EDITOR’S COMMENT
INCORPORATING
ISSN 2071-9299
JULY 2015
FM No. 002
KTH, SERVEST CHANGE FM LANDSCAPE July 2014 jFM
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July 2014 jFM
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EDITOR’S COMMENT
Terry Owen
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News & Products
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SAFMA Conference Highligts
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SLAs: Who’s Kidding Who?
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Don’t be in the dark over power management
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A great HR journey lies ahead
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Augmented reality Key to exciting new future
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New tools to drive facility perfomance
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Enabling enterprise BYOD
Incorporating
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World-first rating Activating a PV system for Architects
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Fuelling a powerful green agenda
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Middelburg starting to make sustainable mark
Putting property into perspective
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good many people, mainly from outside the industry, but also some (astonishingly within it) remain perplexed over the focus that FM places on property. I have also been asked (by these people) why I carry a lot of property articles in this magazine. The reason is simple: Property and FM go hand-in-hand because of the very reason that property and property management are not a core part of the business that is being conducted within the property. It’s an FM job. That is why FM should be involved at the very beginning of a construction planning exercise, where it be Greenfield or brownfield development. The FM person will know what will work from a design and operational point of view – after all, FM is going to manage and maintain the building, and they will have a very vested interest in who plans what and where. Is it manageable, is it sustainable, does it add to any of the greening features that management is so keen on implementing, but doesn’t perhaps know exactly what and exactly how. The FM’s role in all of this planning is critical. There are so many cases where FMs have been brought in after the fact, and found that many of the design elements that have been put in place are completely unworkable as far as maintenance or practicality is concerned. In this issue, Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the Green Building Council of SA, goes as far as to say that the new Socio-Economic Category
pilot rating will encourage the tackling of challenges such as poverty, unemployment, lack of education and skills, and health to a degree by the way that we design, build and operate buildings. It’s that important, however sci-fi it may appear to be. The built environment is increasingly where it all happens, and that is why FM is assuming an ever evolving and distinctive part of proceedings within the environs. That is why the GBCSA and SAFMA are working so closely together – the two are inexorably interlinked, as is the merging of JFM and Urban Green File. It just makes sense, because it is the reality. From a broader perspective, too, FMs must have a working knowledge of what is happening property-wise in case of expansion or the need to move for the core business owner. That’s why he or she needs to know what mall is going up, what are the new office developments and where are they situated and who else has signed up. It’s vital for the FMs to know – and for those that never knew, you too!
@tex_owen
INCORPORATING
ISSN 2071-9299
JULY 2015
FM No. 002
Editor:
Advertisement Sales
Terry Owen terry@fmexpo.org
Melinda Alevras Melinda@fmexpo.org
Layout:
Printing
Alois Sajanga alois@fmexpo.org
ABC Press
Published by KTH, SERVEST CHANGE FM LANDSCAPE
Subscription Sales & Admin See story on page 2&3
Phillip Nkomo, phillip@fmexpo.org
Copyright & Disclaimer Facilities Management (ISSN 2071-9299) is published 12 times a year by T.E. Trade Events. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor, employees or publisher.
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NEWS & PRODUCTS
KTH, SERVEST IN
The panel discussion at the launch : Kevin Derrick – Chief Executive Officer of Servest, Vuyisa Nkonyeni, Chief Executive Officer of KTH, Jacob Hinson, KTH Chief Investment Officer and Kenton Fine, Servest co-founder and Group Chairman.
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nvestment holding company, Kagiso Tiso Holdings (“KTH”) has announced the successful acquisition of a 51% shareholding in the Servest Group (“Servest”) to form the largest, majority blackowned, facilities management company in Africa, in a transaction valuing the group at approximately R4,5-billion. The Servest investment offers a compelling proposition, consistent with KTH’s strategy, as the business has significant presence in South Africa, United Kingdom and the rest of Africa with multi-currency earnings. Servest provides integrated facilities management solutions to more than 6 500 clients on 24 000 sites in South Africa, with key markets in East, West and Southern Africa as well as the United Kingdom. Key services include inter-alia cleaning, parking, catering, hygiene, office service, landscaping to prominent clients such as Transnet, Netcare Group,
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Anglo Platinum, Debswana, Sasol, Sainsbury, BBC and UK’s House of Parliament among others. Commenting on the acquisition, Vuyisa Nkonyeni, Chief Executive Officer of KTH, said: “This transaction demonstrates clear delivery against KTH’s strategy of acquiring meaningful or majority stakes in fast growing companies which are supported by strong management teams and have good exposure to African market opportunities. In the South African market, we will identify investments that will afford us significant influence or control alongside like-minded partners.” The transaction makes Servest the largest, majority blackowned, facilities management company in Africa, strongly positioning it to expand its footprint across the rest of the continent. In the South African context, this will give Servest an advantage over other large facilities management companies, with over 51% black ownership, under the new revised BEE codes which came
into effect on May 1 2015. As part of the transaction, KTH and Co-Founder, Mr Kenton Fine, will facilitate equity participation of management as part of a talent management and transformation plan. “This deal means that Servest is now 51% black-owned, but it represents so much more than just an empowerment transaction,” says Kevin Derrick, Chief Executive Officer of Servest. “This not only clearly demonstrates our ongoing commitment to transformation and long term sustainability, but brings with it significant opportunities for future growth, expansion and job creation.” KTH’s Chief Investment Officer, Jacob Hinson, said: “Our investment strategy seeks to achieve active participation in fewer, prominent investments, with strong management teams that will drive growth across the continent. Servest is a unique investment that meets all our criteria. We were therefore able to execute this transaction on pure commercial terms, without any external or vendor facili-
tation with an equity cheque of approximately R1-billion. We look forward to working with our new partners to create a truly global facilities management business. “ KTH has been executing its strategy of becoming an emerging pan-African investment champion, having concluded transactions which involved R5,1-billion of disposals, follow on investments and portfolio company restructurings to date; R3,3-billion of new deals since 2011, including a maiden pan-African investment in Fidelity Bank and a landmark minority take-out and delisting of Kagiso Media in 2013. In addition to this transaction, KTH expects to conclude another significant acquisition in West Africa imminently. Servest Co-founder and Group Chairman, Kenton Fine, said, “We have enjoyed a very successful and long-standing relationship with our existing shareholders, RMB Corvest and Shalamuka, and are delighted at the prospect of partnering with a professional organisation of the calibre of KTH. With similar values entrenched in both organisations, we look forward to embracing the additional
NEWS & PRODUCTS
experience and knowledge that KTH will bring, further underpinning our continued ambitious growth strategy into the future“. Beyond the commercial rationale, both parties see the transaction as an important step in driving further transformation at Servest. The company has embarked on an ambitious staff development drive and the establishment of the Management Trust reinforces its commitment to transformation. The KTH-Servest acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals including South African Competition Commission approval.
About KTH KTH is one of the largest pan African investment holding companies with an investment portfolio comprising of market leading companies across its chosen sectors and geographies. The group has an asset base in excess of R15-billion, a solid track record of investment performance and is managed by a professional and experienced team of African investment professionals. KTH is an active long term investment partner and does not have any exit imperatives which allows the group to partner with businesses through investment cycles to create long term, sustainable value.
About Servest Servest is a leading provider of facilities management services, to over 6 500 clients across more than 24 000 sites throughout Africa and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1997, Servest’s integrated operating model provides extensive operational support, infrastructure and international best practice within the public and private sectors for all ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ services. Each of Servest’s business units are both highly experienced specialists and market leaders in their own right. Servest employs 45 000; 27 000 people in Africa and 18 000 people in the UK. Group services consist of facilities management, mechanical and electrical services, energy management, camp management and catering, cleaning, hygiene and pest control, landscaping and turf construction and maintenance, marine support, office support services, parking management and security. n
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chneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, is commercialising its solar powered portable LED lamps with mobile phone charger, the Mobiya TS 120S, in order to offer innovative, reliable and affordable products to people living without access to electricity. Available from Schneider Electric distributors at under R500 (excluding VAT), the Mobiya TS 120S is an energy efficient, ecofriendly and robust portable lamp producing 120-lumen light output, perfectly suited for demanding rural environments. The lamp is equipped with a mobile phone charger that includes a USB port, enabling users to charge their mobile phones any time. It features three brightness settings providing up to 48 hours of lighting with one day of solar charge. “Ideal for off-grid households, small shops, street vendors and fishing boats, the Mobiya TS 120S offers users safe and sufficient light for comfortable reading and other household and business activities within an un-electrified household or small business environment,” says Zanelle Dalglish, head of sustainable development for southern Africa at Schneider Electric. The lamp is designed to allow it to be hand carried, hooked to the ceiling, mounted on the wall, placed on the desk, fixed on the top of a bottle, and carried on a pole. This patented design has won Grand Prix, Strategies Du Design 2013 and European Design awards.
To cater for the proliferation of mobile uptake and technology on the continent, the range is equipped with a mobile phone charger that includes a USB port, enabling users to charge their mobile phones any time. The Mobiya TS 120S superior battery technology – Lithium Ferro Phosphate battery – delivers high performance for more than three years. The micro-controller based charge controller ensures efficient solar charging, prevents over charge and deep discharge. Smart electronics for battery monitoring shows indications for battery charging, battery charge level remaining and recharging when drained. “Through its global BipBop programme (business, innovation, and people at the base of the pyramid), Schneider Electric develops collective solutions for comprehensive rural electrification, domestic solutions for energy-related needs, and the business models that make these solutions sustainable. The Mobiya TS 120S is in particular ideal to take advantage of the African sun, lessening the burden of daily life in poor and off-grid communities. An added plus is that it is affordable, ecofriendly and safe,” says Dalglish.
Contact Adeline Maleka to enquire about to enquire about the closest distributor: adeline.maleka@ schneider-electric.com or (+27) 11 254 6400 (ext. 6957). n
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NEWS & PRODUCTS
An artist’s impression of how the completed mall will look at night.
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he massive 131 000m² Mall of Africa is scheduled to open in April 2016. Currently the largest retail development being built in a single phase in Africa, the expansive retail offering features a distinctive design and an ideal location in the middle of the 1,73 million square metre mixeduse Waterfall City development in Midrand, Gauteng. The combination is destined to create a go-to destination for both local residents and tourists. The design inspiration for the mall and courts is drawn from the natural and geological beauty of the African continent. There will be four courts that depict the different climatic zones on the continent: an oleum court depicting the oil rich West Africa, a great lakes court depicting East Africa, a crystal court depicting the mineral wealth in South Africa and a sand court depicting the desert area of North Africa. “The mall’s design also incorporates many unique elements, including very high shop fronts, wide passages and an undulating roof feature in the centre with specialist animated LED lighting and a large public space with restaurants known as the Town Square. The gross leasable area will be 131 000m² and 261 tenants will be setting up shop in this new luxury development,” says architect Tia Kanakakis of MDS Architects, the architectural firm for the Mall of Africa.
