FM World 2010-11-11 by Redactive Media Group

The magazine for the British Institute of Facilities Management | 11 NOVEMBER 2010

FMWorld www.fm-world.co.uk

In conjunction with the Irish Property and Facility Management Association

Barry Varcoe:

On the disconnect between real estate and core business

Nationwide opens its doors to Workplace Week

High society

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VOL 7 ISSUE 21 11 NOVEMBER 2010

CONTENTS

7 | Airport security in focus

12 | IFMA

18 | Inside Nationwide

NEWS

OPINION

BIFM AWARDS

6 Report reveals NHS spends 40 per cent of budget on outsourcing 7 BA chief calls for rethink of passenger security at Britain’s airports 8 Jean Nouvel’s ‘stealth bomber’ shopping centre opens in the City 9 FM 100 poll: we asked you whether airport security is too stringent 10 Business news: Latest aviation bomb plot intensifies airport security debate 12 Report from the IFMA conference from BIFM chairman, Ian Broadbent 14 Grand designs: office furniture solutions at Orgatec in Cologne

16 Diary of a facilities manager: David Walker’s regular look at the daily challenges he faces in his working life 17 Five minutes with SGP managing director Kevin Elliott 46 Felicity Messing

MONITOR

Workplace week: Cathy Hayward visits Nationwide’s HQ in Swindon which is opening its doors to the public for Workplace Week 2010

Barry Varcoe: A young industry in many respects, FM lacks measurable standards of performance, making it difficult to align with business aims

Royal Bournemouth Hospital: How a hospital catering department has prioritised sustainability, opting for recyclable utensils, cups and packaging

28 Legal: data protection 30 Technical: power desk electrical supply issues 31 How to: systematise your print procurement 32 Insight: market intelligence

REGULARS 36 41 42 43

28 | Data Protection Act

BIFM news Diary of events People & jobs Appointments

Waste not Bournemouth Hospital

For exclusive online content including blogs, videos and daily news updates

visit fm-world.co.uk FM World Jobs – the best place to find FM career opportunities online COVER IMAGE: Peter Searle

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Designed for practising facilities managers in the private, public or voluntary sectors from any industry. • Further develop your understanding of facilities management and gain a well-regarded qualiﬁcation • Study the application of FM practice and strategic management • Acquire the skills and management expertise to enhance the performance of your business in a sustainable manner • Become a member of RICS and/or BIFM To further your career call 0800 019 9697 (quoting ref. FM1110), email courses@cem.ac.uk or visit our website.

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Follow the best FM career path Take the fast track with the BIFM today. Whatever your position in facilities management, joining the BIFM can send your career in the right direction. Our extensive targeted training and recognised professional qualiﬁcations can give you a clear path through to the top of your profession. As well as qualiﬁcations, our dedicated BIFM Training division offers over 40 different interactive short training courses. You also get Good Practice Guides and updates on key FM issues in our fortnightly FM World magazine. BIFM is a recognised Awarding Body and sets the national standards for FM competencies. As a member, you also get the chance to learn through the BIFM’s extensive local, regional and international network of expertise and events. So why not follow in the footsteps of our 12,000 plus existing members and join today?

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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: Cathy Hayward ⁄ news editors: Louisa Roberts and David Arminas ⁄ sub editor: James Richards ⁄ assistant editor: Natalie Li ⁄art director: Mark Parry ⁄ art editor: Daniel Swainsbury ⁄ picture editor: Sam Kesteven

CATHY HAYWARD EDITOR COMMENT

LEADER

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Average net circulation 11, 654 (Jul 09 – Jun 10) 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 Pensord ISSN 1743 8845

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he coalition government’s plans for increased, and unprecedented, co-operation on defence with the French government has given the headline writers (and the French-bashers) a field day. George W Bush’s joke that “the problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur” has been aired more than a few times over the past week. As someone with dual English and French citizenship, crossChannel collaboration seems like a natural move to me: why not share resources and expertise with your neighbours, reduce costs and potentially increase service levels? And why should we stop at defence? Collaboration is certainly something that seems to be gaining speed and credibility in the facilities management sector – and of course it’s nothing new. Already FM service providers might find themselves competing as rivals on one project and then working together collaboratively on another scheme. As the chair of the BIFM’s Procurement Special Interest Group, John Bowen said in his recent blog (see fm-world.co.uk/comment) collaboration is not something that procurement people tend to like very much. They much prefer the idea of beating up the supplier or setting off one supplier against the other. But next month’s launch of the British Standard in Collaborative Working, BS11 000 (watch our for the FM World supplement in early December telling you everything you need to know about the standard) shows how far collaborative thinking has gone down the supply chain. And it makes perfect business sense. You can only beat up your supplier, or screw down his margins so far, before he goes bust – as the Connaught debacle proves. But with last month’s Spending Review dealing swingeing cuts to public sector spending, collaboration may be the best (or even only) way forward. A recent survey of leaders of local authorities in Scotland revealed that most (85 per cent) are considering some collaboration with other local authorities over back office services, waste management, and roads maintenance and with other public sector organisations over fleet maintenance and facilities management. Those that were already collaborating in some areas said that collaboration tended to improve service quality, but not necessarily reduce costs – almost three-quarters said collaboration has improved levels of service delivery, but relatively few (28 per cent) believe it has achieved savings, either through workforce reduction or improved asset management. But collaboration, especially in the public sector, is no easy ride. From those surveyed, the most commonly mentioned barrier to shared services between public sector organisations is the complexity of governance arrangements; a loss of openness and accountability and resistance from staff or unions were also mentioned but only 5 per cent expressed concerns over limited private sector experience of local authorities. But those are not insurmountable challenges. After all, in Napoleon’s era, the idea of the French and British collaborating to build a tunnel under the Channel would have seemed impossible – and not just for engineering reasons. What might feel new and uncomfortable, and even downright scary today, may well be tomorrow’s mode de vie. FM

“COLLABORATION SEEMS NATURAL – WHY NOT SHARE RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE?”

Tel: 0845 0581356 email: admin@bifm.org.uk web: www.bifm.org.uk

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OUTSOURCING

NHS spend: 38 per cent is outsourced The Department of Health spent £6.64bn last year providing “estate and hotel services” according to the government’s latest Hospital Estates and Facilities Statistics report. Around 38 per cent of the £6.64bn was spent on contracted services or the “cost of occupancy” for the NHS estate in England. “This figure is the total cost of providing the estates services element,or hard facilities management costs, at £3,811m, and the hotel services costs at £2,832m, or soft facilities management costs,” the report says. “These figures do not include the costs of financing the estate e.g. depreciation and cost of capital” and the overall cost of £6.64bn “makes it one of the largest costs for the NHS along with staff costs and drugs.” The report covers a range of estates and facilities costs and data including the physical size of the estate, quality of its buildings, energy efficiency and sustainability data, hospital cleaning and food. It covers “those aspects which have attracted interest historically in the media and from Parliament”. The cost to reduce the backlog of maintenance increased slightly since 2008-09, rising from £4,084m to £4,096m - an increase of 0.29 per cent. The NHS spent nearly 10 per cent more in the past year cleaning hospitals than in the previous year. Hospital cleaning services rose from £819.6m in 2008-09 to £897.2m in 2009-10. On hospital food, the average cost of feeding one patient all food 06 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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and beverages during a single day increased by 11 pence, from £7.95 in 2008-09 to £8.06. The percentage of single

ALAMY

DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

Hospital space: Bed numbers rising

bedrooms as a proportion of total available beds continues to increase. “Since 2002-03, there has been a significant increase from 22.6 per cent to 32.7 per cent,” the report said. In bed numbers, this means a rise from 42,273 to 52,759. The NHS has classified 7.3 per cent of all occupied floor area as “un-utilised space”, declaring it either empty or under-used. This equates to 1,974,983 m2 from a total occupied floor area of 27,053,886 m2. At hospitals which charge for car parking, the average fee per hour for visitor and patient car parking is £1.13 – a figure based on data from 373 hospitals. This is a rise from last year where the average fee was only 89 pence, but the figure was based on a smaller number of hospitals supplying data, only 182.

FM models for college student

No H&S checks for half of UK workplaces LOUISA ROBERTS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

Nearly half of all UK workplaces have never had a health and safety inspection, according to a new survey from the TUC. Almost one in 10 safety reps for the union said that their last workplace safety inspection was more than three years ago, with only a quarter saying they had received a visit from a health and safety inspector in the past year. But the TUC say that this level of inspection has a detrimental effect on health and safety compliance. “Enforcement has an effect on employers taking action to make improvements in health and safety,” a statement from the union said. “The proportion of employers who make some improvements because

of the possibility of an inspection has risen to 61 per cent from 51 per cent in the last survey, and two thirds of employers do more than the minimum to comply with a legal enforcement notice.” The Health and Safety Executive has a dedicated section on its website for union representatives (hse.gov.uk/involvement) with information on how to engage employees in health and safety issues and step-by-step guidance on monitoring company performance. The HSE said that reps should

ensure that there is co-operation between managers and employees; that competence is built through training and information sharing and that there are “joint inspections and monitoring of health and safety performance, risk control systems and progress with plans.” TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the new results were scandalous. “Deep cuts in spending will make it easier for employers to avoid their obligations to protect their staff.”

“Deep cuts in spending will make it easier for employers to avoid their obligations under the law to protect their staff at work” - Brendan Barber www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:32:58

NEWS

BRIEFS FM wins award

what became an award-winning wax sculpture. Eun-jung Ha, a Bachelor of Arts student, won the first ever Madame Tussauds Award for her meticulously lifelike sculpture of Lurkins. Ha, who hails from Beijing and a final year undergraduate at Wimbledon, impressed the panel of judges with her technical skill and eye for detail. She was presented with the award and a cheque for a £1,000. Ha is also a little wiser about what facilities managers do after spending many hours with him Wanted: an FM who is tough on taking photos, measurements and the outside, soft on the inside and notes. definitely not camera-shy. “I chose Paul because he has Those are the qualities possessed interesting features, which I by Paul Lurkins, the assistant found challenging,” she told FM facilities manager at London’s World. “He fitted my idea of a Wimbledon College of Art, and the man with a strong shell and soft reason he was chosen to pose for inside.”

The global head of FM at Barclays Bank and head of CRES-UK has won this year’s FM category at the Women in the City awards, sponsored by Lusso. Wendy Cuthbert had impressed the judges at this year’s awards with her ability to inspire younger women into a “relatively lesser-known profession in the business world.” The judges added that Cuthbert makes time to mentor members of her team even when they have stopped working for her. She also regularly visits schools to raise awareness of the facilities management sector. Gwen Rhys, founder of the awards said: “Wendy’s approach to work-life balance particularly refreshing, an aspect of wellbeing which she sees as integral for women with children, and men alike.” The annual awards recognises the contribution made by women in the city in accountancy, the built environment, FM, financial services, insurance and law.

SECURITY

BA chair calls for security rethink Many airport security checks are redundant and need a complete rethink, the chairman of British Airways has said. Martin Broughton told the annual conference of the UK Airport Operators Association that security checks, such as asking passengers to remove their shoes and belts should be scrapped. Such demands are made by America, when the same measures are not carried out on internal American flights, he said. “America does not do internally a lot of the things they demand that we do. We shouldn’t stand for that. We should say, ‘we’ll only do things which we consider to be essential and that you Americans also consider essential.” www.fm-world.co.uk

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ALAMY

LOUISA ROBERTS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

Broughton said that the UK should stop “kowtowing” to US security standards. The UK airline industry has backed Broughton’s message. Mike Carrivick, from BAR UK, which represents more than 80 airlines, told the BBC that airport security seems to be a “layered approach”.

“Every time there is a new security scare, an extra later is added on to procedures. We need to step back and have a look at the whole situation.” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said that the certain measures have no effect on security whatsoever. Chris Yates, an aviation security analyst, said scanning technology was sufficient to detect any suspicious devices. “We need to keep passengers safe, but there’s also a whole bunch of security rules that could be eased out. “There are better ways in which we can do things now at the airport checkpoint. The redesign of that checkpoint is long overdue.” See the FM 100 Poll on page 9 to find out what FM World readers think of airport security issues.

Plant power in office Be nice to your office plant because it just might be helping improve your organisation’s bottom line, according to the landscape umbrella body eFIG. The group said that a “new study published in Australia earlier this year confirmed that just one plant on a desk – at work or in the home office - could have a really positive effect on people’s moods and reduce depression and anxiety by 50 and 60 per cent”. “We know from various studies that plants help to reduce stress, one of the biggest causes of heart disease as well as costing businesses through absenteeism,” eFIG chairman Thomas Palfreyman, said.

Parcel bombers jailed Animal rights activists that posted fake parcel bombs to businesses in an effort to force the closure of Huntingdon Life Sciences have been jailed. The cost of the damage and increased security measures to businesses and employees was around £12.6m. Five of the activists received sentences between 15 months and six years. The activists, all members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, targeted around 40 firms across Europe in an international plan to close the laboratories.

Celebration ends in fall A Merseyside headteacher has been fined £20,000 after one of his students suffered permanent injuries when he fell through the school roof. The HSE prosecuted John Summerfield after he led a group of teenagers onto a roof on the day of their A level results. One of the 18-year-old students fell nearly eight feet through a roof light, breaking his ribs, perforating an eardrum and suffered permanent damage to his right eye.

Guard planted cocaine A Philadelphia airport security worker planted vials of cocaine in passengers’ luggage as they went through x-ray scanners. The bomb appraisal officer, who has since been sacked, then asked if the drugs belonged to the passengers, causing one woman to burst into tears. He then laughed, before telling them that he knew it wasn’t theirs and wished them a good flight. FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 07

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PROJECT OF THE

FORTNIGHT MORE NEWS IN BRIEF

Scottish councils consider outsourcing Scottish local authorities look set to outsource more facilities work as councils grapple with spending cuts, according to a report. The top service now outsourced is adult social care services, according to 38 per cent of respondents to a survey of 39 chief executives and senior finance officers undertaken by Ipsos MORI. The other top four services are IT and IT support functions (28 per cent), road and traffic management (21 per cent), waste and recycling (15 per cent) and, finally, children’s social care – noted by 13 per cent of respondents. “Obvious omissions from this top five list include payroll services, building and facilities management. Catering revenue collection, contact centre provision and street cleaning were also mentioned. We classify these as obvious omissions because these are services that are relatively common – and thus easy – to outsource,” the report said.

Councils merge services to make savings Three London councils will merge many of their services as a response to the severe budget savings demanded by Whitehall in this week’s Comprehensive Spending Review. A trio of London councils has announced plans to create a “super council” by merging all their services in an attempt to save between £50m and £100m a year. The London boroughs of Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea expect to save between £50m and £100m a year. All services, from street cleaning to back office organisation, adult services and top management roles, will be considered for joint delivery. All councils in England face cuts of around 26 per cent in real terms over the coming four years. Many will be holding meetings to decide where the savings will come from, including redundancies, shutting down services and letting contractors go, or outsourcing services. SAM KESTEVEN

Facilities outsourcing to feel cutbacks

World-class retail space opens in the City Land Securities’ latest development in the city of London has caused a stir among workers in the Square Mile. Having been starved of anywhere decent to spend their hard earned money in their lunch hour for so long, One New Change is the long awaited solution. Opened earlier this month, the mixed development site includes more than 220,000 sq ft of retail space and 330,000 sq ft of office space combined this is the equivalent to 12 football pitches. The modernist building, situated just behind St Paul’s Cathedral, has been likened to a stealth bomber (said to be architect Jean Nouvel’s inspiration for the original design). The external cladding is made up of 6,500 glass panels of different sizes and shapes, of which 4,300 are individually hand crafted. Mitie’s FM team is providing cleaning and security services, as well as reception and mailroom services. Having announced Mitie’s contract win back in January, the group’s managing director of FM Patrick Stirland said: “Matching the world-class nature of One New Change with world-class service is essential. Creating a positive, lasting first impression will be instrumental in all the services that Mitie will be providing. Attention to detail will be important.” 08 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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Growth in the facilities outsourcing market has levelled off and will only inch its way up to nearly £15bn by 2014, a new report said. The facilities management market has exhibited good levels of growth for much of the past 20 years, the report Facilities Management Outsourcing Market UK – 2010 – 2014, 0from AMA Research, said. Growth has been influenced by company and organisational desires to control operational efficiencies and costs. A more recent factor is a trend within the private sector for companies to refocus their business in order to concentrate on core competencies. But the deterioration in the UK economy from mid to late 2008 has had a negative impact on the development of the FM market, with reduced opportunities in the corporate sector.

