Service improvements introduced at DLO

These include a formal procedure for out-of-hours emergencies and a new shift system that will ensure staff are available throughout the working day.

The plumbing team are now also trialing a commitment to respond to issues within two days - a further improvement on the three-day Service Level Agreement introduced for all teams in 2021. 

The DLO's new call-out system has been running since early this year. It guarantees that an operative will attend all building emergencies within two hours, with a weekly rota assigning this responsibility to team members who have received training in incident management to enable them to deal with a range of problems. Until now, staff would do their best to respond to out-of-hours problems but there was no formal guarantee that they would be able to do so. 

Building users should contact Security Services as before if an out-of-hours emergency arises. The Security Services control room will then assess the issue and contact the DLO as appropriate. On arrival the DLO operative will aim to isolate the faulty system, ensure safety and prevent further damage. Longer-term options to address the problem can then be assessed the next working day.

Please make calls outside normal hours only for urgent issues that need immediate attention. Please also ensure that the information Security Services hold on your department's emergency contacts is kept up to date, and that these people are willing and able to go to the building if there is an emergency.

The DLO is also in the process of overhauling its standard working hours in order to extend the working day to 7am-6pm, compared to 8am-4pm previously. Many staff have already moved onto the new shift pattern, which will improve the DLO's ability to respond quickly to problems whenever they occur.