Estates Customer Services Pop-up Stand Event

Posted on March 15, 2019 by wjs

26 March 2019, 10am – midday
Marlowe Foyer

The Estates Customer Services Centre was launched in June 2018 in response to feedback received by the customer survey conducted in March 2018. Comments indicated that customers felt the Estates Department wasn’t transparent enough in its operations and people didn’t really know who did what in the department.

We held an Estates Showcase event last June, which highlighted all of the areas of the department and gave customers the chance to meet the staff and gain a better insight into what we do. It was at this event we launched the Estates Customer Services Centre. The key objective of the Customer Services Centre is for the Customer Services Advisers to take ownership of each enquiry and act as a liaison point with the customer.

Since then we have also published our Who we are, what we do and where we are going booklet. This is available to view on the Estates website: https://www.kent.ac.uk/estates/who-we-are.html, and we will also have copies available at our pop-up event. This booklet outlines the sections of Estates and also includes our road to cultural change.

It is really important to us that we continue to engage with Schools and Departments, so we have decided to hold Customer Services pop-up events across campus. This will give everyone the opportunity to come and meet some of the team and ask them anything Estates-related. It may be that we can’t answer all of your questions at the time but we will take them forward on your behalf and update you afterwards.

Your feedback is extremely important to us and we aim to continuously improve our services. Please come along and see us as it would be great to hear any suggestions you have.

Best wishes

Sarah Cooke
Head of Customer Services & Engagement
Estates Department

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New Postal Services timetable from 11 March 2019

Posted on March 4, 2019 by wjs

From Monday 11 March 2019, Postal Services will be operating a new timetable for deliveries and collections at the Canterbury campus.

A copy of the timetable for your building can be found on the Estates Department’s website.

If you have outgoing business post which needs to leave the campus after the scheduled delivery/collection time for your building, Postal Services will still accept it if it is brought to the Post Room between 9am to 3pm, Monday – Friday (with the exception of Bank Holidays).

In addition to this, the Postal Counter Service, open to all staff and students, will be changing its opening hours to 1pm – 2pm, Monday to Friday. General advice and information on sending personal post and packages can be found on the Postal Services web page.

Please contact Estates Customer Services on ext 16666, or by emailing estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk if you have any questions regarding this.

Kind regards
Estates Customer Services

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February 2019

Posted on February 19, 2019 by cc587

Ruth Roberts, Waste and Cleaning.

The nomination was received from Jenny Martine, Interior Services, and Signage Manager for Ruth’s hard work, ownership and commitment for cleaning various monoliths on campus in the run up to the recent applicant days.  This resulted in providing a great first impression to prospective students and their families. Jenny acknowledges that Ruth went above and beyond those duties expected in her normal daily routine.

In awarding the Staff Excellence Award the Senior Management Team, acknowledge the impact made to both the Estates Department and the University

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February 2019

Posted on February 19, 2019 by cc587

Wayne and Jason Wheeler, Maintenance Section.

The nomination was received from Becky Verlin, Kent Hospitality, for the service provided during a recent boiler breakdown at Thornden Court. Wayne and Jason took ownership of the task, through to completion thus reducing further disruption to the occupants. Becky, commended their communication skills and for providing an excellent customer service in a challenging environment.

In awarding the Customer Services Award the Senior Management Team, acknowledge the impact made to both the Estates Department and the University.

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Estates Department adverse weather action

Posted on January 30, 2019 by wjs

The Estates Department have activated their Adverse Weather Bronze Plan today. During times of adverse weather, Estates work together to ensure the Canterbury and Medway campuses remain as accessible as possible, and that staff and students are well informed about the conditions on and around campus.

Campus Security receive MET Office weather alerts and pass these to the relevant Estates teams. As Security are on site 24/7, they help to monitor the conditions on campus and help with any safety issues arising from the adverse weather.

The Grounds Maintenance team work hard to grit the priority roads, car parks and paths, before moving onto other areas of the Canterbury campus. Today, the Grounds Maintenance team have gritted all the main roads, car parks and paths on campus, some multiple times.