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Leading South African property developer and investor, Atterbury, appointed Aurecon as civil and structural engineers for the iconic development. Gerhard Saayman, Professional Engineer at Aurecon, responsible for managing Aurecon’s design and construction supervision teams on the project, says that the sheer size of the mall is making the Mall of Africa an exceptionally rewarding project to work on. “The gross building area is 485 000m², which equals 65 rugby pitches. The size of the mall that will be occupied by major tenants such as Edgars, Woolworths, Truworths, Checkers, Ster Kinekor and Game will equal the size of the entire Middelburg Mall,” says Saayman. The completion of the concrete structure and steel work for the roofs, as well as the façades, is the project’s next major milestone and is currently on target for completion on programme. “This milestone would enable the interior shop fit outs to proceed, putting us another step closer to completion,” says Saayman. While any large building project will come with its own unique set of challenges, the scale of the Mall of Africa means that the project team, comprising the professional team and the main contractor, had to overcome specific challenges relating to logistics and programming of construction sequences,
massive amount of design and construction documentation to be produced within a very short period of time by the design consultants. Six of Aurecon’s design offices and over 50 engineers, technicians and draughters are currently working on this project to ensure designs and quality construction documentation were delivered according to programme. Designers are committed to continuous value engineering and optimisation throughout the design phase to achieve the most economic design solutions. For the majority of design requirements, various options were tabled in order for the most cost-effective solution to be “Meticulous planning, innovative identified and constructed. Dedicated involvement from design solutions and ongoing Aurecon’s four site engineers collaboration between all stakewith the Joint Venture of WBHO holders has enabled us to keep meeting deadlines and resolving and Group 5 ensures construcchallenges to reach the key tion queries and problems are milestones of the programme. identified and resolved immediTeamwork between the design ately. This relationship between professionals and the contractour engineers and the contractor is immensely important and ors were key to not only meet each deadline, but also to design essential to a successful concost consciously at all times and struction phase. fast track the various stages of “Aurecon is proud to be a part construction,” says Saayman. of the project team on such The main construction period an iconic development here for this massive development in South Africa,” says Nicol is only 32 months. This is not Labuschagne, Aurecon’s Project only a huge challenge for the Director for the Mall of Africa main contractor, but requires a development. n as well as hiring and managing a wide range of subcontractors. A highly unified team was needed to fast-track the construction of such a large project. Everyone’s activities and scope, from the professional team to the main contractor, subcontractors and building services have to be planned and sequenced with precision and attention to detail. “Everything has to be implemented in the correct sequence and, with such a large range of activities happening on site, this requires dedicated teamwork, strict quality control processes and a deep understanding of the timelines and construction sequences of retail developments,” he adds.
Today’s decision makers need to stay abreast of the latest industry trends and developments, no matter where they are. They need the right information at their fingertips to ensure the optimal and efficient use of resources.
Facilities Management incorporating Urban Green File provides cutting-edge information on the latest issues and procedures regarding facilities management. Our audience is the INCORPO
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NEWS & PRODUCTS
Sustained demand for commercial property
Situated in a busy area of Norwood in Johannesburg, this block comprising retail and apartments sold for R10,4-million through Broll Auctions and Sales.
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ell-positioned commercial property in outlying areas around South Africa is proving increasingly attractive to both local and international buyers who continue to find value in sustainable investments, says Norman Raad, CEO of Broll Auctions and Sales. “Notably, there will always be demand for retail properties where investors in pursuit of yield and income, perceive opportunities to unlock potential. “Such is the case with our successful sale of the 7530m2 Queenstown Mall in the Eastern Cape, which was listed to go on auction but achieved a market-related price of R62-million prior to our multiple auction held in June (2015).” Raad says with a yield of 10%, this is a fair market price from a private investor who has plans
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for expansion and is bringing new tenants into the centre. Anchored by Pick n Pay and with other tenants including large, multi-national groups such as Pep and Standard Bank, the local retail centre is very well-positioned in Queenstown on the busy corner of Brewery Lane and the N6. The sale of a further 20 000m2 of retail, industrial and office space was concluded at the auction. These included four lots comprising a total of over 2300m2 of office space situated in Wynberg in Cape Town’s popular Southern Suburbs, Napier in the Southern Cape, Polokwane in Limpopo and Edenberg in the Free State, which were sold by an institutional seller. Acquired by several private investors, these properties achieved a combined price of R9-million. Some of the other properties sold on the auction included
a property consisting of multi-tenanted industrial units in Boksburg – which fetched a selling price of R22,1-million, an industrial mini-park in Heriotdale in Johannesburg which sold for R16-million, and multi-tenanted units in Wynberg in Johannesburg which fetched a total price of R9,24-million. A block of ground-floor retail and residential apartments above in Norwood in Johannesburg achieved R10,4-million. In Lichtenberg in the North West Province an office building was sold on the auction for R7,8-million, a 4610m2 industrial warehouse in Powerville in Vereeniging was acquired for R6,5-million, while a small retail centre with upstairs office component in Bronkhorstspruit just east of Pretoria and en route to Witbank (eMalahleni) was purchased for R6,1-million.
Adds Raad: “Not surprisingly, particularly in the current economic climate, we have found there is minimal demand for vacant buildings. The focus is on sustainable investments where tenants can easily be replaced should they default or depart. As a result of lower risk, well-positioned properties will always be in demand. He says a trend is seeing listed property funds divest of non-core stock and stock which has been exhausted to its full potential. “Whereas they may no longer wish to expend further time nor invest further in these properties, the smaller property investor has the energy and vision to turn a fund’s rough diamond into a gem.” The positive demand for commercial property is borne out by a recent Lightstone report, which reveals that transaction activity in the South African commercial
NEWS & PRODUCTS
Queenstown Mall was sold even prior to auction
This commercial property in Main Road in Wynberg in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs sold for R2,9million at the recent auction held by Broll Auctions and Sales.
Norman Raad, CEO of Broll Auctions and Sales.
market has increased in recent years. The report also highlights the acquisition of properties in non-CBD areas. Adds Bradley Stephens, MD of Broll Auctions and Sales: “We have also seen investors divest of their smaller commercial property portfolios and invest in the REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) as these offer more liquidity and flexibility with their investments. “Simultaneously this has created new opportunities for new players to enter the market. The time has never been more opportune for investing in the South African property market, as international investors still find huge value in solid bricks and mortar in comparison to other countries. The only barrier to entry in the current market is finance and the loan to value conundrum.” Broll Auctions and Sales next multiple auction of commercial properties takes place on August 18. 087 700 8269 www.broll.com n
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NEWS & PRODUCTS
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hen it comes to flooring needs there are a few significant players in the South African market but Nouwens Carpets is the oldest local carpet manufacturer owned and run by the same family from the outset. Today this company with its nearly 200 employees is a force to be reckoned with, offering global industry leaders some stiff competition in the local market thanks to their solid reputation when it comes to products and service delivery. Nouwens is a genuine family business and the only major manufacturer that produces their own spun yarns for the domestic market in South Africa. This is not surprising with over 50 years of tradition in carpet craftsmanship! Nouwens first opened its doors in Harrismith in the Free State in 1962 when Cornelis Nouwens, a carpet craftsman from Tilburg in the Netherlands, and his wife started manufacturing carpets in an old garage in the town of Harrismith. A
passionate entrepreneur, Cornelis instilled the same spirit in his children Luci and Pieter who took over the running of the business in later years. It was clear that a passion for producing top quality products was instilled in Luci Nouwens from a young age, setting her to head up the management of this local carpeting empire. Throughout the years, Nouwens has adapted their practices and processes, enabling them to become a vertical carpet mill producing wool and synthetic carpets for the domestic and commercial market. Nouwens also extrudes both poly prop and nylon synthetic yarns, completing an extremely versatile yarn offering. In the current economic climate where many companies are finding it difficult to survive, it seems the success of this growing family business can be attributed to various factors. According to Oscar Grobler, Nouwens’ Chairman, it is vital to ensure that their solid reputation remains backed up by producing quality products.
“Consistency is key when it comes to maintaining our position in the market. We need to make sure that we truly live out the culture of the organisation while remaining relevant when it comes to product offerings and developing new ranges. Being
vertically integrated also allows us to control the manufacturing process as much as possible, ensuring that the final product is of the very best quality,” says Grobler. 011 608 4435 www.nouwenscarpets.co.za n
ready to use within five days. If correctly applied, just one coat is required and using foam paint rollers ensure the smoothest surface possible. Like any painting job, preparation is key and surfaces should be clean and smooth before painting. It can be applied to any sealed surface, but a primer should be used before
all applications. Lead free, it’s a non-toxic solution, making it even more appealing. Suitable for any setting – light or dark, hot or cold – this white board paint is not only available in white and there’s nothing to stop a creative agency from painting a yellow white board. The final finish is glossy and can create a reflec-
tion if a light is shone onto the surface. Once the product is fully cured, a dry cloth can be used to clean the wall. If ink has been on the wall for a long time, a wet cloth can be used. For cheap and often stubborn to remove markers, a whiteboard solution can be used.
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raffiti Retail Solutions – a division of Graffiti – has been granted the license for Cr8ive Paint – a new, environmentally friendly white board paint that can quickly and easily transform virtually any surface into a high performance, dry erase canvas. Set to replace easels, flip charts, and traditional white board screens, this cost-effective alternative to the somewhat outdated boards conventionally seen in boardrooms, is ideal for lecture and class rooms, idea, creative and strategy walls and meeting rooms. Restaurants can even use it to write up menus and specials of the day. Graffiti Retail Solutions has mastered the technique of applying the paint which comes standard in conveniently packaged units that cover 5m2. A water-based product, it is dry to the touch in 24 hours and will be fully cured and
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011 691 8400 www.Graffiti.co.za n
SAFMA CONFERENCE 2015
CRE/FM SURVEY PROVES PEOPLE POWER
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t’s all about people! People power is predominant and this is illustrated clearly in a survey that was helmed by Martijn Drost of CBRE in Europe, who gave the keynote presentation at the 2015 SAFMA conference. The CRE/FM survey showed that costs still naturally play a predominant role, but that the focus has shifted from pure cost towards growth, with the emphasis being on people more than ever. “GDP is down in South Africa. These are uncertain times for many countries. The respondents in the survey see the Middle East situation being a catalyst for uncertainty, and many see this as the biggest threat for
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growth,” says Drost. “The scarce availability of talent is also an important factor. As far as costs are concerned, people are looking for reductions wherever possible, and this plays a big role in lease negotiations. In South Africa there is far more escalation year on year on property taxes and prices, whereas in Europe and the US, property is so widely available that companies have the opportunity to renegotiate price every time that the contract ends.” He says there is a move towards cheaper markets with offshoring and right-shoring playing their hands. “The most important factor in right-shoring is cost – it’s essential to know the whole story when you are considering future locations. However, we
“
People understandably don’t want to spend hours commuting just to be seen to be working in the office – those days are gone. Working smarter is the goal now, and productivity is on the up.
