F&O staff rise to the challenge during COVID crisis

  • Post published:April 1, 2020

​Right now, people across Michigan are doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. For some, that means reporting to campus to perform critical tasks. For others, it means staying home to reduce density for those who need to be out. 

F&O staff have stepped up to continue serving the university throughout this crisis. Whether it’s taking on important new tasks, leading others, or adapting to work at home, here are some highlights of how F&O staff are responding:

  • Custodians are disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces and decontaminating rooms of confirmed COVID cases.
  • Bus drivers are fulfilling their critical role by transporting essential workers. At peak times, two buses arrive at the same time to support social distancing. 
  • Hospital Maintenance has been helping Michigan Medicine ramp up to support COVID-19 patients. Over the course of 7 days, they checked and adjusted negative pressure isolation rooms, which eliminate the spread of contaminated air. The Sheetmetal Shop fabricated shrouds for a HEPA filter system that retrofits spaces to be negative pressure rooms. Hospital Maintenance also jumped into action on a weekend to activate the Regional Infectious Containment Unit, a 32-bed isolation unit.
before photo
Window coverings crafted by the Sheetmetal Shop retrofit isolation rooms in partnership with Hospital Maintenance, before (above) and after (below).
after photo
  • Environment, Health & Safety set up a system to field questions and concerns from staff. In addition, EHS quickly mobilized teams to assist researchers with lab ramp-downs. 
  • EHS, Region HVAC and electricians, and Moving and Trucking collaborated to prepare a biosafety lab for COVID-19 research in record time.
  • The Key Office efficiently switched a large number of buildings to controlled access (via Mcard), allowing faculty and staff with a need to be there to perform necessary functions while preventing unnecessary access.
  • FOIS helped staff transition to working from home by making IT equipment, applications, and drives accessible. They are also keeping essential F&O applications, such as AiM and FMS, up and running. 
  • F&O Finance and F&O HR have been assisting staff with a high volume of questions about timekeeping and staffing issues.
  • Grounds staff are performing basic grounds maintenance and have added a new responsibility: cleaning high-touch outdoor surfaces like handrails on the Medical Center Campus.
  • LTP Sign Operations made signs on short notice for drive-thru testing sites at West Ann Arbor, Brighton and Canton. 
An LTP Sign Operations staff member prints a sign (prior to the mask requirement).
  • Moving and Trucking moved medical supplies from satellite medical offices to the Medical Center Campus. They also converted a couple of supply rooms into patient overflow rooms.
  • Building Automation Systems adapted their work to facilitate social distancing. During each shift, one person works on campus and one person works from home, using Google Chat to stay connected and communicate issues back and forth.
  • And, as always, Maintenance Regions and Facilities Service Center staff continue serving campus 24/7.