Facilities Management Mar/April 2017

INCORPORATING

ISSN 2071-9299

MAR / APR 2017

FM No. 013

ENERGY SUPPLY THINKING OF GOING GREEN? THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS.

BUILDING INSULATION

6 ANNUAL FM EXPO TH

KEEPING WARM IN WINTER, STAYING COOL IN SUMMER.

HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE EXPO.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT A cohesive team of professionals, working as one to offer you a fully integrated solution to save you time and money.

safma

www.servest.co.za Servest Connect 0860 22 55 84

ONE SOLUTION FOR ALL YOUR FACILITIES

SOUTH AFRICA

™

A solution for everyone!

With the ability to reline from 15mm pipes upwards, its no wonder Nu Flow serves so many industries.

Hotels & Casinos Sun City Situation: The main hotel and gambling area at Sun City was experiencing water damage from leaking full bores on the 3rd floor, 5th floor and 7th floor.

Solution: Nu Flow relined 258 full bores using Nu Flow’s structural lining technology thereby causing no damage to the main hotel.

Commercial Buildings G.D. Irons, Centurion Situation: G.D. Irons was experiencing problems with eight of their 110mm PVC storm water stacks which were leaking every time it rained.

Solution: Nu Flow relined the 8 downpipes with structural liners therebycreating a“nu pipe” within the host pipe.

Shopping Centres Northmead Square Shopping Centre Situation: A 160mm sewer pipe was leaking and causing a terrible smell in the Jack’s Paint store at the Shopping Centre.

Solution: Nu Flow relined the junction using structural lining technology working from rodding eyes thereby causing no damage to the shopping centre.

Residential Waterfall Country Village Situation: A 110mm PVC sewer pipe was broken in a section and as a result was constantly blocking. The broken section runs under the swimming pool.

Solution: Nu Flow relined the broken section of pipe with a structural liner thereby causing no damage to the house or swimming pool.

Heritage Buildings Holocaust Museum Situation: A 110mm PVC storm water downpipes were leaking through one of the building pillars every time it rained.

Solution: Nu Flow relined the pipe using Nu Flow’s structural lining technology.

jmf@nuflow.co.za

087 160 0383

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

Phil Woods

See you at the Expo!

2

News & Products

8

In conversation with Neil Cameron of Johnson Controls

11

Office moves, a check list

13

FM Expo Preview

15

Timing is everything

16

Way to go green

20

SAFMA Awards 2017 winners announced

22

Six expert tips

25

Buildings need to be clothed too

28

Insight from the game changers

30

Smart grid development in South Africa - the real story

I

n this issue of FM magazine we have some great articles to help you through your working day, renewable energy is one of them together with some top tips on how to make your department run more smoothly. Plus there are words of wisdom from John Bowen and a focus on Gwen Kreel and Gavin van Dam, the winner of the 2016 SAFMA Facilities Manager of the Year.

This is also the last issue before the FM Expo, an event that we have now been running for six years, it is an opportunity for the industry to come together and share ideas and knowledge, meet with the industry movers and shakers and source new suppliers, products and methods. Don’t

forget to register at www.fmexpo.org for your free ticket.

Running alongside the expo is the SAFMA Conference, a great opportunity to increase your knowledge and skill set. Again, more information can be found at safma. co.za/conference.

My last bit of information is that we have launched the FM Expo in Cape Town, if you would like more details on this, please give us a call on 011 781 5970 and ask to speak to Adam, he will be able to give you all the facts.

Thank you and I look forward to meeting you at the FM Expo.

Advertisement Sales

Copyright & Disclaimer

Layout

Adam Peters adam@fmexpo.org Pholani Sithole pholani@fmexpo.org

Alois Sajanga alois@fmexpo.org

Printing

Facilities Management (ISSN 2071-9299) is published 6 times a year by T.E. Trade Events together with 12+ email bulletins and an annual FM Supplier’s Directory. 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.

Editor Phil Woods phil@fmexpo.org

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Subscription Sales & Admin Published by

Somi Bululu, somi@tetradeevents.com T.E. Trade Events (Pty) Ltd, 1st Floor, Ice Site Building, 263 Oak Avenue, Ferndale, Randburg PO Box 650291, Benmore, 2010. Tel: 011 781 5970, Fax: 011 781 6079.

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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NEWS & PRODUCTS

Nu Flow to the rescue

Gallagher Convention Centre Midrand, Johannesburg

The largest Facilities Management event in Southern Africa Not to be missed, the FM Expo brings you all that is new, innovative and practical for the facilities manager. A great opportunity to learn, be informed, see new products and network with your peers.

Co-located alongside the FM Expo is the SAFMA Conference, an ideal opportunity to hear from some of the country’s leading experts in the field. The line-up and topics will be announced soon.

Sun City main hotel

S

un City recently called NU Flow because they had a series of leaks that needed attention.

The Main Hotel at Sun City which houses the Gambling area was experiencing water damage from the 110mm PVC full bores on the 3rd, 5th and 7th floor which were leaking into some of the hotel rooms, restaurants and reception area of Sun Soho.

Nu Flow camera inspected the full bores to determine which full bores were in need of relining.

It was determined that 258 full bores were in need of lining. Nu Flow cleaned the 258 full bores and then proceeded to reline them with Nu Flow’s structural lining technology.

The installation process August 2014 Mar / Apr 2017 FM jFM

2

An epoxy saturated liner was pulled into each pipe. Within the liner is a rubber bladder, which was inflated when the liner was in position. The bladder was left inflated until the epoxy had cured.

Once the epoxy had cured, the bladder was removed leaving behind a ‘nu pipe’ within the host pipe. The relining was done working from the full bores on the roof and the downpipe outlet at the bottom of the building thereby causing absolutely no damage or disruption to the hotel rooms, casino, reception and restaurants. Guests were able to continue with their activities unaware that the pipes within the columns and walls around them were been rehabilitated. Simple and effective.

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NEWS & PRODUCTS

Aurecon skyscapes 2017 annual World Architecture 100 survey

A

urecon has relentlessly been giving life to ideas to design a better future providing advisory, design, delivery and asset management services on projects across a range of

Aninka Wessels (left), Chief of People Management and Dr David Leslie, Bidvest FM CEO

B

idvest Facilities Management, a member of the Bidvest Group, recently achieved a Level One Contributor status in an Empowerdex B-BBEE report with an AAA+ overall score and a 51% Black Owned Designated Group Supplier rating.

Aninka Wessels, Chief of People Management at Bidvest Facilities Management, says that the company is especially proud of achieving an A (score of 18.14 out of 20.00) for Skills Development, and a B (score of 42.02 out of 40.00) for Enterprise and Supplier Development. “These two scores reflect both the hard work that our team has put into the process, as well as real transformation

across our organisation that impacts the lives of people,” she adds. “Our intensive learnership programs at our Technical Training Academy for both our employees and for unemployed previously disadvantaged people have been extremely successful, and most of these learners have been absorbed into our organisation.”Wessels says that their new Level One Contributor status reflects the company’s commitment to transformation in South Africa and their passion for change. “The fact that we embrace transformation is not because we have to, but because we realise the enormous value it brings to our people, our organisation, as well as our country,” she concludes.

