Chapter One
Organization and Resources
Organizational Structure
In February 2000, the Department of Public Works completed the initial aspects of a department-wide reorganization. The restructuring is the result of an earlier business planning process undertaken by the department. The results of the reorganization are shown in Figure I-1. The figure shows the new structure for the entire department, including the facilities management function. Full implementation of the organizational plan is underway.
As part of the reorganization efforts, DPW's core functions are distributed among the units, including Facilities Management, Technical Resources, Client Service Teams, Risk Management, and Real Property Management. These units, shown across of lower half of the organizational chart depicted in Figure I-1, are described below.
Facilities Management. The unit, which appears shaded in Figure I-1, is responsible for overseeing approximately 7.3 million square feet of office space as well as other types of space such as surplused property. Ninety-two percent of the office space is managed through personal service agreements with private contractors. The unit, however, is also responsible for managing several state office buildings through in-house services. A more detailed description of the unit's duties and responsibilities is provided in Chapter II.
Technical Resources Unit. This unit along with the Client Services Unit described below, form the Construction Planning and Management Division within the department. The technical resources unit provides state agencies with advice and oversees their activities on statewide initiatives dealing with hazardous materials, underground tanks, environmental evaluation, and energy conservation. The unit assists state agencies that are managing minor capital projects (under $500,000). It also collects and evaluates information on the claims filed against DPW and assists the Office of the Attorney General in handling the claims.
Client Services Unit. As mentioned, this unit is part of the larger construction planning division. The unit is responsible for most of the facility construction undertaken by the state, both new and renovation. The unit's functions include assisting agencies in the early planning of a project, overseeing the design phase, managing the bid process, and management of construction from the beginning through project close-out. The client service unit has five subunits organized around agency groupings. The subunits include higher education; health and human services; judicial and general government; community technical colleges; and selection, which oversees the process for obtaining services.
Risk Management. This unit centralizes core administrative functions and planning throughout the department. The unit's purpose is to "identify risks and take actions to mitigate them." The unit also serves to coordinate the planning, budget, and resource allocation process. To accomplish this, the unit consists of the following functions: Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, Process Improvement, and Statewide Security.
Real Property Management. This unit is responsible for handling the property leasing function within the department. As of late-2000, the leasing function was transferred to the Facilities Management Unit.
Facilities Management
The current organizational structure for the Facilities Management unit is depicted in Figure I-2. This structure differs somewhat from that depicted in Figure I-1. As mentioned, Figure I-1 is the proposed structure following DPW's internal reorganization. Until the reorganization is completed, the structure illustrated in Figure I-2 remains the Facilities Management unit's organization.
The Facilities Management unit is divided into five sections, as shown in Figure I-2. The divisions include: 1) Property Management; 2) Operations/Trades; 3) Engineering Services; 4) Environmental; and 5) Security. A description of each section within the Facilities Management unit is provided below:
Property Management. This section oversees the management of the various buildings and grounds under the care and control of the DPW. Oversight of the six private contractors providing management services to the department is also the responsibility of this section.
Operations/Trades. The Operations/Trades section provides the in-house services necessary to maintain the buildings and grounds under DPW's care and control. The operations section provides custodial services, while the trades section provides professional services such as mechanical, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning.
Engineering Services. This section provides general engineering services to the Facilities Management unit. The staff assigned to this area also conduct field work and provided engineering services for the buildings managed by the department.
Environmental Program Specialist. This section is responsible for handing asbestos and lead issues within the State Office Building. All service requests are first cleared through the environmental specialist due to the potential lead/asbestos hazards within the building. The specialist decides the necessary steps to fulfill the request. At present, the department is using a private consultant with expertise in this area to head this section.
Security. The Security section provides the security services for the State Office Building and surrounding grounds.
The program review committee obtained a copy of the projected organizational structure by the Department of Public Works. The new structure, illustrated in Figure I-3, details the anticipated changes to the Facilities Management unit's organization. Several new core functions are expected to come under the unit, namely materials management and customer service/risk assessment. The reorganization of the unit is dependent on adequate funding to support the changes. Not highlighted in Figure I-3 is the unit's new responsibility for leasing matters. The department's leasing function was transferred to the facilities unit in late-2000.
Funding
As outlined in Figure I-4, the budget expenditures for the Facilities Management unit have doubled since FY92. In FY92, the unit's expenditures for personal services and other expenses totaled just over $11 million. In FY99, those expenses rose to $22.2 million.
When examined individually, the Facilities Management unit's personal services budget actually declined from FY92 to FY99, from $3.1 million to $2.6 million, or 15.5 percent (Figure I-4). The committee was told by DPW the primary reason for the decrease was due to a policy shift increasing the use of private management companies to oversee and care for state-owned properties. The unit's expenditures for "other expenses," which include personal service agreements with private management contractors, rose by 146 percent during this time, from $7.96 million to $19.6 million.
The Facilities Management unit is responsible for the care and control of surplused and vacant properties owned by the state until their sale or reuse. The three most prominent examples of such properties are the large state hospital campuses of Fairfield Hills, Norwich, and Thames River. Management expenses of these three properties were $3.4 million in FY98, and are included in the "other expense" figures shown in Figure I-4.
Overall, expenditures for the Facilities Management unit totaled $22.2 million in FY99. This represents half of the Department of Public Works' expenditures of $42.2 million for that year.
Staffing
Figure I-5
graphs the number of filled staff positions for the Facilities Management unit,
the entire public works department, and the remaining positions when Facilities
Management positions are subtracted from the department as a whole. The figure
shows staffing has steadily declined for the Facilities Management unit for the
period analyzed, from a high of 137 filled positions in FY92, to 71 in FY00.
This represents a decline of 48 percent.
The percentage decrease in filled positions for the Facilities Management unit has been more pronounced than the decrease experienced by the overall department for the time period covered. DPW experienced a 33 percent decline in staffing over the nine-year span, as highlighted in Figure I-5, from 342 in FY92 to 229 in FY00. Moreover, when Facilities Management unit staffing is not included in the department's overall figures, the decrease agency-wide has been 23 percent, from 205 positions to 158. As mentioned, the committee has been told the main reason for the decline in the facilities management area is the department's move to hire more private management companies to oversee state-owned property rather than have DPW manage the buildings.
The Department of Public Works also provided staffing figures over time for the different functions within the Facilities Management unit. As shown in Figure I-6, the number of maintenance staff decreased sharply since FY93. Building operations/maintenance personnel, who provide the overall custodial and property management services for state-owned buildings, declined from 71 to 31, or 56 percent, during that period. Filled positions for State Office Building security staff also decreased, although not as sharply as maintenance staff -- 33 percent since FY93. Two areas experienced staffing increases include administrative personnel (18 percent) and Trades staff (5 percent).
