Broadcast: News items

The University has announced Interserve, a leading support services and construction company, as its preferred bidder for facilities management services. This follows the detailed procurement process that began in May 2012 to provide sustainable and high-quality services to students and staff as the University grows. The new partner will take up full operational responsibility on campus from 1 January 2014.

The goals of the University in appointing a partner for facilities management are to:

• bring about a significant improvement in services;
• create a single, coherent contract in place of the current mix of in-house and external contracts; 
• bring in a high-quality, experienced partner to deliver best-practice systems, processes and technology.

Services delivered will include cleaning, grounds maintenance, buildings management, portering, mailroom and postal services, security, car parking, waste management, health and safety support, estates project management and energy efficiency.

The 10-year contract will see the University and Interserve working together to improve services and bring about additional investment and benefits such as:

• Much improved helpdesk support which provides access to all facilities management services and will operate 24/7 – helping improve the safe running, security and good management of campus facilities;
• Improved processes, systems and training for staff to work to national standards that are clear and explicit. Interserve’s training processes received the British Institute for Facilities Management (BIFM) award for skills development in the industry in 2012;
• Enhanced training for security and systems to help support on-campus patrols;
• Better and consistent use of technology– eg with more extensive use of mobile devices to receive information, plan and monitor work and report issues;
• Improved technology and systems – eg Maximo CAFM system – to support the management and delivery of the multiple projects planned for, the campus over next 10 years;
• Investment by Interserve to improve energy efficiency and carbon management and help us meet our carbon management targets. Interserve have guaranteed to reduce carbon emissions by 42% in 2016 and 60% in 2023, enabling the campus to become one of the most eco-friendly and efficient in the country;
• Investment in the University estate – Interserve will invest up to £5 million in projects to improve and enhance the University estate, including ensuring training facilities for facilities management staff are industry leading as well as plans to make investments in other areas – eg to improve car parking payments systems;
• Improved systems for emergency planning and business continuity management;
• Part-time employment opportunities for Sussex students on campus and specific new graduate-level entry opportunities for Sussex graduates;
• Up to six undergraduate placements each year, with bursary for good performing students entering their final year and a place on the Interserve Graduate Scheme, subject to degree grades;
• Three new apprenticeships every year for the 10 years of the contract, giving young people in the local area employment opportunities and giving the University a sustainable and highly skilled workforce for the future;
• Commitment to good use of local businesses.

• A dedicated events service to better support the delivery of campus events;

John Duffy, Registrar and Secretary, said: “As with catering, we are looking to a long-term development with Interserve which will ensure that we are making best use of new technology, best-in-class systems and standards. The extensive dialogue process has meant that Interserve understand the University’s needs and our values. I know they will help us to retain and enhance our unique Sussex campus ethos."

“We are now looking forward to a smooth transfer of services in January so that our students, staff and visitors can start to enjoy the benefits of this new partnership."

Interserve is one of the world's leading support services and construction companies, operating in the public and private sectors in the UK and internationally.  It provides facilities management and support services to people in their homes, schools, universities and hospitals and to a range of industrial environments, retail stores, financial institutions, museums, corporate offices, headquarters and business parks for leading UK businesses and organisations.

Bruce Melizan, Executive Director at Interserve, said:  “Our ambition as a business is to redefine facilities and estates management for the benefit of our clients, such as the University of Sussex. Fundamental to this is our people, and with a UK workforce in excess of 30,000 people delivering cleaning, logistics, maintenance and security services every day – of which 20,000 have TUPE transferred to us – we understand the importance of putting people first.

“At the core of our service is the delivery of effective transformation programmes that focus on people and processes to deliver outcomes effectively, improve services and add value.  We look forward to bringing that experience to support the University of Sussex in its ambitious plans for growth and development.”

The University and Interserve will form a limited liability partnership (LLP) in order to operate the contract. Among other things, this allows the University’s current VAT arrangements to continue to operate. This is a common practice and does not alter the way in which services are planned or delivered. The new partnership will be called Sussex Estates and Facilities.

Current facilities staff will transfer under TUPE (the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006), which provides protection to terms and conditions. TUPE information and consultation with the campus trades unions and with the staff transferring will now take place.

Trades unions were informed and letters taken out by hand across campus to all transferring staff, before an announcement was made to the wider community, although with some varied working patterns staff might not have received the letters before the news was made public.

As with the catering transfer to Chartwells that took place in September, rates of pay for transferring staff are not affected by this change. The University has already provided assurances to staff in relation to pensions, core terms and conditions and access to campus services, such as sport, car parking and the library. A small number of staff have opted to take Early Retirement/Voluntary Severance as an alternative to transfer. There are no compulsory redundancies involved in the transfer.

Jane Summerville, Director of Human Resources, said: “We have had constructive discussions with our trades unions and with directly affected staff since May 2012.

“Those discussions, which have been approached professionally and diligently by the trades unions, have led to the positive outcomes, including the agreement we reached on pensions.

“Facilities staff will continue to be a key part of the community on campus. Our new partner will work closely with Chartwells, who provide our catering and conference services.”

A detailed process for managing the transition is being led by the Director of Estate Services, Martin Chalker, working with the team from Interserve. Until January, current services and processes continue to operate.

A list of all areas covered by the contract

Although there will be some service improvements from January, the initial emphasis will be on a smooth transition in the middle of the academic year. More extensive development and improvements will take place as improved training and systems and specific investments are made.

Information on the new services will be shared with staff and students as the transition process continues.  A new forum for staff and students is being created, led by Martin Chalker, to take feedback to continue to improve services on campus.