New Year, New Office and New promotions

A

RCAD is a Autodesk Value Added Reseller (VAR) and Autodesk Authorised Training Centre (ATC) specialising in software as well as hardware solutions for the manufacturing market. The Autodesk authorised reseller in KwaZulu-Natal has now

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

4

branch to Gauteng and eagerly opened their new office. To share their excitement, ARCAD will have two competitive promotions running from 01 February until 30 April 2017. The promotion combines a number of necessities for offices and includes software, hardware, training and consulting.

Visit arcad.co.za for more

markets, in locations worldwide.

Their services were highly favoured by leading architects, whom have yet again voted Aurecon as one of the top five ‘Best Partners’ globally in both the ‘Service engineers’ and ‘Structural engineers’ categories. aurecongroup.co.za

Public Enterprises Minister to open POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa

S

outh Africa’s Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, has confirmed her participation as a keynote speaker at Africa’s premier power sector event, POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa 2017.

The Minister will be among a number of sub-Saharan Ministers and top government officials participating in POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa 2017, where regulators and industry leaders will debate the most pressing issues in African power provision today.

The co-located events, to be staged at the Sandton Convention Centre from 18 – 20 July, will also

feature international and local expert briefings across five tracks: Strategies for the ESI, Renewable Technologies & Opportunities, Utility Management, Power Plant Technology, and Africa’s Nuclear Future.

The agenda includes both technical and strategic talks by expert speakers from across Africa, as well as from Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Israel, Russia, The Netherlands, and the U.S. Topics to be covered include finance and investment, the digital technology revolution, industry sustainability, asset performance management, renewable technologies and utility management.

FM INSIGHT

CHOOSING A COMPUTER AIDED FACILITY MANAGEMENT PRODUCT

By Mel Barends, Divisional Director: New Business, Broll FM

In an ever changing Facilities Management sector, technology has become a must-have tool to enhance business operations and systems.

F

urthermore, facility managers are constantly challenged with maintaining compliance with statutory obligations, maximising asset utilisation, controlling costs and the supply chain as well as optimising worker and facility efficiency.

To address these challenges, Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) solutions help managers to plan, manage the people and maintain the work of an organisation occupying a physical space as well as streamline work processes.

CAFM uses information technology to effectively manage physical facilities in various ways. This can include long-range facilities management reporting, as well as more direct systems that actively manage aspects of facilities, such as lighting or heating and air conditioning equipment.

With so many CAFM products on the market currently, organisations often find it hard to choose the right tool applications to suit their business needs. This is where Broll FM can really assist as we have the knowledge and expertise in-house of various product applications based on our practical experience with our wide range of clients.

We pride ourselves with the effective application of these technology tools as they give managers a bird’s eye view of a particular facility or building at any given time.

In order to choose the best CAFM product for your business needs, below are four factors to take into consideration:

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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Define short and long-term strategic objectives It is important to always start by defining and understanding the organisation’s short and long-term strategic objectives.

The more detailed the objectives are, the easier it will become to prioritise, track and monitor progress and identify what is critical for the system to have and how it should support the organisation’ business goals within a defined time period.

Analyse current systems Analyse current problems within the organisation using the current system as this will inform solutions that you will require from the new system. If the new system being investigated cannot solve the current problems then its best to consider another system and move on.

Data and information Understanding data and information that is important to the business and what typical reporting should look like will inform the decision on what product to choose. For example, can the system report based on building, cost centre, department, assets and equipment, floor space area, headcount, utilisation of services, budget versus actual spend, to mention a few.

Communicate with end users The change control process is critical

in any organisation. Often systems are implemented without notifying the end users and understanding the impact.

Organisations should communicate the following to end users to ensure alignment and buy in: • Start and end date for the envisaged project • Stages in the project and steps to be taken • Any testing required from end users before the go live date to allow for tweaks • Resources required from each department to participate the in a Change Control committee • End users to be informed of who is responsible for ongoing support and how to access assistance Armed with this knowledge, it then becomes easier for organisations to make the right choices based on their business needs.

At Broll FM, we understand that in order for your business operations to run smoothly, you need a partner that is dedicated to the co-ordination of and functionality of space thus letting you focus on your core business.

Our team of experts will give you a stepby-step guide on how to choose the suitable Computer Aided Facilities Management System for your business. For more information, contact Broll FM by emailing Mel Barends at mbarends@broll.com. n

CONNECTING YOUR BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS TO OUR BUSINESS OFFERINGS

broll.com

Technology has become a must-have tool to enhance business operations and systems in the ever changing Facilities Management sector.

To help managers plan, manage people and spaces as well as streamline work processes, we at Broll Facilities Management utilise Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) solutions.

Armed with the knowledge and expertise in-house of various CAFM product applications based on our practical experience with our wide range of clients, it then becomes easier for organisations to make the right choices based on their business needs.

Broll Facilities Management understands that in order for your business operations to run smoothly, you need a partner that is dedicated to the co-ordination and functionality of space thus letting you focus on your core business.

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Our Facilities Management services include: • Data Centre • Finance and accounting • Project management • Call centre • Energy and sustainability • Health, Safety and Environment

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Visit broll.com or email fm@broll.com for more information

INTERVIEW

IN CONVERSATION WITH NEIL CAMERON OF JOHNSON CONTROLS

Phil Woods (PW): So , where did Johnson Controls start?

Neil Cameron(NC): Professor Warren Johnson who was teaching his class and got fed up with a guy coming into the class to check the temperature and then adjust the heating controls.

He therefore invented a spring type thermostat, patented that and thus was born Johnson Controls. This was in 1885 PW: You sent me a recent press release on a new software package, what is the USP with this software?

NC: The new system is called Metasys 8 and is the latest version. It is web based and therefore

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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provides easy access for anyone using the system. The graphic user interface is very user friendly and pretty much anyone can use it with very little training.

PW: This sounds like quite a package, presumably it does more than just control your building temperature?

NC: Oh yes, in addition to temperature, it can control your lighting, generators, uninterrupted power supplies, it can monitor fuel tanks, batteries and monitor energy consumption.

It can also interface with security systems to monitor occupancy so that systems can direct resources such as aircon to only those areas.

PW: How easy is it to interface the software into existing systems? Obviously there are different software languages and interfaces within many systems, does this mean that you need to spend a fortune adapting?

NC: Sometimes with security especially you may need to install new systems because of the nature of the beast, the need to be secure.

The software does not control access such as opening doors and locking them because that could compromise the security. The interfaces that we use just allows the security systems to push out information to help manage the buildings themselves, not access.

PW: And other hardware?

NC: With regard to things like lighting systems, we generally have no problem, either high level or low level. Things like generators, again not a problem. We are finding that as things become more advanced then the problems of interfacing are reduced.

