Building safety capacity on Safety Day 2022 

Last week, Safety & Risk Services hosted Safety Day 2022 for Joint Occupational Health & Safety (JOHSC) Committee and Local Safety Team (LST) members across UBC to gather for a full day of mingling and continuing education workshops.

The day's agenda included sessions on brain health and resiliency, violence risk in higher education, safety tools and training, and a fantastic personal emergency preparedness workshop by our very own, Senior Facilities Manager, Francois Desmarais!  

The day concluded with awards recognizing the outstanding efforts of select JOHSCs that have made a significant contribution to nurturing a positive safety culture and improving the health, safety and security within their respective areas.  

Congratulations to the Energy & Water Services' JOHSC for their exceptional and tireless commitment to ensuring the health and safety of their teams.

A special mention also goes out to Denise Tang, Acting Operations Manager in Custodial Services who managed to win the passport prize for participating in the day's extracurricular activities and visiting all of the vendors present during the conference.    

Thank you to all who were able to attend and all of our JOHSC members within Facilities for your passion and commitment to ensuring and improving our health and safety! 

Fire alarm system update in the University Services Building (USB)

The fire alarm system in University Services Building (USB) requires a software update. To minimize disruptions, the software update will take place on October 17 after 6:00 pm. 

During the update, intermittent alarm bells ringing and strobe lights flashing for about 3 to 4 times, and one being a solid 5 minutes should be expected. The site will not be in full alarm and the whole process shouldn’t take more than 2 hours.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.


2022 Pumpkin Carving for the Kids 

Reminder to register your Pumpkin carving team by Tuesday, October 18!  

Show off your pumpkin carving talent and participate in the annual Facilities pumpkin carving for the kids! Do you have what it takes to be the favourite carved pumpkin this year? 

Our local Cariboo daycare in the University Services building will be Trick-or-treating in their best costumes and voting for their favourite pumpkin.  

Trick-or treating for the kids start at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 31, 2022. Join the fun, enjoy pumpkin pie and coffee while you vote for your favourite carved pumpkin too! 

HALLOWEEN DAY! - Monday, October 31, 2022 

  • Vote for your favourite pumpkin and enjoy pumpkin pie and coffee 

SIGN UP – By Tuesday, October 18, 2022 

  • To register your team, sign up at the University Services Building Atrium or contact Caroline MacLeod: caroline.macleod@ubc.ca 

PUMPKIN PICK UP – Tuesday, October 25, 2022 

  • Please select your pumpkins at the University Services Building Atrium. 

Protect yourself from the flu: Get your flu shot 

Starting this week, Influenza vaccines will be available at community pharmacies across British Columbia. Influenza (flu) season generally occurs in the fall and winter but can occur as early as October and as late as May. Even healthy people can get very sick from the flu and spread it to others. Getting the flu shot is your best protection. 

This year, flu vaccines will be booked through the provincial government’s Get Vaccinated system. For more information on getting your flu shot and locating your nearest flu clinic, visit Immunize BC. For members of the UBC Vancouver community, there are pharmacies on campus where you will be able to receive your influenza vaccine. 

Flu shots will also be available at the VCH COVID-19 Booster Clinic on the Vancouver campus. Bookings will be managed through the provincial government’s Get Vaccinated system. 

Learn more: https://srs.ubc.ca/flu 


Get Ready to ShakeOut and learn about earthquakes with Seismologist, Alison Bird 

On October 20, 2022, practice how to DROP, COVER and HOLD ON at 10:20 a.m. during the annual Great BC ShakeOut. Tour UBC’s Earthquake Engineering Research Facility and attend the SAN ANDREAS movie screening complete with live, scientific commentary from Natural Resources Canada Seismologist, Alison Bird. All events are free and open to the public. 

As part of ShakeOut, UBC will be testing its emergency notification system, UBC Alert. Students, faculty and staff will receive a test notification by text and voice message on October 20, 2022. The test will also run on our campus-wide digital signage systems. 

ATTEND AN EARTHQUAKE EVENT AT UBC 

Share your best ‘Drop, Cover and Hold on’ and tag @ubc on Twitter and @universityofbc on Instagram! We all have a role in protecting ourselves and making our campus safe. 

Learn more: ready.ubc.ca/shakeout 


Employees now able to generate their own employment verification letter

Current UBC employees can create their own employment verification letter in Workday, which will include the following information for all active positions:

  • Position(s)
  • Unit/Department
  • Annual Salary
  • Date of Hire
  • Employment End Date (if applicable)
  • Last Day of Leave (if on leave)

Please note that former employees, contingent workers, and paymaster employees cannot create this letter.

