Moving doesn't have to be hard.
So say the representatives of a moving coordinator hired
by Eastern Michigan University to oversee the logistics
and success of the big move of faculty and staff out of
the Pray-Harrold classroom building at the end of this
semester.
The company, MovePlan, has extensive experience in large-scale
moves, including many in higher education, said Angela
Dockus, MovePlan's regional director.
Dockus and MovePlan Project Manager Lindsay Peters gave
a briefing on the move to faculty and staff in Pray-Harrold
March 19. Tom Venner, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,
and other administrators helping plan and stage the move
also attended.
The session was the third of four swing space meetings
to convey details of the move, which is set to occur at
the end of this semester. The final meeting is scheduled
Friday, April 16, at 10 a.m. in Pray-Harrold.
MovePlan has begun holding organizational meetings for
groups moving to either King or Hoyt hall, the main sites
for temporary faculty offices. Department heads or their
designees are attending the meetings and reporting back
to staff and faculty.
The process will gather intensity during April. The company
also will hold pre-move briefings and serve as the on-site
moving supervisor, ensuring people relocate to their temporary
office with their materials in good shape. EMU will hire
the actual moving company within a week or two, officials
said.
After the move, MovePlan will make sure people got their
stuff and troubleshoot any other problems, officials said.
It also will conduct a debriefing session, to pinpoint
any problems that could affect the move back into Pray-Harrold.
"We just want everybody to be able to get back to business
as usual," Peters said. "We'll try to make this as smooth
as possible and a positive experience for everyone."
Other details from the presentation:
- Venner recommended removing stuff from horizontal files
before they are transported to new offices, and he speaks
from experience. The dean's office was the first to move,
to temporary quarters in the front of Bowen Field House.
- You can begin recycling materials now, said Diane Lynn-Veals,
a zone manager in the custodial department. She said the
recycling bins have been placed on the office floors of
Pray-Harrold and will be quickly replaced as they fill
up. She asked that people bag their recyclables, noting
that plenty of bags are available from custodians in the
building.
- Basic chemicals, such as cleaning products, should
be placed in a central area by each department. Details
such as this will be specified in "countdown documents" issued
by MovePlan, Dockers said.
- Printers that service a variety of computers will need
to be reconfigured after the move, said Steve Dotson, who
helps oversee technology for the CAS. It would be a good
idea to hook up a printer a week or so before your office
move, to have that available. For further details on such
technology matters, see the Web site at www.emich.edu/cas/castech/
- A Web link, built by EMU students from the Geospatial
Institute, will help students and others navigate their
new routes to class. The link will show location of the
respective building, along with a rough floor plan showing
the specific classroom.
Eastern hopes to move staff back into Pray-Harrold in
time for the fall 2011 semester. The complete move out
of Pray-Harrold, as opposed to a partial, phased process,
will save a year in construction time and about $3 million
in construction costs, according to EMU officials.