PW: Not knowing too much about airconditioning, are there any problems with interfacing with these, after all there are a huge variety of systems.

NC: Virtually all large aircon systems need controls, either for temperature or switching off at the weekends etc. therefore we can pretty much connect and control any type of system that has some kind of control.

PW: So if it has an on/off switch. You can control it?

NC: It does get a bit more in depth than that, the systems needs protocols to see a unit, however things are getting more and more

sophisticated, wireless controls for instance, you can install an new unit, the software finds it and will ask if you want it added to the platform, answer yes and it will do all this automatically. It can then monitor the unit in a useful variety of ways.

PW: In what ways does the system monitor energy consumption such as say, water?

NC: Yes, you can have sensors all around your plumbing network that can monitor consumption and then be connected to automated valves. This can put trends together, we can alarm it so that if usage goes over certain levels it will be flagged up.

PW: You mentioned lighting control earlier, how does that manifest itself?

NC: Yes, the technology has a lot of sophisticated algorithms built into it and is great at controlling all things electrical. When linked to the security systems it can change lighting so that access areas that are seldom used have perhaps every other light turned off, and other areas full lighting. Geysers can be programmed to heat the water at night when electricity is cheaper, all things that can reduce costs and help the environment.

PW: So why would someone install this system NC: Any medium to large premises, anything above 5,000 sqm. So you want something to switch on and switch off systems. This is essential to saving money and resource and not relying on the last person to leave a building to switch everything off. For smaller buildings we are developing a new system called Verysis which is a plug and play system for smaller buildings suitable for anything above 500 sqm.

PW: And what of the future?

NC: More and more things will become wireless plug and play items, you will bring in say a new generator and it will immediately say hello to the software and immediately can be added to the control system for monitoring and control. This can be only a benefit to the building management, and then linked to the internet for monitoring and control from anywhere in the world on your smart phone.

PW: Thank you for your time. n

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10-11 MAY 2017 GALLAGHER CONVENTION CENTRE R REGISTER FO REE NOW@

F

o.org p x e m f . w w w d and e step ahea line to be on ow. sh e th at Register on y ent on entr m ay p d oi av

Bringing Facilities Managers and Facilities Management suppliers together.

THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT EXPO IS COMING TO CAPE TOWN! 11 OCTOBER 2017 THE LOOKOUT - V&A WATERFRONT HELPING YOU MANAGE BETTER...

RELOCATION

OFFICE MOVES, A CHECK LIST

The idea of moving an office or production facility to a better location is an exciting project during its infancy phase. Unlike moving from a residential space, an office move is more complex than wrapping items with newspapers then storing them in large boxes. Once the execution of a move is in motion, numerous intricacies arise logistically. It is therefore essential to planned thoroughly prior moving. Rushing will result in expensive unforeseen complications.

By Masentle Siwela

S

uddath, a US company specialising in relocations provides a checklist on their website. FMs can employ the checklist to prepare themselves prior to and during a move. Logistics on the list FMs can consider are as follows: • Project development and space selection - Determine a timeframe and high-level project schedule. Conduct an employee census and occupancy review. Conduct a site survey and facility review of current and proposed locations. Determine desired square footage. Create a floor plan for your new space that identifies workstations, equipment centres, offices, conference rooms, fixtures and other support spaces, Hire an architect if needed for new construction, upgrades and/or build-outs and create a move budget.

• Technology - Conduct complete IT infrastructure assessment of current and proposed locations, inventory all IT assets.

Evaluate current cabling and network industry best practices. Review pending IT upgrades for potential project consolidation.

Identify critical business and support applications. Evaluate network downtime options versus redundant hardware and applications during cut over. Develop desktop relocation support strategy and resources and establish power, AC, ventilation, network and equipment positioning requirements.

• Furniture selection - Develop furniture selection criteria and specifications, update or develop complete furniture inventory and consider your furniture options.

• Telephones - Evaluate using new or existing phone system, order new telephone numbers from phone company and/or transfer existing numbers and order new phone/data service (POTS, T-1, ISDN, DSL) if needed.

• Security - Establish a list of employee access levels. Identify specialty areas needing additional security. Identify areas needing additional fire suppression.

Determine the type of monitoring required for employees and facility. Select new or transfer existing vendor for monitoring security system and maintain security plan

“

Relocation does not have to be painful, with careful planning and the employment of a few experts a successful move can be a great achievement and a serious feather in your cap! in vacated space until turnover.

• Communication - Establish an internal communication plan for employees: New building rules, parking procedures, move dates, move and packing procedures, network outage and contingency plan.

Revised telephone and fax numbers.

Required HR postings. Establish an external communication plan for customers, suppliers, service/utility providers and other pertinent vendors (e.g. accountant, attorney,

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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RELOCATION

Storage solutions

insurance agent, etc.) such as: • Changing address and phone number, order new stationery and business cards, order new signage, update company vehicle signage, change vehicle registration, change website to reflect new address/phone numbers, notify post office and revise advertising (including Yellow Pages and other directories).

• Document management - Determine offsite storage needs. Determine on-site storage needs. Update filing requirements for employees. Assign filing space for departments. Schedule recurring document destruction days with vendor and dispose of or archive old files (consider sensitive documents).

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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• Move preparation - Select department move coordinators. Determine building restrictions for move hours. Schedule elevator access at both origin and destination. Schedule parking and unloading at new site. Obtain any special moving and/or parking permits. Identify a member of your IT staff to be on site during the disconnection and reconnect of servers and data centres or consider outside support.

• Establish seating assignments - Determine packing needs for employees. Determine common area packing requirements.

Develop plan for protection of confidential information. Establish a packing schedule.

Determine what can be packed in advance and what areas are packed last so your business can continue to operate as efficiently as possible with the least amount of interruption. Establish and communicate packing/labelling guidelines. If you use a professional mover, custom packing instructions and labels should be provided.

• Vendors to consider hiring Moving, furniture installation/ reconfiguration, architectural, cabling, telephone/data, network (upgrade, back up, prepare for move), security system, secure document destruction and removal, janitorial, plant watering, vending and courier.

During a move, FMs should try to kill two birds with one stone by attending to a company’s storage needs during a move. This is will not be a simple undertaking, nonetheless business gains are to be appreciated once the move is complete.

When considering a facilities move you should also consider if you can save space by considering off-site records storage.

Nadia Louw is Metrofile’s says that you should look for the following when choosing a storage supplier: do they offer hard and soft copy storage solutions and efficient filing systems that provide effective management of your records.

Many companies can digitise your documents in a very quick and easy process that will then mean the elimination of all your paper records. This could seen very scary to some, however many companies provide cloud based back-ups and storage which means they are safe from destruction and continuously backed up but also these documents can be accessed 24/7 from anywhere around the world.

This process does require very effective indexing of the material that is stored, however, sophisticated software is available that will give you peace of mind.

