MARCH 2019 www.bfmmagazine.co.uk building & facilities facilities management management
OFFICE & IT | CLEANING & HYGIENE | HEALTH & SAFETY
Artic Apprenticeship Scheme, now in its 10th Year! See page 10 INSIDE:
HEIGHTSAFE SYSTEMS ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH FALLPROTEC – PAGE 12
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On the cover: Artic Apprenticeship Scheme, now in its 10th year! See page 10 for more details. www.articbuildingservices.com
March 2019
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Contents 4
News
10
Cover Story
12
Health & Safety
14
Cleaning & Hygiene
17
Office & IT
20
Facilites for the Disabled
22
HVAC
24
Special Feature
26
Facilities Event Preview
Production
Sarah Daviner sarah@abbeypublishing.co.uk Accounts Manager
Katie Brehm accounts@abbeypublishing.co.uk
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All contents © Abbey Publishing Ltd 2019 ISSN: 1470-5281
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
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News
Engineering the future of asset maintenance – byte by byte
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ivil and structural engineers are now in a position to help clients move from an ‘Old World’ of inadequate asset data to a ‘New World’ of precision knowledge that pays dividends in cost control and programme efficiency. Deployment of new digital technologies to support asset surveying is transforming the type, amount and quality of data that can be quickly captured to define structures and how they need to be maintained, says Andrew McQueen, Head of Professional Services, at Lanes Group plc. The new approaches are allowing clients to much more accurately and confidently assess a wide range of assets, including buildings, transport infrastructure and drainage systems. In turn, this will lead to the development of more robust and better-coordinated maintenance and development programmes, allowing budgets to be planned and controlled with greater assurance. Lanes Group, the UK’s largest independent drainage specialist, has expanded its offer to include professional engineering services because customers increasingly want more, and better, data related to their assets. Andrew McQueen says: “New digital technologies for capturing, manipulating and analysing data amount to nothing less than a revolution in asset management. “Asset surveys using more traditional techniques based primarily on visual inspection, often from distance due to access costs and restrictions can often provide an incomplete data set. “This can lead to further issues being discovered during work phases, resulting in the need for difficult decisions about prioritising maintenance or budget overruns. “New ways of capturing digital data, though what we call pre-project 4
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scoping surveys, allow us to obtain a complete visual understanding of a structure’s condition. “This means our clients have a more precise understanding from the outset of the condition of their asset, even large and complex ones, and can precisely plan maintenance and refurbishment activities and budgets from the start.” Digital data capture systems being used by Lanes Group Professional Services include UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) with HD stills and video cameras, 360-degree imaging cameras and 3D laser scanning systems. Its teams are based within Lanes Group’s Rail Division, where they work with Network Rail and Transport for London to survey and help maintain rail infrastructure and associated assets. They are also working with increasing numbers of clients outside the rail industry, including utilities, construction, property development and facilities management. “Rail is one of the most complex and regulated industries in the UK,” says Andrew McQueen. “If we can do a good job there, we feel that we can be of significant help to clients elsewhere.” In most cases, remote-access digital capture systems remove the need to gain access to the exterior of sites, so expensive scaffolding or other access systems are not needed, and safety is greatly enhanced. However, as important as the process of recording data is, the expertise and insight needed to manipulate and share it with clients, so they can quickly make informed maintenance decisions is equally essential. Andrew McQueen says: “It
is important to use the correct technology in the correct circumstance to gather the data and then present it in a way that is as helpful and user-friendly as possible. “Our approach is collaborative and customer-focussed. We’re looking at ways to use The Cloud to store and present data, so the reliance on client hardware and data storage systems is minimised.” The ability to interrogate data through virtual reality will soon become commonplace, says McQueen. Presenting data and reports in ways best-suited for different audiences in decisionmaking units will become the norm. Andrew McQueen said: “Our clients have multiple uses for asset data. It will be useful for engineers to plan structural maintenance and site development, with all elements recorded with digital asset tags to assess asset condition, control and value over time. “Equally, it could be also used by soft FM service providers, like pest control specialists, to develop more effective site control activities. In the world of the Internet of Everything, recording the position, condition and performance of assets will become vital. That’s what we are all about.” www.lanesfordrains.co.uk
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
News
ltecnic appoints Product Development Manager in the UK
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ritain’s leading supplier of quality hydronic solutions welcomes new product development manager Stephanie Allchurch. Altecnic, along with its manufacturing partner Caleffi, is renowned for its technical innovation and ability to develop advanced solutions that deliver lifetime cost savings for the construction and plumbing industries. As part of its ongoing commitment to new product development Altecnic is pleased to announce Steph’s addition to the UK team. Previously, Steph was technical manager with a leading manufacturer and has a rich 16-year track record in the industry. She will play a key role spearheading the development of Altecnic’s product offering across the UK whilst also expanding
the company’s portfolio offer. Over the last five years, Altecnic has grown both in turnover and staff and now employs around 100 people in the UK. Under managing director Gary Perry’s leadership, the company has introduced numerous new product innovations and industry firsts including the recent NSF TMV2 certification for its thermostatic mixing valves as well as its Intaball® gas lever ball valves EN 331:2015 (Class C) accreditation. Steph says of her new appointment: “I am very excited to be working at Altecnic in this important development role. The company has a fantastic reputation for advanced technical knowledge and for leading the way in developing and supporting the very highest standard of plumbing and heating components.”
The new role reinforces Altecnic’s credentials as a specialist supplier of quality hydronic solutions for commercial and domestic markets. It will mean that customers can continue to be confident that Altecnic products meet, and in many cases exceed, industry standards throughout their lifecycle irrespective of technological advances and a changing commercial landscape. www.altecnic.co.uk
The Lampsafe Service For a safe, professional and fully auditable Lamp Recycling solution
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or a visibly professional solution in terms of storage and recycling of fluorescent tubes look no further than the Lampsafe Service from Mercury Recycling. Fabricated from lightweight Correx and with aluminium reinforcements the containers are of a sturdy construction and have carrying handles to ensure ease of movement across or from sites. Velcro fastenings are used to secure the lid. Mercury Recycling offer a mainland UK wide coverage from our Head Office in Manchester and can offer next day delivery for the more urgent requirements if necessary. We operate a PPC permitted treatment facility in Trafford Park where fluorescent tubes, lamps, batteries and WEEE are sorted and treated. We provide a complete audit trail for all your electrical and mercury bearing hazardous wastes. Electronic copies of collection and
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treatment paperwork are subsequently provided to ensure both you and your clients have a proficient recycling service from start to finish backed up with the relevant documentation. Alternative size containers for larger sites are available along with units for
the safe storage and transportation of odd shaped lamps/bulbs, Batteries and WEEE; please give Graham or Alex a call on 0161 888 1562 for helpful advice or perhaps view via our website www.mercuryrecycling.co.uk
News
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News
CONdair achieves workplace wellbeing charter
Condair plc has been accredited by the Workplace Wellbeing Charter, the national accreditation standard that recognises an organisation’s commitment to improving the lives of those who work there. Condair achieved the standard through initiatives such as the introduction of free staff health MOTs, subsidizing gym subscriptions, investing in sit-stand desks and appointing trained mental health first aiders.
