Charge to Facilities Construction
& Management Taskforce
New York University is challenged by its location and other factors to meet the physical facilities needs that are required to support its mission of academic excellence. Meeting the University's space needs is further challenged by the high cost of construction in New York City as well as the financial impact of operating and maintaining so much space. The University typically spends more than $100 million in capital construction projects annually and another $150 million to lease and service debt, heat and cool, maintain and repair its premises. Even moderate reductions in these costs on a percentage basis present the opportunity to yield and reallocate significant sums of money to fund academic priorities.
The Facilities Construction and Management Taskforce ("the Taskforce") will investigate, analyze and recommend improvements in the areas of both capital construction and facilities maintenance and operation to achieve the following objectives:
Capital Construction:
- Streamline the project management process and development construction standards to reduce overall project life cycle and speed delivery of capital projects;
- Identify mechanisms to ensure that the capital project is governed at the outset by prudent projections of monetary resources and available space, including an understanding of anticipated recurrent maintenance costs for new facilities;
- Identify improvements in processes and standards that will reduce construction costs and lower maintenance costs by such methods as energy efficiency;
- Identify the standards and processes that will yield high quality projects that meet University and client needs at the best possible value, and address any related deferred maintenance needs.
- Ensure that project contingencies are set in a manner that is consistent with regional standards, and that they neither restrict flexibility to address site conditions, nor encourage scope expansion because they are too large and can be misappropriated.
- Assure that total project costs are consistent with best costs for comparable projects in the region, especially projects that are built by the corporate sector.
Facilities Management:
- Evaluate the process for fulfilling client work requests for facilities services to ensure it is as timely and cost effective as possible;
- Evaluate service quality standards to determine the appropriate quality level and associated operating cost for various types of spaces and functions;
- Evaluate building operating hours and temperature setpoints to determine standards that meet occupants' comfort needs at the lowest possible cost.
- Establish standards for daily, monthly and annual site reviews at which time such issues as: carpet cleaning and/or replacement needs, wall and ceiling cleanliness, lighting, and exterior and façade conditions are evaluated, reported and monitored.
The parameters that will be examined by the Taskforce include, but are not limited to:
Capital Construction:
- The processes by which projects are initiated, scoped, estimated and budgeted, and approved for implementation;
- The roles and responsibilities, as well as the contributions of the stakeholders of capital projects, and their impact on project costs and schedules, including: the obligations incumbent on the Project Clients, as well as the offices of Strategic Assessment, Planning & Design; Environmental, Health & Safety; Internal Telecommunications Services; Public Safety; University Relations & Public Affairs; Facilities Management; and Sustainability, Energy & Technical Services, Budget and Administration.
- The role, responsibility and authority of the construction project manager to manage budget and schedules to achieve approved objectives.
- The impact of the University's policies on its capital projects, including policies around design excellence, community relations, and labor harmony.
- The impact of business policies and processes, including those for architect selection, competitive bidding and contract negotiation, and approved service providers.
- The impact of expanding scope to address deferred maintenance items, upgrading equipment and systems such as those related to ITS or security, or other items that may be required or desired to enhance functionality or operating efficiency in the space.
- The benefits of standardization of space allocations, building materials, architectural finishes, etc.
- The impact of the building or space assignment to the project cost, ongoing operating expense and client satisfaction.
- The role, responsibility and authority of the project clients during the design and planning process, and an understanding of the requirements to manage and coordinate all internal consultation so as to avoid the need for changes that do not arise from unexpected conditions of the site itself.
Facilities Management:
- The ideal model for service delivery, i.e. in-house NYU labor force, third-party services providers, or individual service contractors.
- The organizational structure for delivering facilities services.
- The operating cost per square foot of each type of building space by function.
- The standards and criteria by which facilities service requests should be prioritized and corresponding response times to meet client expectations and requirements.
- The process by which facilities service requests are received, dispatched, completed and closed.