You will also need to consider how secure a storage facility is, not just from the point of view of who can get in the building, but also things like fire protections and flooding.

If you entrust your important documents with a third party, the last thing you want is the documents to be destroyed by fire or flood.

A properly designed vault and suitable containers is the best option. Of course you still need to have good access at times that suit you, and to be safe in the knowledge that the storage company knows exactly where your documents are being kept within their facility.

One last thing to consider is whether your chosen company provides additional services such as delivery and collection, plus secure document shredding.

The Cloud Another futuristic popular storage method is the Cloud storage system. The amount of space is vividly indefinite when looking up the sky. Imagine storing a company’s information in the sky and being able to access it as well as having the option to share it to difference domains. That is what cloud storage is in a nutshell. Dropbox, Amazon, Microsoft oneDrive and Google Drive are some most common innovative, and cost effective storage option cloud storage offers.

Relocation does not have to be painful, with careful planning and the employment of a few experts a successful move can be a great achievement and a serious feather in your cap! n

FM EXPO 2017 PREVIEW

THE 2017 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE...

The 6th annual Facilities Management Expo will yet again bring together major buyers, suppliers and many experts from within the industry at the Gallagher Convention Centre on from 10-11 May 2017 sponsored by Bidvest.

SAFMA will again be hosting their annual conference alongside the exhibition and there will also be a series of informative seminars that facility managers can attend for free.

H

ave you ever asked yourself, “where can I find out who supplies a great software package for running my facility efficiently?”

Or, “where can I get information on repairing those pipes that are buried under the concrete car park?”

With over 3000 attendees last year, the FM expo is without a doubt the event for anyone looking after buildings in South Africa. An exhibition is one of the best ways for people to meet face to face and exchange ideas, learn about new products, techniques and to source new suppliers and the FM Expo is no exception.

There are great opportunities for visitors to attend seminars and benefit from the knowledge of experts in various fields of FM. As mentioned earlier, we have an exceptional range of educational seminars, these include the ergonomics of office design, planning the control of areas for your employees who smoke and emergency planning and disaster management.

Plus, as you will see from the opposite page the SAFMA Conference is packed full of exciting and informative topics to give you the tools to improve your buildings, staff engagement and the working environment.

We have plenty for visitors to see, from facilities management specialists to plumbers and office supplies.

You may not be entirely happy with your cleaning supplier, you may have problems with your flooring or perhaps you are thinking of installing a catering area? Whatever your plans for your work space, the FM Expo can help.

Registration is free and the exhibition is on for two days in order to give you the flexibility to ensure that you can get to the show. Make the time, you won’t regret it.

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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FM EXPO 2017 PREVIEW

2017 ANNUAL

CONFERENCE

08:00

Registration

08:30

Welcome and recap

08:30

Welcome and introduction: Nathanial Reddy, SAFMA Chairperson

08:45

Keynote: Peter Townshend, KnowMore SA

08:45

Ice breaker 09:15 Key note: David Leslie, CEO Bidvest Facilities Management

09:45

Panel Discussion: Water Conservation: • Waterwise planning: Robbie Strang, CEO Interflora • Chris De Wet Steyn, Aquatrip

10:15

What is Business Continuity and what is the FM’s role?

• Overview: Brian Henry, Chairman of the SADC Chapter of the Business Continuity Institute

10:45

Key trends and developments in the Netherlands: Dr Pieter C. le Roux Lecturer – Operations Management (International Real Estate & Facilities Management) NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences

11:15

Refreshments

11:45

Panel Discussion: Sustainable solutions to South Africa’s waste challenges • Nick Mannie, Technical Director, Aurecon • Carmen Notthingham, Fertilis • Bertie Lourens, MD, Waste Plan

12:45

Lunch

13:30

Dispatchable Solar Power – the business case for solar photovoltaic power and energy storage: Dylan Tudor-Jones, GRANSOLAR (Pty) Ltd

14:00

Case study: Sustainable Existing Buildings: Manfred Braune, GBCSA

14:30

SABS and ISO Standards: Steven Molloy, SAFMA Representative: SABS Working Committee

15:00

Refreshments

15:30

State of Transformation in the Property Sector Report: Portia Tau Sekati; CEO, Property Sector Charter Council

16:00

Close and lucky draw

16:10

Drinks

10:45

Refreshments

11:00

Panel Discussion: OSH Act and the FM. • Facilities contractor & sub-contractor management: Pat Wessels, Director Top Compliance (Pty) Ltd • Working at height: Jean du Randt, Constitutional Chair, The Institute for Work at Height Professional Body

12:00

A case study : OHS at AIG South Africa Limited: Erica Roux, Occupational Health & Safety Officer AIG South Africa

12:30

Lunch and visit exhibition

13:15

The SA FM Market research results: Cliff Hocking, SAFMA Director

13:45

Challenges with implementing IoT /Automation in emerging markets: Mohsien Hassim: Property Management Trading Entity

14:15

What is Intelligent Lighting and what can it do for you?

Warwick Webber, Technical Director: Aurora Lighting

14:45

Refreshments

15:15

Panel discussion: Education and Training for FMs • Update on the FM Qualification and the way forward:.

• Dr Pieter C. le Roux, Lecturer – Operations Management (International Real Estate & Facilities Management): NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences and Academy of Hotel and Facility Management

16:15

Close and cocktail party MC: Ishmael Mkhabela

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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FM INSIGHT

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

When you get it right, life is good, but the margin between hero and twit can be very small indeed.

Luck plays a big part of course, but Lady Luck is a fickle companion and sometimes experience is what you need to avoid landing in the smelly stuff.

By John J Bowen - Thatconsutlantbloke.com

I

t’s January in the UK and our seasons have a wide enough range to make life a bit interesting in the world of FM as this tale illustrates. It all started when one of our clients had an important presentation to make. They were pitching for a piece of business and were keen to make a good impression from start to finish and we had our end of things covered for them.

But as the last minute preparations took place late in the afternoon before the big day the client’s MD decided that the conference room windows needed cleaning for it had rained the previous night and there were a few streaks on the glass. One of his team was delegated to sort it out and, as my team had gone home by then, they rang the window cleaner, a local small business, direct. The conversation must have gone something like this: Client – we need the conference room windows cleaning. Just the corner on the ground floor by the railway line.

Window Cleaner – no problem. It will have to be first thing and I need a order number from the FM team. If you FAX it over tonight.

Client – I don’t think that I can get one at this time of night.

Window Cleaner – well without an order number I don’t get paid, so I can’t do the job.

Unless you’ve got a purchasing card; I can do that now over the ‘phone.

Client – oh great, here’s my card number.

So the next morning around 0730 the window cleaner arrives on site. He is spotted by one of my colleagues, but we have other things on our mind and whilst it isn’t his usual day, it’s a bank holiday week and many things are out of synch so we ignore him.