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ondair plc, the UK’s leading humidification specialist, employs 75 people, located either at its headquarters in West Sussex, or remotely situated around the UK, across its nationwide sales and service teams. Tim Scott, head of sales at Condair plc, comments, “Employees who are happy and healthy are more engaged and productive in the workplace. We are very proud to have obtained this important accreditation, as it objectively demonstrates our commitment to continually improving the happiness, health and wellbeing of our staff. “Condair has been at the forefront of the UK’s humidity control for 37 years. The fact that over half our staff have been with us for at least 10 years, and many for much longer, 6
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is testament to the importance we place on employee wellbeing and happiness. This doesn’t just make our day-to-day working lives more enjoyable but has a direct impact on the business’ profits. It helps us retain talented individuals, builds the most experienced workforce in the marketplace and ensures we deliver the best possible service to our customers.” As part of the Workplace Wellbeing Charter accreditation, Condair was independently reviewed by a consultant, against a set of eight topic areas. These topics ranged from leadership and absence management to physical activity and healthy eating. The objective is to assess the company’s level of commitment to creating a culture that values health and wellbeing. Tim Scott continues, “As an organisation, we have always been proactive about creating a happy workplace, with regular social events playing an important part in building a cooperative and friendly team atmosphere. We also encourage staff to manage their own health through subsidizing gym subscriptions, promoting tax-free bike-to-work schemes, offering sit/ stand desks, company bikes for staff use, free bi-annual health MOTs and offering medical cash plans,
which allow staff access to cheaper healthcare services for things like dental, optometry or podiatry. “Alongside these investments, we also provide services to employees such as workshops on stress management, healthy eating and mindfulness, give staff support to stop smoking and allow time-shifting in working hours. Simply starting and finishing a working day at a slightly different time can improve a person’s work life balance and alleviate stress. “Mental health has also been a focus for us in recent years. As well as internally promoting government initiatives like Mental Health Awareness Week, we have appointed and trained two mental health first aiders. These individuals are able to offer direct and confidential support to people who need it. As well as this one-to-one support, employees also have access to a confidential helpline, with experts who can provide advice on a range of topics from bereavement and debt to health and relationships.” Tim concludes. The Condair Group is the world’s leading specialist in humidification and evaporative cooling, with energy efficient, hygienic and innovative technologies for commercial, industrial and heritage applications. www.condair.co.uk.
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
News
Acuity partners with social mobility employment programme
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cuity, Axis Group’s front-ofhouse division, has partnered with Growing Talent, an initiative run by Jane James Consultancy (JJC), focused on furthering social mobility through employment, as part of a programme to offer full-time job opportunities to people struggling to find work. Acuity is offering regular threemonth initiatives, with JJC presenting suitable front-of-house candidates. A ‘speed-dating’ style meeting is then arranged that Acuity uses to create a shortlist, followed by one-to-one meetings with decision makers at the participating Acuity site. The applicant is then mentored throughout the training process and if they successfully complete the programme, the permanent role becomes theirs. The process includes two off-site weeks, where soft skills such as personal finance, fitness, nutrition, art, mental health
and wellbeing are addressed. Chiara Di Renzo, Director of Acuity, says the Growing Talent initiative provides a unique opportunity for job seekers and employers: “It provides a guaranteed, permanent job offer at the end of the process that is based on an assessment of the candidate’s personality and suitability for the role, rather than CV and experience. This with the training process lends itself to both parties feeling confident in the employment offer.” The first employee to have gone through the process is Ismail Mohammed, who had been working in multiple jobs to make up the hours and wages he needed, but did not feel he had a future in any of these roles. Originally employed in Acuity’s SELECT team providing high-quality holiday and sickness cover to Acuity’s suite of high-profile clients, he now has a permanent role as the Acuity
Corporate Receptionist in one of the business’ he provided cover for. Chiara says Mohammed’s confidence and professionalism impressed her: “Even without specific front-of-house experience, Mohammed had a very well-established understanding of customer service and what a five-star welcome is.” On Mohammed’s decision to go through the Growing Talent process, he is succinct in his praise for the programme: “It was the best decision I have ever made for my career progression.” www.acuity-services.co.uk
Specify CFA members Specifying a CFA member for your next flooring project could mean the difference between success — or a flooring failure. Most of the UK’s largest and best known Manufacturers, Distributors, Contractors and Consultants are CFA members — and for good reason. • CFA members promote high standards, knowledge and expertise • Specifying CFA members will maximize your investment and minimize costly flooring failures • All members have to pass a vetting process
Tel: 0115 941 1126
www.cfa.org.uk Email: info@cfa.org.uk www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
News
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News
BigChange Mobile Apps Transform DFP 24/7 Services DFP Services, the north of England building maintenance company, has transformed its business with the latest cloud and mobile technology.
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ith the 5 in 1 system from Leedsbased BigChange, DFP has equipped its engineers with rugged tablets as part of a fully digital system connected in real time to the company’s national service centre in Durham. The paperless system has boosted efficiency, reduced administrative work and improved engineer productivity. With origins in fire protection, DFP installs, services and maintains equipment operating a 24/7 planned and reactive services for gas, heating, plumbing and alarms. The company a major provider to services in the care home sector and with 30 percent annual growth, DFP was recently recognised as one of the top 50 growing businesses in the northeast of England. The BigChange solution has completely replaced five other systems including systems for service management, vehicle tracking and certification. JobWatch now handles everything from the original services request through to invoicing; jobs are now booked, allocated and managed with the system which allows DFP engineers to operate independently around the clock. “Managing a 24 hour service has always been difficult out of hours 8
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but with JobWatch we can always see what is going on and deal with things such as emergencies by simply accessing the system from our mobiles,” says Heather Taylor, Commercial Manager at DFP. “Also engineers manage everything from their devices so it means they can work fairly independently. Without having to rely on the office so much they can get on with their work; that has boosted productivity and job satisfaction.” The company employs 45 engineers and 76 staff and the DFP fleet is fitted with BigChange trackers and tablet cradles for navigation and communication on route. As well as reporting, the tablets are useful for taking photographs of work done and relative state of the site on arrival and on departure. “BigChange provides a number of key operational and business benefits. Always knowing what is going on is of course really helpful but so is the management information and traceability that the system offers,” says Jon Paul Seed, Managing Director at DFP Services. “We can
now review the business properly and Big Data reports allow us to drill-down by customer, by engineer and any other criteria so we can accurately assess performance and profitability. We simply couldn’t do this before.” Due to the nature of their work certification is vitally important with the BigChange automated certificates have been introduced. Previously certificates were issued with invoices and that could be a week later. DFP is also seeing big benefits from the move to the cloud and the company found it invaluable for recent business expansion as Taylor explains. “We have just opened an office in Leeds and because BigChange is a cloud solution setting up the office was really easy. IT-wise we were up and running pretty much instantly; connected and fully synchronised to a single system. That was a real revelation and BigChange gives us the flexibility to expand freely and nationally in the future.” Email: info@bigchange.com, Tel: +44 (0)113 457 1000, www.bigchange.com
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
News
Nurse Call partnership boosts Secom’s health and care portfolio
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n a move that strengthens its position in the health and care sectors, Secom plc is partnering with Courtney Thorne to offer the care technology specialist’s Nurse Call solutions. This means Secom will be able to offer existing and new NHS or private sector customers a seamless package of security systems and on-site call technology. Neil Fitzwalter, head of Secom’s new Care Technology division, says: “Our new partnership enables us to extend to concept of security down to the individual needs of hospital patients and care home residents. “To achieve this, we needed a proven solution from a manufacturer of future-proof systems, coupled with appropriate levels of support. Courtney Thorne’s systems are an excellent fit for our needs.”