Carbon reduction campaigners join forces Carbon reduction campaigns 10:10 and LessEn will support each others’ efforts to help the built environment to reduce their carbon emissions by 10 per cent. Both organisations will retain their separate identities, but will work more closely together on projects. The built environment is estimated to account 18 per cent of the UK’s total carbon footprint, a joint statement said. The 10:10 campaign was founded in London in September 2009 by Franny Armstrong, director of the climate film The Age of Stupid. LessEn is a campaign by the Urban Land Institute, a non-profit research and education organisation supported by its members. On 30 November, LessEn and 10:10 will host an event at the ULI’s London West End Kyocera Centre to provide advice for tenants and landlords on how they can work together to achieve better workplaces. www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:35:02

Yes 41%

FM 100 POLL

WE ASKED 100 FMS… Undecided 8%

Do you agree that airport passenger check-in security measures are too stringent? Passenger airport check-in security measures are not too stringent, according to half of facilities managers in the latest FM World poll. Around 8 per cent of respondents were undecided. However, 41 per cent believed security was overdone, as did British Airways chairman, Martin Broughton. He said asking passengers to remove their shoes and belts or remove laptops from hand luggage, should be scrapped. But 51 per cent of respondents disagreed with Broughton. “There’s no option but to check

No 51%

high-risk areas and objects, such as laptops, bags and packages, and do body searches,” a respondent said. “Checks should be stringent since split second carelessness by a checker can result in breaches like we saw in Dubai and Yemen recently,” another respondent said. “If I have to spend a further hour being checked carefully and successfully before my flights, then so be it.” One FM was “happy for airport authorities to take whatever precautions are necessary. But these should be regularly reviewed

to ensure they aren’t done for the sake of it.” But for some FMs, passenger security checks are too hit and miss. “When asked to remove belts, jackets, laptops and your shoes it is very intimidating and unnecessary,” an FM said. However, recent bomb scares helped change one FM’s mind. “My view has gone from a clear ‘yes, too

stringent’ to ‘undecided’. But the most effective security measures will be those that are risk-based rather than blanket measures.” But terrorism, for most people, won’t arrive from some far-off land, a FM said. “If anyone is worried about terrorist threats from Al-Qaeda, they should arrive at Walthamstow Central at 11pm on a Saturday night.”

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ANALYSIS

Security pervades the headlines again GRAEME DAVIES newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

Security has returned to the forefront of everyone’s minds in the past couple of weeks. Firstly, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh called for a slackening of the “redundant” security checks at airports, which he said were becoming a bind for passengers. He was supported by BAA chief executive Colin Matthews, who said that the stringent checks, which we have all been subjected to since the incidents involving US airliners in September 2001, made passengers “uncomfortable”. Ironic really that his comments came in the same week that BAA were forced to apologise to pop act Jedward for their own staff making the Irish celebrities “uncomfortable” on a regular basis when they were flying out of Heathrow back to Ireland.

Tightening up But then, with eerie timing, came the weekend’s revelations that terrorists bombs reportedly originating from Yemen had been placed as cargo on planes destined for the US before being intercepted in the UK and Dubai. Suddenly, the calls for slackening security measures have fallen quiet and talk now is of how to tighten up security without stifling trade itself. In this new era of austerity, huge resources are not available to plough into such new initiatives and already the UK 10 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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Border Agency and the police are facing 20 per cent cuts to their budgets in the coming four years. One consequence of this could be an increase in outsourcing of non-front line operations to the private sector security providers who have found the going tough during the recession. While we are unlikely to see private contractors walking the beat at any time in the foreseeable future, the private sector has established itself

in security at airports and government buildings and is also experienced at running prison services. And it is these “front line” services that we could see an increasing number of private sector operators delivering in the years to come. The Ministry of Justice is already expecting to lose 14,000 of its workforce with up to one in five prison officers expected to leave the service in the coming years. But the prison population will not shrink, even if a smaller proportion of newly convicted criminals are locked up.

Get more for less The UK manned security market is already sizable; it was worth £3.3bn in 2008 according to researchers from Market & Business Development. Even in weak economic conditions, this is forecast to rise to £3.75bn by

2015, largely driven by the new growth area of custodial and public security. The traditional manned security market is bedevilled by weak growth due to weak consumer spending growth, while fierce competition has driven down margins. So the challenge for the government, and one which the private sector will be increasingly asked to resolve, is again how to effectively get more for less. Despite the calls for easing air passenger’s lives from the vested interest in the aviation industry, this week’s wake up call for security has reminded us that threats remain to our safety and scrimping and saving can only go so far when security is concerned. Graeme Davies writes for Investors Chronicle

Latest start-ups

NEW BUSINESS COFELY has been appointed as a preferred hard FM supplier for five years by East London LIFT Company that manages smaller NHS and healthcare facilities. East London LIFT Company was the first Local Improvement Finance Trust to be formed in England and is now one of the largest in the country, having completed seven healthcare projects with a further four under development. Procure Plus has appointed VINCI FACILITIES to its multi-million pound construction four-year framework contract. Procure Plus, formerly known as GM Procure, is a non-profit regeneration company representing a consortium of social housing providers with housing stock across the north-

west of England. Vinci Facilities, along with other contractors, will provide planned works and void works to more than 195,000 homes in the Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire areas, as well as in Cumbria. Dover District Council has awarded an interim responsive repairs and maintenance contract to MORRISON. The contract starts in December and is worth £1.6m year. Morrison will provide day-to-day responsive repairs, out-ofhours repairs and void maintenance services to 4,600 properties across Dover, Deal and Sandwich. Newport City Council has awarded a new six-year schools catering contract to CHARTWELLS, worth around £21m.

The caterer will work with 57 schools starting in April. FGH SECURITY has been awarded a deal worth up to £1.25m over five years with the NHS providing security guards to Trafford General Hospital and the Altrincham General Hospital. They also will supply several security guard dog handlers to the redundant Stretford St Anne’s hospital. INTERSERVE has won a £23m improvement programme for Farnley Park High School in Leeds and £11m of school extension work in the Nottinghamshire Construction Framework. It also picked up an £8m contract to extend four schools for Coventry City Council. EUROPA has won an integrated facilities management contract with mutual insurance, investment and pensions group LV=. The £25m, fiveyear contract will provide full hard and soft services to 24 LV= sites. ANABAS has signed four new support services deals with high-street retail clients. The company is to work with French Connection, Kurt Gieger, Levi and Hub Retail. www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:08:50

ISS chief executive officer, Jeff Gravenhorst

ISS eyes public listing by mid 2011 Danish global support services business ISS could float as soon as the first half 2011, according to its group chief executive officer Jeff Gravenhorst. The listing is “unlikely” to be in a stock exchange other than Copenhagen or London, or it could be in both, Gravenhorst said in an exclusive interview with FM World. The move would put the business

back into public ownership after it was bought in 2005 by the consortium of EQT Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and was delisted from the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. A Chinese wealth fund with assets of more than £187bn is a potential backer of a bid for ISS. ISS weathered the European economic downturn by broadening

Tender Notice The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the busiest emergency ambulance service in the UK to provide healthcare that is free to patients at the point of delivery. We serve more than seven-and-a-half million people who live and work in the London area. In 2009/10 we handled almost 1.5 million emergency calls from across London and attended more than one million incidents.

www.fm-world.co.uk

FM Business 0.indd 11

BUSINESS BRIEFS

services from more than cleaning and also looking at emerging markets. Growth for the business has been most notable overseas, in particular India, said Gravenhorst. As well as India, other overseas markets are China, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico and Chile. ISS has recently won a sevenyear, £70m contract with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, providing FM services at 28 diplomatic missions and 700 residential properties including ambassadors’ and high commissioners’ residences.

Profit dip at Mouchel Mouchel Group saw profits dip 13 per cent, during the year to 31 July 2010. Revenue dropped from £740m to £633m in the year to the end of July. Loss before tax, including exceptional items such as the restructuring of its Middle East operations rose from £13.5m to £14.7m.

New name for Kalyx Kalyx, Sodexo’s UK prison business has been re-named Sodexo Justice Services. The move is part of a global rebrand and French and Chilean operations have changed to the new global name from Siges.

We are currently tendering for the following three services: 1. Vehicle preparation – cleaning and replenishing of ambulances 2. Vehicle relocation – movement of ambulances within our area 3. Office and station cleaning – general cleaning services. Please note that each of these is a separate tender being run according to the Public Contracts Regulations and each is being advertised in the Official Journal of The European Union (OJEU). Should any or all of these opportunities be of interest, further information - including closing dates - is available via our e-sourcing portal at https://londonambulance.bravosolution.co.uk Further information about working with us as a supplier can be found on our website at www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/procurement

FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 11

4/11/10 16:09:01

FM EVENT IFMA CONFERENCE

REPORT

GEORGIA ON MY MIND BIFM chairman Ian Broadbent reports from IFMA’s World Workplace event in Atlanta, Georgia and finds an international flavour with plenty of networking opportunities – in an aquarium and in the World of Coca-Cola IAN BROADBENT

“You guys sure know how to party,” said the lead singer of the band at a reception party towards the end of World Worldplace 2010 closing the night with a mixture of Bon Jovi and 80s classics. And there was a lot to celebrate following a long week of meetings, exhibitions, conference and lectures. This year’s International Facility Management Association conference took place in Atlanta Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Centre from October 27, the first time it had been in the city since 1988. Atlanta is not a tourist destination although it is home to several impressive facilities such as the Apex Museum, Olympic Park, Martin Luther King centre, and the CNN Centre. This year is also a landmark year for IFMA who are celebrating 30 years of service to the FM profession. The night before World Workplace opened, delegates attended the IFMA foundation gala and recognition reception at the ‘World of Coca-Cola’. We were 12 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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treated to food, entertainment and relaxed networking as well as a live and silent auction. Those attending were given access to all areas of the world of Coca-Cola attractions not least one self-serve fountain that offers 106 varieties of Coca-Cola. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the IFMA foundation works to promote priority research and educational opportunities for the advancement of FM and we were happy to support their work by attending. On day one, the opening keynote speaker was The Honourable Alexis M Herman, former US secretary of labour and workforce expert who had worked under Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Her speech was US-centric, which, although hardly surprising, was nonetheless disappointing bearing in mind the international flavour of the event.

The Georgia World Congress Centre (left) played host to FM delegates from around the world

However, she offered some interesting comparisons: she asked how many in the room were born between 1946-64 and around 70 per cent raised their hands, her point being the lack of talent and new blood coming into the industry. After the keynote speech delegates were literally marched into the exhibition hall behind a band. The exhibition itself featured

“WE WERE APPROACHED BY MANY ORGANISATIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND CONGRATULATED ON THE WAY THE BIFM IS RUN”

a number of global players but was not dissimilar in size to our own TWM or the Facilities Show. Throughout the week, there were over 100 educational sessions running at the same time, on subjects ranging from sustainability to planning, trends, innovation, research, motivation and benchmarking to name but a few. World Workplace prioritised sustainability by maintaining the following practices: 1. All surplus materials were distributed to a local school 2. Event information was distributed electronically 3. Post-conference material was made available on the internet www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:51:34

FM NETWORKS

REPRESENTATION FROM THE UK

Stan Mitchell previous Global FM Chairman

4. Surplus catering was donated to a local charity 5. There was no on-site parking 6. Recycling stations was available throughout the conference area On the evening of the opening day we were treated to a sensory overload of sounds, sights and tastes at the Georgia aquarium, which is home to over 100,000 aquatic creatures and 500 different species including whale sharks. The event proved a good networking opportunity, as well as dinner and dancing – to classic Motown and contemporary hip-hop tunes. Networking was a common theme of the event and the one area I felt that our American hosts got absolutely right. Each evening there were a series of events or receptions where delegates, organisers and exhibitors mixed in informal yet spectacular environments. We are possibly more reserved in the UK, but conversation with strangers just seems far more natural in the US. On Thursday evening, a number of organisations held receptions with each outdoing the other in terms of spectacular locations and the quality of food and drink; diplomatically, we managed to get to most of them on www.fm-world.co.uk

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the closing night. The conference closed with the IFMA awards of excellence 2010, a black-tie event with dinner, awards and dancing. The UK was well represented throughout the show: previous Global FM chairman Stan Mitchell was in attendance, as was immediate past BIFM chairman Iain Murray, who has been voted in as vice chairman of Global FM, and fellow Global FM director and BIFM CEO, Ian Fielder. Dave Wilson, of Agents4FM was also present. It was also very interesting to hear views on the BIFM and FM in the UK; throughout the week we were approached by many organisations from around the

Iain Murray vice chairman Global FM

world and congratulated on the way the BIFM is run with requests for support, advice and guidance. There was recognition from many that Europe, not the US, has led the way in FM. So as World Workplace 2010 came to an end, what had been achieved? Well, we have developed existing relationships further as well as seeking out new opportunities. There was also a clear message that Europe and in particular the UK is at the forefront of research, innovation, transformation and solving workplace issues. There was also clear agreement globally that the workplace is changing, the way we do business

Ian Fielder BIFM CEO

Dave Wilson Agents4FM

has changed and those who are prepared for the future will meet the change head on and provide direction to their organisations. So the lead singer was right, we do know how to party sometimes. But we also need to make sure as a profession that we are always at the party and celebrate the great things we do all year round. We can’t all go to World Workplace every year but the world is a smaller place and in terms of FM we have a massive influence. The UK has often been highlighted as punching above its weight and I left Atlanta with the view that in the world of FM this is definitely true and this is set to continue. FM FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 13

4/11/10 16:52:31

FM EVENT ORGATEC 2010

OFFICE DESIGN

DESIGN FOR OFFICE LIFE ANNA KING

Under the headline of Better Office - Greater Success, office furnishers and facilities designers gathered at Orgatec from 26-30 October for the international trade fair for the modern office. Orgatec has decreased in size dramatically over the last few years which many feel is for the better. The show now comprises the cream of office furniture design and rather than being overwhelmed by its vastness, visitors are able to see all that Orgatec has to offer. There is also time for high level thinking, with many exhibitors prepared to share their theories and predictions for the future of the workplace so one feels less bombarded by pure sales patter. The atmosphere was very upbeat and although there is a definite euro-centric feel about the show, its international reach should not be underestimated. As Martyn Colebrook, managing director of Colebrook Bosson Saunders explained: “For us, Orgatec is a great opportunity to bring together Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ representatives from all over the world: from Australia to Dubai and Singapore to France – all make an effort to attend; to learn from each other, to see first hand our own new product “Flo” and to absorb 14 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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developments in the market as a whole.”

Changing times The eclectic mix of stands is always a talking point, with Vitra as always the inspirational crowd pleaser, defining its enormous 20,000 sq ft booth with end on end wood that we were assured will be re-used. Herman Miller notably re-used elements of previous show stands in the spirit of austerity and sustainability and Humanscale must be praised for its beautiful simplicity. The way we work is constantly changing – fuelled by technology, demands on real estate and the types of spaces required to allow workers to perform tasks to their optimum. As we all know the speed and efficiency of the reconfiguration of a space can often have a dramatic impact on morale of employees in an organisation, which is essential for facilities managers faced with more employee churn than ever, as businesses/public sector organisations still face mass redundancies. The integration of technology within the furniture was a key trend with monitors, projectors, or loudspeakers often concealed in furniture at the touch of a button, microphones were seen to directly retract into the conference table or integrated monitors and what may

ANNA KING

More than 600 office furnishers and facilities designers gathered at Orgatec in Cologne last month to present innovation and solutions for the challenges facing our places of work appear to be a normal glass tops transforming into projection walls with touch screen technology. Communication and collaboration are all essential elements in a modern workplace and the facilities provided need to respond to and support these requirements and much on offer at Orgatec did not disappoint.