are seeing quite a change in the behaviour of occupiers. For instance, the UK used to outsource call centres to India, but they are now being recalled to the UK due to pressure from customer bases which link to business alignment, labour and skills.” Asia, Pacific India and China are seen by far as the most desired locations because of cheap labour, good availability of staff and in terms of total occupancy there’s a motivational cost element to consider. “People are seeing South Africa as a growth market and a place to be in the future. The availability of talent, location and infrastructure are the factors to consider. Companies feel that more needs to go into decisions involving the attraction and retention of staff.” Drost says that it is also very clear that workplace strategy is becoming paramount. The right route here is not only selecting the building and the location it’s situated in, but it matters a great deal what happens inside the building – and here is the clear link to FM. “The main pointers are employee attraction and retention. How do we make sure we attract the right people and retain them in the business? The average time someone stays in a job in South Africa is only two years. So, looking carefully at this fact while it is important to increase productivity and cost savings, improved collaboration is vital. It’s all about different ways of working and linking closely to employee satisfaction and, therefore, retention. Find people that you can engage with, learn from and collaborate with.” The survey notes that while the indoor environment is very important, as well as the workplace itself, sustainability strangely appeared low on the agenda. “The big issue is flexible working (63%). We didn’t measure this in 2013, but now it’s heavily in the red on the radar. Flexible working is not necessarily just working from home but working anywhere, wherever you are, at any time. People understandably don’t want to spend hours commuting just to be seen to be working in the office – those days are gone. Working smarter is the goal now, and productivity is on the up. It doesn’t take rocket science to understand why.” 80% said that business integration and alignment with enterprise goals is important. “Real Estate of FM is not separate to the business and can’t be seen in that way anymore. Decision makers of big companies and organisations throughout the world are seeing Real Estate of FM as a catalyst for future growth of their businesses. I see it as part of their total strategic pact which is needed to support corporate growth. If the
building does not work and if you’re not able to attract the right people by having the correct environment, how are you going to grow your company? “Action is needed to achieve these goals. Streets ahead on top is data quality and accuracy. Companies everywhere are struggling with data with different systems and different sources. They are having a hard time creating information out of the data. “You have to make the basic elements work – organisational structure, the governance model that you are working towards, the process you use in terms of capital allocation, planning resourcing and your information, your systems and tools to get the information from your property into tangible data that actually provides information – that’s the goal, a must-do. You can’t do anything with raw data and you need to find a way to turn that data into information.” Drost says that in examining how FM is going to impact on the business, looking at the full life cycle is necessary and what is happening is that companies are moving towards integrated facility management. “That integration chain is growing longer. Whereas some 5 to 10 years ago a company started by outsourcing a single service – say for cleaning only – we’ve now seen the bundling of services for integrated FM as that has become more and more important. Property is now also becoming more and more part of the FM portfolio because is running real estate part of the core business? No, it isn’t. So we are seeing a determined move towards fuller integration of the supply chain. At the end of the day, FM is keeping the business running smoothly. It has great impact on the business, how it operates and the ability of the business to grow in the future. “Moving on from the very beginning with the outsourcing of a single service, we believe that we are moving into the fourth or fifth generation of outsourcing. We have people that want to invest in buildings, develop the workplace strategy and we will be there if you want to dispose of that building at any point.” He says that integration is the name of the game in every possible way. There can’t be any pockets of isolation anymore. Full integration in all facets of FM and property management is the priority. “Our enterprise data to move into integrated information is going to be of the utmost importance going forward. Our decisions should not be based on gut feel or hearsay – it should be based on hard numbers. In most cases, we do have the
Martijn Drost is an FM Operations Director for CBRE, the global leader in real estate and investment. He has been active in the FM and Real Estate industry for the past 15 years as a manager/ director. He holds university degrees in both marketing and economics and shares his passion and views on the FM industry at many speaking engagements. He is currently living in the Netherlands, but has worked across many continents for a number of the world’s largest companies such as BP, Intel, France Telecom (Orange) and Johnson Controls. He lived and worked in Johannesburg for five years prior to returning to Europe. numbers but the biggest problem is how to get the information out of the numbers. You’ll need to partner with the correct suppler and find a platform that can connect and decode data sources.” Here are a couple of questions that can help you work out at what stage your company is at: • Is there a clear vision guiding global and regional CRE/FM? • Is your organisation right-sized and shaped to support your company? • Can the CRM staff engage strategically? • Do you have workplace strategies that fit the business? • How flexible are your portfolio and organisation when it comes to dealing with change? • How efficient are your processes, and can you achieve speed to market? • Is your service provider strategy supporting your objectives? • Do you have the right balance of centralisation versus localisation? • Are you leveraging a robust data and technology set to make good decisions? n
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SAFMA CONFERENCE 2015
SAFMA CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
‘PEOPLE FIRST, BUILDINGS SECOND’
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he people theme continues with Peter Townsend’s talk on Sustainability – putting people first and buildings second. Townsend’s premise is that sustainability is not about the beautiful new buildings – it’s about the people that work within them! Townsend quotes Henry Ford: “You can take my factories, burn my buildings but give me my people and I’ll build the business back again!” “We’ve forgotten that these wonderful new buildings are there just to support the workers. This might sound simplistic, and perhaps it is, but I think it’s a message that needs to be reinforced constantly. FMs are not the only people that tend to forget this. It’s the architects, developers, designers – in fact, everyone in property development.” He says that with traditional ways of working you’re only going to get 40% occupancy in a traditional building, meaning that there’s a massive inefficient use of space. “Now we’re redefining the way we work and looking at the best way to design offices. We need to stop looking for people who should ‘be at work at their desk from 9 to 5’ and start looking at output. Work follows the worker and he or she can be working from anywhere, and at any time. The more forward-thinking companies are starting to understand this. Do we need monoliths of inefficiency when we can do the work from coffee shops, from home, from a client’s space? “We still need the buildings because they are providing us with fantastic resources. I don’t think anyone, including me, is implying that we should start abolishing office blocks, but rather they should form part of the new, flexible ways of working and the way that we value our workers – increasing wellbeing while enhancing productivity. “It’s known as activity based working (ABW), which has been in operation in Europe for some time and only 3% of new buildings in the UK are not adopting the new way of working.
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So, this really is a phenomenal trend. You are going to vastly reduce the amount of space you need. If the building can enable people to move freely around the office space, and they are encouraged to do so, it will really have remarkable benefits to increasing wellbeing.” He says that research has shown that only 9% of South African employees are engaged at work. “This is a shocking statistic. Engaged companies are achieving 54%, which means people are satisfied and staff retention will be high. Companies here need to address the fact that employees tend to leave companies after two years. You can’t build brand awareness and entrench adoption with this trend. “Companies have to start looking at satisfaction and how to have it as a powerful and motivating work ethic. They have to look at physical features, work activities, facilities and services – and, importantly, these can provide ‘quick fixes’. Do you know that what is still the most important motivator, what’s right up at the top of the graph? What coffee and tea is provided!” (Ed: I know of a company whose coffee is meant to be the best in town and this is one big attraction for future staff members! It has a coffee bar that is open all day).”Naturally, other features such as air quality, temperature control, natural light, quiet rooms, and get-together areas are also vital. “If you do all this, what does it do to an organisation? Firstly, you’re going to reduce your square metres, reduce sick days, reduce stress and you will increase productivity, staff satisfaction, wellness, engagement, staff retention. Seeing as surveys note that one of the most favourite places at home to work is the lounge, and with a big plus for the couch, why are we not filling offices with couches? “The buildings are not going to do the work. People do, and that’s why it is paramount to provide the right environment and resources for staff. If you want growth and retention, this is the only way to go.” n
Managing Director of Know More, Peter Townshend has a long history in research and consulting, behaviour change, and environmental reporting. He currently also heads up a publishing house and environmental consultancy, Ethical Living. At Ethical Living, Townshend has researched, published and offered consultancy around the ethical nature of consumer products available in South Africa, and through his work here, he made the connection between sustainable offices and productivity, and the effect of workspaces on office moral, satisfaction, engagement and profitability. To this end, Townshend dived deeply into workspace theory and is now in a position to establish Know More as an expert in this field in South Africa. Townshend has also helped develop a curriculum on journalism and media studies for the University of Pretoria, and has lectured and spoken publically on a range of topics from business ethics to English literature, environmental awareness, sustainability and workspace theory.
SAFMA CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
BLEAK PICTURE OF FM SCENARIO
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r Samuel Azasu spoke on survey results of Reward Management: A survey of the South African FM Sector. People yet again play a vital role in this survey. “Good people are hard to come by and retain,” he says. “This is all happening in a context of a new generation of employees who are more loyal to their own career paths and are no longer stigmatised by the frequency of which jobs are changed. “How do South African FM companies reward their employees? We used an online questionnaire to establish this and other questions. The feedback wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, but as awareness of the survey grows, we hope the next one will provide more respondents! Still, with the percentage we received, we were still able to get a picture of what’s going on. “The focus was not only on salary, but also non-financial rewards. We asked employees themselves on what they thought about remuneration in the FM sector.” What were the first impressions? “First of all, I was shocked by the mere length and breadth of job titles in the FM sector. Once I had wrapped my head around this, I took a look at salaries. In comparison to some of the industries I know, I found very low salaries in this area. Bonuses have become the variable component of pay but what really surprised me was the fact that annual bonuses were at the discretion of managers, which can be a dangerous way of doing things. “There were plenty of training courses, but not much evidence that all this training translates into better performance. We asked people what could be done better in terms of rewards – and there were some very angry responses about remuneration. People are dissatisfied. Too many are unhappy with pay on a number of different dimensions.” The majority of the respondents to the
questionnaire live in Gauteng, and Dr Azasu found that many had been doing their jobs for more than 10 years. As far as level of education is concerned, very few had post-bachelor degrees. “Speaking of salaries, it’s a fact that obviously money attracts people – but what holds staff retention typically is found in the non-financial arena. When bonuses are based at the discretion of someone, it blurs the line of sight. The connection on what people do and what they are rewarded undermines confidence, breeds cynicism. Non-financials, including sick pay, loans insurance, company cars, and vacations are more effective retention tools. Benefits at work become very important in places where the state does not provide strong safety nets. These benefits include pension, RAs, medical aid, childcare allowance, bursaries, loans (personal and housing) and study loans.” He says what training is available varies from company to company. “Companies require employees to contribute 50% of the training costs. In many companies there is no goal setting and conditions for proper training does not exist. In many instances “outside” training merely becomes time away from the office, the person comes back with no noticeable difference in performance. “How can companies improve the benefit system? Some say simple measures like allowing partners to attend year-end functions, even if the employee needs to pay for it, allowing time off for doctor, dentist and optometrist visits. Basic stuff, but very important. “Top people lack leadership and employees are incapacitated. There is low morale among employees. Policies and procedures are not being reviewed timeously. “The meaning of pay to the individual employee provides clues to how he or she feels their achievement on the job is being met and how much is being contributed to the organisation’s goals, and how powerful you are within the organisation.
Dr. Samuel Azasu holds a PhD in Real Estate Management as well as Licentiate and MSc degrees in Real Estate Management from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. He also holds a BA in Economics with Statistics from the University of Ghana. He has worked as Program Coordinator and Director of Teaching and Learning in Real Estate Management at the Royal Institute of Technology. In addition, he was responsible for planning and managing the provision of executive training in real estate in collaboration with the Dubai Real Estate Institute in Dubai. He is currently in charge of reorganising the real estate programs in Wits University.