The partnership also gives Courtney Thorne access to a wider UK market, through Secom’s nationwide presence. Bournemouth-based Courtney Thorne has manufactured call systems for more than 50 years, and since 1990 has focused on the development of wireless call systems for hospitals and care homes. Graham Vickrage, Courtney Thorne managing director, says: “To have a leading international security company like Secom choose us as a solution partner is very exciting. We look forward to working with them.” Courtney Thorne’s solutions
q 0800 243 919
Graham Vickrage, Courtney Thorne managing director (left) and Secom’s Neil Fitzwalter.
include cloud-based monitoring tools that enable hospital and care home managers to analyse activity and performance data. https://www.secom.plc.uk
E secretary@chsa.co.uk
H www.chsa.co.uk
CHSA Stands Up for Standards Be certain ‘what’s on the box is in the box’ Buy from CHSA Accredited Distributors; specify CHSA Accredited Products
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News
3/22/2017 3:38:20 PM
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On The Cover
Artic Building Services Ltd, this year celebrates their 21st year in business, delivering Hard FM solutions for a diverse client base, across London and the South East
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ocusing on five key Hard FM disciplines, Facilities Management, Maintenance & Compliance, Engineering Solutions, Project Management, and Energy Services, Artic continues to go from strength to strength, through their commitment to delivering solutions that are easily scalable to any size contract or project. This includes long-term Full Hard
FM Planned Preventative Maintenance and complex HVAC, Mechanical and Electric installations. Artic are large enough to deliver, but small enough to care for the individual.
The Artic Senior Management Team (L-R) Colin Trowell (Managing Director), Derek Parker (Head of Business Development), Narinder Badesha (Head of Finance), and Paul Lucas (Managing Director).
Artic Apprenticeship Scheme, now in its 10th Year!
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his is a milestone year for Artic, and also see’s the company celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their Artic Apprentice Programme. Ensuring the future engineering talent within the Hard FM industry, training and the Apprentice Programme, has always been at the forefront of the company ethos. Training is the bedrock of our industry, and after being set up in 2009 by Vince McAnallen our founding Partner, the Artic Apprenticeship Scheme has become a source of intense pride to the management and staff of the company. It is a focus point for preparing young people for the rigours of the FM and engineering industry. The company see this as a way to bolster its own engineering base and also to benefit the wider industry at large in developing suitable candidates for long term careers in core Hard FM disciplines such as HVAC, electrical and refrigeration. In the 10 years of the scheme, approximately thirty engineers have been prepared for a career in FM engineering and whilst the majority are still with us, we have also fed many others into other industry companies specialising in Hard FM. 10
On The Cover
The Artic Apprentice Scheme ensures that Artic can identify and develop fresh young talent, and guide them through the whole apprenticeship programme, thus helping to ensure the future of the engineering calibre within our industry. As a company we have seen the apprenticeship scheme develop many young engineers for the industry, but it undoubtedly brings benefits for the company too. Potentially
guiding a young person, from a junior engineer through to a multi-skilled engineer or even management. Artic are committed to the Hard FM industry and will continue to support young and eager apprentices on their work journey. For more details on the Artic Apprenticeship Scheme, please click here https:// www.articbuildingservices. com/artic-apprenticeshipscheme-now-in-its-10th-year/
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
On The Cover
Case Study: Planned Preventative Maintenance a must for Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
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hilst the Artic client base is very diverse, Artic do specialise in a few key sectors, including Hospitals & Healthcare, Universities, Banking, and Corporate Real Estate, as they realise how important fast reactions, installations, and planned preventative maintenance are within these environments and the company is set up accordingly. Realising how critical a robust and planned preventative maintenance regime is to keep a hospital running efficiently was a key factor in the decision to award a three-year HVAC contract to Artic Building Services for the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust which runs until 2021. Also, Artic have a burgeoning reputation for offering tailored and proven engineering solutions to the NHS sector. Hard FM partners of hospitals and healthcare must be aware of the urgent nature of works required and the pressure placed upon Estates staff in these stressful and demanding environments. This is why using dedicated management and administration from Artic, the Trust’s Hard FM Partner, supports the Trust’s estate staff and allows them to prioritise their own key functions. In the current economic climate, we are all aware of the increasing focus on NHS Trust budgets and the need for commercial competitiveness and cost control has never been greater. Any service provider to the NHS must balance cost competitiveness with delivering the highest quality service level rightly required by the best Health Service in the world. Central London hospitals such as Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust present certain specific challenges regarding FM cover. Partners need to prove to be highly capable of working with the hospital sites to take the professional and flexible approaches necessary to ensure their HVAC equipment is www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
properly maintained and serviced. At the centre of any service contract for the NHS is the requirement to understand that a hospital is a fast moving 24/7 live environment. With the Artic team in place, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust could be satisfied that the on-site engineers understood the need for cleanliness and discretion within the hospital and had the flexibility of approach to deal with the access issues and last-minute changes which go with the territory of service in a vibrant and busy hospital. With such a wide range of applications covered under this contract, technical appraisals of all equipment are a constant and ongoing process which has led to the development with the Trust of a partial condition-based maintenance regime for certain noncritical areas. Along with a stock of critical spares this contributes to a rolling programme to optimise the contract workings and provision. As a specialist Heart and Lung/ Respiratory hospital, the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust is world renowned for providing care for patients who, by the nature of their illness, can be adversely affected by the environment around them. It is therefore crucial that planned preventative maintenance is at the forefront of the Trust’s HVAC plans to ensure no disruption to the critical running of the hospital. Artic have a unique Central London Engineering Support Network, to ensure that clients such as Royal Brompton, and other acute facilities, have rapid response 24/7. There are many key benefits of working with Artic Building Services for your Hard FM needs are numerous, including… 1. Financially solid, privately owned, no shareholders or remote influencers 2. Owned and run by engineers, focused on engineering solutions
3. Exemplary Health & Safety Record and run a Tidy Site Policy 4. Successfully and consistently deliver complex technical M&E integrated projects 5. Directly employed workforce and an established key supply chain 6. Holder of over 14 accreditations including ISO 14001, Refcom, and CHAS.
But don’t take it from us, this is what our clients say… “Artic have gone to the top of my Christmas Card list! They have thought outside the box and manage to salvage loads of parts from the now defunct On-Call building boilers, which we can then now use to keep other boilers functioning until we eventually have the boiler house refurbished. I am thankful to them for their dedication and foresight.” King’s College London “I have to say that our engineer is a real asset to your company. He keeps me informed with the right amount of information without prompting, is very knowledgeable in his field, doesn’t pretend he knows something when he doesn’t, and has a ‘let’s get the job done’ attitude in a sensible manner. It’s a pleasure working with him.” Royal Brompton & Harefield Foundation Trust “The team at Artic delivered an excellent service to UCL Estates, namely the level of communication from all office-based staff, and the excellent response times both during normal hours and out of hours. The knowledge and experience of the Contracts Manager at Artic Building Services responsible for the UCL Estate made, and continues to make, a positive difference to the delivery of this contract. Overall, we are very pleased with the works completed by Artic and our expectations are met in a professional manner.” UCL Estates www.articbuildingservices.com On The Cover
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Health & Safety
Heightsafe Announce Partnership with Fallprotec Heightsafe are delighted to announce a partnership with innovative European Work at Height specialists, Fallprotec.
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raig Diable, Estimating Director at Heightsafe commented on the partnership: “As a company we have long been admirers of quality engineered safety systems, and are delighted to have entered into a strategic partnership with Fallprotec and their highly skilled team of engineers and designers.” “Already having a very strong foothold in the Work at Height industry, we believe that this partnership will allow us to introduce more quality products to the UK market – enhancing safety further nationwide. The partnership and range of innovative 12
Health & Safety
products are already proving to be of interest to our established and growing client base.” Jan Erik Grothe, Managing Director at Fallprotec also said: “Since 2004, Fallprotec have developed unique, innovative solutions for the Work at Height market which are distributed to partner companies in 48 countries across 5 continents. In recent years we have recognised the importance of working with partner organisations that sustain Fallprotec’s expertise in the engineering and installation of Work at Height equipment in the countries within which they operate.” “It is therefore our pleasure to announce that we at Fallprotec will be working with Heightsafe Systems to expand our business coverage in the UK. The Heightsafe team have
a vast experience with engineering and marketing capabilities that lead the market place. We look forward to developing further solutions and applications together in the years to come.” Fallprotec’s Overhead Fall Protection systems are the perfect solution for applications were fall clearance is low. Petrochemical and Marine industries will benefit from these systems due to ATEX certification and high-quality powder coating treatment, with bespoke solutions available upon request. www.heightsafesystems.com www.fallprotec.com
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
Health & Safety
ALS Safety named IPAF Training Centre of the year • ALS Safety wins International Award for Powered Access (IAPA) • Award recognises exceptional IPAF Training Centre • Judges impressed by growth, investment in facilities and innovative training methods including use of virtual reality simulation.
