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FACMAN Values Page


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In addition to focusing on specific improvement assignments, the OCI implements several broad programs, stipulated by the Division Director, aimed at ensuring professionalism and a culture of excellence.

 

Foundations for Success: "Foundations for Success" addresses core values shared by the Division. The values we share form the foundation for everything we do. They guide our decisions, govern our priorities and determine how we spend our limited resources.

 

Respect:

  • We shall treat everyone with respect.
  • We shall have respect for people as individuals, learners and professionals. We shall respect the need for a balance between work, community, family and self.
  • We shall have respect for taxpayers’ money and exercise fiscal responsibility and emphasize long-term cost effectiveness.

 

Excellence:

  • We shall provide stability for students, parents and school administrators by limiting forced movements.
  • We shall put the needs of the students and their academic achievement first.
  • We shall provide training for our staff and others to ensure they meet their full potential for their own benefit and the successful accomplishment of the Division mission.
  • We shall strive to provide 100-percent correct information and timely products and services done right the first time.
  • We shall strive to expand our knowledge in our respective fields and be experts in our industry.
  • We shall be “master crafts persons” and demonstrate technical mastery in all of our areas of responsibility.

 

Commitment:

  • We shall be responsive to the needs of our customers.
  • We shall provide everyone with our very best efforts in all that we do.
  • We shall not let anyone cope with unsatisfactory facilities or environmental conditions.
  • We shall only commit to that which we can deliver and deliver it well.
  • We shall do our jobs with passion because what we do is important to the success of so many.

 

Equity Plus:

  • We shall ensure all schools meet at least minimum standards as established by the Board and regulatory agencies.
  • We believe that people, as well as facilities, should be addressed relative to their unique requirements and needs.
  • We subscribe to the principle that schools with the greatest needs deserve the greatest attention.

 

Integrity:

  • We shall do what say and say what we mean.
  • We shall be open-minded and fair to everyone.
  • We will give honest information and responses.
  • We shall maintain the highest standards of conduct.
  • We shall be reliable.
  • We shall earn peoples’ trust by providing accurate information and consistently excellent results.

 

Professionalism:

  • We shall minimize bureaucracy at every opportunity.
  • We shall provide real solutions to real problems.
  • We shall align operations, policies and practices to serve and support our customers and their needs.
  • We shall make decisions based on data, not speculation.
  • We will employ practicality in our decision-making.
  • We shall always be prepared whether it be for meetings, events or emergencies.
  • We shall offer creative solutions.
  • We shall take the leadership role when necessary and fulfill that role compassionately, conscientiously and with total commitment.
  • We shall share our knowledge and raise awareness of issues that affect us all.
  • We shall be accountable for our actions.

 

Teamwork:

  • We shall provide assistance without micromanaging.
  • We succeed or fail with our partners. These include consultants, municipalities, etc. We are all stakeholders and caretakers.
  • We shall exhibit flexibility as we work together to reach our common goals.
  • We shall communicate effectively with all stakeholders and share ideas.
  • We shall infuse fun and humor in our relationships.
  • We shall be accessible by maintaining an open door policy.
  • We shall mentor each other in a spirit of teamwork and cooperation.
  • We shall share the workload and help each other out whenever we can.
  • We shall celebrate successes throughout the District.

 

Building Excellence Program: The "Building Excellence Program" is a series of steps and processes the Division is continuously implementing and refining in an effort to provide perfect facilities. Through every phase of a facility cycle (planning, design, construction and operation), we shall continually strive to identify improvements.

 

All Phases:

  • Industry association meetings
  • School facilities committees
  • Construction assistant principals

 

Planning Phase:

  • Facility survey
  • Quarterly concurrency coordination meeting

 

Pre-Construction Phase:

  • Design survey
  • Building committee
  • Design review

 

Construction Phase:

  • Construction inspections
  • Facilities Services observations
  • Threshold inspections
  • Project Coordinators and Field Representatives
  • Schedule
  • Peer review
  • In-progress evaluations
  • Retainage

 

Post-Construction:

  • Lessons Learned and Best Practices Workshops
  • Post-occupancy evaluations
  • 360° performance evaluations
  • Closeout audits
  • Multi-departmental final payment sign-offs
  • Training

 

Operation:

  • Facilities Services surveys
  • Preventative maintenance
  • Zone Teams
  • Asthma-Friendly Schools

 

High Performance Schools for Highly Performing Students (HPS2): Facilities affect performance and while a good facility may not by itself raise student achievement, poor facilities will certainly hinder student performance. Numerous studies have shown direct and indirect relationships between facility design and condition and student achievement.

 

Direct Relationships:

  • Indoor Air Quality: Poor IAQ interferes with processing information and can trigger allergies leading to higher absenteeism of students and teachers. Conditions to be monitored are: air circulation, mold, dust and dirt, and temperature
  • Lighting: Natural daylighting assists with learning.*
  • Noise: Interferes with hearing lessons and causes distractions and takes students off task.
  • Vibrations: Interfere with concentration.

 

Indirect Relationships:

  • Recruitment: Attractive facilities help attract and retain teachers.
  • Attendance: Well-maintained facilities correlate with better attendance.
  • Energy Efficiency: Less money spent on utilities (electricity, water, waste removal, gas, oil, etc.) means more money available for education (e.g., teachers, materials and field trips).

 

Components of the HPS2 Program: There are two components to the Division’s HPS2 Program. The first component involves a commitment to all schools to at least meet certain minimal standards. These standards relate to basic health and safety matters or have been determined to either directly or indirectly affect student achievement. The second component addresses the District's utility and energy management program and provides schools with an opportunity to share the responsibility and benefits of lowering the cost of utilities at their schools through a rebate program.

 

  • Health, Safety, Comfort and Student Achievement. All students and staff deserve to be in facilities that are healthy, safe and comfortable. In addition, students need to be in environments that contribute to or at least do not distract from achieving their highest academic potential. For that reason FACMAN has developed minimum standards for all school and ancillary facilities. All district facilities, regardless of age, will meet these minimum standards by 2013 in accordance with the District’s Facilities Master Plan.
  • Energy Management Program: Providing facilities that are energy efficient is both environmentally and economically sound. Over the life of a facility, the cost of operating that facility will far exceed its initial costs for site acquisition, design and construction. Saving energy is imperative, recognizing that our planet’s natural resources are diminishing. It is purposely prudent that the District establish methods for reducing our utility expenses.

  • The U.S. and Florida Departments of Energy have developed programs to assist and encourage energy efficiency in schools. The U.S. Department of Energy developed Energy Design Guidelines for High Performance Schools for various climates. Schools that are among the top 25% in the nation in energy efficiency earn the Energy Star label. Our goal is to be by 2013 in the top 10% of schools that earn the Energy Star label. FACMAN is in the process of clarifying for designers and contractors the extent to which these guidelines should apply to our facilities. All new and modernized schools are to be designed to emulate the best 10% of schools in the district. The District provides rebates to schools that lower their utility costs.

 

Goal: the Perfect School: We do not know if it exists, but we have some ideas about what it should incorporate. We employ several tools for continued learning. We send a design survey to all teachers and administrators at least every three years. We engage focus groups of school principals at monthly School Facilities Committee meetings. Our Planning Department uses Quarterly Concurrency Coordination meetings, involing various special program and academic administrators as well as the Area Superintendents, to help ensure we build facilities that meet the needs of the District’s special programs.


* A 1999 study by the Heschong Mahone Group showed that students with the best daylighting in their classrooms progressed 20% faster on math tests and 26% faster on reading tests in one year than those with the worst daylighting.