Archive for category: FD Bulletin Foreword

Work to realise the ambitions laid out in the University Strategy continues at pace and over the summer and into the autumn, the University will be articulating how all the strategic plans will fit together, be prioritised and financed. The FD will be heavily involved in the planning, prioritisation and delivery of some of the key enabling projects, for example, supporting our Net Zero ambitions; developing the infrastructure for digital transformation, and reshaping the campus to respond to Future Ways of Working.

With my appointment as Interim Chief Operating Officer, I am starting to look at shaping a post to assume leadership of the Facilities Directorate. This role would report directly to myself and I will of course retain a close interest in the activity happening across the FD and work very closely with the new person to ensure a smooth transition. I anticipate this may take 6-8 months, but I will update colleagues when appropriate.

I can now update on the appointment of Rob Wadsworth as Interim Commercial Director. Colleagues may remember Rob who worked for the University of Leeds previously as Head of Sport and Physical Activity, and has been working in Dubai for the last 5 years. We look forward to Rob starting in his role and I will let you know the full details of a start date in due course.

I would like to draw colleagues’ attention to the communications about managing the transition of some of our activity back to campus and the enabling of staff to move to a hybrid way of working. The Transitional Ways of Working (TWOW) group is working with executive deans, heads of schools and services to understand what types of activities need to be delivered on campus and what activity is best being delivered on campus and line managers have been tasked with developing a shared understanding of this need with their teams. This information will be used to agree the activities that can take place on campus and the space that can be provided for this activity. During this time, we are also assessing what buildings, and spaces in those buildings, can reopen. More details around the TWOW project are due out in mid-July.

I hope that you are all able to take some time to relax over the summer and would just like to thank everyone again for their commitment and hard-work during what has been a really difficult year for everyone. It is very much appreciated.

Finally, I will be asking other members of the FD Senior Management Team to take a turn at writing the foreword for future issues of FD Matters, so watch this space!

Dennis Hopper

Read July updates from across the Facilities Directorate:

FD Bulletin, July 2021. Foreword by Dennis Hopper

Facilities Directorate Update, July 2021

Facilities Directorate Support Services Update, July 2021

Campus Support Services Update, July 2021

Estate Services Update, July 2021

Sustainability Services Update, July 2021

Residential Services Update, July 2021

Conferencing Update, July 2021

Great Food at Leeds Update, July 2021

Sport and Physical Activity Update, July 2021

Once again, I would like to thank colleagues across the FD for the huge efforts and unwavering commitment you demonstrate to keep our services going on campus. As you know, there are a number of students who are eligible to be on campus under the national lockdown guidelines, and we know that there continues to be at least 3,000 students currently living in University accommodation. The FD have more staff than any other department on campus, supporting these students, and I am extremely proud of all of our ongoing contributions. 

I was further reminded of our fantastic work when the latest Sustainability Annual Report was presented to University Council. The report celebrates the huge impact the University is making, achieving global recognition for the work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rankings, and receiving an international award for the collaborative approach to embedding sustainability across all aspects of the University curriculum.  

Staffing wise, there are a number of senior changes across the University to update you on.  Malcolm Dawson, Head of Security Services, will be retiring in March after 29 years of service at the University and throughout his time has been a fantastic ambassador for the University of Leeds.  Also, Jenny Tucker, Commercial Director is retiring in May and will leave a big hole in the FD senior team and we are currently considering the best ways to fill this gap. 

Whilst the advice currently remains for staff to work from home wherever possible, we hope that the continued roll-out of vaccines will enable an easing of Government restrictions and at some point later this year more staff will be able to come back onto campus. Groups across the University are looking at how space is used across campus, building on the positive elements of staff having to adopt new ways of working during the pandemic. I hope to update on this further over the next few months. 

Finally, I want to reiterate again my thanks to you all for your continued response to the pandemic, and for your ongoing efforts in what remains a very challenging time. 

Dennis Hopper 

Director of Campus Developments 

Read February updates from across the Facilities Directorate:

FD Bulletin, February 2021. Foreword by Dennis Hopper

Facilities Directorate Update, February 2021

Facilities Directorate Support Services Update, February 2021

Campus Support Services Update, February 2021

Estate Services Update, February 2021

Sustainability Services Update, February 2021

Residential Services Update, February 2021

Conferencing Update, February 2021

Great Food at Leeds Update, February 2021

Sport and Physical Activity Update, February 2021

Reflecting back over the summer months, teams across the FD spent a great deal of time and effort to reopen buildings on campus. It was certainly not an easy task, requiring a collective effort and high levels of coordination across the FD, in particular Estates and Health and Safety teams, together with our academic colleagues and central services. The majority of buildings are now reopened and working well in support of student learning, student experience and University research. Thank you to each and every individual across the FD who supported this reopening project, it was certainly no easy task!

