgrade program. A total of 1156 people attended staff training sessions during 2001. This included training in Bomb Threat procedures for all Chief Wardens The Unit also conducted 35 evacuation exercises covering 55 buildings on campus, including a bomb threat exercise in the John Yencken building. The training records and the results of evacuation are held in the Fire Safety Office. Overall, the evacuation performance was within the set time limits. However, the Unit will be conducting further bomb threat exercises in 2002 to improve staff understanding of the issue and the evacuation response times. By comparison with previous years, there were less emergency incidents recorded on campus in 2001. The following incidents were investigated by the Unit and formal reports were submitted to Divisional Management Group:
Several minor incidents involving the loss of power to areas of campus were dealt with by University Maintenance staff and did not involve the Fire Safety Office. The Unit managed the following projects funded through the CMP during 2001:
Drawing Office: Management responsibility for the Drawing Office was transferred to the Deputy Director in mid- 2001. This arrangement is temporary and will be reviewed in early 2002. The Unit continued to provide both plan registry and drawing services to University officers. During the reporting period it processed 997 drawing work requests with an average turn around time of 2 days per request. In late 2001, an officer was engaged on a casual basis to complete the conversion of 30000 drawings (currently in hard copy) to digital form. This project will be completed in 2002. The updating of drawing and particularly electrical systems, continued during the reporting period and Unit staff also assisted in the design of the new campus map and the development of the Tree Inventory database established by the Grounds Section.
Finance and Administration: Section management changed during the period, with Peter Shipp taking up an new position at Financial and Business Services and Ken Wells being appointed as his replacement in the Finance Manager post. There have been ongoing problems with the provision of accurate financial data during 2001 and as a part response to this issue, the Division established a Finance Assistant position in mid-2001. A further review of procedures in the Section have prompted management to evaluate the effectiveness of the current structure in meeting the Division’s financial and human resource management support needs. As a consequence, some changes may be necessary in 2002.
Executive Officer’s Group: General: The Executive Officer’s Group manages a range of business support functions within the Division, including information technology, human resource management, risk management, environmental management, quality management and strategic planning. During the reporting period, the Section took over responsibility for the University Space Audit. As indicated earlier in the report, the first phase of the audit was almost completed by the end of the reporting period. Follow up audits will be conducted during 2002. The Section also managed or supported the following activities:
The Executive Officer also co- chaired the Organisation Committee for the ATEM/AAPPA Australasian Conference held in Canberra in October. The conference was held over 3 days and attracted 400 management delegates from the tertiary sector. The Section coordinated a review of all Divisional files and associated correspondence management procedures with the result that the Division’s filing system was reorganised to meet the University guidelines. A further review of filing and correspondence will be completed in 2002. Environmental Unit: The Section supervised the implementation of the University Environmental Management Plan, including the following activities:
The Environmental Unit also managed the establishment of two recycling stations in the Union Court, the installation of the Sustainable Transport Board in the University Union and the distribution of 5994 desk side recycling bins. Data collection on the volume of materials recycled on campus is still incomplete. This will be addressed as a part of a recycling management project in 2002. However, information available shows a 25% increase in paper recycling across the Faculties and some research areas against 2000/2001 figures. In late 2001, two new positions were established in the Environmental Unit: Recycling and Sustainable Systems Manager and the Energy Conservation Manager. In the first instance, these positions will be for a fixed term (12 months) and the officers will coordinate relevant recycling/waste and energy projects. Officers within the Unit also completed a survey of environmental management programs established by universities in Australia and New Zealand, which indicated that the ANU program was the most comprehensive in the Australasian tertiary sector. The results were incorporated into a paper which will be published by the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education in early 2002. BSSU: A reorganisation of the Section in early 2001, resulted in the establishment of the Business Support Services Unit which now incorporates the IT Support Section. Along with the reorganisation, an IT Support Officer position was established and funded from within the existing budget. The BSSU provides technical support for applications, hardware and the local area network, as well as business project coordination services. In respect of the latter, during the reporting period, the Unit developed or tested a range of applications, including a space database, contract tracking database, parking space/parking signage database and security incident/lost and found database. The area also coordinated the rollout of the Maximo (Work Management) system to Fenner Hall, Graduate House and Bruce, Burton and Garran Halls (for use in managing their in house maintenance program and stores issue), as well as, giving system access to various business offices across campus and thereby improving the level of relevant information related to maintenance and projects, available to clients. BSSU staff also commenced the project management of the Parking System Replacement Project in late 2001 and will coordinate this project through to completion in 2003. The following details total BSSU staff hours expended on various support activities during 2001( a detailed list is attached): Application and network support: 2689 hours BSSU Projects: 2181 hours Miscellaneous activities: 325 hours The area responded to 723 user requests during the reporting period (a slight reduction on previous years), with the large percentage of these being software related. This indicates an ongoing user-training requirement. This was addressed in part through sending various staff to IT Literacy Programs established by the University. Further training will be completed in 2002. Approximately 94% of user problems were resolved within 2 hours. The average time spent on each request was 38 minutes. Local area network performance remained high during the period, with only one minor server failure occurring during business hours. A return to activities as normal was achieved within two minutes. The area completed three formal reviews of data on the Divisional website, updating information as required. A total of 11 reports regarding accuracy of the information on the Divisional web page were received during 2002 (slightly down on previous years) and the majority of these (9 reports) related to the campus map. All reports were actioned within four hours. The recurrent budget for the Executive Officer’s Group in 2001 was $487000 (excluding Divisional Staff Development and the Environment budgets, both of which were managed within assigned funds). The Section expended $449000 during the reporting period and approximately $38000 will be carried forward to 2002 to funded deferred projects.
13. Divisional Structure, Staffing and ExpertiseThe Division continued it policy of reviewing human resource issues (including gender equity issues) through both, the Human Resource Advisory Group and the Staff Consultative Committee. There were no industrial incidents during the reporting period, though staffing concerns in the Client Service Unit and the Security Unit did require formal consultation. A skills assessment was completed in early 2001 and based on this information, a staff development and training program was established. A total of 82 staff attended various training courses, workshops and conferences during the reporting period. The following staff movements were recorded: Terminations: 10 Appointments: 16 The number of staff on an continuing appointment at 31 December 2001 was 122. This staffing figure is an increase on 2000, and reflects the appointment of apprentices and the establishment of new positions in the Grounds, Security and University Maintenance Sections. The Division also continues to recognise the outstanding performances of individuals and teams through its Client Services Award Scheme. The winner of the Client Services Award for 2001 was Ray Brown, Minor Works Unit. Finally, the Division conducted elections for its Staff Consultative Committee, in early 2001 with several new representatives joining the group. The Committee met on 12 occasions during the year. 14. 2002 ActivitiesThere will be a number of challenges for the Division in the coming year. Among them, addressing the issues raised in the McKinnon/Walker Report and building on the success of our service level agreement and client liaison initiatives, to ensure that the Division’s focus continues to be on effectively supporting the academic and research activities of the University. Our main goal will be to further the continuous improvement process and to establish an enabling culture. Some of the major activities that the Division will undertake during 2002 include:
Other issues that will need to be addressed include the development of effective risk management, the parking and security needs of the campus community and the development of effective communication processes with all clients. The Division will also need to address procedural problems within it financial support and project management areas. 1 Note that University Maintenance responded to a further 29 vandalism incidents on campus, with a total repair cost of $5050.47. Records were not maintained for site vandalism such as the removal or destruction of signs. This information will be collected from 2002 |