DRF 2023 Annual Report

2023 Annual Report

Content 03 Strategic Focus 04 Operational Efficiency Staff Development & Professionalism 05 Safety Student Enviroment 07 Modernization 08 DRF by the Numbers 10 Challenges 11 2024 Priorities 12 What we want SALT to 13 know Conclusion 14 Organizational Chart

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DRF Annual Report 2023

Strategic Focus Areas: The Department of Residential Facilities relies on five strategic focus areas designed to achieve departmental goals and objectives that align with our mission and vision statement.

Our departmental strategy is driven by Student Affairs’ four Strategic Commitments: Our people; Our Students; Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Social Justice; and Our Division.

DEPARTMENT OF RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES VISION:

EXCELLENCE IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

STAFF DEVELOPMENT & PROFESSIONALISM

Investing in staff growth and development to be a competitive workforce in the market.

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Maximizing the productive capacity of our staff

SAFETY

Critical domain of our services and must be at the forefront of our decision-making.

STUDENT ENVIRONMENTS

MODERNIZATION

Using industry tools, practices and technology to be an industry leader.

Recapitalizing our facilities inventory to provide comfortable, supportive and state of the art student living and learning spaces.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

Operational Efficiency Mission-Focused Locations The redevelopment of the Leonardtown area provided the opportunity for us to develop an intentional, decentralized approach to our operations. We are in the midst of the temporary and permanent relocation of mission-focused units to on-campus locations, which will enable us to respond to student and facility needs more efficiently.

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Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing (MEP) is moving to Hagerstown Hall Greek Maintenance is moving to Prince Frederick Hall Urban Biology will move to a temporary location and then to a new, permanent home in Elkton Hall in spring 2024 Administrative staff and Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) will temporarily move to the Service Building and then to a newly renovated north campus location

Summer Staffing Our work during the summer months increases as we support conferences, camps, and other programs housed in residence halls.

To accomplish this additional work, we hire temporary staff, including maintenance, housekeeping, and student employees who perform inventory and inspections.

By adopting a new approach to financial analysis, leadership repurposed existing resources and reallocated temporary summer staff between units. This led to the recruitment of student staff in IT Services and 10 additional housekeepers.

Thanks to the additional housekeeping workforce, our regular staff was able to concentrate on summer cleaning efforts with a more reasonable pace of work and a higher morale during the most critical time of the year.

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DRF Annual Report 2023

Talent Acquisition & Full Team The Residential Facilities team includes 67 administrative/supervisory staff (24%) and 217 frontline employees (76%). Although hiring and retaining talent remains a challenge in some areas, we have conducted pre-boarding sessions for 42 non-exempt and exempt new hires, and approximately 25 student employees.

In particular, the housekeeping program began FY23 with a 12% vacant position rate and we now stand at 3%, aiming to achieve a fully staffed team.

Staff Development & Professionalism Internal Promotions We align with the division’s strategic commitment to the professional growth of our people and acknowledge the importance of creating opportunities that recognize and empower our staff.

During the past year, staff in various units have been promoted to new positions. This includes employees at various levels of the organization, from frontline staff to senior leadership roles, within Building Services, Facilities Maintenance, and administrative units.

Certifications, Licenses & Accreditations Building Services earned the renewal of their Cleaning Industry Management Standards (CIMS) accreditation. Facilities Maintenance staff members had significant individual professional achievements including three new Certified Educational Facilities Professionals (CEFP), one new journeyman electrician, one new master electrician, and two new level-one thermography technicians.

Language & Translation Support To create an inclusive and supportive work environment, administrative personnel provided language translation to support staff during onboarding, orientation, training, departmental meetings, and employee meetings between Employee Services and UHR/Staff Relations.

Safety Safety program In the past year, we have further developed our safety program with senior leadership demonstrating significant management support.

