estates and facilities times issue 27 spring term 2014
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ÂTRANSCRIPT
Friday 22nd March at 5.00pm
Llandaff Campus plunged into
darkness following an initiative
organised by Richard James,
the Energy & Environmental
Engineer.
The idea was to turn off all the
lights and electrical items at
their source. After the weekend
the energy consumption was
then compared to previous
weeks to ascertain the cost and
environmental savings.
Both staff and students really
bought into the idea and
enthusiastically took part in the
black out.
Fifteen students, ten staff and
one member of the SU partici-
pated, with some taking up to
three hours to complete their
check of allocated buildings.
Cardiff Met has a Black Out. It all went dark at Llandaff Campus.
Stubbing it out at Plas Gwyn.
Supporting National No Smoking Day - 12th March 2014.
Lisa Ah Mun, (pictured centre
resting her foot on a student!)
recently championed a
No Smoking Day on the Plas
Gwyn Campus.
Students were encouraged to
give up for a day with the
enticement of an inter-block
sports tournament, chocolate
lucky dip and cigarette amnesty.
A fun approach to quitting
smoking was had by all, with
anyone spotted smoking on the
campus throughout the day
encouraged to don a visi vest
and collect 10 cigarette butts!
Stubbing it out.
Plas Gwyn goes smoke free!
1
Upgrade of Data Projectors.
More efficient and cost effective.
2
The arrival of Mobile Printing
Print from anywhere, anytime!
3
Compliments.
Everybody likes a compliment.
4
Easter Recipe.
A delicious recipe from a student. 5
E&F staff in Photos.
Jumpers, Chairs & Boyzone!
6
A Year of Resolutions.
It’s not as easy as you think. 7
Meet your Colleagues.
Richard and Adrian.
8
Inside this issue:
Breaking News:
Its Double Points time!
The whole of April is double
points time in Cardiff Mets
Catering outlets.
Don’t forget generally to
present your staff ID card
whenever you purchase any
item from Catering and watch
your points quickly build up.
During April double points are
available on:
Any Eatwell products across all
campuses.
A 5 Item Breakfast before 9am
at either Cyncoed K1 or
Llandaff Atrium.
The Estates &
Facilities Times Not just business as usual.
The good news is that we
saved up to 25% of night time
energy consumption, with 575
items being turned off, and
645kg of carbon being saved.
If we all just turn off every-
thing as we leave on a Friday,
tens of thousands of pounds
would be saved annually, and
more importantly make a real
dent into our carbon footprint.
Newsletter Date:
01/04/14
The Estates &
Facilities Times
Page 2
* Future proofing the rooms - The new
projectors are HDMI ready and now
able to accommodate room cabling up-
grades as they happen. With the inevita-
ble demise of VGA cabling, this was
seen as paramount to teaching delivery
and the student experience.
* Energy/Cost Efficiency - The new
projectors use less than one watt of
power consumption in standby mode
and last up to ten times longer.
Richard James, Cardiff Met’s energy
manager says:
“The new projectors are an efficient
LED product which alongside improved
If you are interested in cycling to work
and do not currently own a bicycle, or
would like to upgrade your current one,
then hang on until late April.
Cardiff Met will be launching its annual
Cycle to Work window when staff can
purchase a bicycle virtually tax free. You
save around 30% of the cost.
The other added benefit is that you can pay
for it over 12 months, with a host of local
cycle stores to choose from.
All of Cardiff Met’s campuses and
Staff Cycling Update.
You can buy a bike this Spring!
Upgrade of Data Projectors.
Contributed by Sophie Rowland - Estates Helpdesk Administrator.
create timetables for the current year 1
Business & Management students that
progress into year 2. This is dependent
upon students making early module selec-
tions. The pilot should identify any pit-
falls with our current business processes
that may adversely effect this, as well as
establishing resource implications, prior
to this being opened up across all Schools.
This is the first time this has been
attempted and requires a lot of work and a
change to the current timetabling process.
The aim is to produce more user friendly
timetables, as students will only see the
sessions that are relevant to them rather than
having to try and pick out their sessions
from a programme timetable which contains
sessions for all modules
Staff are now able to view their timetables
in Microsoft Outlook, which has been very
popular as staff are increasingly using
mobile devices. We hope to do the same
for students, and in the future hopefully
students will be able to access their
timetables via a mobile app which is being
developed by ISD.
