Top Stories
Woohoo…exams are over!
It’s a time worth celebrating since we had no major issues during this session of exams. If you think back to any exam you have written, it’s a stressful time and we at Building Operations play a critical role in ensuring the logistics of these milestone events run smoothly. So…a BIG thank you goes to a collabortive team effort to those that helped in preparation, set-up and pack up – FMs, Custodial Services, Utility Workers, labourers. Not to mention, thanks to some start inteventions by the electrical shop, we made it through without a Buchanan power outage.
Come to your scheduled Town Hall meeting…participate and learn
Changes to the FM Zones effective May 2nd
Beginning Monday, May 2nd, there will be temporary FM changes to some buildings. This will provide consistency for customers during the Bio Sciences Swing Space project – Bio North and Centre building being renewed in an 18-month project – and balance FM workloads.
For the duration of the Bio Sciences Swing Space project:
- The green zone buildings of COPP/Cunningham/Wesbrook will be overseen by the blue zone FM, Jason Wright.
- The green zone trades will continue to maintain these buildings under the zone model.
Current building occupants and green/teal zone trades were notified by email on April 21st. The same day, an invitation was sent for a meet & greet for both customers and trades to meet Jason at Wesbrook on Thursday April 28th.
The zone list will be updated and distributed to Building Ops and Project Services. If you have any questions, please contact the Service Centre, Jason Wright or Deb Capps.
Road Work on Southwest Marine Drive from May to September 2016….Use Alternate Routes and expect delays
The City of Vancouver is replacing the sewer main infrastructure along Southwest Marine Drive and enhancing transportation safety for people traveling along this route. This project will take place May to September in 2016 and 2017 and will require full closure of Southwest Marine Drive from Granville Street to Camosun Street. Only local traffic will be maintained.
Here’s a look at our 2015 Safety Stats…
Bravo to everyone for keeping our injury stats low last year. Here’s how 2015 looked:
- A 50% decrease in Time Loss injuries. 19 in 2015 vs. 38 in 2014
- A 47% in Injury Frequency. 3.1 in 2015 vs. 5.9 in 2014
- A 66% decrease in Days Lost. 400 days lost in 2015 vs 1164 in 2014
These numbers reflect our initiatives and accomplishments in 2015:
- Employee Engagement
- Increased communication (e.g. weekly BOPS emails, shop meetings, digital boards)
- Increased involvement (e.g. Bright Ideas, EAOS)
- Employee Recognition
- Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee engagement
- Health & Wellness Prevention – the CENTRE
- Functional Movement Screens
- Healthy “Body” Series (e.g. body, shoulder, knee)
- Heart Health Screening Fair
- Lunch & Learn workshops
- Training series (e.g. yoga, core, group personal training)
- ‘Not Myself Campaign’ campaign
- Flu Immunization
- Training
- New Employee Orientation (new 2-day format)
- Registration for safety training completed immediately upon hiring
What’s in store for us in 2016?
- Ensure continued success of the BOPS First Aid Program
- Continue with immediate reporting of incidents/accidents to First Aid, Supervisor and Manager
- Continue with early intervention through offering of transitional duties
- Review the current process in which AMPs are being distributed and RTW being activated to better assist employee back to work
- Continue with Join Occupational Health and Safety Committee engagement
- Develop additional strategies towards employee engagement
- Focus on Injury PREVENTION.
Keep up the good work!
Mechanical Shop Renovations Update
Demolition is expected to start tomorrow, April 29th. Expected Project completion date is early September. In addition to regular contractor expectations, such as site safety rules and shutdown lead times, the project team has communicated the following:
- Washroom use for contractors is restricted to the washrooms across the Stores counter.
- Contractor break schedule to align with trades break schedule, as much as possible.
- Contractor personal vehicles are expected to park in designated paid areas, outside the construction zone. The only exception is when their service vehicle is necessary for the current work done.
Starting May 2, park your Jack Bell vehicle at the designated area by the Ritsumeikan House
Effective Monday, May 2, all Jack Bell units will be parked at its new location, near the Ritsumeikan House on Lower Mall, past the Car2Go designated spots. As part of the mechanical shop renovation and garage awning construction, the parking lot by the old Orchard House will be used for displaced Building Operations service vehicles.
This week’s special feature…Payroll
This week, we feature one of the smaller teams in Customer Services, but which has a large impact on Building Operations….Payroll!
Each day our clerks, Virginia Langone and Tracy He, enter time cards into our Financial Manager Systems (FMS). This data is critical to many Building Operations processes:
- ensuring that everyone is paid their shift premiums and overtime correctly
- tracking employee’s balances of vacation leave, sick leave and banked overtime
- charging labour hours to different work orders
- producing reports and calculating Key Performance Indicators that the Building Operations Leadership Team uses to review the department’s performance.
In addition to the daily time card entry, Payroll keeps PeopleSoft up-to-date on shop changes and handle various paperwork such as retirements, resignations, ICBC requests, Long Term Disability application among others. How does that look in numbers?
- 550 time cards (about 1,300 lines of data) entered in FMS daily
- 10 – 15 new appointments and transfers processed monthly
- 60 leave of absence forms processed monthly
- 25 banked time payouts submitted monthly
- 90 temporary promotions entered (with the clerical pool), monthly
The “Staff Records” part of their name sometimes get overlooked, but a big part of their job is making sure each employee’s file is accurate and up-to-date, and the paperwork for filing just keeps on coming!
Then, there’s the 4 peak days in a month (2 for monthly, 2 for hourly) called “Interface days.” This is when they need to ensure that all the information for the pay period are entered and audited and then sent off to Central Payroll so we all get paid accurately. So….if there are four days in the month when you were thinking of bringing treats to Payroll, those 4 days would be good days! :)
Register for Spring/Summer Fitness Classes by April 30 for a chance to win free pass
Registration for Spring and Summer BirdCoop and Instructional classes are open! Enjoy a variety of classes at the Student Recreation Centre, the Ponderosa Studio, Tennis Centre and outdoor locations on campus, including Yoga, Pilates, Boot Camps, Group Personal Training, Martial Arts, Dance and more!
Spring/Summer classes start on Saturday, May 14. Register by the Early Bird Registration Deadline, 11:59pm on April 30, 2016, to ensure your spot in the class for the term and for your chance to win either One Unlimited Yoga-Pilates Pass for the entire spring/summer or One 20-visit Boot Camp Punch Pass. Winners will be contacted on May 1.
Want to be a part of the Centennial Graduation celebrations? Volunteers needed!
Staff are invited to participate as a volunteer at one of the upcoming graduation ceremonies. This is a unique opportunity to get involved in this special occasion honouring our students’ achievements. By volunteering, you can be a part of making it a memorable occasion for the students, their family and friends. Learn more and RSVP.