Temple University has only recently set up it's surplus program and so we get some new insights in this case study. This is another look at how they do surplus in the US. Temple University are not a Warp It customer but we present this information so that we can all learn from their experiences. 

Temple University was founded in 1884 by Baptist Minister Russell Conwell. The university is currently known as a noteworthy provider of professional education in areas such as law, medicine, podiatry, pharmacy, dentistry, or architecture. In 2016, over 39,500 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students were enrolled in over 400 academic degree programs offered at seven campuses and sites in Pennsylvania, and international campuses in Rome, Tokyo, Singapore and London.

When Glenn Feagley, the Lion Surplus Manager at Penn State University said:

“At Penn State University, the Surplus Department can generate up to $2 to $3 million a year and I know a few more universities are doing similar.”

we knew we had to find out more.

We are always looking for ways to improve how we deliver the Warp It service to all of our customers. Therefore we felt that we could learn from and how the US sector maximises resource and asset value. We spoke to a whole host of surplus managers to get the lowdown and have presented our findings in the report below. 

This report will be of use to 

• Surplus managers
• Procurement managers
• Sustainability managers
• Waste managers
• Service design managers
• Finance Directors
• Estates and Facilities Directors

When it comes to culture change: One of the most persuasive sources of information that staff need to hear to make that change is word of mouth influence from other staff.

Just like when you’re shopping online and want to browse through the customer reviews, staff want to see what kinds of experiences other people have had with your proposed culture change project.

I was speaking to Alex Fowler from Humberside NHS recently and he said that there were departments within his organisation who were now using 100% reused furniture.

This got me thinking about making it easy for Alex to do a case study in these departments. So see below for our downloadable template.

In this case we are talking about identifying a department who are doing really well on your furniture and equipment reuse program, however it can apply to any culture change project.

In this blog post we explain a couple of benefits of using case study and give you access to a template  to go about creating a case study in order to increase participation in your online reuse portal.

We've recently produced a report looking at the reuse and surplus asset sector in universities, some of which are based in the USA. One of the common things we discovered is that most of the projects, if not all of them, have some sort or student intern, student helpers, or student employees.

In our ongoing series looking at the US Surplus Asset sector  we talk to David Mazzocco, Associate Director of Sustainability and Projects, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

We had the pleasure of talking to Sally Northover from Macquarie University and she gave us a great insight into making the logical case for the centralized management of surplus assets. 

In the US it is standard practice to engage interns to deliver a meaningful proportion of the surplus assets reuse program- we found that out in a recent study we conducted.  Download here.

Southern Oregon University Surplus Program Case study

We have been looking into the US surplus sector to get an insight into how the US deal with the reuse of their surplus assets. In doing so we have spoken to many surplus managers... as we were talking to so many we thought..

"It is no use us getting all this great info. Let's make case studies so we can share our learnings"

...and so here is another interview/ case study!

In this case study we interview Iain Graalum, the the Campus Mail Services Supervisor for Southern Oregon University to find out how their system works and see what advice we can glean from him.

To be clear Southern Oregon University are not Warp It customers. 

Iain was so generous with his time and expertise. Thankyou so much Iain!

One way to learn is to make mistakes. Another way to learn is to listen to a teacher. Another way to learn is to talk to people who have done it before.

By talking to others and sharing experiences we learn quicker. What works, what doesnt work. 

Therefore we spoke to some US universities about their surplus reuse programs. 

In this case study we interview Glenn Feagley, the Surplus Property manager for Pennsylvania State University to find out how their system works and seek his tips for success.

To be clear Pennsylvania State University are not Warp It customers- we conducted this case study to share their practices so that others can benefit.