The campus is a cleaner, brighter and more sociable place this fall thanks to the success of several programs started this spring by UBC Plant Operations.
The improvements, part of the Facility and Infrastructure Management Plan, support the goal of making UBC safe, clean, livable and environmentally friendly -- as described in Trek 2000, the university's vision document.
"An attractive, well-maintained campus environment is a factor in attracting new faculty, staff, students and donors," says David Barnes, director of UBC Plant Operations.
Operation SCRUB attacked the backlog of maintenance problems in 993 campus washrooms and renewed fixtures and components to reduce the number of future breakdowns. In addition, some existing men's washrooms were converted to women's washrooms to provide a better balance of facilities in some buildings.
The backlog of maintenance problems was eliminated in April; an extended program now addresses preventive maintenance.
The Class Trek program improved the functioning of windows, blinds, lighting and projector screens in 113 classrooms. An additional eight classrooms in the Buchanan Building A are slated for upgrading in December.
Also, student social study spaces have been improved in the Curtis and Buchanan buildings with higher cleaning standards and painting and carpeting upgrades. Similar improvements are being made in the Angus building and better lighting for the main social area in the Curtis building will come soon. Student social spaces in buildings used by the remaining nine faculties will be developed this fiscal year.
The Disney Clean program has added three labourers to the team working exclusively on poster and litter removal, making a total of 5.5 full-time equivalent employees assigned to this project. Increased revenues from recycling and other sources made this additional staffing possible.
The program aims to produce the same standard of litter-free grounds seen at Disneyland. It calls for 50 additional new litter bins and replacement of 50 deteriorated or damaged bins. About one-half of the new bins have been installed with the program slated for completion by March 2001.
The Waste Management group aims to raise awareness of the campus litter problem and is planning a volunteer clean-up event in the spring term. For more information on campus upgrades and cleanup, visit the web site at www.recycle.ubc.ca.