Flexibility The over arching theme of the entire show was clearly that of ‘flexibility’ both in terms of what individual products have to offer and how they respond to the user, to the formation of modular types of furniture and the ease of configuration to deal with expanding and retracting workforces, as well as the multiple uses of softer furnishings for break out spaces. On another level many of the exhibitors did not want their products only to be seen in a commercial/office context with reference to domestic use frequently made. Two front runners for task chairs were predictably SAYL by Herman

Miller with a ‘mere’ third of stand space given over to its design and development, and Humanscale with the Diffrient World Chair under the spotlight. Kinnarps was at Orgatec for the first time this year and presented a number of products including a workplace system – Work DS, again with flexibility in mind. It comprises both tabletop and frame sections, offering a wide spectrum for a number of work situations. In the office storage arena Bisley had the most innovative offering with a prototype for Console on display, challenging the way storage is planned into the workspace, bringing it to the centre rather than assuming its location on the periphery. So another good year for Orgatec, with all the key manufacturers very much still present, demonstrating commitment and investment to the marketplace and more positively many exhibitors estimating that the show was far busier than in recent years. FM

“The atmosphere was very upbeat and although there is a definite euro-centric feel about the show, its international reach should not be underestimated” www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 15:29:39

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FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 15

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1/11/10 14:23:13

FM OPINION THE DIARY COLUMN DAVID WALKER

David Walker is facilities project manager at Northumbrian Water

“I DO ENJOY THE CHALLENGE OF WORKING ON LISTED AND PROTECTED BUILDINGS” SATISF YIN G AL L N EEDS

new project at the Grade II listed A Museum of Power in Essex provides a plethora of challenges from installing toilet facilities to improving heating systems. But gaining and keeping the trust of various bodies involved is also high on the agenda This week has seen me kick start a new project at the Museum of Power in Essex. The work involves converting old workshops into a new café with 32 covers. I also have to provide a new servery and kitchen to serve the café. We are also taking the opportunity to provide toilet facilities for the museum. This should be very beneﬁcial to the various visiting parties who currently have to use a toilet block cabin located in the middle of a

field. While the facility is not too bad it seems a bit much when you have to ask local dignitaries to use the facility, which has no heating, in the middle of winter. The final bit of work is to provide a new office and store for the trust to use when running the facility. As with all trusts they want as much as they can get and I can’t blame them, so another thing I am going to consider is improvements to the heating system, or replacement of it. While this does not sound like too much

of a task the difﬁculty is providing something that is in keeping with the building and its surroundings while at the same time keeping the various bodies happy. I do enjoy the challenge of working on listed and protected buildings. The trust are always pleased and very grateful for the help and work we do and at the same time also provide some very nice doughnuts for the meetings we have – yes we all have our little perks. I recently, through no fault of my own, fell foul of our procurement department when I ordered some furniture through a supplier, which I believed was on the system and approved for use, but to my surprise had actually been removed from the list. This fact, and since I had not received three competitive prices got me into a spot of bother. I was not, to say the least, overly impressed by this. The

supplier I used had provided me with furniture for as long as I can remember and although the order was over the £10k limit they were to my knowledge the only supplier available for me to use. The outcome? Well, I had to answer 25 questions in an interview regarding procurement procedures and my understanding of them and I was then issued with copy of the procedures, I think I better stop now. On a personal note I am now just about a stone lighter than I was a month ago - this is not through a effort of trying to lose weight, I like crisps and bread too much for that but it’s down to the fact that I have started training quite a bit more than I was. I feel better for it to be honest although the weakness for wine and enjoying myself is very much high on my agenda. Bye for now. FM

BEST OF THE WEB The latest views, comments and reaction across the web

1⁄

Thefmguru tweets: MPs bottling tap water http:// tinyurl.com/2vjdtof How to waste #facilitiesmanagement money lesson one.

2⁄

To mentor or not to mentor… that is the question? Lee Haury blogs: What do… lean processing, world class performance and operations, efficiency,

16 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

Opinion.indd 16

flexible working, hot desking and hotelling, innovation, stakeholder management, partnering, knowledge, risk management, responsibility, ownership, achievement, delivery and today’s work today… have in common? They are currently all “buzz” words (I actually hate that word) which can be heard cropping up in business speak, boardroom

presentations and internal communications on a daily basis.

3⁄

alaindebotton tweets 5:43pm October 31: In architecture, as in writing, but not dentistry, most practitioners are at any time feeling badly about how things are going.

4⁄

Yeovalley tweets:Interesting

build on @jamie_oIiver’s campaign to re-think school dinners - redesign the space: http://bit.ly/ ddFgmD

How to waste #facilitiesmanagement money number 2: Buy some artwork http://bit. ly/aSJkri

5⁄

7⁄

occupiers tweets: interesting (worrying, re environment esp) article on US elections http://bit.ly/ amsE2Q

6⁄

Thefmguru tweets:

BIFM facebook, http://bit.ly/ aooi3M: BIFM members were in Whitehall yesterday for a meeting with the team working on guidance for energy efficiency in Government FM contracts. www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 15:04:30

You can follow us at twitter.com/FM_World and cathy_fm_world facebook/fmworldmagazine

BEST OF THE

FMWORLD BLOGS

FIVE MINUTES WITH

1⁄

NAME: Kevin Elliott JOB TITLE: Managing director COMPANY: SGP

A bad week for security

Louisa Roberts/news editor, FM World Poor Jedward. The Irish twins who didn’t win last year’s X-factor have been in the press after complaining of bullying from security staff at Heathrow (spending review? what spending review?). The pair, who appear in the tabloid press regularly despite an apparent lack of any talent, say that a “gang” of security workers regularly taunt them when they fly back and forth to Ireland and even tried to force one of them to remove his trousers and a leg brace that protected his broken ankle recently. BAA have issued an apology over “the rude and unprofessional staff” and have spoken to the security staff concerned. So a range of FM issues are yet again unwittingly highlighted in the national press.

2⁄

FM of the Year: One year on

Andy Ractliffe/facilities manager at Amey In October 2009, Amey’s Andy Ractliffe was awarded the prestigious FM of the Year award. A year on, he reflects on what the win meant to him and what it was like judging his successor. Professionally the award has meant a great deal to me. Not only has the award given me kudos within the company - always welcome of course - but it has led to me being given a role about which I have long been passionate. I feel very strongly that FM is a profession for which we need to prepare and coach our people. Not only do the statutory regulations change all the time but we really do need to learn from each other.

3⁄

Is the office dead or even dying?

John Bowen/chair of BIFM’s Procurement Sig Is the office dead? No, not that TV show, the real place that many of us have worked in over the years. What got me started on this was reading online a posting from a public sector facilities management colleague talking about some of the alternative ways of working and plans to do things that I’d done, also in the public sector 15 years or so ago. I also read something on the mayor’s plans for transport in London whereby, if my memory serves me correctly, they were talking about catering for a significant growth in the numbers of people coming to work in central London in the coming years. www.fm-world.co.uk

Opinion.indd 17

Johnson Service Group suffered because it overspent on acquisitions. But SGP was strong and I had to lead the business on the basis that we were part of a bigger organisation but shouldn’t let ourselves be coloured by that. Woolies, Threshers, Viyella and Adams were our customers. You have to keep all the plates spinning during a recession: believing in the business; investing in it; talking to shareholders, bankers and customers; and doing what you do well. Companies shouldn’t chase down the margin. It’s fool’s gold. You have to find a cleverer way of doing things. We won’t take on a client that’s not making a contribution to profit. The Jarvis acquisition took time. We took on eight contracts and one involved getting signatures from the council’s director of children’s services, the PFI unit, Deloitte, a former Jarvis director, us as a PLC and at business level, the school governor, the head teacher and the local bishop. Every Monday morning we have school assembly via conference call. Every director talks through our customers one by one. I don’t mind if we fail because we’ve tried hard and got it wrong but if we disengage our brain and forget the customer, that’s not acceptable. Last New Year’s Eve, customers were trapped at Inverness Airport when it cancelled flights. All the staff stayed, ordered in pizzas and champagne and celebrated the new year together. That’s customer service. I danced the Argentine tango with a colleague for the Rainbow Children’s hospice, where I’m chair of trustees. It was fun but tough to get the Latin look with grey hair. FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 17

4/11/10 14:12:05

FM FEATURE WORKPLACE WEEK CATHY HAYWARD

NATIONWIDE HOUSE COMPLETED: 1990 COST: £47M SITE TOTAL AREA: 28.5 ACRES LANDSCAPING INCLUDES: 70,000 SHRUBS AND A ONE-ACRE LAKE NET USABLE SPACE: 322,000 SQ FT NET OFFICE SPACE: 256,000 SQ FT BUILDING USERS: 3,700 USING 2,800 DESKS CAR PARKING SPACES: 1,800 PLUS 100 IN THE LOCAL PARK AND RIDE ARCHITECT: HOLFORD ASSOCIATES MAIN CONTRACTOR: TAYLOR WOODROW TOTAL FM CONTRACTS: VINCI (BRANCH NETWORK) AND CARILLION (ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS) CATERING, HOSPITALITY, CONCIERGE AND SHOPS: ARAMARK

Cathy Hayward was on site when Nationwide opened its main office to visitors for Workplace Week, a celebration of the world of work and facilities, in aid of Children in Need

BEHIND THE SCENES Photography: Peter Searle 18 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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ationwide House looms like a giant greenhouse over the Wiltshire countryside, its huge steel frame, clad with white aluminium panels and 3.2 acres of glazing, glinting in the autumn sunshine. But walking through the entrance of the glass structure, the visitor is immediately transported into one of the building society’s 700 branches. Cash machines, private banking booths and cashiers sit alongside the more traditional corporate reception desk and soft seating waiting area. It’s not just the cash points that give the feel of the high street; the buzz around the building, in which 3,700 people work, is more reminiscent of a busy shopping centre than an office. People sit around the atrium talking to colleagues or on mobile phones, or stroll down the internal street

– a ground-breaking structure when it was built 20 years ago – to the social areas at the rear of the building which houses the restaurant, internet café, shops and occasionally a farmers’ market or craft stalls. Others are dashing out of the front entrance to catch the Lunchtime Link, one of two free buses an hour Nationwide put on every lunchtime (more at Christmas) to enable employees to get to Swindon town centre, which is a 10-minute drive away. The spiral staircases at each of the building’s four corners are also busy with people coming and going (although there are four lifts, people are encouraged to use the stairs in the three-storey building both to conserve energy and to free them up for less-abled people) and the four glass bridges spanning the street which link the four office www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:13:06

NATIONWIDE

James Domm, facilities manager at the Swindon site, has worked for Nationwide for four years

“THE BUZZ AROUND THE BUILDING, IN WHICH 3,700 PEOPLE WORK, IS MORE REMINISCENT OF A SHOPPING CENTRE THAN AN OFFICE”

blocks are also full of activity. Despite being 20 years old, the building feels, and looks new. Its light airy ambience, the white décor set off by beech panels and the industrial feel helps, but it has also undergone plenty of improvements over the last two decades. “Being a mixture of glass and white panelling, it’s a continual battle to keep clean,” admits facilities manager James Domm, who went through Johnson Controls’ graduate trainee programme before joining Nationwide four years ago. The huge translucent blinds, which prevent solar gain in the atrium, had to be changed recently because they had become stained over time and were affecting the quality of the light that came through. The meeting areas have also been completely transformed. www.fm-world.co.uk

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Previously, many employees hired local hotel meeting facilities for internal and external meetings, at a significant cost to the building society. The FM team created a meeting suite 18 months ago to rival the hotel experience and now few meetings are held externally. Situated off the street, the suite has the feel of a luxury hotel and offers all the usual hospitality from teas and coffees to full blown meals. It mirrors the executive dining room on the second floor, that has its own kitchen preparation facility attached. There are also meeting facilities dotted throughout the building; to the side of the street, echoing a pavement café culture, are large meeting tables which are afforded privacy by tall wooden ‘straws’ in rectangular pots by each table. FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 19

4/11/10 16:14:07

FM FEATURE WORKPLACE WEEK CATHY HAYWARD

Under one roof: facilities include a restaurant, shop and occasionally, a craft stall and farmers’ market

Circular pod meeting rooms on office floors provide other meeting areas and there are numerous touch-down spaces. Nationwide is at the start of introducing an agile working programme (see box) which will see more offices transformed from static working spaces to flexible touch-down environments. The building society has gone through a recent rebranding and the head office is testament to that change. Emblazoned down the walls of the street in huge letters are some of those key brand phrases, such as ‘putting members first’, ‘rewarding relationships’, ‘inspiring trust’, ‘delivering great service’; and ‘exceeding expectations’. All these phrases could refer to FM as well as the core building society business. As an out-of-town site, Nationwide works hard to provide employees with everything they could want in the building, while also providing, through the Lunchtime Link, the opportunity to get into town. A full restaurant, run by Aramark, is also supported by 24/7 vending in the Chill 24 area, where staff working outside the traditional 9-5 can heat up meals in microwaves and relax in comfy seats watching sport on the widescreen TV. A shop, hairdressers, medical suite and dry cleaners (again run by Aramark) cater for most needs while the sporting facilities put many leisure centres to shame. Inside the building there is a gym, with exercise and weightlifting equipment together with a mixture of aerobics classes, and an alternative therapy suite offering everything from pregnancy massage to manicures. From the restaurant, the main view outside is of the stunning one-acre lake with its three enormous fountains. But it is the pavilion and sports field (which are developed under a 50-year lease 20 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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agreement with the local council after which it will revert back to their ownership), that is the true centrepiece of the facility, providing opportunities to play cricket, football and rugby. Before the site was built in 1990, it was recognised that there was insufficient public transport serving the area. Nationwide worked with the council’s transport department and several bus routes were redirected via the building. In addition, a well-established car-sharing facility not only helps people who live near each other to share a lift to the building, but also plots a route for them allowing them to pick up others on the way. There are also excellent facilities for cyclists, including secure bike storage, lockers and showers. But the car remains king: the site

was built with 1,100 parking spaces and this has been increased over the years to 1,800 spaces. Sustainability and energy conservation remain a key focus. The offices are all air-conditioned (the organisation is undergoing an R22 replacement programme and is increasing its air-con efficiency) and every floor of each block has its own plant to allow for maximum flexibility of use. The atrium is naturally ventilated with underfloor heating/cooling by water, automatic blinds and external louvres for shading and, that holy grail of offices, windows that open which create a good breeze on warm days. There are automatic lighting controls with presence detectors in some areas and double-glazing throughout. www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:15:43

NATIONWIDE

WATCH a tour of the Swindon site at www.fm-world.co.uk

FLEXIBLE WORKING

Flexible site eases introduction of agile working he original brief to the design team in 1989 was to create a flexible space allowing individual floors to be refurbished or to be easily sublet. This has eased the introduction of agile working at the site, a strategy which was initiated eight months ago with the aim of reducing operational costs, increasing the productivity of employees, systems and resources, retaining and attracting talented staff, competing more effectively in the marketplace; and increasing operational flexibility. A tough wish list, acknowledges Domm. “We need to maintain our brand and business vehicle to enable us to operate in the most efficient, productive, sustainable and secure way.” The programme started with the FM team, helped by consultants Advanced Workplace Associates and office furniture firm Steelcase, which investigated the space requirement of individual teams and departments. This was not the same as what they necessarily wanted, says Domm. Information gathering involved the circulation of a questionnaire that was then analysed by senior management familiar with each department’s role in order to avoid any empire building within departments. “We wanted to understand how historical offices hindered efficient working.”

Because of the confidential nature of Nationwide’s business, all paper, from Post-Its and old newspapers to customer data, is treated as confidential waste and destroyed off site and then recycled. Since the call centre has been moved to a dedicated site, there is less need for security but Nationwide risk profiles all areas and some are only accessible with an access card, or are physically locked with the security office holding key lists. There are also critical environments, including server rooms and critical work spaces such as the member services department which talks to customers, and the directors areas, which are covered by UPS and generators. Despite the lack of a call centre on site, whose staff work on www.fm-world.co.uk

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Nationwide had used its space very traditionally with staff working at fixed desks in fixed locations, nine to five, with very little home working. There was a 1:1 desk to staff ratio and 60 per cent occupancy. The plan was to create, for certain departments, a completely free environment where there are no fixed desks and staff can work how and where they like in a way which is most suitable to the work they’re doing. This involves not just a change in the physical layout, but a massive cultural change says Domm. Nationwide, like many major firms, had tended to manage on attendance not output. “There was a feeling that if you’re not at your desk, you’re not working.” The programme is in its early stages, with less than 10 per cent of staff having moved to agile working (the change management team was first) and it may not be suitable for all departments to work in this way. Feedback has been positive says Domm, and the results are plain to see. The visitor can walk from one traditional office with huge cluttered desks and jam-packed storage to the new agile office where people sit at white bench desks and there is less clutter and a more buzzy, collaborative feel. Overall, the new agile working space better complements the light, airy, shared ambience of the atrium.