“How knowledgeable are people about their pay systems? We found many did not know how the pay system actually works and they don’t know how, when or if they will qualify for a raise. Quite a lot of people are unhappy about their pay, even if they are knowledgeable about the pay system.” Dr Azasu says many only have diplomas, therefore it is not surprising that salaries are low, yet many are proficient or more in their roles. People are unhappy that so much discretion is left in the hands of the “boss”. “This is an unfair system and needs to change, along with the global picture of the FM working environment. Maybe our next questionnaire will provide us with a far broader and more positive picture of the FM scenario.” n
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SAFMA CONFERENCE 2015
SAFMA CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
FOLLOWING THE FIRE: TRACKER TRIUMPHS
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racker’s fire earlier this year, which razed the company premises to the ground, is a good lesson for all in how to go about managing a disaster correctly. In his talk, entitled What to do in case of disaster: a case study, Michael du Preez, Marketing Director of Tracker Connect, says there is probably one significant event that made all the difference to the recovery effort. “The story of recovery is a simple one, but don’t be misled,” says Du Preez. “Behind many simple stories there is lots of hard work and planning, organisation and money. The reality is that at one of the board meetings six months before the fire after the change of leadership at Tracker, the new CEO announced that we did not have a disaster recovery plan! The green light for that was given shortly after and the plan out in place – which was very auspicious considering what lay ahead! “On January 17, a Saturday, I got a call around 2am to tell me that Tracker was on fire. I got there in double time, along with the other directors and our chairman, and watched in horror as the fire consumed everything in its path. It was a significant fire and the devastation was terrifying. The building had literally burned down. The sad thing is that what the fire doesn’t destroy, the firefighters will! Obviously nothing you can do about that – except watch and weep! “The reality was that the fire was so strong that we couldn’t get into the building to retrieve anything. The records were all destroyed.” Tracker’s phoenix had risen, though, and the first recovery of a stolen vehicle was at 5am! “Our disaster and recovery plan was in place to ensure that we could deliver the core promise of what our business does and make sure there was continuity. Back-up records are essential. “We had our first disaster meeting at 7am, had a discussion about what we were going to tell the media and then started a process, which was basically organising a whole string of disaster recovery meetings on the hour through-
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out the weekend. On Monday morning, we deployed all our staff to a new site with 90% business capability, so in essence they walked into a new building as if nothing had happened.” Du Preez says that there a couple of things that made this possible. The first thing is a plan –“and if you don’t have one, you’d better get one without delay.” Roles and duties must be allocated to specific people. Update emergency information and take careful note of that so that the plan can be implemented. “The next thing you need is a practical disaster recovery site. We were lucky in that we stumbled across the correct site, which was close to the building that burned down. We have a very people-intensive business so we have many call centres. We have about 900 people on site, and these people rely on public transport to get to work, so the first thing we had to consider about the disaster recovery site is to ensure staff can get there. It’s a logistical nightmare to expect people to go a further 30km further than what they’re used to. “The other issue is your technology. Tracker’s business is very tech-dependent to ensure a quick response system. Control measures need to hit our centres immediately so we can take some action at that time, processing around 20 million messages a day. These come from cars, telling us how fast they are driving, where they are driving and what events need to be considered. The reality is that we are protecting people’s assets, protecting fixed assets, protecting fixed cargo and protecting people’s lives with push-button assistance. We needed, then, to make sure that the disaster recovery plan could have that system up and running immediately.” When the decision about the site was made, a number of factors had to be taken into account. “We had to think about the power grid in the area and would outages affect our
telephonic infrastructure, would it impact the data infrastructure? The only practical site was really the one next to our building, which answered all these questions positively. So, we had been paying every month for this empty space – and that essentially was our saving grace. “The next thing to do is plan how you are going to interact with the customers, and implement that part of your plan. You need to empower your team to get on with the job and you have to trust them enough to be able to do that. You have to have an immediate meeting to spell out the priorities so that everyone is on the same page, and everything is in place to get up and running as soon as possible.” He says that although no-one told the marketing manager to make radio ads for Monday morning, they were done and ready to flight. “She knew that we would have to be speaking to all our customers, partners, and so on, and the best way to do that was above-the-line marketing. The ads proved very effective, and kept everyone in the loop as to what was happening. “The most important thing was just to tell the truth, and tell everyone what progress was being made. The ads conveyed these messages very well and spread immediate confidence. “Show that you’re in control, get people as productive as possible and build team spirit. I think that crisis has the ability to bring people together, which is exactly what happened at Tracker. On the Monday and Tuesday we met with our key stakeholders and informed them how we have been affected, how our customers have been affected and then throughout the week we continued to provide regular updates as to how the recovery process was progressing.” When staff arrived at work on Monday morning, all the work stations had been numbered and all the systems were up and running. We briefed them on what to tell customers and allocated them a seat and a phone. Depending on what department they would be working in,
SAFMA CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Michael Du Preez is the Marketing Executive and Head of International Business and Strategy for Tracker. He is responsible for business, product, brand and strategy development – a position he has held for the past four years. Prior to his career with Tracker, he was one of the founders and Managing Director of MobileData – a vehicle Telematics solutions company acquired by Tracker in 2007. It is this technology that continues to create value and open up new channels of business for Tracker today. For many years he was a loyal member of WesBank’s management team serving, most recently, as Head of Research and Development. Michael holds a senior qualification in Business Management from Henley. His colleagues describe him as an open-minded and creative free-thinker, always looking to bring innovation and strategic value to the world of vehicle Telematics. His work helped pioneer Insurance Telematics in South Africa, and more recently, assisted in the breakthrough creation of TomTom’s first HD Traffic service in Africa. He sees his future influence in the area of how technology will enable sustainable mobility models in a world challenged for resources. Or, simply put, ensuring our future “freedom to drive”. the staff members were all given T-shirts in different colours for different centres. They were given coffee mugs, pens, paper and created a bit of a carnival atmosphere and had coffee and doughnuts in reception. It may have been a different site, but it was business as usual. “One very important factor is that you need good supplier relationships who can play a major role in getting you back on your feet.” Which is what Tracker did very effectively. People hardly remember the fire because the continuity was immediate. You know how to get the phoenix to fly? Give Tracker a ring! n
A PLANT WITH GREAT ENERGY POWER
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efense Phuso, spoke on Valpré Spring Water’s bottling plant. She is plant manager of the operation and naturally is proud of the fact that it was awarded the US green honour (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – LEED) of Gold status in 2011. “What LEED looks at is how you design your facility and you have to comply with many criteria such as site planning, indoor environment, water planning, energy management and material used,” says Phuso. “We have to use water efficiently and ensure the business is sustainable, looking after the environment. We are audited every year to ensure that we are still complying with LEED criteria.” As far as energy needs go, the building runs on solar energy with the PV plant supplying 40KW of energy, leaving the plant grid independent. “Our water that we bottle has to have a certain profile, and we found that in Heidelberg. It’s over 200km from our offices, but it is good news for the movement of product to Gauteng and beyond. The factory has been designed to ensure minimal impact on the environment. The roof has been designed to capture sunlight all day and with all the glass used in the factory there is abundant natural light streaming in. “One of our coups in energy-saving is the Air Wizard, which reduces energy when running a compressor. The device is inside the compressor. It captures the left-over energy from the compressor and takes it back in. Aside from this, there’s energy-saving features
Refense Phuso, plant manager
such as double-glazed windows, so the reliance on air-conditioning is reduced. The factory is glass-wrapped so there’s natural light in abundance. We also have a 95% recycling effort. Whatever we use in the factory we recycle. We do the separation of material ourselves and Enviroserv will send different types of trucks for the various waste types.” She says that after the office block was accredited, the factory went through the same process in 2013. Both are accredited to ISO 50 000, and the first plant in South Africa to be awarded this honour. “Valpre works continuously to improve energy performance to keep up with standards in ISO 50 000 and the requirements of LEED. We have to continually challenge ourselves to find new ways of reducing energy. We meet on a monthly basis to discuss how well we are meeting our goals. “We also have energy meters in machines that we know use a lot of energy to keep track of what is happening there and if there are spikes on those machines it gives us the opportunity to investigate why. Any anomalies must be reported, and this can also highlight incorrect operator behaviour. “We have also changed from using boxes for product to trays that are plastic-wrapped – this is also an energy-saving move, and in our view really enhances the product presentation.” n
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FM OPS
SLA’s
WHO’S KIDDING WHO? July 2015 FM
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A service-level agreement (SLA) is a contract between a service provider and its internal or external customers that documents what services the provider will furnish.
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Richard Jeffreys aving just waded through 250 pages of our latest Tender, I must make reference to the Fantasy section noted as SLA's. In order to compete with others I need to guarantee my catering engineers, can attend anywhere in the country in under 2 hours, and complete resolves in under 24 hours. The standard of facts given on appliances, service history access condition and status is poor to non-existent, but the contract conditions are punitive and binding. In essence, if I have engineers standing around waiting for the next call, and I am prepared to deliver at the cheapest cost, guarantee parts for an appliance for which I have no data, I am in the running. If I tell the truth and base costs on worst case scenario due to lack of asset information, I am out of the frame. Denise Booth-Alexander This is a national contract, so presumably they are looking for someone to respond nationally, but not necessarily with in-house engineers? Is a consortium bid an option where you can join with others who have engineers in local areas to fulfil the 2 hour requirement? Alternatively can you sub? There are ways of tendering for this if the resolve is a first fix or attendance with a work around or temp solution, but I agree not if it is a final fix. Catering maintenance is notoriously hard as no- one really wants to carry additional expensive kit in their kitchen. Suppliers of products make life very difficult with regard to spares if they themselves also offer a maintenance service. We experience long delays, wrong diagnoses, quotes to repair that make it financially unviable to do so, but no innovative thinking, such as this is the fix costs and this is the replacement deal etc. As customers it is extremely frustrating, but I accept that asking a company to work on a huge variety of makes and models and kit doesn't sit happily with a quick and responsive service if there is no speciality‌ every make within that business and parts are held onto by suppliers. I know that a catering maintenance supplier that can
Continuing our series based on posts from the British Institute of Facility Management (BIFM) LinkedIn sites. South African FMs will find much to identify with and are encouraged to participate in local exchanges – write via LinkedIn to terry@fmexpo.org or tweet @tex_owen
provide a great service and offers alternative solutions is something that we would all like as customers. Perhaps the answer is some sort of industry group, which includes suppliers, to talk it out and come up with a truly customer-oriented service package. I suspect this is a pipe dream much like the closed shop that is Lift maintenance. One solution for this particular tender would be to offer to produce an Asset/lifecycle register as part of the bid to fully evaluate all the kit and give timescales for replacement including possible energy savings to provide some payback, etc. If you can offer something extra and point out why you cannot provide a proper and cost defined bid in the first instance but set out clearly why and what you could do to turn this around. I would certainly be delighted to look at your proposals if I were the customer. Neil Earnshaw Richard, I concur with the views of others ... you will be better thought of by pulling out of the process and explaining to the client why. It may be that another company out there can deliver what they need, it's just not your company this time. It also may be that other bidders do the same thing in which case the client needs to review their procurement strategy. I'm managing a tender process for a FM contract at the moment. We had one bidder raise an issue and ask for a change which we respectfully refused, since then two other bidders have raised the same issue so we're now reconsidering our position. We're doing this on the basis that the market is now telling us this contract is too risky as opposed to a single bidder not having the appetite.
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In essence, if I have engineers standing around waiting for the next call, and I am prepared to deliver at the cheapest cost, guarantee parts for an appliance for which I have no data, I am in the running. If I tell the truth and base costs on worst case scenario due to lack of asset information, I am out of the frame.
Richard Jeffryes Thanks guys for all the replies, and, yes, my gut feeling is not to compete and leave us open to penalties. However the issues raised are common, I feel that many tenders are have a big element of cut and paste, one size fits all. As noted by Denise our trade is eclectic, a real mix of standards and manufacturers, if a contract is going to work, it needs the attention of someone who has complete knowledge of the realities and their
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FM OPS
issues, I would like to think, that I, as an individual with 35 years within commercial kitchen would be listened too, however many tenders, especially the electronic auction style offer little scope for the personal touch, which is our USP. I know the environment, the trade and the equipment . My approach is to be realistic, tell the truth, don't promise the undeliverable and submit a viable cost structure. I am yet, though, to be convinced there is scope for this in the world of group tenders. Neil Earnshaw Richard, keep the faith, keep doing the right thing and work with your industry to help it improve. What I see is a disconnect in FM between contractors and clients. This disconnect is the contract and selection of an appropriate strategy that drives the right behaviours. On a personal level I'm doing my bit to help improve things, but I'm just a lone voice, more people from all sides of the FM industry need to recognise the problem and the opportunity to improve ... then we'll get some real change for the better! Craig Shepheard You will normally have a mobilisation period where you can get to inspect all of the equipment in order to set up your own asset list. I suggest that you use this data to inform the client of any items of equipment that are obsolete or where parts would be difficult to supply. The condition report could be used to say whether items that are in poor shape require monies spent on them to get them to a state where they can be maintained. If the client refuses to spend that highlighted amount then those individual items do not correspond to the 2-hour SLA and are therefore exempt from the contract. You base your contract fee on the understanding that all items on their asset list are currently being maintained and that they are in a reasonable state of order. Rob Farman CEng CBIFM MCIBSE A reasonable point, Craig, except, like commissioning and handover, the mobilisation period can get eaten away by slippages on other elements. For one major mobilisation, the 8 months period for 'seamless transfer' was cut to 3 weeks. There are risks with the approach suggested. Neil Earnshaw I'm with you on that Rob, there are risks .... However, from a contractor's view point it does mitigate the risk of poor quality asset
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data provided by the client at tender stage. Are you allowed to caveat your tender submission? Even so, I think the risk you face is an early disagreement with the client, they think they've passed a risk to you but in actual fact you passed it back to them with your caveat. I absolutely would not sign the contract as is and attempt to wriggle out of your obligations post contract. Craig's solution sounds sensible right up to the point of saying to the client "spend or be damned"! That's where the disagreement will come. Are they aware their data is poor quality or are they just saying "price the risk"? Have they given you the impression that they'd listen to your concerns and maybe consider other, more cost-effective solutions? Also what are you being asked to price for? Using a simple example you know there is a cooker and extractor in a kitchen (and you know the location of the kitchen), what you don't know is age, condition, service history, make & model of the cooker or extractor? Are you being asked to give them a lump sum fixed price to maintain these items for a number of years, with everything apart from end of life replacement to be included in your price? Alan Taylor I would question why a tender document for catering needs to be 250 pages long. Sounds like it’s been prepared by a purchasing department that has no realistic awareness of dayto-day operational requirements and is missing some fundamental issues (no change there then). So, if a fat fryer breaks down when the first load is due to go in for a lunch time service, a
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What I see is a disconnect in FM between contractors and clients. This disconnect is the contract and selection of an appropriate strategy that drives the right behaviours.
