FM World 27 March 2014

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | 27 MARCH 2014

FMWorld www.fm-world.co.uk

WAR MEMORIALS

How the nation’s memorial heritage is under threat

How ExCeL London deals with events of all shapes and sizes

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Legally, you need to be licensed to play music at work.

You probably haven’t thought much about it. You’ve just got music on for your staff or customers. But did you know you legally need permission from the music’s copyright owners if you play music, TV or radio aloud at work? But don’t worry, to get that permission you simply need a licence from PRS for Music* (and in most cases, one from PPL** too). PRS for Music is a membership organisation that acts on behalf of songwriters and composers to ensure they’re paid for the use of their work. So if you have music playing, ask PRS for Music how you become licensed to listen today.

Contact PRS for Music on 0800 694 7344 or at prsformusic.com/musicatwork *PRS for Music licences cover the vast majority of music originating from the UK and all over the world. However, if you play music that is outside of PRS for Music’s control, you may need an additional licence from the relevant copyright owner(s). You will require a TV licence as well if you are using a TV in your premises. You do not need a licence from PRS for Music in the unlikely event that all the music you play is out of copyright or is not controlled by PRS for Music. **PPL collects and distributes royalties on behalf of record companies and performers. Further info at ppluk.com. All music licences are required under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which stipulates you must gain the permission of the copyright owner if you play music in public (anywhere outside the home environment).

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VOL 11 ISSUE 6 27 MARCH 2014

CONTENTS

17 | MEFMA conference

18 | Waiting to ExCeL

24 | Memorial maintenance

NEWS

OPINION

FEATURES

06 Budget 2014: The FM implications 07 Students want better services, says report 08 Lasswade High School, Midlothian, Scotland 09 Think Tank: Thoughts on zero-hour contracts 10 Business news: Graeme Davies on how government outsourciing is stepping up a gear 11 G4S posts £100m loss in wake of tagging woes 12 In Focus: Pat Gaughan, associate director CBRE Ireland and deputy chair, BIFM Ireland Region (South)

14 Simon Francis on energysaving training for staff 15 Five minutes with Alan Williams 46 No Two Days

MONITOR 33 Insight: Market intelligence 34 Legal: Tar Tumber looks at equal pay audits 35 Legal: Employment legislation updates 36 How to: Use plants to reduce indoor noise 37 Technical: Solarpowered GM devices

28 | Nice work in Higher Ed

17

New, tall – green?: Dubai aims to be a “smart city” linking tech to infrastructure and raising the profile of FM, reports David Kentish from MEFMA

18

Event horizon: ExCeL London – host of this year’s Facilities Show – is a multi-faceted venue and a colourful case study in facilities management

24

For the fallen: Our war memorials are under threat from vandalism, accidents, erosion and corporate change, but FMs can be guardians of remembrance

28

Estates of mind: How can space efficiencies be made in academia to create a leaner estate that meets the aspirations of staff and students?

REGULARS 38 41 42 43 44

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visit twitter.com/fm_world FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 03

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20/03/2014 16:02

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Redactive Publishing Ltd 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP 020 7880 6200 www.fm-world.co.uk EDITORIAL Tel: 020 7880 6229 email: editorial@fm-world.co.uk editor: Martin Read ⁄ news editor: Herpreet Kaur Grewal ⁄ reporter: James Harris ⁄ sub editor: Deborah Shrewsbury ⁄ digital content executive: Hannah Whittaker ⁄ consultant art director: Mark Parry ⁄ art editor: Daniel Swainsbury

MARTIN READ EDITOR COMMENT

LEADER

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Simon Ball, business development manager, Interserve ⁄ Martin Bell, independent consultant / Lucy Jeynes, Larch Consulting / Nick Cook, managing director, Haywards ⁄ Rob Greenfield, group SHEQ director, GSH ⁄ Liz Kentish, managing director, Kentish and Co ⁄ Anne Lennox Martin, FM consultant ⁄ Peter McLennan, joint course director, MSc Facility Environment and Management, University College London ⁄ Geoff Prudence, chair, CIBSE FM Group ⁄ Chris Stoddart, director of FM, Regent Street Direct ⁄ Jeremy Waud, managing director, Incentive FM ⁄ Jane Wiggins, FM tutor and author ⁄ Chris Wood, FM consultant Average net circulation 11,920 (Jul 12 – Jun 13) FM World magazine is produced using paper derived from sustainable sources; the ink used is vegetable based; 85 per cent of other solvents used in the production process are recycled © FM World is published on behalf of the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM)

by Redactive Publishing Ltd (RPL), 17 Britton St, London EC1M 5TP. This magazine aims to include a broad range of opinion about FM business and professional issues and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the BIFM nor should such opinions be relied upon as statements of fact. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any print or electronic format, including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet, or in any other format in whole or in part in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher. While all due care is taken in writing and producing this magazine, neither BIFM nor RPL accept any liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. Printed by Polestar Stones ISSN 1743 8845

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here are days, I’ll admit, when I walk into the office in the morning and stare. I stare at my colleagues, who in turn are all staring at their screens.

On my way home I’ll have my path impeded by someone staring at their phone, or else barged out of the way by someone annoyed by me staring at mine.

And as I stare at all of us staring, I often wonder – where exactly are we headed?

It’s been, what, 25 years since the advent of the networked office PC? Once upon a time we all interacted with office machinery by physically engaging with it, getting up to use photocopiers, fax machines et al. In our lunchtimes we used to queue for concert tickets or go to agents to book travel. But over the past 10 years or so, the PC behind the screen has become perfectly capable of giving us everything we need to carry out pretty much all of our work as well as providing our entertainment as well.

Often the only reason to step away from our screens is to fulfil our bodily needs – and maintain our sanity.

So at our desks we’re video conferencing, instant messaging, emailing and, for today at least, leader comment writing. But all of that is just so yesterday, some of you will be saying - and you’re right. Because the speed at which we’re now moving on to doing all of the above through our mobile screens, even using our phones as the main tool for interaction with clients and colleagues, is dizzying.

Last week I found myself watching highlights of Wealdstone’s far from critical Middlesex Senior Cup tie on YouTube while on the London Overground. We all have this amazing ability to access such remarkably trivial material – and if I can so casually access video of Gordon Barlett’s Isthmian League heroes “on the go”, we really are through the looking glass. What else can we do with smartphones?

The phrase “there’s an app for that” has itself fallen out of favour, so quickly have developments in this field altered the landscape. But from an FM perspective we’re only at the start of this journey, and sure enough the age of FM services being managed from mobile devices through apps is upon us. There’s been so much chatter about apps and their application in FM over the past 12 months that we must surely be on the verge of an app deluge. The greater granular detail, speed of analysis, contextualisation of priority and attention to customer detail that these apps promise (depending on who you talk to) must surely have an impact on FM’s ability to adapt to fit client need. How their deployment ultimately affects team structures is something we can only guess at.

Because the simple processing of existing facilities data requirements by adding photographs directly to condition reports (as one random example) is only the first step. Much of what I’m hearing about forthcoming apps involves mapping buildings or facilities data flowing into building information models – potentially reigniting the whole discussion about FM’s position in the BIM firmament.

Could this mobile data revolution solve all of FM’s credibility issues? Doubtless not, but the promise of FM playing a more visible role as a result of minute-by-minute analysis of facilities performance has got to be a good thing.

As for where we’re all headed with this stuff? Hands up: I honestly don’t know.

T

“There’s been so much chatter about apps and their application in FM over the past 12 months”

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 05

20/03/2014 09:46

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FM BUSINESS

SHUTTERSTOCK/PA

Budget 2014’s FM implications Last week’s Budget has been described as one primarily for pensioners and savers, but there are implications for the FM sector.

Among the pledges, Chancellor George Osborne announced £85 million in both 2014-15 and 201516 for employers to provide more than 100,000 apprenticeships.

The government will also provide £20 million over two years to support apprenticeships up to postgraduate level.

Osborne also promised £140 million to repair and restore the condition of vital flood defences damaged in recent bad weather.

A new Alan Turing Institute for big data research is to receive £42 million too, said the Chancellor.

The personal tax allowance will also be raised to £10,500 in 201516. Private sector jobs are on an upward trajectory by 3.3 million from 2011 to 2019, said Osborne, which offsets a one million fall in general government employment.

Osborne also pledged a £7 billion package to cut manufacturing energy bills.

Andrew Shaw, managing director of BSG, said the overall economic forecast was good and provided “a positive backdrop for the FM sector as a whole”. He added: “With the push to reduce the budget deficit, we are likely to see a continued shift towards outsourcing in some areas of the public sector (e.g. health and education).”

FM consultant Craig Shepheard said the increased £10,500 taxfree allowance would benefit many FM staff, particularly at the low end of the pay scale.

Gareth Tancred, chief executive of the BIFM, welcomed the extra commitment to apprenticeships.

He said: “This £85 million

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initiative will be good for FM firms, particularly SMEs. But there is still a lot that the government needs to do to convince young people of the benefits and ensure that it is seen by young people as a viable qualification route into the workplace.”

Andrew Hulbert, associate director of facility services at Bilfinger, added: “Smaller FM businesses should explore this opportunity to bring apprentices in to all sectors from security, to engineering to FM.” But David Simmonds, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said apprenticeship subsidies had been operating since 2012, but since that time the number of teenagers in apprenticeships

has fallen. Councils needed to work more effectively with employers “to create quality local apprenticeships”, he said.

Sarah Bentley, chief executive of the Building Futures Group, said awareness of the industry’s apprenticeships had to be raised to ensure that young people took them up. The growth in private sector employment could also be

an indication that there would be “greater demand for the support services that members provide”.

Tim Oldman of Leesman Index commented: “Raising the rate of the research and development tax credit for small firms may help us as we investigate the design of new workplace effectiveness measurement tools for healthcare environments.”

IT

FM industry needs ‘massive change’ The FM industry is “under disruptive attack from the impacts of digital technology” and needs “massive transformative change” to adapt, according to a report by a global insurer.

The study by Zurich Insurance suggests that the FM industry was being changed radically by the emergence of “fleet-footed, borderless and weightless businesses” that had already moved beyond a reliance on corporate real estate, and that this had begun to change people’s attitudes about how they worked.

FM needs “a revolution” to deal with the lack of structures, claims the report. This included fresh strategies by businesses on how to change their capability

gaps and evolving research and development, and recruitment to suit a more technologically advanced new world of work.

The energy and sustainability dimensions of the FM role is also growing and was “an absolutely core concern for business”, says the report. This was the “best and most obvious opportunity to develop smarter ways of

working”, the report suggests.

Prof John Hinks, global head of innovation CRE & FM, Zurich Insurance, said: “In summary, the conditions are right for provoking and enabling industry change, what we need to do now is mobilise our potential innovators via networks for change, and then target our collective efforts to co-operatively address the most pressing needs for change.”

The report was compiled from the views of FM industry professionals from all over the world who took part in debates on about 24 topics on an online crowdsourcing platform. The debates rapidly broadened beyond the opening topics, often sprawling into further themes. www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 16:17

NEWS

BRIEFS Commercial values go up

Students want better services, says survey The improvement of a university’s social spaces and its catering outlets rank as the top two preferences of students, according to a survey by service provider Sodexo.

The company’s sixth University Lifestyle Survey also found that expecting a solid sustainability strategy was the next top preference for students.

The representative survey of more than 140 universities and 2,000 students throughout the United Kingdom showed that because of the sharp rise in university fees, student expectations of the services and credentials of a university have risen too.

Some 28 per cent of those surveyed want improvement to

the catering facilities, with 22 per cent of students wanting to see upgrades of social areas such as bars, cafés and clubs run by the university. Twenty-one per cent want better IT facilities.

Student accommodation was another area in which UK students want to see improvement, with 18 per cent demanding better facilities.

This number increases to 28 per cent among non-EU students.

Peter Taylor, strategic development director at Sodexo, said: “Though this year’s UCAS statistics show that the number of admissions to UK universities has not decreased as predicted, the findings of the 2014 Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey suggest

that students are being more discerning and prudent in their choice of establishment.

“It will be vital for universities to take into consideration the holistic experience and environment they offer alongside its academic performance so as to ensure they appeal to students.

This will be particularly important as competition increases between institutions. Those universities, and their FM providers, that know what students want will be best placed to deal with the challenges and opportunities.”

Soxedo carries out the University Lifestyle Survey every two years in association with Times Higher Education.

FM SECTOR

SHUTTERSTOCK/ALAMY

UK FM sector set for more expansion this year Growth in the FM sector increased by almost £2.5 billion in 2013 in the UK and is set for more expansion this year, according to MTW Research’s latest report.

Although the number of FM companies has declined by 12 per cent in recent years, the industry is now experiencing growth on two fronts as both value and volume growth return to the market, the research says.

The research points to “a clear polarisation in terms of market trends for FM providers, with single service contractors focusing on value growth, whilst bundled service providers benefit from rising volume performance”.

Public sector cuts continue to www.fm-world.co.uk

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affect the FM market in 2014, particularly as the Communities and Local Government (CLG) budget is to be cut by 25 per cent in the next two years, the research says. But there are still opportunities for growth in the public sector as health and education spending is expected to rise in the next few years.

MTW Research, a specialist

independent publisher of market research and databases for the UK Construction & Building Products industry, published the report.

Mark Waddy, director of MTW, said: “For the first time since the recession of 2008/09 a larger proportion of FM providers reported growing sales than reported declining performance, illustrating that a backbone of strength is clearly evident.”

The research also suggests that FM providers are increasing their spending to enhance service provision. Contractors were becoming “increasingly sophisticated” in the use of new technology, boosting sales for a host of suppliers to the industry.

Commercial property values in the UK rose by 0.6 per cent in February, according to the IPD UK Monthly property index. Values have now risen by 5.7 per cent over the past 10 consecutive months, although they remain around 33 per cent below their 2007 peak levels, according to IPD UK. Commercial real estate rents rose by a further 0.1 per cent in February, and have now risen by 0.9 per cent over the past seven months, says the performance analyst. Offices and industrial units around the UK started to see improved performance when UK economic performance improved last year. Although retail returns have improved over the past six months, much of this growth is still restricted to London and the South-East.

Minimum wage set to rise The minimum wage will rise by 3 per cent to £6.50 an hour in October, business secretary Vince Cable has confirmed.

He said the government would accept the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendation for the rise. He said the rise would be likely to increase the number of jobs covered by the minimum wage by over a third to around one-and-a-quarter million.

High retail vacancy rates The retail landscape will need a huge readjustment if vacancy rates soar in the next decade, but it is “unlikely to be the Armageddon that has been reported”, according to attendees at a recent roundtable to discuss the issue.

The discussion, hosted by FM company Incentive FM Group, was based on figures by IPD warning that vacancy rates could be pushed to above 50 per cent by 2017. Attendees at the meeting thought vacancy rates would not be this high, but agreed that landlords would have to revise their expectations about the rents charged and the length of leases.

According to the discussion, this has happened in some secondary shopping centres, where landlords and managing agents have had to be increasingly flexible and accept that long leases are outdated.

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PROJECT OF THE

FORTNIGHT NEWS BULLETIN

Merged industry body gets forward-looking name

LASSWADE HIGH SCHOOL, MIDLOTHIAN, SCOTLAND DESIGN: Cooper Cromar Architects COMPLETION DATE: January 2014 VALUE: £37 million

IAIN MCLEAN

Lasswade is top of the class Building support services provider Arthur McKay has completed the mechanical and electrical engineering work to Lasswade High School in Midlothian in Scotland.

The school is a part of the £38m Lasswade Centre, which brings together community facilities such as gyms, meeting rooms, a library, pool and adult learning facilities and the school separately but together on the same site. The new campus combines the latest facilities and new technologies to support students in their studies. The building accommodates up to 1,480 pupils.

Arthur McKay installed all the mechanical, electrical and network services including water services, heating, cooling, ventilation, sprinkler system, CHP plant, lighting and emergency lighting, general power, external car park and street lighting, fire alarms, access, intruder and CCTV systems, public address, IT system, IP TV and telephone system.

The building is one of 67 school projects across Scotland participating in the government’s Scottish Futures Trust programme, an initiative to achieve more value for the money invested in new schools by the council through better, more intelligent collaboration. It was built in conjunction with BAM Construction.

