The Achievement: Centralized more than 100 full-time employees into a new maintenance team
The Benefits: The benefits of streamlining the facility management function are many. The most important results are that employee morale has improved. The staff takes notice of the positive changes and sees the renewed focus on addressing deferred maintenance issues, including upgrading the tools and equipment that allow a facilities group to operate efficiently. The ability to manage the operations budget from a district level, rather than a decentralized management structure, has allowed for more efficient control over allocating funding based on the greatest need.
By completing district-wide condition assessments for roofing, elevators, building envelopes, roadways, parking lots, exterior lighting, and most recently classrooms and restrooms, we were able to prioritize annual funds based on deferred maintenance needs, not just a wish list of items, which often can be the case in a decentralized management structure.
Another big win in this change has been the addition of the electrical services division. With eight electricians, a supervisor, and an electrical services manager, the operations team has been able to perform many projects in-house that previously were contracted out. Staff members were on board prior to the change. However, they were assigned to campuses under the old structure and were more often assigned work orders that did not take full advantage of their skills. Pole light maintenance is now handled in-house. This change alone has saved thousands of dollars annually.
In addition, the recent customer satisfaction survey for custodial contract services and facilities management resulted in an overall rating of “very satisfied.”
— Sean Devaney, Director of Maintenance and Mechanical and Electrical Systems
The Achievement: Helped more than 170 maintenance workers participating in the school district’s professional development program improve their skills
The Benefits: As an operations division team, we feel that providing an optimal learning environment for all students is at the crux of what we do each and every day. The professional development we’ve made available to our colleagues has made an impact not only on that environment but also on staff satisfaction.
Providing training that communicates in a very overt way that our district values our employees and their career development is a powerful message to send to staff. Our board of education and superintendent have developed a forward-looking strategic plan with employee development as a component: “Frederick County Public Schools will hire, support, and retain staff who champion individual, professional, and student excellence.”
We take this goal very seriously and will continue to help staff grow in an ongoing manner so students all across our system can enjoy an optimal living environment.
— John Carnahan, Manager of Custodial Services
