Year-end close out for Facilities Work Orders and Implementation of Essential Work Prioritization Criteria

May 13, 2020

Good Afternoon,

As outlined in the campus announcement entitled Planning for Fiscal Stability May 1, 2020, the University will be implementing an immediate freeze on all non-essential facilities projects and work requests, except for those approved through divisional VP (See Essential Work Prioritization).  This freeze is proposed to continue through the next fiscal year.

In conjunction with our year-end work order close-out process, we will be applying this essential prioritization criteria all open work orders and customer service requests currently in the queue.  Major Budget Units (MBUs) (i.e. Colleges, IT, etc.), if they haven’t already, will be receiving a listing of the outstanding work within the next week.  It will include our first pass of what work we deem to be non-essential.  Departments will have the opportunity to review and respond with additional information that supports that the work is essential.  We will also be asking Departments to indicate any work requests that are no longer needed. We would like to have this information back to us no later than May 29.

Every effort will be made to complete partial billing for all billable work done in FY1920. Billable work orders that are not completed by the end of this fiscal year will be carried into FY2021, and if they are deemed essential, completed as on-campus labor resources allow. Please keep this in mind as you review your open work orders and plan budgets for FY2021. NOTE: No new billable work requests are being accepted by Facilities Management at this time for FY1920.

Additionally, the essential work prioritization criteria will be applied to all incoming work and customer service requests. Immediate limitations on our ability to complete work requests are due to the limited staffing imposed through the County shelter-in-place order and social distancing requirements. Essential billable work may be subject to a labor surcharge during the COVID-19 period to cover CSU-mandated emergency pay for our on-campus staff. 

Those work requests deemed non-essential at this time will be moved into a HOLD status.  If work has been placed on hold but is needed in preparation for a return-to-campus plan for faculty, staff, or students, please highlight this by emailing the FM Customer Service Center (fmservice@humboldt.edu). Other work requests placed on hold may be reactivated after the COVID-19 restrictions are no longer in place. Thank you for your patience as we work through this COVID-19 environment.

 Thank you,

Jeanne Rynne
Associate Vice President, Facilities Management 

 

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