As students returned and we moved into the new academic year, I have been extremely proud of our teams in Residences and Catering who have demonstrated such care and commitment to our students in Halls, supporting isolation needs and finding innovative solutions to the challenges faced. Our teams in Sport and Physical Activity have enabled students and staff to exercise and play sport safely and our cleaners and security staff who have ensured that campus remains a safe environment. Further details on this breadth of activity is included below.

In September we also welcomed our new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simone Buitendijk, who joins from Imperial College London. The recent Working Together webinars hosted by Simone were a great opportunity to hear from our new VC, and the senior leadership team at the University. They give insight into the University priorities moving forward, which include the focus on digital transformation and ensuring we build back better after Covid. I would recommend listening to them on the For Staff website if you have not already done so.

With the latest Government news this week, some elements of services have been forced to close their doors and further challenges for us likely lie ahead. However, I have no doubt that we will face this next stage with the positivity, resilience and commitment you have all demonstrated so far.  As I write, the first potential vaccine has just been announced which could help get things back to near normal by spring next year… let’s all keep our fingers crossed!  Thank you again for all your continued hard work during these difficult times.

Dennis Hopper
Director of Campus Development, Facilities Directorate

How do the latest lockdown measures affect FD Services?

Campus will remain open and will continue to operate in a Covid-secure way, with the safety of staff and students remaining our top priority.

Students are being encouraged to remain in their current accommodation until the end of term (11 December). By remaining in Leeds, students will be able to get the maximum benefit from teaching and learning activities and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities that are provided face-to-face, as well as benefit from the support and camaraderie of those in their immediate households.

Cafes on campus will remain open for takeaway services and the Refectory will continue to provide a seated service – for students in catered halls only – and a study space for all students.

All sports and physical activity facilities will close until 2 December, with the exception of those provided for elite or academic purposes.

Working arrangements

Our general principle remains that staff who can work effectively from home will continue to do so, coming onto campus only where that is necessary to deliver or support research, student education or the student experience, or because of another agreed reason to work on campus.  Previously it was communicated that this arrangement would continue until at least the Christmas break, but it is now clear it will last well into 2021.

Working from home can be challenging for some and the University are continuously reviewing the provision of wellbeing, health and support services to colleagues who continue to work from home.

If you are working on campus on an ongoing basis or a one-off visit, it is important that you follow the safety measures in place and agreed working on campus processes.

A tremendous effort to re-open campus

Over the last few months, we saw a phenomenal team effort across Services in the FD to re-open our campus buildings, which has been an integral part of the University re-entry process and above all, to ensure we continued to maintain safe environments for our staff and students.

The details below give a sense of the enormity of this project and the teamwork that has been required to ensure success:

• Estates Maintenance ensured all building utilities such as water hygiene testing and alarm testing was all compliant and operationally safe.  The handy gang team fitted over 2000 hand sanitiser dispensers across different locations on campus.
• Estates Capital Development drew up plans of all sizable academic buildings over the summer, indicating the approach required internally for social distancing (one way systems, access to floors, kitchens, toilets, maximum capacities of teaching spaces, offices, etc.) with signage and hygiene point locations. Members of the team were also seconded as Facility Managers, where they assisted Schools and Services in the coordination and management for the re-entry to buildings.
• Our mechanical and electrical engineers worked with other Estates colleagues to ensure that building ventilation and electrical systems were fully serviced and operationally ready for the start of the academic year.
• The Estates Project Management office team meticulously managed the processes and procedures involved in successfully re-opening the buildings.
• The FD, Marketing, Sales and Communications Team communicated information on building re-opening to all students and staff by providing weekly updates on the dedicated University coronavirus website. In addition to creating communications plans for building users to follow and designing all social distancing signage.
• Health and Safety were heavily involved in making the buildings Covid secure, through identifying all health and safety requirements, implementing social distancing signage for each building and gaining approval from the University re-entry Group to enter buildings.
• Cleaning Services ensured all re-opened areas were thoroughly cleaned ready for occupation in a Covid secure environment, delivering an enhanced cleaning regime and keeping the sanitiser points maintained.
• The Facilities Managers coordinated activities with the Faculties and supported the Covid re-entry response.
• Security Services reviewed access arrangements for all buildings prior to opening to ensure any new arrangements were safe and secure.
• The Facilities Support Team and Estates planning and information teams worked to prepare the teaching space to ensure it was Covid ready prior to opening which included the removal of furniture from over 160 rooms throughout the campus. Locking and access arrangements for all the buildings that were opened were reviewed and reconfigured.

