Patrick Standlee was promoted to an Equipment Operator. He is working for Joe Myers on the Grounds Maintenance crew.
On The Move….
In The Spotlight!
Ruth Rowlands has worked at K-State University for five years and is currently the Senior Administrative Assistant in Key Control within K-State’s Division of Facilities. The people on who she describes as “Friendly….for the most part!”
Ruth was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (‘Steeler Country’) but many of her co-workers may not know that she has roots to K-State that go back to the 1960’s. Her dad as well as two of her uncles, one aunt, three cousins, and one brother are all K-State Alumni. In her spare time, Ruth enjoys crafting, knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, reading, and (most importantly)…
“…finding ways to embarrass my kids….especially in public!”
Anyone who knows Ruth very well will not be surprised that her favorite show is “Doctor Who”. And the reason?
…it’s bigger on the inside!”
When it comes to dining her favorite foods are pizza, spaghetti, and Chinese. Her favorite vacation spot reveals her loyalty to “Steeler Country” as she claims Tionesta, Pennsylvania is about as close to ‘God’s Country’ as you can get,
“When you hike to the top of a hill and look out over the valley,the view is beautiful. The different shades of green from the trees against the blue sky…..beautiful!”
Customer Service
By Loleta Sump, Director of Customer Service, Division of Facilities
Giving great customer service to both our external customers (the campus community) and our internal customers (facilities employees) is more than “just part of the job” for me…it is a passion! The mission of Facilities Customer Service is to ensure that any interaction with us is enjoyable, efficient, and effective. I guess it should be no surprise to anyone that customer service is the topic that I chose to write about for this month’s Facilities Newsletter.
After every work order is completed, our external customers have the opportunity to respond to a survey, rating their satisfaction to the work performed. The rating scale is:
1 = Very Poor
2 = Poor
3 = Good
4 = Very Good
5 = Excellent
Over the last 18 months, we have received 421 surveys from our customers with 97% of the ratings being a 3, 4 or 5. Congratulations to each and every one of our facilities employees for performing their duties in a manner that merits such high ratings. Here are a few of the noteworthy comments received from our customers:
- The plumber explained the repair options and gave us a time frame, and the repairs were completed quickly.
- The gentleman handling the situation has kept me apprised of everything that has been going on.
- The employee was very courteous and extremely accommodating. He gave us all the information we needed and also went the extra mile to circle back with us to collect our picks for carpet. This was a very positive experience for us! Thank you.
- The professor wanted to personally thank you for the professional and quick job you did! The professor really liked the note on the door with the card and the updates through email. Thanks again!
- Thank you for providing us with good service on this request. I would rate it as 5, excellent. Your staff arrived promptly and worked to resolve the issue through the building, not just in the one bathroom that was the emergency.
- I’d rate my satisfaction at 5. The work was so unobtrusive and done so quickly that I didn’t even notice it had been completed until this email made me look at my door!
The portion of the comments in red indicate the service that meant the most to the customer and, therefore, resulted in an excellent rating. In contrast, here are a few comments from our customers that were not so satisfied with our service:
- We did not know this work had been done, as no one came and talked to us. When did they come over as we were still having issues late last week?
- Apparently it isn’t fixed, but no one bothered to tell us that. satisfaction 1. Could you please send your technician back to fix it?
- I don’t even know if they showed up. It would be nice for the workers to at least say, they were able to fix it, or, they need to get parts, or it is not fixed and they will be back, or something. I know they are busy but it only takes a minute to stop by my office or the front desk to let us know. Thank you.
Of course, the feedback from our customers is only valuable if we genuinely “listen to what they have to say.” What I hear from these survey comments is that communication is key to quality customer service! Other characteristics of quality service that are noticed and appreciated by our customers include professionalism, going the extra mile, doing the job right the first time and working quickly and unobtrusively so as not to disturb their working environment (if possible). While these survey comments largely pertained to our building maintenance teams, the same characteristics of quality service can be employed by each and every one of us. Let’s show Kansas State University what a great Facilities team we are!
You Are Appreciated!
By Gerardo Negron, Custodial Supervisor
The Seaton Custodial Crew would like to recognize Mike Stoddard for his service as a veteran and for going that extra mile. Mike is a man that has served his country with the utmost respect and is now serving K-State as a Custodial Manager.
We have had the pleasure of working under Mike and appreciate how he gives his all in helping us to do our jobs. He has helped me grow as a supervisor and is always willing to pass his knowledge on to me and the other supervisors. He never forgets to tell us what a great job we do and is there to lend a helping hand when we have a problem whether it is work-related or personal. He listens to us and is very compassionate.
Many Thanks!
By Brenda Miesner, Office of Mediated Education
I would like to give a big “shout out” to Jimmy Sester and Penny Funkhouser for their hard work on the clean up of the water leak on November 5th, 2015 at the Foundation Center. They worked diligently to get most of the mess cleaned up before staff arrived at 8:00 am and went beyond the call of duty to clean up the second floor which is not even their space. Penny and Jimmy are the best custodians we could ask for. They go above and beyond to make the Foundation Center look good, help visitors find their way, and so much more. We are happy to call them a part of our work family!
Happy Birthday!
On the Move…
Charles Kranz has been promoted to Electrician Senior. He is working for Larry McCoy in Construction.
James (Skip) Davis was promoted to an Electrician Senior. He is working for Larry McCoy in Construction.
Welcome to Our Team!
Elisabeth Juliana was hired November 2nd as a Custodial Specialist. She is working for Steve Greinke on the custodial night crew.
