Physical Plant: Director’s Office Relocations

Your move to 30 North Mills: January 24-25, 2022

The move to 30 North Mills is fast approaching!

First, thank you for your cooperation during this complicated process. The series of moves we are undertaking will require patience and flexibility across the division, and we recognize that in a time of a great deal of change for FP&M, the university, and each of us, adjusting to different work situations can be stressful.

Due to the interconnected nature of these moves, each step’s schedule is dynamic. With that in mind, we will keep you informed on overall progress, what’s next for your unit, and steps we’ll be asking you to take. We’ll also be reaching out with opportunities to hear more and provide your feedback. In the meantime, here are a few updates:

Monday, January 24 and Tuesday, January 25, Physical Plant’s Director’s Office, administrative staff and facility specialists will move from the Service Building to the fourth floor of 30 North Mills. 

Everything must be packed and labeled by the end of day, January 21.

Due to the limited timeline of the overall project schedule, the Service Building will be cleared as soon as possible, so any items not packed or labeled to move by your move day will be repurposed or disposed of at the earliest opportunity (including on moving day). Please do not assume you will be able to return to the Service Building to get your belongings after your move. 

Here are some directions and helpful hints to help you prepare for your relocation:

Purge

  • Purge as much as you can before move day. Don’t move things only to dispose of them at 30 North Mills. This is the time to toss, recycle, shred, re-purpose unused items, and dispose of broken items.
  • Use your office trash and recycling containers, and contact your DMC when containers are full.
  • Documents of historical value can be moved to University Archives. Contact UW Archives and Records Management for more information.
  • This is a great time to reduce file storage by scanning documents into electronic format for easy storage are retrieval!
  • All floor plans need to be shredded, regardless of size, age or format. Use departmental shredders or place materials in a Pelliteri shred bin. If neither of these are available, place items in a box and write “shred” on that box.
  • If you have any unwanted chemicals, please contact UW Chemical Safety to schedule removal.

Pack

  • Pack anything you want to move with you.
  • Not everything has to be boxed. You can load certain belongings directly on carts. (Please see Carts section below.)
  • Please place a moving label on the side of each packed box and stack boxes in your workspace, keeping them out of the way of doors or access to your space.

Label

  • Only items with a moving label will be moved.
  • Use the mover-provided color labels to mark any items, carts, or boxes that will move. (Tip: If you bend one corner of the label when you apply it, it’s easier to remove after your relocation.)
    • The moving labels have three boxes labeled: Floor, Room, and Piece.
      • The only box you are required to fill in is the Room box.
      • The Piece box can be used in conjunction with your office drawing to identify the location of individual items in a room. Completing this section of the label is especially useful for rows of file cabinets, computers, etc.
  • Avoid using sticky notes, scrap paper, and tape.
  • Place the labels on clean, oil-free surfaces, such as the backs or legs of chairs rather than the arms.
  • Label the side of boxes rather than the top .The moving crew will stack the boxes when they are moved, covering any labels applied to the tops of the boxes.
  • You only need one moving label on the side of each moving cart.

Carts

  • Carts will be delivered January 19.
  • Load your belongings on the carts provided by the contract movers. Please maximize the space on carts; fill them up! You can share a cart with colleagues. Almost everything goes on a cart, including:
    • Files and books (Stand them up and make sure they are packed tight on the shelf.)
    • Office supplies (reams of paper, individual boxes of supplies like pens, envelopes, binder clips, labels, etc.)
    • Small office equipment (phone, calculators, organizers. label makers, staplers, 3 hole punches, etc.)
    • Small lab equipment
    • All of the small items in your desk drawer (pens, pencils, paper clips, rubber bands, etc) in Ziploc bags
  • Please do not put the following on carts:
    • Any packed moving boxes or boxes that are the size of a printer paper box or larger. (Just put a moving label on the side of the box and let the movers do the heaving lifting.)
    • Liquids, chemicals, animals, and plants. The Contract Mover cannot move these items.
    • Your computer equipment: towers, monitor(s), docking stations, keyboard bags.
  • Each cart only needs one moving label on each side. Items on carts do not need their own labels.

Computers and VoIP phones

  • Back up your hard drive if needed.
  • The day before your move:
    • Take a picture of the cable connections attached to your computer, monitors, docking station, and/or VoIP phone before you unplug them.
    • Label your VoIP phone with your phone number, name, and destination room number before you unplug it.
    • Forward your VoIP phone to a mobile number or set up Jabber software on your laptop to continue to get calls during the move using one of these methods:
    • Unplug all cables and accessories (keyboard, mouse, hub, headphones, etc) and put them in the keyboard bag (supplied).
    • Place moving labels on the back of each piece of computer or phone equipment that is moving. This includes monitors, docking stations, hard drive, keyboard bag, and power supplies
    • Leave your disconnected and labeled computer and phone equipment on top of your desk. The movers will pack your equipment on a padded computer cart the day of the move.
    • If you have a laptop computer, take it home with you so you can work off site during the move.