BAM’s work included building a vast entrance with coloured windows, plasma screens, internet café and library. The outside of the building now has sections of brightly coloured blocks, pinpointing the different areas of the school.

The building has a gross internal floor area of 18,780 sq m. The teaching block consists of three levels with classrooms, including music studios, CDT, art, home economics, drama studios and common areas such as the assembly hall, which has bleacher seating to allow the space to be transformed into an auditorium with stage. In addition to the school, there are also areas for community use, a conference suite and a leisure centre, which includes a 25m, six-lane swimming pool, school and public changing rooms, a public library, gymnastics academy and gymnasium with state-of-the-art equipment, large and small sports hall, squash court and dance studios.

Midlothian Council has funded the community hub, aided by money from the Scottish Government’s Scottish Futures Trust.

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The body that has merged three industry organisations has been named The Building Futures Group.

The merged body brings sector skills council Asset Skills and trade bodies the Cleaning and Support Services Association (CSSA) and Facilities Management Association (FMA) under one umbrella.

The Building Futures Group aims to represent the housing, property, planning, cleaning, parking and FM sectors.

Sarah Bentley, chief executive of the Building Futures Group, told FM World: “We consciously took our time [choosing the name] because we have such a broad representation. Something specific to one industry would not have worked.”

The name connoted the building of young people’s careers and actual physical environments, reflecting the overall mission of the body, said Bentley.

The organisation’s primary aim would be to give the FM industry an increased profile and more visibility. Said Bentley: “We need more sector figureheads working with us and we will then make sure they have a voice.”

The body could also consider raising the profile of FM in schools as a part of its work, said Bentley. “There is a lack of understanding among young people as to what the sector is. It’s not as well promoted as it could be.”

Scape sets up new FM framework A national framework with an estimated value of between £1 billion to £1.5 billion is being procured to support public sector clients in delivering their facilities management requirements.

Public sector procurement body Scape is to manage the new FM framework. Scape is a local authority controlled company with Derby City, Derbyshire County, Gateshead, Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire County and Warwickshire County Councils as its shareholders. The organisation’s portfolio already contains national construction and professional services frameworks.

The aims of the framework are to provide public sector clients with the efficiency benefits of collaborative procurement while increasing quality, effectiveness and ensuring quicker practical service delivery.

Soft and hard facilities management services will be included in the framework, from building and management services, repair and maintenance services through to catering services, health and safety and grounds maintenance.

Government ‘clearly failing’ to manage contracts The government is “clearly failing” to manage the performance of the contracts into which they have entered, according to a select committee report into the contracting out of public services to the private sector.

The Public Accounts Committee slams the government’s handling of private sector contracts as “very weak”.

It cites as examples the poor performance of G4S in supplying security guards for the Olympics; Capita’s failure to deliver court translation services; issues with Atos’s work capability assessments; misreporting of out-ofhours GP services by Serco, and the more recent scandal of G4S and Serco overcharging for years on electronic tagging contracts.

The report states that these “high-profile failures illustrate contractors’ failure to live up to standards expected and have exposed serious weaknesses in the government’s capability in negotiating and managing private contracts on behalf of the taxpayer”.

Recommendations in the report include greater transparency and better contract management and delivery.

The committee’s report also points out that the contracting process excludes SMEs and this should not be the case as it has led to “the evolution of privately owned public monopolies, who largely, or in some cases wholly, rely on taxpayers’ money for their income”.

The government should also require accounting officers to take responsibility for and show leadership in relation to contract management, the report adds. www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 12:37

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THINK TANK

WE ASKED 100 FMS…

Not very important 48%

Quite important 21%

How important are zero-hour contracts to the functioning of the FM sector?

Zero-hour contracts have been in the news in recent months, with figures from the Office of National Statistics showing that use of them may have increased over the past year.

The zero-hour contract model enables organisations to call on a pool of reliable and experienced staff at short notice to cover peaks in demand or seasonal work, but without any obligation to use them. Critics say this gives workers little stability or security, and leaves such contracts open to exploitation. The practice of using the contracts holds down wage costs and increases convenience to employers. But such

contracts also allow businesses vital flexibility to respond to fluctuations in their workflows.

So should there be more checks in place before they are used?

Should FM be more visible in the debate about such contracts?

Most of those in the sector asked said they did not regard zero-hour contracts as very important. One respondent said although he accepted the logic of the zero-hour contract he noticed “a moral momentum building against the concept” because they do not always sit comfortably with CSR principles. He said: “If every effort was made to fully use those on zero hours across a

Very important to providing FM services in our organisation 31%

number of contracts it could mean less reluctance.”

Any employment contract with unilateral restrictive practices should be unwelcome, another FM said. “But zero-hour contracts in an employment market that is fragmenting are welcome,” he added, if they were implemented in an equitable way.

However, many remain cautious. Said one FM: “The contracts are very important and helpful, but I try to avoid them because I don’t like the principle for the employee.”

Such contracts establish “a clear split between those regarded as ‘in’ and those who are clearly

‘out’”, another FM said, making it hard for those “interchangeable” employees to feel any loyalty.

It also hurts youngsters entering sectors such as security.

“They are recruited, gain SIA, then sit unpaid on the bench waiting for an assignment that may never start,” said one respondent. Another said: “At a time when FM is seeking to professionalise its image, it is strange that it simultaneously introduces a mass unskilled labour employment technique.”

Join the FM World Think Tank LinkedIn group by visiting www.tinyurl.com/fmwthinktank

IMAGE SOURCE

Number of workers on zero-hour contracts rises The use of ‘zero-hour’ contracts has increased, according to figures published by the Office of National Statistics.

The number of employees on zero-hour contracts for October to December 2013 from the Labour Force Survey was 1.93 per cent, which is a substantial increase from 0.84 per cent at the same time a year earlier.

Zero-hour contracts are where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work.

These contracts are used to provide a flexible workforce to meet a temporary or changeable need for staff and are especially used in industries such as security.

But the ONS also pointed www.fm-world.co.uk

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out that this question depends on employees correctly understanding their terms of employment. Consequently, increased awareness of zerohour contracts among employees

may have affected how people responded following increased media coverage of the contracts in the latter half of 2013.

The ONS said employers are best placed to give accurate information about the employment terms of their workforce. So it has started to collect data to produce better statistics on this issue. The results of the employer-based estimates of zero-hour contracts are expected in April 2014.

Suzanne McMinn, head of HR at legal advisory body Workplace Law, said: “Rather than there being a steep increase in the number of zero-hour contracts as the report suggests, I believe that there is more recognition and ‘labelling’ as to what these arrangements are.

McMinn added: “The challenge for FMs has been – and continues to be – managing the needs of an ever increasingly flexible workforce.”

Andrew Mawson, managing director of consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates, said: “I am sure the numbers do reflect an increase.” But he added: “It would be good to see a breakdown of the numbers…

Certainly there are many more people at professional level on ‘fractional’ contracts where perhaps they are working for different firms in a consultancy style or working as interims.

Many people who ‘retire’ from traditional employment are moving to interim management often on three or four-day week contracts.”

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 09

20/03/2014 16:29

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ANALYSIS

Private sector still cashing in on outsourcing GRAEME DAVIES newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

The coalition government has handed vast swathes of public services over to private sector providers, with some still slated to be shifted out of public hands.

It is a process that began decades ago, but the ideologically driven ‘small state’ members of the Conservative Party are keen to see a more significant shrinkage in central government’s

involvement in service delivery.

Therefore many on the right of the coalition government will have been cheered by news that a monster £1.2 billion contract has been put up for tender by the NHS for private sector providers to bid to run all cancer and end-of-life treatment across Staffordshire and Stokeon-Trent. From diagnosis and treatment through to provision of surgery and hospice care,

private sector involvement could potentially be deeper than ever before. Private operators have been more involved in healthcare delivery, and for longer, than most outside of the sector realise.

But the handling of such depth of service delivery is unusual enough for these contracts to be given ‘pioneer status’ by the local NHS trust.

The process is in its early stages, and contracts will not begin until next July, but for many on the political left it signals the biggest move yet in the stealth privatisation of the NHS. Others will argue that the NHS, faced with a new funding regime under the Health and Social Care Act 2013 and needing to bridge what is expected to be a £30 billion shortfall in its budgets over the rest of this decade, just has to seek better value.

For private sector operators

Contract wins

NEW BUSINESS Bouygues Energies and Services is to provide facilities management services to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Bouygues is part of a consortium, Integrated Health Solutions Lothian, led by Brookfield Multiplex, which has been named as the preferred bidder for the construction and operation of the new facility.

Wirral-based B&M Waste Services has been awarded a renewed threeyear street sweeping contact by an East Midlands local authority. The six-figure deal with North Kesteven District Council will see B&M providing road sweeping and cleaning services throughout the East Midlands.

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Facilities services provider G4S has won a three-year contract to deliver healthcare cleaning services for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. G4S Integrated Services will provide cleaning services and housekeeping to the 500bed hospital in a deal worth almost £11 million, with an option to extend for a further two years.

Mitie has renewed a security contract with Eurotunnel for £12 million. Mitie’s total security management business was originally awarded the contract with Eurotunnel in 2010. The company was awarded the contract based on its technology-led innovations such as a traffic management system and realtime automated scheduling, which will increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

Cleaning services provider Churchill has extended its contract with the University of Leeds, which it has held since 2006. Churchill will continue to provide at least 1,000 cleaning hours a week delivered by a 45-strong housekeeping team. This is in addition to deep cleaning and servicing about 5,000 student rooms annually.

Aerospace business BAE Systems has awarded Elior UK a £25 million contract to deliver a range of catering and retail services across Portsmouth Naval Base. The five-year contract will support the base, home to two-thirds of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet and a number of commercial shore activities that are operated by BAE. Interserve’s security arm First Security has been awarded a security services contract with the BBC. This is the first time the BBC has chosen one national security provider, having previously split the service regionally. The three-year deal will see security personnel deliver services across the UK, including the Maida Vale Studios and Broadcasting House in London, and MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester.

who have long waited for such big contracts to begin to flow, this could represent a litmus test in their ability to deliver. It is unlikely that one operator will take the whole contract. It is envisaged that a core contractor will employ several subcontractors with the specialist skills to run each element of the service. And the contract may not end up in strictly ‘private’ hands as other NHS trusts and voluntary bodies are being encouraged to bid. Possible bidders include Virgin Healthcare, Circle, Capita and Care UK. Those businesses with experience in healthcare will get many more opportunities in the coming years, especially if the Conservatives form the next government from 2015.

Even between now and the next general election in May 2015, more significant contracts are expected; the usual slowdown of outsourcing in the months before an election is unlikely to happen this time as sections of the Conservative Party will keep pushing just in case they don’t get returned to power.

Labour’s alternative for the NHS has yet to be fleshed out.

It is unlikely to roll back much of what it would inherit, but it may apply the brakes to further privatisation if it takes power.

The decision to put the contract out to tender will help an embattled outsourcing sector that is still recovering from the damage done to its reputation

by G4S and Serco and their troubles in delivering some public sector contracts. Capita put a rosier gloss on things in its recent results, which saw it boast of winning £600 million worth of contracts out of £1 billion awarded since November.

Graeme Davies writes for Investors Chronicle

www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 11:51

G4S posts £100m-plus loss in wake of 2013 tagging woes G4S has published its preliminary results which show that it suffered a loss of more than £100 million in 2013.

The total loss for the year consisted of £116 million (compared with £56 million in 2012) owing to “discontinued operations” including a trading loss of £11 million, restructuring costs of £2 million and impairment of £103 million.

The company said it would refund the Ministry of Justice £96.4 million and reimburse it for costs of £12.5 million to settle claims arising from electronic monitoring services it provided between 2005 and 2013. Despite this, the firm’s underlying revenues did rise from 5.8 per cent to £7.43 billion in 2013.

Ashley Almanza, chief executive at G4S, said: “This has been an extremely challenging

G4S CEO Ashley Almanza says growing demand will see an upturn in fortunes

year for G4S. We have taken clear action to address long-standing issues and have introduced wideranging changes to strengthen our business. We can now look to the future with increasing confidence, focusing on the growing demand for G4S services that underpins

BUSINESS BRIEFS

our plans to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.”

Separately, G4S has also announced the appointment of Shaun Carroll as group procurement director, from 6 May. The post is a new role in G4S. Carroll will be responsible for organising the firm’s global procurement approach. He has led procurement departments for international services businesses, helping them to secure substantial savings, process improvements and integrity in the supply chain.

He joins from Johnson Controls Inc, where he was vice-president of solutions and supply chain. ● G4S has also been awarded a three-year contract with the Isle of Man’s Department of Economic Development to provide security, stewarding and support services for the world-famous Isle of Man TT Races.

REUTERS

Mitie appoints security head as part of restructure Mitie has recruited David Cookman to head its critical security environments portfolio.

The appointment is a part of the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing company’s aim to focus its expertise on managing delivery and growth in key sectors in the industry – in this case its total security management business.

Mitie’s CSE sector encompasses contracts within the critical national infrastructure (CNI), nuclear, defence, high-risk manufacturing, regulated environments, power generations, secure supply chain, and data centres and networks sub-sectors.

Cookman joined Mitie’s total www.fm-world.co.uk

10_11_BusinessNews.indd 11

David Cookman takes on CSE portfolio

security management business five years ago as the account director.

A company statement said Cookman’s “knowledge and experience in the industry have been instrumental in delivering effective security on major

accounts”. He will work with a specialist management team that has full operational management of the CSE portfolio from service delivery through to business continuity and disaster recovery.

David Cookman said: “My focus will be on working with and building the right team to ensure we provide exceptional service and expertise to our clients.

“Mitie’s approach to focusing on key sectors within its total security management business, like critical security environments, ensures that our teams have the right level of skills and knowledge to give peace of mind to our clients that they are in safe hands.”

Chappell new TC chief exec TC Facilities Management has announced several changes to its executive board, including the appointment of Richard Chappell as its new chief executive officer.

Incumbent Paul Kennedy is to become executive chairman.

Keith French has been appointed to the board as strategic development director.

Chappell joins TC Facilities Management from the Impellam Group, where he spent 16 years in several senior management roles, including managing director of Carlisle Security and four years as chief executive at Carlisle Support Services.

Kier in £102m council deal Construction, services and property group Kier has been appointed to provide repairs and maintenance services to Sheffield City Council tenants and around 2,200 leaseholders in a contract worth £102 million.

The three-year deal has an option to extend for a further two years. The new contract with Kier Services covers emergency repairs and general maintenance, as well as repairs to gas and electrics, heating, lifts and stair lifts. It also covers the maintenance of unadopted highways, footpaths and car parks.

ISS sets share price Danish-based FM services provider ISS A/S has announced that its offering will be set at DKK160 (£17.93) a share.

In a statement, the company said that it was “a strong player in a large but fragmented global facilities market estimated at USD 1 trillion (£600.24 billion) and the potential of integrated services is enormous”.

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 11

20/03/2014 11:52

FM BUSINESS IN FOCUS

THE ISSUE: The state of the Irish market for FM services today after the dramatic financial collapse of 2008

transactions being agreed since January. “Should this trend continue we are likely to see a parallel increase in activity in the FM marketplace,” says Gaughan.

THE INTERVIEWEE: Pat Gaughan, associate director CBRE Ireland and deputy chair, BIFM Ireland Region (South)

Celtic tiger is roaring back

FENNELL PHOTOGRAPHY

Ireland’s ‘Celtic tiger’ years up to 2008 were dominated by a strong reliance on the construction industry coupled with cheap and easy access to credit from the financial sector. Light-touch regulation of banks by the Irish government ensured that an economic soft landing never materialised. On the contrary, the Irish economy declined rapidly.

For Pat Gaughan, who joined CBRE just as the market turned, the consequences for the FM sector were significant. “Industries associated with construction were beset by labour shortages, particularly those in M&E, where high wages were the order of the day,” he says. “The result for the Irish FM industry was an overinflated cost in service delivery, borne principally by clients.”

Big boys making noise Before 2008 there were a large number of Irish players in outsourcing, but this changed.

