In 2015, funds saved through SMU’s Operational Excellence efforts were allocated to expand the University’s high performance computing (HPC) capacity. These funds were designated to ensure the SMU Center for Scientific Computing is accessible to faculty for research 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
OIT Director of Systems Allen Hughes captured the following images when the HPC expansion, named ManeFrame II, was installed earlier this semester.
The below message is sent on behalf of Chris Regis, Vice President for Business and Finance.
We are pleased to announce that effective June 1, 2017, SMU will adopt a new facilities services operational plan that will return the management of campus facilities and grounds services to the Office of Facilities Planning and Management. The new plan will apply to all SMU campuses, including Plano and Taos.
The plan comes as part of a long-range strategy to enhance facilities services. It’s important to note that the savings realized through Operational Excellence will remain available for reallocation to SMU’s academic needs and that no additional cost will be added to the University budget to fund this transition.
Aramark, which has led the University’s facilities services operations since May 2011, will continue in its role until the end of fiscal year 2017. Moving forward, dining services will continue to be led by Aramark.
Over the next 90 days, SMU and Aramark will work closely and collaboratively to begin the transition process of services, staff and resources.
Our goal throughout the transition is to ensure services continue with limited interruptions. As always, those needing facilities services should continue to contact the Service Response Center (SRC) at 8-7000 or their District Lead.
For questions, please e-mail FacilitiesInfo@smu.edu.
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An Access Control Initiative has been undertaken to improve the process by which faculty, staff and student employees request and receive access to campus buildings and spaces. Team members will evaluate best practices from other organizations to help streamline current procedures involving keys, cards and codes.
Updated metrics were posted in January tracking continued savings and improvements resulting from Operational Excellence initiatives. For example, Concur user satisfaction is now 3.9 (on a scale of 5), its highest level to date. The number of printers and copiers supported by SMU has been whittled down to a new low of 987 – the goal was no more than 1,000 – resulting in savings on toner, paper, supplies and maintenance as well as machine replacement costs. The average office supply order size was $446 in the last quarter. The large order size gives SMU better pricing and an additional discount that resulted in savings of $1,347 in that period, the highest since the implementation in 2015. The full rundown on all metrics is here.
The Office of Operational Excellence welcomes input from faculty, staff and students on ways the University can operate more efficiently. Please submit your cost savings suggestions using this online form on the website. Ideas and questions can be submitted anonymously.
Featured News
Meet the Access Control Initiative Team
Assessing Our Metrics: New Data Shows Progress Towards Operational Excellence’s Mission