STAFF
ADVISORY COUNCIL

Annual Report 1999-2000

Committee Chairs:

Joanne DiCarlo (jjd4)(844-7834)(Fax: 844-7834), Marcia Bram (x3725) (mab13)

Members:

Peggie Roberts(x2136)(psr2), Norma Sigmund(x1338)(nxs8), Bob Dillon(x0317), Evy Neufeld(x5851)(exn), Cynthia Stilwell (x4437)(cas26), Philip Zielinski (x1952)(pxz), Claudia Oats (x2580)(cpo), Jay Ruffner (x3602)(jar6), Shirley Mele (x2906)(smm5), Bob Jeffries (x4326)(raj2) Carolyn Speaker(x3304)(cls6), Kathleen Vitantonio (x8539)(kmn2), Tim Martin (x6772)(trm6)

1. Accomplishments

During the past year the following resolutions were passed by Staff Advisory Council and forwarded to the administration.




OFFICE TEMPERATURE

The SAC Personnel Policy Committee has reviewed issues related to office temperature. Due to the wide variety of non-office type work environments, there are no government or industry standards regarding office temperature. However, there are guidelines in the form of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) that define normal comfort ranges for people. After review of these guidelines and issues at CWRU, the committee recommends:

1. That the university adopts the ASHRAE Standard 55-1992 guidelines as minimum standards for office temperature, ventilation, and humidity. (Target area would be the center of the comfort zone.)
2. That individual thermostat controls be functional to allow temperature setting within the comfort range for the season.
3. When temperature and humidity exceed the comfort zone as defined by the guidelines, that plant services take responsibility for remedial action within a 24 hour period to correct deficiencies using auxiliary (e.g. fans, space heaters, etc.) methods if necessary.
4. That supervisors are empowered to relocate if problems persist for more than a 24-hour period.



Furthermore, the committee recommends that construction management ensure that all building renovations and new constructions provide for designs and upgrades of the infrastructure to support the ASHRAE guidelines.




CONSTRUCTION

The SAC Personnel Policy Committee has reviewed issues related to construction and the impact on staff. After discussion with the various offices involved with construction, the following is recommended:

1. That all construction plans and construction be reviewed for pedestrian traffic impact, and safe alternatives are defined. This includes advance notification and suggested alternative access paths. Actual construction sites need to be reviewed by the appropriate construction office to ensure that pedestrian safety is ensured.
2. That departments be provided advance notification of construction that will affect their building or access to their building. It was noted that although various schools have a person defined to communicate this status, central administrative offices do not. It is recommended to post this information to the university web server where it is easily accessible.
3. That all employees in buildings be provided with information regarding the handling of hazardous materials, such as asbestos removal, within their building, and the steps that are being taken to ensure their safety.
4. That construction and renovation in buildings, which are occupied, be scheduled as to minimize the impact to staff. Examples are shutting down of cooling systems during summer months to remove asbestos, and the tarring of roofs which can be accomplished on weekends.
5. If construction/renovation cannot be scheduled for alternative periods such as nights or weekends, then staff can be temporarily relocated.



With the accomplishment of the above recommendations, the Personnel Policy Committee has now addressed the Work Environment Issues they were assessing.




2. Future Goals

The following issues remain to be addressed by the Personnel Policy Committee:

1. Supervisor/Employee
1. Interim/acting positions ( how long, compensation benefits)
2. Failure by supervisor to do timely performance approisals
2. Employment
1. Transfer
2. Promotion
3. Terminated Position or Layoff
3. Ombudsman
4. Information Technology
1. System access upon termination or employee transfer
2. New employee orientation to information technology
3. Recruitment of information tech's (shortage)



3. Support Requested:

Personnel Policy Committee has been able, in the past, and will need, in the future, to obtain information from the Human Resource Department to better understand the current policies that affect the employment status of staff. Temporary and Interim positions will be our focus and clarification of current staff questions are being explored.




4. Summary

A lot has been accomplished with regard to work environment in the past year. The committee, in conjunction with Human Resources, will be actively exploring current policies about temporary and interim positions, ombudsman and information technology. We invite you to join us in the coming year.

NOTE: Meetings for the coming year will be held on the third Wednesday of each month at 10:30 a.m. usually in 353 Adelbert Hall.