The Timetable Unit is participating in a
project to produce individual student time-
tables. A project team has been set up
including staff from ISD, Registry and
Schools in addition to Timetabling. Cardiff
School of Management are participating in
the initial pilot and we have already
successfully created timetables for Year 3
Computing programmes in time for the
start of last September. Since then we have
created individual timetables for Year 1
Business & Management students. The
pilot will continue from April onwards to
controls, will reduce the energy
consumption of projectors by up to 50%.
Improvements such as this help the Uni-
versity to reduce costs and emissions, and
help work towards achieving increasingly
challenging carbon reduction targets.”
January witnessed the launch of the new
facilities for staff and students who choose
to cycle or walk to work at Llandaff Cam-
pus. They are located on the ground floor
of the new Cardiff School of Art & Design
building, and already seeing plenty of use.
Both male and female changing areas have
several sinks, showers and lockers to store
your clothing. The lockers are designed to
be accessed via your ID card and will
automatically open at midnight each night
to stop anyone making a locker permanent-
ly their own.
particularly Llandaff are quite easily acces-
sible via the power of the peddle. More
details about the purchase window will be
sent to all Cardiff Met staff in late April.
September and October will see the annual
cycle, walk or run to work for a free
breakfast event.
This year though we won’t be issuing the
vouchers but plan to be crediting ID cards,
with staff having to pledge to a particular
travel mode to receive the credit.
Exciting New Developments in Timetabling.
Contributed by Elaine Griffiths - Space/Timetable Manager.
The 2013 Christmas recess saw shared
teaching space across campus’ receive a
much needed upgrade to their data
projection facilities. Funding obtained
through ISF (Information Strategy
Forum) has enabled these works to be
carried out in two phases, with phase
two due to take place during the Easter
recess 2014.
Upgrade benefits include:
* Improvement of lecture delivery - The
new projectors are LED and don’t require
bulbs. This means greatly reduced
maintenance and zero waste production.
Page 3
[email protected] for black
and white printing.
The document will then appear on your
print list the same as if you’ve sent it from
your office pc. It could prove most useful
if for example you are on another campus
and send an agenda for a meeting from
your phone to a nearby printer. It should
also free up student pc’s as they can just
go direct to the printer and collect.
Further instructions and flyers are availa-
ble at printers, along with a 5 minute
guide. Or just pop into your Print Studio.
Meet John Cappock. Cardiff Met’s new Chief Operating Officer.
What is mobile printing you may ask?
With the new fleet of Cannon copiers, staff
and students can now print directly from their
phone or tablet (Apple Ios, Android, Black-
berry, Windows mobile) using wi-fi or 3G.
Using your Cardiffmet email address, to
attach the required document (Microsoft
Office, PDF, JPEG, PNG and Rich Text only)
and send your print directly to the print queue
from anywhere on or off campus.
Send to:
[email protected] for colour.
Mobile Printing has Arrived!
Contributed by Rachel Roberts - Print Service Manager.
I am the University’s Chief Operating Officer, and have responsibilities for Finance,
Human Resources, Procurement, Library & Information Services, Estates & Facilities,
Student Recruitment & Marketing, Registry and Secretariat.
I joined the University in November. I am originally from a small seaside village called
Skerries, near Dublin, and have a BA Degree in History and Philosophy and an MA in His-
tory from University College Dublin. I am a Chartered Accountant and originally trained as
an accountant within the NHS. I have worked in a number of sectors including Local Gov-
ernment, Higher Education and a number of Charities and the Civil Service. From 2005-
2010 I was Director of Resources at the Universities and Admissions Service (UCAS) and
prior to joining the University I was Director of Finance at the Intellectual Property Office.
I live in Bristol with my wife Sam, and sons Jack (16) and Louis (10). We live in a fairly
old house with a big garden which keeps me busy. In my spare time I also do some cycling,
and am trying to do my bit for the environment so I have recently started cycling to work
(using the train as well!) around three times a week. I enjoy watching motorsports, and
karting with my children, and we are off to watch the World Endurance Championship
Le Mans series. I am also a regular platelet donor. This is a form of blood donation which
helps people with cancer of compromised immunity. My favourite holiday destination is
Lanzarote, but this summer I have been talked into trying Minorca.
Conference Services Update.
Spring & Summer Events 2014.
The next few months are going to be a busy
time for our Conference Services department
with some interesting bookings on the
horizon.
April 8th will see one of the years biggest
events when Cyncoed Campus hosts the an-
nual UCAS Higher Education Fair in the
NIAC stadium. This normally attracts around
7,000 teenagers from all the schools in South
Wales and is a real showcase event for
Cardiff Met.
June sees the Open University using Llandaff
Campus as its base for its examination
period running from the Tuesday 3rd until
Friday 13th (you don’t want to take an
exam on that date!).
