Information on recent improvements by Security Services

Security Services – We Are Listening

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Last updated on 16 December 2019

The Security Services recently sent out a survey as part of our Secured Environments accreditation, and it was great to receive such a large and positive response to our work. However as a service we recognise that there is always room to improve how we operate, and so we wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about some changes that we hope will make further improvements to how safe and secure everyone feels on campus.

The Team

In 2019 the Security Service has recruited nine staff and has returned in the main to an in house team. We recognise staff feedback, that knowledge and having consistent staff on shift provides reassurance and a better quality of service. In addition to the increase in Security employed officers we also have a full time training officer who is responsible for delivering a robust induction training programme, refresher training as well as continual development of our officers throughout the year. If you think there is something about your work area or building that you think our officers need to know please get in touch with the Head of Security who will be more than happy to arrange for the training officer to come and talk to you. We still work in partnership with an agency provider for some specific activities or at peak times of the year and agency staff provider are also supported by our in house training officer. We are also delighted to have increased our dog handling provision to every shift and have four new canine recruits Ruby, Reggie, Enzo and Tia who undertaking their first year of West Yorkshire Police Dog Training, please look out for them on campus.

New Roles

To increase the level of management support in our service we have introduced in new Duty Operations Management Roles within the Security Service. The four Duty Operations Managers are each responsible for a team of security officers on a day to day basis. Regular scheduled meetings with the Deputy Security Services Manager, enables them to help us review and improve our processes, discuss customer feedback and continuous improvement, whilst also receiving the latest information from the management team. This two-way communication helps to ensure that all teams are able to provide a consistent high standard of service.

Another way this communication is enabled is through the weekly Monday morning meetings between the Deputy Security Manager and the different security teams. These meetings enable Mark to update the security officers with topical, relevant information and give the officers a chance to feedback and queries or issues that they have.

Security Patrols

Security undertake structured patrols around campus, officers take pre-planned routes making sure they engage with staff and students as they patrol. Officers have their own designated regular routes, and will introduce themselves to reception and front of house staff as they patrol inside their buildings. We recognise that staff feel reassured seeing our officers out on patrol and we hope that staff will get more opportunities to know who the officers for their buildings are. This will also ensure a consistent level of service for staff across campus, as they will be interacting with the same well-trained, motivated and friendly security officers each day.

Improving Communications

Over the next few months the Deputy Security Services Manager will be meeting with the Facilities Manager of each faculty to discuss a range of different security matters. These meetings will include explaining the recent improvements to security and informing them about the availability of the critical incidents poster, which gives guidance on how to react in the unlikely event of an emergency incident on campus. Another key matter that will be discussed in these meetings is locking and access to buildings on campus. This was an area where some concerns were raised during the recent survey, so we will seek to understand where colleagues have feedback and work with them to address.

As well as these meetings, we’re keen to hear any further comments or suggestions about security on campus from all staff. If there is any feedback you would like to provide, then please email it to securitycomments@leeds.ac.uk. If the matter is urgent you will receive a response within 24 hours, or within five working days for less urgent enquiries.

If you have any questions around security we would encourage you to come along to our drop-in sessions at Leeds University Union. These are in the LUU foyer on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11am – 2pm. PC Becky Hurrell, the Police Higher Education Liaison Officer, Andy Gordon Platt, Crime Prevention Advisor, and the on-duty operations manager will all be present to speak with you.

The Nigel Bertram Centre at the National Pig Centre

University opens National Pig Centre in Yorkshire

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Last updated on 13 December 2019

Precision nutrition and 24-hour monitoring will enable scientists to provide new insights for the pig industry, as the University of Leeds opens the National Pig Centre.

Scientists from a range of disciplines at the University will use new state-of-the-art facilities to help improve the sustainability and efficiency of pig production.

Supported by more than £11 million investment, the facilities make Yorkshire one of the best places in Europe for pig research.

The National Pig Centre will be a leading research facility for pig nutrition, behaviour, health and production system research – all themes identified by the livestock industry as central to improving quality, productivity and future competitiveness.