Sustainability collaborations

It’s been a very busy few months for the Sustainability team who have been integral to setting up the University’s Coronavirus reporting system, reopening the Bike Hub and welcoming two new interns to the team.

As students returned to Leeds in September, the University needed a way to support students and staff who tested positive for Coronavirus. As the Sustainability team already run the city’s Universities and Colleges Neighbourhood Helpline, the service was perfectly placed to design and run the University’s new Coronavirus reporting system. The team is now managing this system to report on positive cases and ensure staff and students are getting any help and support they need.

Working alongside colleagues in central communications, the Sustainability team have created guidance to support students in private accommodation. This forms part of the main university Coronavirus website and includes information on how to keep yourself and others safe, understand the rules in place around social distancing and highlights the fines and sanctions students could face if they break these rules.

As part of the University’s ongoing commitment to maintaining an inclusive community, the sustainability team have led an initiative to join forces with Leeds Beckett University to help further tackle antisocial student behaviour in our wider community. The universities have funded additional Leeds Antisocial Behaviour Team (LASBT) and Police patrols with the aim to reduce noise and nuisance behaviour in areas where students live.  Read the full story on the University Webpage 

At the beginning of October, the University’s new cycle to work scheme launched. After months of hard work with the Sustainability and the Staff Benefits teams working together to find the best option for our staff, the new provider, Cyclescheme, was appointed.  This is a positive enhancement to the existing University sustainable travel package and the main benefits of the new scheme include:

• Increase in the upper funding limit from £1,000 to £3,000 to enable colleagues to source a wider range of electric and accessible/adapted bikes and safety equipment.
• A network of over 2000 independent cycle stores nationwide for staff to select a bike and safety equipment that is right for their lifestyle.

It is hoped that this change will enable more people to give cycling a go. Find out more about the scheme on the HR Staff Benefits Webpage.  

The University Bike Hub has reopened after working closely with colleagues in Estates and Health & Safety. Staff and students can once again hire bikes or get help with bike maintenance through a new appointment system to ensure social distancing rules can be followed for everyone’s safety.  For more details visit the Bike Hub webpage.

In October, the team welcomed Zoe Gilbank and Phoebe Jarvis who will be working with the team for the next year under an internship as Sustainability Projects Assistants. They will be involved in a mix of projects from Blueprint to community engagement and the team is excited to have them with us and see what fresh perspectives they can bring.

Conferencing supporting students and external partners

Since late August, the Conference Office has worked closely with the International Student Office to provide a welcome and self-isolation support service to students from outside the UK. The two departments have collaborated to support all enquiries prior to and after arrival. They set up and managed a registration system for all international students to confirm their arrival date, transport requirements, self-isolation food box, kitchen and bedding pack needs. They provided a welcome and transport service from both Leeds Bradford and Manchester Airports and during the “normal” meet and greet period additional staff provided a welcome in Leeds Train Station.

To date, the team have registered over 1800 students from over 80 countries. Helped 1166 students with self-isolation food boxes, helped 1039 students with transport from airports and provided 60 bed and kitchen packs.

The team have continued to support the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust with their International doctors and nurses recruitment by providing accommodation across the University’s residential portfolio. Cloth Hall Court also continues to support the Nightingale Court, as well as welcome meetings for up to 30 people in a socially distant capacity.

As a result of the pandemic all events for the charity Communication Matters, a Positive Impact Partner, were cancelled, so, in partnership with MEETinLEEDS the team set up some virtual events, using Aventri, to help raise awareness and vital funds for the charity. The twilight sessions had both academic and social elements and were held every Thursday afternoon in October.  Activities involved a virtual balloon race, a virtual disco, a performance from the amazing ‘Sing Out Loud’ alongside keynote speakers and presentations.

Estates – Capital Development Team

Over the year, many of the larger building projects continued on site and Capital Development project managers and clerk of works managed the projects in terms of quality, programme, cost and risk, but with the added complexity of ensuring that contractors had policies and procedures in place to maintain social distancing and hygiene practices. This led to the University enhancing the contractors’ welfare facilities with more toilets, offices and break time accommodation. With lengthened timescales of work activities, the team reorganised the site programme due to fewer operatives allowed on site because of social distancing and assessed the impact on vertical supply chain risks as many suppliers had furloughed their staff.

