The Buildings and Grounds Department鈥檚 mission is to 鈥減rovide the 平特五不中 downtown campus community with an environment that is clean, safe and functional.鈥� To do that, we have six units who take care of day-to-day operational tasks that keep the campus running smoothly:聽聽
- Building Services encompasses the campus janitorial services,聽聽
- Grounds Services is our landscaping and horticultural team in the outdoor campus spaces,鈥�
- Garage Services maintains university vehicles,聽聽
- Events Support Services provides the operational support and equipment rentals for the campus鈥� special events,聽聽
- Mail Services receives and delivers the mail for the university, and聽聽
- Printing Services runs the 平特五不中 print shop on the campus.鈥�
How聽has the last half year聽changed things for your team?聽
In typical times, our work is quite standardized. While there is some seasonal variation to our operations, our team鈥檚 tasks are typically repeated on a regular cycle.聽聽聽
In the pandemic,聽all of that has changed. With campus activity levels in constant flux, and new departmental responsibilities, our employees have adapted to changing workloads, new instructions, and short deadlines. All of this while respecting safety protocols that change the way much of their regular work is done.聽聽
This challenge has allowed our team to further develop their agility, cooperation and communication and we are proud of the work that we have accomplished to keep the 平特五不中 campus as safe as possible.聽
Has COVID-19 changed priorities?聽聽
Primarily, many of our services are considered essential and have been operating throughout this closure. This posed many challenges, especially at the beginning when there was so much uncertainty聽because聽keeping our employees safe was always the聽top聽priority.鈥�
Our department has taken over many additional pandemic-related responsibilities.聽聽
- Our Printing Services team designs聽and prints聽all COVID-19 safety signage and 2m floor decals, and our Events Support team oversees聽their installation across all buildings. 鈥�
- Our custodial stockroom has become the central PPE supplier for the entire university, receiving orders and delivering masks, gloves,聽and disinfectant across both campuses.聽聽
- Additionally, we聽oversee聽new delivery hubs in key zones throughout the campus.聽Our team set up stations where they receive goods and coordinate with building occupants to get the packages to the proper recipients.聽聽
- Finally,聽when聽buildings become active, our custodial team聽disinfects聽鈥渉igh touch points鈥� (doorknobs, elevator buttons,聽,聽etc.) in common spaces every 2-hours聽聽and during聽nightly cleaning.鈥�
What is the new reality of campus? How has it changed?聽What should聽employees聽expect when they return?聽
Maintaining a safe environment requires everyone鈥檚 collaboration, and employees should expect many safety measures upon their return.聽 Before coming in every day, employees聽must聽fill聽out聽a questionnaire聽on Minerva聽confirming that they are not showing symptoms, have not been in contact with an infected individual, and have not left the country. Once they arrive, masks聽are聽mandatory inside buildings, and floor decals and signage have been installed to help everyone respect distancing and safety protocols. Finally, employees should make sure to frequently wash their hands with soap throughout the day (or sanitizer聽from one of many distributors聽if there isn鈥檛 a washroom nearby).聽聽
Do you have any tips for聽staying聽connected as a team? Any insights or lessons learned?聽
From the beginning of the pandemic, our supervisors made sure that all 200+ employees were receiving a call at least twice a week to check in and fill them in on the status of things at 平特五不中. Even though many of our team members were at home聽at first, we wanted to be sure that they feel connected and聽supported.聽
As for the聽management and supervisory team,聽they hold a聽team meeting聽via Microsoft Teams聽every two weeks to catch up.聽Having a more casual Teams channel where staff can share news, jokes,聽and funny pictures definitely helps keep everyone smiling in this stressful period!聽
Do you have any moments throughout COVID-19 that shine through on your聽team ?聽
There are so many members of the Buildings and Grounds team who have shone in the past few months!聽聽
As an essential service, our supervisors, custodians, mailroom employees,聽and聽groundspeople聽have continued to show up on campus聽and work safely聽throughout the pandemic period聽- even during the height of the lockdown.聽We are so proud of and thankful for our amazing team.鈥�
Finally, we owe a big thank you to our Director, George聽Lazaris, who has been working around the clock to keep the campus running throughout the pandemic. Successfully overseeing six operational teams, whose mandates are readjusted almost daily as the campus activity fluctuates up and down, is no small feat.聽He has also been collaborating closely with dozens of stakeholders to make sure that聽our聽team can quickly react to changing needs on campus.聽Members of the聽平特五不中 community聽who are on campus are able to聽return to a clean, safe and functional environment thanks to his dedication, adaptability, and great leadership.