Spring is the season in which the voice of nature is heard everywhere. The trees, once more look

fresh and lovely. The birds were silent, now they sing. Thanks to all of you for helping us (KU) get

through another winter. We have gone through many changes recently and I am hopeful that changes

will slow down a bit. As you’ve heard in the news, the budget in Topeka continues to be a challenge

and of course we are impacted by that. As always, let’s continue to watch our spending but still

maintain our facilities the best that we can.

Associate Vice-Provost Nelson and I have gone around the department visiting with several of you

about training opportunities. We want to make sure you continue to have the right tools to perform

your jobs. Not only hand tools, but also the training you need to make good working decisions. We

want everyone to feel good about being part of this great KU team. As always, if you have a suggestion

of how to make our organization better, please bring your ideas forward or place them in one of our

suggestion boxes.

Also, please continue to send in your Campus Operations Employee of the Month nominations.

We’ve had great participation and several excellent staff members have been recognized. Let’s keep

this program alive. I want to thank each and every one of you for all your hard work. It does not go

unnoticed. Your willingness to help wherever needed is what will help our organization stay strong.

My door is always open, stop by and say hello.

Vince Avila, Director, Facilities Services

Note from the Director

The University of Kansas Facilities Services Newsletter First Quarter 2016

If you have not ordered

shirts you are allowed 5

shirts per year from your

last order date. Please see

Amber Wood for shirt

orders. Shirts can no

longer be exchanged for

any reason.

Do you have your KU ID

badge displayed

prominently? Employees

should be wearing a KU FS

shirt OR a KU ID badge

displayed when doing

work in a building. ID

badge cover, clip and

lanyard can be obtained

from your supervisor.

Supervisors can receive

these from Amber Wood.

If you need a replacement

ID—present the non-

working card to your

supervisor who will

contact Amber Wood for

a letter.

News

February 17, Facilities Services hosted a

breakfast a the Kansas Union.

March 30 the university suffered a major net-

work outage when a contract cut the net-

working line.

April 6 the EAC met to hear employee con-

cerns, notes released separately.

May 6 will be the Annual Employee Recogni-

tion Ceremony

May 15 is the 2016 Commencement

KU FOGHORN

Jeremy Mills received the University Employ-

ee of the month from Diane Goddard.

Photos of the severed line that caused the

university wide network outage.

Page 2

This is a reminder to staff of the im-

portance of the EAC suggestion boxes

which are a great way for employees to

share their thoughts and concerns. Boxes

are checked prior to each EAC meeting

where suggestions and concerns are read.

Some suggestions/concerns may not be

read aloud at the meeting if it contains

sensitive information to an individual who

might be embarrassed or feel singled out.

However, all suggestions are taken to the

director, Vince Avila following the meeting

for review and follow up.

Please keep in mind that suggestions are

often most helpful to address when you

are specific of what you want. For exam-

ple, if parking spots are missing that were

once reserved for FS - reference the loca-

tions. This will help to define and correct

the issue.

If you find yourself or others complaining

that something needs to be done, speak

up! Use the suggestion box as a tool to

do so.

Suggestion Boxes locations:

FS Main foyer, Store Room by wa-

ter fountain, Landscape, FS Shops,

Robinson Gym, Ellsworth Hall

Back in February Michelle Albert-

son, Rick Beattie and myself went

to tour the Grainger Distribution

Center in North Kansas City up

by Harrah’s Casino. In my past life

I worked for a pork producer and

thought that facility was pretty

cool. Grainger’s facility is HUGE

and is very impressive! Grainger

has an indoor highway with lines painted on the floor that go all

over the building. The electric

pallet jacks travel on this indoor

highway and can pull several cars

at a time making them look like

indoor trains that constantly

move product around. The order

pickers get to wear these really

cool scanners that are strapped to

their forearms. The scanner is

held onto their pointer finder

with Velcro and has a button they

hit with their thumbs that scan

Tour of Grainger Facility

bar codes on - the shelf they pull the

product from, the item they are pick-

ing, then they scan their paperwork.

Miles of conveyors move orders that

have been picked and placed in bins

from all over the 1.4 million square

foot facility. Bins go up a spiral carou-

sel 2 stories tall, down another con-

veyor to the packers that pack and

label the orders for shipment. Orders

get staged in front of 121 dock doors

to be shipped out to

Grainger customers

in the greater Kansas

City area. Grainger

is the preferred

MRO supplier for

the University of

Kansas. Article con-

tributed by Julie Bel-lucci.

1.4 million square feet (Equivalent to 29 foot-

ball fields)

1.7 million square feet offsite

121 loading/unloading doors

210,000 skus

250 moving pieces of

450 team members

Support 24 branches, Dakotas to Colorado

?