After the Grenfell disaster, organisations were requested by the government to ensure that their buildings were safe in case of fire risk. To meet this requirement the Capital Development team have undertaken a complete fire risk survey of all our residential accommodation and academic buildings, with rectification works undertaken where any weaknesses were encountered.

FD Finance

In July, the FD Finance team were busy completing the financial year-end. The FD is a large, complex organisation comprising of multiple different business models, and the accuracy of the forecasts and quality of the results is a true testament to the team’s work. The first updated forecast of the year has also just been completed, this allows us to track our financial position and the good news is that we remain on track to deliver cost savings and reductions that we identified and communicated to the University back in May/June.

The team continue to work on a variety of projects across the FD; they are currently reviewing all spending requests up to £5,000. This helps ensure we manage the way we spend our money in the FD. They continue to provide support on the large construction projects including the Generating Station Complex and Spen Farm, for which they have developed a new charging model to help recover money from research projects and make the Farm financially secure.

The team is currently recruiting to fill the vacancy previously held by Shelley Fox, with an ambition to bring in a slightly more senior post holder who can develop commercial strategies, work on day-to-day finances of the commercial aspects of the FD and provide deputy cover for the Head of Finance. In the meantime, Louise Larkins is looking after SPA, with support from Robert Dewar. Ryan McDermott is looking after Catering, PCB, Mailroom with Kev Stephenson’s support, also Campus Support with Dionne Walker’s support. The team are managing well but during peak periods may be somewhat delayed in responses.

Sport and Physical Activity keeping the University community active

Prior to the recent national lockdown, Sport and Physical Activity services worked hard to put in place Covid-secure measures to reopen facilities and this enabled nearly 11,000 unique visits to the pool, gym and exercise classes, and nearly 4,000 unique visits to our outdoor sport campus. The team received positive feedback from students and customers alike. Thanks go to Cleaning Services, Estates Services, Health and Safety Services and Leeds University Union (LUU), who have supported this excellent collaboration and hard work.

Most of the outdoor and indoor student Gryphon Sport Clubs returned to training at The Edge, Cromer Terrace and the outdoor sport campus as well as various facilities across the City.

Whilst the new national lockdown means that facilities must once again close (with the exception of those provided for elite or academic purposes), growing numbers have been signing up to take part in keeping active virtually. The staff virtual run relays, organised by the Get Out, Get Active team had 90+ staff members signed up for the Halloween run in October. Read more about the events here and why not sign up to one of the next events?

Cleaning Services keeping us safe

Cleaning Services have reviewed how they operate in the short term to support the start of the academic year and reviews will continue as the situation and demands change. Currently, there is a dedicated day time housekeeping team who regularly sanitise main touch points in all open areas, mid-day teaching space check and sanitise, check clean and sanitise washroom areas. In addition, there are battery operated sanitiser sprays for large area sanitising such as stair handrails and lecture theatres, a specialised sanitiser coating product is used in these areas periodically as well as ongoing touchpoint sanitising.

There are dedicated team members working around the campus checking and filling all the hand sanitiser units every day, so if you come across one that is empty don’t worry it will be filled soon and there will be another one close by for you to use in the meantime!

Thanks go to the team for always promoting the upmost professionalism whilst carrying out their work. They have had to adapt to very different way of working and are front facing in controlling the risk of infection through the cleaning methods and products being used.

As we all continue to work together to reduce the risk of the virus please remember that the most important control of infection for individuals is washing hands regularly and thoroughly, if no hand wash facilities are available please use hand sanitiser, wear face coverings and observe social distancing.

If you have a cleaning or sanitising related queries please email the Estates Helpdesk eshelp@leeds.ac.uk

Catering

The Refectory team have been working around the clock to ensure that home-style cooked food and essentials are being hand-delivered to students self-isolating in halls on campus. The operation, run from the Refectory kitchen, involves chefs preparing fresh meals each day for any catered students who are self-isolating.  The team recognise the importance of eating well for physical and mental wellbeing and have made it a priority to support students’ eating habits during isolation.  All planning and preparation has centred on the individual needs of the student and ensuring that the food delivered is healthy, nutritious and enjoyable.

