UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH – LOW ROPES COURSE ANNUAL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN Authors: Nick Beattie, Troy Donovan, Elena Hammerling, Ben Hayden, Allison Olson, Spencer Schumann, Troy Vegel and Geoff Walters ENED 4315 – Operations and Management University of Minnesota Duluth October 18, 2017 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES iv LIST OF FIGURES .v INTRODUCTION .6 The Management Planning Team .6 MISSION STATEMENT The Department of Applied Human Science Recreational Sports Outdoor Program LOCATION STAFFING 12 Figure Staffing Flow Chart 12 UMD Low Ropes Course “Site Director” 13 Job Description: .13 Rationale-Site Director: 14 Compensation: .14 Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 14 Qualifications: 15 Experience: .15 Preferred Skills and Abilities: .16 UMD Low Ropes Course – “Field Staff” .16 Job Description 16 Rational-Field Staff: 16 Compensation-Field Staff: 16 Essential Duties and Responsibilities-Field Staff: 16 Support: 17 Qualifications-Field Staff: .17 Experience-Field Staff: 17 Preferred Skills and Abilities-Field Staff: 17 Statement of Equal Employment Opportunity: 17 BUDGET 18 Budget Introduction: .18 Budget Conclusion: 20 EQUIPMENT .20 Introduction: 20 Conclusion 22 SCHEDULING 22 Introduction 22 Conclusion 23 STAFF DEVELOPMENT 24 ii UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN 26 EVALUATION 27 Introduction 27 Types of Evaluation .27 Participants 27 Staff 28 Agency .28 Conclusion 28 REFERENCES 29 iii UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE LIST OF TABLES Table Page Budget 19 Equipment 21 External Schedule 23 Staff Schedule 23 LIST OF FIGURES iv UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Figure Page Illustration of Ropes Course – Side View .8 Illustration of Ropes Course – Top View Image of Ropes Course – Northeast Facing 10 Image of Ropes Course Wale Watch – Southwest Facing 11 Staff Flow Chart .12 v UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE INTRODUCTION The Management Planning Team We are a team of students enrolled in a course called, “Operations and Management” As Environmental and Outdoor Education (EOE) majors at the University of Minnesota Duluth, we are learning management practices pertinent to our field We are using an actual project as a backdrop to learn how to write an annual operations plan In this case, the new UMD Low Ropes Course will be our study site The low ropes course is managed by the department of Applied Human Sciences (AHS) in the College of Education and Human Service Professions (CEHSP) as well as the Recreational Sports and Outdoor Program (RSOP) in Student Life Its purpose is to provide educational opportunities for personal growth and professional training of a ropes course Nice! Way better!! MISSION STATEMENT At the early end of the planning process we want to reaffirm the two agencies departements mission, vision and purpose statements We this to establish a framework in which we can evaluate proposed actions and make sure they are consistent our Ropes Course project A mission statement is the “engine and blueprint” of a whole entire agency (UMD) It ultimately defines what the agency is about, who the agency serves and what its purpose is The mission statement broadly identifies the agencies goals and what their intent is Purpose statements clarify the reasons the agencies were established and what the agency is based on Vision statements are the projected state of an agency in the future and what the program should look UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE like These are the various statements from the departments and their relevance to this Ropes Course The Department of Applied Human Science The mission of the department of Applied Human Science (AHS) is: “The mission of the department is to study human movement, health, and the environment as well as how these areas of study impact each other We prepare students to succeed as professionals in our recognized major areas These majors are content rich, laboratory supported and field based, resulting in high quality, professionally associated, accredited, and solution-focused curricula Faculty accomplish the mission of the department through effectiveness in teaching, productivity in research or other creative activity, and contributions in service.” (cite) The vision of the AHS department regarding the addition of the Ropes Course: “It will provide team oriented training amongst majors in the human services department on how to utilize and operate low ropes course elements It will also be an adaptive course and will be used for first year experience groups.” (Gilbertson K 2017) Recreational Sports Outdoor Program The Recreational Sports Outdoor Program (RSOP) mission is to: “Foster active, healthy lifestyles and connections to the natural world.” (http://d.umn.edu/recreational-sports-outdoorprogram/about-us) The ropes course currently does not have a set vision statement, but has been verbally stated as “not just for environmental and outdoor education use, but also as a resource for all academic classes and student organizations plus community agencies” (Kramer L., 2017) The RSOP’s purpose statement is viewed as an “Academic class resource use/not just environmental and outdoor education, but an on-campus tool to help exposure among other majors as well as other student organizations.” UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE The significance to AHS is that it will provide professional training for Environmental and Outdoor Education (EOE), Physical Education (PE) and Health Education (HE) Majors on how to facilitate team building experiences