FM OPS
2 hour response will not get that item back and fully operational for the same day lunch time trade as it will be over. It will be up to the chef to improvise with the menu and manage the change. A next day fix or 12 hour turnaround would be a better solution but if a restaurant can’t improvise and change its menu if one item of plant goes down you need to change the chef and the caterer. It won’t hurt the staff to go without chips for a day. Dave Thomas Also with you Rob, have been the recipient of one of those immediate seamless transfers - where the original team were eager to get themselves in another project and have no responsibility for what was a flawed mobilisation. In the same mobilisation period I found that the Asset List I had sweated over was ignored and another fairy tale was imposed, missing out over half of my list, so inadequate time allocated/costed to M&E. Also found that the engineers provided were more interested in looking for more lucrative work rather than just doing maintenance. Seems some clients want the contractor to come up with a "proper" Asset List for them included in the contract, ignoring any information regarding past breakdowns on equipment which may lead to a query on the true condition and life, hoping a new contract will magically lead to new equipment. Richard Jeffryes Alan, sounds like you speak from experience, your bang on ! Neil you make a lot of sense, if only clients thought like you! Yes we are being asked to price the Risk, however an underlying objective of tender winner is to be the most competitive. In respect of the approach, we know it’s an oven, we know where it is, we know it is business critical, sounds simple but without the specific data this is a real lottery, Commercial ovens range in value from £1 000, to £40 000, we may be able to make an educated guess at what the appliance is, but big tenders request parts and labour-inclusive programmes, replacement parts such as a PCB on a Combination Oven can cost £1 000 to replace, so knowing the depth of the liability is essential. My belief is, if a site has been responsibly maintained, a full and updated asset list with condition and service dates should be available. If not, what has the incumbent been doing and how do we know it was done? This information is surely a pre-requisite when contracts are drawing
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to conclusion and a renewal is due. Is it common practice for this data to be withheld, or are companies just poor at maintaining service data? Neil Earnshaw Richard, I usually work client-side developing the procurement / contract strategy and managing the tender process. My main observation of FM clients over the years is that they don't think about commercial risk, just operational. They generally don't seem to understand that where there's a risk, there's a cost! Therefore, you end up with very risky contracts being put together and create the environment for protracted commercial negotiations during the life of the contract. Another observation has been that FM contractors do collect and maintain asset data, but when it comes to re-tender the data can't be accessed by the client. This is sometimes down to the contract not being clear on this but often it's also due to many years of mismanagement of the contract! Rob Farman CEng CBIFM MCIBSE Neil, For some time, it has been my view that the client should own the asset data and condition assessment, which it should disclose to the tenderers. Similarly, the maintenance records and all of these should, ideally, be in the clientowned CAFM.
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My belief is, if a site has been maintained, a full and updated asset list with condition and service dates should be available. If not, what has the incumbent been doing and how do we know it was done?
When the onus is put on the successful bid winner to collect all the asset data, confusion can reign with a completely new set of asset numbers and description and, of course, items can be missed. Most FM managers will have come across outgoing contractors, where people probably at very junior level, ditch all the statutory and other maintenance records in a fit of pique. Gordon Easingwood Regard's client CAFM's they are generally poor, non-existent or compiled by previous contractors with differing motives (i.e. avoiding financial penalties/failing SLA's). Same with maintenance records, previous contractors are again likely to have differing motives as to how these were compiled based on previous SLA's. I work on a local contract with very similar limitations though in different areas and trust me it’s extremely difficult to meet this level of commitment. Ultimately if they can call you out for £50 (or less) but can impose a SLA penalty of £200 where is the sense in it? And I'm talking a 30 mile maximum radius from a central point, 2 hours responses have been missed simply due to travel delays/poor communication! Even when these can be resolved in our favour the amount of admin/management time all has an associated cost. To put it another way, there simply is not enough properly trained and experienced commercial catering equipment engineers in the country to meet such demands. I know I am one and I wouldn't go near the industry again in a hurry as I guess you know from experience. Add in the level of "commitment" (more rightly non-commitment) from some manufacturers and it’s an absolute nightmare. Also bear in mind European rules only require parts to be available 5 years after a product is no longer manufactured. Oh and if you have "imports" or specials just forget it. I was involved with work with a well-known Indian type food chain who had special ovens that met no British or European standard and had to be condemned for simply that reason. This was despite a CAFM type list being presented stating all maintenance was done to (non-existent) manufacturers’ instructions. When checked they had created models and serials numbers for the units! Lastly, I would investigate what the client can put through as a 2 hour response and if you can object and on what grounds. I currently have a client who does so when in 2 hours the building will be fully vacated and empty/equipment won’t be used for 72 hours etc. yet we still have to make attendance to meet SLA's. It's this kind of thing
that give clients a bad name. Sadly, without proper input from the client it sounds like this contract would be a financial liability and I would steer clear. With proper and decent input it may be possible, I would present the proposal of correct and proper information requirements to the client and try build from there. If they run with what would be a non-starter, you have to walk away, it’s likely any contract won’t be upheld for long from either side. @Rob Farman regards people ditching statutory and other maintenance records in a fit of pique. I have found this is generally from a quite senior level. Simply either because a) it’s never been kept up to or b) they don't want this information to go to competitors or c) adequate provision has never been made to collate the information in the first place. Things are improving in this area as FM managers take things in hand and computer records are better maintained. Peter Carr Having worked with Rob Farnam I would completely agree. I have spent the last five years client side, helping to develop CAFM systems and to make sure they are 100% as accurate as the world I work in (now) 'Investor FM' (totally different to Corporate FM) I have worked with a non-licenced system called Elogbooks for these five years, purely because of these issues. Tendering is difficult enough, without non-existent asset data and performance understanding. Good luck! David A. Parry Let's push for "KISS" based contracts. Then have the inferred SLA, KPI's & effectiveness measurement compared to the actual "true bottom line" savings to the client and service provider in their "partnering" endeavours. The unit of measurement could be the unemployed "bean counters". Or do they move on to another position in or outside their companies so no real accountability that this measurement in this way would show on this radar screen!! Apologies for the frivolous comments but I honestly believe the real value for money is far simpler but has to be based on appropriate measures and values for the specific situation and is industries dependent. The dichotomy of this statement is it adds to complexity because truly experienced and technical trained actuary analysts are required to produce the targets numbers and not the "clip board & wet finger in the air brigade". Clients need to bring in-house specialised professional knowledge to the
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FM OPS
procurement teams or commission true independent specialists. Provision has to be put in place for data to be updated in "real time" or at lease imputed from a competent "change management" system of the subject assets. Failure to implement this will result in a return to the "guessing game� in a very short time!! This is not a hypothetical observation, it's based on years of experience as a practitioner in the industry. I feel this industry has to move into a more scientific methodology if it is to be credible. I trust this may stimulate thought and be of help. George Zintilis A lot of the comments above are about having a rational discussion (based on facts including the missing facts on condition, past history etc, logic, technical considerations and logistical limitations). This is implied in Alan Taylor's comments who questions the provenance of these SLAs, as do I (hi Alan!), or as implied in David's KISS approach and indeed most of the comments above. So it is necessary to establish the governance used to arrive at these SLAs and convene a meeting with the stakeholders involved in drafting these SLAs plus those who will be involved in monitoring performance and risk (if different persons) on the client side and Tier 1 partner or Managing Agent (depending on outsourcing model used). This approach would quickly identify who drafted these SLAs, who approved them (and on what basis were they drafted / approved, if any) and who will have oversight of both performance and risk (with escalation structure for breakdowns or incidents). Such a meeting should also establish whether there is a balance between performance /risk control and performance / risk ownership, including any pain/gain provisions. This balance between Control & Ownership is often ignored. It will become clear(er) if the authors / approvers knew / understood the implications of what they were asking for in the SLAs and if not (as seems to be the case here), then agree to modify the SLAs based on realism and the facts including the missing facts on condition, past history etc, on logic, technical considerations and logistical limitations. The risk appetite (pls excuse the pun) will determine the mitigation and the cost of this mitigation, versus (as Alan says) the impact of not having fried chips for a day (how about oven chips for example?). Seriously though, the right people need to get round the table to thrash this out, preferably without apportioning blame for the 'old'
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SLAs but learning the lesson to deal with any other similar 'anomalies' out there, in other SLAs in other service lines. Anna Mannion It's been mentioned above that there isn't always good knowledge about the condition and state of a client's estate when bidding for a contract. Even if companies have a complete inventory of assets they are rarely going to have an up-to-date idea of their condition. You can now achieve this through remote monitoring which, at its most simplest, can highlight whether equipment is running well, failing, or has failed. Having this kind of remote monitoring would give you the information you need to better assess risk when responding to contracts (i.e. to understand what percentage of the estate is in the danger zone and likely to fail/need servicing). Also, as your client would have access to the same information, you can have a conversation that reflects the real (and current) condition of the estate, rather than one based on vague or out of date information ("we treat maintenance seriously so you don't need to worry about that", when the reality is that they probably won't know which appliances have problems).
