Moving in the Right Direction
At the beginning of March, a new SSC facilities director started in a full-time capacity. Mike Bricker brings more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience in facilities management, higher education operations, public-sector inspection, and large-scale project oversight. Mike is fortunate to have had some key long-term former Winthrop facilities employees in important support roles during the recent transition to SSC. The team has worked hard over the last three months to increase staffing and service levels and is poised to continue to build campus-wide confidence and rapport. I have received many positive comments from stakeholders on and off campus, which is notable.
I am pleased to say that there are some early management wins to mention as well. Staffing is currently at 106 percent with a few seasonal employees included in that number. This covers property operations and maintenance, custodial and grounds. SSC employees have been all over campus, inside and out, addressing a wide variety of projects. While the grounds team is likely the most visible (you’ve seen the mulch!), SSC also has HVAC techs, electricians, plumbers, painters and more available for maintenance and repairs, and a strong custodial team to keep our spaces clean and tidy.
With spring and warmer weather ahead of us, SSC will be even busier. One new project that I hope will help all of you will be the upcoming roll out of Maintenance Connect. This new work request system has been in a pilot mode for about a month, and soon it will be open to all campus constituents to begin using.
As Mike Bricker takes the helm, the team is currently averaging over 800 completed work requests per month and is scoring well above average on their post-completion customer service survey. While they ask us to continue to bear with them, we can already see what focus and full staffing can do to bring about positive results. I look forward to continued progress and will update you as needed.
Edward
Edward A. Serna
President