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LS Safety, Riwal UK’s training division, has been named IPAF Training Centre of the Year at the 2019 International Awards for Powered Access (IAPA). The award was announced at a ceremony held in Dubai on 6 March attended by representatives from the powered access industry across the world. The IAPA award is presented to the IPAF training centre that demonstrates exceptional growth in trainee numbers, uses innovative training methods, raises awareness of safety and promotes IPAF training in new regions. ALS Safety, based at the new leading edge London North Facility in Hemel Hempstead, has achieved a 13 per cent increase in trainee numbers in 2018 and has introduced a virtual reality simulator for working at height training, which has been used at Riwal training centres across Europe. ALS Safety Managing Director Darren Verschuren said: “2018 has been a very successful year for ALS Safety, thanks to the hard work of the whole team and the support provided by Riwal. “Gaining the recognition from our www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
respected peers in the powered access industry through winning this IAPA tells us that our strategy for promoting and delivering high quality working at height training is imperative.” Riwal UK Country Manager Mick Ledden said: “We’re incredibly pleased and proud to have ALS Safety as part of Riwal UK. They’re a fantastic team, always pushing forward with new ideas to support safe working at height. They are a great asset for us, and for the wider working at height community.” IAPA judges were impressed by the company’s investment in its training facilities last year including opening a new training centre in Central London and a flagship training centre in Kent. The new facilities are large enough to accommodate the continuing growth in trainee numbers
and support the highest training standards. ALS Safety also trained 17 new IPAF instructors, including four in Ireland, and helped to open the first Riwal IPAF training centre in Denmark. The company supports the development and maintenance of international training standards by participating in the design and review of IPAF training courses, including the IPAF Load and Unload course and the new MEWP for Managers e-learning training programme. In 2018 Riwal purchased its first VR Simulator, one of just six in Europe, and ALS Safety is now working with manufacturer Serious Labs to design VR simulator scenarios for use on MEWPs when maintaining aircrafts. www.riwal.com/united-kingdom/ en/ Health & Safety
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Cleaning & Hygiene
Jangro launches new sustainable range catalogue
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ndependent janitorial and cleaning distributor unveils new catalogue, entitled: ‘Think Sustainable. For a better future’ Demonstrating its commitment to the environment, Jangro, the UK and Ireland’s largest network of independent janitorial distributors, launches a brand new catalogue dedicated to sustainability at The Cleaning Show this March. Entitled ‘Think Sustainable. For a better future’, this new catalogue features products that have been designed or formulated to have a minimal impact on the planet – helping customers to make more environmentally friendly choices, at competitive prices. This includes working with suppliers and manufacturers to ensure compliance with ISO accreditation and EU regulations, covering biodegradability and protection of the environment, the use of recycled materials, and consuming less energy during production, whilst reducing emissions to air, water and land. This brand new eco-range catalogue is available both digitally and as a hard copy, printed using the most sustainable methods available, such as FSC certified paper1 and organic vegetable-based inks. It features Jangro’s popular Enviro range of concentrated cleaning and sanitising products, including its innovative soluble sachets, which are designed to deliver chemicals easily and economically. The brochure 1.
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FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification gives customers the option to choose forest products like paper and wood that have been sourced in an environmentally-friendly, socially responsible and economically viable manner
Cleaning & Hygiene
also boasts a large selection of environmentally friendly catering disposables, from table-top display solutions to food packaging, napkins and paper straws. All the containers in the sustainable food packaging range are made from recycled board and are recyclable, compostable and fully bio-degradable, whilst the lids are made from recycled plastics (rPET) and are also recyclable themselves. One of the simplest and most effective changes a company can make to become more sustainable is to implement a recycling scheme, and reduce its landfill burden. To do this, a recycling bin is required. The catalogue showcases a range of recycling bins, including the uBin, which is itself made from 100% recycled postconsumer plastic, and comes with stickers to help recycle waste. Jo Gilliard, CEO of Jangro comments, “The day-to-day operations and many of the products used in the cleaning and janitorial industry inevitably have an impact
on our environment. As such, our responsibility to lower our carbon footprint and make environmentally friendly choices is huge, and is something we take very seriously. We are therefore thrilled to finally unveil our new catalogue ‘Think Sustainable. For a better future’. We have spent months working hard with our suppliers behind the scenes, to ensure that we can offer truly sustainable products which do not compromise on either efficacy or quality. The result is a catalogue bursting with eco-friendly and affordable solutions, helping our customers to easily find and make more sustainable choices.” Jangro is ISO 14001 accredited with environment management systems in place for continued improvement within working practices. For more information, visit Jangro.net or call 01204 795 955. To download a free copy visit http:// www.jangro.net/downloads/ jangro_ecobrochure.pdf
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
Cleaning & Hygiene
CLARITY & Co. announces key partnership with InnuScience
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ocial enterprise, CLARITY & Co. and biotech cleaning innovators, InnuScience, have announced a new joint venture. It will see the social enterprise – that manufactures a range of everyday and luxury ecoethical bath and beauty products – co-brand and take over the key logistical processes involved in filling, labelling and palletising InnuScience’s back of house hand care products. The partnership will also see InnuScience leverage its success and reputation in the hotel and catering sector to supply CLARITY & Co.’s eco ethical brands, BECO. and The Soap Co., as their front of house hand soap brands of choice. The venture will also boost the social enterprise’s mission to create employment for people with disabilities by assisting CLARITY & Co. secure a strong foothold in key industry sectors including hotels, hospitality, local government, transport and education. Back of house hand care products in the partnership range will carry joint branding with CLARITY, consolidating and building on brand recognition and the unique
propositions of both businesses. CLARITY & Co. will be made available across the UK through InnuScience’s national and local distributors. Camilla Marcus-Dew, Head of Sustainable Growth at CLARITY & Co. explains: “We are very excited to be able to partner with InnuScience. I think the key message here is the alignment of eco and social innovation across a wide range of products – giving organisations the opportunity to buy products without compromising the environment and creating meaningful change for people with disabilities. “InnuScience has been innovative in the use of advanced biotech cleaning products for over 20 years and have built a great reputation across diverse industry sectors. For our social enterprise, this means reaching a new client base with our exceptional eco-ethical brands. Soap is our vehicle for change and every 5L container sold from CLARITY & Co. and InnuScience will create at least half an hour of employment. We see greatness in everyone, giving those with disabilities a chance to show
their abilities in the workplace. Having InnuScience as a partner will help create more working days for those who have been overlooked, and that’s what we at CLARITY & Co. work for, every working day.” Nick Winstone, Managing Director at InnuScience, writes: “Our team is passionate about our biological cleaning products and the positive impact they have on the environments in which they’re used and the health of those that use them. “Over the past 3 years we’ve seen a great demand for our products in the hospitality sector and have been supplying soap as part of our offering. Wanting to evoke that same sense of pride in our soap range, we approached CLARITY & Co. to partner with us for our personal care products and ensure the soap we sell creates more opportunity for those with a disability that are so proud of the work they do at CLARITY & Co.” https://clarity.org.uk/
B38 Group’s cleaning services division wins £2m of new contracts in first quarter
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ast growing facilities management firm B38 Group has announced £2m of new contract wins for its support services division in its first three months of operation following its launch last August as part of the group’s strategy of increasing the in-house services it provides to clients. Headquartered in Wakefield, B38 Group has a diverse property support offering covering both ‘hard’ technical building services as well as cleaning and ‘soft’ services for private sector clients and bluechip organisations nationwide. Led by Sue Cawley and Steve www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