on low ropes elements (Gilbertson K 2017) It also provides more than just academic and recreational programs on campus but instead reaching community groups, YMCA camps, and other various agencies Good! LOCATION The course will be located southeast of the tennis courts on the UMD campus (see figures 1-4) Figure Illustration side view of Ropes Course (source: ABEE, 2017) UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Figure Illustration top view of Ropes Course (source: ABEE, 2017) UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Figure Northeast facing image (Source: Nick Beattie, 2017) 10 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE You forgot the support staff position… 18 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE BUDGET Budget Introduction: The budget for the UMD ropes course is comprised of several items It includes revenues, expenses and expenditures The budget is located on the next page and has all the revenues, expenses, and expenditures with the hypothetical budget from 2017 and the projected budget from 2018 There is also a column for money that carries over in the “difference” column 2018 will hypothetically have less expenses but that is due to change with various factors contributing to it 19 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE UMD Low Ropes Annual Budget Table What type? Annual Budget Date: 10/18/2017 Authors: Nick Beattie, Troy Donovan, Elena Hammerling, Ben Hayden, Allison Olson, Spencer Schuman, Geoff Walters, Troy Vegel Category/Item REVENUES: UMD Student Service Fees YMCA x week (10 weeks) RSOP Summer Programs Course Rental (Other) [FY 2018 Final Budget Plan] Actual Budget Previous FY (2017) Projected Budget (2018) Difference 2017-2018 $4,000.00 $6,000.00 $6,000.00 $6,000.00 $5,000.00 $6,000.00 $6,000.00 $6,000.00 $1,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Contracts/Grants $40,000.00 $40,000.00 $0.00 TOTAL REVENUES: $62,000.00 $63,000.00 $1,000.00 EXPENDITURES: Salaries - regular Salaries - temp./seasonal Benefits TOTAL SALARIES: $3,000.00 $1,800.00 $3,000.00 $7,800.00 $3,000.00 $1,800.00 $3,000.00 $7,800.00 $0.00 $0.00 $200.00 $200.00 $500.00 $5,000.00 $5,000.00 $3,000.00 $2,000.00 $4,000.00 $5,000.00 $4,000.00 $200.00 $200.00 $500.00 $5,000.00 $5,000.00 $2,000.00 $3,000.00 $4,000.00 $5,000.00 $4,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1,000.00 ($1,000.00) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $400.00 $400.00 $1,000.00 $10,000.00 $10,000.00 $6,000.00 $4,000.00 $8,000.00 $10,000.00 $8,000.00 $2,000.00 $1,500.00 $1,000.00 $5,000.00 $3,000.00 $41,400.00 $2,000.00 $1,500.00 $1,000.00 $5,000.00 $3,000.00 $41,400.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2,000.00 $2,000.00 $200.00 $5,000.00 $6,000.00 $41,400.00 TOTAL EXPENSES: $49,200.00 $49,200.00 $0.00 $0.00 $49,200.00 GRAND TOTAL: 12,800.00 13,800.00 1,000.00 0.00 13,800.00 Expenses: Postage Travel Telephone Equipment Equipment R&M Office Supplies Printing Advertising Employee Development Technology Programs Expense (@ part.) Staff Training (RSOP) SEE (Supplies, Equipment, Expenses) Inspection (1 x year) Permanent Sign Building & Grounds (Lawn/Repair $0.00 Actual Budget Current FY TOTAL $0.00 $63,000.00 $6,000.00 $3,600.00 $0.00 $7,800.00 20 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Budget Conclusion: You forgot your monthly breakdown budget This budget is a tentative and approximation based on other examples and ropes courses that were built and managed It is subject to change and most likely will The budget above is a guide and simulates the actual budget for the UMD Ropes Course This course is not intended to make a profit It is utilized as a facilitation tool for programs and students Good conclusion 21 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE EQUIPMENT Introduction: The table below is an example of an equipment list for a climbing program The purpose of the equipment list is to visualize what materials are needed to facilitate an outdoor education experience, and for the management team to keep track of costs and equipment needs Using this you can see how costs are utilized for equipment Each category is important for organization as well as for reordering new equipment and supplies 22 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Table Equipment(This is climbing gear, not gear for a low ropes course Why did you gear for a climbing wall?) UMD Low Ropes Example Equipment List (Climbing Wall) Nick B, Troy D, Elena H, Ben H, Allison O, Spencer S, Geoff W, Troy V Unit Item Quant Price Total Source Primary Equipment 9mm Dynamic Climbing Rope $114 $229 Ropes Course Warehouse Climbing Harness 30 $44 $1,320 Peak Trading Court Accessory Equipment Webbing Helmets Carabeiners ATC 10 10 $25 $78.35 $10.95 $17.95 $50 $235.05 $109.50 $180 R&W Rope Ropes Course Warehouse Moosejaw Ropes Course Warehouse Climbing Shoes Chalk Bags Chalk Balls 3mm Accessory Cord 20 10 $40 $12.50 $3 $117 $800 $62.50 $30 $117.30 Gearx Black Diamond Black Diamond Sterling Drill Bit Set Cordless 1 $9.99 $99 $9.99 $99 First Aid Kit Ascender Sling Kit $37.53 $45 $75.06 $45 Helmet Spray Shoe Spray Paper Course setting Tape 10 $9.50 $5.79 $28.99 $8.75 $19.00 $28.95 $28.99 $87.50 Supplies Primary Secondary Safety SE&E Grand total?? 