Continuous Improvement at Facilities & Services
Facilities & Services is committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement to enhance our operations and better serve the University of Toronto community.
What is continuous improvement?
Continuous improvement is a philosophy that encourages creative solutions to complicated problems and efficiency wherever possible by making incremental changes over time. By embracing these principles, F&S team members are empowered to identify opportunities for improvement, streamline operations and deliver exceptional services.
Key elements of continuous improvement
- Opportunity identification: Recognizing areas where processes can be improved
- Employee involvement: Encouraging staff at all levels to contribute ideas and solutions
- Process optimization: Removing inefficiencies and enhancing workflows
- Data-driven decisions: Using metrics and feedback to guide improvements
- Strategic alignment: Ensure alignment with organizational priorities and gain support from key stakeholders
- Sustainability and resilience: Ensuring long-term positive impacts on service delivery
At its core, continuous improvement is about learning, adapting and continuously striving for excellence in everything we do.
Developing a culture of continuous improvement at F&S
Our goal is to create a culture where continuous improvement is embedded in our daily operations, decision-making and mindset, ultimately creating an environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute to making things better.
At F&S, we foster this culture by:
- Encouraging innovation: We support new ideas and creative solutions from all team members
- Providing training and tools: We equip F&S team members with knowledge (through training in continuous improvement) and resources (tools, templates and coaching) to drive improvement initiatives
- Recognizing and celebrating successes: Acknowledging contributions and progress to sustain motivation
- Collaborating across teams: Working together to break down silos and improve processes holistically
- Focusing on client experience: Enhancing services that directly impact U of T students, faculty and staff
Get involved
All F&S team members are encouraged to participate in continuous improvement initiatives. So far this year we’ve trained staff from multiple F&S business units in Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement methodology. These team members are applying the strategies they’ve learned with their teams to guide them on a host of improvement projects. And there is more yet to come!
Whether you have an improvement idea, are part of a project team or are interested in learning more about our efforts, you’re invited to get involved.
Continuous improvement resources
Are you working on an improvement idea and need project tools or templates?
Visit our SharePoint Library to access our continuous improvement tools and templates.
Contact the Continuous Improvement team
Want to learn more? For more information on how to get involved, contact the Continuous Improvement team.