Gaughan says: “The larger FM brands started to take a bigger interest in what was happening in Ireland as the smaller indigenous companies started to struggle.

Examples include Vector and Irish Real Estate Management, which was taken over by Aramark in 2009. Noonans, while still retaining its name, was bought out

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by Alchemy at the end of 2008 and IFMS, whose main business was in the financial sector, was subsumed into Bilfinger. Names such as Tramtrax and BSFM are also now a distant memory.”

Multinationals are now at the fore in the FM outsourced industry, a position reinforced when CBRE bought Norland.

“The private sector has seen a growth in global contracts and framework agreements,” says Gaughan. “Larger FM firms have dominated the outsourcing bids...

Key players include CBRE, JLL, Johnson controls and ISS. Others include OCS, Aramark, Bilfinger, Cushman & Wakefield, Sodexo, Compass, Mitie, and CBRE Norland. The spate of takeovers in the FM market has seen the reduction in the number of smaller players and it’s envisaged that this trend will continue.”

But within niche markets some green shoots have developed for indigenous service providers such as Accent Solutions, headed by Martin McMahon, which entered the fray in 2012. In its bi-monthly report for 2014, CBRE reported buoyant activity in all sectors of the Irish commercial property market since the start of the year, fuelled largely by a carryover of property transactions from last year with several large portfolios

of assets and loans being released for sale at the end of 2013 and being traded during January and February.

Marie Hunt, executive director and head of research at CBRE Ireland, says: “We experienced the busiest January and February in the Irish commercial property market in many years. In addition to a number of new assets being released for sale since the start of the year, demand in the investment sector continues, with no let-up in demand from domestic and international investors for the various assets and loan portfolios being released to the market for sale. A number of investors appear to be more confident about opportunities outside the core Dublin market.”

Activity in all of the occupier markets is reported as strong as economic prospects improve.

Having achieved strong takeup of almost 171,000m2 in 184 individual transactions in 2013, the first two months of 2014 proved equally solid in the Dublin office market with a number of

Positive change A survey by the BIFM’s Ireland region has highlighted positivity about the market. Seventy-three per cent of those FM professionals surveyed believe that the sector has grown in the past three to five years, with marked changes resulting from the increase in both private and public sector bodies choosing to outsource FM needs.

“FM in Ireland has also developed in terms of the types of services and functions it incorporates,” says Gaughan. “It’s become one of the core competencies for many Irish organisations.“ The survey also highlighted the issues that FM professionals want addressed to drive growth; 78 per cent say FM as a career choice has increased but that more can be done to bring in skilled workers. Participants indicated that there are limited courses for the sector and that owing to some firms employing underskilled workers, this does affect growth.

Gaughan is keen to promote the networking opportunities afforded by the BIFM’s year-old Ireland South regional group.

“We have events every six to eight weeks, each showcasing a unique Irish building such as Google’s HQ, the National Gallery and the General Post Office building. We have a sustainability event on 31 March and we’re committed to allowing our members to share best practice within the FM sector.”

“We’re committed to allowing members to share best practice within the FM sector” www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 09:46

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p13_FMW270314.indd 2

17/03/2014 15:09

FM OPINION THE DIARY COLUMN SIMON FRANCIS

“WE ARE PUTTING ABOUT 90 OF OUR FACILITIES ASSISTANTS THROUGH THE ENERGY MANAGERS’ ASSOCIATION’S ENERGY AWARENESS LEVEL 1 COURSE”

Local Authority

With the inexorable rise of energy costs only likely to be exacerbated by events in the Ukraine, the need for FMs to manage the energy use in their buildings has never been more pressing. Some experts say energy costs will double over the next five years. Our budgets will not rise in line with these costs.

To help us drive down energy usage in the university we are trying to harness the talents of our frontline staff to manage our buildings in a more sustainable

way. We are putting about 90 of our facilities assistants through the Energy Managers’ Association’s (EMA) energy awareness level 1 course.

This has taken the form of an online training programme, which can be taken in one sitting or by dipping in and out of various modules. The course was designed with our external provider to be bespoke to the university.

The intention is not just to give staff an awareness of how our

FM Consultant

Simon Francis is senior facilities manager at the University of the Arts London

R EDU CIN G EN E RGY CO N S UM P T I O N

t is a truth universally acknowledged that I a facilities manager in possession of a utilities budget must be in want of measures to help reduce consumption

NHS Trust

buildings are powered, how energy management legislation affects us, and how building use affects consumption, but of what they can do to influence their university colleagues’ use of our buildings to cut energy usage.

Not only will investing in this training make us one of the first of EMA’s “Low Energy Companies”, but it should see a positive impact on our energy use.

My energy and environmental management colleagues have put in place a vastly improved monitoring and targeting regime for energy use in the past year, and we hope to be able to prove the impact of the training.

Now most staff have done the course we must harness their new

skills and translate them into energy savings. Trialling an energy use reduction campaign at one of our sites earlier in the year led to a 20 per cent cut in consumption. I mean to replicate this trial across the estate. We also introduced a heating and cooling policy with the intention of driving down energy use (by, for example, clearly stating that we will not cool below 24°C in summer) and have been looking at ways of either using our buildings in a more sustainable way or retrofitting them with more efficient plant. I hope we have given our junior staff the tools to be a part of this cultural shift.

BEST OF THE WEB Views and comments from across the web As a facilities manager, what recurring problems do you find yourself spending the most time and resources on? (FM group) Valentin Boyanov: I think

as always human errors are mostly presented in all activities. So training people is the most important counter-action.

James Madigan: Putting out fires – figuratively speaking, of course. No matter how well planned your day or week might 14 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

14_Opinion.indd 14

be, there is always something to throw it off.

I spend a lot of my time realigning priorities and budget.

Lori Steen: We spend our day juggling from one act to another. I think because of the juggling stress we endure, communication and clarity become blurred lines. Many of us FM professionals develop solid budgets, training programmes and processes. And then “things” happen. This is

when the juggling act begins.

Stories of neglect. What have you seen as a facilities manager that has been a result of poor maintenance?

Ray Cleroux: One of the

worst signs of neglect I ran into several years ago was a building that had no water treatment for their closed loop system probably from day one.

This resulted in poor heat/cooling transfer in tenant spaces and frozen

pipes in the winter from a lack of water flowing through them.

Eugene Stahl: One situation I ran into was “maintenance by fire hose”. The maintenance manager sincerely believed that if it wasn’t broke, he didn’t need to fix anything. And, of course, as luck would have it, everything broke at the same time, despite MULTIPLE warnings (leaks, rattles, metal shavings, etc) over several years.

How do you make a relocation project a success? (BIFM group) Brendan Carson: A

comms plan is essential.

Your message needs to be clear about the business rationale and benefits, but also the benefit to the affected teams. Be open about negatives and manage expectations.

Lucie Martin: It’s useful to have a floor plan on each floor of where people are sitting so that the movers and IT know where each person should be. www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 09:46

You can follow us at twitter.com/FM_World facebook.com/FMWorldMagazine

BEST OF THE

FMWORLD BLOGS Open-plan is not always from Hell Kerstin Sailer, spaceandorganisation The open-plan office has taken a battering in the media and in academic circles with a paper by Kim and De Dear (2013) in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, where it was argued that open layouts fared worse than enclosed ones on noise, and sound and visual privacy. But open-plan can work well if two vital criteria are met: 1. The office layout has to suit the work of its occupants. I observed a radio station in the UK where half of the staff were talking at once. Open-plan suits this co-ordinationintensive business. And visual and acoustic transparency let traders to know what is happening in other markets. In contrast, enclosed offices work well for academics.

2. The open office has to be well designed. Open-plan offices vary significantly on floor size, density of workspace, and proximity to other sources of noise.

By looking at a sample of 40.000 occupant ratings from the Post-Occupancy database of the Center of the Built Environment at the University of California Berkeley, Kim and De Dear were able to identify trends and rigorously test results.

But both criteria above are not considered well enough in the analysis. First, by failing to differentiate by industry and control for the standard work of office workers, results could be misleading. Dissatisfaction may stem from a mismatch between cultures and office configuration. Second, due to its statistical nature the study fails to consider the detailed configuration of open-plan offices. The differences between cubicles and open-plan are reflected in the satisfaction rating in the report; cubicles fared worse than open-plan. Still, what is missing even from Kim & De Dear’s analysis is an appreciation of the differences in layouts. Essentially open-plan is unequal to open-plan.

Read the article in full at www.tinyurl.com/pvssen7

What are we working for?

Simon Kuper, FT.com Hard-working Asian kids will “eat our lunch”, predicts Thomas Friedman, the pundit who articulates mainstream US anxieties. Last year’s Pisa test scores, showing Asian kids extending their lead over Western children, helped spread this. But it’s not true.

We don’t need to work harder. Instead, we will continue our trend of working less, and Asians are starting to follow us. Westerners used to work hard too. Workers in the Industrial Revolution put in seven-day weeks. Today’s Chinese and Koreans work hard not because of Asian values. Rather, people tend to work hard when they are poor and then suddenly enter a system that lets them get richer through hard work. It happened in post-war Germany and to US immigrants. But once people have money, they want to chill. Asians in Asia are starting to chill, too. Now middle class, they are getting fed up with overwork. South Korean kids topped the Pisa test rankings but ranked bottom in the developed world for happiness. Now Korea’s government shuts schools and workplaces on Saturdays. China and Thailand are limiting homework. Japan has slackened off. Working hours have dropped after 20 years of economic stagnation and government regulation. In Bending Adversity, David Pilling’s book on Japan, young Yoshi Ishikawa says: “Our fathers worked such long hours. Families in those days led separate lives. Maybe we are asking ourselves, ‘What are we working for?’”

Capitalists may regret this but it’s a fact that has consequences for work hours. Men and women now want to combine work with raising kids. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg urges women to “lean in” at work. But my generation of fathers is increasingly “leaning out”. Both West and East are seeking that awkward balance between office and home.

Read the article in full at www.tinyurl.com/o2p32fl

www.fm-world.co.uk

15_Opinion.indd 15

FIVE MINUTES WITH NAME: Alan Williams JOB TITLE: Director, Servicebrand Global

Brand, employee and customer can be owned by different functions in the organisation. They sometimes all devise their own strategies, and are thene surprised when it doesn’t work.

Unless an organisation explains what it expects from its employees in terms of behaviour, its core values will be open to varied interpretation. If you inform and advise people of the style in which they are expected to behave you can then trust them to take the right course of action.

FM is the face of the organisation. The way people are treated at work has a significant impact on how they are going to perceive the organisation.

A customer at a hotel arrived late one evening, forgetting his business suit. The night porter on duty saw that they were a similar size and offered to collect his own suit from home to lend.

Someone arrived at an office for a meeting with their small terrier. The receptionist asked for the terrier to be put in front of the camera, asked for his name and printed off a name badge.

Corporate literature can say anything, but you have to follow that up with practical experiences. It’s the small details that people will remember rather than the corporate messaging.

Social media is a help and a hindrance to the perception of your organisation. Good and bad experiences can be shared with the world so quickly.

Organisations are no longer what they say they are, but what other people, including employees, say they are.

“People don’t always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you made them feel” – author Maya Angelou.

Applying this to your approach to service and the way your organisation operates is simple, but effective.

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 15

20/03/2014 11:51

FM EVENT MEFMA CONFERENCE 2014

Below left: Liz Kentish, deputy chair of BIFM and event facilitator, with MEFMA director Ali Al Suwaidi

TALL, NEW… GREEN?

ALAMY

David Kentish, director of Kentish & Co, reports from the MEFMA conference in Dubai on how sustainability and standards are making their way up the Middle East FM agenda

Welcome to Dubai, where there’s a world record on every corner for the tallest, the biggest, the fastest or newest. Yet 40 years ago this was all desert. What’s been achieved in this short time is incredible; a city built on a dream and financed by oil. Not a single building from those days is still standing as new technology and improved materials have led to new structures replacing the old.

Refurbishment and FM has, in the past, had a very low priority.

But times are changing and MEFMA (the Middle East Facility Management Association), which has only existed for four years, is leading the charge. Having the tallest, biggest, fastest or newest is still important, but now the buzzwords are sustainability, innovation, smart technology, energy efficiency, and leadership.

MEFMA is compiling a standards guideline strategy with a view to guaranteeing not just the quality of build and materials, but all aspects of a structure’s lifecycle.

MEFMA president Jamal Lootah, opening the conference, set the scene by thanking sponsors and saying that if all stakeholders worked to share their knowledge it would enable standards to be agreed.

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MEFMA came about after Dubai was hit by the financial crisis of 2007/2008. Lootah said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates, and king of Dubai, told him that instead of seeing this as a crisis it should be viewed as an opportunity to make Dubai a “smart city” linking technology to infrastructure.

Working on a dream Ali Al Suwaidi, a director of MEFMA, is one of the main promoters of best practice and building standards, including planned FM for all buildings. He was senior director of operations for the construction of the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building) and at MEFMA he spoke passionately about the need to

The event attracted a global audience

adopt standards, explaining the MEFMA rating system of 1-5 stars and how this would be measured.

The key to all this is for FM to be involved with constructors and building owners at the development stage, to share in the vision of the building with all stakeholders, from financier to the end user. The need for a strategic asset management plan is now imperative, he said.

MEFMA used the conference to announce the launch of an official publication, Facility Insights, which will publish in May and bi-monthly from thereon. Judging from the conversations at this event, there is not likely to be any

shortage of information to make each issue relevant.

Other speakers spoke of “asset value”, bringing to light the thing that’s been missing so far – sustainability. Meshal Al Shamari, director of Qatar’s green building council, spoke of an increasing demand for eco-friendly materials and how green buildings could save energy, cut operating costs and improve workplace productivity and health, giving a greater return on a company’s key asset, its staff.

In Dubai, air quality is very important. Most people spend up to 90 per cent of their time indoors, and the air quality inside www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 16:45

MEFMA CONFERENCE 2014

The Address Hotel Dubai Marina, venue for the third MEFMA annual Confex entitled Spotlight on the Region’s Constant Expansion

buildings can be more dangerous than the air outside. Increased initial costs in dealing with the need to improve air conditioning systems would nevertheless result in big benefits, not least increased asset values. Additional upfront costs are offset by a decrease in long-term life cycle costs and should be viewed as an investment into the asset, not a cost.

The call for a reduction in energy consumption by buildings was cited repeatedly at the conference, and one thing became very clear as the event progressed; more people here now believe that energy-efficient technology will play an increasing www.fm-world.co.uk

16-17 FM event.indd 017

“Even the taps in washrooms will have their own IP addresses and will email the helpdesk or an engineer to inform them that they must be fixed”

role in local projects.

In Dubai, as elsewhere, sensors are used routinely on equipment to send information on performance. But “the internet of things” will eventually see everything, even the taps in washrooms, having their own IP addresses and informing the helpdesk or engineer by email that they must be fixed. As with elsewhere, the need is for FMs to understand and embrace the technology.

One thing that’s far less prominent in Dubai and the Middle East generally is talk about building information modelling (BIM). Over here, the best that can be achieved in the short term is to enable buildings to be more intelligent, a theme summed up in a phrase used by Sam Bose, CEO of intelliSense.io: “Retrofitting brains into a dumb asset“ – the retrofitting of wireless sensors to help cut energy costs.

There were differing views on what constitutes “building and FM standards”. Abdel Nasser Taha, architectural consultant and development director of Emaar Egypt, spoke about the political economy of energy and how much this plays a role in infrastructure. ”Who should FMs approach to get across the benefits of sustainable buildings? The buyer, who is paying for the building, or the developer?” he asked. In his view it’s the developer – because the developer can show the value to the buyer and say, “don’t build bigger, build better; instead of quantity, choose quality”.

The region is growing, but growth differs in each country.

The amount of proposed investment on infrastructure was underlined when two speakers from Saudi Arabia, Dr Mohammed Abdul-Azis Al-Fouzan and Dr Zohir Mohammed Al-Sarraj, chair and vice-chair of OMAINTEC, spoke about what was happening there. $50 billion is to be spent on

education and medical services, 100 colleges and universities.

Then there’s $66 billion for the Riyadh metro, Kingdom Tower, and King Abdullah Financial District (34 towers and a marina).

