Bringing Action to a Vision
Paul Papili, the Facilities Supervisor of St. Elizabeth School, a historic private Catholic School in Wilmington, DE was hired in the spring of 2016. Almost immediately, Paul envisioned restoring the old terrazzo floors to their original brilliance while maintaining his budget with limited staffing. Through the SmartSite Analysis process, Action Unlimited Resources, Inc. understood his challenges and vision and created a program with Paul that accomplished his goals and exceeded his expectations.
A Restoration Dilemma
The historic buildings of St. Elizabeth School contain terrazzo floors that have lost much of their luster over many decades of use. The newly minted Facilities Supervisor, Paul Papili, envisioned accentuating the brilliance of the terrazzo floors in time for the opening of the new school year. To recondition these once beautiful floors, Paul and his staff expected to drain the budget and work many additional hours while also fulfilling their daily responsibilities to the school such as grounds maintenance, HVAC, and daily cleaning.
In addition to improving the condition of the floors, Paul had other underlying challenges. He had a small crew and a lot of tasks to get done over the summer. Paul’s budget presented tough decisions on how much he could realistically accomplish with the manpower and tools he had at his disposal. He wanted to show the organization that he could accomplish everything, including his vision, and save the school money in the process.
Success Drives Solutions
Action Unlimited Resources, Inc. analyzed what Paul currently had in place and the expectations that he and his team at St. Elizabeth School had for this project. A review of the existing resources led to the understanding that conventional methods of floor stripping and waxing would not produce the expected results on time and within budget. Only by synchronizing the products and tools with an innovative process tailored to the St. Elizabeth School facility, would Paul’s team complete the terrazzo restoration before the start of the 2016-17 school year.
As a first step, Action Unlimited Resources, Inc. trained the staff on updated cleaning, restoration, and maintenance processes. Next, employees of Action Unlimited Resources, Inc. took that training onsite with Paul and his team and applied that knowledge to the first steps of the restorative process. The St. Elizabeth School team now had mastery of the process and confidence in the project.
Focus on Paul’s success led to the right solution. The process training led to exceptional results. In the end, Paul’s time was redirected from the terrazzo floor project to the more important task of leading his team.
Results that Keep Getting Better
When school began in the fall of 2016, administrators and staff received compliments from visitors regarding the brilliant shine and impeccable condition of the terrazzo floors. A former student remarked that she had not seen the floors look so pristine since her childhood. In addition to restoration, Action Unlimited Resources, Inc. developed a program with Paul and the St. Elizabeth School team to maintain the terrazzo floors with ease and at only a fraction of the expense incurred in years past.
At a budget meeting midway through the school year, Paul eagerly reported that not only was he under budget by more than $12,000, but incredibly, he had done that while also purchasing new equipment to save labor costs on an ongoing basis.
The St. Elizabeth School facility is cleaner and the staff has a level of pride in the results today not experienced before collaborating with Action Unlimited Resources, Inc. Paul Papili and his team have the training, processes, and resources to accomplish more with less moving forward. We at Action Unlimited Resources, Inc. are proud of the program and proud to continue to collaborate with St. Elizabeth School to assist in its success.