Furniture

  • Furniture that is moving must be labeled and prepped.
  • Furniture that is not moving must be emptied.
  • All desk, storage cabinet, and workstation drawers must be empty.
    • Leave desk, workstation, and file cabinet keys in the furniture
  • Standing desks should be lowered to their lowest position and locked if possible.
  • Vertical filing cabinets can be moved while full (assuming they are full of files).
    • Any empty drawers should be at the top.
    • Contents of the drawers should be tight.
    • Filing cabinets used store to items other than files will need to be emptied.
  • Lateral filing cabinets need to be emptied of all contents.
    • Filing cabinets should be locked before the move and the keys removed. If you do not have a key for the filing cabinet tape around the lock to prevent it from being pushed in and locking the filing cabinet during the move.
  • Chairs:
    • Your current task chair will move with you to 30 North Mills and should be labeled accordingly so the movers relocate it.
    • There is not enough space for guest/side chairs in 30 North Mills workstations, so you do not need to label these. Some may be reused in overall relocations; if so, other FP&M staff involved in the relocation will take care of this.
    • Some of you are getting new chairs; the new chairs will replace existing chairs as needed when they arrive.

Personal items

  • Campus and the Contract Movers are not responsible for your personal items during a relocation. If you have items that are fragile, or are of great sentimental value, take them home before the move and bring them to your new location a week or two after the move. Items you may want to take home include a child’s art project, original artwork, large framed prints, plants, etc.

Move day logistics

We ask that staff stay out of the way of the movers on January 24-25. That means:

  • Only Space Management move coordinators and DMCs should be in the move zones of the Service Building or on the 4th floor of 30 N Mills January 24-25.
    • Please work remotely on these days, if possible.
  • Staff should be able to start unpacking at 30 North Mills, Tuesday, January 25.
    • The moving crew will arrive on site at 8:00 a.m. unless other arrangements have been made. They will start by walking through the project with the DMC to develop a plan for the day and identify items that require special handling. Then packed boxes will be loaded, moving carts will be shrink wrapped, computer equipment will be loaded on computer carts, and any items requiring special handling will be packed. At the new location, the crew will use the information on the move labels to move the carts, computers, and furniture to the correct location.

Computer and VoIP phone setup at 30 North Mills

  • You can set up your own computer and phone equipment at your new location, if you are comfortable doing so. Refer to the computer/phone pictures you took before the move, if needed
  • Each destination should have at least one active data jack. (Your workstation may have more than one jack, but only one may be your data jack. Try multiple jacks if the first does not work.)
  • Remember that the network connection runs from the data jack to your VoIP phone, and then from your VoIP phone to your computer.
  • AIMS is aware of the Physical Plant move dates and will provide on-site support staff January 25 to assist and troubleshoot as needed. AIMS will also follow up on-site throughout the week after the move to assist as needed. Please talk to you DMC if you have specialized equipment or need to schedule an appointment with AIMS for computer set-up. DMCs will collect this information and coordinate/communicate with the Space Management Office and AIMS.

Don’t forget, everything must be packed and labeled by the end of day, January 21, and any items not packed or labeled to move by your move day will be repurposed or disposed of at the earliest opportunity (including on moving day). Please do not assume you will be able to return to the Service Building to get your belongings after your move.

Any additional questions? Please ask your DMC or ask a question online.


September 20 Update:

Are you curious about where some of your colleagues will be after they move? A sneak peek of the floorplans for 21 North Park is available. Read the post to learn more. More floorplans coming soon!


August 26 Update:

Physical Plant employees,

With packing and condensing your area underway, we wanted to update you on the FP&M relocations and what you can expect next.

First, thank you for your cooperation in the first steps of this complicated process. The series of moves we are undertaking will require patience and flexibility across the division, and we recognize that in a time of a great deal of change for FP&M, the university, and each of us, adjusting to different work situations can be stressful.

Due to the interconnected nature of these moves, each step’s schedule is dynamic. With that in mind, we will keep you informed on overall progress, what’s next for your unit, and steps we’ll be asking you to take. We’ll also be reaching out with opportunities to hear more and provide your feedback. 

As you can tell, the schedule remains fluid and is affected by many factors. We plan to share regular updates with you and will give you as much notice as possible when action is required. Check back on the FP&M Relocation Hub soon for news and resources.

Department Move Coordinator

Jenna Suhr
jenna.suhr@wisc.edu
(608) 262-2951