In Saudi Arabia, the ministry of labour gives final authority on which builders and FM providers get a licence to work. One train of thought is that the contractor should also maintain the building.

Delegates were unanimous in wanting standard guidelines, but there was discussion about how this could be enforced as there is no legal pressure on builders to build to an approved standard.

It was suggested that guidelines and standards would be taken on board as the market demands – when firms start looking to rent buildings with high star ratings.

Contractors will then look to have better ratings than their rivals.

Providing leadership Management training was also high on the agenda at MEFMA. Not all ideas for innovation in the FM service make it to fruition, said Jason Ruehland of Emrill Services, but you should never stop your staff trying – because innovative ideas can make a substantial impact on your service to clients. Event facilitator Liz Kentish spoke of the benefits of less F (facilities) and more M (management) and why a need existed to focus more on management skills and the language of business.

MEFMA’s determination to establish standards was evident throughout this event; the issue is in ensuring such standards meet the needs of all parties. The norm in the Middle East has always been “build it big and build it quick”, so these standards will take time to gain ground. Yet they will, as investors seek assets of long term value – and that means FM becoming increasingly important.

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 17

20/03/2014 16:46

FM FEATURE

EXCEL LONDON

MARTIN READ

ExCeL London will host this year’s Facilities Show in twelve weeks’ time. But this multifaceted venue is a colourful case study in facilities management itself, as Martin Read reports

ALAMY

EVENT HORIZON 18 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

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www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 15:36

EXCEL LONDON

I

t took time for London ExCeL, the conference and exhibition centre opened in London’s Docklands at the turn of the millennium, to find its feet. Detractors thought visitors would baulk at travelling so far from the centre of the capital when alternative venues were still available.

Yet being on a 100-acre site on the northern quay of London’s Royal Dock, ExCeL was always two things that its competitors weren’t: fit for 21st century event purpose, and remarkably well connected by road, rail and air (London’s City Airport, for example, is just across the dock).

They built it, and gradually, organisers began to come.

It took a few years for people to get used to the idea of ExCeL, but by the mid-2000s

www.fm-world.co.uk

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the tide had turned.

In the 14 years since it opened, London ExCeL has lured big shows and events away from other venues in London and beyond (Facilities Show being a particularly pertinent case), while taking on new duties not considered by its architects. In May 2008, the venue was acquired

by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company and two years later ExCeL London Phase II – an expansion of the original building to create the international convention centre for London – added yet more event and meeting space as well as new banqueting facilities.

Enterprise zone ExCeL London’s operations director Brian Cole has been with the organisation since

1999, just before its opening, after 17 years with Olympia. Over the years he’s been promoted through the ranks, having joined initially to cover a health and safety brief.

Cole has seen plenty of change, particularly in the way facilities services are managed.

When he started, ExCeL stood alone (“it was just a big, muddy field,” says Cole. “Then, a Novotel was erected and today there are seven hotels in walking distance from here. With the other new developments just offsite, the whole place is changing”.

An Asian Business Port just to ExCeL’s east will be a massive development. Silvertown Quays, a new-tech village, is due for construction just across the dock, while improved transport links include a station on London’s Crossrail network.

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 19

20/03/2014 15:37

FM FEATURE

EXCEL LONDON

Our visit coincides with the end of Ecobuild and the beginning of Oceanology International 2014. For event venues, customers come in three distinct flavours: the organisers (who rent out the space), the exhibitors (who pay the organisers for space), and the the event’s visitors. Weaving the provision of cleaning, catering, security, car park management and engineering maintenance around these various groups can be a challenge, and one perhaps more difficult still when thirdparty providers are delivering the services. Not that this is an issue at ExCeL as most FM services were to be brought back in-house in a five-year exercise that started in 2005, five years after the venue opened.

ALAMY

In-house teamwork In the beginning all services were outsourced as individual services.

The venue’s management team included the many contract managers from firms contracted to provide the services.

Yet after just four years of operation, the former venue owners decided that this model was failing. Today the situation is reversed; most FM services are managed and delivered by Cole’s own in-house teams. “It was never our plan to in-source everything; that’s just how we’ve ended up,” says Cole. “We started by bringing in security and cleaning, and that worked really well. The service improved and staff were a lot happier.”

Soon ExCeL was seeking to internalise most of its FM services. “It was a long process,” says Cole, “but the last service we brought back in – building engineering services – went live in 2009. Each time we brought a service back in we were able to recognise a decent cost saving.

We outsource very little now.”

For Cole, the key to the success

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MARTIN READ

“You never get to the point where you think everything’s just ticking over nicely. There’s always a new challenge.

Recently we changed all the lights to LED”

of bringing FM back in-house has been in the happiness of both staff and customer.

“We’ve had feedback that the service we’re delivering is a lot better and the staff – for some reason, even though in some cases such as engineering they’d been working here for up to 10 years – have told us that when they were in-sourced they just felt a lot happier.

“We always worked as one team to deliver a service, but somehow being in-sourced just made them feel like they belonged. You could see that they really took ownership.

“In each case we planned to provide the service at the same cost as the outsourced provider, but in fact we’ve always seemed to make quite a saving.”

But one main facilities service remains outsourced. Leiths (part of the Compass Group) provides all the catering in the conference areas and exhibition halls.

Initially 64,000 sq m, the 2010 extension increased ExCeL’s capacity by a third to 100,000 sq m. Movable walls that fix from floor to ceiling make the space very flexible throughout the facility, while in the extension the movable walls allow organisers to flex the space depending on whether there is a requirement for a conference, exhibition, dining, awards or break-out areas.

“We’ve got an auditorium with 5,000 seats, we’ve got retractable seats; we can make the venue adapt to exactly how the customer needs it to work,” says Cole.

ExCeL’s in-house security department looks after the venue and the wider estate, and a service partner provides security labour for events. Organisers can also bring in their own security staff if they prefer.

“I was in health and safety at first, then I was health, safety,

Multipurpose event halls offer a blank canvas for everything from exhibitions and conferences to annual meetings, gala dinners, launches and examinations.

Top: The 2010 ISS extension

FM QUICK FACTS

100,000 sq m

ExCeL’s increased capacity after the 2010 extension www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 16:01

EXCEL LONDON

For operations director Brian Cole (below) in-sourcing FM has been a win-win move for staff and clients

Caption to go in this space in here please in here thansk

security and medical, and my role gradually developed from there. When you look at most individuals within the management team now, most typically started in a different role. When a new role is created we always look around internally to see if we’ve got someone with the skills already.

“We’ve certainly got a oneteam mentality and we work closely together on a daily basis.

We all know that co-ordination is the key. For example, if the riggers need to get in to a hall, then the cleaning manager will know that the area needs to be cleared quickly. This ethos extends to how we work with our clients. Our goal is to make every event a success; you could say we take every event to heart.”

Cole’s internal teams are augmented by agency workers

ExCeL’s vast halls can be set up for events of all sizes www.fm-world.co.uk

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for larger events, particularly for cleaning and traffic management, where numbers can flex up and down considerably. In fact, two local agencies are based in ExCeL. ExCeL has an engineering team that concentrates on maintenance, inspection, testing and repairs. There’s a separate fabric team that looks after the fabric of the building, covering everything from painting to door handles to carpentry.

Preventative maintenance is planned around the events schedule. After each show, any minor issues are dealt with before the next organiser arrives.

“You never get to the point where you think everything’s just ticking over nicely,” says Cole, “there’s always a new challenge.

Recently, we changed all the lighting in the halls to LED. That investment was more than £1

million, but over four years we’ll have a payback and the new lights are individually switchable; we can dim every light to save energy, as well as set it up for the specific needs of each exhibitor.”

Traffic management is an understandably significant part of the operation. “We have systems where we can get delivery vehicles in and out as quickly as possible,” says Cole.

“We plan every event with the organisers to make sure of a smooth traffic flow. If they don’t want to open the doors until 8am because of the cost of security, we’ll work with them to manage the contractors who arrive early to avoid traffic. We’ll do everything we can to keep the event on schedule.”

Host of opportunities ExCeL’s customers are certainly varied; events such as the Motorbike Show, Outdoor World (all about cycling, triathlons and swimming), and a deep-sea diving show all happen on the same weekend. Indeed, ExCeL’s location on Londn’s Royal Dock has helped it win events such as Oceanology International and the Boat Show, where vessels are docked so that people can walk around and get on them as part of the show experience. There have even been military events and a helicopter show, which proved a great success with the venue’s east car park used for take-off and landing (after permission had been obtained).

ExCeL will host 85 exhibitions this year, as well as conferences, meetings and even exams. The total number of events rises each year. “There’s freedom to expand the number of events we put on,” says Cole.

“With new events we look at the size of the event, what they plan to have going on, hold pre-planning meetings with the organisers and from that assess FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 21

20/03/2014 15:37

FM FEATURE

EXCEL LONDON

MARTIN READ

DISTRICT HEATING HUB ofely, one of the UK’s largest suppliers of district heating technology, recently purchased the energy centre connected to ExCeL in a deal that includes a 40-year energy services contract with ExCeL to supply heat, chilled water and CHP-generated electricity to the venue.

The deal resulted from conversations between the venue and other potential waste-to-energy solutions.

Says Brian Cole: “We saw Simon Woodward (Cofely District Energy’s chief executive) talking about district heating energy at a conference, and at the time we were looking at waste-to-energy options, so we contacted him. He showed us around the district heating energy system in the Olympic Park and that’s how negotiations began.”

Cofely’s UK chairman Wilfrid Petrie has claimed that the acquisition will have “enormous significance” for the low carbon regeneration of East London, and the Mayor of London’s wider heat strategy.

Cofely intends to link the centre to its existing district energy network at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.

The ExCeL energy centre currently has the capacity for 18MW of heating and 5MW of cooling, but the envelope of the building can contain significantly more plant and was built to supply energy to the wider area.

Initially, Cofely will install 2.6MW of combined heat and power (CHP), as well as additional cooling plant. When connected to the existing network owned and operated

by Cofely in East London, the resulting 230MW of heating capacity will be sufficient to heat the equivalent of 45,000 homes, This will enable the network to serve additional hotels, offices and homes as the area is regenerated over the next 20 years. ExCeL London also has two emergency generators capable of supplying 7MW of power.

Cofely is talking to the owners of the forthcoming Asian Business Port to supply heat to them, and the company is also talking to the developers of other forthcoming hotels and apartments.

C

data such as traffic figures, visitor and exhibitor numbers and start planning from there.

We learn very quickly and then, for the following year we have a platform to work on.”

Legal and accounting professional bodies rent out the halls to hold exams.

“Those organisations need a big space and one that’s got to be quiet. The movable walls help, with each able to about 45/50dB sound reduction, but it’s all got to be planned. They all break for an hour between exams, so we have to have catering set up to serve 6,000 people really quickly.”

ExCeL has 4,000 on-site car parking spaces, and for particularly busy events there are other local sites that can be hired as overflow space. Cole and his team also meet regularly with managers of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), where they talk probable visitor numbers and level of service. “We have a very good relationship with them, and with Transport for London (TfL).”

ExCeL’s service is independently audited annually.

“Every service we provide is scored out of 10 and last year the overall score was 89 per cent. And over the past three to five years it’s steadily increased.” For event venues, says Cole, any figure over 80 per cent is exceptional.

Olympic effort ExCeL’s role as one of the principal locations for the 22 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

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London Olympics put the venue on the international map. Today, more events are held at ExCeL as a result of the international exposure. For the Olympics, the flexible hall space was used to its maximum extent, divided to create five sports halls to accommodate boxing, fencing, judo, Taekwondo, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling as well as hosting six Paralympic equivalents. A total of 14 events were staged in ExCeL’s halls, and a tribute commemorates the events and the British gold medals won at ExCeL. “We were told that ExCeL was the most complicated Olympic venue ever,” says Cole.

“Sometimes we had five events running consecutively, as well as the transport hub, and with sport you often don’t know when they’re going to finish. We had to consider how we emptied one arena and then filled it for the next event, keeping the crowd flowing. You can just imagine if you’d queued for two hours to get to an event and missed the beginning that would have reflected so badly on ExCeL.” And Cole has no plans to move on yet. “This is a great company to work for,” he says.

“Staff turnover is under 10 per cent for the whole company, and in facilities and operations the figure is even less. It’s a great atmosphere to work in and a place that literally changes every few days.” FM

“We were told that ExCeL was the most complicated Olympic venue ever. Sometimes we had five events running consecutively” www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 15:37

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17/03/2014 17:03

FM FEATURE

WAR MEMORIALS

FRANCES MORETON

FOR THE FALLEN A hundred years on from Britain’s entry into the Great War, the nation’s memorials are under threat as never before from vandalism, accidents, erosion – and corporate change. Here, Frances Moreton, director of the War Memorials Trust, explains how FMs can be guardians of remembrance

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M

emorials will be a focal point for activities across the country this year as communities mark the centenary of the First World War, paying tribute to those who served and, in particular, those who died.

Those communities will take many different forms, not just geographical, and will include companies, workplaces, schools and institutions that erected memorials to remember their people.

It is an opportunity not only to pay our respects, but also ensure that all our war memorials are in the best possible condition for events in the next few years and for many years ahead.

War memorials are often assumed to be the cenotaphs or crosses seen on village greens or in town centres, but they are far more varied and diverse than that.

Plaques, stained-glass windows, buildings, lychgates, benches and clocks are just some of the forms they take. They can be found inside and outside; in public spaces, community buildings, schools or in commercial

premises. Many will be within facilities managed and staffed by readers of this publication. Are those memorials ready for the centenary?

Safeguarding our heritage War Memorials Trust is the charity that works for the protection and conservation of war memorials in the UK. It provides advice and information on a range of war memorials issues as well as managing grants schemes that can help repair and preserve war memorials. In addition, it has an educational programme for young people recognising the importance of ensuring that tomorrow’s custodians understand the importance of our war memorial heritage.

One of the trust’s key centenary initiatives is War Memorials Online (www. warmemorialsonline.org.uk), supported by English Heritage, Historic Scotland and Cadw.

This website is seeking to create a greater understanding of the condition of our war memorials.

Anyone can register and upload information on war memorials and their condition. They can share locations, add photographs and suggest custodian details.

It is an opportunity to identify those memorials in poor or bad condition that need attention as well as to celebrate those memorial custodians who are doing a wonderful job in cherishing this aspect of British history.

Many facilities will have war memorials and we would encourage you to ensure that the details of war memorials you know about, or are responsible for, are added to War Memorials Online to help build that national condition picture. Sharing this information will ensure that those memorials from companies, workplaces and schools, www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 10:02

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20/03/2014 10:02

FM FEATURE

WAR MEMORIALS

FRANCES MORETON

Conserving memorials incorporated into buildings can be a problem when properties change hands

which can often be forgotten when people think about war memorials, are recognised and their condition is known.

Going forward, it is hoped that custodians and the public will regularly update this information, helping to build an understanding of the state of war memorials over time and make sure that potential problems are spotted early and action is taken to maintain them in the best possible condition.

Reporting conditions Any memorial reported through the website as being in poor or very bad condition, or any concern highlighted, is passed to the trust’s conservation team to investigate. The team comprises conservation officers who manage our casework, grants schemes and policy work.

There are 100,000 war memorials in the UK and four members in the team; it is a challenge but a combination of direct advice and a comprehensive website offering helps ensure that people can get the right information.

Although each war memorial has to be assessed on an individual basis because of their variety, there are common issues facing custodians upon which the charity regularly provides advice.

The biggest threat to memorials is the simple process of ageing – often exacerbated for those outside by weathering.

These need to be regularly monitored and good photographic records kept of them over time.

That way, if work is required features, inscriptions and names are recorded and can be preserved to maximise the longevity of the memorial.

ALAMY/FLICKR

A fine balance Another issue faced by many custodians is dealing with earlier over-cleaning. There is a debate over how clean memorials should

26 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

24-27 War memorials.indd 26

look and getting a balance between the age of materials and people’s expectations can be a challenge. But it is important to remember that the more often it is cleaned the more material is removed. In addition, some cleaning products and techniques will potentially introduce chemicals or damaging treatment.