Department supervisors were re-trained in injury reporting and investigation, with emphasis on better root cause determination. Morning meetings include a review of the work of the day and a safety briefing. Departmentwide, every incident is investigated to find causes and explore corrective actions to prevent similar injuries in the future. A comprehensive Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (I2P2) is in development. Both housekeeping and maintenance have active safety committees that will collaborate on this plan.

SERMA Safety Award The State Employees Risk Management Administration (SERMA) awarded Building Services the 2023 Health and Safety Award of Excellence for fostering a top-tier safety culture, minimizing injuries and investigating incidents.

Mold Literacy Training We delivered mold literacy training to over 100 stakeholders, including Student Affairs, Resident Life, Fraternities and Sororities, University Health Center, Accessibility and Disability Service (VPSA) and the University Human Resource ADA Office (VPA). The training’s objective was to educate staff from various departments about mold, staff and student actions to prevent it, and best practices to follow when responding to mold inquiries and complaints.

Student Enviroments 100% Student Satisfaction at Fall ‘22 Opening With the start of the fall semester, nearly 10,000 students returned to our residence halls and started their academic journey. Our Building Services and Facilities Maintenance teams provided excellent service, and received zero complaints from students and their families upon moving in. The Maintenance team worked diligently to ensure a safe and fully functional room for each student. Our cleaning procedures are meticulous and exhaustive; we thoroughly cleaned 50,000 drawers, 10,000 beds, dressers, and chairs, resulting in an unprecedented 100% satisfaction rate.

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Lined Ductwork Cleaning Program

Division of Student Affairs Facilities Strategic Plan

Our Facilities Maintenance team developed an unparalleled HVAC ductwork cleaning program that will improve the air quality in the rooms of 948 students. This program essentially renews the ductwork in many of our residence halls for 10-15 years, providing an extension to the life of these systems and postponing the requirement for replacement.

(Estimated completion October, 2023) Our PDC unit created and led an implementable plan and roadmap to enhance DSA facilities. In collaboration with DRL, STAMP, Dining, DFSL, and RecWell, our team developed the scope, managed the contractor and then read, reviewed and commented on approximately 75 Facilities Condition Assessments (FCAs) producing the most comprehensive FCAs in the university’s history.

Water Intrusion Detectors We partnered with Facilities Management to install water intrusion detectors in residence halls with a history of water intrusion. This advanced technology will alarm a 24-hour dispatch center within minutes, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages by enabling quicker response times.

Development & Completion of the Ellicott Community Program Our PDC unit developed a progressive, innovative, and coherent program for the Ellicott Community that pushes facilities boundaries and provides transformative spaces for our students.

The program aligns with our division’s mission to create environments that enhance mental and physical well-being, empathy, resilience, and enables civic engagement and advocacy.

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DRF Annual Report 2023

Completion of 2023 Summer Projects We successfully completed the 2023 summer renovation projects despite facing unexpected challenges. Cumberland Hall’s emergency abatement and flooring, as well as supply issues associated with Greek row staff apartments, challenged but did not stop us from completing the project. PDC executed approximately $8 million of project work during the summer.

Modernization Industry Leaders: TRAKA Key boxes We strive to be industry leaders through innovative technology that boost operational efficiency and supports our mission. We previously installed 11 TRAKA key boxes within our operational domain and during the past year, we installed an additional six for Resident Life.

This new technology has the capacity to store 1,689 keys and is projected to save approximately 1,700 staff travel hours annually. On a daily basis, we record an average of 250 box logins across campus. We take pride in leading the TRAKA implementation for the division, and also in assisting Facilities Management in implementing their own.

51,629 Paper Service Requests processed in FY 23

Elevate & SHIFT Implementation & Accessibility The implementation of new systems expose new challenges and provide an array of opportunities for our department. These new systems will provide us with tools to streamline administrative and front-line operations. Our staff is strategizing, alongside campus project teams, to develop best practices for training employees and making the new systems accessible to our diverse workforce. To guarantee a successful implementation, we programmed and distributed over 100 iPhones and iPads that will be compatible with the new software.