Professor Lisa Collins, academic lead for the PigSustain project and Head of the University of Leeds’ School of Biology, said: “This new centre allows us to expand our work to improve the welfare of pigs, and the sustainability of the British pig industry.

“Our aim is to lower the environmental footprint of pig farming whilst ensuring that high welfare standards are maintained.”

Ribbon being cut at the opening of the National Pig Centre

The new centre will benefit from academic expertise drawn from across a range of disciplines including nutrition, health, behaviour and fertility, as well as computer vision, engineering, soil and water sciences, data analytics, and atmospheric and climate science.

It has been launched in partnership with CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock). CIEL has invested £4.5 million with funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency.

The investment includes a three-fold increase in the previous capacity of the farm, from 200 to 660 sows, – ensuring the research carried out better represents commercial pig farming. Of these, 220 will live outdoors.

The combination of an outdoor sow unit with an indoor system is unique in Europe, enabling direct comparison of the different rearing systems.

Academics will work to identify the key factors contributing to pig farming’s environmental footprint, and attempt to find alternatives that could drive down the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Their findings will help the UK achieve the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the whole of agriculture in England and Wales by 2040.

The centre’s indoor facility includes the ability to perform in-depth, automated nutrition trials to understand how best to feed and manage pigs at all stages of production. By harnessing precision nutrition, based on individual requirements, the aim is to reduce the cost of production, improve feed efficiency and reduce the environment impact of pig farming.

Researchers will also be able to make feed recommendations which keep pace with ongoing genetic improvements to pigs.

Tour of the National Pig Centre at the opening event

The indoor facility is equipped with CCTV throughout, permitting round the clock observations of individual pig’s behaviour at all stages of production. Researchers will utilise computer vision to automate data collection from the video footage, so behaviour and nutrition can be monitored at the individual pig level.

Students from across the University will have the opportunity to study at the National Pig Centre as part of their degrees, and some will have chance to contribute to research projects taking place at the farm.

Sir Alan Langlands, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, said: “Leeds is proud to be working in a number of ways at home and internationally to improve food security and the sustainability of the agricultural sector.

The National Pig Centre will provide a key national resource for industry to work in partnership with the University to develop innovative and practical solutions that make a positive contribution to the economy, environment and society.

We are hugely grateful for the strong support we have received from CIEL and Nigel Bertram, and the leading edge work of Helen Miller, our Professor of Animal Bioscience, in developing this facility.”

The facility has also been supported by a generous donation from University of Leeds alumnus Nigel Bertram.

Named in his honour, the Nigel Bertram Visitor Centre features conference and meeting facilities, offices and a live CCTV feed from the indoor pig unit.

Collaborating with industry

Centrally located in the UK, the National Pig Centre will promote engagement, discussion and collaboration between researchers and industry. The University and CIEL will work together to drive this process.

A membership organisation, CIEL works with businesses across the livestock supply chain to identify & develop their research needs and build relevant collaborations to deliver new technologies and processes that address key challenges facing the sector.

“We’re very proud to work with Leeds and develop this first for the pig and pork industry,” said Lyndsay Chapman, CIEL’s Chief Executive. “It provides unique research capability on a commercially relevant scale and complements the investments we’ve made across the CIEL network. Through our nationwide collaborative alliance, we’re working to ensure industry has access to the very best expertise in this field of research.”

Tackling challenges in food security

Projects at the National Pig Centre will help tackle some of the current challenges in pig production including:

  • Nutrition: developing precision feeding for livestock to improve sustainability and productivity and study the effects of nutrition on welfare and behaviour
  • Anti-microbial resistance: developing healthier pigs with more robust gut health and improved resistance to disease, thereby reducing antibiotic use
  • Production systems: improving efficiency of production and identifying better ways to feed and manage pigs
  • Monitoring pig behaviour and developing algorithms to allow early detection of health conditions

The National Pig Centre is one of the University facilities that will help deliver the goals of the Global Food and Environment Institute (GFEI), which aims to address the challenge of feeding the world whilst protecting natural resources.

