Operation Management project
vzjefvscAdvantages and Disadvantages of KPU Achieving ISO 14001 Certification
ENTR 3130 – S50 – 2016
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Dr. Wiktor J. Tutlewski
Academic Honesty Statement:
We Anikate Sandhu, Manbir Grewal and Steve Moore state that all the work contained in this report is our own unless otherwise cited or referenced.
Date: April 4, 2016
Signed:
Anikate Sandhu (100290022) Manbir Grewal (100298181) Steve Moore (100270367)
_____________________ _____________________ ___________________
Executive Summary
The aim of this report is to outline the advantages and disadvantages for Kwantlen Polytechnic University relating to the Surrey campus’ pursuit of ISO 14001 certification by December 31, 2016. The draft manual outlines various aspects of KPU’s operations that affect the environment, areas for improvement and advantages and disadvantages of pursuing certification. Costs and savings have been provided throughout the report to demonstrate the impact of this project.
ISO 14001 certification is internationally recognized, it sets out the standards and maps out a framework that an organization can follow to set up an effective environmental management system. The exclusivity of this certification makes it desirable for businesses who wish to enhance their brand image by increasing their green credentials and also reduce their impact on the environment through better management and operations. Since there are no other educational institutes in North America with ISO 14001 certification Kwantlen Polytechnic University has the opportunity to be become certified and be seen as a front runner in environmental management.
By taking on this project and obtaining an ISO 14001 certification in environmental management standards KPU will see benefits both internally and externally. Internal benefits may include reduction in energy consumption, wastage and additional cost savings. Water wastage can be reduced by 77% per year if KPU switches to low flow toilets and if LED lighting is implemented that would result in cost savings of $37.44 per classroom per year. External benefits include increased brand awareness and a gain in competitive advantage.
Additionally, internal costs for an organization the size of KPU ranges from $25,000-$60,000 and external costs range from $15,000-$60,000 so commitment from management and the staff of KPU is required. Management must be willing to conform to the standards of ISO 14001 along with providing all the necessary resources for the institution to succeed. This will be a long term commitment from management, particularly from Karen Hearn the director of Facilities Services, as they continue to make upgrades to facilities in order to demonstrate continuous improvement.
The achievement of ISO 14001 certification will bring benefits to KPU as an entity in addition to the staff, and the customers. By implementing environmental standards that are recognized internationally, KPU’s reputation and brand awareness will increase. As a result KPU will be able to differentiate themselves from BCIT, SFU and UBC. Moreover, the additional savings KPU will experience from lighting and water amendments can be spent towards struggling areas such as extending library hours. This will help KPU attract more students and prevent existing students from transferring over to their competitors.
Given the potential benefits KPU could achieve through ISO 14001 certification we believe that pursuing certification is definitely affordable and worthy of the time required. Pursuit of certification will allow KPU to improve efficiency in areas such as lighting and water waste management. KPU will also be able to set a benchmark as the first educational institute in North America to conform to ISO 14001 standards which will benefit the institution tremendously therefore it is recommended that KPU Surrey seek certification.
Table of Contents
ISO 14001:2016 Certification Manual for ENTR 3130. i
Executive Summary. ii
1.0 Introduction. 3
1.2 Amendment Sheet. 5
2.0 Company Overview (KPU) 6
3.0 Terms and Definitions. 7
4.0 Context of the Organization/ KPU.. 10
4.1 Introduction. 10
4.2 Environmental Policy. 10
4.3 Environmental Planning. 10
4.3.1 Environmental Aspects. 11
4.3.2 Legal and Other Requirement relating to the EMS. 12
4.3.4 Summary. 13
5.0 Operations and Productivity. 14
5.1 Introduction. 14
5.2 Operations Management. 14
5.3 The Supply Chain. 15
5.4 The Productivity Challenge – Measurement Choices. 15
5.5 Summary. 16
6.0 Operations Strategy. 17
6.1 Introduction. 17
6.2 Mission. 17
6.3 Strategies. 18
6.4 Competitive Advantages. 18
6.5 Summary. 19
7.0 Project Management. 21
7.1 Introduction. 21
7.2 Planning. 21
7.3 Scheduling. 22
7.4 Controlling. 22
7.5 Summary. 23
8.0 Forecasting.. 24
8.1 Introduction. 24
8.2 Time Horizons. 24
8.3 Time Series Forecasting. 25
8.4 Monitoring and controlling forecasts. 25
8.5 Summary. 26
9.0 Managing Quality and the Environment. 27
9.1 Introduction. 27
9.2 Defining Quality. 27
9.3 Environmental Concerns. 28
9.4 Tools of Quality. 29
9.5 The role of Inspection. 29
9.6 Summary. 30
10.0 HR, Job Design, and Work Measurement. 31
10.1 Introduction. 31
10.2 Labour Planning. 31
10.3 Ergonomics. 32
10.4 Environmental Impacts (Air, Noise, Water, Waste) 32
11.0 Conclusions & Recommendations. 33
Appendix 1 - Gantt Chart. 34
References. 34
1.0 Introduction
The aim of this report is to outline the advantages and disadvantages for Kwantlen Polytechnic University relating to their pursuit of ISO 14001 certification by the end of 2016. Additionally, the report will provide suggestions for KPU to help them obtain ISO 14001 certification by December 31st, 2016. Financial costs associated with this project have also been provided throughout the report and the conclusion.
This manual begins by providing a brief overview of Kwantlen, which includes their history, students served and programs offered. Next, the report offers the context of KPU and their policies, plans and general aspects that relate to the environment. Then it moves into the operations and productivity aspect of KPU, where the role of management and their responsibilities are addressed, plus the challenges surrounding increasing and measuring productivity are examined.
This is followed by operations management where changes required to their strategy are explained, due the strategy now having to better take into account further considerations about their environmental impacts, while still achieving their current mission. Then it details the advantages that Kwantlen may achieve over competing post-secondary institutions if they are willing to pursue ISO 14001 certification and being the first institution in North America to be certified.
Next, project management focuses on the planning, scheduling and controlling aspects as it relates to the ISO 14001 project. Needless to say a project of this magnitude will need a comprehensive approach to planning especially since it affects the operations of the entire organization. This section provides suggestions on how to manage this project as best as possible and methods such as creating a project organization are explored. Next the importance of scheduling for this project are explained along with several methods that are available for KPU to use. Lastly, controlling, examines how Kwantlen must be aware of implications that may arise during the project's life cycle, as well as methods that they can apply to prevent and deal with issues in an effort to prevent and minimize delays.
Next, Forecasting describes the different forecasting aspects; time horizons, time series aspects and monitoring and controlling. Time horizons, will break down tasks in short, medium and long term time buckets. Time series discusses quantitative methods related to time series forecasting including weighted moving average which can be used to measure and forecast energy savings from LED lights and paper towel consumption. Monitoring and controlling looks at measuring and tracking changes related to ISO 14001 and how to maintain ISO 14001 certification in the long-term.
Managing Quality and the Environment defines what quality means to Kwantlen, environmental concerns and the tools of quality. Defining quality explains what quality standards KPU has set for themselves in their Vision 2018 plan along with why quality is important. Environmental concerns analyzes the changes that might occur in operations and how this affects the quality of the product that Kwantlen is producing. Tools of quality, discusses the various methods to measure quality and using benchmarking to compare themselves to successful universities like Chiba and Cranfield. Lastly, Role of Inspection provides information about maintaining quality as well as conducting inspections and solving issues that may arise relating to quality.
HR, Job Design, and Work Measurement will go into detail about the labour planning, ergonomics, and environmental impact of Kwantlen’s operations. Labour planning will outline staffing policies dealing with stability, work schedules and rules. Then ergonomics, talks about the effects that chairs, lighting and colours have on the people that attend Kwantlen and has suggestions that Kwantlen can use to improve them. Finally, environmental impact examines the effect kwantlen has on air, noise, water, and waste. Methods currently in place are mentioned and suggestions to further reduce their impact are also discussed. Costs and savings are provided with the suggestions.
The report ends with a conclusions and recommendations section which provides an overview of main learning points from the entire report. All suggestions can be found in the this section, and they are summarized with their importance, cost and savings. There also is an suggested action plan that outlines suggested products and improvements, time frames in which they should be implemented and their estimated costs and savings.
1.2 Amendment Sheet
ISO 14001 Draft Manual Amendment Sheet
|
Date: April 4, 2016 |
Amendment |
Added |
Prepared By |
Nature of Amendment |
Approved and Signed By |
||
# |
Date |
Section |
Page |
|
|
|
1 |
March 26, 2016 |
4.0: Company Overview |
|
Anikate Sandhu |
The nature of the PSECA and KPU’s SEMP were discussed. KPU’s GHG emissions and statistics related to energy consumption were added. |
Karen Hearn |
2 |
March 26, 2016 |
5.0: Operations and Productivity |
|
Manbir Grewal |
Suggestions were made on how KPU can increase productivity. |
Karen Hearn |
3 |
March 27, 2016 |
6.0: Operations Strategy |
|
Anikate Sandhu |
Described KPU’s mission and strategy relating to Vision 2018. |
Karen Hearn |
4 |
March 27, 2016 |
7.0: Project Management |
|
Anikate Sandhu |
Karen Hearn was recommended as the Project Manager. |
Karen Hearn |
5 |
March 28, 2016 |
8.0: Forecasting |
|
Steve Moore |
Initial cost ranges,, time horizona ctions and forecasts were added. |
Karen Hearn |
6 |
March 30, 2016 |
9.0: Managing Quality and the Environment |
|
Steve Moore |
Tools to measure the quality of KPU’s changes were described. |
Karen Hearn |
7 |
April 2, 2016 |
10.0: HR, Job Design and Work Measurement |
|
Manbir Grewal |
Suggestions to improve ergonomics; chairs, lighting, paint. Reduce waste; low flow toilets, automatic faucets, switch from paper based to electronic based. |
Karen Hearn |
8 |
April 2, 2016 |
11.0: Conclusions and Recommendations |
|
Steve Moore |
Recommendations and a timeline for their implementation were given. |
Karen Hearn |
9 |
April 3, 2016 |
3.0: Terms and Definitions |
|
Manbir Grewal |
The terms, Bill 44, Competitive Advantage, LED lighting, poka-yoke, recycling, water, and VISION 2018, were added. |
Karen Hearn |
2.0 Company Overview (KPU)
Founded in 1981 by the Government of British Columbia Kwantlen, now known as Kwantlen Polytechnic University, is a post-secondary institution that provides students with the education and expertise necessary so that they can flourish post-graduation. It serves nearly 20,000 students annually across four campuses located in Surrey, Langley, Richmond and Cloverdale (KPU, n.d.). The university offers more than 120 programs in arts, business, science and horticulture, health, trades and technology, design and academic and career advancement (KPU, n.d.). KPU staffs 1,020 full time employees and 278 part time employees. (KPU, n.d.).