Suggestion Boxes

Linda Ellison cleaning the front doors at Daisy Hill Commons

Mike Brown works on a water main leak at

Westbrooke and Bob Billings parkway.

Praise for Fac i l i t ies Ser v ices

Page 3

Zone 4, Russ Pearson: Thank you for allowing me to adjust the controls for the pool tempera-

ture. I think this will be a win-win…less of a hassle for facilities and quicker

response to pool temperature issues for me. Please thank Russ Pearson for

the crash course for adjusting the controls.

Gary Vancil | HSES Maintenance Tech / AFO

Zone 4 I just wanted to share with you that during the semester break, two individ-

uals (Jeff Bivens and Russ Pearson) came to help fix the AC/Heat in our

Educare classrooms. They were VERY kind and helpful. One man in particu-

lar Russ Pearson came back several times throughout the week to check on the temperature and took extra time to help teach me how to operate the

system so that we can better ensure a comfortable temperature in our

classrooms in the future. Their assistance was very appreciated!

Erin L. Herschell, MA, LCPC, Program Coordinator, Edna A. Hill Child

Development Center

Zone 1 & Work Management: Thanks for all the assistance with getting the multiple work requests sched-

uled for us in anticipation of receipt of the new mass spectrometer for our in-house Geology group (still scheduled to arrive Monday, February 8). The light fixture cleaning, fluorescent light replacement, floor cleaning and waxing

have all taken place. The necessary preliminary electrical has been done and will be finished up when the UPS and the mass spec arrives! The environmen-tal monitoring has been placed and is taking data as I write ….. It really takes

teamwork on these projects and the personnel in Zone 1 and other FS groups are always ready and willing to make things happen for us. We know you have a lot of buildings to service and it takes a lot of coordination and personnel to accomplish this (and to do this in a timely manner). We appre-

ciate all that you do to assist with our day-to-day operations and special pro-jects’ needs. P.S. Last, but definitely not least, a special THANK YOU to the FS Main staff who have been taking lots of calls from me recently and handling

them in a very helpful and professional manner. (Thanks Susie, Melissa & Tanya). When we get the new Maximo system fine-tuned a little more, things will be in even better shape. I also know that has been a big undertak-

ing. Paula M. Conlin Facilities Manager – Nichols Hall

Zone 2: As you all know this weekend is game day (ESPN) as Kansas will play Ken-

tucky. We may have many people wanting to tour McCarthy Hall. Earlier

this morning I went over to check out the Hall, and it looks AMAZING!

Please let Mike Brown and William know how much we appreciate all of

their hard work. KUDOS! Lisa Lynn Stratton, Custodial Coordinator for Guest Services

Zone 4, Ray Beall and Mike Williams: Thank you so much for getting the light fixture in the entry hall changed so

quickly. It is so much brighter and safer for all. We appreciate the monthly

meetings and work that Facilities Services and its employees is providing.

Cheryl L Lincoln, Clinic Manager, Schiefelbusch Speech-Language-Hearing

Clinic

Zone 5: Many thanks for all you do for the Dyche Hall and the Biodiversity Institute staff and students. We really appreciate how well you take care of us. Lori Schlenken, Jamie Keeler, Kate Spark, Jen Haydy Zone 5: Thank you very much for cleaning and waxing our storage room floor. It had taken a beating with moving items in and out for orientation sessions at the

KS Union. Snow, mud, and tracks from the wheels of a dolly had left their mark. Your concern about having moved items was unfounded. If you moved anything, we couldn’t tell; all items were where they belonged. You

had the floor sparkling to where I didn’t want anyone pushing the dolly on the floor again. Your note was appreciated. We don’t see our housekeeping staff which makes it difficult to give thanks when due. Hopefully, Steve is your supervisor. If not, I know he’ll notify the proper person.

Hollyce Morris, Registration Coordinator and Office Manager, Strong Hall

Zone 2, I wanted to say again how much I appreciate the ninja ladies here at Lewis. On a daily basis, they are wonderful, great attitude, so helpful and willing to do what-ever is asked, and then some! I feel the devil is in the details (pardon the expres-

sion) but one example is the information board at Lewis across from the eleva-tors on the first floor. It is where I hang the posters from Housing. At the end of fall semester, I just pulled everything off, and intended to go back and remove

the staples. I got busy with something else and when I went back to do it…you guessed it, they had already finished it. LOVE them!!! Also, I have had lots of times when I will have recycling in my office, that I just intend to take downstairs when I get down there…but when the ladies see that, they always offer to take

