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Estates Helpdesk

The Service Centre team acts as the first point of contact for you to report any issues for attention by the estates and facilities services. These may include requesting maintenance work, checking maintenance progress, requesting ad hoc cleaning, requests for minor works, security advice or requests for portering assistance.

The Service Centre is responsible for the logging of all reactive activities throughout the University, and for the effective prioritisation and allocation of all services. The team will review your request and understand the priority of the request before assigning the work to one of our staff or outside contractors.

• Opening Hours: The Service Centre remains a 24/7, 365-day-a-year service, however core opening hours will run from 8am to 6pm from Monday to Friday. Out of hours and weekend calls will be logged by Security at Bramber House.
• Customer service standards: Once your request is logged with the Service Centre, you will receive an email notification with a work order reference number. Upon completion of work, confirmation will be sent by email. This email will also include a link to a feedback questionnaire which helps us understand your experience of the service received.
• Maintenance and minor works requests: Staff should continue to make requests for maintenance and minor works through the Service Centre. However, they will additionally provide guidance on the approvals and funding process, if this is required for planned minor works or larger project activity contacts.
• Progress on requested works and minor works: You may request updates on the progress of works by contacting the Service Centre. All works are logged electronically providing real time information on activities across campus.
• Cleaning: Should staff require reactive/ad hoc cleaning, you may log the request through the Service Centre.
• Other portering services: Academic staff requests for reactive portering services must be logged through the Service Centre.
• Residential service: Student residents can make requests for maintenance or repair to residential accommodation through their residential porters or building manager.
• Booking security escorts: Safety escorts, including escorts to and from Falmer train station, are booked through the Security Office.
• Scheduling events: All campus events need to be booked with the Service Centre, and any provided Risk Assessments completed in full. See the Event Hosting process for more information.
• Raising a discretionary project: To request an estates project in your building, school or department, please contact the Service Centre via e-mail and request a Form 1, complete in full, and submit to the Estates team via information on the form. Please note that task numbers are no longer raised upon requesting a Form 1. 

The Service Centre serves as the central hub for all facilities management services - planned and reactive works across the campus.

University and Sussex Estates and Facilities (SEF) staff are responsible for inspecting and reporting to the Service Centre maintenance or safety matters for all common areas in their respective areas of work. This thorough examination of the workplace highlights potential hazards, such as blocked fire exits as well as identifying any other potential risks or required repairs.

The Service Centre is a point of contact for the following services:

• Staff may log work requests directly with the Service Centre.
• Students are advised to contact the Service Centre if they identify a maintenance or cleaning issue in academic buildings only.
• Residents must contact their dedicated residential porters or building managers for any cleaning or maintenance work relating to residences.

How does the Service Centre work?

When you contact the Service Centre, the operator will ask you a series of questions to determine the nature of your request and assign an appropriate job priority rating. The Service Centre will then log your request in Concept, which holds all information about the job and tracks its progress. As soon as your request is logged you will receive an email notification with a task reference number.

The Service Centre operator will then transfer the job to the appropriate member of the SEF team, who will coordinate or carry out the task (in liaison with you if necessary) and update the system when the job is complete.

The Service Centre will have a central communication role throughout the process and will liaise with you and all parties including the relevant operative, supervisor or manager, if necessary.

During this time, you may request progress updates by emailing the Service Centre and quoting your work order number.

The phoneline will be available 24/7 to receive and log requests and reports - this is operated by the Security team out-of-hours. The Service Centre will be able to receive requests via the telephone, email or in person, where the individual walks up to the Service Centre.

When reported to Service Centre, each call or request for work is given a priority commitment. Appropriate staff are made aware of emergency situations as they arise which take precedence over other work.

Prioritisation of Requests

When the Service Centre receives a call, all requests will be given a priority rating as follows:

• Priority 1 – Emergency Requests: all requests for emergency repairs or other activities where there is a risk to health, safety or security or significant damage to the building fabric, M&E or infrastructure or which causes teaching, research, residential or commercial activities to cease.
• Priority 2 – Urgent Requests: all requests for urgent repairs or other activities where the material comfort or convenience of University users or visitors to the University are adversely impacted or where normal operations of the University are disrupted
• Priority 3 – Routine Requests: all requests for repairs or other activities other than emergency or urgent repairs

For Priority 1 Works Orders issued outside of normal operational hours, the out-of-hours service will ensure that relevant on-call engineers (including any approved subcontractors) are contacted.