{"id":1064,"date":"2024-11-15T15:44:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T21:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/hr\/?p=1064"},"modified":"2024-11-21T16:08:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T22:08:00","slug":"unlocking-und-public-surplus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/hr\/2024\/11\/unlocking-und-public-surplus\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking UND: Public Surplus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Staff Resources in Focus: How UND’s Surplus Property Program Empowers Sustainability<\/h2>\n

As a public institution, the University of North Dakota has an obligation to make the most of every resource. Through the Surplus Property<\/a> program, Facilities Management extends the life of equipment, furniture, and technology to ensure fiscal responsibility and sustainability.<\/p>\n

Many departments have it – the closet, desk, or drawer dedicated to no longer used items. They are the items investigated during annual inventory review, those found to no longer be utilized by the department in question. Some are a result of purchasing new equipment, while others are a result of process improvement (no need for binders when you’ve gone paperless!). Often, surplus equipment is simply equipment that is not actively being used day to day or a part of the equipment review when a building is being pulled offline.<\/p>\n

The University’s surplus team triages and evaluates any equipment or furniture deemed “Surplus” by a department. A part of this process involves referring all “E-waste” (computers, monitors, tablets, etc.) to information technology for proper disposal. With buildings being pulled down and new construction being furthered each day, the surplus equipment list changes frequently. Managing surplus inventory takes smart planning – especially when space and manpower are at a premium. Due to the campus space changes, the availability of storage can vary. Much of the surplus furniture is currently stored in Columbia Hall. To mitigate this issue, items are frequently posted on UND’s internal surplus<\/a> and Public Surplus<\/a> while remaining in their original departments.<\/p>\n

Internal Surplus and Public Surplus<\/h3>\n

Once an item has been released to Planning, Design & Construction, it will be posted on UND’s internal surplus<\/a> site, where department’s in search of equipment can peruse and claim items at no cost (save for assembly\/disassembly).\u00a0 Ryan Neumann, the Receiving\/Surplus Technician, encourages departments to take full advantage of the surplus process. “This is a free resource and I wish more people were aware of how to utilize it so they weren’t spending department money.”<\/p>\n

Ryan personally evaluates the condition of each item prior to posting on the internal surplus site. Once an item has been posted for several months on internal surplus, he will move it to Public Surplus<\/a>, where it can be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Frequent customers include collectors seeking UND labeled pieces of furniture, small businesses, or financially savvy individuals looking to get a good deal on lightly used equipment.<\/p>\n

When deciding to send an item to public auction, there can be a gamble depending on the condition, age, and market of an item. Once an item has been posted to the public auction, it can’t be returned to internal inventory. Be sure to review the UND’s internal surplus<\/a> site prior to purchasing equipment to save on funding costs.<\/p>\n

Even when items don’t sell at auction, they contribute to sustainability efforts. If an item has lived a full life already, and would take costly repairs or is too badly damaged to be put up for auction, it will be sold for metal scrap or recycling.\u00a0 In rare cases, if an item cannot be repurposed, recycled, or sold, it will be sent to the landfill to clear valuable storage space, ensuring campus remains efficient and organized.<\/p>\n

Ready to Surplus?<\/h3>\n

The below steps identify how you can contribute to the surplus process and make space and resource management more efficient at UND.<\/p>\n