care of it. They ROCK all day long!!!! I don’t want to forget the Rock stars at Templin. I also LOVE Karen, she has the best attitude and a heart of gold. I have-n’t been able to spend as much time with her, but when I do, I know she will be

happily doing her job, most likely singing. She is a ray of sunshine, thank you for letting her come to Templin. Based on the conversations I had with her recently she is a hit with the residents as well. And of course Steve, I love working with

him. He is another one that is just a fantastic guy, that I know if I asked him for

anything he would do it with a smile and I can count on him. Side note for Ste-phen Thorpe and Bob Buchanan, they are both top notch as well. How lucky

am I that I am surrounded by such great energy, kindness, and hardworking folks. I have been meaning to send this for a while, and have been distracted, so please forgive my lateness. They deserve only the best, and acknowledgement for a job

well done! Sandra Lollis , Administrative Assistant, Lewis/Templin

Special Services: A big Thank You to James and the crew yesterday for moving all of those appli-ances! They really made it seem like a rather simple task and I had to hustle to

keep up with them unlocking and locking all of the doors… They did an awe-some job! Thanks so much. Dean Noll

Zone 5 Please thank the staff for cleaning the Deans’ wing carpet. I had thought about requesting it – it was looking a bit rough – but hadn’t had the time to do

so. When we came in this morning I noticed that it looked better and then one of my staff brought me the notice that they had cleaned it. Thank them for the cleaning and also for taking the initiative to do so.

Lon Dehnert, Assistant Dean, School of Education Zone 4, Dave Henricks & Alan Fennewald:

Out for my morning walk-saw Dave and his troops working on the hot water-really appreciate it. And—the Sauna looks better than it ever has. A big thank you to Allen for his professional carpentry work and all of you for your persis-

tence. Bernie Kish, Ph. D., Director of Facilities/Lecturer

Zone 4: I would like to thank all of you, especially Larry (of course Tommy, Kristin and Ben!) for making this “magic” a reality! As you may be aware that our Hon-eywell contract has multiple deliverable deadlines for high-performance devices

to be fabricated and fully tested here at KU before each deadline. Unfortunately, the old fume hood quitted right in the middle when we were setting up a new

Schlenk system inside the hood for quantum dots (an important part of our

device) fabrication. We were devastating about our next deliverable in Feb., they few stepped in and quickly devised a plan to replace the broken fume hood with a new one. This is such a serious project and the decision was made only

few days before holiday, which casted serious doubt on my mind that the project would not have been finished within several weeks. Amazingly, this was not the case! Larry, Tommy Ben and Kristin worked immediately to push through the

project and now we are back on finishing up our Schlenk system. I know this could not have happened without your hard work: starting from many communi-cations and planning initiated by Kristin, many trips Larry has made to Malott

Hall in the cold winter days to sort out the best possible strategies, Tommy’s effort to get the procedure through during the holiday season, Ben’s hard work even in New Year eve to make the deadline, and many hard work from all of you behind the scene. I deeply appreciate all your understanding and support to our

research, together with the highly professional attitude and excellent skill you has provided to us and KU researchers! You are a critical part of our research, thank you all.

Judy Wu

Page 4

EAC Employee of the Month February:

Mike Brown Mike Brown is a plumber senior in zone 1. Mike does everything

from clogged toilets to working on water main breaks. Mike is

always friendly, easy to get along with and professional. He is de-

scribed as efficient and right on with every job he’s hit with. Mike

has a positive attitude and great demeanor. Mike will drop every-

thing when an emergency is called in. Mike was nominated by Susie

Albers-Smith.

EAC Employee of the Month March:

Chris Mills Chris Mills is a third shift custodian in Zone 5. He is described by

his coworkers as someone who does a complete and thorough job.

He has a positive attitude and is ready to work. He performs extra

duties and fills in for people when sick of on vacation. Chris main-

tains the flags at Fraser Hall. Chris was nominated by Arlene

Buman.

EAC Employee of the Month January:

Ray Rule Ray Rule is a mechanic in Zone 5. Ray is responsible for all of the cam-

pus generators repairs and the fueling and our generators. He keeps the

generators in mechanical order and will function as needed in power

outages. Ray is the guy the zone can count on to do his best work every

time he is needed. He does his work without complaint and is easy to

get along with. Ray was nominated by Guy Price.

There were two Facilities teams at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Bowling Tour-

nament Saturday, on 2/13. Pics attached of our two teams.

Above picture: Steve Conway, Randy Burkart, Jerry Droge, Joe Barnett

Below photo: Tyler Brown, ,Adam Peterson, Jennifer Bedford, Terry Aircrow

This year’s St. Pat’s beneficiary is The Shelter, Inc.