These methods may produce spectacular short-term results but cause long-term damage.

For example, high-powered jet washing is often considered for stone memorials. But such a system can cause indents in the stone that speed up the rate at which it deteriorates because its top layer has been damaged and will disintegrate quicker.

Another challenge facing those caring for memorials is the issue

of relocation. When buildings close or their purpose changes, war memorials can be forgotten, damaged or destroyed. One such case is the memorial shown in pieces on page 28. It was removed when a building was renovated and the pieces were found dumped. The trust worked with others to rescue and repair it so it is now on display again as a fitting tribute.

If building closure or change is being considered the trust encourages people to think about memorials as early as possible.

Relocation should really be a last resort, particularly with complex or freestanding memorials, but may occasionally be undertaken. It is worth considering if a company is moving whether the memorial

has more meaning with the organisation or with the location. This may vary and it is important to consult employees or stakeholders to involve the community whose former members are commemorated on the war memorial.

The worst thing that can happen is for memorials to be removed and stored. The chances of them getting relocated again get slimmer, and more challenging, the longer they wait.

We have memorials in store that were donated to the trust after having been found in storage.

Some originate from a company that was incorporated into another, with the new one having further evolved and developed over the years. Although they accept the original company as www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 10:03

WAR MEMORIALS

Great care must be taken cleaning even new memorials, such as the one dedicated to the Women of World War II in Whitehall, erected in 2005

part of their heritage, getting the memorials back to them and on display is an ongoing challenge.

Souls of the departed

Inscriptions, features and names are recorded for preservation work

FM QUICK FACTS

100,000

the number of war memorials in the UK www.fm-world.co.uk

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Many stories, though, have positive outcomes. The Greater Manchester Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) buildings and shop fittings department war memorial remembers those who died in the First World War (www. warmemorialsonline.org.uk/ node/125236).

Originally sited in the shop fittings department in Trafalgar Street, Broughton, the memorial was discovered in 2009 in a scrap yard, where it was believed to have lain for at least 15 years.

A reference to the memorial contained in the CWS journal for employees – “Ourselves”, Volume VI, Number 11 dated November 1930” – indicates that the tablet was, “fixed to the wall of the entrance vestibule to the offices, where it is seen by all, both as they pass the open door or as they enter the premises”. It states

that the memorial was the focal point for a short Remembrance Day ceremony arranged by ex-services employees during which a wreath of Flanders poppies was suspended below the memorial, where it remained until renewed the following Remembrance Day. The memorial was moved with the department when it relocated to Vere Street in Salford during 1931 and is recorded as being at this address into the 1980s, during which decade the building was demolished and the record of the memorial was lost. Following its rediscovery in 2009, the trust offered a grant of £2,500 towards repair works and it has now been relocated to a new home in Salford. Grant schemes administered by the trust are open to both individuals and organisations.

Some larger companies have undertaken projects to record their war memorials; while others have good archives that can hold information and memorials if appropriate. The British Postal

Museum and Archive website hosts the Royal Mail Groups War Memorials Database http:// catalogue.postalheritage.org.uk/ dserve/bpmadocs/memorials. htm. This has details of the memorials across the Royal Mail, each of which has been recorded.

A number of memorials will have been relocated when post offices closed, but they are normally still sited in Royal Mail facilities and have information labels alongside the memorials providing people with a wider understanding of the memorial.

Information boards or cards can be very useful in highlighting memorials, however, they need to be appropriate to any site and in keeping with the nature of the memorial as inappropriate signage can often cause offence.

Larger organisations may wish to have central information on their war memorials, but anyone can ensure that the memorials in their facilities are recorded using War Memorials Online.

If you are interested in further information about looking after war memorials contact the trust’s Conservation Team on 020 7233 7356 or conservation@ warmemorials.org or visit www. warmemorials.org/conservationadvice. Alternatively, report your concerns through War Memorials Online. If you are seeking advice, please be aware that the more information and photographs you can provide the better. Context is also important in understanding factors that might be influencing the condition of memorials, so include photos of both the memorial and its surroundings. FM War Memorials Trust is an independent charity that relies on donations to protect and preserve war memorials. If you are interested in supporting the charity or getting more involved as a regional volunteer, visit www.warmemorials. org/get-involved. For further information contact War Memorials Trust, 42a Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0RE.

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20/03/2014 10:06

FM FEATURE

FM IN ACADEMIA

RICKY TAYLOR

E STAT E S O F M I N D

Although business and academe are becoming ever more entwined in a common goal to mould the minds of the future, their way of working differs fundamentally. Ricky Taylor explains why the transition to a leaner, meaner estate in academia may be more challenging than in other sectors 28 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

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www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 16:35

FM IN ACADEMIA

Le Lectures in shared spaces sh are a small part ar of HE teaching compared with co independent in tutorials tu and study – an sometimes so as little as 13 per cent, depending on de the university th and the course an

slo slower on the uptake of such ra radical workspace ideas, bu is now catching up with but its corporate counterparts.

Or Organisations such as the NH are enabling a better NHS va value-for-money approach th through leveraging best practice wo workspace design and facilities m management.

D Doing more with less M Much of the efficiency gain co comes from the shift in culture – from staff owning offices, de desks, printers and the like to ad adopting a model in which assets ar are shared at a much higher pr proportion. Time use studies te tend to indicate that offices are on only ever occupied 30 to 40 pe per cent of the time and many

FM QUICK FACTS

12-18sq metres most academic department space is made up of academic offices within this size range www.fm-world.co.uk

28-31 academic.indd 29

organisations now realise the org va value of using these spaces to build high-quality shared wo working environments that su support the business. The tradeoff is that staff are given access to open-plan workspaces that ma may be booked for set periods of activity while being able to en enjoy the benefits of access to ma many other work settings that ma may be more appropriate. The ov overall effect is that space is used mo more effectively and efficiently.

Es Estates directors and facilities ma managers can do more with less.

The higher education estate is m made up of several key ele elements – teaching and seminar sp space, academic departmental sp space, research departmental sp space, administrative space, cat catering facilities, sports fac facilities, laboratories, and stu student recreational facilities.

Th These elements are fundamental to running a university’s op operations. So where can space eff efficiencies be made to create a lleaner estate that meets the ne needs of staff and students?

Th The answer lies in the areas of ac academic departmental space, ad administrative departmental space an and departmental research space.

If following the tried-andtes tested corporate methodology, th the answer appears simple.

Ty Typically, most academic de department space is made up of

ac academic offices ranging in size fro 12-18 sq metres. Given from th we know offices are only that ev occupied 30 to 40 per cent ever of the time and probably less so in academia (as lectures take pl place in other spaces), there se seems a clear path for action.

Th would see a remodelling This of the academic workspace to em embrace fewer individual offices an more shared resources to and re release valuable real estate. This ap approach has worked for other se sectors, so why is academia re resisting this?

A singular occupation M work within the sector has My led to a set of observations that m may shed light on some of the fa factors that disable a transition to more effective and efficient wo workplaces in higher education.

One of the biggest factors that co come into play has actually very lit little bearing on how well space is planned or on how colourful an and stimulating the environment is, but is more related to a human re resources challenge. Within any fie field of study there exists only ah handful of pioneering and au authoritative academics at one tim time. This means that universities ac across the globe are recruiting fro from a very small international ta talent pool. Having a top line-up of academic minds in a faculty ca can be the make-or-break factor

ALAMY/VIEW

H

igher education in the UK has changed tremendously over the past three years.

Government spending cuts and higher student tuition fees have put many institutions under massive financial strain.

This has led to a fundamental shift on both sides. Students now expect more in terms of academic delivery and the facilities they study in, and the staff – academic and non-academic – are expected to deliver more with less. Institutions are expected to deliver in a far more customercentric way, with the student at the heart of everything they do.

Given this, the dynamic between teacher, student and facilities has become very interesting.

The corporate sector has long since embraced the idea of new ways of working and seen many tangible and intangible benefits from embracing such techniques. Organisations have reaped rewards from committing to understanding their cultural behavioural and using facilities to support business drivers and objectives. Businesses understand the impact on the bottom line from a leaner estate, a more productive workforce and better profit lines.

The public sector has been

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 29

20/03/2014 16:35

FM FEATURE

FM IN ACADEMIA

in attracting research funding and recruiting the best students.

For example, two universities may have a post to fill within a department. The salaries are comparable, the research excellence and reputation are also comparable. But one university is in a city in the UK, the other in a suburban state in the US. Where the contrast becomes apparent is that the deciding factor may well come down to the standard of the estate and facilities on offer.

Suddenly, the size and quality of the office accommodation is important. Is it a tiny broom cupboard with limited natural light, or is it a well-proportioned office with ample natural light and a host of other office work settings at the lecturer’s disposal?

Other considerations will be how well connected the department is, and whether faculties are co-located or dispersed across the campus. If we consider this challenge it is apparent that on a tiny island like the UK, in a city like London where space is at a premium, you may find yourself in a situation where recruitment becomes harder based on the building stock available.

ALAMY/VIEW

Seeking enlightenment Another important distinction is that of academic career progression. When reflecting on the corporate model, you could generalise by saying an employee’s progression within a company is strongly connected to the performance of the team to which they belong.

A coaching phrase springs to mind – “One team one goal”.

So communicating the shared objectives and building the team around the common denominator is the order of the day. New ways of working and shared work settings are aligned to that model of behaviour.

But this is not the case

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28-31 academic.indd 30

RICKY TAYLOR

“On a tiny island like the UK, where space is at a premium, you may find yourself in a situation where recruitment becomes harder based on the building stock available”

accommodation model.

This leads to the importance of the physical design of office space for academics. It has become apparent that certain design interventions have been very poorly received over the years, namely the introduction of fully glazed partitioning of academic offices. The need for transparency and natural light penetration has been well understood in the corporate world for many years. However, is this thinking in keeping with the academic model? Do the principles of transparency, openness in communication and

ease of access fit the work style of an academic?

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), as developed by Bandler and Gringer, sets out a well-structured approach to understanding internal representational systems and how we communicate. A distinction that has become apparent through working with academics is that much of the active thought process occurs within the field of vision directly in the front of them. This would imply that the thought process is driven through creative imagination, which manifests

when looking at the career progression of an academic. In fact, it is the polar opposite.

Progression is solely based on the individual, on his quality of ideas and how well they can be expressed within academic circles and how well received this thinking will be when it is peer reviewed. So sharing information before publication is not on the agenda. If this is true, we can see that the academic’s life revolves around formulating and delivering lectures to students with a specified number of hours designated to office meetings with students.

Marking and assessing work and writing research papers are highly individualistic activities that require concentration. In The Responsible Workplace (1996), spatial agency DEGW identified four main types of office based on different levels of interaction and autonomy.

From what we perceive of the academic work pattern, it becomes clear that interaction is low in the traditional sense, with high levels of autonomy.

This provides a very useful insight into the suitability of the individual cellular office for an academic faculty and the perceived resistance by faculty staff to move to a different www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 16:36

FM IN ACADEMIA

as an image or a series of images. This rationale would support many of the behaviours observed. For example, the continuing resistance to glazed partitioning in academic offices.

For many teaching staff visual distraction can have a negative effect on thought processes and state of mind required. So being able to see through a glazed partition in to a corridor with people milling about may not be appropriate for the professor who is on the brink of forging the breakthrough in cancer research.

This phenomenon also explains why many academics prefer to

EDGE HILL Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire, winner of the BIFM 2013 ‘In-house client team of the year’

www.fm-world.co.uk

28-31 academic.indd 31

have their desks facing a wall.

One of the most controversial conversations that can be heard throughout the corridors of higher education establishments is about office size. Space planning of any environment really boils down to what elements need to be included in the setting. When considering what a reasonable provision is, one can argue that it has been proved on countless occasions that a space of about 10-12 sq metres is more than adequate for a single-person office. But one of the distinctions that always arises is about how big the academic office should be. From a built environment perspective this is sometimes governed by the column grid on which the building has been built.

Much of the debate springs from the fact that the world of academia still operates on a culture entrenched in hierarchy and the office politics that go with this. This can be very difficult for departmental heads to manage and also difficult for estates and planning to untangle when taking the brief. When faced with large capital projects expenditure it is imperative that all these matters are brought to the top of the agenda to begin the process of cultural change and also to ensure that the planning brief is right.

A further distinction to add to the complexity of deciding on office size is that academics seem to have a very deep-seated attachment to their book collections. Often these are personal collections that have been amassed over many years. These books are an important statement about who they are, and they form an important part of their identity and thinking processes. This point is often misunderstood and overlooked by planners as the challenge to accommodate

a vast array of bookcases can suddenly add a large space to the size of the office required.

Again, the answer seems simple – digitisation. For many organisations this solution is still some way off in the future, with budgetary and infrastructure considerations to be factored in.

Faculty chats A key factor for many universities is research and the funding attributed to research programmes. Typically, these programmes have a limited life cycle and can be unpredictable in growth and facilities requirements. For many academic departments it is becoming more and more critical that research groups are established close to their host departments. This can raise a number of planning challenges, especially when hosting departments are looking for integration of programmes that can ebb and flex as the situation evolves.

This creates the need for spaces that are highly flexible and that can be reconfigured at short notice with minimal cost and resource implications.

The development of hubs for all research activity has been tested in a number of institutions but has received mixed reviews.

Some departments have reported that the dislocation of research activity from the main departmental community has affected the quality of output, while others have appreciated the interaction with other faculty areas leading to a crosspollination of ideas. Chance encounters at the tea urn have meant that staff from different faculty areas have been able to talk informally about subjects in a totally different way and that has led to progress. Research and development in higher education will continue to become more important as universities become more self-reliant in terms of marketing themselves and generating income.

The university estate takes in a host of activities and is home to a diverse mix of people ranging in age, faith, ethnicity, and political and social standing. Facilities and the management of the estate is becoming more critical than ever as we strive to progress in a tough economic climate and changing social parameters.

Changing hearts and minds will be the key to unlocking the potential of the estate.

As the younger generation of academics moves through the system maybe we will see a change in some of the behavioural patterns that have forged the requirements of built space. The answer may become clear as we learn more about the pedagogy of teaching and the process of learning.

For now, the priority is about getting the brief right and understanding those whom we are trying to help to develop the brightest minds. The overriding question should be how our academic buildings support the educational establishment’s strategic goals and vision. FM Author: Ricky Taylor works in estates building strategy within the higher education Sector

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 31

20/03/2014 16:36

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27/02/2014 15:15

17/03/2014 15:33

FM MONITOR MARKET INTELLIGENCE

INSIGHT

The figures on this page have been compiled from several sources and are intended as a guide to trends. FM World declines any responsibility for the use of this information.

ECONOMY

YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE UK LABOUR MARKET IN 2014

VAT rates: Standard rate – 20% (from 4 January 2011) Reduced rate – 5% Zero rate – this is not the same as exempt or outside the scope of VAT

Around 13 in every 100 young people were unemployed in the final quarter of 2013. Sixty-nine per cent of young people not in full-time education (FTE) were employed at the end of 2013.

Of the 4.17 million not in FTE in Q4 of 2013, 2.87 million (69 per cent) were working. Of the rest, 637,000 (15 per cent) were seeking work; 664,000 (16 per cent) were inactive. Young people (in FTE or not) were likely to be in low-skilled posts in catering or sales. Using a four-quarter average across 2013, for those who worked alongside FTE these job types accounted for 73 per cent of all those in work.

OCCUPATIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN EMPLOYMENT BY WHETHER THEY ARE IN FULL-TIME EDUCATION OR NOT

Source: Office for National Statistics

% 40

Source: HM Treasury (hmrc.gov.uk)

Bank of England base rate: 0.5% as of 6 March 2014.

The previous change in bank rate was a reduction of 0.5 percentage points to 0.5% on 5 March 2009.

Source: Bank of England (bankofengland.co.uk)

Consumer Price Index (CPI): The Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual inflation fell to 1.9% in the year to January 2014, down from 2.0% in December 2013. The rate fell below the Bank of England’s 2% target for the first time in four years. The fall in the rate resulted from price movements for recreational goods & services, furniture & household goods and alcoholic beverages & tobacco.

