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Building and Systems Consulting / Emergencies and Disasters
SWAT TEAM TO THE RESCUE:
A leaky roof? A gushing pipe? A stalled elevator? A sagging floor? An
overloaded generator? An overcrowded clinic? A dowdy canteen? An
earthquake? A hurricane? (Oh, my, it's getting worse!) . . . and patients in
need of medical care. Whoa! What's a medical center staff to do?!
Help may be on the way with just a telephone call to the Office of Facilities
Management (FM). And it's not the bumbling local handyman. FM's Consulting
Support Service has a small highly trained and experienced staff of senior
professional specialists in architecture, interior design, and engineering
available to assist with emergency or proactive services. Actually, responding
to major emergencies is only a small part of what these professionals do,
although they have an emergency travel kit, filled with flashlight, tape, knife,
gloves, and safety equipment - ready for action. They have responded quickly to
assist in immediate disaster aid, assessment, and quick fix or long term
solutions.
Formed in January 1994, by Chief Facilities Management Officer C. V. (Chuck)
Yarbrough, the Consulting Support Service was an idea whose time had come.
FM's wide variety of customers in the field and central office expressed their
need for cost effective, customer-focused, and rapid assistance on technical
problems as well as quality solutions to critical facility design and
construction issues.
With a clear, concise mission -- "to focus on the customers"-- especially
the VA Medical Centers, the customer is the focal point of service. The service
is easily available to all customers. Customer requests for assistance are as
simple as a phone call, and the response is just as direct.
To ensure rapid response, a new management approach was instituted. Employees
act as their own business organization by marketing services and providing direct
assistance to ensure full customer satisfaction. Teams aligned around logical
customer groups work closely as a unit, with central coordination of workloads,
time schedules, travel funding, and staff schedules to ensure that adequate
resources are available to complete the work and that rapid, quality service
is provided. Each customer's request and project progress is computer monitored.
Quantity, timeliness, quality, and courtesy are also measured through a computer
based tracking system, with feedback given to the staff that ensures appropriate
adjustments and continued enthusiasm.
Since its founding, the Consulting Support Service has assisted in thousands of
instances each year. Services include: developing the requirements and scope of
proposed projects; developing conceptual plans to expedite hiring an A/E; giving a
facility's staff verification of their own ideas; or providing on-site technical
guidance. Assistance is also provided during construction to evaluate emergent
critical problems, adequacy of design, compliance with codes, or contractor
claims.
Customer satisfaction is phenomenal, as evidenced by over 60 letters of
appreciation. An exceptional customer satisfaction rating of 9.6 (on a scale of
10) is reflected in the numerous personal comments received. Over 97 percent of
VA Medical Centers have requested assistance, and over three-quarters of these
customers have made additional requests.
The goal has been to generate satisfied customers who continue to use the
Consulting Support Service for problem solving assistance. It's safe to say that
the consulting services have been a resounding success.
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