Over the course of Kwantlen’s history it’s always managed to evolve stemming from their separation in 1981 from Douglas College to becoming the first Polytechnic university in Canadian history in 2008. KPU is known for its flexibility and convenience as they offer students the opportunity to pursue bachelor degrees, diplomas or certificates. Kwantlen differs from other local universities in that they provide students with hands on learning so they can apply theory practically. Kwantlen’s faculties are highly respected nationally, including the School of Business which is one of the most expansive faculties of its type in Canada offering over 8 programs and is the 2nd largest in Western Canada (KPU, n.d.).
KPU has demonstrated their commitment to reducing their impact on the environment with their Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP) (Facilities Services, 2015). Specifically, KPU has been a leader in its efforts to continuously improve. The University has developed an energy policy and upon executive approval it will be implemented across all four of their campuses. KPU has stated that the policy was designed in accordance with their current organizational “mission and goals for instruction, research and public service” (KPU, 2015). The aim of the energy policy is to reduce energy consumption at KPU and whenever possible to comply with PSECA. KPU’s energy management approach is a proactive way to “create a healthy and comfortable learning and work environment” (Facilities Services, 2015).
3.0 Terms and Definitions
Audit - A systematic review or assessment of something (Oxford, n.d.)
Bill 44 - requires the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from base year 2007 to 2050. (Facilities Services, 2015)
Competitive Advantage - the creation of a unique advantage over competitors (Heizer, Render & Griffin, 2014, p. 36)
Compost - Decayed organic material used as a fertilizer for growing plants (Oxford, n.d.)
Continuous Improvement - a long-term approach to work that systematically seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality. (Manufacturing ERP, n.d.)
Cost of Quality (COQ) - The cost of doing things wrong, that is the price of non-conformance. The 4 costs associated with quality are prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure costs and external costs. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 193)
Critical Path Method (CPM) - technique that uses only, one estimate per activity (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 64)
Critical Path - the computed longest path(s) through a network. PERT and CPM both follow six basic steps. The activities on the critical path will delay the rest of the project if they are not completed on time. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 64)
Education - The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction (Oxford, n.d.)
Energy Efficient - the process of using less energy to provide the same service (Lawrence Berkeley National Library, n.d.).
Environmental Management System (EMS) - a set of environmental policies and procedures that will allow an organization to minimize the harm they have on the environment while increasing the firm's productivity and efficiency as well (Environmental Management Systems, n.d.).
Ergonomics - The study of the human interface with the environment and machines (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 392)
Exponential Smoothing - a weighted-moving-average forecasting technique in which data points are weighted by an exponential function (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 114)
Gantt Chart - chart in which a series of horizontal lines shows the amount of work done or production completed in certain periods of time in relation to the amount planned for those periods. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 62)
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) - an independent international organization that develops voluntary and market relevant standards that promote innovation and provide support to solve global issues (About ISO - ISO, n.d.).
Input - resources such as labour, capital and information. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 13)
ISO 9000 - A set of quality standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 194)
ISO 14001 - A series of environmental management standards established by the International Organization for Standardization (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 194)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) - a degree granting university in British Columbia that also offers a unique range of credentials such as diplomas, certificates and associate degrees (KPU, n.d.).
LED Lighting - lighting solutions that are highly efficient, long lasting, environmentally friendly and inherently controllable (Philips, n.d.)
Moving Averages - a forecasting method that uses an average of the n most recent periods of data to forecast the next period. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 111)
Naive Approach - A forecasting technique that assumes demand in the next period will be the exact same as it was the previous period. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 111)
Noise - A form and level of environmental sound that is generally considered likely to annoy, distract or even harm other people (Business Dictionary, n.d.)
Output - the goods and services that result from inputs being exhausted (Heizer et al, 2014, p.13).
program evaluation and review technique (PERT) - A project management technique that employs three time estimates for each activity. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 64).
Poka-yoke - Translated as “foolproof”; it has come to mean a device or technique that ensure the production of a good unit every time (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 207)
Pollution - The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects (Oxford, n.d.).
Production - the creation of goods and services (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 3)
Productivity - The ratio of outputs divided by inputs (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 12)
Project Manager - A project manager is the person responsible for leading a project from its inception to execution. This includes planning, execution and managing the people, resources and scope of the project. In this KPU’s case Karen Hearn will be the project manager. (Techopedia, n.d.)
Project Organization - An organization formed solely to manage unique and large projects. It ensures the project will be managed properly and receive the attention it needs to succeed. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 60)
Recycling - Converting waste into reusable material (Oxford, n.d.)
Service(s) - economic activities that typically produce an intangible product (such as education, entertainment, lodging, government, health, and financial services) (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 9)
Stewardship -the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving (Oxford, n.d.)
Sustainability - the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance. (Oxford, n.d.)
Time Series Forecasting - A forecasting method that uses historic data points to make make a forecast. (Heizer et al, 2014 p. 109)
Total Quality Management (TQM) - is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 191)
Trend Projection - a time series forecasting method that fits a trendline to a series of historical data points and then projects the line into the future for forecasts. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 121)
Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP) - a Strategic Energy Management Plan which is reviewed and updated annually as part of Kwantlen’s continuous improvement process. Provides detailed information of Kwantlen’s energy management program and a record of the projects they have implemented. (Facilities Services, 2015).
Waste -Material discharged to, deposited in, or emitted to an environment in such amount or manner that causes a harmful change (Business Dictionary, n.d.)
Water Quality - the chemical, physical, and biological content of water (Government of Canada, 2015)
Vision 2018 - KPU’s hopes to become Canada’s leading polytechnic university by inspiring educators, engaging learners in campus and community life, having open and creative learning environments, relevant scholarship and research and authentic external and internal relationships. (KPU, 2013).
4.0 Context of the Organization/ KPU
4.1 Introduction
This section will discuss the current position of Kwantlen Polytechnic University as it relates to their environmental efforts. Subsection Environmental Policy, discusses the environmental energy policy that they are working on implementing and what KPU has done thus far as an organization to reduce their impact on the environment. The next subsection, Environmental Planning, will discuss what targets KPU has set for themselves and what planning they have done to ensure that they reach these targets, along with how they will measure their efforts. Areas of concern relating to resource consumption, paper and electricity, are discussed in the Environmental Aspects section, as well as what options KPU might consider to become more efficient in these departments. Finally, Legal and other requirements related to the EMS, will discuss the legal obligations required of KPU and further delves into the Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement (PSECA). This section will end with a summary of the main learning points from each of the sub-sections covered.
4.2 Environmental Policy
Kwantlen’s long-term commitment to energy conservation is evident as the institution has received BC Hydro’s Power Smart Excellence award numerous times, an award that is given to only a handful of companies in BC (KPU, 2014). The University understands and embraces its role as a leader regarding environmental sustainability. KPU has established an Environmental Sustainability Committee that’s purpose is to initiate conversation with the University Executive regarding environmental sustainability strategies (KPU, 2015).
Currently, KPU has an Environmental Energy Policy in the works which will not only help Kwantlen by reducing energy consumption costs but will also reduce the negative effects towards the environment. KPU will be following the conservation goals that have been set out by the PSECA in the Clean Energy Act. The PSECA uses 2006 as its base year and aims to reduce the energy used by public sector organizations by 20% by the year 2020 (Facilities Services, 2015). As a result of KPU being a public sector organization they must make sure all operations, renovations, upgrades and new construction projects align with the requirements of this policy.
In 2007 the Canadian government passed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act also known as Bill 44. This Bill makes it a legal requirement for public sector organizations to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases (Facilities Services, 2015). In order to measure improvement and progress the Bill uses 2007 as a base year. It contains 4 checkpoints; 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2050. For 2016 the requirement for organizations is to reduce their GHG emissions by 18% of what they were in 2007 (KPU, 2014). Kwantlen was relatively close to achieving this feat by 2014 when they had already achieved 17% reduction in GHG emissions. In addition to setting reduction targets the Bill also required all public sector organizations to be carbon neutral by 2010, a benchmark KPU has achieved as evidenced by this quote “KPU has been carbon neutral organization since 2010 and purchased 2,382 tons of carbon offsets for 2014 GHG emissions” (KPU, 2015).
4.3 Environmental Planning
KPU plans to use specific key performance indicators to track and record its progress towards lowering energy consumption. The KPI used by Kwantlen are Energy Intensity, Natural Gas Consumption, Electricity Consumption, as well as Annual Energy Intensity (Facilities Services, 2015). KPU has aimed to reduce energy consumption by 1% in 2015. The way the institution plans to accomplish this is by introducing new technology, such as new energy efficient lighting. KPU has the opportunity to implement LED lighting to help lower energy consumption at all of its campuses. KPU is also investing in Metering and Monitoring, which is the installation of devices on site to monitor and measure electricity and gas consumption in buildings which will provide data and help identify opportunities to conserve energy. The final way that KPU will look to reduce energy consumption is active training and communication, which is done through the five established green teams. These teams help spread awareness of environmental issues at KPU through campus events and other opportunities.
4.3.1 Environmental Aspects
Kwantlen, similar to any other educational institution, is heavily reliant on producing documents on paper. Almost every course uses handouts and the consumption of paper at Kwantlen can be reduced. Some researchers suggest that paper can account for nearly 60 percent of all waste at schools and institutions (NWF, n.d.). A way to help decrease the effect on the environment would be to recycle and reuse, but it is clear that a more permanent solution is required. Many schools around the world have switched to using tablets and computers to help reduce the reliance on paper. This could create high costs for the institution in the short-run, but could potentially be rewarding in the long-run ,as it will eliminate the requirement of paper, benefiting Kwantlen financially and reducing environmental impact.
Secondly, energy consumption at Kwantlen Polytechnic University also poses as a concern as the amount of electricity required to keep the institution open daily is very high. Components of this energy use are heating, cooling, and lighting which account for a large portion of all energy use. Schools are known to be the 3rd highest energy consumers among commercial buildings (EIA, 2015). A key contributor to negative impacts on the environment, reducing the amount of energy used can go a long way towards reducing the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
4.3.2 Legal and Other Requirement relating to the EMS
In respect to conserving electricity, BC Hydro and the provincial government have entered into an agreement called the “Public Sector Energy Conservation Agreement”. This agreement applies to provincial government office buildings, Crown corporations, as well as schools, universities and colleges (KPU, 2015). The policy is in effect until 2020 and it was first introduced in 2008. During this timeline, the provincial government plans to invest $200 million into new technology and energy innovation and have set targets for the above stated institutions that must be met in 2016 and 2020. Taking 2006 as the base year, these targets are aiming for a total reduction of 14% by 2016 and a total reduction of 20% by 2020, as demonstrated in Figure 1. It is crucial for Kwantlen to continue to improve and innovate new ways to reduce energy consumption, especially since the university has plans to grow in the future.
