LSU is in the market for a consulting firm to study is facilities and operations and find ways for the university to be more efficient, improve service and save money.
The Board of Supervisors, at its May 4 meeting, approved issuing a Request for Qualifications and Quotation for a consulting firm to assess facilities services and operations functions—things like parking, grounds maintenance, mechanical repairs, lighting—and identify potential improvements, including alternative approaches to delivering those services.
LSU officials could not say how much they hope the study will eventually save the university or how much it will cost to procure. But Jason Droddy, chief of staff to LSU President F. King Alexander, says other universities and governmental entities that have done similar studies saved “a significant amount of money.”
“There isn’t a specific target amount,” he says. “But we think it will be worth it.”
The consultant will be charged with comparing LSU to peer universities in several areas. Each area will be analyzed and reviewed with specific recommendations tailored to the consultant’s findings, according to the RFQQ.
Impetus for the study comes from the board, and is the university’s latest effort to streamline operations and maximize efficiency. In 2015, LSU began looking at ways to save money through administrative efficiencies and went on to partner with other campuses in the LSU system to adopt a new management information system that streamlined and standardized record keeping in HR, accounting and purchasing.
“Some board members said we took care of the administrative efficiencies,” Droddy says. “Now, we need to look at our internal operations.”
The university hopes to have a consulting firm selected and the study completed within one year, Droddy says.
