Facilities Weekly

September 28, 2022

Getting ready for the National Day of Truth & Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day

Last year, in honour of Orange Shirt Day and the newly introduced National Day of Truth & Reconciliation, the VPFO’s EDI Committee produced a series of blogs to drive awareness of the legacy of residential schools and help us all foster a commitment to reconciliation.

Read the full series for a deep dive into the history and meaning behind Truth & Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.

A reminder that UBC will observe this day — the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — as a statutory day on both campuses. 

If you are looking for opportunities to take part in events on The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, consider joining UBC Applied Science and Land and Food Systems for an Intergenerational March to Commemorate Orange Shirt Day.

Learn more about events, information and resources at UBC.
New projects approved by UBC Board of Governors

In the Board Committee meeting on September 26, the Beaty Biodiversity Centre Addition received Board 2 approval and the Interdisciplinary Collaboration & Innovation (ICI) Building received conditional Board 3 approval.

Read the Board meeting agenda and minutes

Seismic resilience update presented to UBC Board of Governors 

An update on the university’s ongoing seismic resilience planning and progress was presented to the Board.

Read the full seismic resilience update

New job strategy session (NJSS): September 13

Construction Office

  • Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – Addition
    • Replace the existing cages with walls and doors that extend to the bleachers.
  •  Civil & Mechanical Engineering Building – Electrical upgrade for new machine in CEME 1054
    • Connect new CS 250 Metal Additive machine which will be located in lab 1054.
    • Provide power for 61 KVA unit (480V,80 amps).
    • Provide exhaust port to vent inert Argon gas into atmosphere.

Project Services

  • Anthropology & Sociology Building – Accessibility ramps at ANSOC and DSS
    • Cost splitting between Routine Capital and Faculty of Arts
  •  Friedman Building – Modifications to improve pedestrian safety
    • Consultant review to advise on north side modifications.
  • The Brimacombe Building – Proposed renovations to BRIM 411 & 412
    • Remove miscellaneous furnishings no longer required.
    • Rebalance HVAC system in both rooms.
    • Provide power/data receptacles at perimeter walls as required to suit revised layout. Review locations and quantity with Materials Engineering.
    • Power and data required at new printer location.
    • Patch/paint all walls.
    • Replace existing flooring with new carpet in both rooms.
    • New roller blinds as required for both rooms.

Building Safety Capacity: Working safely at heights

Falls from heights can result in serious injuries. The proper use of fall protection equipment – in addition to planning, supervision and training – can reduce or eliminate the risk of falling.

The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires workers to use fall protection systems when they could fall from a height of 3 m (10 ft) or more, or where a fall from a lesser height could result in serious injury.

The fall protection hierarchy must be used when choosing methods to eliminate fall hazards. The following steps are listed in the order in which they should be considered.

  1. Guardrails

Where fall hazards cannot be eliminated, permanent or temporary guardrails or handrails form a protective barrier around an opening or edge to prevent a fall to a lower level.

  1. Fall restraint

Fall restraint systems prevent you from falling through either travel restriction or work positioning. With travel restriction, workers are attached to a fixed-length line that prevents them from travelling closed to an opening or edge.

  1. Fall arrest

A fall arrest system (including a lanyard or lifeline, a harness, and most importantly, an anchor) protects you after a fall by stopping you from hitting the surface below.

  1. Work procedures

If guardrails, fall restraint, or fall arrest are not practicable, or will result in greater risk of injury, contact UBC Safety and Risk Services to discuss alternative safe work procedures that are acceptable to WorkSafeBC.

To learn more about fall protection and working safely at heights, visit the UBC Safety & Risk Services website.

Shout outs

  • James Cornelia, Project Manager & Victor Wong, Project Coordinator – Shout out to James and Victor for their excellent work in managing the First Nations Longhouse (FNLH) expansion project despite hurdles, such as contamination of the newly installed cold water supply line, sprinkler and water leak, rescheduling of the occupancy walkthrough, etc. Thanks for your hard work, the project continues to a timely completion and handover by September 30. Great work!
  • Facilities and Safety & Risk Services – Thank you to all teams involved with responding to the P. A. Woodward Instructional Resources Centre (IRC) sewage back-up on September 9, and again on September 12 when the issue intensified impacting additional offices and the studio in the basement. Our teams worked seamlessly together from stopping the sewage back-ups to cleaning up the spaces and ensuring the occupants in the building were safe. Thank you all for your assistance.

Job openings

All positions at UBC are available on the UBC HR Careers website, or through the career application in your Workday account. Please note that applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on the day prior to the posting end date. The following VPFO positions are currently open:

  • Project Manager 1 (JR9483) – 09/27/2022
  • Data Systems Administrator, Capital Projects (JR9432) – 10/1/2022
  • Shift Sub-Head Operating Engineer (JR9796) – 10/03/2022

Don’t forget to apply as an internal candidate! Please review the Apply for an Internal Job Posting guide in the Workday Knowledge Base for instructions on how to apply. Reminder to attach a copy of your resume when you apply for a career opportunity in Workday.

In case you’ve missed it

Here is a quick recap of key events and information that you may have missed. For more details, please click on the links below or refer to our weekly portfolio newsletter, VPFO Update.

Emergency tip: Automated External Defibrillators (AED)

Did you know that there is less than a 10% chance of surviving an out of hospital sudden cardiac arrest? Using an Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in the first few minutes can significantly increase chances of survival.

The portable AED devices on campus are located in a white cabinet and have an AED sign above the unit.

For more information about AEDs, how to use them and where to find them on campus, visit the Campus Security website.

Participate in the Corporate Wellness Challenge

This fall, VPFO’s Finance & Operational Excellence is collaborating with Ignite Nutrition to present the Corporate Wellness Challenge, a 6-week program that will help you meet your health and nutrition goals.

Starting on October 5 until November 15, there will be three webinars:

  • Oct 5 (12 pm): Kickoff webinar:
  • Oct 26 (12 pm): Online live cooking demo
  • Nov 15 (12 pm): Wrap up webinar

This program is open to all VPFO team members.

Register here

Managing your mental health

Human Resources has collected mental health resources to help you manage your ups and downs. To view workshops, webinars and events, visit the HR event listing.

Our HR representatives are always available for a confidential conversation:

  • Monica Haab (monica.haab@ubc.ca): Building Operations, Energy & Water Services, Customer Services & Informatics, and Municipal Services
  • Gregor MacDonald (gregor.macdonald@ubc.ca): Custodial Services and Infrastructure Development

Thanks for reading!

Find this newsletter and past issues on the Facilities website
facilities.ubc.ca/facilities-weekly

For questions and content submission
Email: facilities@vpfo.ubc.ca.