Saturdays, the building remains open 24/7. “It allows us to adapt to peaks and troughs in the business, for example towards the end of the tax year many departments will be working round the clock,” says Domm. Nationwide divides its property portfolio, made up of 24 administration buildings in addition to the branches, into four clusters. Domm, who reports to the head of property operations Steve Gibb, looks after the Swindon cluster of nine buildings including the head office, a data centre, logistics centre and a call centre. His counterpart in Northampton manages the Northampton and North cluster, which includes buildings from Derbyshire, Cheshire and Dunfermline building societies that Nationwide recently took

over. A colleague manages the Bournemouth and London cluster, which includes a new state-of-the-art data centre in Newbury, and another looks after the branch network. Nationwide has adopted a heavily outsourced facilities management model – just nine FM staff are employed directly by Nationwide with Carillion providing total FM services to the administration properties and Vinci to the branch network, although the firm is currently undergoing a tender process that could see one provider providing FM to the entire portfolio. “We are trying to be a thin expert client,” says Domm, “keeping the decision makers and budget holders in-house and the operations outsourced.” FM FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 21

4/11/10 16:17:17

FM FEATURE STRATEGIC FM BARRY VARCOE

BROKEN

SPEECH F The need to align real estate with core business aims is a constant battle for FMs. Barry Varcoe’s in-depth research suggests that better communication is the key to better working

Illustration: Angus Greig

acilities management provides organisations with their physical working environments. In my 25 years’ experience as a practitioner within this discipline, I have found that one frustration and challenge stands out beyond all others: that is, the struggle to align and make relevant what the workplace delivers for the business and its strategy. To try and make life easier for myself (in the long term!) I undertook a doctorate research programme to find out what was underpinning this critical area of leadership responsibility. My initial review of the available literature indicated that FM is a very broad and complex field. It embraces a wide range of disciplines, including: ● Building economics ● Property asset management ● Building performance, including components and environmental impact ● Business support services ● Space use ● People performance, including productivity ● Cost ● Performance models, including quality I discovered that many concepts and measures have been defined within each of these areas, and several standards, techniques and models have been developed to capture learning, provide consistency of approach and repeatability. But none are all embracing, nor tie together a cohesive view across the entire field. Few are founded upon a base of proven data and many require considerable resources in terms of time and money to implement. It is possible that the fractured nature of the industry as a whole has hindered the development of good practice in at least two ways: ● By keeping functional and discipline ‘silos’, which holds back the development of holistic models that are more aligned to the strategic management and customer perspective

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●

By fracturing feedback and learning ability

The field of FM is n ot yet supported by an adequate knowledge base and research. As Bev Nutt and Peter McLennan have said: ‘Its knowledge base is at a primitive stage of development, its terrain largely unexplored’. As such, FM makes claims for itself that are for the most part untested – much of what is currently held as theory has little or no factual foundation. There is also a fundamental weakness caused by the failure to address the interrelations between the many component variables of what is, in reality, a complex system. Bev Nutt once again agrees. He cites a lack of coherence within and between the supply and demand side of the industry and, most worrying of all, a lack of ‘intellectual coherence’ with the academic world. The review of business management’s perspective of FM also drew some interesting conclusions. FM seemed to warrant a comparatively minor amount of content and significance. Most writers made no mention of them, even when they were discussing fundamental shifts in the nature of work.

Re-occurring themes Where FM is mentioned, common themes can be identified: ● Consideration of them as an asset of production ● Their being an organization enabling (or constraining) ‘place’ ● Their potential to negatively impact job satisfaction through poor standards and quality ● Their role as a visual representation of the organisation’s image and culture From these literature reviews it became clear that, for most businesses, the key consideration is how FM impacts on workforce satisfaction and therefore productivity. MacGregor and Then (1999) summarise this as www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:18:36

STRATEGIC FM

“FM IS IN A WEAK POSITION TO DEMONSTRATE ITS RELEVANCE AND VALUE TO THE ORGANISATION IT SUPPORTS”

www.fm-world.co.uk

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‘management… [needing to] be driven by a clear motivation that balances: ● The demand to control costs ● The increasing need to provide workplaces that enhance productivity ● The provision of satisfaction to the workforce, individually and collectively My research, however, led me seek evidence for the existence of this key relationship. Was it merely assumed that this was the way things worked, or were there any hard facts? I began to consider whether there was a correlation between the variables of FM cost performance, FM service quality, and consumer (facility user) satisfaction. Measurement tools for each variable (including a consumer satisfaction survey) were designed, tested in a pilot study, and then deployed in a study within a financial services organisation’s UK portfolio. The data sample obtained was extensive: 1887 respondents in 154 office facilities. The research, using various recognised statistical analyses, identified no meaningful correlations between these variables.

The findings of this research have potentially significant implications for the field of FM, in particular, for senior leaders responsible for its overall performance to the organisations it exists to support, as well as for academics. Diagnosing FM performance practices in the context of organisational priorities demonstrates the deficiencies of the discrete approach to facilities performance practice.

Lacking an integrated approach When looking at FM with a view to identifying the discipline’s contribution to overall business aims, one quickly realises the inherent difficulties in analysing practices in isolation. The lack of an integrated approach between related fields is compounded by scant evidence of systemic and strong linkages within the discipline, both between aspects of facilities performance and with the organisational needs they seek to address. Where connections exist, there is generally no evidence or understanding of defined cause and effect relationships. I would argue, therefore, that facilities management is in a weak position to demonstrate its FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 23

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FM FEATURE STRATEGIC FM BARRY VARCOE

relevance and value to the organisation it supports. An exception to this rule is in the case of extremes of negative performance where catastrophic failure of the facilities will lead to similar failure or major disruption to the business of the enterprise. The converse of this conclusion is that FM performance practice has significant scope for improvement, including in ways that will lead to benefit for the organisations it is supporting, by both: ● Establishing whether relationships exist between FM performance and organisational requirements ● Developing a performance model that provides an inter-related and complex, system-based measurement The failure to find any meaningful correlations between the variables also calls into question FM’s existence as a system, and thereby as a field that can systematically improve. Furthermore, and perhaps just as worrying, my initial attempts to use measurement tools (before the successful field study at the financial services organisation) came up against considerable caution, and, at times, resistance, to the potential discovery of new knowledge by FM practitioners, who seemed almost instinctively wary of anything that risked a change in their current status quo. If their reaction is representative of the field in general (which in my experience it probably is), then once again another serious impediment for the field of FM has been identified – that (regrettably)

“A STARTING POINT WOULD BE TO REACH A CONSENSUS ON THE INDUSTRY’S SHORTCOMINGS”

AUTHOR AT A GLANCE

Barry Varcoe aving been a partner in Bernard Williams Associates, a senior strategy executive at Johnson Controls, the group property director at the Royal Bank of Scotland, chair of CoreNet Global, and now a research Doctor of Philosophy, Barry Varcoe set up consultancy Real Estate Resonance as a business to make the most of his unique industry experience. Drawing on the theme of resonance – a special richness and significance – he is helping corporate real estate teams and their service partners to increase value by achieving a closer alignment between the corporate real estate/property function and the enterprise it supports. In particular, he is focusing on corporate real estate strategy, portfolio master planning, performance management and organisation transformation. Varcoe has championed FM as an integral part of the life cost of property since leaving the South Bank Polytechnic in 1984 with an honours degree in building economics. At Bernard Williams Associates he helped to develop the premises audit concept to include the cost performance of running a building and later the concept of space audits and corporate productivity. At Johnson Controls, his work included global corporate strategies and lease development. He joined the RBS in 2002, and his £2.5bn portfolio included 5,000 properties across 53 countries. In 2009 BIFM members voted him one of the Pioneers of the Facilities Management sector.

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the majority of its practitioners are resistant to any advance away from their current domain of practice.

Taking positive steps So what should we do? Perhaps a starting point would be to reach a consensus on the industry’s shortcomings, both from ‘our’ (industry) perspective as well as that from the organisations we support. The hope would be that, having realised afresh and gained a consensus around the issues that affect our own ability to perform, we would quickly gain the motivation to do something about it. This demand for new knowledge would then need a solution, which logically the academic world, in partnership with practice, would supply. To be successful it would need to be practical in its outlook and focused on the agenda at hand. There would need to be a collective passion for hard data, and lots of it. For this to happen there needs to be a catalyst to start the process. Logically, this could be one of more of the established industry associations. Alternatively, perhaps a new industry research foundation can be set up (even better if this is aligned to an eminent university with a strong brand). Either way, it needs to take the lead in helping to set the agenda, rather than being a more passive clearinghouse or aggregator of others’ somewhat disconnected work.

Exploring the future It is my hope that I will be able to make further contributions to the continuing discovery of new knowledge for FM in the future, especially working with others. These, alongside many others from fellow explorers (perhaps in the manner I have suggested) will help lead to an FM industry (in its broadest context) that will more successfully fulfil its potential from the perspective of the enterprises and individuals who consume its services and solutions. FM www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:26:06

Let us take the hassle out of your monitoring by doing it for you With the increased requirement to monitor services we have introduced servicetrac TM, a fully web based, highly flexible, realtime and paperless auditing solution. We undertake independent facilities services audits on your behalf, the results of which are entered onto a secure personalised database easily accessible by you through the internet. This service can be tailored to suit your particular needs or service provision, for example Catering, Cleaning or Maintenance with monitoring being carried out at agreed intervals.

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Want to be at the cutting edge of FM? Then get involved in the BIFM

Want to get involved in the BIFM? Then look sharp and contact us. As the representative body for facilities management, we’re already the cutting edge of the industry. But as a member (or potential member), you might like to get your teeth into what we do and be a more active participant. It’s a fantastic opportunity to help shape

BIFM cutting edge NEW 186x123.indd 1

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the future of our business – from the business end. Whether you’d like to simply attend a regional meeting and the national conference, organise an event, join a committee, become a mentor or sharpen your vocal or literary skills by being a key speaker or writing

in FM World, we’d love to hear from you. Because to help everyone in the industry make the most of it, we need all the useful tools we can get our hands on. So why not get involved and get more out of FM – for yourself and everyone else.

T: 0845 058 1358 E: membership@bifm.org.uk www.bifm.org.uk

2/8/10 12:19:58 FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 25

1/11/10 11:43:31

FM CASE STUDY SUSTAINABILITY IAN BOUGHTON

The Royal Bournemouth Hospital’s catering department is showing how buying along sustainable lines is cost-effective. Decompostable packaging is a key element of the scheme he American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services reported, in June, that 79 per cent of US hospitals went ‘green’ not for ethical reasons but simply to save money. Recyclable and compostable supplies are becoming a costeffective option. And with the price of sending waste to landfill rising fast, sustainable alternatives could become a more practical choice for the corporate buyer. In the UK, the Royal Bournemouth Hospital is a pioneer in the use of biodegradable consumables, and has proved that economy and ‘green-ness’ can go hand in hand. Terry Reeves, hospital catering services manager at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch NHS Foundation Trust, has a £2.7m budget to work with. He says his decision to progress a policy of sustainability in his purchasing was not a result of corporate pressure to go along with financial or green initiatives. “I think sustainability is a matter of conscience, of knowing the right thing to do and making the right moral choice. While people assume that sustainability costs money, two years of buying along sustainable lines tells me that it costs nothing. When we started on this, the price of oil was going up, so we started buying PLA tableware instead of plastic. We went cost-neutral.” Making moral decisions on behalf of an employer as

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WASTE NOT WANT NOT

significant as a health trust is an interesting responsibility to adopt, agrees Reeves. “Am I justified in making a moral choice on behalf of the organisation I work for? Yes, I am, if I source from ethical companies whose heart is in the right place, and if I can balance the books. “I would love this hospital’s catering to be all-organic. We already buy free-range eggs and local ham, and when I say that my eggs cost a little more, people tend to approve. But if it were thousands more, maybe they wouldn’t.”

Cost control Reeves may be an enthusiast for sustainability, but he laughs off the suggestion that he is an eco-warrior. A better description, he says, would be “cost-control freak with a conscience”. Vegware, his supplier of compostable food packaging, says that “a few simple changes in packaging procurement can make a huge saving”.

It’s not just a marketing line, says Reeves, who thinks all FMs should investigate sustainability more closely. “To make a move towards sustainability does involve thinking slightly laterally. Changing procedures and products is never without its ‘moments of interest’ in how people react. But one typical side benefit is that we have managed to reduce our deliveries. The time and effort in receiving a delivery is often overlooked.” The most visible benefit, however, is in straightforward figures. “If you know your costs, you can control your business. I know what I’m buying, and what it costs me. I know what I’m selling, and I know my gross profit on it. The software that allows me to be a cost-control freak is readily available, and with it I can see that this month I have bought 82 mixed cases of sustainably made and compostable products ranging from hot and cold cups, hot cup lids, to napkins, cutlery,

takeaway boxes, sandwich bags, and little clear bio-plastic pots for jelly and yoghurts. For this, I can see costs of £4,026 as opposed to £4,269 previously, per month. “At the same time, I see I have 590 customers in my dining room today, at a gross profit of 47.9 per cent. The coffee bar today is working at a gross profit of 54 per cent. Of course, some ethical alternatives are cheaper, some are not. “The compostable coffee cup probably costs me 4p, compared to 1.5p for a plastic cup – but I save it back again on my jelly containers, which are a very big purchase in a hospital.” Of course, there’s no nutritional value in jelly, observes Reeves. It’s simply a feel-good item on the wards. And although he would prefer patients to have a nutritional organic ice-cream, ward sisters, he says, will never give up their faith in jelly.

Complete conviction Until fairly recently, the Bournemouth catering www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 11:51:41

BOURNEMOUTH HOSPITAL

FM QUICK FACTS

£2.1m

The cost of food waste in Scottish hospitals Health Facilities Scotland, May 2010.

36%

of British employees do not take part in their workplaces’ green initiatives – for no reason other than inactivity. Two-thirds are unaware of environmental projects run by their employers. Avery, March 2010.

More than four million tonnes of plastics are used every year in UK packaging. Wasteonline (part of the Waste Watch charity).

ROYAL BOURNEMOUTH HOSPITAL IS A PIONEER IN THE USE OF BIODEGRADABLE CONSUMABLES

Packaging that breaks down after

12 weeks www.fm-world.co.uk

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department had set no course on eco-packaging work. Reeves himself began with a conviction rather than a strategy. “I came across a company, New Earth Solutions, and became interested in their work on the treatment of waste food, to avoid sending it to landfill. I’ve always wanted to get things out of landfill, and so, when I then bumped into another company producing biodegradable tableware from PLA, I realised I could complete a food service circle from soil to compost.” The company he bumped into was Vegware, which makes food packaging and cutlery from so-called ‘green plastic’, a biodegradable thermoplastic made from annually harvested crops such as corn, potato, cassava and sugar cane. It was Vegware that created the world’s first compostable takeaway coffee cup lid, and more recently the compostable version of the double-walled takeaway coffee cups, which allow for more comfortable, and safer, handling of hot liquids.

The hospital is also researching a compostable sandwich ‘wedge’. It currently uses 2,000 wedges a week, most of which probably go to landfill. This mixture of cost and new ideas, he discovered, applies to every product for which he wanted to find a compostable alternative. Several came from other functions around the hospital’s general FM network. “The infection-control people are very high up in hospital administration. We have discussed with them an interesting idea on the role of compostable disposables in infection-control contingency planning.” However, the compostable sector has been the subject of questionable claims by some suppliers who do not understand the area, or use misleading language. A court in Italy has already ruled that the word ‘degradable’ is deliberately misleading when used to imply compostability. Helpfully, though, the European Norm EN 13432 helps buyers define

between products promoted as ‘biodegradable’ and ‘degradable’.