Trott, the new division is designed to improve service through selfdelivery of soft FM and cleaning services with B38 Group having recruited 200 additional staff to run the operation. The move saw the company take direct control of its existing support service contracts including the Whistl account. The group has enjoyed one of its most successful quarters having won a number of hard and soft service tenders including securing several new total facilities management
contracts worth in excess of £12m over the contract lifespans. B38 Group provides a range of hard and soft facilities management services to leading businesses across the retail, manufacturing, logistics, corporate, education and healthcare sectors. https://b38group.com/ Cleaning & Hygiene
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Cleaning & Hygiene
Affinity Water appoints Facilicom UK Utility company recruits contract cleaning specialist Facilicom to service 16 sites across their portfolio
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edicated soft services and contract cleaning specialist, Facilicom UK, has secured the contract to service multiple Affinity Water sites across the UK. The company is the UK’s largest water-only supplier, providing on average 900 million litres of water each day to a population of more than 3.6 million people. Facilicom will be responsible for the daily and weekly cleaning of 16 Affinity Water sites, including their HQ at The Hub in Hatfield, through to water testing labs and operational sites for engineering, water sourcing and distribution/pumping across Essex, Hertfordshire, Berkshire and Surrey. The contract has also seen 30 employees transfer to Facilicom UK from the previous contractor, who will now benefit from the company’s people-focused culture. Facilicom believes that people are their prime asset – this is why they are a Living Wage Foundation
Recognised Service Provider, and provide continuous training. They also offer every colleague access to a 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme helpline, where they can confidentially discuss any issues that might affect their work performance, health and wellbeing. Peter Buff, director of operations at Facilicom UK, comments: ‘Like many utility companies, Affinity Water has a diverse and varied portfolio of locations, each with their own requirements and specialist cleaning needs. However, we are
used to tailoring our services to the different needs of our diverse client base, and will ensure that we have all the systems in place to help keep our staff safe with correct operating procedures, whilst delivering a first rate service. We’d also like to extend a warm welcome to the 30 employees who have now joined the Facilicom family.’ For further information please contact Facilicom Tel: 020 8308 5050 or Email: info@facilicom.co.uk www.facilicom.co.uk
The first in a series of regional Public Sector Energy Events will kick off in London on 30 April 2019 at Emirates Stadium. For more information, please visit: publicsectorenergyevents.co.uk 16
Cleaning & Hygiene
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
Office & IT
IDEAL Networks launches world’s first handheld Industrial Ethernet network and cable tester
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DEAL Networks has launched NaviTEK IE, the first purpose built handheld network tester, designed for commissioning, preventative maintenance and troubleshooting of PROFINET Industrial Ethernet networks, plus standard Ethernet IP networks. The new, rugged NaviTEK IE copper and fibre troubleshooter has been developed to simplify the process of testing both cabling and networks in Industrial Ethernet networks that utilise the PROFINET protocol. Previously, a laptop with specialist software would be required to identify and test network nodes and configuration, which could prove cumbersome in these typically ‘desk-free’ environments. “With its compact, touchscreen design, NaviTEK IE has been designed to be a more convenient and efficient alternative to using a laptop, while catering for the physical differences between Industrial Ethernet cabling and other networks,” explains Tim Widdershoven, Marketing Director for IDEAL Networks. “With just one tester, technicians can troubleshoot at any point in a network and benefit from greater functionality than any other individual tester on the market.” The tester offers all the same features as the popular IDEAL Networks NaviTEK NT Pro, but with a range of additional tools specific to the needs of Industrial Ethernet, where packet delivery time is critical for operation. For instance, the system health check feature on NaviTEK IE enables frontline technicians to pinpoint potential issues before they become network failures and result in downtime. With an easy-to-understand traffic light system, the health check provides a quick indication of how each device is performing. Clicking on each device provides further details of the issues discovered so corrective actions can be taken. www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
“In Industrial Ethernet applications, preventative maintenance is often key to keeping operations running profitably and efficiently. Consider a bottling plant for example,” says Tim. “A sensor that is operational but also generates errors could easily be overlooked however it could malfunction and result in factory downtime. With the health check feature, this is avoidable, as you can act on the problem when you see an ‘amber’ indication.” Cable faults are another common cause of network downtime. To minimise this, advanced wiremap tools on NaviTEK IE allow users to automatically discover cable, network or device configuration, or faults, at the touch of a button. The tester uses Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) to provide accurate distance to fault data, testing every wire in the data cable, not every pair, to help isolate issues that other testers cannot find and can be customised to support standard and nonstandard cabling configurations. “Locating cable faults quickly is particularly important for Industrial Ethernet applications,” explains Tim. “Unlike cabling in a static office environment, these operations typically have constantly moving devices, such as robots, sensors or conveyors, connected to the network. This means there is an increased risk of sustaining damage.” For copper cabling, using the RJ45 or M12 interfaces included with the NaviTEK IE kit, the tester displays the correct wiring colours for the protocol used, measures the cable length and determines where and what the cable fault is, including split pairs, opens, shorts and miswires.
Those testing fibre data cabling can use an optional SFP module to test different wavelengths, measure the optical RX power received and discover cable faults such as dirty connectors, breaks or bends that exceed specification limits. Additional troubleshooting features include quick and easy discovery of incorrect device names, duplicate IP addresses, network latency issues and packet loss, and the ability to display and validate network node details quickly. The handy event log feature also helps to find intermittent issues by recording all network errors over a 48-hour period to determine whether the issue lies with the cabling, node, PLC or network configuration. The NETMAP comparison tool can also perform a scan of the entire network to identify all active devices and save this for comparison to future NETMAPS. This enables easy identification of new or removed network devices, incorrectly configured devices or configuration changes, such as those caused by automatic firmware updates. With the device blink feature, hidden or poorly labelled devices can also be found quickly, even in incorrectly labelled networks, by using the NaviTEK IE to flash a specific device LED. To prove the network has been commissioned successfully, NaviTEK IE also provides professional PDF or CSV reports that can be customised and shared with colleagues and clients using the free IDEAL AnyWare™ mobile app. For more information, visit www.idealnetworks.net or buy now at shop.idealnetworks.net/uk. Office & IT
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Office & IT
Smart desk occupancy sensor launched to help businesses monitor workspace use
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ressac Communications, a UK manufacturer of smart sensor technology, has launched a wireless, low-energy, under-desk sensor to detect occupancy and help companies use office space more efficiently. This new solution allows facilities managers to see live desk availability and collect usage data quickly and easily. The under-desk passive infrared (PIR) sensor is a small, unobtrusive box that sticks to the underside of a desk and detects the presence of people. The sensors are wireless and use very little energy, making them easy to install and maintain. They can be used to support space optimisation planning, smart desk and meeting room booking and smart-building management based on occupancy monitoring. Jamie Burbidge, Digital Solutions Product Manager at Pressac, says:
“We’ve developed the sensor based on extensive customer feedback. We quickly learnt no two use-cases were the same and many alternative sensor options were too power hungry. With this in mind, we designed our under-desk sensor to be highly configurable using our remote commissioning tool and highly energy efficient so batteries should only need replacing every 5-10 years. “As well as identifying underused or high-usage areas, enabling customers to manage people and space more efficiently, data collected from the sensors can also be used to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency with automated lighting, heating, ventilation and air
conditioning based on occupancy.” Sensor data is encrypted using AES-128 encryption and sent wirelessly to Pressac’s gateway. From there, live data can be made available using industry-standard formats such as MQTT, or published directly to cloud services such as IBM Watson IoT and Azure IoT Hub. Occupancy data can also feed directly into existing building management systems with protocols such as Modbus. With a high-adhesive sticker to fix it in place and highly energy efficient batteries, the sensor is designed to be quick to install and extremely low maintenance. If preferred, users can choose an optional screw-mounting kit and a rechargeable USB-powered variant. www.pressac.com.
