About True North

True North FMC is a new organization founded by Richard W. Robben PE, MBA, CEFP. In his 46 years of experience in the Facilities Management arena he has lead organizations through transformational change, received national recognition for pace setting and innovative strategies and for developing nationally recognized high performance organizations. True North was founded to offer consulting services to higher education facilities organizations, providing practical and successful solutions to both the common and unique issues that face our brick and mortar colleges and universities. True North will provide individualized service to its clients by limiting the number of assignments at any given time.

True North can provide service for interim positions, perform targeted organizational evaluations, supply expert witness service for maintenance issues, CFO and Board Advisory roles, turnarounds’ support, Strategic Business, and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) planning.

The Name True North FMC stems from the concept that there is a difference between what a compass shows as North and what is actually “True North”.

Areas of Demonstrated Expertise

People

Team Building
Hiring & Retention of Quality Personnel
Focused Training for Management & Workforces
Development of Accountably Systems for Personal Performance
Succession Planning

Customers

Connecting Mission to Customer Experience
Quality Measurements Systems
Redirecting Workforce Focus from Internal to External
Customer Training Programs

Finance

Budgeting Development & Administration (Operating & Capital)
Financial Controls
Performance Metrics Development & Tracking
Contract Negotiations (Construction, Utility, & Labor)

Internal Business Processes

Capital Planning
Facility Condition Assessment
Proactive Maintenance
Task Team Cleaning
Best Practice Implementation
Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)
Behavior-Based Energy Management Programs
Deferred Maintenance Mitigation Programs
Benchmarking
Strategic Business Planning, Development, & Implementation
Retro Commissioning
Construction Management
Maintenance Management

Change Management

Business Process Redesign
Continuous Improvement
Structural Redesign

Recognitions Received

2016 - APPA Award for Sustainable Campus
2014 & 2006 - APPA Award for Excellence in Facilities Management, University of Michigan
2007 - Michigan Recycling Coalition Recycler of the Year in the Outstanding Reduction & Reuse Program Category
2007 - Rex Dillow Award from APPA for Facilities Manager Magazine Article on Measurement of Quality in Service Organizations
2006 - Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) 1101: University of Michigan Becomes the First University Custodial Program Certified under the ISSA
2005 - EPA Energy Star™ Partner of the Year, University of Michigan
2004 - EPA Combined Heat & Power Award, University of Michigan Central Power Plant
2001 - National Recycling Coalition Outstanding School Program, University of Michigan
1996 - Energy Star Partner, Columbia University

List of Clients and Institutions Lead

Columbia University in the City of New York - Director of Physical Plant
University of Michigan Ann Arbor - Executive Director of Plant Operations
University of Chicago Illinois - Interim Associate VP of Facilities Services and Advisor to the CFO
University of Texas San Antonio - Organization Evaluation
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee - Organization Evaluation
University of Iowa - Organization Evaluation
Central Michigan University - Organization Evaluation
Old Dominion University - Organization Evaluation
Davis Polk Attorneys - Expert Witness
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) - Organization Evaluation
University of British Columbia (UBC) - Organization Evaluation
University of Kansas Medical Center - Organization Evaluation
Glenda Cochrane & Associates Attorneys – Expert Witness
University of Michigan Flint Campus - Organization Evaluation