To ensure and maintain the standard of facilities at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Office of the Vice-Chancellor together with the Estate Organisation has held a Training Program on Facility Management for Facility Managers at KNUST on 3rd March 2022.
Giving the overview of the Estate Organisation, the Head, Mrs. Juliana Opoku Nyarko stated that its mission is to support the University’s mission by promoting a friendly physical environment that stimulates teaching and learning. As the vision goes, the Estate Organisation is ‘always available, always professional in the discharge of its duties to contribute to KNUST’s best positioning in world university education,’ she added.
Mrs. Opoku Nyarko defined Estate Management as the direction and supervision of interest in the landed property to secure an optimum return. Facility management, on the other hand, is an administrative function that incorporates people, place, and process within the built environment to improve the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business of an Organisation.
The Head underlined the various stakeholders of the University and encouraged the participants to work closely with them to ensure success. To ensure that standards are maintained within the University, she entreated the managers to sustain the green areas of the University, ensure specified items are supplied for their work, use logistics efficiently, ensure safety and consumption quotas.
She urged them to ensure professionalism, timeliness, punctuality, good client service, sustainability and productive value addition in the delivery of their services. ‘The cost of maintenance of the University is huge. We must all support the University to expand its developmental projects’ she urged.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo commended the tremendous work of the Estate Organisation and encouraged them to keep it up and do more. He tasked them to take charge of their duties, ensure accountability and practice what they have been trained on. He promised them Management’s support to promote the work of the Estate Organisation.