One of the things on our mind is that the temperature is hovering around zero and it is about to get light. On a clear morn such as this the temperature can drop a couple of degrees or more as it gets light and the decision whether to grit or not is under debate. Sure enough the lightening sky in the east sends us down to minus two and we get gritting, but then an anguished call comes across the car

park from our squeegee ace… Yes, he has just sprayed the windows and they have frozen.

With not much more than an hour before our client’s visitors are due our conference room has frosted windows, some of which are beautifully patterned, but that is beside the point. We send the window cleaner on his way; there is no point in him hanging around, but we scrounge a squeegee off him and wait for the sun. Fortunately we have no tall buildings opposite and within half an hour we have enough of a thaw to clear the majority of the windows as they

face south east, but there are a couple around the corner towards the north east and they are not going to thaw in a hurry. We can’t put temporary heat into the conference room, but with the careful application of a couple of tricks of the trade we have them de-iced and clear literally moments before the visitors arrive.

Was luck with us? Maybe, but whilst we lacked vigilance; we should have stopped things before they went wrong, we were able to pull ourselves out of trouble through the application of experience. From zero to hero this time, but, as I said at the top, the margin is a fine one and we can’t rest on our laurels for who knows what tomorrow has in store. n

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

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WAY TO GO, GREEN...

Life without electricity – for many, this evokes thoughts mirroring those of the world coming to a halt. Well, thanks to Mother Nature, life without an energy supply will never be a reality.

By Masentle Siwela

B

efore tackling this writer’s block inducing topic – I speak for myself – let’s recap as to why there’s a need for this alternative method of renewing energy. In 2015 South Africa experienced numerous power cuts, businesses without generators closed, non-operational traffic lights caused bumper to bumper traffic jams, and the list of problems went on.

Now that it’s 2017, carbon dioxide and greenhouse emissions released during the production of traditional grid electricity affect us still. Gases trapped into the atmosphere cause global warming, which in turn change the global climate.

Also, the South African Government reports that Eskom sells electricity directly to about 3 000 industrial customers, 1 000 mining customers, 49 000 commercial customers, 84 000 agricultural customers and more than four million residential customers (of whom the majority are prepaid customers).

With high numbers of people relying on Eskom’s grid electrical supply, it is inevitable that it struggles to meet the rising electricity demands.

This leads to soaring annual price hikes that stain South African businesses and consumers. An 8% increase per annum for a period of five years, starting from 1 April 2013 and ending March, was approved by the regulatory authority, National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). It recently gave Eskom approval to increase electricity prices that commenced beginning of February by 2,2%. These price hikes end up leaving both consumers and businesses paying through the nose.

To aid Eskom’s energy supply woes, an 1800 MWe nuclear plant was built in the mid-1970s at Koeberg, Cape Town.

Nuclear energy however, possess hazardous

environmental, health, safely and waste risks.

According to the Department of Energy’s website, energy.gov.za, since 1994 the South African Department of Energy makes it possible to electrify 6.954 million households using grid technology and over 103 000 households from off-grid technology to connect houses in South Africa which represents 90% access to electricity.

The combination of using of both renewable and non-renewable energy was reiterated by aspiring presidential candidate, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. “We mustn’t listen to those who say we must only use renewable energy,” she said at a church gathering she attended in February.

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US Department of Agriculture

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Bio digestion Bio digestion is a system that converts organic waste sutch as cow dung, sewage from an ordinary household, food wastes, etc. into energy. The manure is put into the bio digester where micro-organisms ingest it to produce methane gas. The methane is collected in the tank. When the tank is full, the gas is released to produce a source of energy.

A bio digester is not only meant for generating energy. Once the process of producing bio gas is complete, the left over manure, named Digestate, can be further used to as fertiliser.

That is what bio digestion is basically about, using renewable waste material multiple times for multiple purposes.

According to esi-africa.com, biogas in South Africa has the potential to displace 2,500MW of grid electricity, equivalent to the size of Eskom’s Arnot coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga, commissioned in 1975.

Some informal settlements in India do not have access to electricity and have to

generate their own energy. They have their own “man-made” bio digesters, which make the production of biogas a malodorous and laborious task. Modern households do not use this particular method to renew energy, as it is most suitable for farms and other agricultural industries. It’s an efficient and effective way that agriculturalists can utilise to cut costs by killing two birds with one stone.

Solar power The South African Government states on gov. za that most areas in South Africa average more than 2 500 hours of sunshine per year.

This makes South Africa one of the top 10 countries with the largest installed utility scale solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the world.

PV systems are designed to absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity. They are popular because the price of a PV system is decreasing. They reduce the overall carbon footprint and they require little maintenance once installed. For facility managers looking to cut down utility bill costs, PV system are a great option as they can simply be mounted over a facility’s roof, they also cool the buildings by providing additional shade.

Wind turbines Electricity generated from a wind turbine depends on the speed and consistency of wind. That is the reason why most wind turbines are installed in the Cape.

The Jefferys Bay wind farm spans 3 700 hectares on which there are 60 wind turbines erected. The project supplies the Eskom 132kV grid line and generates 460 000 MWh per year, supplying enough clean renewable electrical energy to power more than 100 000 average South African households You can install wind turbines to help lower your energy costs, however, the wind is a little unreliable so therefore you will need alternatives as well.

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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“

Renewable energy forms an important part of our energy mix, which also includes electricity generation from gas, nuclear, solar, wind, hydro and coal.

Government is committed to the overall Independent Power Producer Programme (IPP) and is expanding the programme to other sources of energy including coal and gas, in addition to renewable energy.

Hydro power It’s always stressed that water should be used sparingly. This is not solely for human consumption purposes but to generate electrical energy supply. Hydropower is simply capturing water and converting it into electricity. The capturing can be done using ocean tides, downstream rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. Tubatse Pumped Storage Scheme is the latest hydroelectric power plant in South Africa. Some farms have utilised streams and rivers on their land to generate hydroelectricity to great effect.

Hybrid systems Hybrid systems entail utilising two or more methods of renewing energy simultaneously.

This system is great because it provides an optimal and reliable energy supply. The South African government has implemented two hybrid system pilot projects in the Eastern Cape (Hluleka hybrid mini-grid system and Lucingweni hybrid system). Hluleka has two 2.5 kW wind generators and three Shell Solar PV module arrays, fitted with 56 100-watt PV modules wired in series (total 10.6kW).

Lucingweni, on the other hand, has 50kW solar PV panels and 36kW wind generators.

It produces enough energy to serve 220 dwellings.

Renewable energy and facilities Retail store Makro implemented its energy conservation project last year. They installed solar (PV) panels on the roof and produce approximately a million kilowatts of electricity per annum. It is estimated that the PV installation will account for 60-80% of the building’s electricity needs during the day, and 30% of the store’s total annual energy requirement.

Facility managers can also make an initiative to go green by implementing at least one method of renewing energy, even in a small way. This endeavour will not only reduce the utility bill, but will help to improve the company carbon footprint. The better the state of the planet, the more opportunities business will discover in the long run.