Waste champions The other side of ethical buying is the cost of disposal. “It is now financially advantageous to go to compost,” confirms Reeves. “Landfill charges go up, and while composting charges have not actually come down, our increased use of it has certainly improved our negotiating position with the composting plant.” An industry-wide problem in food service is that while packaging may be biodegradable, very little of it comes back to be processed. The unpleasant reality is that if a biodegradable product ends up in conventional landfill, it will not break down. All food service industries struggle to recover products for treatment, and even in the relatively closed world of a hospital, recovery is still a headache. The catering department’s interest in waste reduction has also led it into unexpected areas such as the MenuMate scheme. “There are 30 wards here, providing three meals a day, 365 days a year,” explains Reeves. “We used to take all those food orders on paper, and it took several pieces of it to get a prawn baguette to the patient. Now we have MenuMate computerised ordering, done at the patient’s bedside on something like a palmtop, and the order goes straight into the back office system. “But there’s more to it than that. At lunchtime, if the patient has only eaten half of the baguette, the system can do an analysis of what the patient has actually consumed, in terms of nutrients. It may still be wastage, but now there’s useful information going back to the ward.” FM Ian Boughton is a freelance journalist

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4/11/10 11:52:02

FM MONITOR PETER EGLINTON

LEGAL UPDATE

Peter Eglinton is senior vice president, Iron Mountain, UK, Ireland and Norway

DATA PROTECT I O N ACT

eter Eglinton reviews the new penalties P for breaches of the Data Protection Act, and offers FMs advice on the steps they must take to avoid falling foul of the legislation

GETTY

In recent times, as data volumes have increased within organisations so too has the need to invest considerable resources in new storage applications and devices. Many businesses, however, have failed to recognise the security implications involved and may be at risk of violating the data privacy regulations introduced by Christopher Graham and his team at the Information Commissioner’s Office. New standards ensure that organisations in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 are reprimanded. The legislation includes harsher financial penalties with fines increasing from £5,000 to £500,000 for companies guilty of serious data protection violations. Physical and digital information Regardless of size or industry, businesses face a number of challenges in managing both physical and digital information. The volume of data is constantly growing and proper management of business-critical information – to remain compliant – is vital. FMs face two issues. Some will face an increase in the amount of information they must archive, while others need to assess exactly what they are required to store. Furthermore, through careful cataloguing, retrieval systems and indexing, FMs must ensure

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that data in any format can be extracted easily when required. One size doesn’t fit all It might be tempting to consider a one-size-fits-all solution that throws a variety of services together simply to keep costs low (though it may not actually provide a thorough service). However, there’s too much at stake just to benefit from ‘favourable’ rates. It’s key that FMs understand and implement the best possible information management strategies, not just to minimise

the risk of data protection breaches but also to use their information as a business asset. Balancing act The challenge businesses face is to balance the free flow of information – an absolute necessity in today’s working environment – with regulation designed to restrict it. Companies need to manage their information effectively to ensure they are compliant and that their data is secure. Furthermore, they must ensure that the data is accessible and can be used to benefit the business. As many as 72 per cent of companies say it’s harder to find information they own than information they don’t (source: The Association for Information and Image Management). For a busy FM balancing practical constraints, such as storage, with compliance with the new legislation, it is vital to know what needs to be stored, where, and the best way to do it. Never underestimate FMs must recognise that the risks involved in a data breach goes far beyond the financial implications. Compounding the cost of business recovery is the serious damage to reputation and customer loyalty. The new fines have not only sharpened the focus on data privacy and

QUICK FACTS ● According to research carried out by International Data Corporation

(IDC), unstructured content is growing by 200 per cent every year ● The same research also shows that information managers can spend up

to 35 per cent of their time looking for information ● As of April 2010, the maximum fine that can be imposed by the

Information Commissioner’s Office for contravening data protection legislation is £500,000

information management, they have also forced businesses to reassess the extent of the impact that inefficient and noncompliant data management will have across their organisation. Disposal issues Companies must ensure that their data management strategies include safe information disposal. A comprehensive policy should outline the procedure for information disposal, whether by physical shredding or digital destruction. This will be a challenge for FMs as the workforce becomes more mobile. Procedures must be in place to ensure information is securely disposed of as the boundaries between home and workplace are blurred. The weakest link Even with all the technical and regulatory controls, the human factor will always be the weakest link, whether the breach is accidental or deliberate. While no data management system is foolproof, companies can take action to minimise these risks as much as possible. Finally, whatever you do, don’t underestimate the determination of the Information Commissioner. With the new data protection legislation, Graham has sent out a clear message of intent, backed up by hugely increased financial penalties. Minimising the risk of a data breach in your organisation should not just be a consideration – it must be a priority for the entire business. Getting it wrong, or overlooking anything that could lead to a significant breach, could be nothing short of a disaster under this new order. FM www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 12:18:58

LEGAL NEWS

Court report THE HOTGROUP LTD V THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC (AS TRUSTEE OF SCHRODER EXEMPT PROPERTY UNIT TRUST) [2010] EWHC 1241

This case is a valuable reminder of the importance, when serving a notice under a lease or any other document, of reading the entire document and crossreferencing between provisions. The claimant tenant had not validly exercised its option to terminate its lease of commercial premises because it had failed to serve a copy of the break notice on the property manager of the building, as was required by the notice provisions in the lease. Although the break notice did not have to be served simultaneously on the landlord and property manager, it did have to be served on both by the relevant date and time was of the essence in relation to a break clause. Background The landlord was the legal owner of property in Kensington Village, West London, but held the property as trustee for Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust (SEPUT), the beneﬁcial owner. The tenant took a 10-year lease of part of the property, subject to a break clause permitting the tenant to terminate its lease after ﬁve years, in July 2010. In order to exercise this option, the break clause obliged the tenant to give not less than nine months’ prior written notice to the landlord. This meant that the tenant needed to give written notice by 3 October 2009 in order to terminate the lease nine months’ later on 3 July 2010. The break option was contained in a schedule to the lease. Elsewhere, in clause 14.2 (Notices), the lease provided that “no notice will be deemed to be validly served on the landlord unless a copy

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of the notice is also served on Schroder Property Investment Management Limited”. Schroder Property Investment Management Limited (SPrIM) was the property manager for the building. The tenant sought to exercise the break clause and served notice of its intention to do so on the landlord on 14 September 2009 (ie within the required time period). However, the tenant did not provide a copy of the notice to SPrIM until well after 3 October 2009. It was the landlord’s position that the break option had not been validly exercised, as a copy of the notice had not been served on SPrIM by 3 October 2009, as was required by clause 14.2. Deemed or actual service? The tenant commenced proceedings for a declaration from the court that the break notice was effective on the basis that clause 14.2 of the lease should be construed contra proferentem, and should be read as concerning only “deemed service” of notices and not actual service. Since the tenant considered that the break notice had actually been received by the landlord in this case, it submitted that clause 14.2 had no application. In addition to disputing the applicability of clause 14.2, the tenant alternatively argued that, unlike service on the landlord, no time was speciﬁed in the break clause or clause 14.2 of the lease for service of the break notice on SPrIM and therefore, providing the break notice was served on the landlord by 3 October 2009 (which had been done), the tenant was only required to serve a copy of the notice on SPrIM within

a reasonable time thereafter (which, it claimed, had also been done). The ruling Mr Hollander QC, sitting as judge in the High Court, agreed with the landlord that the tenant had failed to comply with the terms of the break clause and had accordingly not validly exercised the break. The judge found that the commercial purpose of clause 14.2 was to ensure that any notice served under the lease came to the attention of the person with actual responsibility for managing the premises, rather than the legal owner who, in this instance, held the property as trustee for a unit trust. Furthermore, contra proferentum had no effect; the judge agreed with the tenant that clause 14.2 should be construed contra proferentum because the landlord drafted the lease and the clause operated only in the landlord’s favour. However, the clause was not ambiguous so the principle of contra proferentum had no effect here. The judge held that clause 14.2 provided clearly on its face that a notice served on the landlord would not be treated as an effective notice unless a copy was also served on SPrIM. The judge emphasised that, in order to comply with any break clause, it is always necessary to comply with both the break clause and the mechanics for giving notice. FM Beverley Vara is a partner and head of real estate litig ation at Allen & Overy LLP. Akhil Markanday is a senior associate

Construction still risky Construction is still one of Britain’s most dangerous industries, new statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive show. Despite a significant fall in the number of recorded deaths and injuries, HSE data reveals that in Britain between April 2009 and March 2010 the number of major injuries – such as burns and amputations – fell 14 per cent to 2,585 from 3,307 in 2008/09 (rate of 266.7 per 100,000 in 2008/09 to 230.0 in 2009/10).

Fined for recycling failure A Nottingham based importer and wholesaler of bicycles has been fined £34,000 for failing to recycle packaging. The company, Universal Cycles, pleaded guilty to 34 charges under the Packaging Regulations. In addition, the company was ordered to pay £4,394 in costs, along with a £9,140 in compensation. The company, that operates an outlet in Festival Leisure Park, Basildon, should have been registered with the Environment Agency and was obliged to recover and recycle a portion of its packaging waste, as well as filing a certificate at the end of each year to confirm it had met these obligations.

Worker breaks wrist A Cardiff manufacturing firm has been fined after a worker broke his wrist when his glove became entangled in an unguarded drill. The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted Elmatic (Cardiff) following the incident at its factory in Wentloog Road, Rumney on 11 March 2009. Cardiff Magistrates’ Court heard that 21-year-old employee Lee Baker had been asked to drill holes in metal boxes despite not usually working with the drill and having no formal training. The company were fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £6,691.45 costs.

FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 29

4/11/10 12:20:03

FM MONITOR JOHN LANE

TECHNICAL

John Lane leads Cundall’s IT and communications team

POW ER DESK E L ECT R I CA L S UP P LY

ohn Lane explains how the installation of separate clean and normal power tracks set the sparks flying at the new HQ of a major UK oil company

A major UK oil company relocated out of London to a new, purpose-built HQ just outside the M25. The new buildings were designed to provide Grade A office space on five floors with a central atrium and a large underground data centre. Office lighting was provided, in part, by sodium uplighters fed by power tracks under the floor. In the design phase, the ICT team asked for a separate clean supply to be provided for desktop personal computers and so two separate power tracks were installed under the floor. When the staff moved in, the first sign of trouble was a strange burbling sound coming from the personal computer speakers. The more observant noticed that you could see a small spark when you plugged a PC into a desktop printer and that if you disconnected the printer the burbling sound stopped. The electrical installers were called in to investigate but were only able to confirm that all of the installation had been correctly installed in accordance with the IEE wiring regulations and that there were no neutralearth faults.

The reason for this was that the ICT team thought that desktop printers were electrically noisy and so should not go on the clean supply. This is of course a misapprehension; while 1960s teleprinters may have had 230V motors with a commutator, modern desktop printers have an internal power unit very similar to the one in a desktop PC. These motor or motors will be low voltage DC devices so that there is no excess electrical noise.

Digging deeper Moving the printers to the clean supply solved the immediate sparking problem but there was clearly a difference in earth potential between the normal and the clean supply. This was complicated by the use of metal desk frames and both normal and clean supplies being presented at the desktop. The difference in earth potential between the normal and the clean supply is caused by current flowing from live to earth through the filter

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Varieties of power Underfloor power tracks come in several types. The normal product has live and neutral conductors and uses the metal casing to provide the earth. The auxiliary earth product has a continuous earth conductor that is bonded to the casing and the clean earth product has an earth conductor that is separate from the casing. The oil company HQ used the normal product for the normal supply and the clean earth product for the clean supply. Where a desk is fed with both normal and clean power there is no obvious way to deal with the earth of the clean supply. For reasons of electrical safety, the metal frame of the desk has to be bonded to earth. It is tempting to bond the desk frame to the normal supply earth and try to keep the earth of the clean supply isolated. However, this is probably a breach of the IEE wiring regulations. In

essence, you cannot have two earths in a single installation and whilst a clean supply is feasible, a protective clean earth is not. At the oil company HQ, we linked the protective earth from the clean supply to the main earthing system at key points such as in the electrical closet feeding each office area. This eliminated any difference in earth potential and ensured that the installation was fully compliant with the regulations. The main purpose of earthing is electrical safety and this must come first. If a clean supply comes from a UPS it is essential that the protective earth conductor has a low resistance path back to the source of energy. This would typically be the UPS output transformer where there should be a solid connection between the UPS output neutral and earth. We are not convinced of the merit of clean earth power track other than the benefit of colour coding under the floor. We normally recommend the auxiliary earth track for office IT use where the emphasis should be on high integrity earthing and two circuit protective conductors in the tap-off tail in accordance with Section 607 of the IEE regulations. FM

NORMAL AND UPS POWER DESK EARTHING Normal supply transformer L N E1 E2 Normal to UPS Earth link

Neutral Earth link

Finding the problem Our investigation started at the desk. The first finding was that the desktop printers had been connected to the normal supply and the desktop PCs were connected to the clean supply.

capacitors that are present in sodium uplighters and also nearly all PCs, printers and other ICT equipment. The filter capacitors are necessary to reduce the electrical noise that would otherwise be fed back from the load into the incoming supply.

UPS supply transformer

Neutral Earth link

L N E1 E2

Auxiliary Earth power track (GREEN)

Clean Earth power track (RED)

Normal power socket L N E1 E2

L N E1 E2

Desk frame earth stud

UPS Power socket

www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 15:07:20

FM MONITOR GARY DOWNEY

HOW TO…

Gary Downey is group marketing director at Balreed Digitec

PROCU RE PR IN T S ERV I CES

lmost every business depends on its ability to produce and manage documents. When independent research estimates that taking a more strategic approach to printing can save of up to 40 per cent, what steps should you take?

1⁄

Establish your start position

Key to developing a print strategy is firstly to understand what your current assets, activities, volumes and costs are. This can be challenging since many organisations have disparate responsibilities and budgets when it comes to print, with IT, purchasing, facilities and finance often owning a part. In addition, while traditional capex equipment such as photocopiers and multifunctional devices (MFDs) are typically contracted and their costs relatively easy to identify through invoicing, the real lifetime costs of network or desktop printers can be significant but difficult to identify. It’s important to evaluate potential print suppliers carefully in the way they will carry out an assessment, as the accuracy of information gathered in this stage will form the basis of any future investment decision you make. Quick network sweeps using audit software will not deliver all the information you will need so ensure your chosen partner can also display competency in physical site assessments. The feedback of key staff can be invaluable in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your current infrastructure, and will help you design and promote any new solution you roll out. www.fm-world.co.uk

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2⁄

Setting your objectives

Avoid the initial response of simply replacing ageing equipment with new; you will just end up doing bad things faster, and marginally cheaper. A thorough assessment will highlight areas of potential improvement so identify opportunities to deliver tangible benefits to your business, staff and customers and prioritise these. Overall you should aim to consolidate all your print and document devices and their servicing and consumables costs into one consolidated infrastructure. This is an opportunity to leverage your buying power and reduce your roster of suppliers, making them totally accountable for maintaining and managing it. Your print infrastructure should be fully networked, delivering improved functionality to users, but your objectives must have some sensitivity; find a sensible balance between optimisation and working practices.

3⁄

Which cost model?

The decision whether to lease or buy your print equipment will depend on the nature of your business and your financial objectives and policies. While some continue with a cash

purchase and separate service and consumables expenditure, many organisations have moved away from having assets on their balance sheet to off-balance sheet operating expenditure for print equipment and all related costs. Managed print services (MPS) are an increasingly popular way of achieving this.

4⁄

On-site and remote support

Whether you choose a separate service agreement or a combined MPS, your print provider should be able to demonstrate efficient registering, escalation and resolution of faults, with full accountability. They should have other measures than just a quick response time. Pro-active remote monitoring can deliver real value. The leading remote support providers will remove the need for your staff to intervene with devices, order and manage toner cartridges, or give meter readings. You will also save space without the need to store spares on-site.

5⁄

Project management and communications It’s important to plan the rollout of a new fleet of printers and

MFDs just as you would any other business support infrastructure. Unless you happen to be relocating into new premises at the same time phased rollouts typically minimise disruption to the ongoing business. Initiate a positive communications plan from your assessment onwards, educating users of the benefits of the new solution. In other words, ensure your senior management are advocates, not rule breakers!

6⁄

The best solution

You are bound to encounter sticking points as you optimise your print infrastructure. Emotions, politics, and the occasional technical challenge will come to the surface, particularly when some staff perceive old devices local to them as their own, but with potential savings of 20-40 per cent, it’s important to empathise but persevere. Once in place, an integrated infrastructure will give you many more opportunities for improvement. Revisit your common document processes and see where they could be improved or automated, using the networked functionality you now have, and make sure your print provider continues this initiative throughout your contract. FM

MANAGED PRINT SERVICES During the course of your assessment, be sure to identify your total annual volume of documents produced. A new fleet of devices to provide this in a cost-effective way for your business should then be specified. Under an MPS the total costs of all this new equipment, plus its continual maintenance, management and all consumables needed to produce the annual volume of documents, is provided under a single all-inclusive agreement. The total costs divided by the total annual volume give a ‘cost per page’ which includes everything. When based on a professional assessment an MPS can deliver major cost savings plus significant additional benefits such as freeing up your IT and administration staff.

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4/11/10 11:54:53

FM MONITOR MARKET INTELLIGENCE

INSIGHT EMPLOYMENT

The unemployment rate for the three months to August 2010 was 7.7 per cent, down 0.1 on the quarter. The number of unemployed people fell by 20,000 over the quarter to reach 2.45m. Male unemployment fell by 56,000 on the quarter to reach 1.44m but female unemployment increased by 36,000 on the quarter to reach 1.01m. The number of vacancies for the three months to September 2010 was 459,000, down 30,000 over the quarter. Category of worker

Hourly rate from 1 Oct 2010

Aged 22 and above

£5.93

Aged 18 to 21 inclusive

£4.92

Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school age)

£3.64

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

£2.50

National minimum wage Accommodation offset: The daily rate of the accommodation offset is £4.61 (£32.27 p/w) for each day accommodation is provided. London Living Wage: £7.85 per hour (from 9 June 2010)

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.