Housing association Curo makes IT Service Management simple with Sunrise Software
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unrise Software, a leading supplier of IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions, has announced that leading regional housing association Curo is using Sunrise ITSM to support its 550 staff, enabling them to work efficiently and to focus on customers and their needs. A housing association and house builder based in Bath, Curo is one of the largest landlords in the South West of England. It provides high quality homes and support services to more than 25,000 customers in over 13,000 homes. Curo’s service desk team looks after over 1,000 devices, including phones, PCs and Chromebooks. Many employees are mobile, rather than office based, making fast, effective support even more vital. However, Curo felt limited by its existing ITSM software, and chose to replace it in 2014 with Sunrise 18
Office & IT
for its combined ease of use, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Since Sunrise went live in 2014, over 44,000 tickets have been raised. As the organisation has developed usage is growing, with 10,500 requests submitted in 2018. To extend options for its users, Curo has adopted the Sunrise Self-Service Portal, alongside email, phone and face-to-face channels. The Portal provides a ‘one stop shop’ for both end users and the service desk team. It includes an asset register of all devices assigned to a member of staff, as well as providing an up to date view of any outstanding tickets. Feedback has been consistently high, with a satisfaction rate of 98.4%, showing that users really value the service delivered through Sunrise. While initially deployed within the IT organisation, Sunrise has since been extended to other departments. It enables employees to log
equipment requests with the Facilities Management team, while the HR team is running onboarding through the platform. The asset register functionality within Sunrise also helps Curo to track devices from when they are bought, through their lifecycle to final disposal, providing a full audit trail for regulations such as WEEE. Building on Sunrise’s asset management capabilities, Curo has future plans to log all tools on mobile tradespeople’s vans via the platform. That will ensure that employees know exactly what they have been issued with, and ensures that all necessary regular checks (such as PAT testing for drills and electrical equipment) and safety certification for tools such as ladders are flagged when they are due. To read a full case study on Curo’s use of Sunrise visit https://www.sunrisesoftware. com/casestudies/curo/. Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
Office & IT
C & W Berry streamline payable transactions with Open ECX’s eInvoicing C & W Berry, one of the leading independent builders’ merchants in North-West England, selected Open ECX to assist with the management of its invoices.
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& W Berry has seen exponential growth over the past decade, processing between 40-45,000 payable invoices and credits each year. Purchasing from 400 suppliers a month and dealing with 1,000 different suppliers per annum, C & W Berry turned to Open ECX to help streamline these transactions. C & W Berry operates from a single sales and distribution site – a unique model for a merchant. For this reason, C & W Berry has a wealth of transactions to process in this one office. Until Open ECX’s help, one full-time purchase ledger was manually processing C & W Berry’s payable transactions. However, this approach generated some challenges, particularly in terms of managing the flow of invoices. Although C & W Berry has seen significant development as a company, it wanted to ensure its invoice system was efficient so its relationship with suppliers was not compromised. Manual invoicing is a costly and time-consuming approach, therefore C & W Berry required a solution which alleviated this pressure, minimising inaccuracy and errors and quickening invoice management. Gary Higham of C & W Berry, said: “Before deciding to trial Open ECX’s PDF to XML eInvoicing solution we considered other options including OCR, Intelligent OCR and EDI. Once Open ECX demonstrated the PDF to XML technology to us, traditional scanning systems seemed a definite step backwards in terms of technology. As Open ECX’s solution didn’t require suppliers to make www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
changes to their systems it was more attractive than EDI. Open ECX was chosen because its solution seemed unique to us, it was the best fit, and Open ECX are keen to drive projects forward. “Open ECX took control of and pressed forward with the onboarding of suppliers with little intervention from ourselves, making implementation very easy. They approached the suppliers, they obtained test transaction data from each supplier and tested it through their systems, and they produced all the XML output files. All we had to do was to provide the list of suppliers with contact details and engage our back-office systems provider to write an integration module. “Open ECX’s system fits seamlessly into our back-office system, where the eInvoicing system has enabled us to process transactions considerably faster and more accurately. Our finance system is the best it’s been, providing us with more time to focus on other aspects of the business. “Open ECX’s support has been second to none, and has improved business efficiency, timeliness and accuracy.” Business benefits: • eInvoicing streamlines the process of receiving and managing supplier invoices so accurate and timely payments can be made without complication. • eInvoicing saves businesses money, letting finance staff focus on more strategic tasks.
• Minimises costly paper waste and time-consuming manual invoicing. • A quick, speedy onboarding process ensures companies can access the eInvoicing platform as soon as possible. To get started, Open ECX only needs a list of suppliers - the rest is taken care of. Open ECX’s eInvoicing system is proven to help companies manage high-levels of invoices each month. Its specialist eInvoicing onboarding team is trained to quickly onboard suppliers in order to help businesses start processing invoices efficiently. A trustworthy and efficient solution, Open ECX’s eInvoicing keeps businesses on top of invoice management; freeing up stressful administrative processes to allow companies time to focus on their future plans. www.openecx.co.uk Office & IT
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Facilities for the Disabled
Assured solution to answer business case for disabled visitors Ministers are urging the UK tourism industry to recognise the potential value in catering for disabled visitors
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ollowing the 2018 VisitEngland awards for Excellence, both the Minister for Arts Heritage & Tourism, Michael Ellis and Minister for Disabled people Sarah Newton have called for the leisure attractions to cater for disabled visitors and enhance their accessibility. They point out UK tourism is growing by more than 6%pa, with a 5.8% increase in domestic travel; set alongside the fact that one in five people in Britain have a disability or health condition, they maintain there is a business case to justify any investment. Closomat, Britain’s leading provider of accessible toilet solutions which has enabled accessibility for brands including JDWetherspoon, Alton Towers, Forestry Commission Scotland, Copthorne Tara and Legoland Windsor Resort, backs the argument, and offers an unrivalled, assured solution to enable venues to enhance their accessible offering. “If you’re going on a trip for any duration – a day, overnight, or longer, you ARE going to need the toilet,” says Robin Tuffley, Closomat marketing manager. “But often ‘accessible’ toilets are actually inaccessible – whether in a hotel or tourist attraction. It can be something as simple as the actual positioning of the fixtures and fittings, or a larger issue such as the lack of appropriate fixtures and fittings.” “Closomat is unique in its proven, validated ability to provide a complete package, to ensure any accessible toilet facility is efficiently executed to full compliance, with style, be it a toilet, en-suite or bathroom in a hotel through to an assisted accessible facility – aka a Changing Places toilet20
Facilities for the Disabled
at an attraction. Indeed, installing a Changing Places is one of the key adaptations highlighted as an exemplar change to improve accessibility.” Closomat is the only British manufacturer of accessible toilet solutions that can also provide a complete project management package. Its Palma Vita shower toilet- also known as a smart toilet, is the brand leader, and ensures inclusion beyond disability: its wash and dry functions address cultural and religious considerations. The toilet is now also deemed under British Standards to make a notable difference to ensuring a disabled person’s independence and dignity when using a facility such as a Changing Places Closomat’s product offering encompasses shower toilets, ceiling track hoists, fixed and height adjustable washbasins, shower seats and changing benches, including variants that utilise a wall track to
enable personalisation of an en-suite to individual needs. They also cover the full ambit of equipment needed for a compliant Changing Places assisted accessible toilet. Its project management package is fully CDM compliant, and covers design advice, supply, install, commissioning and aftersales servicing/maintenance. Closomat’s website – www. clos-omat.com – is now the ‘go to’ resource for ‘away from home’ accessible toilet information: NBS specifications, CAD blocks, typical layouts, white papers etc are all available for free download. Tel: 0161 969 1199; www.clos-o-mat.com; Email: info@clos-o-mat.com; www.facebook.com/clos-o-mat; Twitter: @closomatuk Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
Facilities for the Disabled
Motionspot co-founder appointed at Government Champion for accessible design Aims to promote the growing business case of accessibility for all