Government and organisations “Renewable energy forms an important part of our energy mix, which also includes electricity generation from gas, nuclear, solar, wind, hydro and coal. Government is committed to the overall Independent Power Producer Programme (IPP) and we is expanding the programme to other sources of energy including coal and gas, in addition to renewable energy. “Eskom will sign the

outstanding power purchase agreements for renewable energy in line with the procured rounds,” President Jacob Zuma said at the State of the Nation Address in February.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently created a petition aimed at Eskom. They want Eskom to advance the use of renewable energy in the long term. The petition is linked to an annual global event called Earth Hour.

Earth Hour aims to encourage people to switch off their lights on the last Saturday in March (from 8.30pm to 9.30pm local time).

The WWF want Eskom to stop holding back on green energy initiatives and continue to support the technology.

CEO of WWF South Africa, Dr Morné du Plessis, said: “We know that Eskom has the power to unblock this hold-up, and thus enable all the socio-economic and environmental benefits that will result from the renewable energy programme. By signing this petition, South Africans will be calling on the utility to exercise this power for the greater good of all.”

Business man and philanthropist, Arnold Schwarzenegger said: “The future is green energy, sustainability, renewable energy.”

Striving towards a nature reliant future – instead of only depending on grid electricity – is the way to go green. n

SAFMA AWARDS

AWARDS 2017 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

T

he South African Facilities Management Association (SAFMA) hosted a Gala Dinner on the 15th of February 2017 to honour those who excel in the Facility Management (FM) industry.

The annual occasion was held at Cedarwood Convention Centre in Woodmead, Sandton. Winners were presented with a goodlooking trophy and certificate. The award includes an entry to the SAFMA conference and an opportunity to address SAFMA members at a networking/educational event.

Bidvest Facilities Management Technical Learnership Programme won the category of Excellence in FM award. They were recognised for their outstanding contribution to the enrichment as well as promulgation of the best practices for the management of facilities.

For outstanding professionalism, Operational Executive at Bidvest Facility Management, Louise Joynt, walked away with the Facilities Management of the Year award. Developing and managing the local small suppliers in the Postmasburg and Sishen areas is amongst her achievements that influenced her triumph.

The Young Achiever of the Year category is slightly different from the Facility Manager of the Year category because of its age factor. It is solely meant for an under 35 year-old individual whose passion and apparent success is notable.

Technical Manager for Customised Solutions at Bidvest Facility Management, Prantosh Ramlangan, demonstrated those attributes deserving of the Young Achiever of the Year title.

Servest (Statistics SA) possess the ability to self-deliver over 80% of services with miniature outsourced specialists.

They successfully accomplished a major Public Private Partnership (PPP) project

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The Winners of the Distinguished Author award for their contributions to the FM Handbook that provided an optimal self-delivery FM model to a client. For their significant positive impact within the government organisation, they won the PPP of the Year award.

Tsebo Facilities Solutions won the FM Services Outsourced award. They operated on the African continent for more than 43 years and have acquired 10 African companies and are leaders in the market for the last two years.

The Sustainable Operations category recognises either an individual, team or corporate. South Africa’s first office precinct, Black River Park (Redefine Properties) located in Cape Town, was awarded in this category.

They maintained their high rating and undertook roof-mounted solar panels in South Africa, air quality testing and management, and many other green initiatives.

From left, Nathanial Reddy, Guiseppi Florentino, Cornelius van der Merwe and David Pierre Eugene

Nathanial Reddy, FM of the Year – Louise Joynt and David Pierre Eugene

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“

I think the gala dinner went off very well.

We were particularly pleased with the number of our members who attended, as well as the quality of the entries.

Bouwer Kleynhauns was awarded for his South African Facilities Management Handbook in the category of The Distinguished Author. The handbook covers numerous subjects in the FM profession. It was compiled by a panel of authors to guide professionals as well as students in the FM industry. Its objective is to provide local current content and make up-to-date information easily accessible to readers.

According to SAFMA Administrator, Kim Veltman, there was no winner for the FM Services In-house category.

“There was no award for the in house FM company of the year as the judging panel felt that the entrants did not adequately or fully address the criteria. We believe they were not fully understood by the entrants and not a true reflection of their offerings,” she said.

“I think the gala dinner went off very well. We were particularly pleased with the number of our members who attended, as well as the quality of the entries,” Veltman shared. n

FM MANAGEMENT

6

EXPERT

TIPS

FMs have long job descriptions. Oracle (and possibly magician) should be right at the top.

A

fter all, the budgets that facilities managers produce for approval each year must correctly anticipate future equipment replacement and at the same time account for the potential for catastrophic events such as floods or epidemics. Regular maintenance, retrofitting and daily operations must continue at acceptable levels, even while staff is reduced and savings actively sought.

So, we turned to the experts for tips FMs can use. Here are six steps that can help make a facilities management budget more reliable and more likely to be approved.

ALIGN LONG-TERM 1 GOALS WITH BUSINESS OBJECTIVES In Healthcare Facilities Today, Jeff O’Connor writes that the most successful approach to managing facilities is when FMs take a strategic approach rather than a tactical one.

Instead of reacting to events as they occur, O’Connor says taking the long view, based

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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on business objectives set out over the next five to 30 years, aligns success in both the management of the facilities and the business for which they exist.

This means an FM needs to have two planning modes: Short-term and longterm. The first allows for operational budget planning; the second allows for planning for future expenditures.

“

The most successful approach to managing facilitiesis when FMs take a strategic approach rather than a tactical one.

“

“That [long-term] view into when system renewals are due and when potential spikes in spending will occur,” O’Connor writes, “enables intelligent decisions today, such as deciding to spread project costs out over several years to avoid individual years with enormous spending needs.”

And when a facilities manager aligns her plans with the organization’s goals, funding requests are more likely to be approved.

“For example,” O’Connor explains, “if the FM team proposes to replace an HVAC system in an office building, as opposed to putting funds into a roofing project to address leaks in the main hospital building, their priorities will be questioned, especially if the hospital’s overarching objective that year is to improve patient outcomes.”

of deferring preventive maintenance work or switching to a less expensive vendor, there is a trade-off, and it should be made clear to the budget committee.

3 DETAILS MATTER

SPELL OUT THE 2 NEGATIVE IMPACT OF NOT TAKING ACTION Equipment can be expensive to repair. That’s why the team at HEPACART, a manufacturer of dust containment solutions for hospital construction and renovation projects, says that maintaining a warranty database is important. Items that are covered for maintenance or repairs save the facilities management department money, and should be used.

“Before any repair or maintenance is ordered,” they write, “make it a habit to check the warranty database and verify whether or not that equipment is covered.”

When a facilities manager aligns plans with the organizational goals, funding requests are more likely to be approved

When submitting a proposal for funding to the budgetary committee, explain what could happen if they try to kick the can down the road one year, as a city coucil did when it proposed the addition of a Facilities Maintenance Planning Supervisor position.