23 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Conclusion As you can see from the table above, keeping track of equipment is important and vital to daily operations and annual budget Equipment can be a large portion of costs of a program, so keeping records of equipment and supplies helps the management team with book keeping Another way to keep track of equipment is to keep a record book of uses and wear of gear used This helps you to calculate the amount of use of each piece of equipment 24 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE SCHEDULING Introduction Below are examples of an external and internal schedules that could be utilized for organizing/facilitating the low ropes elements This schedule would be reviewed weekly at the staff meeting by the Site Supervisor and Field staff The listed figures below can be used to determine how to schedule classes that could represent the use of the challenge course The course is scheduled to be operating six days a week and in use on average seven hours a day, with one hour used for site preparations and maintenance located at the site Scheduling is divided up into open (to be scheduled) and weekly assigned cells These cells listed in the example below (external) are a representation how a weekly operation would be carry out Cells are divided up into external/community groups and internal UMD groups like clubs and workshops The internal example gives a representation to who is assigned to the enrolled class who wish to use the challenge course No more than two staff members have been assigned to the schedule, since the course will have limited use in its first two months 25 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Table External Schedule Table Weekly Staff Schedule NICE SCHEDULE LAYOUT Conclusion The overall reflection of the internal and external schedule has been and should be modeled like the rock climbing wall scheduling Important to note that time has been given for an all staff meeting and challenge preparation 26 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE STAFF DEVELOPMENT The following portion includes the training plans, protocol, and development opportunities for the organization's staff and professional team The development of the staff is essential for quality experiences at the ropes course and the trainings will ensure the enhancement of their skills These trainings and activities will maintain current protocol and procedures for the entire team and staff which ensures positive progression as time moves on The ropes course will be led by staff that are experienced, engaging, and responsible These requirements will ensure the participants are having the most positive experience possible, while maintaining a safe and healthy environment The team's development process will be in the form of: required trainings, conferences, staff evaluations, and up-to-date certifications Staff development is an ongoing process Staff are required to have up to date ACCT, CPR, and First-Aid certifications In addition, the ropes course will be inspected by the ACCT every years This will require active staff influence and upkeep Within the yearly time-frame, the staff development process will come in the form of bi-yearly staff and outdoor conference visits Examples of these might include the ACCT conference or other conferences similar to it to exchange ideas and procedures The more frequent staff development pieces are team safety meetings and staff evaluations At least twice a year, the staff will conduct safety meetings to cover new protocol, safety procedures, and management within the UMD ropes course The staff evaluations will be conducted by the site director and field staff every months This will be done by observing the low ropes course staff evaluate if they are adhering to the curriculum of the site, the mission statement Evaluations will ensure that the outcome and goals of the staff are 27 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE on track with the agencies mission and vision for the ropes course What about Project Adventure or some similar group facilitating trainings? Those are actually more critical than ACCT trainings (remember, this is a low ropes course, not a high ropes course) The staff development is an integral part of the success of the program and agencies Proper staff development will lead to the best environment possible for the participants Through the staff development process, we will create an up to date, meaningful, and insightful challenge course experience 28 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN The University of Minnesota Duluth’s Low Rope Course will be an asset used by a variety of audiences and diverse purposes With that, the Risk Management Plan will cover everything that may occur It will be able to address physical injuries and near misses on sight The Risk Management Team will consist of Recreation Sports Outdoor Program’s Risk Management director, Applied Human Services Department Head, Low Ropes Course Site Director, and the field staff of the ropes course These people will work with UMD’s insurance company and legal team The outline of the Risk Management Plan contains of all the foreseeable problems that relate to people, equipment, and the environment Incidents and injuries that could exist on the low ropes course can be the following: sprains, broken bones, bruises, splinters, concussions, and overlooking basic care Environmental factors such as wet cables, rain, lightning, cold or hot temperatures also exist There are tactics to prevent these incidents and injuries through the people around and managing people in the group This is important for the field staff to address the potential risks and to appropriately inform the participants of safety and risks involved on the ropes course There will also be a waiver for the participants to read through and sign before they start the ropes course If an incident were to occur, any staff on sight will need to address the situation as necessary Each staff member will be certified in First Aid There are first aid kits in the RSOP