This work aligns closely to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly to end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture.

As well as the pig farm, GFEI is also carrying out research projects in arable farming, urban food consumption and health, food security in the Global South, and international food supply chains.

A guide to shutdown when the University is closed to help us meet our carbon reduction targets and reduce costs to the university.

Christmas Shutdown Advice

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Last updated on 9 December 2019

We are committed to lowering our carbon emissions and the Christmas shutdown period gives us an opportunity to reduce energy waste. By switching off equipment when the University is closed, you can help reduce our environmental impact.

Despite the majority of the University estate being unused over the Christmas period, we still consumed a total of 155,000 kWh of electricity and 143,000 kWh of heat on Christmas Day 2018. To put it into context, this is as much electricity as 40 average UK homes use in a full year!

This Christmas the shutdown period runs from Tuesday 24 December to Wednesday 1 January – with your help we can reduce our energy consumption while the buildings are unused. Before you leave, you can help by:

  • switching off lights and closing windows
  • ensuring as much lab equipment as possible is turned off before you leave – drying cabinets and incubators etc; and
  • checking IT equipment, including screens and projectors.
  • Don’t forget less obvious energy wasters – printers, hot water boilers and microwaves can all be unplugged over Christmas

We understand some equipment is required to maintain safety or is being used for research purposes and therefore needs to remain on. However, any equipment not affected by this, which can be turned off, will help us meet our carbon reduction targets and reduce costs to the University

Thank you for your continued support!

Representatives from the University, BAM and architect design team at the Bragg project event

University’s new building reaches its summit

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Last updated on 19 December 2019

The construction of the new Sir William Henry Bragg building at the University of Leeds celebrated a milestone today, as the building reached its tallest point.

To mark the occasion a special “Topping Out” event took place. University colleagues were joined by representatives from main contractor BAM Construction and architect design team ADP, BAM Design, Arcadis, Gardiner & Theobald, ARUP and Silcock Leedham.

Colleagues watched as the building’s plant room was lifted onto the roof, forming the highest point of the new building. The plant for this technologically advanced new building is complex, and BAM has assembled the plant room off-site in a factory environment, with the support of local Leeds company Waites Mechanical Services, saving time and cost on the project.

Set to open its doors to students in 2021, the new building represents a significant investment by the University in a new integrated campus for Engineering and Physical Sciences. The facility will include first-class laboratory and specialised teaching spaces, enabling cutting-edge research, and outstanding student experience, whilst enhancing the University’s research power and strengthening collaboration with industry.

Steve Gilley, Director of Estates and Facilities said:

“I’d like to thank all of our partners who have contributed to this flagship project to date. It’s important to mark key milestones, and recognise the importance of the expertise from extended project teams, to ensure the successful construction of this new facility.”

For BAM Construction, John Phillips said:

“Topping out is a centuries old tradition, and this year BAM is 150 years old, while the University’s origins date back to a similar time, to 1874. Today we are both known for being leaders in modern technology. The University is looking to the future, and BAM are delighted to be helping them to create facilities for the next generations of students and academics.”

Joe Morgan, Director, ADP said:

“This project was conceived in 2015 as a critical component of the strategic masterplan, to create a collaborative hub for computing and physical sciences. The building champions the need to address tomorrow’s challenges whilst minimising its impact on the environment, so it is appropriate that one of the components designed to make this building so highly energy efficient should be lowered into place as part of the ‘topping out’ celebration.”

Ian Aldous, Director, Arcadis said:

The scale of this project – from the stakeholder engagement through to the design solution and delivery – has been immense and everyone involved has been on a real journey. As such, to see the critical milestone being reached is hugely satisfying for all involved, and a testimony to the dedication of all parties to the future vision.

Colleagues watch as the plant room is craned to the roof of the Sir William Henry Bragg Building project