We remain committed to the strategic advancement of the management of UMD facilities and are proud to have two Residential Facilities staff serving as SHIFT workstream leads and other staff serving as subject matter experts.

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RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES BY THE NUMBERS

268

salary letters Digitization of personnel records

709

personnel files

6.5GB of data

100+

iPhones & iPads

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$8

Summe

Submitted 448 requisitions to Procurement & Business Services totaling

$12,982,181

8M

er Project

51,629 Service Requests

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CHALLENGES Aging Infrastructure & Financial Recovery Due to the shifting of resources to the operational budget in previous years, we are continuing to work our way back from the deferment of infrastructure upgrades. We continue to experience failures of critical systems resulting in increased service interruptions for student residents and building damage due to flooding, leaks, and loss of heat, air conditioning, or water supply.

Staffing Shortage, Recruiting & Compensation We continue to experience staffing shortages across units. We are proud of our efforts to overcome last year’s unprecedented vacant position rate in Building Services which now stands at 3%. Despite this achievement, recruiting remains one of our biggest challenges. Finding qualified applicants is difficult, particularly when wages are not competitive with the local job market. In addition to housekeeping staff, we are experiencing shortages and recruitment difficulties in Procurement and Employee Services. The lack of fair compensation for our top-performing staff is another factor that heavily affects our staff morale.

Purple Line Construction The construction of the Purple Line has affected our ability to manage stormwater in the Leonardtown community. This has led to flooding and water damage in several buildings. Both the construction activities and the frequent storms have had a negative impact on the storm drainage system.

Lack of Project Management & Capital Planning Software While the university will soon implement a new Integrated Work Management System (IWMS) across facilities units, our department will not fully reap the benefits for another two years. Without project management and capital planning software, it is difficult for our department to gather the necessary data to fully understand the current conditions of our facilities. This interferes with our ability to efficiently prioritize facilities budgets, request necessary capital funding, and develop multi-year capital plans to align with the new DSA Facilities Strategic Plan.

Limited Staff Capacity The implementation of numerous university systems has impacted our ability to meet the departmental mission. Concur Travel, SHIFT, and Elevate implementation have been cumbersome and time-consuming, resulting in decreased staff capacity. While we understand the need to move the university forward, the time commitment is still a burden.

Organizational Culture Differences in Facilities Departments We continue to contend with differences in organizational culture, workflows, and decision making processes when working with Facilities Management (FM). Oftentimes, this results in a significant amount of time, effort, and cost to resolve differences and complete projects.

It is not uncommon for large universities to have more than one facilities organization serving the main campus and another serving auxiliaries. A divided, tailored approach is structured to serve specific

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communities’ needs. The current organizational structure follows this approach with FM and Residential Facilities. The two cultures developed differently, aligning with the clients they serve.

FM is structured to serve a larger population in academic and administrative buildings, while we serve the student population living on campus and engaging in student activities. This cultural difference is impacting the reputation of both facilities organizations with the clash of cultures causing inconsistent and poor service to those that we jointly serve.

2024 PRIORITIES Safe & Comfortable Environment We are dedicated to ensuring a safe and comfortable environment for students. We will continue to advocate for campus resources to maintain and improve residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses.

Excellence in Facilities Management We are actively pursuing the APPA Award for Excellence in Facilities Management (AFE). This award is designed to recognize and advance excellence in the field of educational facilities nationally and internationally. Our ongoing collaboration with facilities units across campus, adherence to industry standards, and commitment to fulfill the essential role of facilities operations in the overall institutional mission and vision, will be pivotal in achieving this goal. Our plan is guided by recommendations from the external Facilities Management Evaluation Program (FMEP) in the areas of: leadership; strategic and operational planning; customer focus; information and analysis; development and management of human resources; process management; and performance results.

Strengthening Partnership with Facilities Management In all aspects of Residential Facilities’ operation, our success relies on strong, collaborative, and positive partnerships with other facilities management units across campus. We will develop formal agreements between departments to clearly define roles, responsibilities and authorities.