Despite challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Great Food at Leeds (GFAL) team have continued to work towards the end of 2020 target to remove single-use plastic from their operations. As part of this work, GFAL are once again accepting reusable cups for hot drinks after developing a new procedure to ensure the safety of their use for both staff and customers, reducing the number of single-use cups being used across campus. Working alongside Sustainability, the GFAL team also introduced on campus disposable cup recycling bins which have separate sections for lids, cups and waste liquid to make it as easy as possible for customers to recycle any disposable cups still being used. The new coffee-cup shaped recycling bins can be found in the Refectory, The Edit Room, Café Maia at Ziff, Loma and Café 7, read the full story on the Sustainability website.

The Refectory team are also celebrating as they recently retained the Gold award status for sustainable business operations, with an increase in score from last year.  The Refectory received high marks for initiatives around reducing single-use plastic, tackling food waste and sustainable fish swaps.  Read the full story on the GFaL website.

Security Services

Security staff continue to work with the highest commitment and dedication in supporting staff, students and visitors during this unprecedented period.  Lately, the team have been involved in several initiatives aimed at student safety since the start of term; these include Operation Walksafe and the Student Ambassador Programme.

Operation Walksafe takes place every year where the team ensure the safety of staff and particularly students during Fresher’s week. This year has inevitably been very different from previous years, but the team continued to offer the service which has been extended to the end of term.

Security Operations Manager, Steve Sloan, was seconded to coordinate the Student Ambassador Programme which commenced in early September. This is a programme to assist and orientate new students to campus, assisting them with wayfinding and helping to answer any questions they may have especially on Covid 19 guidelines.

The team wished a fond farewell to Jon Turner, long-standing Shift Manager, who retired after 34 years, service. Jon was thanked for his dedication and commitment throughout his career at the University.  In August they welcomed two new recruits and saw PC Charlotte Maude commence a six-month role as the Police Higher Education Liaison Officer and congratulations go to Malcolm Dawson, Head of Security who has been appointed the Security Institute Representative on the Advisory Board of ProtectED.

Residential Services supporting students

The Residential Services team has had an extremely busy few months since the start of the new academic year. A new contactless and staggered arrivals process had to be created to enable students to move in safely via booked time slots, which ran very smoothly. Once students arrived the Residence Life team ran a series of virtual welcome events to help new students settle in and meet new people in a safe and enjoyable way, and these were attended by over 700 students across all the events. As well as this, the Residence Life Wardens held virtual welcome talks to help students to settle into their halls.

A key part of the Residence Life team’s role this term has involved supporting students who have been self-isolating inside residences. This has involved offering them pastoral support, as well as advice and guidance on how they can get food delivery or do their laundry during this time. The new self-isolation webpage has given students lots of useful information, and the team have been running regular Zoom calls with students to help them through self-isolation.

Managing discipline and the new social distancing rules inside of residences has also been an important challenge. As part of the arrivals process, the team worked with the FD Marketing & Communications team to create a guide and a video for students explaining how social distancing would work in accommodation. Enhanced disciplinary regulations and accommodation contracts were created to include the new social distancing rules, helping to ensure the comfort and safety of all staff and students in residences.

In collaboration with the FD Marketing & Communications team, Residence Life also created the No Tricks, Just Treats Halloween box for students. This was a box of Halloween-themed goodies including sweets, recipes and ‘Stick the Fangs on the Vampire’ game given to every household in residences and proved a huge hit.

Marketing, Sales and Communications

Over the last few months, the team have collaborated with the Student Communications team to find innovative ways to engage students, supporting a range of University-wide projects. These included ensuring a successful student ‘welcome to campus’, promotion of the additional campus study spaces, filming and creating the important reassurance ‘safety for students’ video and continuing to engage students with campus activities that enhance the student experience.

Digital channels have become ever more important and the team have been working hard to ensure that all FD websites are compliant with the accessibility legislation. This work is now almost complete and with IT for final checks. This includes the development of the new Sustainability website which launched recently.

As the construction of the Sir William Henry Bragg building draws closer to completion a series of workshops with stakeholders have been undertaken by GFAL to determine a name for the new café in the building.  The chosen name for the new café brand is ‘1915’, named after the year in which the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Sir William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays. The name will now go through all the necessary legal checks and brand registrations.

The team are saying farewell to two colleagues, Vickie Hesketh (Digital Marketing and Communications) who has a new role at the NHS and Mike Walker (Marketing, Sales and Communications for SPA) who has a new role with ODPL. The team welcomed two new student interns to the team: Abbie McGurk working on digital communications; and Howe-Yee Law working on graphic design projects.

