3.11.1 Control of Physical Resources

Comprehensive Standard: The institution exercises appropriate control over all its physical resources.

X  Compliance
     Partial Compliance
     Non Compliance

Narrative:

Facilities Management Services (FMS) is responsible for the physical assets of Georgia State University. Facility Management Services is comprised of administrative services, customer services, design and construction, facilities planning, renovation, maintenance and operations, building services, and information systems. [1] The entire staff of FMS [2] ensures that the maintenance and development of the physical, environmental, and technological facilities of the university will result in a high quality environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors in performing the university’s mission of teaching, research and outreach activities.

Annually, Facility Management Services prepares and submits a Five-Year Major and Minor Capital Request based on the BOR approved Campus Master Plan [3] for Georgia State University. In addition, FMS prepares a Major Repair and Renovation (MRR) Funding Request. The MRR request is basically a listing of regulatory deficiencies that is submitted for funding to the Board of Regents (BOR) each year. Prior to submissions to the BOR, the list is reviewed and prioritized by a Planning and Development (P&D) subcommittee composed of faculty, staff, and key FMS employees The prioritized list is sent to the Capital Budget and Space Allocation Committee (CBSAC) for approval.[4].  Recommendations from CBSAC are then sent to P&D, who forwards the list and any recommendation to the Fiscal Advisory Committee to the President (FACP). The President approves the final list before submission to the BOR.

CBSAC, a subcommittee of Planning and Development, is responsible for approving all capital expenditures (if more than $25,000) and space changes and allocations across the campus [5]. It consists of members from the University Senate and the Student Government. The Provost serves as the Chair of the Committee and it meets once each month.

Another committee that assists with the control of the university physical facilities is the Classroom Facilities Council (CFC). The CFC meets once every month to discuss the conditions and the technological needs of all classrooms across the campus. This Committee is composed of faculty and staff representatives and is chaired by the Assistant to the Provost.

The preventive maintenance process is centered on a prioritized listing of critical equipment and represents approximately 54% of the department’s direct labor and material expenditures.  This process is used for those 50 major facilities located at the central campus area in downtown Atlanta and also for remote academic, research and recreational facilities.  The North Metro campus located in Alpharetta has all maintenance services provided through a private contractor.  The combination of preventive maintenance and recent major capital equipment replacements has resulted in a significant improvement in the working environment for students, faculty and staff.  Maintenance services are provided through an in house work force and selective contract services for roof repair, elevator maintenance, fire alarm systems, building environments controls, automatic door maintenance and fire protection systems.   Customers can place requests for special needs or report problems in their facilities through the customer center.  This single point of contact allows the customer to place their request for maintenance, design or construction services.  The customer center then channels the request to the appropriate branch of facilities while creating a computer record of each customer request for tracking and performance measurement purposes.

In summary, the Facilities Management Services (FMS) is responsible for planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of all facilities at Georgia State University. The goal of FMS is to provide safe, clean, attractive and energy efficient buildings that are conducive for teaching, research, living and recreation activities. The FMS meets this goal through a program of preventive maintenance and a customer focused system for response to specific customer requirements.  FMS maintains and updates all the space and room inventories across the campus and provides this data to BOR and other constituent groups as required.

Supporting Documentation:

  1. FMS web site
  2. FMS organizational chart
  3. Georgia State University Main Street Campus Master Plan
  4. Example of MRR priority list
  5. Georgia State University Capital Budget and Space Allocation Process