Figure 1 shows KPU’s total electricity consumed in 2006 and their targets for 2011, 2016 and 2020.
4.3.3 Summary
In summary, this section looks at the policies and targets that KPU has been focusing on and will continue to focus on in hopes of reducing their carbon footprint. They have received BC Hydro’s Power Smart Excellence award multiple times which shows their commitment to continuous improvement and consistently being one of the top organizations in this respect. KPU has established an Environmental Sustainability Committee which guides executives with decision making.
As discussed in Envirnomental Policy, Kwantlen has planned for an environmental energy policy which will help lower energy costs while simultaneously reduce the harmful effects KPU has on the earth. The energy policy will achieve this by employing a set of rules provided by the PSECA which in turn will allow KPU to select from methods that would be viable to use for future projects. This section goes on to outline Kwantlen’s goals of reducing GHG in 2016, 2020 and 2050 as required by Bill 44. The target for 2016 is to reduce the emissions by 18% of what they were in 2007 and considering that in 2014 KPU was already at 17% they aren't far off.
Environmental Planning discusses the KPIs Kwantlen will use to measure their performance. As mentioned in the sub-section KPU will use Energy Intensity, Natural Gas Consumption, Electricity Consumption and Annual Energy Intensity as its KPIs. Additionally, the sub-section further goes on to introduce the opportunity of new energy efficient lighting such as LED’s as one of their environmental plans.
Environmental Aspects details the aspects of KPU that are required to operate but also pose as environmental harms. Items such as paper are very important for schools which is why it's important for teachers and students to participate in recycling. In addition to the use of paper, Universities are also reliant on electricity. This sub-section further illustrates the components such as heating, air conditioning and lighting that are necessary in order to provide users with a good working and learning environment.
Legal and other requirements relating to the EMS further expands on PSECA by diving into the legality of the policy which BC Hydro and the provincial government have entered into. This policy includes KPU as it falls under the category of a university, and is in effect until 2020. During this time the provincial government has planned on investing $200 million dollars into new technology and energy innovation. They also are setting targets for the institutions included in the policy to reach, using the base year of 2006 they want to reduce energy expenditure by 14% by 2016 and 20% by 2020.
5.0 Operations and Productivity
5.1 Introduction
This section will explain what Kwantlen must do relating to their operations management, supply chain and productivity. Responsibilities of management are discussed in subsection 5.2 along with the reasons to pursue certification. Subsection 5.3, the Supply Chain will discuss why Kwantlen should become more corporately responsible regarding their supply chain and how that will help them gain an advantage over competing universities. The next subsection, the Productivity Challenge outlines the methods used to determine if an organization is efficient. It will give practical examples of ways Kwantlen can simultaneously become more environmentally friendly and increase their productivity. This section serves the purpose of outlining the adjustments KPU must make regarding their operations and productivity. This section will end with a summary of the key learning points from each sub-section.
5.2 Operations Management
Kwantlen is a service oriented not-for-profit organisation that provides students with the education and expertise necessary so that they can flourish post-graduation. They serve more than 19,000 students annually and have over 1200 staff members (KPU, n.d.). They offer more than 120 programs in four different locations with a 5th one set to open in 2017. Additionally, students also have the opportunity to pursue a co-op education.
Becoming ISO 14001 certified will help Kwantlen improve their processes related to the design of goods and services, human resources and job design and layout strategy. Kwantlen has consciously taken into account their effect on the environment and are continuously improving; “From 1994 to 2014, KPU has increased space by 36% while decreasing natural gas use by 3% and electricity by 9%” (KPU, n.d.). This demonstration of continuous improvement is one of the requirements in order to conform to ISO 14001.
Management is also responsible for setting objectives relating to the standard which take into the following; legal requirements, significant environmental aspects, technological options, financial, operational and business requirements and views of the related parties taken into account (Edwards, 2004, p. 29). Additionally, they are tasked with providing the resources for implementation, the relevant people, finances and technology (Edwards, 2004, p. 10). They must also periodically review the environmental policy that they’ve put in place and the objectives to make sure that they are still effective and relevant to the organization's needs.
5.3 The Supply Chain
ISO 14001 certification should attract Kwantlen for a multitude of reasons, the main one being the potential to prevent pollution and waste and reduce costs while increasing profits. Corporate social responsibility is also becoming more important and ISO 14001 aligns with this trend and the possibility that being ISO 14001 certified will provide Kwantlen with unique capabilities, and benefits that lead to competitive advantage. Research has begun to show that ISO 14001 certification can be used as leverage in a supply chain for competitive advantage (Curkovic, 2011, p. 2).
5.4 The Productivity Challenge – Measurement Choices
Productivity refers to the efficiency an organization such as KPU transfers inputs to outputs (Baldwin, Gu, MacDonald & Yan, 2014). Increasing productivity is something that Kwantlen will have to take into account when pursuing ISO 14001 certification. They must either reduce their inputs such as expenses relating to operations, labour, building, equipment while maintaining outputs such as the education service they offer constant (Heizer et al., 2014, p. 13). Another way they can increase efficiency is by increasing their outputs, such as educational services, without increasing any of their inputs, such as teachers, classrooms, paper, electricity and other resources.
They must be able to more efficiently deliver the service by incorporating new methods that will help reduce misuse of resources. Paper handouts can be reduced by using electronic copies for distribution, as most students do have access to the technology to view them, and also give the students the option to print them on their own, the same can be applied to textbooks. Electricity consumption can be reduced by installing more effective lighting, heating and cooling technology along with raising awareness. For example, installing LED lighting which is proven to save 75% in energy consumption compared to regular bulbs combined with motion sensing technology that will automatically shut down the lights, or better insulative material to conserve heat (BC Hydro, n.d). LED lighting will also be beneficial because it is proven to last up to 11 years when being used for 12 hours a day in comparison to regular bulbs that require constant maintenance (Bulbs.com, n.d.).These types of changes will maintain classroom necessities and reduce costs without compromising the quality of services provided, and in the meantime reducing the impact Kwantlen's operations have on the environment.
5.5 Summary
In summary, this section details the steps Kwantlen must take relating to their operations management, supply chain and productivity in order to achieve ISO 14001 certification. Operations Management discusses Kwantlen’s operations and how ISO 14001 certification can improve KPU’s processes related to the design of goods and services, human resources and job design and layout strategy. This will benefit the 19,000 students and 1200 staff members that attend and work at KPU.
Moreover, they have already shown an effort to reduce their environmental impact by decreasing natural gas and electricity consumption by 3% and 9% respectively while increasing the space they occupy by 36%. In order to be successful management must set objectives relating to the standard which take into account the legal requirements, technological options, financials, business and operational requirements. They also must be willing to provide the resources to pursue implementation, relevant people, finances and technology and periodically review the environmental policy that they’ve put in place and the objectives to make sure that they are still effective and relevant.
Benefits such as the reduction of pollution, waste and costs are specified in the Supply Chain section. Additionally, the importance of organizations to have a sense of Corporate Social Responsibility is increasing and aligns with what ISO 14001 certification provides. Furthermore, benefits determined by Curkovic including improvements in environmental aspects, competitive advantages with competing universities and colleges, and improved reputation are quoted.
The Productivity Challenge, productivity and its measurement challenges pertaining to KPU are outlined. KPU’s outputs mainly consist of providing education and in order to increase the University’s productivity their inputs such as electricity, professors, and classrooms must be reduced. This can be done by reducing the use of paper and putting the onus on students to provide their own paper or by providing electronic copies online. In fact, KPU can reduce electrical costs without affecting their service by installing efficient technology, namely LED lighting which is proven to save 75% in energy consumption (BC hydro) and last up to 11 years when being used 12 hours a day. Combine these bulbs with motion sensing technology which turn off the lights when no one is occupying the room will result in massive savings. They can also improve insulation to reduce heat production. Overall, shifting towards more environmentally friendly operations will lead to cost savings and increased productivity.
6.0 Operations Strategy
6.1 Introduction
This section will explain Kwantlen’s status as it pertains to it’s mission, strategies and competitive advantages when seeking ISO 14001 certification. The Mission subsection will discuss KPU’s current mission as a organization and it will also discuss the need for all members of the organization to be aware of possible changes to the strategy. Subsection 6.3 will go into the specifics of Kwantlen’s possible requirement to shift their strategy and by when. The next subsection, Competitive Advantages, details the advantages that Kwantlen may achieve over competing post-secondary institutions if they are willing to pursue ISO 14001 certification. This section will end with a summary of the key learning points from each sub-section.
6.2 Mission
Kwantlen’s mission is to “offer all learners opportunities to achieve success in a diverse range of programs that blend theory and practice, critical understanding, and social and ethical awareness necessary for good citizenship and rewarding careers” (KPU, 2013). As it pertains to ISO 14001 Kwantlen must modify their strategy used for achieving this mission to better fit with the requirements of ISO 14001. They must clearly disclose their objectives and beliefs related to reducing their negative impacts on the environment. The university must show that they are aware of the services and products they currently provide that have an adverse environmental impact (Anthony, 2010, p. 1). Additionally, Kwantlen must show a commitment to continuous improvement relating to their environmental policy, which they have already shown a propensity of doing (Anthony, 2010, p. 2). For example, KPU’s SEMP, Environmental Protection Diploma and accordance with Bill 44 demonstrate their efforts of becoming even more environmentally friendly as well as raising awareness for others to do so as well. Needless to say all of this must be done in accordance with the environmental laws and regulations.
Their mission and goals relating to the environment must be communicated and understood by all employees of Kwantlen. The organization is responsible for training and teaching their staff members to operate with full compliance of their new environmental policy.
6.3 Strategies
Kwantlen’s current goals are to become an effective and unique organization whose students and staff members are engaged members of the community. They hope to accomplish these goals by 2018 and they can be achieved with ISO 14001 certification. Since no university in North America has been awarded ISO 14001 certification it will give KPU a sense of uniquity if they can get certified by December 31, 2016. Additionally, members of KPU will have more opportunities to be engaged with the community if the university is trying to limit its carbon footprint.
A strategy is “how an organization expects to achieve it’s mission and goals” (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 36.) KPU should modify their strategy so that it better includes the impacts it may have on the environment. They must clearly explain how and in what time frame they will adjust their existing services in order to meet their environmental commitments. This strategy should be developed in the short-term time horizon, within the next 2 months so that certification by December 31, 2016 is possible. It should not, however, affect Vision 2018. Kwantlen must determine if and how they can change their operations to reduce their footprint while still accomplishing their mission. Existing parts of the organization that are contributing to environmental harm should be evaluated and adjusted.