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n a ceremony at Lancaster Gate, The Minister of State for Disabled People, Sarah Newton MP appointed Ed Warner, co-founder of the award-winning, accessible design company Motionspot, as sector champion for the ‘Design of Products and Spaces’. The new role reflects the importance of designing more inclusive environments, accessible products and making those with a disability – who represent 13.2m people in the UK – a business priority. Ed Warner says: “I’m delighted to have been appointed as sector champion for the Design of Products and Spaces and help represent the needs of disabled people. My vision is to encourage a culture of change across the industry, so accessible products and spaces are better designed to suit the needs, style preferences and budgets of all. The ultimate goal is to create beautiful, accessible environments that are appealing and inclusively designed for everyone”. Minister for Disabled People, Sarah Newton says: “For too long businesses have been missing out on the spending power of disabled customers and their families – worth a staggering £249 billion a year. Our new champions will fight for the rights of disabled consumers so they can spend their money where and when they want, just like everyone else”. The newly appointed Champion, Ed Warner, plans to raise awareness of the commercial benefits for those who can make their spaces more www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
Ed Warner
accessible, with outreach in the hospitality, workplace, healthcare and leisure sectors. With a growing ageing population requiring suitable and desirable accommodation, liaison with retirement developers, house builders and local authority procurement departments will be essential to ensure a greater number of accessible, future-proofed homes. Ed intends to involve more disabled people in the design process, to ensure products solve a specific need based on evidence-based
principles. He adds: “It is important that all groups are aware of the positive impact that well-designed, accessible products and spaces have on the physical and mental wellbeing of disabled people. If these are well-designed, they will appeal to everyone”. www.motionspot.co.uk Facilities for the Disabled
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HVAC
Are temporary chillers the solution to UK stockpiling crisis?
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ne viable solution, according to Aggreko, is for manufacturers, retailers and warehousing sector to consider temporary cooling systems / chillers. As food and medicine continue to be stockpiled following the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, chillers and chilled air distribution systems allow ambient temperature warehousing to be transformed into chilled/cold storage to meet increased demand. Chillers, which modularly range from 50kW to 1500kW and be maintained as low as (minus) -40°C, provide companies that are either considering or have already taken action to stockpile, with convenient, effective cooling for all applications, ensuring warehouses meet the required temperatures for the stored materials. And with the uncertainty surrounding both food and medicine set to continue, Aggreko is urging the supply chain 22
HVAC
Following news of further stockpiling in both the food and pharmaceutical industry, companies across the supply chain are facing the challenge of finding additional storage and cooling solutions (Chillers) to cope with demand. to re-think any permanent changes to chilled storage, as Matt Watson, Sales Manager at Aggreko, explains: “The trends of stockpiling materials don’t appear to be reducing and food, storage, distribution and pharmaceutical companies need more efficient and trustworthy storage quickly. As we await more clarity on the impact Brexit will have on industry, the utilisation of temporary chillers allows storage to be increased where extra capacity is required. “Aggreko’s chilled and cold storage solutions are available immediately and, importantly, work within existing facilities without
impacting production. We hope that this solution to industry will ease concerns manufacturers, retailers and warehousing sector continue to face, allowing them to store unexpected stock in units that meet industry standards.” Aggreko’s rapid response team means equipment can be delivered and set-up within hours. Additionally, the company’s experienced engineering team can visit locations and design a bespoke package – and install it – with minimum disruption. For more information on Aggreko’s temporary chilled storage solutions, please visit www.aggreko.com.
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
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Special Feature
Turning the perfect storm into an energising opportunity Steve Beer, Sector Manager of Energy Solutions at EDF Energy, gives his top tips for turning a challenging energy environment into a catalyst for change Make your data work for you
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ne might call it the perfect storm: fluctuating energy costs, growing scrutiny on carbon emissions, and an increasingly complex energy market. Whether or not you have the word ‘energy’ explicitly in your job title, the importance of energy management from a cost, responsibility and environmental perspective is significant. But let’s flip this scenario on its head: let’s say that you are one of the organisations that are trying out the adapted wind turbines capable of capturing energy from hurricanes and tornados. Suddenly, the perfect storm becomes a lucrative opportunity. In the same way, the storm that energy managers may feel approaching on the horizon can become the catalyst for a wide range of positive changes that turn energy into a strategic, revenuegenerating aspect of the organisation. Energy solutions that lower costs, reduce carbon emissions and waste – as well as creating greater resilience in your organisation and putting more control in your hands – can turn the situation on its head. Efficiency measures – simple actions that deliver savings directly to the bottom line – have been the holy grail of all organisation types for years. But the keys to unlock these savings have often escaped the hands of the noble questers. Here are some changes to help you save energy, money and the planet. 24
Special Feature
The first step is understanding your energy use, particularly if you have a large estate or multiple sites. You simply cannot manage what you’re not measuring. The good news is that it has never been easier or cheaper to get live energy data about your business. But now the challenge is to understand it. Unfortunately, many organisations who invested early in monitoring solutions find that the technology wasn’t fit for purpose and the solutions haven’t worked. Often this is because the system doesn’t provide data visualisation. Good visualisations can reveal straightaway where there are problems and where savings can easily be made. One organisation that we worked with felt that they had done everything they could to become efficient, but the data they received back from our real-time energy monitoring system revealed that they were consuming as much energy during the night as during the day. This was despite the fact that their building management system was scheduled to turn heating and lighting off between 8pm and 7am. With just a little investigation, it turned out the system had been overridden for the benefit of builders who had conducted work months ago and no one had put it back when the building work finished. Real time visualisations show exactly what’s going on, send alerts when something out of the ordinary happens, and allow you to make changes quickly before they start impacting your bottom line.
Review your policies and controls Once you’ve got the data monitoring set up and the ability to
interpret it, sometimes, as with the example of the builders, the data reveals the need for a change of controls and building use policies. Take for example a leisure centre with a building project for a new tennis court. The building contractor was working through the night with the help of big flood lights. The data quickly revealed that these lights were being left on 24/7, indicating that the leisure centre needed to set better controls with the contractors. We suggested setting a general energy use policy with future contractors in the same way that the organisation would set an agreed health and safety policy. Another business discovered that their out of hours cleaning teams were turning all the lights on as they entered the building, only switching lights off as they completed each floor. For the cleaners, this served as a way of communicating which floors had been cleaned, but for the business, it resulted in an inflated energy bill. The business reviewed their contract with the cleaning company to include an energy management policy, and the cleaners developed a new way of tracking their progress around the building
Close the loop on Good Housekeeping programmes The common dominator in most energy saving measures is not more efficient equipment – light bulbs, heaters or computers – but rather the behaviour of individuals. In fact, many organisations find that when they install efficient equipment, staff begin to act differently: lights are left burning in empty rooms and computers get left on at the day’s end. This ‘comfort taking’ can reverse all the positive effects of the new equipment.
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
Special Feature Successfully translating changes into tangible efficiency improvements almost always requires the implementation of staff-based behaviour change training, or ‘Good Housekeeping’ programmes. The key here is to close the loop between what you ask of employees and what impact their actions have, using data to track the cumulative benefits of small changes such as turning equipment off when not in use. Showcasing the business benefits, in terms of money saved or emissions reduced, can
empower employees to turn simple changes into consistent habits.