Residential Facilities will initiate major design projects including: • The renovation of the Ellicott community • South Campus Infrastructure replacement • The repurposing of existing spaces to build new Residential Facilities offices on north campus.

By leveraging the SHIFT implementation and collaborating with Facilities Management, Procurement, and other campus partners, we will complete these projects responsibly and efficiently.

Training & Development In alignment with the DSA Strategic Plan theme “Our People/Us - Our Well-Being and Development”, Residential Facilities invests in the well-being, development, satisfaction, and success of our team members.

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We are developing a comprehensive training plan which includes a variety of resources: • Training and progression series for non-exempt employees • Addition of training staff: Instructional Design & Planning Program Manager, and full time skills trainer • Partnership with the UMD Center for Leadership and Organizational Change (CLOC) to pilot their new Excellence In Supervision Training • Implementation of a formal skills training program (CMI Professional Housekeeper program) for frontline staff • Leadership development program (APPA Supervisor’s Toolkit) for supervisors and managers • Department-level facilitation of WorkDay and AssetWorks training

What we want SALT to know We are currently undergoing a three-year organizational transition. While we remain committed to supporting new initiatives, our primary focus will be on implementing internal operational changes.

Our transformation is essential to become a critical enabler in “every student thriving”.

Our immediate priorities include: • Relocation of Residential Facilities administrative offices and functional units • SHIFT (AssetWorks) development, training, and implementation • ELEVATE (Workday) training and implementation • Action plan based on FMEP recommendations • Initiatives directly related to our five strategic focus areas: - Operational Efficiency - Staff Development & Professionalism - Safety - Student Environments - Modernization Along with recruiting efforts to manage typical staffing turnover, we are focused on succession planning for the next two years. There is a large number of staff eligible to retire within the next three to five years. We are working to transfer valuable institutional knowledge, build redundancy, and realign existing positions to successfully bridge these retirements.

There are also vacancies that are unpredictable. Sadly, two members of our work family passed away last year. Yusef Jones and Sarah Davies were beloved colleagues and their loss was deeply felt throughout the department. We will continue to support our staff through these transitions and as new employees join the department.

We continue to experience communication and management challenges with Facilities Management. This has a direct impact on staff morale, operational efficiency, and fiscal responsibility. We plan to develop service level agreements and memorandums of understanding in hopes of more clearly defining guidelines for the collaborative work between departments.

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Among the items to consider is increasing the limit for project delegation authority, allowing DRF to have more autonomy with construction and renovation projects.

Residential Facilities is mission focused but lacks a distinct organizational identity. Despite our great work and accomplishments, many don’t know who we are and what we do.

We encounter unique departmental challenges and are committed to raising awareness to topics such as language, work shifts, accessibility, and technology. We anticipate potential hurdles related to ADA accommodation, open enrollment, and the implementation of the new systems and technology. However, we are resolute in overcoming these challenges.

We will advocate for our staff and cultivate a community of operational excellence built on transparency, trust, and teamwork. Our goal is to develop a strong organizational identity through proactive engagement. This includes activities that promote brand awareness, partnership and educate our stakeholders on the different elements that make up our organization.

Conclusion The Department of Residential Facilities operational framework is shaped through the lens of Student Affairs’ four Strategic Commitments: Our people, Our Students, Inclusion, IDEASJ, and Our Division.

In alignment with “Our People’’ we addressed staffing shortages and boosted employee morale through succession planning and professional development.

In addressing “Our Students’’ we ensured safe and modern environments where “every student can thrive”.

By embracing “Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism, and Social Justice” we foster an organizational culture that promotes equity, accessibility, advocacy and a strong sense of belonging.

Lastly, guided by “Our Division” we strengthened partnership with other departments and facilities management units, reinforcing collaboration and shared achievements.

This report serves as proof of our ongoing commitments. Each strategic action resonates with the division’s core commitments and propels us toward a shared successful future.

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Organizational Chart

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