Leeds Carers appointments

Carers Leeds offer free confidential telephone appointments to University of Leeds staff who care for a family member or a friend with an illness, disability or addiction. The aim of these, 40-minute appointments is to provide a wide range of practical advice, support and information to working carers.

Upcoming appointments are available on 11 November 2020, the first appointment starts 9.10am and the last appointment starts at 1.30pm.

To book a telephone appointment, please contact the EPU on equality@leeds.ac.uk. More details about support for staff with caring responsibilities can be found on our webpage.

After significant change as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, I wanted to thank staff across the Facilities Directorate (FD) for the positive response you have all given to the unprecedented challenges we have faced. In particular, your dedication to maintaining essential operations across campus and your commitment to supporting the well-being of our students. Many of you are adapting to working from home, balancing the demands of care responsibilities, looking out for neighbours, volunteering to support the NHS and doing the right thing in line with government advice. We also have a core of essential workers who remain on campus who are enabling the University to care for the students who remain in Halls and offer support to our partners in the NHS. This commitment is greatly appreciated and further details of the work happening across the FD can be read in the sections below.

Everyone has really stepped up to the challenge and this current crisis has demonstrated the dedication and professionalism at the heart of the services that make up the Facilities Directorate. There is no doubt that further hard work lies ahead before we can return to some degree of normality, but the efforts delivered so far show that there is a great deal to be confident about around the ability to plan and implement the necessary operations to overcome these challenges.

The estate shutdown has had to be enacted with little time for planning, but because of the diverse range of specialists within the various teams, it has happened in a reassuringly orderly fashion. However, even now colleagues are engaged with planning for re-occupation of the campus and wider facilities to ensure the University can be back to full operation as soon as practicably possible as restrictions begin to be lifted.

Thank you again for your tremendous efforts and I hope you continue to remain safe and well.

Dennis Hopper
Director of Campus Development, Facilities Directorate

Shutting down the estate, maintaining essential services

The current crisis has placed huge and unusual demands upon the Estates and Facilities service in planning and safely implementing an unprecedented shutdown of University activities, the like of which has never been seen before.

Colleagues across Estates Operations have been busy, particularly with preparing for the closure of most buildings. They have been supporting services with staff who still need to access the campus, maintaining statutory compliance to protect buildings and remaining occupants, and also planning for the eventual re-opening of services, which in itself will be a huge undertaking. Grounds and Gardens and Handy gang staff have also been helping move, offload and store essential items, including hospital beds, in support of the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust.

The Water Hygiene team, ably assisted by volunteers from across the Maintenance team, have been working daily throughout the estate to ensure water services remain safe and secure. Similarly, the Fire Alarm team is working in the majority of buildings to maintain life safety systems protecting them against the risk of fire whilst unoccupied. The Asbestos team and Health and Safety team have also been coming on to campus for business-critical work only.

The Generating Station Complex (GSC) remains a key service provider to the University and the Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust. The present crisis means that the operation of this facility is more critical than ever. Consequently, key members of the Operations team have been tasked with focusing exclusively on planning (with the contractor Engie) the continued safe operation of all services from the GSC with an emphasis on serving the hospital as the critical partner.

The lockdown does present a unique opportunity for us to better understand how energy is used across campus. The Engineering team have been working to carry out the planned shutdown of non-essential facilities to reduce the University’s energy demand to a minimum. This will help reduce wastage and running costs and help inform any future works required to address the University’s net-zero carbon challenge.

Our campus development projects have also been placed on hold. For the immediate future, we have stopped work on most of our campus developments, refurbishment and improvement projects, except for projects where the contractor feels they can safely continue whilst closely following the Public Health England recommendations. These projects include the Sir William Henry Bragg Building and The Esther Simpson Building. The teams are currently assessing the impact of delaying projects and continuing to develop ways to be in a position to tender schemes once there is more clarity about future activity on campus.

Keeping campus safe

As one of the essential services that remain working on campus during the shutdown, the Security Services have been ensuring that campus buildings and facilities remain safe and secure. Security have stepped up high visibility patrols of campus to act as a deterrent to crime and the team are managing access to buildings across campus to ensure that they are available to essential workers.
Security have also taken steps to ensure that staff and students still on campus can access face-to-face advice and support whilst still adhering to social distancing guidelines. A new 24/7 WhatsApp video call service has been set up on 07876 866747, for anyone who needs to speak directly to a security officer. If support is needed in person then the Security Office remains open as an essential service during the shutdown.