Source: (www.ons.gov.uk)

EMPLOYMENT

National Minimum Wage NOTE: The following rates came into effect on 1 October 2013:

Aged 21 and above

£6.31

Aged 18 to 20 inclusive

£5.03

Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school age)

£3.68

Apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

£2.65

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33_Insight.indd 33

In full-time education

Elementary Sales and Customer Service Skilled trades 73% of young people in FTE who work are in these occupations

Caring, leisure and Other Services The spread of occupations is more varied across all the groups for young people not in FTE

Administrative and secretarial Associate professional and Technical Professional Process, Plant and Machine Operatives

Elementary occupations include kitchen and catering assistants and waiters/waitresses

Managers, Directors and Senior Officials 30

20

10

0

0

10

20

30

40 %

FLEXIBLE WORKING TRENDS

Renewables’ share of electricity generation increased from 11.7 per cent in 2012 Q3 to 13.2 per cent in 2013 Q3. This was a 2.2 percentage point fall on 2013 Q2’s record share of 15.4 per cent.

The increase on a year earlier shows a growth in capacity during the quarter. This more than offset the effects of low wind speeds and rainfall. Total generation from renewables in Q3 went up by 7.6 per cent on 2012 Q3, from 9.6 TWh to 10.3 TWh.

FLEXIBLE WORKING FOSTERS STAFF LOYALTY

Source: UK government

RENEWABLES’ SHARE OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION Solar PV, wave and tidal Offshore wind ■ Onshore wind ■ Hydro ■ Bioenergy ■ ■

14% Share of total generation (%)

Hourly rate from 1 Oct 2013

Major Occupational groups Not in full-time education (FTE)

RENEWABLE ENERGY

16% Category of worker

Young people are more likely to work in the lowest skilled jobs

12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2%

0% Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 2010 2011 2012 2013

71%

56%

54%

SAY OFFERING FLEXIBLE WORKING MAKES EMPLOYEES MORE LOYAL

OF WORKERS WOULD REFUSE A JOB WITH NO FLEXIBLE WORKING

WOULD HAVE STAYED LONGER IN THEIR LAST POST WITH FLEXIBLE WORKING

The fight to attract and retain top talent was fierce in January. Research by global workspace provider Regus said employers looking to avoid costly staff turnover should prioritise flexible working for 2014.

Regus canvassed more than 2,600 company owners and senior executives in the UK and found that 76 per cent think flexible working improves staff retention and 71 per cent regard flexibility as a key measure in attracting talent. Three-quarters of those asked also said applicants would pick one job over another if it offered greater flexibility.

Flexible working is usually understood to mean staff can work from home or from local ‘third places’ for some or all of the week, as well as adopt flexi-hours.

Source: www.regus.com

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 33

20/03/2014 09:47

FM MONITOR TAR TUMBER

LEGAL UPDATE

Tar Tumber, HR consultant, Workplace Law

COM PU LSORY E Q UA L PAY AUDI T S – W HAT’S THE B I G DEA L ?

f businesses do not close the gender pay I gap voluntarily, the government will soon force them to – and FMs must take heed The legal framework requiring equal pay for equal work between men and women has been in place since the Equal Pay Act 1970 came into force in 1975.

But statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) at the end of 2013 suggested that the pay gap between the sexes had actually widened for the first time in five years with the difference between full-time male and female employees increasing from 9.5 per cent in 2012 to 10 per cent in 2013. This means that despite there being more women in work than ever, there remains a significant difference in what they are paid compared with men.

Against this backdrop the government has made it clear that the causes of gender pay gaps must be addressed to “maximise women’s contribution to economic growth”. Its current initiative for mandatory equal pay audits, due to take effect from October 2014, is intended as a tool to determine whether pay systems are non-discriminatory aiding in the enforcement of equal pay provisions, and tackle historic pay inequalities, so that men and women are paid equally for “equal work”. This reform will go with other equalityfriendly initiatives such as the recent overhaul of the parental leave system to modernise our workplaces. So what does this actually mean?

From October 2014, where an Employment Tribunal (ET) finds an employer has discriminated on 34 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

34_LegalUpdate.indd 34

the grounds of sex in relation to pay, it will be required to order a mandatory equal pay audit (EPA). This can be either an equal pay claim or a dispute over a non-contractual payment, such as a bonus.

An EPA is defined as “a systematic investigation into the causes of any gaps in pay between men and women who work for the same employer and do equal work” – the key point in the latter being that they do not have to be employed in the same job, but be doing work of an equal value (as assessed through job evaluation or in terms of the demands of the jobs).

When reforms are enforced, micro and start-up businesses will be exempt for a period of grace – it would appear that the government intends to test equal pay audits on other businesses before rolling it out universally.

For non-exempt businesses, a tribunal must not order an audit if it finds that: ● The employer has already carried out an audit within the past three years that meets the standards set out in the regulations; ● The employer’s current pay arrangements are sufficiently transparent to identify whether any action is needed to prevent continuing or further equal pay breaches – without the need for an audit; ● There is no reason to believe the employer’s breach of equal pay is a systemic problem – this

covers a breach which may be a one-off occurrence; or ● That the disadvantages of an audit would outweigh the benefits; where the associated costs could tip the business into liquidation.

What will an audit entail?

Audits should aim to establish whether, irrespective of gender, employees undertaking work of equal value are being paid equally. An audit would involve: ● Identifying terms and conditions of men and women doing equal work and all aspects of their pay, whether it is contractual, noncontractual, relating to incentives and overtime; ● Whether as a result of identifying terms and conditions, any pay differences between men and women can be explained; and ● Devising action where there are unjustified pay inequalities based on sex to eliminate them.

Audit implications From October 2014, ETs will have the power to impose a £5,000 penalty for non-compliance with an ordered audit. This would be based on some form of monitoring of the EPA, and it is thought this would be through independent auditors, or equal pay tribunal judges trained to review compliance and sign off satisfactory audits.

We await confirmation from the government on this point.

The consideration of who gets to see an ordered equal pay audit will be a significant concern for larger employer businesses because of potential further equal pay claims or the disclosure of commercially sensitive information, among other things. The consultation

appears to recognise this and so it has been recommended that businesses only publish results on a voluntary basis.

But those employees covered by the audit as well as unions and the tribunal would have a right to see the audit results.

The question of monitoring the spread of audit results outside the circle of employees poses further difficulty.

Audit orders Although the provisions determine that an equal pay audit order must be made if a clear breach is found, the broad exceptions are likely to accommodate many situations.

Given that claims take years to come before the tribunal, with many settling before hearings, employers may find this a convenient way to avoid potential audits. Similarly, this may prove a useful bargaining tool for claimants. The intended £5,000 penalty for non-compliance may therefore not be a realistic deterrent to large organisations whose ordered audits are likely to exceed that cost.

And in the FM sector, where TUPE transfers are common, organisations must be aware that where there are historic pay inequalities transferring over, simply confirming terms and being protected will not be a valid justification if an equal pay claim is brought before a tribunal. Even inadvertent discrimination can be unlawful and carry liabilities, and this is something that must be considered at the point of due diligence and consultation during TUPE scenarios. The government should finalise the requirements in July 2014. FM www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 09:47

FM MONITOR EMPLOYMENT LAW

0000 £51,0 £ fine

LEGAL UPDATE EMPLOYM EN T L AW CH A N GES FRO M 6 A P R I L

Imposition of financial penalties on employers who lose in employment tribunals

Statutory sick pay THE MINIMUM RATE WILL INCREASE FROM £86.70 A WEEK TO

Introduction of mandatory pre claim Acas conciliation

£87.55

Compulsory pre-claim Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) conciliation will be brought in, requiring potential claimants in employment tribunal proceedings to lodge details of their proposed employment tribunal claim with Acas in the first instance before bringing a claim.

At this point, Acas will contact the parties, offering them the opportunity to engage in pre-claim early conciliation (EC) with a nominated conciliation officer for a prescribed period of a month. If either party refuses EC, or is unsuccessful (for example, if a settlement has not been reached within the prescribed period), the claimant will be issued with a certificate

by Acas enabling them to proceed with issuing proceedings in the tribunal. If, however, the parties do agree to enter into pre-claim early conciliation at this pre-litigation stage, this will effectively “stop the clock” on the limitation period for presenting the claim to the tribunal while the EC process is taking place.

28 WEEKS

Extension of right to request flexible working The right to request flexible working will be extended to all employees WITH 26 WEEKS’ SERVICE. Currently, this right is only afforded to employees who qualify as parents or carers.

Employers will also no longer be required to follow the existing www.fm-world.co.uk

35_Legal update v2.indd 35

statutory procedure in dealing with flexible working requests.

Instead, they must consider all such requests in a “reasonable manner”.

A statutory code of practice is also being introduced to give guidance to employers on the exact meaning of “reasonable”.

Employers will have the right to refuse requests on business grounds.

A WEEK, PAID BY THE EMPLOYER FOR UP TO

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS WILL HAVE THE POWER TO ORDER AN EMPLOYER WHO HAS LOST A CASE TO PAY A FINANCIAL PENALTY TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF

£100 TO £5,000.

THE PENALTY WILL BE IMPOSED WHERE THE EMPLOYER HAS BREACHED ANY OF THE WORKERS’ RIGHTS AND THE BREACH HAS ONE OR MORE AGGRAVATING FEATURES.

STATUTORY WEEK’S REDUNDANCY PAY WEEKLY PAY IS CURRENTLY CAPPED AT £450.

IT WILL INCREASE FROM 6 APRIL TO

£464

STATUTORY MATERNITY, PATERNITY AND ADOPTION PAY INCREASE THE RATE OF STATUTORY MATERNITY, PATERNITY AND ADOPTION WILL INCREASE FROM £136.78 TO

£138.18 FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 35

20/03/2014 16:19

FM MONITOR KENNETH FREEMAN

HOW TO...

Kenneth Freeman, head of innovation for Ambius

R EDU CIN G N OIS E L EV EL S I N DO O R S

enneth Freeman, head of innovation for Ambius, discusses how plants can be used to prevent unwanted noise in buildings

ISTOCK

K

Many buildings serve purposes other than just giving us a roof over our head for shelter.

Buildings such as hotels, offices, shops and medical facilities seek to offer inhabitants a sense of calm, refuge and tranquility from the hustle and bustle elsewhere.

This encourages people to stay in the buildings longer, either to relax more, shop more, linger, have a bite to eat, concentrate more easily, and improve productivity.

However, noise is a constant feature in most buildings – usually generated by phone chatter, children shouting or crying, footsteps on hard floors, unwanted conversations in adjacent cubicles, printers, copiers, HVAC systems – the list goes on.

This noise is distracting, interruptive, makes employees less productive, can taint the customer experience and reduce privacy. One way to create a welcoming, stress-free

36 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

36_HowTo.indd 36

environment is through reducing this unwanted noise in buildings using plants.

Plants have many known benefits to their environments and the people in them, but noise reduction is one of the lesser-known advantages. Plants absorb, diffract and reflect sound. The balance varies with the frequency at which the sound is generated and the room’s physical properties. The type of plant, its size, shape, the container, top dressings and the compost all have an effect on the sound reduction capabilities of plant displays. ● Sound absorption: Plant parts such as stems, leaves, branches and wood all absorb sound. Rough bark and thick, fleshy leaves are particularly effective at absorbing sound with their dynamic surface area. The greater the number of plants, the size of the plant and its surface area will all affect its ability to absorb sound. Plants alter

room acoustics by reducing the reverberation time. They tend to work better in acoustically live spaces, such as those that have hard surfaces like marble walls, exposed concrete and stone floors. The impact of plants is less likely to be noticeable in an acoustically quiet space containing soft furnishings, carpets, heavy curtains or wellupholstered chairs, which have a much greater capacity to absorb sound. ● Sound deflection: When sound hits a masonry wall it does not vibrate because it is rigid, so sound waves are reflected off the wall and back toward the source.

When sound waves hit a flexible material, like plants, the material will vibrate and the waves are transformed into other forms of energy, as well as being deflected in other directions. ● Sound refraction: A good example of a common material that helps refraction is carpeting in a home. If a room has all solid floors sound waves bounce all over and can create echoes.

When carpeting is added the echoes disappear. Plantings that cover surface areas help accomplish the same feat. For example, vines on walls and the sides of buildings will help refract

“The type of plant, its size, shape, the container, top dressings and the compost all have an effect on the sound reduction capabilities”

sound. Lawns, ground cover plantings and green walls are also excellent at refracting sound.

Using plants to reduce noise Large plant containers: Bigger plant containers contain more compost and have a greater area of top dressing. Both of these have a significant effect on noise reduction, so it follows that they make a larger impact on the room acoustics. Experiments have shown that arrangements of different plants in groups appear to work better than individual plants.

Several small arrangements are better than one big one: Positioning several arrangements around a space works better than concentrating the plants in one place. In this way the surface area of the plants exposed to noise may be maximised and individual work areas in an office space will all benefit from a localised effect.

Edges and corners are better than the centre: Plants placed near the edges and corners of a space are better than plants in the middle. This is because sound is reflected from the walls straight into the foliage.

Consider using screen plants instead of office partitions: Open-plan offices are often very noisy places. Sometimes these spaces are divided by partitions or ranks of filing cabinets, but plant screens are an effective and usually more attractive alternative. The tops of filing cabinets and other office surfaces can also be used to place plants, for example, small bushy plants in narrow troughs that take up little space but still offer effective results. FM

●

www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 16:28

FM MONITOR JAMIE HARRIS

TECHNICAL

Jamie Harris, FM World reporter

SOL AR-POW ER ED GRO UN DS M AIN TENAN CE EQ UI P M EN T

he grounds maintenance team at Liverpool ONE is using solar-powered equipment to combat noise pollution. But is the technology up to the required standard?

Jamie Harris reports

T

Landscapers and grounds maintenance teams can have it tough at times. No matter how magnificent the place looks, the team will have to tiptoe around, causing as little disturbance as possible. Quite tricky with strimmers, hedge trimmers and industrial-sized mowers.

At retail and leisure centre Liverpool ONE, the grounds maintenance team has overcome this challenge by deploying landscaping devices powered by solar energy. Mindful of the proximity of 300 residents, the team can now use the new, quieter solar-powered equipment to start their work earlier.

(The site is fitted with a small compound with recharging units.)

The positive feedback on the use of such equipment at Liverpool ONE, and the greater demand for service suppliers to become more energy efficient, suggests that the use of solarpowered devices will become increasing prevalent. However, Liverpool ONE”s proximity to residential blocks, coupled with the park’s size – small compared with the grounds that many FMs manage – means that reducing noise is a priority. Use of such equipment has not become common practice in the industry.

Here comes the sun Jonathan Tame, technical officer at the British Association of www.fm-world.co.uk

37_Technical.indd 37

Landscape Industries, sees a reluctance to switch from petrolfuelled equipment.

“I believe that solar-powered equipment is not appropriate on a professional level. At the moment it is more prominent in the domestic market.”

For such a product to be viable, says Tame, it needs to be able to convert solar power to a battery that can be carried. In his view, “the technology hasn’t got that far yet.”

Angus Lindsay, group head of assets and fleet at landscape maintenance contractor The Landscape Group, sees encouraging signs for solarpowered equipment, but admits work still needs to be done if operators are to see it as a practical alternative.

“We have been trialling some new electric machines this year.

The equipment works well and is more robust than people give it credit for, but it is not suitable

for every piece of work we do.

For example, with verge work it would be quite arduous. Heavierduty tools are needed.

“The biggest problem has been the batteries. They just haven’t held much charge.”

For teams at national parks, getting back to the charging point – even with a quick charge – may not be feasible.

“Manufacturers may need to look at onboard charging units on the back of vehicles, using the vehicle’s engine to power them,” says Lindsay.

Seasonal hedge trimming happens in early autumn or spring, says Lindsay. In Britain, there is an obstacle. “We are not in the kind of country where you get lots of sun.”

And price is also a key factor, at least until the equipment becomes cheaper to manufacture.

“You are looking at double or treble the price, a substantially extra amount to pay,” says Tame.

“A common problem heard from contractors is that the manufacturer’s claims of battery life do not always stack up. You may need to buy another battery to see you through the day, as the charge time in some cases is up to eight hours. A solar panel could cost up to £1,500, on top of the price you pay for the actual equipment,” says Lindsay.

