Reorganisation of Building and Facility Management
On 1 January 2017, the field of facility management was transferred from the Finance Division to the Division of Planning, Construction and Safety. There it became the new Department 3.1 Building Operations. With the aim of optimising efficiency in the field of building and facility management, the administration set out to examine and, as appropriate, reorganise the existing sharing of work not only within the division but also between it and other organisational units, such the Central Services in Neuenheimer Feld (ZNF) and the company Klinik-Technik-GmbH. This was also to improve the flow of information. The association HIS-Institut für Hochschulentwicklung e. V. (HIS-HE) was commissioned to provide professional support for the process of change.
Project phase I – organisational investigation (01.01. - 31.07.17)
The first project phase focused on taking stock of the status quo. That comprised the following steps:
- On-site visit
- Customer forum
- Data collection
- Individual conversations
- Six workshops
- Benchmarking
The first project phase was concluded with a recommendation on the future organisational structure and a set of interventions to implement the recommendations.
Project phase II – in-depth phase (01.10.2017 - 31.07.18)
After the administration had studied the recommendations intensively agreement was - also on the basis of changes in general conditions - to study a number of areas in depth. A total of five sub-projects were initiated:
- Commercial facility management
- Technical facility management
- Energy management
- Interface between university administration/ZNF: building superintendent, building services
- Interface between university management/ZNF: Work safety, hazardous substances, fire protection
The results were presented to the President’s Office on 11 July 2018.
Selected results
Commercial Facility Management
Procurement of materials for facility management
All building superintendents in Neuenheimer Feld (NF) will in future procure the materials they need for facility management from the central warehouse in the Central Services in Neuenheimer Feld (ZNF). The laborious process of obtaining several offers will no longer be necessary and they can use the price advantages the ZNF gain through bulk purchasing. The plan is to integrate the building superintendents in the Altstadt and Campus Bergheim into this procurement through the ZNF.
Technical Facility Management
KTG bridgehead
In 2017 the new contract with the company Klinik-Technik-Gesellschaft (KTG) updated the sharing of work between the KTG and the University (emphasising maintenance and upkeep of technical equipment). In order to ensure legal compliance in its operations, Department 3.1 Building Operations set up a “KTG Bridgehead”. One of its responsibilities is to monitor the KTG’s performance of its duties, as required by law. In addition, it plans to draw up an equipment register of all the technical equipment at the university.
Energy Management
Meter structure
The current stock of meters (power, water, heat, cold) was collated in a table relating to each building, which revealed deficiencies in provision due to defective or lacking meters. That provided the prerequisites for developing a comprehensive meter plan (what meters are needed in which building?), that is intended to contribute to containing the high energy consumption at Heidelberg University.
Building superintendents, building services
New service instruction (DAW) for the building superintendent services
A service instruction was drawn up applicable to all building superintendent services. A description of services valid for all University facilities is now available in the form of a service list. That has standardised the working conditions of building superintendents between the university administration and the ZNF. Furthermore, the existing model of a superintendent pool enables an economic way of covering for absences due to holidays and sick leave.
Work safety, hazardous substances etc.
Checking on portable electronic devices (DGUV-V3-Prüfung)
Checking on portable electronic devices is a legal requirement. This regulation has hitherto been met incompletely and in a decentralised way. After a comprehensive evaluation of pilot checks, agreement was reached with the ZNF that the operational checks required by German Statutory Accident Insurance (DGUV) on electrical devices (V3 check, i.e. regulation 3 check) would in future be made by the ZNF for the whole University, since the ZNF already carries out such checks for its own services. That will make a substantial contribution to work safety.
