Estates & Property Services

Service Level Agreement Grounds Maintenance

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DOCUMENT CONTROL: ................................................................................................................. 3

1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Scope of the Agreement ......................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Duration of the Agreement ..................................................................................................... 4

1.3 Signatories to the Agreement ................................................................................................. 4

1.4 Service Contacts ...................................................................................................................... 5

1.4.1 Professional Services Main Service Desk/Contact Point………………………………………………5

1.4.2 Professional Services Primary Contact ............................................................................ 6

1.4.3 Customer Details ............................................................................................................. 6

2 SERVICE DESCRIPTION .......................................................................................................... 6

2.1 Our services agreed to be In-scope of the Service Level Agreement ..................................... 6

2.1.1 Standard Services ............................................................................................................ 6

2.1.2 Additional Features ......................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Our services agreed to be out-of-scope of the Service Level Agreement .............................. 8

2.3 Service Coverage ..................................................................................................................... 8

2.3.1 Service Hours/Availability ............................................................................................... 8

2.3.2 Service Eligibility ............................................................................................................. 8

2.3.3 Service issue escalation ................................................................................................... 8

3 SERVICE LEVEL ...................................................................................................................... 8

3.1 Target Service Levels ............................................................................................................... 8

3.2 Monitoring our performance .................................................................................................. 9

4. CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES ............................................................................................. 12

5. MANAGEMENT OF SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT ................................................................... 12

5.1 Governance and Review of Service performance ................................................................. 12

5.2 Service Issue Escalation ..................................................................................................... 13

5.3 Change control ...................................................................................................................... 13

5.4 New service requests ............................................................................................................ 13

© University of Salford 2011 All rights reserved.

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Document Control:

Project/Service Name: Estates and Property Services

Document Number:

Document Category: Service Level Agreement

Issued By: Executive Director, Estates & Property Services

Version Reason for Change Author Date

0.1 First Draft Darren Kibble 23.05.11

0.2 Revised following review meeting Darren Kibble 01.06.11

0.3 Revised following review meeting Chris Large 09.06.11

0.4 Additions and Revisions Jackie Armstrong 16.08.2011

Distribution for Approval:

Title Name Signature Date

Distribution for Information:

Department Title Name Date

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1 Introduction

This document defines the service agreement between Estates & Property Services (E&PS)

and Colleges, Schools and Professional Services Departments of the University of Salford, to

provide a grounds maintenance service.

1.1 Scope of the Agreement

The agreement covers the implementation of routine maintenance of the University’s campus

grounds, as well as providing both planned and reactive maintenance, to ensure that the

campus grounds are maintained in a safe and tidy manner to the satisfaction, safety and

enjoyment of students, staff and visitors.

1.2 Duration of the Agreement

This agreement is open ended, i.e. it remains in operation indefinitely unless withdrawn or

superseded.

1.3 Signatories to the Agreement

The signatories to this agreement are:

Unit Signatory

College of Arts and Social Sciences Dean of College, Professor Huw Morris

School of Art and Design Head of School, Professor Allan Walker

Salford Business School Dean of School, Professor Amanda Broderick

School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences

Head of School, Professor Paul Rowlett

Salford Law School Head of School, Dr Mark James

School of Media, Music and Performance

Head of School, Professor Erik Knudsen

College of Science and Technology Interim College Registrar, Vikki Goddard

School of the Built Environment Acting Head of School, Professor Charles Egbu

School of Computing, Science and Engineering

Acting Head of School, Professor Sunil Vadera

School of Environment and Life Sciences

Head of School, Professor Judith Smith

College of Health and Social Care Dean of College, Professor Cynthia Pine

School of Health Science Head of School, Sue Braid

School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work

Head of School, Professor Tony Warne

Professional Services

Advancement Services Director of University Development, Jan McKenzie

Change Management Head of Change Management, Paul Cartwright

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Communications Director of Communications, Chris Larkin

Estates & Property Services Interim Executive Director, Keith Beal

Finance Department Director of Finance, Karen Brown

Governance Services Unit Head of Governance Services Unit & Deputy Secretary, Mark Rollinson