One off payment or monthly charge? Steve Munn I am interested in the views of FM managers and building owners on this thorny issue. Specifically, I would like to know whether or not you would prefer to pay upfront for monitoring equipment or pay a monthly charge that includes rental of the equipment plus support. I am of the view that the two payment methods will come from different budgets and require different sign-offs, but I may be wrong. Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Dr Carlton Brown (PhD,MBA,PGDip,FInstSmm,MCMI) In regards to a business cash flow position with logistics and efficiency it's better to have regular monthly payment. Standing orders if DD. Peter Morrissey I provide a monthly charge product to customers globally, If I said you can buy for 20k or pay monthly $180 to customers they would choose pay monthly given this choice. Every customer is more conscious of cash flow than ever before. I often see lower level approvals because the product is $180 a month where if they had to get a 20k
approval this would go higher up and take much longer to be approved. Typically once a customer decides they would like to proceed we can have them up and running in a matter of days at the first location. The lower level authority to buy in at $180 a month or a couple of grand a year can make the approval process much easier. Bob Parkin It's not just a matter of cash flow; it is also useful to evaluate the Total Cost of Ownership over the rental term and the relative borrowing cost of capital. For example what is the cost to your business if you multiply the monthly payments by the number of months the equipment is required. It is very likely this total cost will be greater than the up- front one off payment, but it sounds like you won't get the benefit of service support. So what is the cost of the service support added to the one off payment and how do the two scenarios compare? It is also worth considering if your company can borrow capital more cheaply than the supplier - this might have to be a guess but the relative size of your company versus the supplier will be an indicator. If your company is much bigger than the supplier you should avoid rentals because the overall cost of capital be higher. The point is it is worth doing these kinds of comparisons to give you some negotiating leverage with the supplier. Steve Munn Thank you all for your comments. I have the view that there are several influencing factors on the procurement of any service and perhaps all companies are different. I believe that suppliers need to be aware of the budget cycle and that it can sometimes be difficult for a client to find the money if it is not in the agreed budget for that particular year. What I am still unsure of however, is whether or not the money for monthly payments comes from the same budget as for a larger capital item. Michael Travers That would depend on the organisation and how it is set up. For instance, if a building maintenance team (who have their own budget) having found that patching was not a solution for a leaking roof, they would not fund a replacement roof. This would be passed on to a Projects team (who would also have their own budget). It could also relate to a maximum order value imposed on particular teams. n
FM OFFICE
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FM TECHNOLOGY
DON’T BE IN THE DARK OVER POWER MANAGEMENT By Marco da Silva
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lean, stable supply of electricity is essential for businesses in any industry or vertical to be able to continue operating, a challenge for industries in South Africa due to the current energy situation. Irregular supply of energy in South Africa is detrimental to the economy as a whole. However, security companies in particular require 100% power availability to ensure they are able to deliver their services. Without power, cameras and surveillance solutions, electric fencing, access control and other security features cannot function, which gives those with malicious intent a predictable window in which to operate. Every time the power goes down, security is compromised, ultimately defeating its purpose. In addition, security equipment is highly sensitive to power fluctuations, which can cause damage and dramatically decrease operating lifespan. Power management solutions are thus mission critical for security providers, and ensuring these solutions are effective and reliable is of the utmost importance. Aside from the obvious challenge to security systems when power is unavailable, unstable power can place strain on sensitive equipment. Experience shows that lightning, voltage fluctuations and harmonics on the power supply all have a serious impact on the longevity of products such as Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and cameras. Unstable power may cause equipment to fail prematurely, without warning, and sometimes without organisations being aware of the failure. At the very least, this equipment requires a controlled shutdown, which in turn requires a UPS with SNMP interface. However, security companies require more than just the ability to switch equipment off
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safely during power outages, they need to be able to continue operating through failures and load shedding. A true online double conversion UPS with extended battery life will ensure the best possible quality of supply at all times. These UPS solutions along with Voltage Stabilisers provide a continuous supply of clean power even when utility power is available, preventing voltage fluctuations from reaching the end point devices and damaging them. When utility power is not available, the batteries deliver backup power to keep cameras, DVRs and other essential equipment operational. They can also be used in conjunction with a generator to provide extended backup power. When it comes to implementing power management solutions, security companies must bear several factors in mind. Firstly, given the crisis levels of the current power situation, many fly-by-night companies have emerged to take advantage of irrational decision-making. These companies sell cheap solutions that will typically fail in a very short time frame, however by that stage the company itself may no longer exist to honour warranties, or may not have brought in spares. This results in wasted investment. In addition, these companies will often sell solutions that are inappropriate for the application for which they are being used – they may not supply enough power for all of the equipment that needs to be connected, the run time may not be sufficient, or other problems of this nature. Besides the obvious risk of failure, this equipment cannot guarantee a supply of clean reliable power. Given the critical nature of power management solutions, security companies should work with a reliable provider that has built up a solid reputation in the market and delivers proven technologies and solutions.
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Security companies in particular require 100% power availability to ensure they are able to deliver their services. Without power, cameras and surveillance solutions, electric fencing, access control and other security features cannot function, which gives those with malicious intent a predictable window in which to operate.
Marco da Silva is Managing Director for Jasco Power, The Jasco Group Partnering with an experienced service provider can ensure that a more technical solution is implemented, taking a methodical approach toward measuring current load, predicting future load, and ensuring a solution is delivered that meets requirements and expectations. Solutions should also be backed by a comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLA) to ensure equipment is proactively serviced and maintained effectively, in order to keep it running optimally. In addition, security companies should also consider implementing online power monitoring that will enable an improved understanding of the power quality, up times, down times, energy consumptions, load demands and so on. This will allow professional service provider companies to fully gauge this information to ensure the best solution is applied. Assessing trends in a business from a power perspective can be extremely useful for all parties concerned. When it comes to power management, operating in the dark is simply not an option for security companies. Not only does lack of power erode profitability, it also leads to unreliable service for customers, who may then move their business to a provider that can continue operations through power outages. The current power challenges are set to continue for the foreseeable future, and power management technologies will only escalate in cost, so it is sound strategy for security companies to take a proactive stance now and implement a solution that will benefit them now and in the future. n
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FM WORKPLACE
A GREAT HR JOURNEY LIES AHEAD By Vuyokazi Dwane
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uthor and Future of Work consultant Jacob Morgan penned a thought-provoking piece in June 2015 entitled Why Human Resources Is Dead, which described the “death” of HR as we have come to know it, and the emergence of more people-and-talent-focused descriptors for these roles. We are mistaken if we believe that HR is a redundant function in the 21st century. It is, in fact a core function of business strategy. As business partner, it is a key enabler that ensures the organisation is endowed with people who are skill matched to the organisation’s strategic goals and priorities. Morgan is correct in his assertion that, “The idea of thinking of employees as capital assets is antiquated, but for many it’s not enough to simply talk about how HR is changing and what the new role of HR is”. It is my belief that the evolution of HR is undeniably worth noting as it is moves away from viewing and treating employees as capital assets. A great journey lies ahead for all HR practitioners, and it is all about people. At the core of the evolution is the advancement of the existing HR department, which I expect to be a cultivator of intimate relationships between employers and employees over the next five years. In South Africa, we are witnessing this renewed outlook on the human resources function. Organisations are beginning to recognise that they need to invest in a people-centred culture and be deliberate about retaining the talent that creates competitive advantage. I consider it a matter of priority to be intentional about an organisation’s talent and to have a “talent design” that is aligned to fulfilment of organisational priorities. Organisations need to place emphasis on articulating their brands, such that it attracts individuals of the right calibre and culture-fit attributes and, once in the organisation, nurturing their development and facilitating meaningful career opportunities, which all work to engage and retain the “right” people for the organisation.
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Specific practices that will be affected by this imperative are leadership capability, reward and recognition (both immediate and long-term), career development opportunities, succession for sustainability and employee wellness in physical, emotional and financial terms. It is equally important to articulate the organisations’s intentions to the affected individuals. Too often people exit the organisation in a manner that does not suit the overall people plan, which causes us to behave in a reactive manner. Often we find that, if the employees had known how important they were and what our plans were for them, they would either not have left or, if leaving was unavoidable, they would have somehow involved us in their thoughts and plans. If we create the view of the future, share it with the stakeholders (affected employees, line managers, HR) then we speak one language and are able to collaborate with each other instead of working at cross-purposes. Technology is also enhancing the HR function in ways we never imagined possible. It acts as an enabler to our efficiency and takes away the repeatable and transactional bulk that tends to keep us busy in an unproductive way. In this way, technology creates opportunities for us to engage personally and meaningfully with our key stakeholders – whether they are employees who require clarity or want to discuss their concerns, managers who need our guidance and support in fulfilling their people management responsibilities, or candidates who have a story to tell. What is important is that we, also, engage smartly with the technology that is at our disposal and draw insights that enable us to make more accurate decisions that will benefit the business. I am eager to further evaluate and discuss the state of HR in the South African context when I meet with industry professionals at the 1st Annual Careers24 Future of HR Summit and Awards, where I will serve as a judge. The event will address the exciting transformation of the HR function in the business environment, share innovative and strategic approaches to overcoming challenges, and forecast trends for 2015. The summit will take place from July 22 and 23 2015, with the awards ceremony on July 23 in Gauteng. n
Vuyokazi Dwane is HR Director, LexisNexis South Africa
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We are mistaken if we believe that HR is a redundant function in the 21st century. It is, in fact a core function of business strategy. As business partner, it is a key enabler that ensures the organisation is endowed with people who are skill matched to the organisation’s strategic goals and priorities.
FM OPS
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FM TECHNOLOGY
By Saurabh Kumar
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he concept of Augmented Reality (AR) has existed for many years now – and commentators have remained rigidly sceptical about whether it will truly materialise in our everyday lives. However, exponential advances in the processing power of smartphones, and the ever-increasing use of location-based services based on GPS, have thrust AR back into the limelight in recent months. Organisations are now looking seriously at how they can adopt AR – in terms of customer engagement, product/service delivery, and back office optimisation. Many believe that AR may in fact be the key to a better digital future: giving us more immersive ways to work, play, learn and collaborate. Essentially, AR describes the way in which a device (such as a smartphone camera, wearables like Google Glasses, or a videogame motion sensor) uses an application to “see” the real world around us, and overlay augmented features onto that view. These augmented features are aimed at adding value to the user’s experience of their physical environment. Therefore, one could be looking at Table Mountain through an AR application, and see facts about the species of plants, or the height of the mountain, or see what it would look like if illuminated at night-time, for instance. Alternatively, one could be standing in a department store, and see what an item of clothing would look like if you were wearing it (without actually putting it on). These may be simplistic examples just to whet the appetite, however, possibilities of AR are quite literally limitless.
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In the next three to five years we expect to see AR becoming a mainstream technology concept – blending the physical world and the digital realm in fascinating new ways. We predict there will be three primary areas in which we will initially engage with AR: • The way we consume information Imagine going to a library or museum and being able to have a “conversation” with key people throughout history, or instantly transform the world around to you resemble a bygone era. • The fields of product development, marketing and customer engagement Overlaying new digital services into retail environments opens up a host of new possibilities for organisations to tailor products to their consumers. • Back office/operational functions within the organisation Companies are already finding ways to use AR in their supply chain, logistics and warehousing environments. Find out, for example, if a particular unit is missing from a shelf, for instance. However, before reaching this utopian world of enhanced reality, a number of big challenges need to be solved. Already there is a proliferation of different AR applications (apps), different development platforms and Operating Systems (OS), and even many different physical devices. Will the future of AR be seen through high-tech wearable lenses, or through the ubiquitous smartphone, or some form of projection system, or indeed something entirely new? Most likely, different forms of AR will develop for these various form factors. It’s also worth considering that, until now, we have regarded AR as a primarily ‘visual’ concept. In time, this will likely broaden to encompass audio and even tap into other senses.
Saurabh Kumar is MD of In2IT Technologies South Africa.
For organisations, gaining early-mover advantage will mean finding ways to leverage the various forms of AR to achieve goals such as: • Improve productivity and simplify processes. • Provide more useful, more ‘hands-on’ experiences. • Enable real-time access to rich data. Companies making the most of AR will find new ways to visualise problems and their solutions. They will find smart ways to connect AR applications with colliding technology domains like the Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data. AR opens the doors to so many exciting possibilities and may, over time, have a massive influence on the way organisations position themselves. As the field continues to gather momentum, the early entrants will be in a unique position to help sculpt the future reality in which we will live and work. n
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FM TECHNOLOGY
NEW TOOLS TO DRIVE FACILITY PERFORMANCE? By Neil Cameron
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uilding efficiency is being reinvented by connected-building technologies. Building equipment and systems are becoming more integrated and intelligent, offering building owners and facility managers more effective tools to help them improve building performance significantly. Driving the transformation of building systems and building management are four cross-industry trends: visualisation, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, mobility tools and analytics. In South Africa, as elsewhere globally, these four trends already impact our daily lives and have seen the emergence of new business models in multiple industry sectors. These technologies are revolutionising how we gather, analyse, visualise, and deliver data – and how we act on it. They have helped create a new generation of connected buildings that link equipment, systems, and data sources inside and outside the facility with powerful control systems and sophisticated software applications, creating a network with the facility team at its centre. Advancements in industry-specific equipment and systems are a vital part of this evolution. Three advancements stand out: 1. A new generation of Building Automation Systems (BAS) that delivers greater knowledge and control. 2. Smart equipment brings intelligence to building devices, boosting building performance. 3. Cloud-based technologies and solutions enhance management of buildings and portfolios. The true advantage of these improvements is not only that they bring greater efficiency and control, but that they capitalise on technology trends to make them more adaptable to user needs. The BAS is an essential tool for many facility managers. An advanced BAS serves as the command and control centre for the facility. Information pours in from all parts of the building — settings, current readings, and alarms from occupied spaces and from
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inside complex equipment. An open BAS not only controls HVAC equipment, but also connects to the lighting, security, fire, and other systems. The challenge, however, was that facility managers did not have the time or expertise to leverage all this advanced functionality. The next generation of BAS is focused on leveraging new and existing technologies to deliver a system that works the way facility owners and operators work. It is more accessible, harnessing the power of advanced analytics and data collection and focusing on more sophisticated and user-friendly interfaces and data visualisation. These advancements in BAS bring insights into building performance that will enable even further reductions in energy use and operational costs, while still delivering a comfortable and safe environment. Smart equipment is a vital component of connected buildings. Smart equipment brings intelligence to individual devices in the field. It’s what enables a lighting controller to report its performance, including any problems or malfunctions, to a facility manager via an interface on the equipment or a software program the facility manager accesses on a computer or mobile device. What smart equipment means is that facility staff no longer have to visually inspect each piece of equipment to detect operating issues so they can more quickly determine where to focus their efforts. This ability to predict and diagnose problems and provide or propose solutions is considered a game changer as it increases the ease and cost-effectiveness of taking corrective action before a potential problem affects a building’s performance. Analytics is playing a bigger role everywhere. Buildings generate vast amounts of information but many facility managers lack convenient ways to turn the flood of data into actionable information. Analytics software can help solve that problem.
