EAC MEETING MINUTES JUNE 7, 2017

In attendance:

Updates from March’s Meeting:

Meeting minutes were sent out to all FS employees.

Safety Vests: Amber has ordered 6 for each zone and Mike Lang has ordered one for every construction worker.

They were handed out to the Managers on July 20th.

Suggestion Box:

  1. The new Health Quest website is really terrible. It’s incredibly hard to navigate, it’s hard to find what information you want. I just spent 10 minutes trying to find out what credits I’ve received to ensure it’s there since it’s “automatically added” and still can’t find out that information. After five more minutes of searching, I finally found a contact us form, which I had four options of helping with doctor questions, nothing about just how to use the site. This website is so hard to use it feels like KU doesn’t want us to use it to get the credits/discounts.
  • We explained that this site is handled by HR but we would pass it on.
  1. Have we heard anything about merit raises for this year?

Tanya spoke with Shannon Nelson and he said that an official letter will come from the Provost Office as soon as everything is finalized.

  1. Will EAC propose to all departments to consider purchasing mats for their employee’s desks? The use of mats will help save on wear and tear of carpets. They also help preserve the wax on the tile floors.

Per Vince, we cannot force people to use mats. They would have to pay for them and we don’t have the right to ask that of them.

  1. Where are we with the new gun policy that is coming in July? What will be the policy for FS employees?

Per Vince, the policy is no unconcealed weapons. Open carry is not allowed. The policy is the same for FS employees.

  1. Is there a possibility for an active shooter training? Are they going to have meetings with us when it’s all set and done? Possibly training from PSO?

We are speaking with KUPSO now. They are willing to speak with groups.

  1. Can you explain what the PM report is and which employees need it?

The PM report shows what happened between 4:00pm and 12:00am. If you are an employee that needs to know what happens in the buildings that you work in after you go home, you will want to be added to the PM report list. Some examples of trades that may need to know would be HVAC, Plumbing, Steam, GMRT, Custodial etc. If you want to stay on top of what is happening in your area, you can be added to the distribution list. There is also an email of maintenance issues that happen after the PM shop leaves. These pertain to the on call phones. Once again, if you need to know what is going on in the buildings that you work in, you will want to be added to this list as well.

  • If you wish to be added to the distribution lists, please email Tanya at
  1. Please do not allow landscape subcontractors to use plastic netting when seeding, it costs time and money and abuses our equipment. It is also an environmental disaster. We have gotten calls that birds are hanging themselves in it as well.

Vince will get in touch with Mark Rieske at FPD regarding this issue.

  1. Keep a good sense of humor in the shops/ joke books.

Per Vince, having a sense of humor is very important in the work place.

  1. Landscape would like to work 4 10hour days

“It is understood by leadership how much staff is interested in this possibility. However, decisions as impacting as these must take into account what is best for the department and more so, the university. Because projects are ongoing and trades can be specialized, it would not benefit our customers to do so. We need to serve the university with a set schedule to which all hands are on deck, so to speak and keep the process streamlined.” - Shannon Nelson

  1. Managers and other people who interviews need to make feedback available to employees after the decision has been made.

Vince said this is doable. We owe it to our folks, if anything, to help them improve.

  1. Can you please bring back the sturdier XL trash bags for custodians? The ones we have are extra thin and we have to use 2 or 3 at a time to keep them from ripping.
  2. Matt will speak with Julie

Vince said that if custodians are having to use multiple trash bags in the place of one, that does not make sense and will not save any money in the long run.

  1. We need to look into the issue with R22. It costs over $1,000 per jug of R22 and it would cost $200 per jug of 421A. We have a major shortage of R22. We have multiple units that are down and can’t be repaired because they sold most of the R22 that we had. We need to look into converting these systems so they can be ran.

Per Vince, there are no units down due to lack of R12. If this in incorrect, please let him know which units they are. Units are down because they are beyond repair and they have gone to a central plant. Vince will get a group of HVAC people to look into 421A and speak with FPD about the possibility of a test run.

  1. With all the changes going on, isZone 1 and Zone 3 going to combine?

Zone one and zone 3 merging is not on the radar for now.

  1. Inventory: Techs were asked to turn in a list of items that they needed for their trucks. They have been told “no you don’t need that” from somebody sitting in an office that is never out in the field. How do they know what the guys need?

Vince needs specifics. He said for vehicles, you should start small and increase as needed. We are not saying you cannot go out to the store room for parts. We are just trying to cut down on the number of trips.

  1. There are more people tracking what workers are doing then there are people in a specific trade in FS. Techs are being micromanaged to the point it’s getting harder to do their jobs.

Per Vince, we are going to be dealing with statistics. When we have a position we want to fill, we have to justify that position higher up and the stats help us do this. Don’t worry about it. Just do your job to the best of your ability. Don’t let it keep you from getting things done. Do you best and move on.

  1. Who keeps track of the equipment costs per unit? We were told that the asset information that we gathered, once in Maximo, the cost per unit will be tracked. Who does that? How does it work?

If a tech has spent a lot of time and resources on a unit and they are still having issues, they need to let their supervisor know and they will get with Shawn Harding and they will go into Maximo and find the costs that are attached to that unit and they can evaluate the situation. The idea behind assets is to track the cost, and if it costs more to upkeep then to replace, they will look into it.

  1. There are some communication issues between Housing and FS. They are skipping work management and either calling us or emailing Laura. Our shop is only 3 people right now. We are having a hard time keeping up with everything especially when housing calls us at the last minute with their “emergencies” and we don’t have time to plan for them. We either need more people, or housing needs to establish their own moving crew again.

Housing needs to follow the same steps that everybody else has to. They need to go through work management. It is perfectly ok to say “yes we would be happy to do that for you, as soon as we have a service request.”

  1. There are issues with Grainger not stocking the Custodial Dens adequately. We are not getting the supplies we need.
  • Matt is going to speak with Julie.

* The EAC is asking with the new changes in place, is moral getting better? Please provide your answers and explanations in the suggestion boxes. Board members will be checking the boxes and gathering responses.

With the help of Pam Bray, I have found the latest update on

The unit-specific KU Climate Study reports are not yet finalized, and we have had to extend our initial June 15 target date to early in the fall semester. The unit-specific reports remain a priority as they represent potentially important contributions toward KU’s overall efforts to assess and improve the working, learning and living conditions at the university.
As has been stated earlier, availability of unit reports — as well as the amount of detail within each report — is dependent upon the level of survey participation within a specific unit. These measures help ensure confidentiality that was promised to survey participants.
All unit reports compiled from the quantitative data set will be shared publicly.