Bright outlook Should the technology reach the required level, FM, grounds maintenance and landscaping teams could all benefit from safer working practices.

Says Lindsay: “You don’t have to carry petrol with you, which is always potentially dangerous.

“We have been using them in a park in Stroud, which is a

peaceful place. They are good anywhere that is close to the public or near residential areas.”

Electric equipment reduces health and safety risks for the operator, explains Tame.

“As well as a reduction in noise levels, this equipment reduces handheld vibration, which could cause damage in the long term.

The tools are also lighter.”

Lindsay notes that security is another added benefit. “The landscaping industry is subject to a high level of opportunist theft from depots or from the backs of trucks,” he says. “With these machines, you can separate the (expensive) power packs from the operating head.”

Battery charge Tame believes that while solarpowered equipment has yet to become viable, use of batterypowered equipment over petrolbased equivalents will lead the way for some time to come.

“Suppliers such as Makita and Pellenc now supply increased power of 36V, which should increase the use of the machine.”

Lindsay says that grounds maintenance teams can take heart from developments in other sectors. “Look at the construction industry – joinery, stonemasonry, portable, cordless drills – that technology has come a long way.

They have been geared up to industrial specification, which is the norm now. There’s no reason why the technology won’t move quickly to our industry.”

Solar-powered grounds maintenance equipment solves problems of noise and provides considerable energy use reductions. But until battery life is prolonged it is hard to justify the significant capital outlay. FM FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 37

20/03/2014 16:53

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

Kings Place, 90 York Way, King’s Cross, London, is the venue for ThinkFM on 13 May THINKFM

Offer ends The early-bird has now ended for the ThinkFM conference, but BIFM members can still benefit from preferential rates on the delegate fee. ThinkFM takes place on 13 May, at Kings Place in London, and focuses on ‘The workplace and beyond: Facilities management’s impact on business, the economy and society’. It is aimed at those who want to: Understand how to use FM in business performance and CSR agenda; l Hear from leading organisations about the realities of using effective FM as change agents to drive their business performance, not just the theory; l Get more from their workforce – the influence of the workplace on productivity; l Debate the wider role of FM in influencing the economy and society; l Get ideas that can be applied within their own businesses to make them outstanding; and l Meet and network with peers and decision-makers.

Select sessions include: l Peter Cheese, chief executive, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD): ’Trends in the Workplace and Working Environment – Impact on People, Practices and Workplace Design’; l Professor John Hinks, global head of innovation for Zurich CRE&FM: ‘Productivity is dead, long live productivity?’; l Lord Redesdale, CEO, Energy Managers Association (EMA), Carbon Management Association (CMA) and Low Energy Company (LEC): ‘Will an expertise in energy be the difference between winning or losing an FM contract?’; l Chris Kane, CEO, BBC Commercial Projects: ‘A New Direction for FM: Raising the Game to Support the Workplace l

38 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

38-40_BIFM news.indd 38

following categories: Excellence in Customer Service Demonstrating effective solutions that are sustainable, customer and business-driven. l Excellence in Product Development All products are considered with equal merit from the simplest and cheapest to the most technically advanced. l Facilities Manager of the Year Recognising outstanding personal and professional performance in FM. l FM Excellence in a Major Project A project that makes a significant contribution to almost every aspect of an organisation’s operating style, affecting the majority of employees. l FM Service Provider of the Year Recognising outstanding service delivery and excellence. There will be an award for an SME provider and an award for a large organisation. l Impact on Organisation and Workplace Working environments that are functional and desirable, making a positive contribution towards job satisfaction and productivity. l In-House FM Team of the Year Recognising the outstanding contributions made by a team in organisations, large or small. l Innovation in the Use of Technology and Systems Recognising the best technology innovation in FM – it can be simple and inexpensive or the most complicated rationalisation. l Learning and Career Development Recognising FM organisations or internal FM teams which can provide demonstrable commitment to improving their FM people. l Profound Impact The profound impact created and delivered through FM best practice during the past five years for the benefit of society and the economy. l Rising Talent in Facilities l

of the Future’; l Max Farrell, partner, Farrells, and Bev Burgess, associate director at Workplace Law: ’The Farrell Review: The contribution of Architecture to the UK economy’; l Nicholas Holgate, joint chief executive, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea: ’The impact of FM on local services, and how this affects wider society’; and l Daisy McAndrew, ex-economics editor for ITV News, will facilitate the conference, sparking debates with our expert speakers.

BIFM members pay just £349+VAT for the full conference programme, which includes a breakfast networking session and evening drinks reception that will host the premiere of the FM TV programme in partnership with BIFM and ITN Productions. The programme will address the importance of FM to society and the UK economy; showcasing the tangible results of strategically aligned FM. i Book now for ThinkFM at www.thinkfm.com/book.

ThinkFM sponsor ITConsilium provides clients with the means of a safe working environment and compliance with best practice through its industryleading software, Permit to Work Manager (P2WM).

It offers a fully secure, traceable electronic solution that consolidates management over a spectrum of operation including facilities, estate management, engineering, maintenance operations and health and safety.

It has been tailored to integrate with OHSAS18001 certification, one of the highest industry standards. i

www.itconsilium.com

BIFM AWARDS

Five weeks left to enter There are now only five weeks remaining for you to enter the BIFM Awards for 2014 – entries close on Friday 2 May (FM of the Year closes 27 June) in the

www.fm-world.co.uk

25/03/2014 11:01

Please send your news items to communications@bifm.org.uk or call +44 (0)1279 712 620

Management (new for 2014) Recognising a professional who has made a significant contribution to their organisation and the FM profession. l Sustainability and Environmental Impact Rewarding the outstanding ongoing delivery of sustainable and environmental initiatives.

How to enter Full details on each award and criteria are available in the entry guidelines document and on the awards section of the BIFM website (www.bifm.org.uk/ awards2014).

As a reminder, entries close on 2 May 2014 (FM of the Year closes on 27 June).

Finalists will be announced in August and the winners will be crowned on 13 October 2014 at the ceremony, taking place at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

If you are not sure about eligibility, or have any queries on criteria, please contact the awards team on +44 (0)1279 712 640 or email awards@bifm.org.uk. #BIFMAwards.

Bournemouth University SOUTH WEST REGION

ALAMY

Dorset event Nick Fox reports from the first BIFM event in Dorset.

“Tuesday 25 February was a momentous day for both the BIFM and the South-West Region as they launched what is hoped to be a regular event in Dorset. Held at Bournemouth University and attracting more than 40 delegates, www.fm-world.co.uk

38-40_BIFM news.indd 39

GUEST COMMENT

Sarah Hodge is lead judge in the BIFM Awards ‘Rising Talent in Facilities Management’ Award, and works for Hodge Development Ltd

PURSUE YOUR FM CAREER DREAM

aving been an Award judge for a number of years and a proud winner of ‘Impact on organisation and workplace’ 2013 I am delighted to be the lead judge on an exciting new category for the BIFM Excellence Award 2014.

Twenty-five years ago when I started in FM I was very very lucky to have a fantastic manager who believed in me, spotted my potential and recognised what I could offer the FM profession. Like most people at that time, I had fallen into FM and found that I loved it and was passionate about a career in FM and determined to be a part of influencing and shaping the future of FM with professional standards, a structured career path and a qualification framework that we have today. My risings journey was amazing. I was a founding member of the BIFM and the youngest member of the institute. I served on the London Region Committee and then on the National Council, again the youngest person to have achieved that.

I had found my vehicle to pursue my passion and had inspirational role models and peers in BIFM to share and celebrate my achievements with.

In pursuit of the aspiration that FM is a career of choice and the BIFM strategy for attracting and retaining the best talent it is critical that we identify, support and showcase our new talent by providing a platform, but most of all to celebrate and broadcast their achievements and the impact newcomers are having on FM. This award has been created to uncover this talent and provide the platform for those individuals to ‘show off’ and be recognised for their contribution to their organisations and to the wider FM profession. Importantly, it will provide a vehicle allowing them to voice their passion and pride and for the wider industry to celebrate their achievements.

This award is not about age, whether you are a young newcomer or have joined FM having experience from another sector I recommend that you enter or that you encourage someone that you know to enter. We want to uncover the most dynamic newcomers and identify the sector’s rising stars, thinkers and performers, recognising the mark they are marking on their organisation and FM, showcasing the talent that will influence and shape the FM profession in the coming years.

We are looking for people with commitment and passion about advancing and promoting FM as a career and who relish their continued CPD. Being able to demonstrate their contribution and impact by challenging and progressive thinking and show innovation and initiative in the delivery of FM services. Being an Award winner or finalist is a fantastic way to springboard your career.

Our winner will be an ambassador for the FM profession, helping to endorse and promote the impact new talent has on the industry. This award offers a great opportunity to shout about and share your success with your peers and with the whole industry.

H

“WE WANT TO UNCOVER THE MOST DYNAMIC NEWCOMERS AND IDENTIFY THE SECTOR’S RISING STARS, THINKERS AND PERFORMERS”

i Learn more about this award and all BIFM Awards categories at www.bifm.org.uk/awards 2014.

Award entries close 2 May 2014 (FM of the Year category closes 27 June)

FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 39

25/03/2014 11:01

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

the evening seminar started with headline sponsor Waldmann Lighting talking about energyefficient lighting. Peter Young, general manager at Waldmann, gave the delegates some examples of how lighting design and layout can help to improve employee wellbeing while saving on energy.

It was our privilege to be joined by Deborah Rowland, who spoke about her journey to BIFM FM of the Year 2013. Her presentation was well received and gave us all some food for thought about where we want to be in our careers.

Jane Wiggins of FM Tutor, who provide BIFM-accredited training courses, concluded the first part of the evening by making a short presentation to some of her students who had successfully completed a BIFM qualification.

After brilliant refreshments provided by Chartwells, Rob Mouser, MD of Plastic Surgeon, kicked off the second session.

Rob guided the delegates through cosmetic repair of building assets and explained how we can all limit the amount we send to waste by using cosmetic repair.

Stuart Laird, director of estates for the university, concluded the evening with a short session on the FM set-up at the university and sharing some of his vision for the coming years. Stuart also picked out a lucky winner from the business card draw, who received a Kindle Fire HD, courtesy of Waldmann.

My thanks to Stuart, Stephen Jones, Louise Wigglesworth and Wendy Bartlett from Bournemouth University, and Chartwells for letting us use the lecture theatre at its Executive Business Centre, and to Rob, Jane, Deborah and our sponsor Waldmann Lighting for its support.” i Learn more about all BIFM groups at www.bifn.org.uk/groups

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Connect with BIFM BIFM has a big presence in social media – make sure we are part of your network: Twitter: @BIFM_UK, and you can follow the ThinkFM conference @ThinkFM. Get the latest news from FM World @FM_ World. You can also follow BIFM Training @BIFMTraining; LinkedIn: Our ‘British Institute of Facilities Management’ group has nearly 20,000 members; Facebook: Search ‘The BIFM’ YouTube: Find us at ‘BIFM1993’, see videos from national and regional events; and Google+: Search ‘British Institute of Facilities Management’ Get connected and join the #facilitiesmanagement conversation!

MEMBERSHIP

Corporate members BIFM welcomes our newest corporate members: l

Causeway – product supplier Co2 Blue Limited – FM service suppliers, contractors l Frontline Business Support Ltd – consultant l Latchways PLC – product supplier l Muller Professional Services – FM management, suppliers l Sure Group – FM service suppliers, contractors l Telefonica O2 – product supplier l

i Learn more about corporate membership at www.bifm.org.uk/ corporatemembership, email corporate@bifm.org.uk or call +44 (0) 1279 712675

BIFM TRAINING BUNDLES OF JOY?

ucy Jeynes of FM consultancy Larch Consulting presents BIFM Training’s new FM Contract Models Course. Here, she summarises the approaches taken to grouping FM services Which contract model will you choose for your FM service delivery? As with so many other areas of FM there is no best answer – it’s a case of identifying what is right for your organisation. Let’s explore some of the most common approaches. l Single Services: Sometimes called “best of breed”, this approach sees separate contracts for each service placed with specialist providers. If you’re the FM it’s your job to ensure that all these different organisations deliver in harmony. l Bundled Services: Most commonly, services are grouped into hard and soft bundles. For example, one package will cover building fabric, M&E, lifts; and another will cover catering, cleaning, reception and security. This enables you to choose one provider who you think will focus on looking after your assets, and another who will focus on looking after your people. l Total Facilities Management: TFM means all of your service delivery is outsourced under a single contract to a single provider organisation (who may self-deliver all of the services, or subcontract some of them to specialist providers). You’ll read a lot about this model as the big TFM providers have loud voices – but TFM, although growing, is less prevalent than you might think. It’s certainly not right for everyone. l Managing Agent: Rather than selecting and organising your service providers yourself, you appoint an organisation to represent you and manage your FM supply chain. l FM Integrator: A company is appointed to oversee and manage the performance of service providers, and tends to be focused on metrics and KPIs. This model is beginning to emerge in the UK; the jury is still out on whether it’s an evolution or a revolution.

L

So what’s the catch? Ask an FM service provider where it fits in this model and it becomes less clear.

Companies that provide a full range of FM services under a TFM arrangement will still often bid for singleservice or bundled contracts. Companies that we know as managing agents in the UK and Europe are selfdelivering operational FM in emerging markets. Some providers will act as either a managing agent or service deliverer, according to the opportunity. Integrators also offer operational FM. For further information or to book call 020 7404 4440 or email info@bifm-training.co.uk

www.fm-world.co.uk

25/03/2014 11:01

FM DIARY INDUSTRY EVENTS 7-10 April | Ergonomics and human factors 2014 Organised by the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors.

Full programme to be confirmed.

Venue: The Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton Contact: Visit www.ehf2014.org.uk 13 May | ThinkFM 2014 – the workplace and beyond Speakers at the ThinkFM conference will include Professor John Hinks, global head of innovation, CRE and FM, Zurich Insurance; Lord Redesdale, CEO at the Energy Managers Association; and Nicholas Holgate, joint chief executive, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Venue: Kings Place, London N1 9AG Contact: www.thinkfm.com 14-16 May | British Council for Offices annual conference The 2014 Conference will focus on discovering new ways to create modern and innovative work environments. Speakers include Richard Kauntze, chief executive at the BCO, Isabel Oakeshott, political editor at The Sunday Times, Dr Gerard Lyons, chief economic adviser to the Mayor of London, and Martin Vander Weyer, business editor at The Spectator.

Venue: ICC, Birmingham Contact: Visit www.bco.org.uk 17-19 June | Facilities Show 2014 – 15 years at the heart of the FM industry Organised in association with the BIFM, Facilities Show has established itself as the top meeting place for the industry. Opportunities to connect with peers and colleagues, see solutions from more than 400 suppliers and gain insight from influential industry experts.

Venue: ExCeL London, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL Contact: Visit facilitiesshow.com 17-19 September | IFMA World Workplace The largest, most long-standing and respected annual conference and exposition for FM and related professions.

Each year offers a new experience, addressing challenges and strategies that are universal to every facility type, shape 41 | 27www.fm-world.co.uk FEBRUARY 2014 | FM WORLD

41_Diary.indd 41

Send details of your event to editorial@fm–world.co.uk or call 020 7880 6229

and size.

Venue: New Orleans, LA, US Contact: Visit www.ifma.org CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION 2 April | Guernsey careers fayre More details to be announced soon.

Venue: Beau Sejour, St Peter Port Contact: Chris Robins at chris.robins@specsavers.com 14 May | Quarterly training day – sustainability More details to be announced soon.

Venue: Specsavers Training Room, La Villaize, St Andrews, Guernsey Contact: Chris Robins at chris.robins@specsavers.com HOME COUNTIES REGION 15 May | Regional AGM and SAS case study From 5.30pm. Annual general meeting, followed by a presentation on the benefits of LED lighting, an update on FM activity at SAS, including a new London office and a hospitality award win.

Venue: SAS UK, Wittington House, Henley Road, Marlow SL7 2EB Contact: Ann Inman at ann@echomarketing.co.uk NORTH REGION 8 April | Merseyside networking group event Mark Whittaker, BIFM North Deputy Chair and Laurence Brady, CIBSE, take part in a panel debate discussing current issues in FM, the relative merits of membership of both organisations.