HEALTH ESTATES

LANDFILL TAX

The total size of the NHS estate, measured by its floor area, has grown by around 2 per cent to 28.4m square metres, whereas the total site land area, which includes all buildings, grounds and gardens has decreased by 4 per cent to 7,462 hectares according to the latest statistics from the Department of Health. The NHS has classified 7.3 per cent of all occupied floor areas as un-utilised space, declaring it either empty or under-used. Overall, the direct costs of the NHS estate are £6.6bn which makes it one of the largest costs for the NHS along with staff costs and drugs. This is made up of hard FM at £3,811m and soft FM at £2,832m. These figures do not include the costs of financing the estate eg depreciation and cost of capital. The total cost to eradicate backlog maintenance has increased slightly since 2008-09, by £11.7m from £4,084.7m to £4,096.4m, representing an increase of 0.29 per cent. But there are some significant differences within individual NHS trusts. There are increases of £1m or greater at 69 NHS trusts and decreases of £1m or greater at 85 NHS trusts since last year. The total cost of hospital cleaning services has risen from £819.6m in 2008-09 to £897.2m, an increase of £77.6m or 9.45 per cent. On hospital food, the average cost of feeding one patient per day has increased by 11 pence, from £7.95 in 2008/09 to £8.06. This is the average daily cost for the provision of all meals and beverages fed to one in-patient per day. The total number of patient main meals has risen by 2.4m [1.84 per cent] from 129.6m in 2008/09 to 132m. This relates to data from 368 out of a total of 388 NHS trusts in 2009/10. Carbon efficiency across the NHS estate has improved by almost 1 per cent during the last year, and is currently 99kgCO2 per square metre.

From 1 April 2010 Standard rate Lower rate

» £48 » £2.50

per tonne per tonne

Note: Budget 2009 announced that the standard rate will continue to increase by £8 per tonne on 1 April each year from 2011 to 2013 inclusive and that the lower rate will be frozen at £2.50 per tonne until 31 March 2011.

CLIMATE LEVY CHARGE Taxable commodity supplied

Rate at which payable if supply is not a reduced-rate supply from 1 April 2009

Electricity

£0.00470 per kilowatt hour

Gas supplied by a gas utility or any gas supplied in a gaseous state that is of a kind supplied by a gas utility

£0.00164 per kilowatt hour

Any petroleum gas, or other gaseous hydrocarbon supplied in a liquid state*

£0.0150 per kilogram

Any other taxable commodity

£0.01281 per kilogram

These rates will change on 1 April 2011. See Notice CCL1/3 Reliefs and special treatments for taxable supplies at hmrc.gov.uk for a list of supplies exempt from the CCL and Notice CCL1/2 Combined heat and power schemes. Source: HM Revenue and Customs (hmrc.gov.uk)

ECONOMY

Bank of England base rate: 0.5% as at 4 November 2010. 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)

FUEL PRICES

Fuel Duty on unleaded petrol and diesel rose by 1p to 58.19ppl on 1 October 2010; VAT on fuel is 17.5%

SME statistics 2009: There were an estimated 4.8m private sector enterprises in the UK at the start of 2009, an increase of 51,000 (1.1 per cent) since the start of 2008 according to figures released last month. These organisations employed 22.8m people, and had an estimated combined annual turnover of £3,200bn. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 99.9 per cent of all enterprises, 59.8 per cent of private sector employment and 49.0 per cent of private sector turnover. Turnover in SMEs is estimated at £1,589bn, 5.8 per cent higher than in 2008.

Source: DECC decc.gov.uk

Source: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (bis.gov.uk)

1 Nov 4 Oct 6 Sept 9 August 5 July 2 Nov 09 118.18p/ltr 116.01p/ltr 114.59p/ltr 116.35p/ltr 117.91p/ltr 107.43p/ltr UNLEADED

121.66p/ltr 118.97p/ltr 117.09p/ltr 118.94p/ltr 120.44p/ltr 108.51p/ltr DIESEL

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www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 16:48:07

FM MONITOR PATRICK FORSYTH

CAREERS ADVICE

Patrick Forsyth runs Touchstone Training & Consultancy

T IM E MANAG E M EN T

oo much to do? Too little time and too much stress? It need not be that way; Patrick Forsyth points the way to greater productivity and effectiveness

Time is a resource like any other – and an important one; respect for it can boost job and career success. Time management can enhance productivity, focus you on priorities and improve your effectiveness. So, if time management is common sense and so useful, why isn’t everyone a time management expert? Sadly, the bad news is that time management is difficult (but there is good news to come). There is no magic formula and circumstances and interruptions often seem to conspire to prevent best intentions from working out, so that some people, perhaps failing to achieve what they want, despair and give up.

The right attitude That said, you cannot allow perfection to be the enemy of the good. Few, if any of us, organise our time perfectly, but some are manifestly better at it than others. Why? Simply those who are more successful have a different attitude to the process, seeing it as something to work at. They recognise that the details matter. They consider the time implications of everything, and they work to get as close to their ideal of time arrangement as they can. But what makes good time management easier? The key is adopting the right attitude towards the process, seeing it as something to work at, where details matter, and where the time implications of everything must be considered. Not easy: but a conscious effort to change can ensure good practice and quickly becomes habit; thus things get progressively easier.

Plan ahead The right principles are not complex, three main ones are: 1) List the tasks you have to perform www.fm-world.co.uk

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2) Assign them priorities 3) Do what the plan says The last two certainly cause problems. However, it is useful to categorise tasks, grouping telephone calls, say, together. Similarly, allocate time for tasks just as you schedule appointments; balance key areas such as study and work. A fundamental principal of time management is investing time now, to save time later. Consider making a customer presentation: it must be right – there are no second chances and often a lot hanging on it. Preparing it takes some time. But initiating contact with another prospect if an approach nosedives through lack of preparation takes longer – much longer.

Staying on track Three main influences conspire against completing planned tasks: other people, events, and you. First you: you may delay action because you are: 1) Unsure what to do 2) Dislike the task 3) Prefer another task (despite the clear priority) 4) Fear the consequences

Additionally, how much time do you waste spending too long on things because you like them? Be honest. Often a major time waster, this dilutes a focus on priorities. Remember, regular tasks poorly handled waste more time than one-off ones. Certainly principles need noting: like the fallacy that problems get easier if delayed. Rather the reverse is true – so taking prompt action where appropriate can save time. In an organisation, colleagues interrupting and saying, ‘got a minute?’ can mean an hour is wasted. Sometimes saying a firm ‘no’ is inherent to good time management. Likewise, ringing telephones punctuate our lives, but there are moments when it is useful to be unavailable – some

tasks can only be completed in a quiet hour. Constant interruptions make them take longer – especially tasks requiring thought or creativity.

A major asset Good time management gives a real boost to competence. Explore the possibilities, instigate good habits and avoid any dilution of your firm intentions, and the results might surprise you. FM Patrick Forsyth is the author of more than 50 business books including Successful Time Management (published by Kogan Page). BIFM members can benefit from a special offer of £8.50 including free postage and packaging for this book. For details call 01903 828 503 and quote CS0910.

THE NEVER-ENDING MEETING Perhaps nothing makes a better example of wasted time than that of business meetings, especially internal ones. Which of us cannot remember a meeting that we emerged from recently saying “What a waste of time!”? First there is the question of the time it takes most meetings to get underway. Scheduled for 2pm people dribble in over the ensuing ten minutes, then a start is made only to be interrupted five minutes later by a late arrival. There is a pause, a recap and the meeting begins again. We all know the feeling. Yet there is surely no reason for it to be like this. Some meetings can and do start on time. This is a very good example of the effect of culture and habit within an organisation combining to save people significant time. If someone (you?) takes a lead it can be different. For the record, meetings need: ● A starting time ● A finishing time (so people can plan what they can do afterwards and when) ● A clear agenda (maybe with timing for different topics and certainly circulated in advance) ● Good chairmanships (to keep discussion on track) ● No distractions (to allow concentration – so organise refreshments beforehand and switch off telephones). And, above all, meetings need clear objectives. Ban any meeting with a time in its title (‘the monthly administration review meeting’) they will just become a routine. With clear intentions, good time keeping and a firm hand on the tiller as it were, most meetings can be productive.

FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 33

4/11/10 11:55:16

IPFMA NEWS IPFMA.COM

CONFERENCE

IPFMA conference 2010 We are delighted to report that our annual conference – Redefining Retail – was a great success from a sponsor, exhibitor and delegate perspective. It was a very informative day and delegates reported excellent feedback with many commenting on the thoughtprovoking and innovative ideas that they took from the event. From the association’s perspective, we are happy that delegate numbers held firm on last year. Members and delegates alike – thank you for your support. And finally, thank you to our exhibitors and sponsor – MCR Group – whose participation contributed wholly to the success of our event. For those members unable to attend, the conference presentations have been posted to the members area of the website.

IPFMA conference (L-R): IPFMA chairman Peter Moloney; conference chairman Charlie Costello; Ian Middleton of Smith Young Partnership property consultants and Peter Stapleton, managing director of Lisney

i Fiona Barron can be contacted at fbarron@ipfma.com.

Services ● Owen Hegarty – Glocorp ● Edward Frisby – Noncore Facility Management ● Eric Leonard – IADT ● Paula Barrett – Corcoran Jennison ● David Cullen – Euro Car Parks ● Finbar McDonnell – RF Property Management ● Sarah Owens – Chaste Property Management Affiliates: ● Natalie Reid – O’Farrell Property Management ● Ian Hunter – Pavilions Shopping Centre

MEMBERS

LEGISLATION

New members

MUD bill to be passed

IPFMA is delighted to welcome new members and affiliates to the association: Members: ● John Victory – Integrated Facility Solutions ● Denise Hallam – O’Farrell Property Management ● Kieran Norton – Anderson Norton ● Edward Hill – Hicon Facility Management Services ● Brian Phelan – Access Property

Multi-unit developments bill It is hoped that the MUD bill will be passed prior to Christmas, that is, within the current sitting of the Dail. The IPFMA has earmarked Thursday 2 December for a CPD: update on the Multi-Unit Development legislation and its implications for the property manager. This is subject to the legislation being passed in advance of then, given that further amendments may arise.

an MBA from Smurfit Business School and is also academically qualified in the property profession. Barron has many years of experience in the property services industry and is a member of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers’ Institute. IPFMA chairman, Peter Moloney commented: “Fiona has the experience and attributes required to drive the association forward in this unprecedented economic landscape”.

i Visit fm-world.co.uk/news/eventreports/redefining-irish-retail for a full report on the conference

DIPLOMA

IPFMA diploma commences IPFMA appoints new CEO Management. EVENT

The IPFMA Diploma in Property & Facilities Management for the academic year 2010/11 commenced on Monday 11 October with a welcome evening for incoming students. The course is well subscribed and we are delighted to welcome Liam Coyle, a graduate of last year’s diploma course, as student liaison officer. Coyle is a property manager with Acuman Facilities 34 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

Ipfma news.indd 38

The IPFMA has appointed Fiona Barron (pictured) as chief executive of the association. She will be responsible for the implementation of the association’s policy and strategy, as set out and agreed with the board of directors. Fiona holds

www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 12:45:09

Please send your news items to Fiona Barron at fbarron@ ipfma.com

MERGER

Knight Frank Ireland expands In an unprecedented move in these times, independent global property consultancy Knight Frank Ireland has expanded. It has added significantly to its business operations, turnover and staff by expanding into the commercial property, asset and facility management arena through the merger of Dublinbased management practice, Most Commercial Management. The new wholly owned subsidiary company will operate under the name of Knight Frank Management Ireland. Paul McDowell, managing director of Knight Frank Ireland, commented on the reasons that led to the merger decision, pointing out that now more than ever before there is a need for asset and commercial property management on account of the downturn in property movement. “In these times, when buildings are not going to show enhanced performance through increased rents and yield compression, then returns are going to have to be driven by skilled asset and property management,” stated McDowell. “We recognised a need to add to our consultancy services.” “And apart from being an additional, very necessary and valuable resource to offer our clients, we expect this new consultancy service dimension to gain us further business through leverage off Knight Frank’s global client base across the world”. In future, this new service will allow us to extend services to US–based companies which we www.fm-world.co.uk

Ipfma news.indd 39

have represented in the past. Having acted for a number of large international corporations over recent years, we will now be in a position to offer full facilities and project management expertise as well.” John Mockler, now managing director of Knight Frank Management Ireland, said: “We had developed a diverse commercial portfolio under management and were looking for an opportunity to grow the business beyond an independent, stand-alone company. We recognised the need to join up with a global network to expand our business, and are delighted to formalise our existing close working relationship with Knight Frank.”

Celebrating in due style the merger of commercial property, asset and facility management company Most Commercial Management with independent global property consultancy Knight Frank Ireland at Knight Frank’s headquarters on Percy Place, Dublin: (from left): Paul McDowell, Mark Smyth, Gerry Butler and John Mockler.

DIARY OF EVENTS Site visit – Titanic Quarter A visit to Harcourt Developments’ Titanic Quarter in Belfast was hosted on 19 October. The visit was highly informative with many members reporting positive comments after the event. A special note of thanks is extended to Harcourt Developments for their excellent organisation and hospitality. Images of the visit can be viewed on ipfma.com. IPFMA Diploma awards ceremony The awards ceremony for the IPFMA Diploma graduates of the 09/10 academic year will take place on 16 November at Fitzwilliam Hall, Dublin. There will be a reception and photographs followed by the awards ceremony and dinner. The reception will be attended by graduates and IPFMA chairman Peter Moloney, vice-chair Paul Whelan, education committee chair Felix Whelan and chief executive Fiona Barron. Ronan McLoughlin will be in attendance to present the Brendan McLoughlin Award to the Student of the Year.

i For further information, contact John Mockler, managing director, Knight Frank Management (Ireland), or call +353 (0)1 6623255 / +353 (0) 86 2555866. Email: john.mockler@ e.knightfrank.com

Thursday 18 November 2010 Waste Management (Food Waste) Regulations Speakers: Grace Kelly, environmental health and safety advisor for Telefonica O2 Ireland Time/venue: 1pm, 5 Wilton Place

GET T IN INVOLVED INVOL VOLVED VED

Thursday 2 December 2010 Update on the Multi-Unit Developments Legislation Time/venue: 1pm, 5 Wilton Place

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN IPFMA ACTIVITIES? An association can only be as active as its members’ contribution. IPFMA is always looking for members to participate in committees and/or working groups. If you are interested in getting involved for the 201011 session, please contact Fiona Barron at fbarron@ ipfma.com

Annual members lunch 2011 Our annual members lunch will be held on Friday 18 March 2011 in the Burlington Hotel, Ballsbridge, on the eve of a Six Nations Ireland vs England game at the Aviva Stadium. Members and their clients are welcome to attend this renowned social event. i The booking form and information will soon be available on www.ipfma.com

FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 35

4/11/10 12:45:51

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

BIFM survey: understanding the needs of the oldest and youngest employees

WORKPLACE SURVEY

A BIFM survey has revealed that almost half of organisations are not considering the different workplace needs of their oldest and youngest employees. As such, they are potentially overlooking the impact and wider implications that an ageing workforce will have on workplace management. The findings come from its recent Post-recessional Workplaces Review, conducted among the BIFM’s members and workplace industry insiders, by workplace effectiveness measurement specialists Leesman.

Challenges ahead The BIFM poll revealed that organisations may be in danger of overlooking the potential impact of an ageing workforce – cause for concern considering that over the past two recessionary years, the proportion of people over 55 who are planning to work

PHOTOLIBRARY

Survey results announced

KEEP IN TOUCH » Network with BIFM @ www.networkwithbifm.org.uk » Twitter @BIFM_UK » LinkedIn » facebook

beyond state pension age has increased. This, together with the government’s decision to unify state pension ages to 66 by 2018, will further intensify the need to understand the differing requirements of an older workplace population. “The oldest and youngest employee groups look for very different things in their workplaces,” said BIFM strategy

PARTNER PAR ARTNE TN R PROF P PROFILE ROFILE ILE

CoreNet Global CoreNet Global is the world’s leading association for corporate real estate (CRE) and workplace professionals, service providers, and economic developers. Its 6,500 members, including 70 per cent of the top 100 US companies and nearly half of the Global 2000, meet locally, globally and virtually to develop networks, share knowledge, learn and thrive professionally. In the EMEA region, CoreNet Global has active regional chapters including Benelux, Central Europe, the UK and the Middle East. The BIFM has had a good relationship with CoreNet Global for several years but is now looking to strengthen links. This began with BIFM’s support for this year’s CoreNet Global Summit, held in London at the end of September. CoreNet will be supporting BIFM’s annual conference next year. CoreNet Global UK and BIFM’s London Region are currently working on a first joint event, to be held early in 2011, on the theme of creating and sustaining successful FM service relationships. For more information on CoreNet Global visit www.corenetglobal.org

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director Stephen Bennett. “So those responsible for workplaces are going to have some big issues to address in the way that they create effective office spaces for an increasingly diverse workforce, not to mention an increasing mobile one.” Parallel research conducted by Leesman, has shown how older workplace users have different concerns and needs in the workplace, with, for example, the control of acoustics and noise ranking significantly higher on the priority list than for younger counterparts. “An ageing working population is going to apply new pressures and bring new challenges for those responsible for designing and managing workplaces,” says Tim Oldman, managing director at Leesman.