KPU must comply with environmental laws and regulations in order to conform to ISO 14001. There may be situations in which they are not in compliance with the laws and regulations and should that be the case they will have to develop a strategy to become in accordance with the laws. Additionally, to demonstrate continuous improvement KPU will have to lay out a plan that will help them maintain compliance with the laws and regulations. This will be done in the long-term time bucket after December 31, 2016.
6.4 Competitive Advantages
Kwantlen should seek ISO 14001 certification because it is beneficial for them, it can help reduce electricity, water and waste expenses. In 2014 KPU’s consumed 11,147,759 kWh of electricity at a cost of $951,123 and electricity consumption represented 47% of the University’s total energy consumed but represented 69% of the total cost (KPU, 2015). These costs can be reduced by implementing energy efficient utilities like LED lighting, savings from reduction in energy expenditure can be distributed to other areas of kwantlen, perhaps increasing hours of operation at the library. It can also give an organization an upper hand over their competitors who don’t conform to ISO 14001 because it shows their commitment to preventing environmental harm and provide positive exposure to the brand of KPU.
Over the past few years Kwantlen has been reducing the hours of its library due to cost concerns (KPU, n.d.). Needless to say if Kwantlen adopted ISO 14001 guidelines costs regarding lighting, maintenance and utilities will be reduced. A switch to LED lighting can save $37.44 per classroom (Costco, 2016). This will allow Kwantlen to use these savings to open their facilities longer and possibly do what their competitor SFU is doing which is opening their library 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Many Kwantlen students are left with no other choice then to study at SFU as a result of this.
The lower mainland has many respected post-secondary institutions to offer such as UBC, SFU, & BCIT and they all compete for many of the same students Kwantlen does. Many times Kwantlen is seen as an afterthought when compared to the aforementioned likely because of its lack of provincial and national recognition. It also doesn't help that BCIT, SFU and UBC have all existed for 52, 51 and 101 years respectively while KPU is relatively young with only 35 years under their belt and only 8 as a Polytechnic University. In order to gain an advantage over these historical post-secondary institutions Kwantlen should conform to ISO 14001 standards. This will be helpful because none of the previous universities mentioned are ISO 14001 certified, in fact no university in North America has been granted certification so becoming certified can really help differentiate KPU.
6.5 Summary
In summary, Mission discussed the need for Kwantlen to amend their strategy so they can achieve ISO 14001 certification. It further goes on to discuss the ISO 14001 requirement of a commitment to continuous improvement that KPU has demonstrated by offering a diploma in Environmental Protection and following the guidelines of Bill 44. Lastly this subsection goes on to suggest that KPU must clearly communicate their mission and goals regarding the environment and this must be understood by all staff members.
Strategies will go into the specifics of Kwantlen’s possible requirement to shift their strategy and these changes should be made within 2 months. These changes will be made with both the environment and their goals for vision 2018 in mind. They must also be communicated throughout the entire organization.
As examined in the Competitive Advantages subsection, total electricity consumption represents 47% of the total consumption but is 69% of the costs. In total KPU’s electricity bill for 2014 was $951,123. These costs can be reduced if KPU makes the switch to more efficient products such as LED lighting, which will allow them to save $37.44 per classroom. These savings can be used to keep KPU’s library and other facilities open longer for student use instead of students flocking to competing universities such as SFU. Furthermore, KPU can use ISO 14001 certification to distinguish themselves from BCIT, SFU and UBC which have been in business for 52,51 and 101 years compared to KPU’s 35 years.
7.0 Project Management
7.1 Introduction
This section will cover the project management, specifically, planning, scheduling and controlling. Planning discusses the importance of developing a project plan, who needs to be involved in the planning process and possible methods of planning that KPU might choose from. Scheduling then explains who is in charge of scheduling the tasks and in what time frame the project must be completed. The next subsection, Controlling, examines how Kwantlen should be aware of implications in that may arise during the project's life cycle also methods that they can apply to prevent and deal with these issues. Overall this section will provide information related to the project management aspect for ISO 14001 certification project. This section will end with a summary of the key learning points from each sub-section.
7.2 Planning
It’s been stated multiple times throughout the report that conforming to ISO 14001 for Kwantlen is an extensive project that will require cooperation from all levels of the organization. Without full commitment from the top level decision makers of KPU such as the President Dr. Alan Davis, the process of creating and implementing the EMS will be troublesome and likely lead to failure (Edwards, 2004, p. 15). Additionally, lower level staff members must also cooperate and uphold to the standards of Kwantlen’s environmental policy. A statement of intent needs to be written and signed by Dr. Davis, which will help KPU initiate the process of writing the environmental policies (Edwards, 2004, p. 15).
KPU has its hands full with multiple large projects that are ongoing including: upgrading the School of Design in Richmond and opening the 5th campus at the Civic Plaza in Surrey set to open in 2017. In order to effectively and efficiently pursue ISO 14001 by the end of 2016 it is paramount that the university develop a project organization. The team for this project should be lead by Karen Hearn and include the operations managers and supervisors of the Facilities Services.
Devoting a separate committee to this project will allow existing projects to run smoothly and will also allow for the new ISO project to be successful (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 60). Since the pursuit of ISO 14001 certification is unfamiliar and unique to KPU creating an organization that’s sole responsibility is to handle major projects is optimal. For the project organization to be most effective it must define the deadline of the project which in this case is December 31, 2016. Creating a Gantt Chart will help Karen Hearn and the rest of the team focus on the end result by clearly outlining the work needed to be done by when and by whom. The Gantt Chart will allow them to see their progress and compare what they’ve planned and what their actual status is then make adjustments accordingly.
Karen Hearn will be accountable for making sure the project follows the timeline and budget that were set at the beginning (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 61). The objective is to achieve certification by December 31st, 2016, therefore planning for the short term (2 months), medium term (6 months to a year), and long term (time after certification) is crucial. This project is very expensive and extensive as it cuts across the whole organization and has a very strict deadline which is why Hearn must keep the team members motivated and to give them clear instructions.
7.3 Scheduling
Project managers are responsible for meeting the deadline and budget of the project. The manager for this project will be Karen Hearn the Executive Director of Facilities Services. Developing a project schedule which assigns tasks for each team member and budgets the time and resources needed for each task to be completed will be necessary before beginning the project. For example, who will conduct the audits and when will they be conducted. The preliminary audit for this project will be completed by Dr. Tutlewski. Additionally, scheduling will be important for determining which companies KPU will hire to carry out the potential changes such as painting and installing sensored faucets.
KPU should use a Gantt chart to address the scheduling aspect of the project. They can also use PERT or CPM, which computes the critical paths of a project. This will help KPU determine the priority in which parts of the project are necessary to be completed in what order and by when, ensuring that the deadline will be met. The critical part of this project will be the audit performed before December 31, 2016 because without it completed ISO 14001 certification will not be granted.
7.4 Controlling
During the process of obtaining ISO 14001 certification not everything will go as planned. Tasks may get delayed, overspending could occur and more effective and efficient methods may be realized and in these events the project organization will have to revise the project plan. The project organization will need to develop a feedback loop in which they have the ability to shift resources to the most pressing areas of the project (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 63).
Additionally, KPU must diligently monitor all tasks being performed so that the quality of the project doesn’t suffer. If any area of the pursuit of ISO 14001 is lacking Karen Hearn must work with the other members of the project organization to come up with corrective actions and preventative actions to reduce the risk of another issue arising (Project Monitoring and Control Activities, 2012). Any corrections made must be integrated throughout the whole project. This means any changes to the budget, schedule, roles or quality standards must first be approved by decision makers and then communicated to all members involved with the project.
As a way to prevent and reduce the number of issues that arise with the process of conforming to ISO 14001, KPU will have to perform frequent performance evaluations of team members (Project Monitoring and Control Activities, 2012). If team members are unsure of their role or task, it is the project manager who must convey it to them in a way that will resonate with the team members. Again, if there are any amendments to tasks or roles they must be clearly passed on to all affected. For example, if KPU decides to order “eco-friendly” products for their vending machines the individual who currently has that role must be made aware of the changes and the amendments to their role.
Since this project’s deadline is December 31, 2016 KPU needs to employ cybernetic control as a control mechanism. Cybernetic control compares the actual results with the expected results at a particular timeframe in the project and if the actual results are behind expected results adjustments are made to the inputs of the project (Chand, 2015). For example, as it pertains to KPU’s pursuit of ISO 14001 certification if a critical part of the project's completion is delayed, it can push back the expected completion date of December 31, 2016, therefore more resources must be devoted to nullify the delay which will make sure the subsequent activities can be completed on schedule. This activity is known as crashing a project and the necessary resources will depend on which aspect of the project has been delayed but may include additional funds, auditors and/or trainers (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 81). Comment by Andy Sandhu: Comment by manbir grewal:
7.5 Summary
In summary the key learning points in Planning detailed the requirement for cooperation from all levels of KPU. This begins with President Dr. Alan Davis otherwise the EMS will likely lead to failure. Moreover, the creation of a project organization lead by Karen Hearn is also important so the pursuit of ISO 14001 certification can be achieved by December 31, 2016. A suggested technique to stay on track is a Gantt Chart which will allow all members of the project to determine who is doing what and by when. The Gantt Chart will also allow comparisons of the actual progress versus the planned progress. Lastly, it’s Karen Hearn’s role to keep members on task and motivated.
Scheduling discusses the role scheduling has in project management. Scheduling will allow KPU to determine ahead of time who they are going to contract to complete audits and which companies will be hired to implement the suggested changes such as re-painting the walls and installing automatic faucets. This subsection also discusses criticality of the audit to be performed before December 31, 2016 to achieve ISO 14001 certification.
The next subsection, Controlling, examines the potential of uncertainties such as delays and overspending that can arise with a project of this magnitude. A feedback loop is suggested for KPU so that the project organization can provide resources to the areas of the project that need them the most. Moreover, Karen Hearn must work with members of the project to come up with preventative and corrective actions to prevent and correct issues. These issues could arise from areas such as budgeting, scheduling, roles and/or quality standards. Additionally, performance evaluations should be performed so that it can be determined that performances are up to par.. Next, KPU should adopt cybernetic control as their control mechanism which will work similarly to a feedback loop allowing additional resources such as funding, auditors and/or trainers to be provided for critical aspect of the project.
