They say the best way to learn a foreign language is immersion—spending time in the place and within the culture where that language is spoken daily, and where its citizens conduct their lives using it. This concept of immersion is the mindset of the Vice Chancellor of Administration at University of California-Riverside, Ron Coley. Coley researched Lean and Balanced Scorecard in higher education, learned about UW Facilities Services, and reached out to Charles Kennedy to learn more.
“You know, I really don’t think I’m the person to talk to about this,” said Facilities Maintenance & Construction Director Damon Fetters. “This is all the work of employees coming together to make safety a part of the culture and a part of the work that they do.”
Stepping Stones is a training program offered by the FS Training Center, in conjunction with the sponsoring department, which gives frontline staff opportunities to learn leadership skills that are necessary for moving up to lead, supervisor and management positions.
For emergency personnel, being prepared for the worst is a part of the job. So when an opportunity came up to use an empty residence hall for a unique training scenario, emergency planners and police lieutenants jumped at the chance.
For the first-time ever, a sitting University president paid a visit to two Custodial Services teams to learn about their work on process improvements.
“The way that a place looks can make such a difference in so many ways,” said University President Ana Mari Cauce.