After setting out the reasons why the new position is warranted, the implications of the proposal not being approved are highlighted in the bottom line: “it will be increasingly difficult to ensure that safety and other regulatory requirements are met within buildings.”

There’s another reason why explaining the impact of refusals is important, and it works with budget cuts, too.

Sodexo Canada’s Mike Varvel used the example of an FM who delivered a requested 5 percent budget cut — but never bothered to explain the ramifications of the savings.

Varvel says that facilities manager has just “set himself up to be asked to make future such reductions” because the budget committee never connected the dots to what downsides these cuts might have had.

Whether those savings are found by way

BUDGETS, HIGH STANDARDS 4 LOW

Decreasing budgets is a fact of every FM’s life, and it’s not likely something that will change. A segment of the budget that is increasingly under scrutiny is cleaning and maintenance. In fact, a full 90 percent of respondents in a Cleaning and Maintenance survey said, “reducing overall cleaning and maintenance costs was important to their facility or organization in some capacity.”

There is a tremendous amount of pressure when budgeting, which puts in-house facility managers in a financial squeeze. They are constantly tasked with figuring out how to

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FM MANAGEMENT

continue to produce successful outcomes for stagnant or decreasing budgets.

Examining a building’s cost history is helpful in this regard in order to predict future costs.

Similarly, re-evaluation should be conducted at set intervals. This can include cleaning and maintenance procedures as well as the number of employees needed overall. Separately, the hours required for employees to complete tasks properly can be re-examined, with budget modifications made.

to dated HVAC or refrigeration equipment will cost more. In the longer term, the purchase of new, more efficient equipment (or retrofitting with an approved R-22 alternative) should be planned for.

6 USE BIM TO PLAN AHEAD

ON TOP OF 5 STAY UPCOMING CHANGES

The gradual EPA phase-out of R-22, the common commercial refrigerant used in HVAC and refrigeration equipment, will be completed by 2030. Building owners and facilities managers have three options for alternatives, according to a report issued by EMCOR Facilities Services.

These include: In summary, you have three options before 2015 when the ban comes into effect, before refrigerant prices start increasing due to limited supply: 1. Buy a new unit that uses substitutes for R-22 – this is the most expensive but simplest option 2. Retrofit your old unit – this will allow your unit to use R-22 substitutes after you have removed the R-22 refrigerant from the unit. This can be expensive but the R-22 refrigerant will also become expensive once the ban is in place so this decision will depend on the size of the plant and cooling unit.

3. Use the same unit – if you choose this option, you will find it difficult to obtain R-22 in South Africa and will be forced to recycle and purify your used R-22 at a high cost The facilities manager who is aware of changes like this will modify upcoming budgets.

In the shorter term, as R-22 costs rise, repairs

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While Building Information Modelling is not a new concept, it’s only recently that the use of BIM is being widely accepted and used.

Brian Haines at FM Systems points to a 2014 McGraw-Hill Smart Marketing report that said, “84 percent of building owners in the US and 95 percent of building owners would be adopting the use of BIM for all new construction within 2 years.”

The benefit of BIM to facilities managers specifically is in the real-time information the model is able to provide. Jeff Link at Redshift cites Ohio State University’s FM department, which used BIM to adjust costs even before renovation projects began.

And possibly more impressive from the point of view of a facilities manager struggling with budget cuts, Xavier University’s administration “raised the maintenance budget from $750,000 per year to $12 million,” Link writes. “Why? BIM data served as empirical proof of the need for new room finishes, flooring, roofing, and mechanical equipment that had previously been left unaccounted.”

Engineering consultant and BIM director of digital design Ged Smith tells Modern Building Services that 3D models are beneficial after construction because of its value in both project and product lifecycle management. “Detailed tagging of assets — which encompasses everything from make and diameter of pipes to the maintenance needs of ventilation systems — is directly interfaced with a site’s facilities management programme,” Smith writes. “This creates a ‘digital twin’ of a facility — enabling real-time analysis and insights, as well as the ability to model potential scenarios.”

It’s not just avoiding costly errors, including further damage, delays and overruns that make the BIM method so useful to facilities managers.

It’s also that energy usage is more accurately controlled, which translates into more efficiency and less wastage. n

“

It’s not just avoiding costly errors, including further damage, delays and overruns that make the BIM method so useful to facilities mnagers.

INSULATION

BUILDINGS NEED TO BE CLOTHED TOO Winter is on its way and slowly settling in to reside with us for the next three months.

Fortunately for me, I’ll be in bed all day watching movies and enjoying home-made soup…… yep, in my dreams.

By Masentle Siwela

T

he discomfort caused by low office temperatures, adversely affects employees’ concentration and productivity. They end up spending much of their mental and physical energy finding ways to keep warm. A cup of hot coffee can only do so much for so long. If not addressed, there will be a drop of effectiveness in the office.

“Building insulation materials are used to provide resistance from heat flow. The more heat flow resistance the insulation material provides, the lower is the heating and cooling costs borne by the customers.

Properly insulating the construction not only reduces heating and cooling costs, but also improves comfort and the aesthetic sense of the building,” Richard Ellis from an ecofriendly insulation company named EcoInsulation, told FM Magazine.

Bad insulation, or no insulation, also reduces moisture control which will ultimately cause a mould problem in facilities. Mould affected facilities can lead to employees being prone to respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergic reactions such as sneezing, a runny nose, red eyes and skin rash or asthma attacks. It may also trigger eczema with some people.

Deborah Miloa demonstrates how cold working environments affect some employees. Miloa works in an office space that only has air-conditioning and is not insulated. She says that the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) at her office triggers her sinuses and affects her concentration at work. “It’s hard to concentrate on work because I end up concentrating on the cold. I realise even after I have left the office that I can still be shivering, and this affects my sinuses.”

“

Albert Eistein once said: “Trying to please everyone is a recipe for stress, misery and frustration.” And trying to get the right office temperature is indeed stressful and frustrating. However, there are standard regulations facility managers can follow to stay out of trouble with the law.

She adds that cold temperature ultimately causes her to subconsciously change her posture, then she finds herself tensing up at her desk.

Albert Eistein once said: “Trying to please everyone is a recipe for stress, misery and frustration.” And trying to get the right office temperature is indeed stressful and frustrating. However, there are standard regulations facility managers can follow to stay out of trouble with the law. On the labour guide website, Director of Health & Safety, Tinus Boshoff, states that air quality test reports, workplace inspections, complaints from employees about the air quality and all other complaints should be investigated.

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INSULATION

Because of the structure of a building, there are various ways in which heat can be lost. The very areas utilised to stay cool in the summer are the same areas heat can escape from

“

Sticking to air-conditioning systems that ventilate cold air for summer days and warm air in winter is still an effective option.

during the winter. These include windows, doors, floors, walls as well as the roof, if not properly insulated or not insulated at all. A properly insulated building ensures that there isn’t a reverse effect on temperature when seasons change.