office across the street for less serious incidents The ropes course is approximately 40 yard from a paved street for emergency vehicles to access and can also drive on the bike path for severe incidents There is also cell service on site for 911 and on campus fire department is minutes 29 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE away What about the risk management that is included in the two manuals that I shared with you? (ACCT and risk management on a low course, such as spotting and equipment check) EVALUATION Introduction The UMD Low Ropes Course is committed to promoting a high-quality atmosphere and environment for its participants This can be aided by consistent and thorough evaluation Through evaluation, the UMD Low Ropes Course will have a solid understanding of what they are doing and how it is working Types of Evaluation Knowing that this low ropes course is going to be successful in both university educational settings and in the community is imperative Because of this, it is important to know the different types of evaluation we plan to implement to measure the success of said ropes course and the related programs Participants It is important to evaluate the participants to ensure that their needs are being met by our low ropes programs We will evaluate both community participants and university participants using surveys after each individual program to gauge: ● ● ● ● How many people use the site? What can the site improve on? What you like about program presentation? How can program presentation/staff performance be improved? 30 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE Staff Staff evaluation is essential to the overall evaluation of the program We can gain further insight about the ropes course by evaluating the site director and the field staff They may be able to provide insight and feedback, furthermore than can be provided from the participants Within staff evaluation, field staff and the site director should meet in the preseason, the mid-season, and the post-season During these meetings, feedback should be exchanged between the field staff and the site director This communication between staff will help to strengthen the program Agency With this ropes course there are two agencies involved, the RSOP at UMD, and the AHS department in the College of Environment and Human Sciences at UMD For both programs, it is essential to evaluate both internally and externally The AHS department is already in this process Internal evaluation should occur every year and external evaluation should occur every three to five years Conclusion Implementing these different types of evaluation will help this low ropes course and the programs associated with it to be successful It will allow for the needs of the AHS department, RSOP, and the community to be met Feedback will strengthen the positive outcomes of this project by allowing improvements to be implemented practically and efficiently By using consistent and thorough evaluation, the UMD Low Ropes Course will be able to provide the best environment necessary for educational and community programs to flourish 31 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE REFERENCES Gilbertson, K (2017, September 18) Personal Interview , University of Minnesota Duluth Faculty – Dept of Applied Human Sciences, September 18th, 2017 Kramer, L (2017, September 13) Personal Interview, University of Minnesota Duluth Climbing Program Coordinator – Recreation Sports Outdoor Program, September 17th , 2017 Rohnke, K., Tait, C., Wall, J., (1994) The Complete Ropes Course Manual: Second Edition Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Webster, S (1989) Ropes Course Safety Management: An Instructors Guide to Initiatives and Low and High Elements Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company (2015, September 04) Recreational Sports Outdoor Program Retrieved October 01, 2017, from http://d.umn.edu/recreational-sports-outdoor-program You don’t refer to Webster for your risk management Further, you don’t cite ACCT nor Project Adventure manuals Overall, you made some nice revisions, yet continue to make the same errors and oversites As I have said, I have been confident that individually you all have had this training and I certainly believe in you Yet, I gave you the written materials as an easy guide for your work Also, I have consistently and frequently said that I am your resource guide for much of this (NOT Lucas because I have more training in this specific area) I am giving you a C,meaning you have met the basic requirements to indicate that you have the basic comprehension of the subject material I’m uncertain if this is too generous I’m urging you to build a functioning team of managers (not pracitioners) and work together to proof-read and double check each others work to make the total project come together I am saying again, use my knowledge and background in low ropes courses to help you with this project Finally, your second unit (long range plan) is to design an operational plan for our ropes course Grade: C 43.5/60 32 ... LOW ROPES COURSE Figure Page Illustration of Ropes Course – Side View .8 Illustration of Ropes Course – Top View Image of Ropes Course – Northeast Facing 10 Image of Ropes. .. MINNESOTA DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE UMD Low Ropes Course “Site Director” The UMD Low Ropes Course, operated by the RSOP, is now accepting applicants for a Site Director This Low Ropes Course will be... DULUTH LOW ROPES COURSE UMD Low Ropes Course – “Field Staff” Job Description The UMD Ropes course Field Staff will be responsible for creating and maintaining a curriculum for the low ropes course