Human Resources Division Executive Director, Keith Watkinson

I T Services Chief Information Officer, Derek Drury

The Library Director, Julie Berry

Offices of Vice-Chancellor & Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Chief of Staff, Alison Rhodes

Planning and Performance Director, Phillip Hopwood

Research and Graduate College Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Vian Ahmed

Research and Innovation Director of Research and Innovation, Professor George Baxter

Student Information Directorate Director of Student Information, Scott Mulholland

Student Life Directorate Director of Student Life, Liz Bromley

Students’ Union Chief Executive, Phil Benton

1.4 Service Contacts

Listed below are the names, emails and contact numbers of the primary service contacts.

1.4.1 Professional Services Main Service Desk/Contact Point

Telephone Number Monday – Friday 8.30am – 4.45pm

0161 295 4444 (internal 54444)- Helpdesk

Emergency Number At all other times

0161 295 4773 (internal 54773) – Security Control

Web Contact 24 hours, 365 days

Click on the Estates Job Reports icon on the desktop to log a job, at any time, via CAFM Net

Email Address

Estates-Supportteam@salford.ac.uk

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1.4.2 Professional Services Primary Contact

Name Vicky Booth

Role Head of Administrative Services

Telephone Number 0161 295 56714 (internal 56174)

Email Address v.booth@salford.ac.uk

1.4.3 Customer Details

See Section 1.3

2 Service Description

Estates & Property Services will provide a full grounds maintenance and gardening service to the University campus. It also covers customer funded grounds works, but excludes grounds maintenance of sports facilities and Castle Irwell Student Village (both of which are subject to a separate SLA).

In addition to the routine maintenance, E&PS will provide a planned and reactive maintenance service, administered via the E&PS Helpdesk.

E&PS will ensure good practises are applied in the upkeep and renewal of grounds and planting techniques, as well as liaising with specialist contractors / sub-contractors where required.

2.1 Our services agreed to be In-scope of the Service Level Agreement

The following range of activities is agreed as being in-scope and will be handled:

2.1.1 Standard Services The landscape maintenance schedule encompasses all aspects of routine maintenance and

will be updated on an annual basis to reflect changes to the estate.

The landscape maintenance schedule incorporates the following set of standards which will be

audited against:-

GM1 Grass Cutting – The grounds team will mow formal grass areas from March to

December to maintain a grass height not exceeding 25mm. Wet weather conditions

may result in grass exceeding the specified limit; in this case the grass will be cut as

soon as practicable. Meadow areas will be cut annually in September / October. As a

minimum, grass will be mown every ten working days for fine turf, subject to ground

/ weather conditions

GM2 Strimming – The grounds team will strim the edges of mown grass areas, and all

obstacles within them, every other mowing cycle

GM3 Grass Edging – All fine turf lawn edges will be cut on a monthly basis with edging

shears or an edging machine, with grass edges reformed on an annual basis

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GM4 Shrub Beds – All shrub beds will be maintained, including planting and pruning.

Herbaceous plants will be cut back and mulched annually. These areas will be dug

over and divided every three years. Bedding plants to specified borders will be

changed biannually in May and October

GM5 Pruning and Hedge Cutting – The need for pruning depends on the species, age and

condition of the plants. The grounds team will prune shrubs annually where

identified within the landscape maintenance. Where appropriate to the species, the

grounds team will trim hedges biannually in August and September. Overgrown

hedges will be reformed during the winter months

GM6 Tree Maintenance – Pruning and felling will be carried out as necessary. The grounds

team will carry out tree inspections annually in accordance with the landscape

maintenance schedule to identify potential hazards and resolve accordingly

GM7 Weed Control – The grounds team will minimise the presence of weeds in shrub

beds by mulching, herbicides or hand/hoe weeding

GM8 Litter Control – Litter inspections will be conducted in accordance with the landscape

maintenance schedule. All sites will cleared of litter at least once a week, including

high profile areas

GM9 Leaf Collection – Leaves will be collected and disposed of during autumn months to

prevent excessive build up

GM10 Paths, Roadways and Car Parks (Roadsweeping / Cleaning) – Sweeping will be carried

out monthly by brush or machine to all pathways, roadways and gullies

GM11 Paths, Roadways and Car Parks (Gritting and Snow Clearance) – In times of inclement

weather roads, pathways and car parks will be kept clear and safely accessible as far

as practicable for pedestrians and vehicles. During freezing weather the grounds

team will grit roads, footpaths and car parks in accordance with the Gritting / Snow