July sees the start of the Language School
invasion with 150 students from Italy,
Spain and further afield studying and
living on the Cyncoed Campus for 2
week periods at a time.
Later in July, Cyncoed Campus is hosting
the Father & Son Residential weekend
which is a great bonding session for all
involved and is residential on the Cyn-
coed Campus. July also sees the Welsh
Schools Athletics largest event of the
year with the SIAB Tournament includ-
ing all manner of track and field events.
Into August and Plas Gwyn will resonate
to the sounds of the Amici Coro, who are
a Surrey based Chamber Choir . At the
same time Cyncoed will be making
different noises as members of the Wales
Tang Soo Do society practice their
Malaysian martial arts.
The Estates &
Facilities Times
Page 4
Following the success of the first phase of the Plas
Gwyn refurbishment programme, its fantastic to be
able to confirm that the design for phase two has been
approved. This summer work will focus on the forty
eight bedrooms and six kitchens in Radnor block
giving them a much needed facelift.
The design will be similar to the Pembroke facelift
(kitchen illustrated alongside) but will include a new
accented colour to run throughout the scheme.
Feedback from last years improvements have been
really positive, and have helped develop the new
design to include student suggested additions e.g. extra
storage space in kitchens.
Invitations to view will be sent ahead of the start of the
academic year. Further details to follow
A Big Thank You
I would just like to say a big thank you for the open day on Saturday 15 th March which
we attended with my son and were completely overcome by the friendliness of the
people involved. From the fantastic welcome greeting we had from the various
students guiding us to the registration desk, to the spokesman for the day who chatted
to us and sent over a student to talk to my son about the Product Design course.
We also had the same vibe whilst checking out the student accommodation. A young
student warden showed us around the accommodation and again was so friendly it
made such a lovely and special day. It was a very memorable day and helped make
up my son’s mind as to which uni will be his top choice. I also feel that this would be
the right place for him with such a nurturing and friendly environment and that its safe.
Also the Welsh cakes were yummy. They will be on my shopping list!
Yours sincerely Mrs Sabine Bell
Congratulations & Huge Thanks.
The advice from Accommodation
Services at the CSAD Open Day was
especially valuable and was delivered
with patience and clarity endless times
over, as if each was the first.
Their involvement throughout the three
days was hugely helpful to us.
Professor Gaynor Kavanagh
Dean of CSAD
Estates & Facilities Compliments.
“Everybody likes a compliment.” Abraham Lincoln.
Student Warden Training Programme.
A calendar of training events.
Every year we look at enhancing the Student Warden
Training Programme and for this coming academic
year Senior Warden, Dr Neil Hennessey has brought
together an educational and entertaining programme.
April will see the new warden team undertaking Mental
Health Awareness training, along with their First Aid in
the Workplace certificates.
In September training restarts with Conflict Resolution,
Drug Awareness and the Alcohol Toolkit. These events
are supported by team building exercises, and social
activities to help them bond as a group for the start of
the new academic year.
Phase Two of Plas Gwyn Refurbishment.
Work due to start this summer.
Page 5
From May 1st 2014 there will be a new fleet of vending machines
across the Cardiff Met estate.
The vending contract has recently been tendered and was awarded
to BVS Limited a local Welsh company located in the Swansea
area.
On Cyncoed Campus additional machines will be located in the
gym and NIAC offering a range of sports and energy replacing
supplements. These supplements will be the same as the ones al-
ready provided to the Welsh FA, Cardiff City (they need them!),
Celtic FC, Cardiff Blues and the Scarlets.
They are designed to boost performance either pre or post training
depending on what the athlete opts for and will be ideal for staff
and students who are committed to their training regimes.
Get Fit For Summer
Its time to think about getting fit for sum-
mer, and you can do that in work! Sports
Facilities are hosting increasing numbers
of classes for staff to participate in:
Llandaff Campus:
Monday / Wed - Express Circuits 10-10.30
Tuesday - Yoga - 5.15pm-6.15pm
Tuesday / Friday - Boot Camp 12.45-1.30
Cyncoed Campus:
Monday - Power Bag - 12.00pm-12.45pm
Tuesday - Boot Camp - 7.15am-8.15am
Thursday - Core Class 12.45pm-1.30pm
News in Brief.
Stories from around the campuses.
Butternut Squash & Orange Soup. Created by Caroline Marin, a CSHS
student who developed an Eatwell soup that is now sold across all our campuses.
Melt butter and sauté onions for about 1
minute.