8.0 Forecasting
8.1 Introduction
This section will describe forecasting aspects; time horizons, time series aspects and monitoring and controlling. Time horizons will break down tasks in short, medium and long term time buckets. KPU’s short-term time horizons use two month time buckets, medium-term time horizons use 6-12 month time buckets, and long-term time horizons have time buckets of 1-2 years. Time Series Forecasting discusses quantitative methods related to time series forecasting including weighted moving average which can be used to measure and forecast energy savings from LED lights and paper towel consumption. Monitoring and controlling looks at ISO 14001 in the long-term time horizon. Monitoring environmental initiatives on a continuous basis will make it easier to maintain ISO 14001 standards to ensure they keep their certification for years to come. This section will end with a summary of the key learning points from each sub-section.
8.2 Time Horizons
A time horizon explains how far into the future a specific forecast is for and it can either be a short-range, medium-range, or a long-range forecast. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 106 ) A short-range time horizon for Kwantlen in regards to this project would be 2 months or January and February. Therefore, KPU must use 2 month time buckets when planning and implementing environmental initiatives. First, LED lighting will be installed in FIR building within the first two months of the project's life. They have an estimated initial cost $455.88 with energy savings of $37.44 per classroom per year (Costco, 2016). KPU can help the environment further by using Nu-life, their contractor for light recycling to recycle the old lights. Nu-life charges $0.12 a foot to recycle straight fluorescent lights (Nulife, 2010). Next, an ergonomic initiative that will happen in the short-range time horizon is purchasing new chairs from Smith System, the Intuit Adjustable Chair for $250 per chair and will have an initial investment of $8750 per classroom (Smith System, 2016). The goal for the ergonomic chairs is to pilot the chairs in the first floor of the Fir building in January and february before rolling them out to the entire Surrey campus.
A medium-range time horizon for Kwantlen in regards to this project would be 6-12 months or July-December. An effective medium-range forecast will be important for KPU because it focuses on the months leading up to the ISO certification deadline. Keeping the end in mind, KPU will have to work backwards from the December 31, 2016 certification date to make a progressive action plan. Therefore, in November KPU will get the auditors to visit the Surrey KPU campus to deliver a preliminary audit. This preliminary audit will give KPU insight into the problems and challenges they need to address before the ISO auditors return on December 31st. Dr. Tutlweski can take KPU through a trial or practice run in October to get ready for the preliminary audit. In September there can be a week long training seminar to educate faculty, staff, and students. Dr Tutlweski can run this environmental training at KPU’s main campus and this can be a collaborative process between Karen Hearn’s ISO 14001 committee and interested employees and students. Chiba University in Japan is a great example of how a university was able to get their students involved and engaged in environmental initiatives by forming a student committee for ISO 14001 (ISO, 2006). This committee played an important role in the EMS implementation process.
During the medium time horizon, KPU will look to build on its initial environmental initiatives that have already been implemented in the fir building. The summer months are a great time for KPU to make renovations to the Surrey campus due to lowered amounts of students attending during the summer months. Therefore, maintenance will install LED lights to the rest of the classrooms systematically to allow for minimal disruption to summer courses. Also during these summer months, KPU will systematically renovate washrooms by implementing low flush toilets, motion sensor sinks and motion sensor paper towel dispensers to reduce water and paper waste. During the medium-term time horizon the feedback can be collected from students on their opinions of the ergonomic chairs in the Fir building. If the feedback is positive and a consensus can be reached then the old hard plastic chairs can be replaced in all of the classrooms and the library.
Long-range forecasting for KPU is for anything related to the project that happens after the first year or after December 31st 2016. KPU can’t do everything it wants in its first year of certification, therefore after doing a few of the major environmental projects such as lighting, recycling, washrooms and ergonomic chairs they can complete some of their lower priority initiatives like repainting the classrooms. Upon successfully acquiring ISO 14001 certification at the main campus in Surrey on December 30, 2016 KPU will look to receive certification at their Richmond campus in year two by December 2017. In year 3, KPU should seek ISO 14001 certification at its Langley and Cloverdale location and have all of its campuses certified by December 2018.
8.3 Time Series Forecasting
Time series forecasts are quantitative methods for forecasting future demand using historical data. Four methods of forecasting are used: naive approach, moving averages, exponential smoothing, and trend projection. (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 106)) Since KPU will have no historical data to use for forecasting in the first year they won’t be able to start forecasting until the gather some data. Forecasting the initial cost for implementing ISO 14001 it is important to consider both internal and external costs. Internal costs for an organization the size of KPU ranges from $25,000-$60,000 and external costs range from $15,000-$60,000, therefore, implementation could end up costing KPU $40,000-$120,000 (Yiridoe & Marett, 2004, p. 41). In year two KPU can use the data collected in year one to forecast the demand by using a weighted moving average forecast which will give KPU more effective forecasts in the future by weighting the demand of periods differently. The benefit of using a weighted moving average is that KPU will be able to use the data of a 3-month moving average helping them smooth out any fluctuations in the demands for things they are measuring including: energy usage, paper towel consumption and total water used. An example of KPU using a weighted moving average forecast would be measuring how much paper towel is being used in March, April, and May in order to forecast how much paper will towel will be used in June. They would place a higher weight on the later months to get a more accurate forecast.
8.4 Monitoring and Controlling Forecasts
Monitoring and controlling forecasts are primarily done using a long-range time horizon that focus on the demand for the initiatives that have been implemented. KPU needs to be able to monitor and control the progress of their environmental initiatives after year one. They will need to monitor the organic recycling bins to make sure that people are throwing away items in the right containers, however, this should be fairly easy given the new bins will be see-through. Also, monitoring the new energy saving LED lights that have been installed in the Surrey campus need to be measured and tracked. The data being collected from monitoring the energy savings through LED lighting at the Surrey campus will allow KPU to measure how long it will take them to recover their initial investment when implementing energy saving initiatives at the other locations. After becoming certified on December 30th 2016, KPU will need to continue to uphold and control their environmental practices to maintain certification when they have to re-certify to keep their ISO 14001 certification.
8.5 Summary
In summary, this section focuses on forecasting techniques that have either a short, medium, and long-term time horizon for the ISO 14001 certification. KPU will need to continually forecasts in the first year using short-term time buckets which are in two month intervals. KPU’s medium-term forecasting ends on Dec 30th 2016 and uses larger time buckets, usually 6-12 months. Any planning, monitoring, and controlling that happens after the certification deadline falls under the long-term time horizon.
In Forecasting, Kwantlen has forecasted environmental initiatives and actions that need to be implemented in the short-term and medium term and monitoring and controlling practices that must take place in the long term. KPU must implement the following initiatives in January and February in order to successfully obtain certification at year end. The short-term time horizon is a trial period for energy saving, ergonomic and waste removal initiatives that will be piloted in the Fir building initially. It is important to pilot these new environmental initiatives in a controlled way and be able to receive feedback before implementing changes to the entire Surrey campus. LED’s will be installed in the Fir building classrooms along with ergonomic chairs on the first floor.Next, medium-range time horizons initiatives are an important part of the process because of the progressive steps necessary to receive certification on Dec 30th 2016. These progressive steps include a week long training seminar for faculty, staff, and students conducted by Dr. Tutlweski in September. A trial run audit in October by Dr. Tutlweski to become ready for the preliminary audit that will follow in November which is conducted by ISO. Finally, long-range forecasting focuses on any environmental initiatives that will be implemented after the first year of ISO 14001 certification. One of these secondary initiatives is painting the classrooms to make it a more comfortable learning and working environment. KPU also would like to expand its ISO 14001 certification to the Richmond campus in the second year and to the remainder campuses in year three.
Quantitative methods are used for time series forecasting including weighted moving average. KPU doesn’t have historical data on ISO 14001, therefore, they won’t be able to make forecast accurately in the first year, however, by year two KPU will be able to apply a weighted moving average to smooth out fluctuations in demand. Using a 3-month moving average with different weights on periods will allow for a much more accurate prediction on demand. The forecast for the initial investment based organization the size of KPU ranges from internal costs with a range from $25,000-$60,000 and external costs range from $15,000-$60,000, therefore, implementation could end up costing KPU $40,000-$120,000.
Monitoring and controlling forecasting is done in the long-range time horizon and focuses on any ISO 14001 initiatives that take place after December 30th 2016. They will need to monitor usage of the organic recycling bins to make sure people are using them properly, this can easily be done if they are see-through because you will see a pop can in the wrong section easily. Also measuring the energy savings from the LED lights will allow Kwantlen to find out the cost savings that can be applied to future ISO 14001 certification at other KPU campuses. KPU must continually focus on controlling their new environmental processes in order to maintain ISO 14001 certification and adhere to future audits to maintain certification.
9.0 Managing Quality and the Environment
9.1 Introduction
This section looks at what quality means to Kwantlen, environmental concerns and the tools of quality. Defining Quality explains what quality standards KPU has set for themselves in their Vision 2018 plan along with why quality is important. The next section analyzes the changes that might occur at KPU due environmental concerns to and how this affects the quality of the product that Kwantlen is producing. Tools of quality discusses the various methods to measure quality and using benchmarking to compare themselves to successful universities like Chiba and Cranfield. Lastly, The Role of Inspection, talks about conducting inspections and solving issues that may arise relating to quality. Overall, this section will cover how to manage KPU’s product quality while keeping in mind the environmental impacts. This section will end with a summary of the key learnings points from each sub-section.
9.2 Defining Quality
At KPU, quality is defined as the ability of their educational service to meet the needs of the students. Providing students with high quality services is the goal of KPU’s Vision 2018 strategic plan (KPU, 2013). Vision 2018 lists three quality objectives for KPU to achieve which are preparing students to be successful global citizens, having learners be engaged which shows continuous improvement and by being a well-managed, integrated and to be a transparent organization that supports learning. ISO 14001 certification will help KPU come closer to accomplishing these goals because it will be raising awareness about environmental harm which will give students more opportunities to be better global citizens. For example, KPU’s Environmental Protection diploma not only helps raise awareness but it also allows students to be more engaged. Finally, ISO 14001 certification is only possible if the whole organization participates not just certain faculties, so this will allow KPU to be more transparent.
Quality has implications on an organization’s reputation and public image.. Being reputable for quality services can give KPU the ability to reach a larger customer base locally, nationally and internationally. By getting ISO 14001 certified, KPU will be able to differentiate itself from its competitors since no other university in North America has this environmental certification. The standards of ISO 14001 imply that KPU’s services have reached global quality and price expectations which in turn increase brand awareness and trust This gives KPU the opportunity to become a leader in environmental quality similar to what Chiba University achieved in Japan. They set an example for the global education sector by becoming ISO 14001 certified.
Quality needs to start at the top of an organization through the leadership of upper management and is reflected in the organization’s mission and vision statement. For KPU this would include board members, the senate, Dr. Alan Davis and Karen Hearn. These decision makers will need to create environmental management standards and enforce them.