For guidance on how to create your employment verification letter, see Generate Employment Verification Letter in the Workday Knowledge Base.

If you experience an issue, any information appears incorrect, or you require a document with additional information, such as your complete employment history, please submit a Workday support request to Payroll through the UBC Self Service Portal.

Read the full notice


Security Awareness Week is October 24–28

Campus Security will be hosting Security Awareness Week from October 24–28 to actively engage and educate students, faculty and staff on theft prevention and security tips.

Stop by the outdoor safety and security event on October 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the University Commons (University Boulevard & East Mall). 

Get to know our Campus Security team, engage the community together to promote safety and security, and meet some of our internal and external campus partners, including RCMP, Transit Police, ICBC, Crimestoppers, Health and Wellness, Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO), and Campus & Community Planing.

Learn more 


Pilot project to increase compliance with UBC Required Training

Starting this week, staff who are not up to date on their UBC Required Training will receive a notification in Workday. Managers will also have access to a report that outlines compliance for their team(s).

Please keep an eye out for this new notification and check that you are up to date on your UBC Required Training. Further instructions on how to enroll in training and check your records in Workday will be available in the Workday notification.

Later this fall, the project team will be interested in your experience and feedback throughout the pilot. This will inform our approach as we expand the notifications to all employees across the university.

Led by Safety & Risk Services in collaboration with VP Human Resources and UBC IT, this project aims to increase compliance with required training, as mandated by legislation and UBC policies.

If you have questions about the training UBC offers, please contact support.wpl@ubc.ca.

Learn more about the pilot project


Welcome to the team

  • Conor Cregg-Guinan steps into a new role as Operations Manager in Custodial Services. In his new role, Conor will oversee the Dayshift custodial operation and the utility worker teams, and be responsible for the maintenance and execution of the pest control, window cleaning and carpet cleaning contracts.
     
  • Melissa Vincent joins Infrastructure Development as the CAD Technician in Facilities Information & Inventory Systems (FIIS).
     
  • Linda Roseborough, Health, Safety & Wellness Advisor in Safety & Risk Services (SRS) is leaving UBC after 17 years of service. Linda has been an integral part of SRS, and has provided strong support and leadership to many UBC initiatives, including the VPFO EDI Committee. Linda's last day will be Friday, October 21. Linda, you will be missed, but we wish you all the very best!

In case you've missed it  

Here is a quick recap of key events and information that you may have missed. For more details, please click on the links below or refer to our weekly portfolio newsletter, VPFO Update.


Weekly Emergency Tip: Setting up your Medical ID in your iPhone

Medical ID helps first responders access your critical medical information from the Lock screen, without needing your passcode. They can see information like allergies and medical conditions as well as who to contact in case of an emergency.

How to set up your Medical ID in the Health app on your iPhone:

  1. Open the Health app and tap the Summary tab.
  2. Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
  3. Under your profile picture, tap Medical ID.
  4. Tap Edit in the upper-right corner.
  5. Enter health information like your date of birth, allergies, and blood type.
  6. Tap Done.

For more information, visit the Apple website.


Managing your mental health 

Human Resources has collected mental health resources to help you manage your ups and downs. To view workshops, webinars and events, visit the HR event listing.

Our HR representatives are always available for a confidential conversation:

  • Monica Haab (monica.haab@ubc.ca): Building Operations, Energy & Water Services, Customer Services & Informatics, and Infrastructure Development
  • Gregor MacDonald (gregor.macdonald@ubc.ca): Custodial Services and Municipal Services

Thanks for reading!

Find this newsletter and past issues on the Facilities website
facilities.ubc.ca/facilities-weekly

For questions and content submission
 Email: facilities@vpfo.ubc.ca.

 
 

UBC Facilities is part of the VP Finance & Operations (VPFO) Portfolio, and includes six departments—Building Operations, Custodial Services, Customer Services & Informatics, Energy & Water Services, Infrastructure Development, and Municipal Services.
 

UBC Facilities
The University of British Columbia
Campus & Community Planning (C&CP) Building
2210 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
facilities.ubc.ca

VP Finance & Operations (VPFO)
The University of British Columbia
Koerner Library, 6th Floor 
1958 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
vpfo.ubc.ca

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