Category: Your Covid Stories

Teaching Laboratories – Engineering

Post author By Tim Gregson
Post date 09/02/2021

The Technicians have been working very hard in Term 1 to run the Face 2 Face teaching practicals. With the numbers of students allowed in the labs at one time being significantly decreased to abide with social distancing rules, it has meant the number of sessions has at least quadrupled. The Technicians have been working hard to provide a safe environment so the important practical teaching can go ahead, this involved altering the layouts, implementing new procedures and the introduction of cleaning schedules between sessions.
Unite would like to thank those members who have contributed to this. Well done!

Jess Fisher – Chemical Engineering Technician, Unite H&S rep

Your Covid Stories

Keeping Campus Clean

Cleaners are part of a wider Facilities team, that ensures the University Campus is clean and safe for all staff and students who are currently on campus, or occasionally have to come on to campus for various reasons.
The daily routine cleaning University buildings, including the Library, laboratories and the Pre-School etc., continues, however, additionally all touch points (e.g. door handles, banister rails and light switches) and work surfaces have to be sanitized frequently. We would like to encourage all members of staff or students can also play their part by wiping down surfaces after they have used them. This ensures the University is as safe as it can be for everyone to live and work.
Gloves and aprons are regularly worn for their work, but now extra PPE (masks and face shields) is the new norm, hopefully reassures people who see us at work. Social distancing involves not cleaning while anyone else is in a room (staff or students), so we aren’t being rude if we ask you to leave. It does mean fewer opportunities to get to know colleagues in other roles and students who come from all parts of the UK and from far too many countries to name individually.
Phillip Demmen – Workplace and Health & Safety Rep

Your Covid Stories

Working through challenging times

Post author By Tim Gregson
Post date 09/02/2021

We are quickly approaching a year since we heard the Prime Minister announce that the country was going into a full lockdown. People must stay at home and not socialise or travel unless it was for extreme circumstances. This brought a strange silence, except for a Thursday evening when many ventured out onto their doorsteps to applaud the NHS.
We have had many members that have worked continually throughout the pandemic both on-site and at home. It is needless to say without your dedication and commitment, the campus wouldn’t be where it is today. We also had members that have been furloughed, this could be a result of their job being temporarily not needed, or the service reduced. It can also be a result of caring responsibilities for dependants, be it children, or extremely vulnerable family members we have caring responsibilities for.
Why not share some of your experience from this challenging time and email a short piece to Tim Gregson. We can share them here on the website to appreciate what its been like through these challenging times.