9.3 Environmental Concerns
Although retaining and maintaining ISO 14001 certification is important, it shouldn't affect the quality of education. A big concern for KPU is the consumption of paper as it may contribute up to 60% of their total waste. Paper consumption includes textbooks, handouts and forms and one of the ways to decrease paper consumption is providing PDF textbooks, handouts and other files on moodle and electronically accessible forms. The technology is already there to host these files and a majority of students possess the tools to view them. For those who may not own these devices KPU can provide a 3-5 laptops depending on the class size in each classroom, or students may print their own copies if they choose to do so. One caveat to allowing all students to use laptops in class is that it could be distracting and students may surf different sites, which may hinder the quality of education.
9.4 Tools of Quality
There are seven tools of quality used in Total Quality Management: check sheets, scatter diagrams, cause-and-effect diagrams, pareto charts, flow charts, histograms, statistical process control (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 195). KPU can use some of these tools in order to make sure that they are exceeding customer expectations when it comes to quality. Scatter diagrams can be useful for Kwantlen to measure the relationship between the ISO 14001 environmental initiatives with the retention of students at KPU. Kwantlen can also use pareto charts as a method of problem solving for any environmental concerns as it will help them identify the critical issues from the less important issues. Another quality tool that will help KPU is external benchmarking where they can analyze the performance of ISO 14001 certified educational institutions such as Chiba University and Cranfield Management College and apply what they learn to KPU. Kwantlen will have to benchmark these institutions and look at key performance indicators from a successful institution like Cranfield who has set KPI’s for water consumption, carbon, recycling, and waste which are not currently used by KPU (Cranfield University, 2014).
Once Kwantlen has implemented changes they can use a cause and effect or Ishikawa diagram after 6 months to determine which changes are helping them reduce the most waste and costs, then evaluate what areas to focus on.
9.5 The Role of Inspection
Inspection plays a large role in controlling quality in an organization and having processes in place to aid inspection are helpful. Getting employees involved in the process through employee empowerment is one way organizations can improve system quality. KPU can create quality circle of employees that meet regularly to solve quality problems that come up related to ISO 14001.
Another form of inspection that KPU can utilize is source control or source inspection where employees perform a self-check on their own work and can use checklists to further control quality on the job (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 207). It can be difficult to monitor the actions of 20,000 students which is why for KPU the best inspection technique would be to have no inspection at all. That’s why it's important for KPU to implement high quality poka-yoke devices. For example, KPU currently has 5 sets of organic waste collection bins at the Surrey campus which have limited the size of their openings to prevent people from throwing in the wrong items in the wrong bin. For example, the paper recycling bins at KPU have very narrow openings that make it impossible to discard pop cans and other waste into them. These types of devices act as a fail safe.
9.6 Summary
In summary, Defining Quality explains KPU’s definition of quality, which is the ability of their educational service to meet the needs of its students. It discusses the 3 quality objectives KPU has laid out in Vision 2018. These objectives are preparing students to be successful global citizens, having learners be engaged which shows continuous improvement and by being a well-managed, integrated and to be a transparent organization that supports learning. KPU is making progress in aforementioned aspects by offering an Environmental Protection diploma that can raise awareness of the environmental harms amongst students. Furthermore, ISO 14001 will help KPU become more transparent and well-managed because it cuts across the whole organization not just one faculty. Additionally, this subsection goes on to discuss the implications ISO 14001 can have on KPU’s reputation and public image. They will be able to differentiate themselves from competitors because no other university in North America has achieved ISO 14001 certification. Similarly, to Chiba University in Japan KPU can become a leader in environmental quality with this certification.
The next subsection discusses Environmental Concerns, main the concern of paper consumption. As an educational institution paper waste may contribute up to 60% of KPU’s total waste. Classroom items such as textbooks and handouts as well as office materials including forms contribute to this waste. Shifting these materials exclusively online by way of PDF textbooks and electronically accessible handouts and forms will aid in reducing waste. A disadvantage of this may be that students can get distracted and surf recreational sites instead of participating in class. This may hinder the quality level of the education they receive.
Tools of Quality goes on to discuss tools such as scatter diagrams, pareto charts, cause and effect diagrams and benchmarking that KPU can use to measure quality. For example, KPU can use benchmarking to compare the performance of ISO 14001 certified institutions such as Chiba University and Cranfield Management College. KPU can analyze their KPI’s for water consumption, carbon, recycling, and waste and adopt them for themselves. Additionally, after KPU has implemented the recommended changes they can use a cause and effect diagram to determine which changes are most helpful in reducing waste and expenses.
The Role Of Inspection discusses controlling quality at KPU. For example, KPU can implement a quality circle where employees meet regularly to solve quality complications that arise relating to the environment. Additionally, KPU can use poka-yoke devices such as organic waste collection bins that they already have 5 of at the Surrey campus. These devices prevent individuals from throwing the incorrect items into bins. For example, the bin for paper recycling has such a narrow opening that it would be very difficult for a pop can to be thrown in it. Poka-yoke devices such as these act as fail safes.
10.0 HR, Job Design, and Work Measurement
10.1 Introduction
This section will go into detail about the labour planning, ergonomics, and environmental impact of Kwantlen. Labour Planning will outline staffing policies dealing with stability, work schedules and rules. Then Ergonomics talks about the effects that chairs, lighting and colours have on the people that attend Kwantlen and has suggestions that Kwantlen can use to better their ergonomics. The final section examines the Environmental Impact Kwantlen has on air, noise, water, and waste. Methods currently in place are mentioned and suggestions to reduce their impact further are discussed. With these suggestions their costs are provided along with the savings. This section will end with a summary of the key learning points from each sub-section.
10.2 Labour Planning
Labour planning is the determination of “staffing policies dealing with employment stability, work schedules, and work rules” (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 387). As most teachers obtain tenure, Kwantlen’s employment staff stays constant, which keeps costs for hiring and layoffs down. Professors are able to choose the amount of courses they would like to teach in any given semester, therefore work schedules for employees are predetermined and the professors teaching at the institution have the ability to pick courses by preference. Professors are also able to determine their own work schedules regarding office hours for students and hours to complete other material for their classes such as marking and preparing for lectures.
The quality of work life for professors is good, as professors are able to teach a variety of classes for which they have qualifications for, and are able to effectively use job rotation to switch between different courses each semester. This is great because it allows teachers to have the flexibility to make self-improvements and teach a variety of courses rather than doing the same course every semester and year. Professors tend to have high employee empowerment as they are able to teach the class in whichever manner they find to be the most useful and practical.
10.3 Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the interaction of humans and other elements such as machines and it’s an important issue regarding employees and students at Kwantlen (Heizer et al, 2014, p. 392). Changes to standards and policies to the school in efforts to obtain ISO 14001 certification should not come at the expense of the staff or students. Ongoing contact with machines that are poorly designed and fail to meet standards can cause discomfort and long term health risks for users. Factors that affect employee performance, safety, and quality of work include lighting, furniture such as tables and chairs, and the air quality in the school. To ensure that these risks have been controlled, quality assessments should be performed before any changes are made at the university. Also, ergonomic assessments should be completed periodically to resolve any discomfort staff members may be experiencing and to analyze any changes that should be made in the classrooms or library to improve employee and student safety.
At the moment a glaring issue with Kwantlen is the chairs that are in place in classrooms and the library. The current chairs are plastic, unadjustable and do not ergonomically fit the variety of people that attend Kwantlen. Students and teachers are required to be in a seated position for extended periods of time putting stress on the lumbar area which can lead to various health issues overtime (CCHOS, 2016). Chairs that are better suited include features such as; adjustability for; seat height, adjustable backrest, seat depth, stability, and being able to sit in a balanced position with adequate leg clearance. There are chairs available that are created for optimal seating position, one specifically by Smith System, the Intuit Adjustable Chair. This chair has more flexibility so users can move front to back and side to side and it also provides pronounced lumbar support to help correct posture and breathing (Smith System, 2016). It product costs $250 per chair which would be an estimated $8,750 per classroom. Although costly, the chairs will reduce the negative effects of bad seating position and provide a more comfortable workplace for teachers and students.
Lighting is already an energy concern at KPU but in addition to that it can also affect the productivity of those in the workplace including students and instructors. In fact appropriate lighting such as LED’s can reduce fatigue and headaches. (CCHOS, 2016). The ergonomic aspect of lighting provides one more reason to switch to LED bulb as they are both a healthier lighting solution while also reducing costs of electricity and maintenance when compared to the fluorescent lighting at KPU. (THS) Again, this will have an estimated initial cost of $455.88 with energy savings of $37.44 per classroom per year.
KPU Surrey’s interior is predominantly painted with gray scale and dull colors. Colors have a psychological impact on the human brain and can affect moods and focus levels (Shift, 2014). KPU’s current colour scheme doesn’t enhance the learning environment as can be interpreted from Smith System; “The key to creating an environment conducive to learning in a classroom is to not over-stimulate learners. Overstimulation is often caused by large amounts of bright colors, especially reds and oranges. Calmness, relaxation, happiness and comfort are feelings elicited by colors such as green and blue” (Smith System, 2016). Painting the walls of KPU Surrey blue and/or green will help students relax allowing them to stay focused during lectures. The project organization should outsource the painting to an outside contractor such as Cloverdale Paint or Sherwin Williams or KPU can re-paint in house, and the average cost of re-painting walls is $1.50-$3.50 per square foot (PPG, 2016).
10.4 Environmental Impacts (Air, Noise, Water, Waste)
Kwantlen Surrey has provided students with three water stations where students can refill their water bottles, encouraging the re-usage of water bottles and limiting number of plastic bottles that require recycling. Judging by the number of bottles saved, which is an ongoing count on the water dispenser, this has been a successful attempt to reduce waste and help the environment.
KPU can do more to reduce the wastage of water. Currently, KPU’s washrooms use manual faucets which waste more water because they have to turned on and off manually and also drip if they’ve not been turned off properly. Implementing sensor-controlled faucets will eliminate dripping and they will automatically shut off 0.5 seconds after use. KPU may be able to conserve 70% more water with these faucets versus manual faucets (Autotaps, 2016). These water savings will undoubtedly lead to cost savings as well. In addition to the water and cost savings, automatic faucets will also lead to a more hygienic and germ-free environment because users do not need to touch the faucets to turn them on or off. KPU can also implement low flow toilets leading to even more water savings. Currently, KPU’s Surrey campus uses traditional toilets which can use between 3.5-7.0 gallons of water per flush (MWRA, 2006). If low flow toilets are installed the University can save up to 77% more water per flush.