Jo Hynes, Deputy Director of Estates & Facilities Services, said: “The Security team are truly a leading example of our values. They are going above and beyond to ensure the safety of the campus and be a first point of contact for all enquiries. They’re supporting students who are still living in residences and are managing essential contractor access. All of this whilst having to work differently themselves and maintain good practice in terms of social distancing and their own safety. Thank you to all the officers and staff!

“A special thanks as well from the whole security team to Catering Services and Bev Kenny. They have very kindly provided meals throughout this period, making the officers feel appreciated. In the current circumstances gestures like this help a lot!”

Caring for students living on campus, catering and managing deliveries

The Great Food at Leeds (GFAL) team has been working hard in providing food and drink to students in accommodation and essential workers on campus.

During the last week of term, when outlets were closed, front-line teams did a tremendous job of keeping vital operations going including providing takeaway meals to students at The Refectory. As well as this, our staff worked with LUU and the Co-op to ensure that all surplus and perishable food was donated to students and local charities across the Leeds and Bradford areas.

GFAL teams continue to work hard to support the University and the NHS, with now over 30 members assisting in other areas such as Residential Services and more taking up operational positions at Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust.

The coronavirus situation has presented several challenges for Residential Services. With the closure of most campus facilities and the end of in-person teaching, many students decided to head home rather than remain in their accommodation. This led to huge numbers of students contacting the Accommodation Office with questions on everything from their rent payments to key collection and what they should do with belongings left in their rooms. The Accommodation Office team have worked incredibly hard to assist students with all such enquiries and continue to do so.

Considering this extraordinary situation, the decision was taken to allow large numbers of students to withdraw from their accommodation contracts early on 27 March. Notwithstanding that, between 1,560 and 2,600 students are still living in University residences, and Residential Services staff are looking after them. Those in self-isolation, and some with disabilities, have been provided with advice and guidance for how best to look after themselves during this time, and where necessary, food and supplies have been delivered to their flats by Residential and GFAL Catering Services staff.

One consequence of so many students vacating their rooms early has been that Residential Services have been able to offer empty rooms to staff working at Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust. This is a great example of the FD being able to provide resources to support our local hospital.

Post and deliveries have kept arriving and with most areas of the University closed those items could just have piled up. Team members in the Print and Copy Bureau/Post Room have had to cope with those pressures and continue to maintain a service. They have been taking in post and larger deliveries, storing many items or issuing those that are essential. As well, they have had to open, scan and transmit urgent and important mail for remote workers e.g. for the Finance Team.

With conferencing events due to take place now being postponed or cancelled and future events looking for a supportive ear, the MEETinLEEDS team are giving reassurance to all our customers, whilst planning for what the business might need to look like in the coming months, including the launch of the new Cloth Hall Court facility.

Ian Robertson Director of Residential & Catering Services said, “Teams in the Residential, Catering Services and the Print and Copy Bureau/Post Room, have alongside their colleagues and many of our contractors, continued working to provide services that are essential to the customers we serve and they’ve done a great job.”

Managing health and safety

Colleagues from Health and Safety Services have also been supporting work across the FD from managing contractor access and induction at the beginning of the shutdown to developing and managing risk assessments for the essential activities that teams are performing. They have also developed proactive guidance on health-related issues and how best to accommodate the demands of working remotely.

Helpdesk, Office Support and Car Parking

To prepare for the relocation of FD staff from campus to working from home, the Office Support team have worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to ensure that we have had sufficient IT hardware and access to software. The team are continuing to support with day-to-day activities of the FD, which includes ensuring staff are kept up to date during these fast-moving events, logging urgent work orders onto SAP and maintaining records of completion dates which are critical to ensuring that the physical infrastructure of the University is maintained during this shutdown.

To help support NHS staff working at Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust, the FD has offered free use of the parking facilities on campus. This will enable more NHS staff to travel to the hospital via car and avoid the risks of travelling on public transport during the current lockdown. The car parks are also now free to use for any University staff who are still coming onto campus as essential workers during the shutdown.

Keeping campus clean

Cleaning Services continue to have a cohort of staff who are providing essential support to activities that are still taking place on campus. This includes areas such as the Dental Hospital and Worsley Building, laboratories being used to support the NHS’s efforts to combat coronavirus and buildings where other essential staff are working. The team continue to manage the clinical waste process on campus, as well as ensuring external areas of campus are kept clean and tidy.