Clearance Plan (which will be developed and reviewed on an annual basis), which

sets out the prioritisation for gritting work

GM12 Reactive Maintenance - Provision of a reactive maintenance service managed via the

E&PS Help Desk, providing response to urgent (trip hazards) and non urgent / client

requests (support for events / initiatives)

GM13 External fixtures / fittings – Provision and maintenance of external fixtures and

fittings (e.g. benches, waste bins, signage etc.) including a biannual inspection in

accordance with the landscape maintenance schedule

GM14 Hard Landscaping – Provision of Planned Preventative Maintenance of all areas of

hard landscaping to the campus grounds, including an annual inspection in

accordance with the landscape maintenance schedule.

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2.1.2 Additional Features

Supporting ceremonies and other University events / initiatives (e.g. marking out the

recreation area, setting up temporary bins etc.). These works will be carried out by agreement

with the client and the full cost of these services may be charged to the internal client.

2.2 Our services agreed to be out-of-scope of the Service Level Agreement

Any works at Media City

Whilst works will be carried out for self-financing units (such as the Leisure Centre,

accommodation, catering outlets, and managed workspace) in accordance with this

SLA, the self-financing unit will be responsible for the cost

Any works at Castle Irwell (including the sports fields) are covered by a separate SLA

2.3 Service Coverage

2.3.1 Service Hours/Availability

Work requests can be logged at any time via the Estates Job Reports icon on the desktop, or

by email to Estates-Supportteam@salford.ac.uk.

Alternatively jobs can be logged by telephone or personal visit to the E&PS Helpdesk, Monday

to Friday 8.30am to 4.45pm.

The majority of routine maintenance is carried out during core working hours, which are

Monday to Friday between 8.00am and 4.00pm, but work is sometimes planned outside

these hours to reduce disruption or shorten timescales.

An emergency service operates 24 hours per day throughout the year.

2.3.2 Service Eligibility

This service is provided to all staff of the University.

2.3.3 Service Issue Escalation

If there has been a service failure the customer should initially contact the Estates Helpdesk.

See contact details in section 1.4.1.

For more details of how service failures will be handled, see section 5.2.

3 Service Level

This section defines the agreed target performance levels between E&PS and its Customers, for the provision of the service.

3.1 Target Service Levels

For the Standard Services (in 2.1.1) which require a response to a reactive issue or customer

request the customer’s satisfaction with the service is often related to the speed of response

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and the time which elapses before the problem is fixed. Therefore E&PS will aim to deal with

these issues within the Target Response Times below.

Response Time means the time from receipt of the request by the Helpdesk until an initial

inspection and, where appropriate, temporary repair has been completed. In some cases an

‘initial inspection’ can be carried out by discussion with the customer without a site visit.

Completion Time means the time from receipt of the fault report by the Helpdesk until a long

term repair or partial/complete replacement has been carried out.

Working Hours means hours which are within the Core Working Hours (8.00am and 4.00pm

Monday to Friday), and Working Days is construed accordingly.

Target Response Times

Category

Response Time Initial inspection and/or temporary repair

Completion Time Full repair or replacement

In core hours Outside core hours

Emergency Repairs e.g. repair broken / uneven paving, grit icy surfaces, clean slippery surfaces

1 Hour N/a Dependant on nature of problem

Non-urgent Repairs e.g. assistance with an event / initiative

N/a N/a 10 working days

3.2 Monitoring our performance

This section details how service levels will be monitored and how performance data will be

provided to customers.