Neil Cameron is General Manager, Johnson Controls Building Efficiency, Systems & Service: Africa
Data from BAS sensors, smart equipment, and meters can be aggregated and analysed alongside data that originates outside a facility, such as utility bills, and information that affects a facility’s operations, such as weather forecasts or energy prices. This rich cache of data offers users a bigger picture of their building operations and efficiency, making it easier to manage operations and achieve energy and other goals. The building efficiency revolution is well advanced where connected-building technologies are being deployed: visualisation tools improve insight and proactive response, M2M communication enhances facilities professionals’ ability to manage, mobility tools help facility managers stay connected and analytics turns building data into actionable information. These benefits are already within reach and organisations in South Africa are beginning to engage with the opportunities being presented to improve facility performance. n
FM TECHNOLOGY
ENABLING ENTERPRISE BYOD By Raja Ukil and Sridhar Govardhan
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rganisations today are faced with the challenge of dealing with a highly mobile, tech-savvy workforce that demands to use devices of their choice. While this can potentially help organisations to improve productivity significantly by empowering employees to work from anywhere at any time, it represents a complete disruption to the traditional model of technology provisioning. In addition, in today’s interconnected world, the lines between personal and corporate digital lives are blurring, and users no longer wish to maintain separate devices for personal and official use. Organisations, therefore, need to be able to support the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend to ensure employees are kept happy and productivity levels can be maximised, among other benefits. Devices today integrate the right combination of style, power and performance to enable them to be used across business and personal applications. The supporting technology ensures enterprise BYOD is secure, productive and effective. Mobility is, without doubt, the future of workforce technology and organisations need to brace themselves to support BYOD now to leverage the benefits and cater to increasing demand in the future. Mobile devices, including phones, tablets and phablet hybrids, now incorporate technology such as mobile broadband, location services, Wi-Fi, Near-Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, encryption capabilities, remote device management capability, high definition cameras, biometric authentication, voice to text, secure operating systems and more. Enterprises can leverage these features for many innovative applications. For example, cameras can be used for document scanning, NFC chips for access control, location services for parking space allocation and more. The possibilities are practically limitless. However, while mobile technology has evolved to be more powerful than ever before and have incorporated many new features that can be leveraged by the enterprise, having the best mobile technology alone is not sufficient
to support enterprise BYOD. It is essential to also put in place a robust enterprise infrastructure for the management of BYOD that also provides the required flexibility to enable employees to utilise the same device for personal applications. Enterprises must, therefore, build a dedicated infrastructure to support BYOD, whether this is delivered on premise or via cloud. Some aspects required include Mobile Device Management (MDM), mobile application management and mobile content management, document and content sharing solutions, Exchange ActiveSync for emails, effective authentication tools and productivity solutions such as the Microsoft Office Suite. In addition, organisations need to protect corporate information stored and accessed on mobile devices from a variety of threats including theft, hackers, viruses, cyberattacks and more. To do this it is vital for enterprises to define a BYOD program and, based on the final scope, a comprehensive BYOD policy should be documented. As part of the BYOD policy, adequate security process and technology controls should be identified and implemented for user management, device management, data management and the procedure for BYOD onboarding and acceptance, among other areas. BYOD has numerous benefits for organisations, including its ability to enhance employee productivity, improve the user experience and deliver cost optimisation. For example, many large enterprises currently spend considerable resources in terms of both people and infrastructure on managing travel and expenses. Utilising mobile apps, however, can yield significant benefits to this process. The employee can use an enterprise travel app on his/her mobile device to book travel tickets and hotels, hire a cab, receive e-tickets etc. through one centralised interface. While in transit, the employee can change local travel plans at their destination dynamically on their mobile device. Once travel is completed, expense bills can be uploaded to the app and submitted automatically to the finance team. Not only does such a mobile app automate several processes, it also creates an enriched
Raja Ukil is Chief Information Officer at Wipro Ltd and Sridhar Govardhan is Group Manager Information Security at Wipro Ltd
user experience, reduces transaction time and helps optimise costing. Another example of mobility can be seen in guest management, which is often a complicated process involving security. The host organisation requires entry passes to be generated, escorts to be organised and access to be controlled. Guests simply download the app and request access, which is then sent to the host for approval. On approval, the guest can be sent a QR code, which becomes a virtual gate pass. During the visit, guests are auto navigated to the host’s location using the location services of the guest’s phone. The app can also be used to give the guest Wi-Fi access and the QR code will only work for areas where they are authorised to visit. These are just two examples of how mobility and enterprise applications can be used in innovative ways to enhance user experience and improve automation. As apps become increasingly sophisticated, they will also become more location and context-sensitive, delivering endless possibilities for productivity and experience improvements. n
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Green FM
WORLD-FIRST RATING AWARD
GOES TO A CAPE BUILDING July 2015 FM
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Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has announced that the Karl Bremer Office Block in Bellville, Cape Town, is the first project to achieve a Socio-Economic Category (SEC) Pilot rating in Africa as part of its 5-Star Green Star SA rating, achieved at the same time. The office block is a project of the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works.
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Brian Wilkinson
he Socio-Economic Category Pilot is a world-first for rating tools. The GBCSA has taken the lead in developing a set of socio-economic criteria for green building rating tools. Simultaneously it has developed an International SocioEconomic Framework for the World Green Building Council, which can be used by other green building councils to apply to their rating tools. Socio-economic factors are particularly relevant in developing countries such as South Africa, and extend green buildings to encompass not just environmental sustainability but also socio-economic sustainability. The Socio-Economic Category allows the socio-economic achievements of new buildings and major retrofits, new buildings and major retrofits to be recognised and rewarded under Green Star SA tools. It is a separate optional category for which projects can be rated alongside their standard Green Star SA certifications. The development of the rating tool category was sponsored by Old Mutual Property. The socio-economic category is in its pilot phase and being tested before it is converted into a ‘version one’ rating tool category.
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Green FM
Brian Wilkinson, CEO of GBCSA, says: “Our property sector is truly becoming a growing force for good in South Africa, not only for the environment but also for people and business too. Societal challenges such as poverty, unemployment, lack of education and skills, and health can all be addressed, at least to some degree, through the way we design, build and operate buildings.” He adds: “We encourage property owners, developers and designers to use the Socio-Economic Category to assess, improve and certify their project’s socio-economic features. Social and economic factors are important to address broader sustainability issues in our communities and businesses.” The design for the Karl Bremer Office Block has achieved a 5-Star Green Star SA Office V1 Design rating. It is on the Karl Bremer Hospital site, on the corner of Mike Pienaar Boulevard and Frans Conradie Avenue. The Department of Transport and Public Works, Provincial Government Western Cape owns the building under construction, which will be occupied by the provincial Department of Health. The Green Star SA Accredited Professional on the project is Nick Gorrie from Agama. He says: “Karl Bremer Office Block is developing into an exciting and innovative project. On one hand, there are multiple innovations and sustainable designs that have been incorporated into the base building. On the other hand the entire Project Team is dedicated to achieving a Socio-Economic Category rating. It has been a challenging project so far but, with the commitment and drive of the whole team, it is aiming for a positive result.” A building that previously stood on the site was demolished and the new offices are under construction for completion in mid-2016. The new building is designed to have a footprint of 1,927m2 and gross floor area of 7,520m2 on a site area of 14,046m2. It’s landscaped area, including a 98m2 roof garden, covers 4,761m2, or 32% of its total site area. It comprises a north and south wing, connected by a common core, with a single security-controlled access point. It has a basement, as well as offices and meeting rooms on its ground to fifth floors, and a mechanical plant on its roof. Head of Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, Jacqui Gooch, says the building fits in with the Western Cape Government’s 110% Green initiative, launched on World Environment Day 2012. Gooch says 110% Green calls for a para-
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digm shift to connect environmental preservation and economic growth. She adds it aims to be a catalyst to build a critical mass of activity that puts the Western Cape well on the road to becoming Africa’s Green Economic Hub. “The Department of Transport and Public Works is 110% committed to ensure the properties we build are in line with the 110% Green Initiative. We aim to provide a platform that stimulates people and organisations to build an innovative and dynamic green economy and this project is an example of our commitment,” says Gooch. There are seven possible credits for the Socio-Economic Category to recognise achievements across a priority set of factors. They are: employment creation, economic opportunity, skills development and training, community benefit, empowerment, safety and health and – only applicable to multi-unit residential projects – mixed-income housing. For Karl Bremer Office Block, its employment creation targets at least 10% or more of total labour employed during the construction to comprise of disadvantaged people who are collectively from the target groups of youth, women or disabled people. It will measure this by percentage cost of the contract value. When it comes to economic opportunity, it targets three main impacts. The first is a minimum contract participation goal of 5% of the total project value on selected contracts to be undertaken by joint-venture partners or sub-contracted to developing contractors that are also beneficiaries of enterprise development support from the main contractor. The second is a minimum 30%, or 25% of contract value, of the procurement of project-specific goods and services during the construction phase from any SMEs or SMEs that are either black owned or black women owned respectively. Third, the project is targeting a minimum of 70% of the contract value for materials, products and services produced or generated within South Africa. The project’s skills development target is to be compliant with Construction Industry Development Board Standards of Developing Skills through Infrastructure Projects. It aims to do this by providing different types of workplace opportunities and mentorships for learning and skills development over the project period, which lead to recognised qualifications. For safety and health, the project aims to improve the primary health of construction workers and promote better safety
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“We encourage property owners, developers and designers to use the Socio-Economic Category to assess, improve and certify their project’s socio-economic features. Social and economic factors are important to address broader sustainability issues in our communities and businesses.”
practices. Besides standard construction regulations, the project’s contractor will have to conduct full medical screening tests and basic health awareness programmes for all construction-related employees. The Karl Bremer Office Block design team also conducted Hazardous Identification Risk Assessments of their designs. As the starting point for its positive impacts, the project’s design delivers green benefits that are good for the environment. These include zero discharge to sewer through a blackwater treatment plant and re-use of treated blackwater for supply to HVAC cooling towers. It will also have zero storm water discharge to municipal storm water infrastructure through multiple Bioretention areas. Wilkinson says, “We applaud the Karl Bremer Office Block development team for committing the project to the Socio-Economic Category Pilot and achieving the first pilot project certification. Projects such as this are set to have a hugely positive impact in South Africa.” Wilkinson adds the GBCSA hopes to issue many Socio-Economic Category certifications in the future. “We are confident the SocioEconomic Category will not only acknowledge leadership in social and economic upliftment but also inspire more and more positive socio-economic impacts and benefits in the property sector.” n
圀䔀 圀伀刀䬀⸀⸀⸀ 圀䠀䤀䰀䔀 夀伀唀 匀䰀䔀䔀倀
䜀椀稀漀挀漀爀瀀 椀猀 琀栀攀 瀀爀漀昀攀猀猀椀漀渀愀氀 挀栀漀椀挀攀 椀渀 洀漀瘀椀渀最⸀ 圀攀 栀愀瘀攀 琀栀攀 䄀ⴀ娀 猀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀 眀栀攀渀 椀琀 挀漀洀攀猀 琀漀 洀漀瘀椀渀最 礀漀甀爀 挀漀洀瀀愀渀礀⸀ 圀攀 渀漀琀 樀甀猀琀 愀 瀀椀挀欀 甀瀀 愀渀搀 搀爀漀瀀 漀昀昀 洀漀瘀椀渀最 挀漀洀瀀愀渀礀⸀ 圀攀 眀漀爀欀 搀愀椀氀礀 椀渀 昀甀渀挀琀椀漀渀愀氀 漀昀昀挀攀猀 愀渀搀 漀甀爀 猀琀愀昀昀 挀愀渀 椀渀琀攀爀漀瀀攀爀愀琀攀 愀渀礀 漀昀昀挀攀 氀愀礀漀甀琀 愀渀搀 搀攀猀椀最渀⸀
Green FM
ACTIVATING A PV SYSTEM FOR ARCHITECTS By Terry Owen
New Baywest office in Port Elizabeth.
