Editorial: Maintaining patience

September 27, 2006

Regardless of what year you are, all students are familiar with this situation: you move into your residence hall for the term and something needs to be repaired. Residences and rooms can be in any state of disrepair, ranging from a missing light bulb in a lamp to a cable connection that has been ripped from the wall. La Salle protocol says that such instances must be reported to Maintenance, but often, phone calls go unreturned and requests go unanswered.

Since the beginning of the academic year, there have been various reports of such instances. For example, the air conditioning was dysfunctional in the townhouses for the first few weeks of school, and many of the townhouses’ Internet capabilities are still lacking. A junior complained that her window screen in the La Salle Apartments was not opening. Maintenance responded by screwing the window shut, which makes for an unpleasant living experience during the end of Philadelphia’s characteristically uncomfortable summer. In order to make sense of this, the Collegian contacted Matthew McManness, the Vice President of Business Affairs, who oversees the Physical Facilities and Maintenance Departments.

“We do have an electronic system that we utilize to log and address work order requests. Our managers review these requests and prioritize them according to certain categories so that they are dealt with in a timely fashion. We are currently reviewing and enhancing that system in order to improve the process and efficiency of addressing our students’ concerns and requests,” McManness said in reply to one of the main complaints about residence hall repairs, namely the lack of timeliness with which they are completed.

It is reassuring to know that there is a system and process in place to remedy the damages students complain about. Also, the fact that this process is under review gives us hope, because it shows that Maintenance and Physical Facilities know that they can do a better job and be more efficient when it comes to repairs and are taking steps towards doing so. However, saying that there is a lack of major flaws in the departments’ prioritizing and response system does not remedy the lack of timeliness in making repairs. If the system works so well, why do things often wait weeks to be repaired? McManness says the departments are reviewing their staffing numbers to make sure they are up to par with the problems on La Salle’s campus.

“Our staffing levels are also under review. Our hope is to share our review with University leadership in order to make sure we are most effectively utilizing our Facilities organization to meet the University’s needs,” he said. “If we are short in certain areas, we will make adjustments as necessary to improve our service. To date, it would be too preliminary for me to comment on this item as we have not finished our review.”

Further, there have also been rumors circulating within the student body that the Maintenance and Physical Facilities workers are underpaid, a potential reason as to why things might not be getting repaired as fast as they could be. McManness says that this definitely is not true.

“Our employees’ wages are based on what is being paid in the local market and what will help keep us competitive in our hiring practices. We review this every year and make adjustments when necessary,” he said.

It is the opinion of the Collegian that the Maintenance and Physical Facilities departments could use some major improvements, but that they are taking the right steps toward organizing a more efficient and reliable staff. They are reviewing the procedures through which they organize and prioritize repairs on campus, as well as the amount of employees that they have for the many jobs that need to be done. We feel that this is commendable and a step in the right direction, and would like to urge the University to carefully consider the reports generated by the reviews in these departments and heed them well. Calls for additional funding to facilitate the departments’ work should be given proper shrift. The student body should remain patient while these departments work towards finding a remedy for the problems at hand. It may take some time to readjust, but rest assured that improvement is in the works.

“We believe in continual improvement and are in the process of implementing a new customer service system in all the areas of the Business Affairs division,” said McManness.

Our investigation shows that Maintenance and Physical Facilities are working hard to fix your desk lamps, windows, Internet connections, air conditioning and whatever other problems that you may have. The process is slow and the wait sometimes agonizing, but these departments have the best interest of the student body at heart and are most definitely striving towards making life easier at La Salle.