In the coming weeks, the team will be working on a plan to remobilise the campus for when the current isolation rules are lifted. These plans will include a standard deep clean to ensure that all University students and staff have the best experience when they arrive back on campus.

Impact on Central Teaching Space

The team are constantly in touch and are busy working from home. As the University determines how teaching will be delivered in the first semester of the new academic year the team will be assessing the impact on central teaching space facilities and the potential increased demand for lecture capture and live streaming facilities.

Planned refurbishments of teaching spaces have been paused and using data from the Condition Audit and from Timetabling, consideration will be given to maximise the best use of space.

Innovating communications, developing our digital channels

The FD Marketing, Sales and Communications team have continued to provide invaluable support and advice across the FD over the last few weeks. In the quickly changing environment, the team have been busy supporting all FD services and the University Central Communications team to ensure the various complex communication messages are delivered quickly and effectively to all students, staff and other stakeholders. Where needed, they have created new methods of communicating such as the new FD staff text messaging service.

Whilst continuing to support the ongoing communications needs, the team will also be focusing on essential sales and marketing project work and planning activity that can be delivered in-house to ensure the FD can maintain income generation once operations resume on campus. We will also be developing all our FD websites to ensure compliance in line with new regulations.

Your home, your move – keeping the University community active

Following a well-coordinated shutdown across all Sport & Physical Activity facilities, the team have continued to be on hand for customers by handling enquiries and questions about the closure and many colleagues continue to work from home across the service.

Essential workers are performing regular on-site checks and upkeep to ensure the swimming pool at The Edge is maintained efficiently and the wider team are working hard to help keep our community active and healthy at home, including launching a new digital workout hub, Your Home, Your Move and a virtual running club.

The service continues their teaching of LEED modules to students and coaching and performance services to athletes online, plus promoting volunteering opportunities for students during the crisis. Work on many projects continues and planning for the future is a key priority for the team along with managing key stakeholders and external funding partners effectively to maintain relationships and excellent service for customers in the future.

Supporting the University and our wider community

The Sustainability team have truly come together to support the wider University in the past few weeks, with team members stopping their usual roles to support the University’s central critical incident team and pandemic planning group. Team members have worked within Residences, calling students who are self-isolating and helping them where needed and this has required the rest of the team to be flexible in sharing workloads and priorities.

The team continues to offer support to the community through the Leeds Residences Helpline which is also now being used to allow members of the public to report if they are concerned about the wellbeing of any students still living in Leeds.

Although the Bike Hub has had to close, the team, together with Security, set up new processes to allow customers to still return their bikes or extend their hire. Alongside this, they are answering any bike maintenance queries online to continue the help service and keep people active.

Some projects and activities have been postponed but the team are finding new ways of using technology, for example, a digital celebration for the annual Sustainability Awards.

Alongside all this, the team are helping to support our communities citywide by working with partners to coordinate volunteering activities.

Director of Sustainability Louise Ellis said, “Our commitment to Sustainability as a University continues at times like these and it is more important than ever to work together to support each other and to find sustainable solutions we can put in place moving forward.”

Ensuring we can stay connected, developing new processes

The Programme Management office has been supporting all FD colleagues by providing training on how to use cloud-based systems such as TEAMS and transferring their information so they can work from home. As a result of being offsite, some teams will be unable to undertake their normal activities, and this provides a rare opportunity for people to step back and consider how their team processes work and what could be improved. The team are available to help colleagues develop improvements to their ways of working.

Managing FD finances, establishing new spending approvals processes

The FD Finance team have continued to provide financial support and advice across the FD over the last few weeks. The team have been working to achieve their scheduled deadlines which, at this time, include Month End and IPE submissions. In addition, they have been providing additional ad-hoc financial support to Heads of Service during the current unprecedented circumstances.

Whilst the team will continue to support the FD in the provision of ‘business as usual’ financial information they will also be supporting the FD management team in enforcing the new approvals processes for incurring expenditure, the provision of additional financial information to support decision making and supporting the University to ensure continued financial sustainability.

Our staff, mobilising resources

The HR team have been busy ensuring that staff salary payments are made and letters to the identified essential workers are distributed.
The HR team have also been looking at ways to mobilise resources within the FD and identify critical/key tasks across the FD, and with partner organisations, and how FD staff can help support these. More information about this will be coming out shortly.

Updates on the University response to Coronavirus can be found at coronavirus.leeds.ac.uk and on the FD website news section at facilitiesdirectorate.leeds.ac.uk/news/.