Be flexible with your site Speaking of changing habits, it’s important to take a step back and consider how changing working habits present opportunities to be more flexible with your estate. Flexible working hours – which see perhaps 10% of your workforce arrive at 7am to leave at 3pm, and perhaps 20% arrive at 10am to leave at 6pm – call for a rethink in the way organisations fill, heat and
light their buildings. Does it make sense to heat every floor of a building which is only 10% full, or could you consider filling and heating a building floor by floor as employees arrive? The fact is that many of these changes are incredibly simple. Their full potential is often missed because companies aren’t accessing the data that proves return on investment. However, those organisations that start by taking control of their energy data are well on the way to a series of transformations, one change at a time. www.edfenergy.com
Utilising technology to improve meeting room management
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eeting rooms and office facilities are an essential part of modern business. They are used by workforces on a rolling basis daily and have rendered paper schedules entirely redundant. As such, investing in an efficient meeting room booking and management system is vital for getting the best out of these facilities as well as for the overall operations of businesses. Meetings are where ideas come to life, where creative minds come together to keep businesses going forward. Yet arranging these meetings can often be time consuming and burdensome. Last minute unofficial ‘bookings’ of scarcely available meeting rooms combined with interrupted meetings caused by double bookings and the time spent finding a free space at short notice is not only stressful, but also costly for businesses. Time is money, as they say, and all the time spent on organising and re-organising meetings evidently leads to a waste of both. The work environment today is more dynamic and spread out than ever before. We can no longer expect all relevant personnel to be able to gather around one table for a brainstorm, instead businesses should facilitate the quick organisation of digital meetings with people in several locations at the same time. With faceto-face meetings becoming less of a norm and the rise of teleconferencing, www.twitter.com/BFM_Magazine
Richard Glückman, CEO of Evoko organisations need to have the right technology to support this trend. A meeting room management solution makes arranging these out of the blue meetings easier by allowing users to search for rooms based on availability, size and equipment and quickly book the most suitable room for their purposes. Booking the right meeting room doesn’t need to be a time-consuming task anymore, as the solutions available today were developed precisely to manage these spaces easily and effortlessly without unnecessarily overcomplicating things. An effective meeting room management system therefore should take the frustration out of booking and managing meetings by allowing users to book them through their chosen digital calendars or directly on the screen of the solution. The technology must clearly indicate when, for whom and for how long the room is booked – eliminating confusion and interrupted meetings for good. Investing in the right digital meeting room manager will minimise both the cost and time put into the administration of meeting facilities, as it will abolish the need for one devoted employee having to organise the scheduling and management of meeting facilities. This can all instead be handled by one centralised system, freeing up time for employees to focus on more
productive tasks. But a modern meeting room manager will not just save time and money, it will add value and provide an indispensable competitive edge. Is there a specific room which is used less than others? Is there a tendency for rooms being empty due to skipped meetings? A digital room manager will analyse and report back on such meeting patterns, providing businesses the insights they need to increase productivity whilst limiting the potential extra cost of unused rooms. By analysing meeting patterns, businesses can make the right decisions regarding the use of available meeting facilities and how to get the most out of them to enhance efficiency. When deciding on a meeting room management solution, businesses primarily need to identify which challenges they want it to solve and then choose the simplest and easiest-to-use meeting room manager to tackle those challenges. Investing in the right technology to book and manage vital office facilities will provide businesses with a competitive edge and help them to realise their aspirations for a smart workplace. www.evoko.se special feature
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Facilities Event Preview
The Facilities Event 2019 The Facilities Event, the leading exhibition dedicated to the UK’s facilities and workplace industry, has announced it will be tackling FMs biggest challenges, when the event returns to the NEC, Birmingham on the 9-11 April 2019.
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n response to imminent technological, political and cultural changes facing British business in 2019, The Facilities Event has said it aims to tackle some of the most pressing technical issues head-on and create a forum where FMs can find answers to their workplace challenges. The brands exhibiting at this year’s event will be leading experts in their field, ready and on hand to provide 1-2-1 bespoke advice to attendees. FMs visiting the show will be able to touch and experience new technology and source the very latest equipment and services for their workplace. Rachel Godfrey, Event Manager, The Facilities Event says: “At The Facilities Event 2019, we want to give the UK’s facilities professionals help and support in crucial areas that affect their everyday working role. By tackling each key area of FM individually, visitors will have the opportunity to create a personalised event experience and find real solutions to the issues that facing their business.”
Essential CPD accredited training and education The 2019 show will pivot around The Facilities Hub, a central theatre hosting free CPD accredited training and education designed for FM professionals which will address what the organisers are calling the ‘Five pillars of FM’. Content will be delivered across five streams covering cleaning services, security, catering, property management and support & technology services. Sessions are designed to give 26
Exhibition Preview
attendees access to three days of educational content and practical information in these areas. The Facilities Hub programme will feature 18 sessions delivered by 30 of the most knowledgeable professionals in the UK’s FM industry today. On Tuesday 9th April, Mark Miller, Workplace Technology Strategist from worldwide leader in IT and networking Cisco, will be discussing the changing workplace and its technology in his session Demystifying workplace technology. The workplace is going through a time of unprecedented change and organisations must rethink how workspace design, workplace policy and technology can come together to create a sustainable, fit-for-purpose and future-proof work environment. Yvonne Taylor, head of cleaning at OCS will discuss one of the UK’s hottest topics in her session Reducing single-use plastics in cleaning and catering on Wednesday 10th April. The fight on single use plastic is well documents and OCS is sharply focused on how it can limit the impact of its operations on the environment. Also on Wednesday, Mike Boxall, managing director, Sitemark, the de facto standard for good buildings, explores what benchmarking and challenge the common misconception around what it means in his session Benchmarking: it’s not all about cost. One of the final sessions of the programme, The invisible danger – how FMs can protect building occupants from bad air will be hosted by Peer Dyment, IAQexpert, Camfil. With the Government’s Clean Air Strategy putting air quality both outside and insider under scrutiny, Peter will explain the potential dangers within our buildings and give FMs
practical suggestions on what FMs can do to protect occupants to ensure their buildings become ‘safe-havens’.
IFMA announce support for 2019 New for 2019, The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) UK chapter has embarked on a partnership with The Facilities Event and in addition to exhibiting will also be running networking events during the show. IFMA is made from the support of over 24,000 members across 100 countries and is widely recognised as the world’s largest international association for facility management professionals. Dave Wilson, one of the IFMA UK chapter directors, stated “The Facilities Event is the UK’s leading exhibition within the FM industry, and one we were eager to support. We look forward to seeing our members there.”
One free badge, four great events Those attending The Facilities Event 2019 will also get free access to its co-located events The Fire Safety Event, The Health & Safety Event and the brand-new The Security Event. Each event features its own professional seminar programme and a host of global brands demonstrating their technology and services. Free visitor registration is now open, visit www.facilitiesevents. com to claim your free badge. Interested in exhibiting? Contact Rachel Godfrey on 01342 333714 or email rgodfrey@western-be.co.uk.
Building & Facilities Management – March 2019
Three days of professional content and hands-on advice. We understand that being an FM professional takes hard work, dedication and a wide variety of skills to ensure an organisation is running at its most productive and costefficient 24 hours a day. At The Facilities Event 2019, we want to give you support in key areas that affect your everyday working life. Our ‘five pillars of FM’ are designed to give you three days of professional educational content and 1-2-1 bespoke advice to ensure you get access to expertise and knowledge on cleaning services, security, catering, property management and support and technology services - all for free.
Claim your free visitor badge today www.facilitiesevents.com
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