Kwantlen has established an organic waste collection system to ensure that waste is properly disposed at campus. Kwantlen currently has organic waste collection bins which are separated by recyclables (cans and bottles), waste, paper, and organics. These bins are poka-yoke, the openings of the containers are limited in size to match the intended waste to be disposed. While these bins are a good initiative more can be done to make them even more poka-yoke. For example making the containers see through will further prevent students from throwing items into the incorrect bin. There are only five locations on campus where these bins are accessible at the Surrey campus, this can be seen in Appendix 2. An issue with having limited access to these, one per building, is that it leads to students tossing their garbage into the regular trash bins which are in the classrooms and all the waste is mixed up and disposed of inefficiently. For these bins to be effective there has to be more available on campus and readily accessible. KPU should work with it’s contracted waste manager Supersave to replace regular garbage bins that are in classrooms, hallways, outdoors, and the library with more of the organic waste collection bins to more effectively collect waste and recycle.
Noise can be a problem in KPU’s learning environment especially during times when complete focus is required, such as exams, quizzes, readings, lectures and studying. Noise intrusion can come from outside sources like cars since KPU is located on one of the busiest streets in Surrey (Woolner & Hall, 2010). Sound from other areas of the school can also leak into classrooms such as students in the hallways and doors closing. A potential solution for this type of noise intrusion is to install door closers on doors that will prevent them from slamming shut along with adding sound proof materials on doors to avoid sound leaking. These cost between $18.00-$80.00 per door (Amazon, 2016). Background noise in classrooms is also an issue, it mainly derives comes from things in the classroom such as computers, projectors and heaters. KPU can limit these disruptions by purchasing quieter machinery and equipment.
As an educational institution KPU uses a lot of paper, in fact paper may contribute up to 60% of all waste at KPU. They’ve been doing a good job limiting the negative effects their paper waste has on the environment. For example KPU has set all employee printers to print double sided as a way to preserve paper and they use 30% post-consumer recycled paper (Zaidi, 2014). Additionally, board and senate members use iPads during meetings as a way to prevent paper wastage. KPU can take what the board and senate members are doing one step further by going as paper-less in their operations. This would include posting files on KPU’s moodle site so students can view them on their personal computers instead of the instructor having to print out handouts for every student. KPU can also promote the idea of purchasing textbooks in electronic format instead of the hard copy versions.
Protecting the quality of air for instructors, students and other individuals around campus is important for KPU. One of the technologies that the University has employed to manage the quality of the air is using a natural ventilation system. This system is used to ventilate parts of the Arbutus (library) building and Main building. This ventilation system uses trickle vents that are located on all sides of the building, on all floors. In the winter a heating coil is placed between the vent to heat the air which “reduces electrical consumption and also provides a steady supply of heat” (KPU, n.d.) In addition to the Natural Ventilation System, KPU also uses something called demand ventilation. This method adjusts the air volumes depending on the number of people occupying the room. Without this method all classrooms will be using the same amount of air regardless of the number of occupants, which is inefficient. The demand system distributes air resources efficiently and reduces GHG emissions and gas and electrical consumption.
Cigarette smoke pollutes the air at campus especially when students and staff are smoking near doors, windows, pathways, and other areas of air intake. Second hand smoke is proven to be to be harmful to nonsmokers; “Exposure to secondhand smoke increases your risk for lung disease, heart disease, heart attacks and stroke” (Canadian Cancer Society, 2016). Students are exposed to secondhand smoke when travelling between buildings, even though there is a policy in place by KPU to not smoke “within 7.5 meters of any doorway or building air intake” it is evident at KPU Surrey that this is not being followed (KPU, n.d.). The security guards contracted by KPU need to do a better job of enforcing this rule. KPU can also add a separately ventilated area that is designated for smokers. This will help to reduce exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke at campus. This system, however, is costly and the cost varies greatly depending on the size of the ventilated area. If a separate area is not viable for KPU a secondary option of completely making the campus a smoke free zone can be an option to be considered. Advantages and disadvantages of these proposed options can be seen in Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows the pros and cons of proposed policies (CCOHS, 2016).
10.5 Summary
In summary, Labour Planning, which for KPU has helped to keep employee turnover low. It has also allowed instructors to have flexibility when they choose the amount of courses they will teach in a semester. Professors have the ability to select their own schedules when it comes to grading, preparation and office hours. Furthermore, this subsection discusses the quality of worklife for instructors. Since instructors are able to teach a variety of classes, depending on if they have the qualifications for them, they are successfully using the job rotation tactic. This is good because professors can learn new things and improve on themselves by teaching different courses and people. Typically, professors have the freedom to teach the course in whichever manner they find practical thus they have high employee empowerment.
The next subsection, Ergonomics, suggests that KPU should align the safety and wellbeing of staff and students with the environmental issues. KPU should perform ergonomic assessments to make sure staff members and students aren’t having any discomfort. One of issue at KPU are the chairs in the library and classrooms. These chairs are un-adjustable and do not ergonomically fit with the vast majority of people at Kwantlen and as a result they can cause stress in the lumbar area. In order to combat potential back issues KPU should look to purchase the Intuit Adjustable chairs which will cost $250 per chair and approximately $8750 per classroom. In addition to chairs another concern is lighting which can affect productivity of individuals in a workplace. Switching to LED lighting can help reduce eye fatigue and headaches and it will also reduce the long term costs of electricity. These lights have an initial cost of approximately $455.88 per classroom and can save $37.44 per classroom per year. The last key learning point in this subsection is the issue of KPU’s dull color scheme at the campus. Colours such as blue and green have the potential to enhance the learning environment at KPU. KPU can either paint the walls using in house workers or by contracting a professional such as Cloverdale Paint or Sherwin Williams. The average cost of re-painting walls is $1.5-$3.5 per square foot.
KPU has already consciously put effort into reducing their impact relating to air, water, noise and waste. The have implemented water refilling stations, the paper they use is 30% recycled, there is a natural air ventilation system in place and there is a organic waste collecting system in place. They can further reduce their water usage by installing automatic faucets that work with motion sensors and by installing low flow toilets, these can reduce water consumption by up to 70% and 77% respectively. There are only five locations for the bin system which allows student to throw garbage into the closest trash cans as many do not want to travel away from class just to dispose of garbage. KPU should work with it’s contracted waste manager Supersave to replace regular garbage bins that are in classrooms, hallways, outdoors, and the library with more of the organic waste collection bins to more effectively collect waste and recycle. Moving to a more electronic based distribution system for textbooks, handouts, form and other various items can save a lot of paper, and at the same time continue providing necessary material. Noise pollution can have a negative impact for the learning environment at KPU. Noise intrusion from sources inside the school such as students in hallways and the sounds of doors squeaking or closing can disrupt students during exams, quizzes, readings, lectures and studying. A solution for this could be installing soundproof materials to doors so sound cannot travel into classrooms. Additionally, doors can also be equipped with hinges that prevent doors from slamming shut which cost from $18.00-$80.00. Background noise arising from computers, projectors and heaters can be solved by purchasing quieter versions. Finally, air pollution, one of the main concerns here being cigarette smoke. Even though there is a policy in place to smoke a minimum of 7.5 metres away from all intakes and buildings students can be seen not obeying it. There are two options here, first is creating a separate ventilated area for smoking or completely make KPU a smoke free zone.
11.0 Conclusions & Recommendations
The aim of this report is to provide advantages and disadvantages for Kwantlen Polytechnic University relating to their pursuit of ISO 14001 certification by the end of 2016. In this manual we discussed the different operations management theories and how KPU can modify their current practices and policies to better align their operations to ISO 14001 environmental standards.
Operations and productivity relating to KPU includes efforts to reduce natural gas and electricity consumption by 3% and 9% respectively while increasing space occupied by 36%. Management is responsible for setting objectives relating to the standard which take into the following; legal requirements, significant environmental aspects, technological options, financial, operational and business requirements and views of the related parties taken into account along with providing resources for implementation. Moreover, organizations such as KPU need to demonstrate corporate social responsibility, by committing to reducing commonly neglected environmental issues such as pollution and waste. Lastly, KPU can install LED lighting which can save up to 75% in energy consumption and move from paper based to electronic based as methods of increasing productivity.
The Operations Strategy for Kwantlen may need to be shifted in order to achieve ISO 14001 certification by December 31, 2016. Moreover, KPU has already shown efforts to raise awareness and to continuously improve regarding their environmental practices by offering a diploma in Environmental Protection and complying with Bill 44. In order for KPU’s Environmental Management System to be successful they need all members of their staff to understand and follow the mission. It’s also important for KPU to alter their strategy within a 2 month time bucket. These alterations should be made so KPU’s mission for Vision 2018 and their environmental goals align. KPU can use ISO 14001 certification to mitigate the historical advantage their rivals in BCIT, SFU and UBC currently have over them.
Successful Project Management requires cooperation from all levels of and organization and for KPU that begins with Dr. Alan Davis and Karen Hearn. Without this the goal of becoming certified by December 31, 2016 will be difficult to achieve. Furthermore, scheduling will allow KPU to determine who they are going to contract to complete audits and which companies will be hired to implement the suggested changes. Implementing effective controlling mechanisms such as cybernetic control will be helpful to avoid delays if issues arise at a critical point of the project. Additionally, in order to prevent delays or other issues from arising Karen Hearn must work with project members to come up preventative and corrective actions.
Forecasting is divided up into short, medium, and long-term time horizons which KPU will need to look at in order to achieve ISO 14001 certification. Short-term forecasting has a two month time bucket and KPU must implement environmental initiatives such as: installing LED lighting, adding ergonomic chairs, and reducing water and paper waste. Medium-term forecasting has 6-12 month time buckets in relation to KPU’s pursuit of ISO 14001 certification they should complete a progressive audit in this time frame. Long-term forecasting emphasises on monitoring and controlling as it focuses on maintaining ISO certification at the Surrey campus and looking to expand certification to the other campuses in the next few years. Using time series forecasts like weighted moving average to measure things like cost savings from LED lights or paper towel consumption will be useful when implementing changes to other campuses. The forecast for the initial investment based organization the size of KPU ranges from internal costs with a range from $25,000-$60,000 and external costs range from $15,000-$60,000, therefore, implementation could end up costing KPU $40,000-$120,000.
Managing Quality and the Environment is a requirement for KPU to meet the needs of their students and to provide a high quality educational service. KPU has laid out 3 quality objectives in Vision 2018 which will not only meet the quality students desire but also align with KPU’s pursuit of ISO 14001 certification. These objectives are to prepare students to be successful global citizens, have engaged learners and be a well managed and transparent organization. Moreover, KPU’s paper wastage may contribute up to 60% of their total waste, which is why they should consider shifting textbooks, handouts and, forms online in an attempt to reduce waste. KPU can use benchmarking to compare their environmental performance with ISO 14001 certified institutions such as Chiba University and Cranfield Management College. Furthermore, KPU can adopt these institutions’ KPI’s for water consumption, carbon, recycling and waste. KPU has done a good job using poka-yoke devices such as the 5 organic waste collection bins located at the Surrey campus. These devices essentially act as fail safes because it’s limits the ability for individuals to throw incorrect items into bins since each bin’s opening is a different size.