William Brewer was hired as a Buildings System Technician. He is working for Christopher Falley in the Utilities at the Power Plant.
Larry Booker was hired as an Engineering Technician. He is working for Larry McCoy in Construction with the Dig Safe Team.
Taylor Pearson was hired as a Painter Senior. He is working for Shelly Hauck in the Paint Shop.
Anne Johnson was hired as a Custodial Specialist. She is working for Mary Grubbs on the custodial day crew.
Janet Treadwell was hired as a Custodial Specialist. She is working for Mary Grubbs on the custodial day crew.
In The Spotlight…
Tammy Powers is the Administrative Specialist in K-State’s Contract Post Office on the west side of Dykstra Hall. She has worked here for three years and states that her customers are her favorite part of K-State.
Tammy was born in Peoria, Illinois and enjoys crafts and reading. Her favorite food is spaghetti and the Lake of the Ozarks is her favorite place to vacation;
“I’m a water baby!”
It might surprise her co-workers to learn that she enjoys riding motorcycles and her favorite movie is The Polar Express.
Kerry McDonald is an administrative officer within the Associate Vice Presidents’s Office for K-State’s Division of Facilities. Her favorite part of working at K-State is the beautiful campus and the people, both staff and students.
Kerry was born in Wamego and has worked at K-State for 26 years. During her time here she has filled a variety of roles but she does have one she prefers;
“I’ve had a lot of different titles but my favorite is ‘evil secretary’ !”
Kerry enjoys several hobbies including reading and traveling. Her favorite vacation spot is Portland and the Oregon coast,
“It is stunning. The people are very friendly and the beaches are all public. The Columbia River Gorge has dozens of beautiful waterfalls to see and the city has large Rose, Chinese, and Japanese gardens. Plus, the television show “Grimm” is filmed there!”
Her co-workers may be surprised to learn that she played the flute in the band and was a cheerleader in high school. In addition to reading and traveling, Kerry is a big fan of movies. Some of her favorites are Last of the Mohicans, L.A. Confidential, Almost Famous, and Shakespeare in Love.
VET MED 101
Greetings from the College of Veterinary Medicine. As Director of Vet Med Facilities, I was asked to write an article sharing information about our department. As I thought about what I’d like to share with all of you, I could not help but think back to when I began working here in June of 2008. After my arrival on campus, visiting old friends and meeting new colleagues, I was surprised at how little people actually knew about the College of Veterinary Medicine despite its nationally known reputation. It occurred to me this may be a great opportunity to share some history about the college as well as highlight some of the projects we have undertaken recently. I’ll call it “Vet Med 101”.
Kansas State University is one of the oldest Veterinary Colleges in the United States to grant the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. In 1905, the College of Veterinary Medicine was established as the Department of Veterinary Medicine. In 1919, It underwent a name change to the Division of Veterinary Medicine when it separated from the School of Agriculture. In 1943 the name changed one more time to the College Of Veterinary Medicine. In 1963 the Veterinary Medicine Program was designated a college after Kansas State became a University. Today, the College claims that more than 5,500 men and women have been granted a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree.
When the College was first established they held classes in the Armory, which was also called the Farm Machinery Hall. In 1908 Leasure Hall was built at a cost of $70,000. The College stayed in the Armoray until 1955 when Dykstra Hall was built. The College flourished during this time. During the 1970’s, known as “the decade of building”, the College underwent a total transformation. Coles Hall, a research facility claiming 310,495 square feet, was completed in 1972. Then in 1975 Trotter Hall, a teaching facility claiming 98,201 square feet, was completed and it included four absorber chillers and a new cooling tower. In 1978 Mosier Hall, a structure designated to house a teaching hospital and diagnostic laboratory, was completed. It claimed 257,968 square feet. During this building project two centrifugal chillers were installed in the basement of Coles Hall as well as two new cells to the existing cooling tower.
When I began my tenure as Director of Vet Med Facilities I was faced with several challenges as the department was 30 plus years old. Among them was a new roof for Mosier Hall as well as many mechanical systems that were either in need of replacement or intensive maintenance/repairs. After evaluating several needs we established that our most urgent concern was the chill plant in the basement of Coles Hall. It was in dire need of being replaced and relocated. The following includes a list of projects our team has accomplished over the past seven years.
1. 2010 – Mosier Hall Roof Replacement. This roof was replaced using Obama using Federal Stimulus Funds ($750,000)
2. 2013 – New Chill Plant with all new chill water coils and valves. This was an Energy Project with Johnson Controls. ($11ML).
3. 2013 NICKS/ICCM Remodel Project on the second floor of Mosier Hall. This was a project to help support the University’s 2025 Vision and included four new AHU’s. ($6.7ML)
4. 2014 Trotter Hall College of Veterinary Medicine Library. ($1.2ML)
5. 2015 Mosier Hall Integrated Research Laboratory. ($1.2ML)
These accomplishments were possible because of the great team we have in Facilities. I would like to thank and recognize my staff for all their hard work and dedication. Maintaining and cleaning the facilities of the College of Veterinary Medicine is a challenging and intense responsibility. The Veterinary Health Center provides care for both small and large animals and requires specialized maintenance that is detail-focused on a daily basis. This is no easy task! I am extremely appreciative of our hard-working staff and their effort to make these facilities clean and operable for the students, faculty, and staff of Vet Med.
Kindest regards,
Allan Leikam, Director of Facilities, College of Veterinary Medicine