Best use of space The survey also highlighted the fact that almost two thirds of organisations (58 per cent) are actively trying to reduce the office space they use, by increasing occupant densities. With Chancellor George Osborne’s

recent announcement of an £81bn cut in public spending, the pressure is on for those involved in facilities services and management to deliver leaner, more costeffective services. But the research may also suggest that employers are becoming more relaxed about the need for employees to be solely office based, pointing perhaps to them looking at ways of using space more effectively. According to further results from the BIFM study, two-thirds of organisations (61 per cent) are “actively encouraging” remote and flexible working for all staff, suggesting that increasing numbers of employers are looking to displace their teams away from expensive corporate environments, perhaps as a further way of releasing yet more space. “We are clearly seeing a trend among those organisations responding to our survey. Each square metre of the workplace is having to work harder,” says Ian Fielder, BIFM chief executive. “It will have to house both increasing numbers of staff and act as the ‘mothership’ to those nomadically displaced to home or elsewhere, when they do need to return for face-to-face activities or a simple corporate re-charge.” i The full results of the survey will be published in a report, which will be available in November. The findings are based on 262 responses from across the FM industry.

www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 14:28:16

Please send your news items to communications@bifm.org.uk or call 0845 0581356

VISIT

JIM VARNEY

Museum visit proves to be a hit

Steve McLean has conducted numerous tours of the Great North Museum, the £26m redevelopment which he project managed, but he has never taken a group of visitors to the plant room. That was until a visit by the BIFM north-east branch last month. Led by McLean and FM World columnist and Northumbrian Water’s facilities project manager David Walker, the group of 20 local facilities professionals enjoyed nosing round the plant – and the views from the roof across Newcastle. The museum opened in May last year after a three-year project which saw the Grade II listed building transformed from a dark, dingy, cellular museum into a light, airy, fluid and flexible space. The new extension, which houses the Sodexo-run café, a library, meeting facilities, an education suite and an enormous first floor gallery, nestles happily alongside its nineteenth century counterpart and its university neighbour. McLean’s tour ended with a space show in the new planetarium. A case study of the redevelopment of the Great North Museum will appear in a future edition of FM World. www.fm-world.co.uk

BIFM news 2.indd 37

Ian Fielder is CEO at the BIFM

BIFM COMMENT FA I R E R ACC E SS TO O U R P RO F E SSI O N

n important programme that has passed from the former government to the new coalition is the Alan Milburn report, Gateways to the Professions. This piece of work highlighted the need to provide fairer access to the professions and was recognised as being crucial to the UK’s economic competitiveness, as well as supporting growth and promoting social mobility. Five collaborative forums were established to consider the 88 Alan Milburn recommendations that Alan Milburn and Valerie Everitt, professional standards and education director, and I were asked by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to represent the BIFM on two of the collaborative forums. I joined the forum concentrating on producing a best practice guide for internships, while Valerie contributed to looking at recruitment, training and progression. Recently the government has confirmed its commitment to investing in a fairer future where social mobility is unlocked; where everyone, regardless of background, has the chance to rise as high as their talent and ambition allow them. David Willetts, minister for universities and science, has been appointed by Nick Clegg to a ministerial group looking at social mobility. He will chair an executive group and work with Alan Milburn who will be an independent expert reviewer. The executive has set out four clear objectives: • Identify and expand routes into the professions, particular non-university routes with a focus on professional bodies accrediting individuals for entry into the professions • Develop internships and work opportunities • Investigate an independent careers advice service signalling routes into professions • Broaden the criteria for acceptance into university courses feeding into the professions

Our involvement in these collaborative forums is testament to the esteem in which the BIFM is held and our contribution has been highly valued. It is essential to raise the profile of FM; and to be recognised at government level in important matters is helping to build the credibility of the profession. The production of a best practice guide for quality internships will help promote job knowledge and prevent exploitation of those gaining a useful insight into a place of work before taking on a more permanent position. The guide has been completed in draft form and is being reviewed by BIS before final consultation and distribution. The BIFM has also supported another initiative generated by the original Milburn report and that is the setting up of a portal that advises job seekers, career advisors and human resource teams on the availability of all the different professions in the UK. This is now available and can be accessed through TotalProfessions.com. The BIFM will keep you updated on the work of the government collaborative forum, executive and social mobility group over the next few months.

“IT’S ESSENTIAL TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF FM; TO BE RECOGNISED AT GOVERNMENT LEVEL IN IMPORTANT MATTERS HELPS TO BUILD CREDIBILITY”

ian.fielder@bifm.org.uk

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4/11/10 14:28:41

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

BIFM TRAINING

Focus: take time to introduce an ergonomic programme

TRAINING

Implement ergonomic programme New Catering Sig

ISTOCK

SIG

In an age where cost is the big issue for most businesses, ergonomics is one area in which companies can easily avoid unnecessary cost and downtime, simply by understanding and adhering to its principles. Inappropriate computer workstations or equipment can be associated with neck, shoulder, back or arm pains, fatigue and eyestrain. Getting it right can therefore avoid unnecessary expenditure on equipment and furniture which may be unsuitable for staff and their tasks. And eliminating the provision of poor workstations helps to increase productivity by providing a comfortable and safe environment which in turn reduces sickness and absenteeism rates. There is therefore, a sound case for taking the time and effort to introduce a good ergonomics programme now, not later; the provision of an ergonomically sound workstation should most definitely not be considered a nice-to-have when times are less tough. Carrying out those essential workstation assessments requires you to hold a DSE assessor’s certificate – if you still need to get yours, consider attending BIFM Training’s two day Display Screen Regulations & Risk Assessment course which is accredited by the Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors. The next session runs 8-9 December in central London, just in time for you to implement an improved ergonomics programme for the New Year. To reserve a place contact BIFM Training on 020 7404 4440 or email info@bifm-training.co.uk i

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The catering and hospitality network has now become a special interest group (Sig) – an important milestone for the members who have played such a big part in the group. The purpose of the catering and hospitality Sig is to bring together members of the institute and external expertise from those who are working in or have a professional interest in expanding their knowledge of catering and hospitality services. The Sig will appeal to members in all sectors and specifically those that have either direct or indirect management responsibility for catering and hospitality services. In addition, those members that may be considering introducing catering into the FM bundle or those that just want to know how best to deliver a customer-facing service will get huge value from joining the group. CPD

Sign up to online CPD The BIFM offers members an online tool to record their continuing professional development. For more information go to the career development section of the BIFM website, click on CPD and set up your own CPD account. Keep this up-to-date with all BIFM events and personal achievements, plus use this tool to print your own CPD certificates for specific events.

T E A M L E A D E R SH I P

irector of training provider radius 360, Adrian Nash, reflects on team leadership. He will present BIFM Training’s Team Leading for FMs course which leads to a nationally recognised ILM Level 2 qualification and next runs on 15-19 November 2010. “Recently listening to Radio 4’s long running programme, Desert Island Discs, I found myself increasingly interested in a guest I had not come across before; the forensic psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead. It seems the doctor and I both share a taste in music and a fascination with the human condition. Dr Adshead’s work in Broadmoor Hospital helps to cure some of the most disturbed minds in society. Facilitating learning at the BIFM is similar to the doctor’s work in as much as it requires a significant focus on the promotion of self-awareness. To quote Carl Jung: “There is no cure and no improving of the world that does not begin with the individual himself.” For effective team leadership, we really must have a clear grasp of our strengths, limiting behaviours and crucially be able to see ourselves as others do. I’m certainly no fan of the X Factor and being entertained in the programme’s early stages by a succession of woefully inadequate wannabes who publicly fail while the rest us pile scorn on their inadequate efforts. Albeit in an exaggerated form, their humiliation is often the consequence of not having the advantage of critical self-awareness. It makes popular television but does nothing for popular team leadership. Dr Adshead was asked a very important question and her answer should inform team leaders and managers alike: “Should you be friends with your patients or detached from them?” Her response, a lovely play on words, was that you should be personable but not personal with them. Not being able to achieve an appropriate relationship position with colleagues can result in either a lack of discipline and productivity because of over-familiarity, or a lack of motivation and trust through overuse of authority. Team leading for FMs is BIFM Training’s highly acclaimed offering for supervisors. It ensures that those who have responsibility for FM teams can get the right relationship balance, and have the opportunity to become critically self-aware.”

i For more information or to reserve a place contact BIFM Training on 020 7404 4440, email info@bifmtraining.co.uk or visit www.bifm-training.com

www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 14:29:05

FM NEWS

Call John Nahar on 020 7880 6230 or email john.nahar@fm-world.co.uk For full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack

FM innovations ▼CRC compliance made easy

▲The VT12 from Martindale Electric offers the solution to testing times A welcome addition to the ever expanding product range from Martindale Electric, a leading pioneer in safety test equipment, is the category III VT12 Voltage and Continuity Tester with probes, designed for industrial and domestic use. Constructed in accordance to the latest safety standard (EN61243-3, EN61010), the ergonomically designed VT12 guarantees safe and reliable measurements and testing, a necessity when dealing with high voltage. All Martindale Electric products come complete with a two year warranty and are supplied with batteries where applicable. For more information, please contact Trevor Groom at Martindale Electric on 01923 441717 or email sales@martindale-electric.co.uk

The new CRC module from Causeway (formerly Integrated fm) enables organisations to quickly and easily comply with the latest legislation, collate energy data from various sources, convert it to standard formats and report on their ﬁnancial and carbon performance. “The CRC module is designed to take the inconvenience out of complying with and managing the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC ESS), so the scheme becomes an opportunity to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, rather than a chore,” explained Causeway’s David Bell. The functionality of the CRC module ranges from initial entry, storage and auditing of all required information, calculation of carbon footprint and management of scheme participation and trading costs through to tracking of performance trends. Tel: 01926 517700 E-mail: iqteam@integratedfm.com Web: www.sustainabilityiq.com

▲TWM Show – great show for Jangro Jangro, the largest network of independently owned janitorial supply companies with 40 branches across the UK, Ireland and the Isle of Man; has enjoyed a third successful Total Workplace Management Exhibition. Jeremy Thorn, Marketing Director of Jangro said, “We have once again beaten our anticipated enquiry levels for the third time at TWM. By midday on the ﬁrst day we had received more enquiries than we had in both days of last year’s event. A large proportion of enquiries were received for the Jangro’s Enviro and Sovereign Floor Care ranges, which were launched at previous TWM shows. Further information on Jangro’s UK’s product range contact: Jangro on 0845 458 5223, email centraloffice@jangrohq.net or www.jangro.net

▼Competitive structural warranty provider ‘Build-Zone’ launch new website

▲Estatesgazette.com Propertylink is the new commercial property availability site offering unlimited free access to search over 60,000 offices, industrial premises, shops, hotels, restaurants and other leisure properties. Why use Propertylink? •You’ll have free access to every single property listed •Search over 60,000 properties across all sectors •Read helpful “how-to” guides, FAQs and other tenant advice, to help you with the details of buying and renting commercial property •It’s easy and quick to search and enquire on properties •Find properties advertised by a particular agent •Set up email alerts to stay up-to-date •Save your searches to save time If you’re looking to move your business, or you have commercial space you’d like to advertise, visit estatesgazette.com/propertylink for more information.

Structural Warranty product provider Build-Zone have launched a new website to accommodate a growing number of enquiries for their structural warranty products. The new website will act as an online portal that communicates key industry updates, news and helps with product selection advice. For more information on the range of warranty products, visit the site www.build-zone.com : or look at the Structural Warranty product range for the following types of project: ● New Home Projects ● Social Housing Projects ● Commercial Projects ● Completed Housing Projects ● Self-Build Projects ● Receivership & Administration Projects House builders, self builders and commercial builders and developers now have more choice than ever when it comes to selecting structural warranty cover on the properties they are building, extending or refurbishing and converting. Build Zone offers a wide range of innovative, ﬂexible and competitive structural warranty cover options. Call and arrange a quick quote today on 0845 230 9873. www.build-zone.com

▲Twix fino® ipad Promotion As part of Selecta’s commitment to bring its clients and consumers the biggest brands and the best promotions, Selecta has teamed up with Mars for an exclusive ‘text to win’ promotion to celebrate the launch of new Twix ﬁno®, the new and lighter version of the original Twix®. The promotion offers Selecta consumers the chance to win one of four ipads and £50 worth of iTunes gift cards every week between October 2010 and January 2011, as part of the £1.3m Twix ﬁno® campaign. The latest partnership with Mars follows a year of fantastic consumer promotions by Selecta, enabling clients and consumers to enjoy the latest products from Selecta vending machines. For more information about Selecta’s vending services please call 0844 7360 209, email sales@ uk.selecta.com or visit www.selecta.co.uk

FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 39

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FM DIARY

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

NATIONAL BIFM EVENTS 16 November BIFM Fellows Lunchtime Seminar – Allen & Overy 2010 Case Round Up Focusing on a selection of the most important and relevant cases to facilities management and property professionals. Venue: One Bishops Square, London Contact: joannalloyddavies@ btinternet.com or call 0777 881 2315 24 November BIFM event: A sustainable approach to buildings helps build better businesses Venue: Elms House, 43 Brook Green, London Contact: Pavan Virdee on lfevents@ londonﬁrst.co.uk 15 December WiFM forum – An Inspector Calls Venue: Central London Contact: Liz Kentish, coach@liz.kentishcoaching.co.uk 15 December BIFM Workplace Sig Christmas 2010 event: Changing Expectations of the Next Generation and Future Workplace Technologies Venue: National Design Centre, 61 Aldwych, London Contact: To conﬁrm your place email Isabel.marks@unwired.eu.com 23rd February 2011 WiFM forum Venue: Central London

Contact: Liz Kentish, coach@ lizkentishcoaching.co.uk or call 07717 787077 SCOTTISH REGION 18 November Rapid Changes in FM Over the Past Five Years – Lloyd Banking Group share their experiences Venue: Bank of Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh Contact: margaret.kennedy@ gpplantscape.com/01555 667919 HOME COUNTIES/MIDLANDS REGION 17 November Proposed Midlands and Sustainability Sig event: Facility managers as energy champions – building a new energy culture Venue: The Conference Suite, GASTEC at CRE, The Orchard Business Centre, Stoke Orchard, Cheltenham Contact: To register please email Ann Inman, ann@echo-marketing. co.uk 19 November Customer Satisfaction Analysis – Use your customers to improve your FM delivery Venue: Eli Lilly, Erl Wood Manor, Sunninghill Road, Surrey Contact: ash@fm-recruitment.co.uk or call 01635 4310

NORTH REGION 9 December North-west networking and Christmas Market Social Venue: Davis Langdon, 4th Floor, Cloister House, Manchester Contact: stephen.roots@ davislangdon.com, 07872 829743 SOUTH WEST REGION 6 December 2010 SW Region: December Quarterly Venue: Aztec West Hotel and Spa, Bristol Contact: beth.goodyear@ fmhsconsulting.co.uk or call 07901 858875

booking at: http://shop.instant-shop. com/Unwired/category290281.html Email: info@unwired.eu.com 17 November Catering for the Public Sector: Maintaining Standards Venue: The Barbican, London Contact: rdaniels@publicservicedelegates.co.uk or call 0161 832 7387 17 November Compliance costs increasing? A free seminar guide to an efficient process for ‘plan, measure, control’ and the role of technology. Venue: Holiday Inn, High Wycombe Contact: lorraine.brown@pulsion. co.uk or visit www.esquiggles.com

LONDON REGION 1 December Real cost savings for estates and facilities Venue: City Inn Westminster, London Contact: Miranda Chrimes or email bookings@sbk-events.co.uk or call 01732 373 073 INDUSTRY EVENTS 15-16 November WorkTech London WorkTech10 is the seventh annual conference looking at implications of convergence between the worlds of technology, real estate, work and the workplace. Venue: The British Library Contact: BIFM members can beneﬁt from a special rate for this event by

17 November Driving Down the Cost of Compliance Conference This conference will present how organisations can develop and maintain a true understanding of the cost of compliance as well as approaches that can help reduce those costs. Venue: London Contact: James Fields-Davis, Jﬁelds-davis@zetaplc.com or call 0844 999 4109 6 December First Ever Sig Webinar: Bullying & Harassment in the Workplace Venue: Delivered to your desk Contact: ali.moran@workplacelaw. net or call 0771 432 5574

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4/11/10 14:30:04

FM PEOPLE MOVERS & SHAKERS

BEHIND

THE JOB What attracted you to the job? Having worked for years in the electronics manufacturing sector as a facilities manager and subsequently in the facility management division in Lisney, one of Ireland’s top property agencies, the initial attraction of moving to ByrneWallace was the firm’s plans for its major relocation project. The company has a reputation for innovation as well as high professional standards, and moving to the Dublin docklands is a big statement of confidence and ambition – so it seemed like a really positive move in every sense, and that’s the way it turned out. NAME: Louise Kirwan JOB TITLE: Facility manager ORGANISATION: ByrneWallace, one of Ireland’s largest business law firms JOB DESCRIPTION: Responsible for the provision of facilities services to almost 300 staff. The facilities function employs 12 people, and encompasses areas like building maintenance, security, catering, printroom, client hospitality, file management as well as environmental, health and safety matters. Kirwan handles some property management within the firm like rent reviews and management of sub space.