HR, Job Design, and Work Measurement discusses labour planning which is a key element for Kwantlen because it focuses on hiring and retaining high quality professors. They are able to entice high performing professors by being flexible with course loads and office hours, employee empowerment and work life balance which in turn leads to low turnover. Ergonomics stresses the importance of having a comfortable working and learning environment. KPU can improve the learning environment by purchasing Intuit adjustable chairs which cost $250 per chair and $8750 per classroom, switching to LED’s which cost $455.88 per classroom with savings of $37.44 per classroom, or by painting the learning environment blue or green to assist learning. Environmental changes that KPU can implement relating to air, water, noise and waste have to do with improving their existing organic waste bins by providing better accessibility, reduce water waste by implementing automatic faucets and low flow toilets which can save up to 70% and 77% respectively. enforcing smoking laws and regulations or making KPU completely smoke free zone.
To successfully acquire ISO 14001 certification by December 30, 2016 KPU we suggest KPU apply the following action plan:
1.) Audit plan: KPU should implement a progressive audit plan that will prepare them for the final audit on December 30, 2016. The first step is to have Dr. Tutlewski and Karen Hearn perform a week long training seminar to educate faculty, staff, and students on environmental practices which will take place in September. Next, Dr. Tutlewski can take KPU through a trial or practice run in October to get ready for a preliminary audit. Then in November KPU will get the auditor’s from the ISO organization to visit the Surrey KPU campus to deliver the preliminary audit. KPU will use the preliminary audit to find any problems in environmental operations that could potentially cause KPU to fail the certification. After making the necessary changes outlined, KPU will be ready for the final examination on December 30, 2016.
2.) LED lights: KPU should start by implementing the energy saving lights in the Fir building for the short-term time bucket, install LED’s to the rest of the Surrey campus in the medium-term time horizon and expand this energy saving initiative to Richmond and other campuses in the long-term time horizon. The maintenance department will be responsible for installing the LED lights in the fir building and will install LED lights in the rest of the building in the summer months as there will be less disruption to the learning environment during this time. Although LED lights will require an initial investment of $455.88 per classroom they have the ability to last up to 11 years when being used 12 hours a day(bulbs.com). Combined with the estimated energy savings of $37.44 per classroom per year this is will mitigate the initial costs for KPU.
3.) Recycling bins - In 2015 KPU introduced a set of bins that had different labeled bins including a bin for organics, collectively named organic collecting system. The implementation of these new bins is a big step forward, however, there are only five available on the entire campus which leaves room for improvement. A few modifications to the recycling bins will improve their effectiveness, such as by making them see through. Students will be able to visually see what is contained in the bin making reducing the probability of the incorrect waste going into the incorrect bin. KPU needs to grow the recycling and composting initiative by replacing all garbages bins on campus with the new organic collecting system bins. KPU will have to communicate this change to their suppliers Supersave so they can replace garbage cans at the Surrey campus in April and May.
4.) Washrooms (water/paper waste) - Currently KPU’s washrooms are equipped with manual paper towel dispensers, faucets, and regular flow toilets. Implementing automatic faucets and low flow toilets can reduce water waste by up to 70% and 77% respectively. Also having motion sensing paper towel dispensers will limit people pulling out more than necessary. Renovations to the washrooms will happen in the summer months systematically so students won't be excessively inconvenienced.
5.) Ergonomic chairs - Currently, the chairs KPU uses in classrooms and the library are very uncomfortable. They are very rigid and lack adjustability which can contribute to health issues, particularly problems with the lumbar area. KPU should implement chairs that have features such as height adjustability, stability, adequate leg clearance and adjustable backrests. One particular chair that comes to mind is the Intuit Adjustable Chair designed by Smith System. These chairs are $250 each and would cost an estimated $8750 per classroom. Although they are relatively expensive these chairs can help reduce the negative effects of poor seating posture and they will provide a more comfortable workplace for teachers and students. It is recommended that these chairs be implemented in the Fir building in next 2 months, or the short-term time bucket. Then in the rest of the classrooms in the 6 months, or the medium-term time bucket.
Appendix 1 - Gantt Chart
References
Amazon. (2016). DoorSaver II - HINGE PIN DOOR STOP. Retrieved From https://www.amazon.ca/DoorSaver-II-HINGE-DOOR-STOP/dp/B00EZDOLY4
Anthony, A. (2010). ISO 14001 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY (4.2) (1st ed.). Retrieved From http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Portals/0/DEQ/AboutUs/EMS/mod5.pdf
Autotaps. (2016). Automatic Taps Facts and Charts. Retrieved From http://www.autotaps.com/sensor-taps-facts-and-charts.html
Baldwin, John R., Wulong Gu, Ryan MacDonald, and Beiling Yan. (2014). Productivity: What Is It? How Is It Measured? What Has Canada's Performance Been Over the Period 1961 to 2012? Statistics Canada.
BC Hydro. (n.d.). Energy-efficient Products. Retrieved From https://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/residential/savings-and-rebates/new-electricity-saving-products.html
Bulbs.com. (n.d.). Everything You Want to Know about LED Lighting. Retrieved From http://www.bulbs.com/learning/ledfaq.aspx
Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Definitions. Retrieved From http://www.businessdictionary.com
Canadian Cancer Society. (2016). Second-hand Smoke. Retrieved From http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-101/what-is-a-risk-factor/tobacco/second-hand-smoke/?region=on#ixzz44d5EEL9j
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. (2016). Hazards. Retrieved From https://www.ccohs.ca/topics/hazards/ergonomic
Chand, Smriti. (2015). Project Control Mechanism: 3 Types of Project Control Mechanism. Retrieved From http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/projects/project-control-mechanism-3-types-of-project-control-mechanism/24442/
Costco. (2016). Luminous LED Tube Light. Retrieved From http://www.costco.ca/Luminus®-4-ft.-Non-Dimmable-LED-Tube-Light---2-Pack.product.100233182.html
Cranfield. (2014). University Annual Environmental Report 2013/2014. Retrieved From https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~/media/Files/all_docs/cu-annual-env-report-2013-to-2014.ashx.
Edwards, A. J., & Ebrary, I. (2004). ISO 14001 Environmental Certification Step by Step (Rev. 1st ed.). Oxford;Burlington, MA;: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
EIA. (n.d.). Energy Use in Commercial Buildings. Retrieved From http://www.eia.gov/Energyexplained/?page=us_energy_commercial
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2015). Water. Retrieved From. https://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=En
Facilities Services. Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (2015). Strategic Energy Management Plan 2015. Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Retrieved From https://www.kpu.ca/sites/default/files/Facilities%20Services/Strategic%20Energy%20Management%20Plan%202015.pdf
Gutierrez, Karla. (2014). 6 Ways Color Psychology Can Be Used to Design Effective Learning. Retrieved From http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/348188/6-Ways-Color-Psychology-Can-Be-Used-to-Design-Effective-eLearning
Heizer, J., Render, B., & Griffin, P. (2014). Operations Management (Canadian ed., Vol. 1). Pearson.
Iso.org. (n.d.). About ISO - ISO. Retrieved From http://www.iso.org/iso/home/about.htm
Ito, Kayo, Sakiko Okayama, and Isamu Konuma. (2006). Japanese University Sets ISO 14001 Example for Education Sector. Retrieved From www.iso.org/iso/livelinkgetfile-isocs?nodeId=15015856
Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (2013). Vision 2018. Retrieved From https://www.kpu.ca/sites/default/files/downloads/strategic-plan-vision-201826051.pdf
Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (n.d.). About Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Retrieved From http://www.kpu.ca/about
Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (n.d.). Carbon Neutral Action Report. Retrieved From http://www.kpu.ca/sustainability/carbon-neutral-action-report--cnar-
Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (n.d.). KPU Environmental Sustainability Committee. Retrieved From http://www.kpu.ca/sustainability/kpu_environmental_sustainability_committee
Kwantlen Polytechnic University. (n.d.). KPU Facts. Retrieved From http://www.kpu.ca/about/facts
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (n.d.). What's Energy Efficiency?. Retrieved From http://eetd.lbl.gov/ee/ee-1.html
Manufacturing ERP. (n.d.). What Is Kaizen?. Retrieved From http://searchmanufacturingerp.techtarget.com/definition/kaizen
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. (2006). Facts About Ultra Low Flush Toilets. Retrieved From http://www.mwra.com/publications/ulftoilets.pdf
National Wildlife Federation (n.d.). Facts About Consumption and Waste. Retrieved From https://www.nwf.org/Eco-Schools-USA/Become-an-Eco-School/Pathways/Consumption-and-Waste/Facts.aspx
Nu-Life Industries. (2010). Price List. Retrieved From http://www.nulife-ind.com/pricelist.php
Oxford. (n.d.). Definitions. Retrieved From http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/
Philips.(n.d.).What Is an LED? Retrieved From http://www.colorkinetics.com/Learn/What-is-an-LED
Project Monitoring and Control Activities. (2012). Project Management Documents and Templates. Retrieved from http://www.pmdocuments.com/project-monitoring-and-control-documents/
Residential Pro Painter Services. (2016). Job Estimating Service Retrieved From http://www.ppgpaints.com/painting-segments/residential/pro-painter/services/job-estimating
Smith System. (2016). Intuit Adjustable Chair. Retrieved From https://smithsystem.com/furniture/adjustable-chair/>.
Techopedia. (n.d.). What Is a Project Manager (PM)?.. Retrieved From https://www.techopedia.com/definition/677/project-manager-pm
US EPA. (n.d.). Environmental Management Systems (EMS). Retrieved From http://www.epa.gov/ems
Woolner, Pamela, and Elaine Hall. (2010). Noise in Schools: A Holistic Approach to the Issue. Retrieved From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2954580/
Yiridoe, Emmanuel K., and Get E. Marett. (2004). Mitigating the High Cost of ISO 14001 EMS Standard Certification: Lessons from Agribusiness Case Research. Retrieved From http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/8122/1/0702yi01.pdf
Zaidi, Saima. (2014). Sustainability Report at KPU: Where Are We Now? Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Retrieved From http://www.kpu.ca/sites/default/files/Facilities%20Services/Sustainability%20at%20KPU%20-%20where%20are%20we%20now%20-%20Saima%20Zaida%20Final%202014%2001%2030_0.pdf