Medway Facilities Management have also gritted the Drill Hall and Gillingham car parks at Medway campus.

Gritting is very difficult to get right as timing is key. If you grit too early, you waste the salt as it is blown away. Heavy rain can also wash away the salt. Ideally the grit goes down on a damp surface and starts to stick. Learn more about how gritting works.

During times of adverse weather the Transport Team are in constant communication with other Estates teams so they can provide helpful updates to staff and students. Check out their planning your journey webpage for advice and tips about travelling during adverse weather. The webpage provides links to journey planners and service providers so you can easily check the status of your journey. The @unikent_travel and @CampusShuttle twitter accounts are also shown from this webpage. The Transport Team monitor the tweets about the roads and travel providers that may affect staff and students. They have also been tweeting from @unikent_travel this morning to give updates on gritting and the conditions of the car parks.

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January 2019

Posted on January 23, 2019 by cc587

Matt Cheney, Estates Health and Safety Officer. 

Ron Moore, Assistant Director of Estates, Maintenance and Technical Services nominated Matt, for the Asbestos Testing Kit initiative recently introduced to Estates.  The use of the kits has resulted in a significant cost saving and improvement in time response, reducing delays in work.

In awarding the Staff Excellence Award the Senior Management Team, acknowledge the impact made to both the Estates Department and the University.

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January 2019

Posted on January 23, 2019 by cc587

Chris Hargrave, Postal Services. 

Jackie Fotheringham, Business Relationship Officer in Kent Innovation and Enterprise, has expressed her appreciation for the assistance and knowledge provided by Chris, when sending a high volume of training materials to the US recently.  Jackie said,  “Chris removed a lot of the stress for me”.

In awarding the Customer Services Award the Senior Management Team, acknowledge the impact made to both the Estates Department and the University.

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Estates Department Christmas Lunch

Posted on December 13, 2018 by wjs

In order to permit members of the Estates Department to participate in their Christmas lunch, the following areas will be closed, or operating a reduced service from 11.30 on Friday 14 December:

  • Estates Customer Services will be closed from 11.30 and will re-open again at 08.00 on Monday 17 December. Anyone with enquiries about emergency defects should contact Campus Security on extension 3300. Authorised intranet users can still report non-essential defects via the Estates intranet service or email estatescustomerservices@kent.ac.uk.
  • The Estates Department reception will be closed from 11.30 and will re-open at 08.30 on Monday 17 December.
  • The main Switchboard will be closed from 11.30 and will re-open again at 08.30 on Monday 17 December. If you would like any diverts set up on your landline or mobile devices, please email telexchange@kent.ac.uk before Friday.
  • Postal Services will not be delivering or collecting mail after 11.30. Timings will be brought forward for the departments that normally have their first or only delivery/collection after this time. The Post Room will be closed between 11.30 and 15.00 and the Postal Counter for personal mail will not be open on this day. If mail volumes are not excessive, outgoing items collected before 11.30 should still be processed on the same day. Urgent items of business mail may be hand delivered to the Post Room between 15.00-15.30, where they will be processed in order of priority.

All other areas of the Estates Department will be operating as usual. In particular, the Design & Print Centre and the Security & Transport Centre will remain open.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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December 2018

Posted on December 12, 2018 by cc587

Elena Raisi, Transport Team.  

The nomination was received from Jackie Fotheringham, Kent Enterprise for the prompt assistance provided at the last minute, during the organisation of a conference held at Kent. Elena’s response alleviated any stress that could have arisen and Jackie is really grateful.

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December 2018

Posted on December 12, 2018 by cc587

Miriam Sandiford, Transport Team.  

The nomination was received from Teresa Curteis, Head of Traffic Management and travel for the exemplary performance provided by Miriam  whilst assisting the Estates Managers during the process to check that their fleet drivers are compliant with HSE in relation to University documents and Driving at Work Standard.  This included creating an easy to use guide on the Estates website and updating the Transport Team process.

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