March Meeting

The March meeting was held on the 14th at the Embassy Suites, and the theme was knights of the FM table.  Earnie Leake introduced  past president John Sutton, past president David Mascorro, and current vice president Sharon Henson. John is an assistant vice president at the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TGSLC) and has been a member since 1986.  David is the Director of Facilities at the Texas Workforce Commission and joined IFMA in '92.  Sharon is the Facility Manager at National Instruments Corporation and has been a member for 10 years.  

Sharon received the first question: What was your biggest mistake not in a marriage or a relationship?  Sharon said it was believing in the blue prints.  She ordered a furniture layout with little slack and when it was time to put it together, the actual building dimensions were a little short.  She had a good vendor that helped with the rearrangement and saved the day.  David recounted a horror story about ordering metal doors from the lowest bidder. The contractor didn't know his business, and the electronic door lock vendor wouldn't work with the low bidder because of his bad credit.  John talked about the Travis County jail where the locks didn't work, no one was in charge of the project, and all the county commissioners were forced out after the law suits.  In the court room, every secretary seemed to have made a change (paneling, extra chairs).  It took 6 extra months and then who pays for the changes.  Someone has to be in charge, and change orders have to be approved in advanced.

The next question was about your proudest accomplishment.  Sharon is very proud of her  manufacturing building. There was no manufacturing down time when it went operational. David is responsible for 160 buildings around the state.  He developed a plan to rehabilitate them. He identified a very comprehensive problem list, put together the game plan, and executed it.  John is proud of his ergonomics program at TGSLC where they have standardized the work stations. His team lets people know they care. The complainers often end up in workers comp. cases.  His program has reduced claims by 50%.

Earnie asked the panel about budgets. David said, "Let my words be sweet and tender because tomorrow I may have to eat them."  Getting funding for State projects is really really hard. There are many safety considerations, and, of course, there's politics.  John says his process is very detailed, and it changes every year or so. "We can't figure it out."  Right now they are in the 3rd year of a 2-year plan for furniture replacement. He works with a base budget plus inflation plus an increase. Sharon says you need to be proactive in the current economy. Build a realistic budget, earn respect and then they will believe your budget numbers.

Judy asked what trends they saw in facilities.  John is looking to move into a bigger place when their lease expires in a year. Don't everyone rush to his door, because he already has people planning it.  Last year he considered building a new facility, but now there's a good selection in Austin.  He expects a big discount.  David got rid of many buildings a couple of years ago.  He suggest you watch the wiring, safety, health codes of any leased buildings you are contemplating.  Sharon isn't having as many cafe parties as last year.  They used to compete for engineers, but not any more. Some of the cut backs are hard on morale.  You still need to keep good people, so don't cut too much.

The next subject was customer satisfaction surveys.  John does them once a year, and 31% of their merit raises depend on it. Maintenance leaves a form after each work order.  David does the same thing.  He feels the workers do better, and you do get some feedback. 

A person from the audience asked about reverse auctions.  At UT, they are going to do a test on line for a reverse auction for furniture. Sounds great for the customer, but be careful about using the lowest bidder.  Several vendors expressed concern about squeezing all the profit out, and then the wining bidder can't provide much service and may try to recoup some profit to your detriment.  David gave a bad example about a low bid to install a building sign on a roof..  Jack Sauer spoke about a service agreement that never got signed.  A wrench found an open electrical panel and after the sparks and flash burns, a store was down for 5 days.  Protect your company and don't use handshake agreements.  Get a signed contract, check for enough insurance and workers' comp, watch those exclusions and have it reviewed by legal.

Earnie closed the session by telling the group about the Step Program.  If you are uneasy with your facility knowledge, come out to the monthly classes.

J. Robert Howard, 
FACServices