Add the vegetables, orange peel, stock
and orange juice and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for
30 minutes until vegetables are soft.
Transfer to a blender or food processor
and work until fairly smooth.
Return to the pan and add cinnamon,
cream and seasoning.
Slowly bring to boil, reduce until heated
through, a few minutes.
Add a swirl of cream to each dish if
desired, and serve immediately.
150 Year Celebration.
Cardiff Met is approaching a major
birthday milestone in 2015 having been
in existence as an educational establish-
ment for 150 years.
We were originally based in Cardiff city
centre and started as the School of Art and
Design in 1865.
As a University we are keen to celebrate
our history, and are already planning a
series of events for next year which will
allow both staff and students to celebrate
our heritage.
New Vending Contractor.
Snacks, Drinks & Sporting Supplements - contributed by Andrew Phelps.
,
Serves 4 Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
45ml (3 tbsp) butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
750g (1½ lbs) butternut, peeled, seeded
and diced
peel of ½ orange
750ml (3 cups) chicken or vegetable
stock
65ml (¼ cup) orange juice
pinch ground cinnamon
125ml (½ cup) double cream [optional]
NSHS Survey.
In March the Accommodation Services
launched their first participation in the
National Student Housing Survey.
As the name suggests it’s a student survey
seeking to establish opinions on their
experience in Halls and private housing.
To encourage participation an I-Pad Air will
be the prize for one lucky student.
To date around 400 students have respond-
ed, with the survey running until May. Some
of the key findings will be included in the
next edition of Estates & Facilities Times.
The Estates & Page 6
Congratulations Andrew Lee on earning his black belt in Karate after training for 15 years, the grading examination comprised
of more than three hours of intense training! Next up we have Adrian and Chris trying out the new Evac-Chair. Please drop me an
email with any suggestions for a Caption Competition. Those received so far include: “You too could scare the life out of your
friends!” and “Is this Freddy Kruger’s new job?” Bottom left we have members of the Halls team wearing Christmas jumpers and
raising money for Save the Children. Finally we see a very star struck Rachel Bryant and Diane Bryant (clutching her annual Cliff
Richard calendar) with Shane Lynch of Boyzone fame, bizarrely found hanging out in a branch of Superdrug. Rachel was so star struck
that when Shane asked what her name was she replied “Me!”. She then managed to walk out of the shop without her phone and without
paying for a Shane Lynch Gift Set! Eventually she went back to pay!
Estates & Facilities Photo Album. Images of staff around the campuses.
Page 7
Like many people I start the new year with
the greatest intentions of sticking to my
new years resolutions to improve my
health, wealth and soul. Unfortunately
each year by the end of the first week of
January all is forgotten and normal service
has resumed.
This year I decided to take a different ap-
proach and opted to have a resolution a
month, with the theory being that breaking
it down in to more manageable chunks
would make it far more achievable.
What to do though was the question?
I already exercise regularly and eat
healthily, so I needed to look at other areas
of my lifestyle.
Giving up alcohol was the obvious option
for January. Sounds like an easy thing to
do. In theory it is, but cast your mind back
(those who are tee total or pregnant need
not apply) to when you last went a month
without a glass of wine over lunch or a
beer with friends. I was surprised to learn
that for me it was probably a staggering
26 years ago!
I won’t pretend it was an easy month, but
the benefits were surprising. I was more
productive in the day, sleeping like a log
at night and rising early. I also found that
my wallet was a lot fatter, and that I was
far more selective in my diet.
February came next with the decision to
experience living life on £63.30 a week
Staff at Plas Gwyn have recently been decked out in
new polo shirts and fleeces to present a uniformed
look to students and visitors alike.
As you can see by the photo they all look particularly
smart and happy with their new look!
Don’t forget if you ever want to use the Multi Use
Games Arena (MUGA) at Plas Gwyn for any sports its
FREE for you as a member of staff to use. Why not
get together with your colleagues and have a game of
netball or football?
Just give Lisa or Sue a call on 02920 577065 to make
a booking.
A year of Resolutions.
It’s not as easy to do as you might think it is. Contributed by Neil Woollacott.
(mortgage and council tax excluded).
This was a sharp shock to the system, and
one that had me questioning how easily
we often waste money on unwanted items.
I also realised that fuel is extortionately
high, and that food can be bought a lot
cheaper by shopping around. I just about
managed each week, although I did have
the odd steak off my mum, and was forced
by Mr Tan to renew my season ticket.
March was a month for purchasing every-
thing, whether it be food, drink, garden
plants or diesel only from local family
owned businesses. So out went the Tesco’s
and Esso’s of the world and in came the
local greengrocers and butchers.