A set of Performance Indicators has been defined, and for each indicator performance will be

monitored monthly, unless otherwise stated.

Service Level Targets and data on actual performance levels will be published on the

University’s intranet, available to all University staff.

Performance data will be used as a management tool within E&PS, to identify areas of strong

and weak performance, provide information and guidance to E&PS staff, and support planning

for future improvements.

Quarterly performance review meetings will be held with key Customer Representatives, to

provide an opportunity to:

discuss actual performance versus target

consider corrective actions where service is below the expected level

consider any matters escalated to Stage 3

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consider fulfilment of the Customer’s Responsibilities and any issues arising from this

consider other relevant topics, including future requirements.

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Grounds Maintenance Services SLA - Schedule of Performance Indicators

Ref Service Name Performance Indicator (PI) Service Level Target

GM1 - 10

Routine Maintenance GM 1 Delivery of routine maintenance

Monthly PPM audits of all areas against the minimum service standards included within GM1 -10 and the maintenance schedule above. 90% of programme to be met in the agreed timescale.

GM11 Reactive Maintenance / Client Requests

GM 11.1 Response to urgent works

90% of urgent reactive works completed within the designated timescale

GM11.2 Response to non urgent / client requests

90% of non-urgent / client requested works responded to within the designated timescale.

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4. Customer Responsibilities

To report defects to the Help desk as soon as possible, especially if there is a risk to the health

or safety of staff, students or visitors

To inform the Helpdesk as soon as possible if it appears that E&PS staff or contractors are

working in an unsafe way

Not to remove or interfere with materials, equipment, signage or other items placed on site

by E&PS or its approved contractors

Not to carry out any Grounds Maintenance works or to instruct contractors to carry out such

works, but to request all works from E&PS

To provide access promptly when maintenance is required in a space controlled by the

customer

To assist in providing an efficient and effective service clients are requested to provide the

following information when requesting work:

Service Requests

Name and contact details

Response time needed

Location of job

Description of work required

Access arrangements

Site contact name and contact details (if different)

Further information which may be helpful to the operative

5. Management of Service Level Agreement

5.1 Governance and Review of Service performance

This Service Level Agreement will be reviewed on an annual basis, by E&PS representatives

(normally Head of Administrative Services, University Surveyor and Head Gardener) with at

least three Customer Representatives. Checks will be made to ensure that key details are up

to date including:

scope of services within the SLA

list of customers

contact details for service provider and customers.

Actual performance levels will be reviewed and target service levels will be adjusted if

appropriate.

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The landscape maintenance schedule referred to within item 2.1.1 will be reviewed and

updated on an annual basis, to incorporate any changes to the estate.

If any changes are required the Associate Director of Operations & Facilities will be asked to

approve them and will issue an updated SLA to each of the signatories.

5.2 Service Issue Escalation If a customer is dissatisfied with the service provided under this SLA the customer may

register a formal complaint using the procedure set out below.

Stage 1

The customer should contact the Helpdesk to report the service failure and request an

update, which will be provided within 2 working days. (If satisfied, no further action

required).

Stage 2

Via the help desk the customer should ask the line manager responsible for the service for a

more detailed response to the query, which will be provided within 5 working days. (If

satisfied, no further action required).

Stage 3

The customer should consult the Customer Representative who may, via the Helpdesk,

request a written response which will be provided by the Head of Administrative Services

within 7 working days.

To clarify, Stage 1 to Stage 3 should be completed within 7 working days in total.

5.3 Change control

This document will be issued and controlled through the E&PS Administrative Services team.

Any amendment to the document has to be approved by the Associate Director of Operations

& Facilities. The document will have version control and will include the date of the agreed

amendment, a description of the change, the author and agreement of the Associate Director.

5.4 New service requests

In this context ‘New Service Request’ means a proposal to expand the scope of this SLA, for

instance by including grounds which are not currently covered; it does not mean a request for

E&PS to carry out a specific task which is already within the scope defined in section 2.

All new service requests should be directed through the Helpdesk. E&PS will contact the

customer to consider the request and will provide an initial response within ten working days.