Venue: Liverpool John Moores University Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF Contact: Don Searle at donsearle@ c22.co.uk 24 April | West Yorkshire networking event Details TBC. Venue: TBC. Contact: Richard Keane at richard.b.keane@cummins.com 15 May | Driving the sustainability agenda in FM An annual sustainability event focusing on how FM can drive the sustainability agenda. Richard Cairns of Everton FC will discuss the sustainability practices adopted at Goodison Park and their training facilities. The Sustainability SIG will discuss the green credentials of the re-use of

office furniture.

Venue: Co-operative Group, Angel Square, Manchester M60 OAG Contact: Mark Whittaker at mark.a.whittaker@integral.co.uk SCOTLAND REGION 16 May | Understanding BS11000: Collaborative business relationships N.B. Cost per person is £22.50 + VAT for members and £27.50 + VAT for non-members.

BS 11000 shows you how to eliminate the known pitfalls of poor communication.

An introductory workshop to provide an overview of how BS11000 is being used across several case studies to develop and manage contracting relationships.

Venue: Hilton Strathclyde Hotel, Phoenix Crescent, Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill, ML4 3JQ Contact: Visit tinyurl.com/phxbpjr or email Julie.jackson@jci.com SOUTHERN IRELAND REGION 31 March | Challenges of sustainability in FM seminar From 9am. Presentations from Alan Gallagher, head of operations at Croke Park, Peter Jones, head of FM EMEA at CBRE, and BIFM chief executive Gareth Tancred on BIFM plans for 2014. A panel discussion follows.

Venue: Croke Park, Jones Road, Dublin 3 Contact: Aoife Cooling at aoife_cooling@mastercard.com SOUTH REGION 2 April | Supply chain management – who manages who?

The region and Trade Interchange team up to present a case study on how a global FM supplier embraced cloud technology to take control of its growing supply chain. A question and answer session follows.

Venue: Skandia House, Portland Terrace, Southampton SO14 7EJ Contact: Email Ian Fielder at ian.r.fielder@gmail.com or book online at tinyurl.com/lfhr67v 30 April | Benchmarking: Tool or torture?

A debate on benchmarking.

Why do so few organisations use benchmarking tools?

Venue: Chichester – TBA

Contact: Email Ian Fielder at ian.r.fielder@gmail.com 18 June | Health and Safety – Electrical and mechanical non-intrusive testing Two of the UK’s leading companies in non-intrusive testing explained the benefits and risks.

Venue: Southampton – TBA Contact: Email Ian Fielder at ian.r.fielder@gmail.com or call 07795 181009 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 3 April | Women in FM – Miss Representation screening Meet at 5.30pm for a 6pm start. Screening of the 2011 documentary film, followed by a panel discussion.

Venue: Mace Group, 155 Moorgate, London EC2M 6VB Contact: Email Debra.Ward@ macemacro.com 9 April | International – Global research on wellbeing in the workplace Details TBC Venue: Steelcase’s London office.

Contact: Claire Sellick at clairesellick@btinternet.com 9 April | Risk & Business Continuity – Business resilience forum Speaker presentations covering emergency services liaison, business continuity plan testing and firearms incidents.

Venue: DSM Work Area Recovery Facility, The Old Hangar, Sibson, near Peterborough PE8 6NE Contact: Visit tinyurl.com/ bifmresiliance 30 April | Workplace – The organisation, its strategy and the big picture Sponsored by Bene Plc & Boxx Projects Ltd. The event is designed to provide delegates with a toolkit of knowledge on workplace change. Speakers TBC Venue: Bene Plc, 47-53 St. John Street EC1M 4AN Contact: Tony Knight at tony.knight@boxxprojects.com 6 May | Women in FM – Effective workplace tools Condeco’s Andrew Howells is to speak about the benefits of having effective workplace tools.

Venue: TBC. Contact: Jackie Furey at wifm@bifm.org.uk FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 41 www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 09:48

FM PEOPLE MOVERS & SHAKERS

BEHIND

DATA

THE JOB NAME: Hadleigh Standen JOB TITLE: Head of FM (PFI)/Pinnacle PSG Ltd ORGANISATION: Facebook JOB DESCRIPTION: Responsible for mobilisation and operational management of PFI projects across the UK

HADLEIGH STANDEN

TOPIC TRENDS If you could give away one of your responsibilities to an unsuspecting colleague, what would it be?

OUR INTERVIEWEE RATES THE IMPORTANCE OF CURRENT FM TOPICS OUT OF 10. THE ‘AVERAGE’ SCORE (IN GREEN) IS TAKEN FROM OTHER RECENT INTERVIEWEES.

Taking minutes.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

Within outsourcing I feel contract drafting seems to be becoming more and more financially punitive and I do not feel this is best way to drive innovation and performance and can constrict both those delivering the services and those monitoring the contracts. Can we have more commissioning and less contracting?

Ensuring compliance with legislation

8

10

AVERAGE

HADLEIGH STANDEN

What attracted you to the job?

It was a mixture of the ethos of Pinnacle PSG, which is very much about communities, along with the variety of projects in terms of the stage the contracts are at and the type of project. Also with quite a small hierarchy, decision-making is so much quicker than in many organisations and the level of empowerment is very high, meaning that you treat your area of the business as if it were your own company.

Any interesting tales to tell?

Quite a few, but probably not for repeating!

If I wasn’t in facilities management, I’d probably be…

Introducing/ working with new forms of IT

4

6

I came close to setting up a Japanese restaurant.

Which “FM myth” would you most like to put an end to?

That health and safety has Getting to work on buildings YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE ... “gone mad”. As with most that really make such a things, the guidance is there “Balancing work, two young difference to their users, to be applied with common children and doing my master’s particularly with the legacy that sense for the safety of all. It degree via distance learning. our modern school facilities will has usually “gone mad” when leave and our Kirklees Extra someone hasn’t interpreted the My dissertation is evading me” Care PFI buildings which are a guidance sensibly. great example of how a person’s How do you think facilities quality of life is enhanced with management has changed in the past five years? a well-designed, well-built and well-managed home.

FM has moved with technology and now innovation How did you get into facilities management and and technology are integral to competitive success what attracted you to the industry? and effective service delivery. Also, FM has come I joined a graduate scheme after university (post more to the fore and is less of a back-office function. travelling for two years). I knew I wanted to work And how will it change in the next five years? operationally as my degree was in operations FM will continue to raise its profile and will start management. As the scheme was with an to lead more in the delivery of capital schemes, international construction company I thought I was especially with the advent of BIM. As outsourcing going to work in construction (which was true in continues many of these services will grow under the part). It was only after the interview process I saw banner of FM due to the varied skillset within FM my first glimpse of FM and have never looked back. and its ability to absorb whatever comes its way.

My top perk at work is…

Working on energy-efficiency initiatives

7 8

Adapting to flexible working

5 3

Maintaining service levels while cutting costs

8 10

What’s been your career high point to date?

Being a finalist in the BIFM Awards for FM Manager of the Year was a real honour.

What has been your biggest career challenge to date?

Probably balancing work, two young children and doing my master’s degree via distance learning. My dissertation is evading me so I need to find some time from somewhere. Any advice appreciated.

42 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

42_Behind the job.indd 42

What single piece of advice would you give to a young facilities manager starting out?

Get experience of managing people and developing teams as soon as you can.

Do your friends understand what facilities management is?

Adapting FM to changing corporate circumstances

7

9

I don’t think so. Until you work in FM, do you really understand its breadth. www.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 09:49

FM NEWS

Call Jack Shuard on 020 7880 8543 or email jack.shuard@fm-world.co.uk For full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack

FM innovations ▼ NEC makes it personal NEC Display Solutions has announced the 6th NEC Solutions Showcase to take place at The Velodrome, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th May 2014.

Collaborating with over 50 best-of-breed hardware manufacturers and software providers, NEC hosts a unique opportunity to get hands-on with fully integrated display solutions representing the future of the industry.

Also new for 2014, the showcase will run over two days allowing additional time to nurture the successful networking element of the event, enabling greater opportunities to develop existing and potential business contacts.

Register free for the NEC Showcase at www. showcase-nec.com. Follow @NECShowcase on Twitter.

▲ Top marks for OCS staff at Tata Steel Three cleaning supervisors and a business administrator, employed by international total facilities management provider OCS at Tata Steel in Scunthorpe, have shown ‘steely’ determination in achieving valuable professional qualifications which have enabled them to complete their apprenticeship.

OCS cleaning supervisors Adam Fudge and Vince Hawksworth successfully completed their Team Leading Level 2 qualification, while fellow supervisor Diane Burton achieved her City & Guilds Level 3 Cleaning Services Supervision qualification. Also enjoying a taste of success is Ella Day, who completed her Business Administration qualification Level 2 and is now working towards a further Level 3 qualification.

W: www.ocs.co.uk

▲ Toshiba AC shortlisted for five awards Toshiba Air Conditioning, a division of Toshiba Carrier UK, has been shortlisted for five awards in the Cooling Industry Awards 2013.

The accolades include a shortlisting in the Air Conditioning Product of the Year category for the company’s recently launched SHRM-i three-pipe heat recovery air conditioning system. It is believed to be the most efficient VRF system in the market at

▲ Opale Launches Progressive Relationship Advancement (PRA) Opale Management services has launched Progressive Relationship Advancement (PRA), a new process for initiating and repairing long-term FM outsourced contracts. After completing two years of engagement and research with multiple clients and suppliers, testing their findings with the BIFM, Opale identified a requirement for a different procurement and change methodology that sets the foundation for FM contracts that last beyond 10 years.

It has now deployed their approach with clients and is already seeing success in repairing troubled relationships and shortly will be using this thinking in initial tender engagements.

MD Neil Longley said: “There needs to be a better foundation on which to build longer-term FM relationships; a different approach that releases the market desire to have long-term relationships that suit the client’s need within the limitations of more traditional engagement processes. PRA process does that with success.”

part-load conditions. Toshiba’s refrigerant leak prevention and management systems have also been shortlisted in the same category. The technology, which attracts BREEAM points, is being adopted by a growing list of national end users, keen to eliminate the possibility of refrigerant leaks from their buildings.

T: 0870 843 0333 W: www.toshiba-aircon.co.uk

DO YOUR WASTE PRACTICES STAND UP TO SCRUTINY? Download our FREE guide to waste compliance now! www.wcrsltd.co.uk/publications.php T

0844 846 2000

www.fm-world.co.uk

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Appointments

44 | 27 MARCH 2014 | FM WORLD

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Call the sales team on 020 7324 2755 or email jobs@fm-world.co.uk For full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack

jobs.fm-world.co.uk

20/03/2014 11:20

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See latest job listings Create job alerts by email Save and email jobs from mobile Apply for jobs by saving your CV to your proďŹ le Keep track of your activity

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FM WORLD | 27 MARCH 2014 | 45

20/03/2014 11:24

FINAL WORD

NOTES FROM AROUND THE WORLD OF FM

NO 2

DAYS

THE SAME

RETAIL LEASE LIFE Is there a retail lease time bomb?

That was the subject under discussion at a recent roundtable facilitated by Incentive FM. The event addressed concerns that long leases signed by retailers in the 1980s and 1990s are due to come to an end within the next two years. Figures from the IPD suggest that this could push retailer vacancy rates above 50 per cent by 2017 and the panel was convened to consider this claim.

The main conclusion was that while there will be a huge readjustment in the retail landscape, it's unlikely to result in the dramatic vacancy rates reported. Fifty per cent vacancy rates are unlikely, but landlords will have to change their expectations with regard to the level of rents and length of leases – something that has already happened in some secondary shopping centres where landlords and managing agents have had to be increasingly flexible and accept that long leases are a thing of the past. The panel agreed that five years is likely to be the norm in future, that rent reviews are a thing of the past and it will be about individual rent negotiations.

From the FM perspective, there were interesting comments about just how integral the shopping centre manager's relationship with FM suppliers is and should be.

We'll have more on this event in our next edition, and online.

PLANTING AN IDEA “The facilities manager is best placed to deliver productive workplaces” – now there’s a challenging statement if ever we’ve heard one. Indeed, it’s one perfectly chosen for the BIFM international special interest group’s recent debate, one of those earlyevening events that are particularly good when the topic under discussion is so deliberately contentious.

Sam Bowman, UK services manager at Aramark Ireland for Google UK, gave the introductory presentation, arguing against the motion. “We don’t work alone, we’re part of wider teams," she explained. d "Yes, FM is there to provide a clean and k compliant workplace. And yes, we work nge ge with IT and others to support a wide range of working styles. Without FM, these departments can’t make their contribution – but without them, we can’t make ours. I see FM as principally an enabling roles, just as HR and IT are enabling roles.”

Sam also pointed to some of the stand-out surveys often mentioned by those seeking to show how FM can influence workplace productivity. How art boosts productivity, how supplying great coffee boosts productivity, even how plants can boost productivity.

Great, said Sam, all things that FM can facilitate – but Is it that simple?

"Bec "Because in my time I’ve bought lot of art, pla plants and coffee”.

By show of hands, Sam asked who in the audience felt empowered by a workplace festooned with plants? Who felt more productive because of the ccoffee? And who was more productive becaus because of strategically placed pieces of art?

Only a few raised their hands. “And who feels empowe empow empowered by being given the freedom to carry outt ttheir work as they want to?” Answer – pre pretty much everyone.

Art, plants and coffee are all very well – but what workers care about, and what makes them productive, is as much autonomy as employers can provide.

A DRY TOPIC… Speaking of surveys, it’s seconds out, round, well, whatever it is in the never-ending battle between paper towels and air dryers.

A comparative study by the University of Helsinki, commissioned by the European Textile Services Association (ETSA) claims to prove that, when looking at the drying procedure, “cotton and paper towels tested eliminated more bacteria from hands than the jet air or warm air dryers included in the study. Furthermore, the highest number of bacteria in the air was found within a range of one meter from the air drying systems”.

The study compared the “hygienic result” of four

different hand drying methods: cotton hand towels, disposable paper towels, an automatic warm air dryer and a jet air dryer. The reduction of microbes after the drying of hands was examined as well as the hygiene of the surfaces of the dryers and dispensers and the surrounding air.

So air drying puts more bacteria into the air. In the tests, both cotton and paper towels “showed a considerable reduction of bacteria through the mechanical process of rubbing the hands alone”.

Full details of this latest study can be obtained through the ETSA. As for response, the ball is firmly back in the air dryer manufacturers’ court.

SHUTTERSTOCK

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OUT 10 APRIL

FEATURE: CLEANING IN RETAIL ENVIRONMENTS /// CASE STUDY: FACILITIES MANAGEMENT ON THE ISLE OF MAN /// ALARM SYSTEMS /// FLEET MANAGEMENT /// PAT TESTING /// ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND BUSINESS ANALYSIS

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NO NT W R OP IE EN S

Exceptional & inspirational facilities management Will 2014 be the year you join the illustrious line-up of winners?

We are looking for the best examples of exceptional and inspirational facilities management projects, people and organisations to showcase at the BIFM Awards.

Enter and share your achievements with the FM community:

www.bifm.org.uk/awards2014 awards@bifm.org.uk +44 (0)1279 712 640 #BIFMAwards HEADLINE SPONSOR

ENTRIES CLOSE 2 MAY 2014 (FM OF THE YEAR CLOSES 27 JUNE 2014)

Accelerate your FM prospects To speed up your FM prospects ACT FAST and join the BIFM today.

If you want to get on in facilities management, get into the BIFM. As Britain’s leading association for our profession, we’re here to advance your cause. Use our extensive network of training and expert advice to progress your career.

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Gain invaluable knowledge and contacts at our industry leading events and specialist networks.

Increase your standing through our recognised professional qualifications and accreditations.

Profit from the latest professional and industry news – online and in print.

Take your opportunity to shape your industry’s future by getting involved in everything from regional committees and local events to national strategy planning. And make it your first priority.

T: 0845 058 1358 E: membership@bifm.org.uk www.bifm.org.uk 2/8/10 12:13:00

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