PV installation at Activate Architecture’s office in Rosebank, Johannesburg.
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Sanral head office in Val de Grace, Pretoria.
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rchitect Michael Magner, of Activate Architecture, has been designing green buildings for the last 8 years. “Once the GBCSA was established, we really began our green mission, and haven’t looked back since. “We’ve also been involved in the rating of a building which we designed. That’s quite a detailed administrative exercise!” This has led to another green building that the company is busy with in the Baywest Precinct in Port Elizabeth. It will be a 4-star rated building. “We’ve proposed a number of green buildings, all with many green incentives built in.” Magner says that they had been wanting to run their own PV system on the roof of the office block in Rosebank for some time. “We started the process of looking for quotes in about 2008. The costs were very high and the small installation was proving problematic, times were increasingly tough and so we decided to shelve the plan. Last
year we decided to dig up the initiative and make it happen. We had it installed about a month ago and, aside from teething problems, it’s been great. We get 5kW and that runs about 80% of our use. It’s great to think we are making our own renewable energy, to turn on the computers and know they are being powered by our little unit. “It’s a fairly sophisticated little system. We can monitor power usage on an app which we download to our phones and computers. When there is an outage, our computers are the priority, and we ensure they are up and running” The sale and installation was done through SAR Electronics, who design and supply PV installations, often for small markets such as this. The company’s first green building was Sanral’s head office in Pretoria, which achieved a 4-Star Green Star rating. “We also did the Lebone College in Rustenburg, which incorporated a whole bunch of green initiatives and we also won an award for this project.” n
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It’s a fairly sophisticated little system. We can monitor power usage on an app which we download to our phones and computers. When there is an outage, our computers are the priority, and we ensure they are up and running
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Green FM
FUELLING A POWERFUL GREEN AGENDA Its discovery dates back to 1910 – 115 years ago. Just two years on, it was being used to cook food. Another year later, in 1913, it was fuelling cars. And by 1915, it was being used in torches to cut through metal.
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t’s called liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, and in a world striving to consume with care, it’s something we should be incorporating more and more into our everyday lives. LPG is a non-renewable gaseous fossil fuel. It is a by-product of natural gas processing and oil refining, a flammable but non-toxic mixture of propane and butane. Although a fossil fuel, LPG is relatively clean when compared to fuels such as coal and oil, producing less air pollution in terms of soot particles, nitrogen oxides and sulphur, as well as fewer carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, when used in vehicles, LPG produces up to 40% less carbon dioxide emissions than petrol-fuelled vehicles. In contemporary energy lingo, LPG burns cleanly. LPG is used as a fuel in many critical sectors, from transportation (it is the third most commonly used transportation fuel in the world, behind petrol and diesel, according to the World Petroleum Council), to agriculture, construction and sailing. Its many uses, however, extend from the industrial to the personal, and using LPG in your home – for cooking and heating – has benefits that span the economic to the environmental. LPG has a high calorific value per unit than other commonly used fuels. This means that its flame is hotter than the flame of coal, natural gas, petrol or diesel, making it a more efficient fuel resource. This in turn fuels – pardon the pun – its cost-effectiveness. A little bit goes a long way.
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LPG is stored in pressurised tanks, which compresses it to such an extent that it is reduced to a liquid that takes up over 250 times less space than if it were retained as a gas. This means that large quantities can be stored in relatively small containers. This portability is especially convenient in remote areas where ordinary gas supplies aren’t available and, as a result, is particularly relevant within the South African context. Indeed, introducing LPG into rural areas stands to be an important contributor to regional development. Its safety when compared to the volatility of paraffin, which is one of the most widly used fuels in rural contexts, is another factor that makes it an attractive alternative. From its pressurised container, LPG is released slowly and safely through a valve that turns it once again from liquid to gas. The fact that it vaporises when it is released from a tank, together with the fact that it is not water-soluble, means that it does not pollute underground water sources. These sealed tanks also largely eliminate the possibility of emissions or spillages that could either evaporate or cause air pollution. The environmental benefits of LPG go on and on. Indeed, they have served to impact the use of fuels for commercial transport in certain countries – many taxi companies in Australia, Singapore and Japan require the use of LPG across their fleets.
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Although a fossil fuel, LPG is relatively clean when compared to fuels such as coal and oil, producing less air pollution in terms of soot particles, nitrogen oxides and sulphur, as well as fewer carbon dioxide emissions.
LPG offers significant advantages to households and businesses alike. Its cost-effectiveness, efficiency and environmental friendliness make it an essential ingredient in the creation of a planet that needs to “consume with care”, as Environment Month’s slogan tells us. As public demand increases, making LPG available is the responsibility of governmental and independent fuel and service providers. It is about enabling a culture where conserving cents and caring for the environment is made possible in a single transaction. LPG is just the start. n
MIDDELBURG STARTING TO MAKE SUSTAINABLE MARK
Middelburg artist’s impression of upmarket industrial park
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ith some 60 listed and privately owned mines, most of which are fully operational, Middelburg’s location in the heart of the coal mining industry, ideally positioned between Gauteng, the Lowveld and Mozambique, is having a meaningful and positive bearing on the various sectors of the property market, according to Chris de Jager, Pam Golding Properties agent in Middelburg. “Economic growth in the Middelburg area in general has presented considerable business opportunities, including those in the commercial and residential property market. A notable factor contributing to the ongoing growth and increased demand in all three sectors – namely retail, office and residential property – is that Middelburg Town Council is rated one of the top five in the country, achieving a consistently clean audit over the past five years. Coupled with this is a high standard of service and infrastructure, considered among the best available in Mpumalanga, and arguably in the country. “While the tariff hike and load shedding by Eskom has negatively impacted most markets, Middelburg’s overall performance from a service delivery perspective has enabled accurate planning and cash flow projections. With a zero interruption in service delivery, businesses can plan ahead and be assured of sustainable and productive working days.
And in addressing the challenges of energy shortages in the traditional energy sector, property owners are turning to green and alternative energy solutions. We are seeing this with features like solar panel installations and water recycling and purification systems becoming a common feature.” He says a key trend perceived in the market is that industries from towns around Middelburg are relocating to the area, especially those in mining equipment and related maintenance companies such as Bell Equipment, Barloworld Equipment and Volvo Trucks. As a result of Middelburg Council’s clean bill of health, the demand for top quality office space has also improved, particularly in close proximity to the industrial area, Vaalbank and the new Middelburg Mall, which is just 2km off the N4 next to the Aerorand residential area. “It makes sound business sense to invest in the fast growing and vibrant Middelburg while serviced land is still available and property prices affordable. Noteworthy transactions concluded during the last few months include the sale of a medium-sized industrial building on a 4 000m2 stand in the heart of Vaalbank which we sold for R5,4-million to buyers from Secunda, who plan to consolidate their three business operations under one roof. The premises, which include a workshop, large store area, spacious counter sales
area and ample office space, exceeded their expectations for the growth of a sustainable, trend-setting business which more than meets the standards expected by their customers, thereby assisting in competing for tenders.” Other properties which are currently in high demand include heavy industrial premises ranging from 1500m2 in size and suitable for engineering and manufacturing plants, vacant land for retail use in the region of 10 000m2, and office space of around 700m2. Says De Jager: “Currently a new development well placed next to Middelburg Mall and ideal for office space development or retail activities offers vacant land from 2600-10 500m2 priced from R3,7-million to R17-million. For smaller users, a secure industrial park comprising mini-factories with office space sees sectional title space with a workshop of at least 700m2, offices, kitchen, bathrooms, covered parking for four vehicles plus customer parking for six vehicles and a yard of about 300m2 selling from R6-million each. The industrial park is access controlled with 24 hour security, with eight of the units sold in phase one and three of the eight units sold in the second phase. From an investor perspective, the industrial park is proving an excellent performer with landlords achieving up to 20% return on rental units. n
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Green FM
CLIMATE ACTION WAKE-UP CALL FROM UNILEVER
“T
here has never been a better moment than the present to protect the planet for future generations,” said Paul Polman, Unilever CEO, speaking at the Unilever’s brightFuture Gala Dinner at Montecasino, in Fourways, Johannesburg recently. In his call to action directed at business, government and NGOs, he continued by saying: “Now is the time to join hands as a global community to work together towards finding and committing to solutions for climate change.” The “brightFuture” campaign is intended to engage people from all walks of life to ensure that: • Everyone has enough food to eat and no child goes to bed hungry; • Children reach their fifth birthday and have the right to a happy childhood; • Every home has enough clean water to drink, cook with, clean and wash; • And everybody can enjoy life today while protecting the planet for future generations. Peter Cowan, the Chairman of Unilever South Africa made it known that with the collective power of people, input by gov-
ernment and interest by all companies, the human race can undo the damage it has caused on the planet. “Roads in India are actually melting as we feel the brunt of global warming. Gone are the days where global warming was a future notion and an issue for the next generation to handle. It is our time to act now or there may not even be an earth, a planet to sustain our progeny. The time to act is now,” he said. Polman emphasised Unilever’s commitment to sustainable business practice. “We don’t just create campaigns for the sake of looking good and ticking CSI boxes. At the core of our business we strive to decouple the company’s growth from its environmental footprint and increase positive social impact. We aim to help more than a billion people by improving their health and well-being as well as enhancing their livelihoods by 2020,” he added. In partnership with government and NGOs, Unilever and other large corporates have the opportunity to eradicate poverty and deal with the issue of climate change. In order to tackle climate change and ensure global growth, future leaders must be engaged and encouraged to heed the
call and ‘Take Climate Action Now!’. Speaking at the same event, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies said the Green Economy had been identified as a key focus area in the Industrial Policy Action Plan and it provided significant opportunities for job creation and economic growth. He added that in the Climatescope 2014 report released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, South Africa was ranked third, after China and Brazil, for investment in clean energy, accounting for more than 90% of these investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. “Also, in 2013, South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP) won the Green Infrastructure project of the Year at the 6th Global Infrastructure Leadership Conference in New York. Over the REIPPP’s first three bid windows, the renewable energy sector has committed investments totalling R120billion, of which R23-billion was committed to local content,” said Minister Davies. He said the South African government was extremely pleased that the investments made by Unilever were advancing “green technology” and their plants serve as a model for future Unilever global operations. n
Index to advertisers Afrisam OBC
Gizocorp 35
Marmoran 37
Cummins Power Generation
IFC
Kevin Bates Flooring
29
Ritlee 7
Drake & Scull
19
Knowmore SA
IBC
Red Alert Cleaning & Security
Franke Kitchens
27
Maredi Technologies
9
Subscription Request 5
July 2015 FM
42
23
Top Carpets
25
OPTIMISATION OF OPERATION
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium By Blake Wilkins
jFM July 2013
43
44
July 2013 jFM