An interesting experiment that certainly
made me feel more of a part of the local
community - my butcher thought I had just
moved in. It also made me appreciate that
we need to use these local shops or pretty
soon they will be gone for ever.
April is a goodbye to technology with no
access to the internet, i-pad, sat nav, digital
camera, LoveFilm, PS3 or mobile phone.
I obviously need to use a pc in work, but
come 5pm, it will be like a trip back to the
late 70’s for me! I plan on filling the enor-
mous amount of time we spend staring at
screens with DIY, cooking and reading.
My house will be looking fresher, my
tummy a little larger and I am expecting to
have ploughed through two books a week!
The remaining months I still need some
suggestions for, but at the moment I
have thought about:
Month of Charity & Community Work.
No packaged food for a month.
Skip the Gym for a month - Exercise
outdoors.
Car Free Month.
6am Alarm, Cold Showers &
Meditation
I am still looking for suggestions
though, so if anything springs to mind
drop me an email or give me a call.
Alternatively why don’t you have a go
at doing a half year of resolutions?
I can guarantee it’s a fun thing to do,
and will make you feel healthier and
wealthier in numerous ways.
Plas Gwyn’s new look.
As worn in Paris, Milan, New York and Llandaff.
Meet your colleagues.
Introducing Richard and Adrian.
Dates For Your Diary:
28/04/14 Derren Brown - Infamous Tour at Wales Millennium Centre.
18/05/14 Edwardian Picnic with Wild West entertainment - Cardiff Castle.
28/06/14 Armed Forces Day - Bute Park.
12/07/14 FIM Speedway Grand Prix - Millennium Stadium.
07/08/14 Brecon Jazz Festival
Welcome on board to the following:
Eva Huw who is joining Conference Services in April.
James Howell who is the new Deputy Campus Services Manager.
Adrian Dennehy (see below) as the new Security Manager
Sorry to see you go:
Carys Holt who has moved from Conference Services to the School of
Education
Malcolm Thomson the Residences and Accommodation Health & Safety
Officer who is retiring.
Aneta Nowicka and Eirona Collier who are both leaving the Domestic
Halls team for pastures new.
Time at Cardiff Met:
Richard: Started 1st July 2013
Adrian: Started 16th December 2013
Former Employment:
Richard: Principal Sustainable Development
Manager for Willmott Dixon Group
Adrian: Recently completed 22 years service
in the British Army.
Interests:
Richard: My daughter, Elsi was born last
year, so she’s currently taking up a lot of my
time! Any spare time I get is divided between
playing football, trying to play golf, and an
ongoing project refurbishing my home - a
Victorian terrace - to modern energy efficien-
cy standards (yes, I do practice what I
preach!).
Adrian: A keen follower of Newport Gwent
Dragons, spending too little time on keeping
fit and spend too much time on ruining my
house through ill-thought out DIY projects! I
also enjoy making, drinking and sometimes
sharing my own beer. Under relentless pres-
sure from my fiancé (Delyth). I am looking to
learn Welsh so that I can understand her when
she is being less than polite to me, and to
This edition features two new members of
the team based at Llandaff Campus.
Names:
Richard James, Energy & Environmental
Engineer.
Adrian Dennehy, Security Manager.
decipher the conversations that her family
have in front of me!
Did you know?
Richard: I recently proposed to my partner,
Rachel and we’ll be getting married at St
Paul’s Cathedral in 2016.
Adrian: I have fallen down an open sewer in a
Bosnian cemetery! I’m also getting married,
but unlike Richard it will not be St Paul’s
Cathedral. I have no idea where it will be but
it is highly likely to be Welsh speaking,
which frankly terrifies me at the moment as I
will have no idea what I will be saying ”I do”
to!
The Estates & Facilities Times has been initiated to
keep us all aware of what is going on in each others
sections. If there is no article about your area, it is
because no one has spoken to me, please contact me
yourself! Anyone who wishes to contribute articles,
will be greeted with a smiling face and open arms.
A copy of the Estates & Facilities Times is also
available in Welsh if required. Any staff who are
leaving UWIC for pastures new, let me have a
forwarding address and I will send you a copy.
The Estates & Facilities Times next issue will be
circulated from October 2014.
Phone: 02920 41 6712
Fax: 02920 41 6968
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor: Neil Woollacott
Deputy Accommodation Services
Manager & Travel Plan Manager.
Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Cyncoed Campus,
Cyncoed Road,
Cardiff CF23 6XD