ON THE

MOVE Changing jobs? Tell us about your new role and responsibilities. Contact Natalie Li Natalie.Li.@fm-world.co.uk

My top perk at work is… Having the chance to work with some of the most personable people I have ever met. Law firms can have an image of being a bit stuffy or arrogant, but that’s not the case at ByrneWallace which is full of people who are very professional but who really look out for one another and have a sense of humour. The Dock (our restaurant which looks out on the newly developed Grand Canal Plaza) is a great place for staff to meet and relieve the pressures of a day over coffee or a tasty lunch. What’s been your career high-point to date? There have been several highlights namely the EMS 14001 accreditation of ByrneWallace in 2009, the firm winning a green award in 2010 and of course, the completion and relocation of our new offices in Grand Canal Square.

UPP, a provider of campus infrastructure, student accommodation and residential management services to the higher education sector, has announced the appointment of Parimal Patel as financial director of its asset management arm, URSL. Prior to joining URSL, Patel was chief finance officer and chief operating officer (England) at Jones Lang LaSalle. Property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton has appointed David Williams as the new head of property asset management. Williams has over 20 years’ property and facilities

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If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? I think the profile of the industry (particularly in Ireland) could be stronger. Thanks to the work of the IPFMA in recent years, that is changing . I have noticed design teams, building owners, potential buyers and property and government agencies engaging more and more with property and facility managers thus saving a lot of trouble and cost afterwards. How do you think facilities management has changed in the last five years? Certainly, in Ireland I think the FM community has benefitted enormously from the IPFMA (like the BIFM) which has in effect, formalised the role of facility managers in Ireland. As most clients tend to have just one senior facility manager, it can sometimes be isolating. With the IPFMA, we get the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge with each other. If I wasn’t in facilities management, I’d probably be… a production director for film sets. Which “FM myth” would you most like to put an end to? That the carrying out of FM supply tenders by FM managers is an elaborate exercise designed to waste suppliers’ time. They are necessary in order to deliver the best deal to clients and I have seen many times when a supplier might not be successful the first time, but is on the second or third time.

management experience, having worked for a wide range of clients including institutional and private equity funds, developers, private individuals and public sector bodies. Mark Harrison, director of facilities management at the Revive-Group has been appointed as operations director. Three new faces have joined healthcare engineering and FM support services training specialist, Eastwood Park. Steve Skarratt, training manager (delivery); Laurence South, sales manager and Eddie Giles, training consultant (pictured, left to right).

Daniel WittMorris (pictured) has joined London and Quadrant Housing as head of facilities management from Davies Arnold Cooper. Witt-Morris will take responsibility of their commercial office portfolio across the south-east. Sodexo, a provider of on-site service solutions, has appointed Suzy Kitcher to the role of business development director for its Prestige business in England and Wales. Kitcher, who has worked extensively in sales, will be responsible for developing the division’s strategy in line with the company’s targets.

www.fm-world.co.uk

4/11/10 12:46:29

Call Stephen Fontana on 020 7324 2787 or email jobs@fm-world.co.uk For full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack

Appointments

BRIGHT SPARKS WANTED OPERATIONS MANAGER

JUNIOR BUILDING MANAGER

To ÂŁ50,000 London An FM Service Provider requires an Operations Manager to be based in &HQWUDO /RQGRQ 7KH SRVWKROGHU ZLOO LGHDOO\ EH WHFKQLFDOO\ TXDOLÂżHG LQ D +DUG FM discipline and have experience working for a similar organisation. The position will have management responsibility and candidates should be able to demonstrate previous management experience. David Kettle, dkettle@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 79064

ÂŁ25,000 Flexible A great opportunity to further your career with a leading industry name. You will be responsible for ensuring an effective service is provided across a prestigious portfolio, ensuring that all health, safety and environmental issues are managed, liaising with residents and clients accordingly. You will also produce and monitor the service charge budgets. Richard Parrett, rparrett@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 79056

FACILITIES MANAGER

SENIOR FACILITIES MANAGER

Â&#x2026; Â&#x2026; %HQHÂżWV 6FRWODQG A leading property management company is seeking a Facilities Manager, responsible for overseeing FM service delivery to a cluster of buildings across Scotland. You will form part of a regional facilities management team providing a full range of services to a commercial property portfolio. You must have H[SHULHQFH RI ÂżQDQFLDO PDQDJHPHQW IRU VHUYLFH FKDUJHV DQG EXGJHWLQJ RQ multi-let properties. Gavin Grubb, ggrubb@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 78886

Â&#x2026; Â&#x2026; %HQHÂżWV 6RXWK <RUNVKLUH DQG (DVW 0LGODQGV Our client, a successful managing agent, is looking for a Facilities Manager WR KDYH SULPH UHVSRQVLELOLW\ IRU RSHUDWLRQDO PDQDJHPHQW RI D KLJK SURÂżOH SRUWIROLR RI SURSHUWLHV FRYHULQJ 6RXWK <RUNVKLUH DQG WKH (DVW 0LGODQGV Applicants must have previous experience of serving multi-tenanted properties, service charge preparation and management, contractor PDQDJHPHQW DQG +HDOWK 6DIHW\ DORQJ ZLWK VXSHUE FXVWRPHU VHUYLFH VNLOOV Gavin Grubb, ggrubb@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 79095

TECHNICAL FACILITIES MANAGER

COMMERCIAL DIRECTORS

Â&#x2026; %HQHÂżWV /RQGRQ A well known global media services company is looking for a Technical 0DQDJHU WR VXSSRUW D QHWZRUN RI RIÂżFHV DFURVV WKH (0($ UHJLRQ <RX ZLOO EH VSHFLÂżFDOO\ UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DOO HOHFWULFDO WHFKQLFDO VXSSRUW 7KH GD\ WR GD\ work includes co-coordinating maintenance and servicing work to plant and equipment in critical environments and managing small infrastructure projects. Richard Parrett, rparrett@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 78438

Â&#x2026; Â&#x2026; %HQHÂżWV %RQXV 6RXWK (DVW ZLWK 8. UHPLW 7ZR NH\ UROHV VXSSRUWLQJ RSHUDWLRQDO WHDPV LQ VSHFLÂżF GLYLVLRQV RI WKH VDPH organisation, ensuring margins are monitored, new business proposals are robust and commercial negotiations with clients are handled in accordance with company commercial strategy. Proven track record in an FM outsourcing environment essential, with QS or Finance background preferred but not essential. Claire Marchant, cmarchant@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 79007

FACILITIES MANAGER

FM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

ÂŁ33,000 London Our client a well known London college are looking to recruit a facilities manager to look after all aspects of the day-to-day facilities operations. You will initially be involved with assisting the mobilisation of the outsourced facilities contract, agreeing service level agreement and KPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. You will also EH LQYROYHG ZLWK GHYHORSLQJ WKH + 6 HQYLURQPHQWDO DQG IDFLOLWLHV UHODWHG policies and procedures. A great opportunity with a fantastic London college. Jamie Williams, jwilliams@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 79082

Â&#x2026; %HQHÂżWV %RQXV 6RXWK (DVW Leading FM service provider seeks a proven FM BDM to develop TFM and bundled FM work-winning opportunities to strengthen their existing public and private sector client base. A proven track record is essential in a similar role for a competitor organisation, coupled with exceptional written and verbal presentation skills. Claire Marchant, cmarchant@macdonaldandcompany.com Ref: 79026 RICS Preferred Recruitment Partner

<RUN +RXVH <RUN 6WUHHW 40a Dover Street, Mayfair, Manchester, M2 3BB London, W1S 4NW T: +44 (0)161 605 0500 T: +44 (0)20 7629 7220 F: +44 (0)161 605 0505 F: +44 (0)20 7629 3990 www.macdonaldandcompany.com

FM WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;| 11 NOVEMBER 2010â&#x20AC;&#x201A;| 43

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DO YOU WANT A UNIQUE AND EXCITING OPPORTUNITY? JOIN THE TEAM General Manager Tower 42 – City of London Tower 42 is a unique ‘Office Hotel’ in the heart of the City of London. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a General Manager to take responsibility for this prestigious property.

The pursuit of excellence and exacting standards of customer care are the basic essentials but an ability to innovate and develop the Office Hotel concept are likely to characterise the successful candidate.

A high profile role, it will require a motivated and imaginative individual with good interpersonal and leadership skills who thrives in a demanding and challenging role.

Applications For further information and to apply, please contact Samantha Bruckshaw on 0207 338 4489 in the strictest of confidence or apply online at www.jobs-re.bnpparibas.co.uk

www.tower42.com

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44 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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London 020 7630 7419 Leeds 0113 242 8055

Providing Quality People Senior H&S Consultant, Home based, to £40,000 plus car allowance and package A global property management ½rm are recruiting a Senior Health and Safety Consultant. Based from home you will carry out H&S inspections at commercial properties throughout the UK, ensuring compliance, completing reports and making recommendations. You will also manage a couple of consultants and ensure that all business runs in a well organised and pro½table manner. NEBOSH Diploma and CMIOSH candidates strongly preferred. Line management experience is advantageous. Several years within H&S consultancy in a property/ FM environment are essential. This is an excellent opportunity to join a well established yet expanding global property ½rm that can offer further career development opportunities. CVs to russell@c22.co.uk

Building Manager, Manchester, up to £30,000 We are looking for an experienced Building Manager to work for our client across two buildings in Manchester city centre to manage Building Services by providing a professional and high standard of building support and facilities service to both internal and external clients. Candidates must have excellent budget and asset management skills, experience of managing both hard and soft FM services, contract management and be a con½dent people manager.You will have several direct reports including in-house staff and contractors. Ideally you will be a member of the BIFM and hold a IOSH H&S quali½cation. CVs to ed@c22.co.uk

Property / Facilities Manager, London, 9-12 Month Maternity Contract, Salary £40,000 pro rata A property management ½rm require an FM/PM to oversee a portfolio of leisure centres during a period of maternity leave. Experience in service charges / leases are essential as are strong communication and customer focus.This role is split between two sites in East London & the West End, approximately 2 ½ days at each site. CVs to steve@c22.co.uk

www.c22.co.uk

Make a difference to millions Head of Property Services We promote democracy, advance development and celebrate diversity. We are the Commonwealth – an association of 54 member countries around the globe who share the common values of democracy, good governance and sustainable development. The Corporate Services Division is responsible for financial management, information technology, procurement, facilities management, office services and conference and printing services. The General Services Section (GSS) provides facilities management, office accommodation and the full range of office and transport services at our two buildings in Pall Mall and the official residence of the Secretary-General in Mayfair. In this key role, you will manage all the work of GSS, focussing on the delivery of high quality services to these prestigious properties. You will oversee procurement of goods and services; safe, secure and environmentally sound operations; and the maintenance of our assets, ensuring that outstanding accommodation and related facilities are enjoyed by our 300 staff. With a degree or equivalent qualification in facilities management, you should have a proven track record in cost effective facilities management and people leadership. Based in our Pall Mall, London SW1 offices, candidates must be able to operate effectively in our multi-cultural setting and be a national of a Commonwealth country. For further information please visit www.thecommonwealth.org The closing date is 3 December 2010.

www.thecommonwealth.org

C22 plc is an employment agency

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• • • •

News updated at least ﬁve times a day Archive of every FM World article since 2004 Job email alerts Career advice

Coﬀee and CV fm-world.co.uk/jobs has over 100 job vacancies CoffeeCV HPH.indd 1

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21/10/10 10:22:15 FM WORLD | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | 45

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FM FINAL MONITOR WORD FELICITY MESSING WELL MESSING WHAT CAN I SAY?

FELICITY

MESSING

STUDENT WAXES LYRICAL It’s not uncommon to hear facilities managers airing their views on how they feel unappreciated, unrecognised and undervalued. But it seems one FM has no cause for complaint. Paul Lurkins, an assistant facilities manager at London’s Wimbledon College of Art caught the eye of a final year art undergraduate who won an award for her impressive wax sculpture of him. Eun-jung Ha, a Bachelor of Arts student, won the first ever Madame Tussauds Award for her meticulously lifelike sculpture of Lurkins. Ha, who hails from Beijing impressed the panel of judges with her technical skill and eye for detail. She was presented with the prestigious award and a cheque for a £1,000. She did admit, however, that she had no idea what facilities managers do, exactly. Surprise, surprise. But it seems this facilities manager has been immortalised – now there’s one way to remember exactly what a facilities manager does.

NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH Just as ‘love is all around’, so too it seems is bribery. I’m sure many facilities managers in large corporate organisations have come across varying degrees of bribes and gifts to curry favour in bids for services and contracts over the years. But just as we might have thought that the practice is on the wane, a good deal of effort seems to be going into investigating it. As allegations of fixing cricket to benefit punters are under investigation, so undercover journalism is accusing officials of FIFA of soliciting cash and favours. We may no longer be surprised about corruption or match fixing in sports – from cycling to athletics, but corruption in business and of government officials is a bit closer to our world and still causes alarm. According to the Wall Street Journal, over 120 companies in the USA are currently being investigated for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – a law prohibiting bribery, which they have clearly forgotten

about. And so, we in the UK are to get our very own Bribery Act in April next year. My concern is not so much for the people doing the cheating (though I would have a lot to say if I were to discover I lost business through competitor’s’ greasing palms). No, spare a thought for the hospitality trade. With the corporate entertainment business already suffering from the downturn, the Bribery Act explicitly prohibits improper conduct through lavish or extraordinary hospitality. Some are interpreting this to mean it will be illegal to provide hospitality in the hope of winning business. The plus side is that businesses could save a lot of money by prohibiting corporate entertainment and hospitality; the negative is that venues, boxes and debenture seat prices could come tumbling down not to mention hospitality companies and restaurants possibly going bust.

THINGS YOU WISH YOU COULD SAY I’m out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OUT 25 NOVEMBER

DON’T MISS OUT ON: THE KINGS CROSS DEVELOPMENT/// LIONEL PRODGERS INTERVIEWS JOHN CRAWSHAW/// HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR DEC RATING/// REPORTS FROM THE BIFM IRELAND REGION CONFERENCE AND WORKTECH///RAINWATER HARVESTING /// EMERGENCY LIGHTING///DEALING WITH STRESS///LATEST NEWS

46 | 11 NOVEMBER 2010 | FM WORLD

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hot dates

Something to Shout About All courses are held in London unless otherwise stated

December 8-9 Display Screen Regulations & Risk Assessment 14-16 Team Leading for FMs - ILM Level 2 Award in Team Leading 15-16 Property Management 16 Climate Change - The Impact on FM January 2011 18-20 Understanding FM Foundation - (optional) ILM Level 3 Award in FM 19-20 Creating a High Performance Workplace 24-28 IOSH Managing Safely 25-26 Managing Relocation, Fit-Out & Move 0207 404 4440 info@bifm-training.co.uk www.bifm-training.com

Have your ﬁnger on the pulse of FM Get to the heart of facilities management by joining the BIFM today. Be at the very heart of your profession by joining the BIFM. It’s the one body that has something for everybody in the business. We offer the most prestigious training, development and recognition for facilities managers.

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We provide a fantastic range of beneﬁts, services, and offers for all our members. We enable you to network with your peers and share ideas at a whole range of national, regional and local events.

We keep you totally in the know through FM World magazine, our continuously updated website and networking groups. We even give you a chance to inﬂuence your profession personally by getting involved and giving FM a better future. If you want to put your heart and soul into FM, talk to us.

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www.dysonairblade.com

Costs £1,460.00 per year to run.

Costs £39.76 per year to run.

Based on 100 people visiting a washroom twice a day, a paper towel dispenser will get through 146,000 towels a year.

For the same use, the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer costs just £39.76 to run. It works in only 10 seconds and its HEPA filter cleans the air before it reaches hands.

That’s a cost of £1,460.00.

It’s fast, hygienic and a fraction of the cost of paper towels.

Usage based on 2 towels per dry (data from Dyson internal research – Sept 2008). 1600W machine shown. Calculations include standby power. Cost based on 1 pence per paper towel (data from Dyson internal research – Jan 2010) and £0.1194 per kWh (data from Eurostat 2009 Semester 2 – published March 2010). Paper towel dispenser and Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer purchase costs are excluded from comparison. 10 second dry time based on NSF protocol P335.

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