The cause of a cold working environment might not be because there aren’t heaters in the building but because the heat produced is not retained. Just as humans need clothes to keep warm; buildings also need insulation to keep its occupants warm.

It would be ideal though to insulate during a buildings construction stages. Insulating a space already employed could mean having

to await the next upgrade because insulation budget was not deliberated. Options for better insulation include, replacing old metal frame windows with double glazed uPVC units. These are tailor made to fit existing apertures and can be fitted in a very short time with minimal disruption. They cut down on draughts and heat loss through the glass.

More simple options are to ensure that you are not losing heat through the roof.

There are various materials available to insulate this space, some more flexible than others. Things to consider are ease of access and how much weight a ceiling can support. Insulation in this area can offer big savings long term.

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning solution Most companies have air conditioning units installed to keep their buildings cool in summer and that can switch to providing heat in the winter months. South Africa is lucky in that we have relatively short winters.

However, the fitting of efficient HVAC units is of the utmost importance and can really make a difference both to employee comfort and the building costs in running the facility.

Facility managers can utilise other heating options should insulation present too many challenges. Sticking to air-conditioning systems that ventilate cold air for summer days and warm air in winter is still an effective option. Although HVAC may not be a cheaper options as it relies solely on electricity, it is still an option to improve and manage a facilities temperature.

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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Spotting the heat loss A fact to be considered is that installing new insulation products at a facility with faulty energy supply will not relieve your utility bill. Energy supply systems also need to be in check so you can witness the financial savings. Energy Solutions (DE Solutions) is an energy solutions company providing tried and tested energy solutions to various companies, for over 10 years.

The company’s aim is to find and offer solutions to any energy requirement that is environmentally, as well as cost effective.

Jim Daly, of DE Solutions informed FM Magazine that the common energy problems facilities face include, understanding of utility bills, building audits, independent verification on projects or commissioning and assistance with maintenance planning.

Thermal imaging equipment/Infra-Red can detect insulation breakdowns and many other faults. A thermal survey is a predictive tool that identifies areas of concern where heat is lost through poor insulation.

Apart from energy wastage and increased expenses, Daly says that energy supplies that are not in check, risk

the reliability of business continuity, and unplanned power outages will cause a disruption. “Non-predicted outages can be very disruptive to business� Daly states.

Daly advises facility managers that seek to ensure their building passes energy related tests to check regularly and carry out thorough maintenance. Electricity costs escalate annually and every winter staff will be plugging in their own heater in their cubicles, and boiling the kettle for coffee every 10-15 minutes.

Maximum heat retention will be achieved when facility managers utilise HVAC services in a well-insulated facility. Also, multiple problems can be solved simultaneously, retaining heat, keeping costs down and improving efficiency by employing an experienced HVAC company, insulate and manage the energy supply of a facility.

For real efficiency in retaining heat, companies should look to Europe for really effective ideas. The colder Scandinavian countries have got this down to fine art. In addition, keeping in the heat in winter also helps in keeping a building cool in summer.

A big win for the utility bill. n

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INTERVIEW

INSIGHT FROM THE GAME CHANGERS...

By Masentle Siwela

Movers and shakers of the FM industry strive to bring change and growth.

Gwen Kreel, and Gavin Van Dam relentlessly work towards exactly that.

Kreel is the owner of PanFM and she is the Gauteng Chapter Chair of South African Facility Management Association. Broll Property Group’s Regional Facility Manager, Gavin Van Dam, won the SAFMA of Facility Manager of the Year last year.

In this feature, they both impart what they contemplate can be expected in the FM industry, and share their perspectives much more.

“I - Gwen Kreel

would like to see the industry looking at the information set and using it, and not shelving it due to them feeling overwhelmed.”

The Chapter Chair of SAFMA has witnessed the transitions that have transpired in the FM industry for the past 15 years’. This year however, Kreel anticipates to see FMs take their environments to a level where they are proving information to their executives for strategic decisions. She goes on to explain that human recourses departments use human resources systems, therefore, FMs should also be using FM resource solutions.

She further adds that this will provide FMs with reports that will assist them with the management of assets efficiently and effectively.

Kreel has over the years observed, that FMs tend to be very focussed the on soft services of a business and forget about the value of infrastructure. This she believes, needs to change because hard services bring to the table what the FM department needs to become a definitive source of information.

Information is the key to basing many of the decisions around the various disciplines within FM. As mentioned earlier, Kreel has not only worked as an FM but she now imparts her expertise to aspiring FMs. Her company, PanFM, offers training courses and workshops in all the numerous sectors of FM. Her objective with PanFM is to ensure that FMs are custodians of their built environment.

She enthusiastically seeks to advance the

Mar / Apr 2017 FM

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Gwen Kreel

education and development of FMs, specifically those on the junior levels. To achieve this, she has collaborated with the likes of QCTO and Services SETA to implement a curriculum that she hopes will come into effect towards the end of this year.

Kreel doesn’t believe that companies take the professions’ contribution as seriously as they should.

She reasons that it is largely due to the issue of an FM department having to act on other department initiatives and not be led by the FM. “I would like to see the industry looking at the information set and using it, and not shelving it due to them feeling overwhelmed,” she said.

Kreel argues that the South African government also needs to give the FM industry much more support and focus. She suggests that the government needs to starts looking to the FM strategic consulting base, as a valid contributor to the sustainability and longevity of the countries assets. “I don’t believe enough emphasis is placed on what strategic FMs can contribute to the problems we face, where our infrastructure is falling apart and our heritage sites are being bastardised to accommodate new and sometimes inferior technology,” Kreel stressed.

“D

on’t forget, it’s not about buildings.

It’s about people.”

- Gavin Van Dam

The SAFMA Facility Manager of the Year award recognises an individual Facilities Manager for their outstanding professionalism and contribution to the FM industry. The winner is an individual who is actively involved in FM and who is passionate and driven by customer service, is a role model and will have achieved notable successes in their career and a person who is on a personal level making a difference in the various spheres of the FM Industry.

Out of all the FM’s nominated in this category last year, Van Dam fitted the above description to the tee and walked away with the award. Van Dam surprisingly has no plan to participate in the SAFMA awards this year since his business ventures will keep him very busy.

He has ideas and practices he will be putting to paper by the end of the year, which he plans roll out next year.

Van DamMagazine hopesMarApr17.pdf that FMs will shy away from Advert_Final_FM 1 3/2/2017 12:11:34 PM the mind-set that the industry is solely about the

built environment. As this causes facility managers to neglect people. “It’s about integrating with people and guiding the business/client forward, all the while maintaining a safe and secure built environment,” he said adamantly.

A strategy he has put in place, to ensure his effectiveness this year entails ensuring that his clients always comes first. He reiterates that without the clients, FMs would not have the honour of working in this profession, therefore they need to be prioritized.

When asked what he thinks made him stand out from the other nominees last year, he humbly said it is because he has the ability to think with both sides of his brain. “Coming from a design background and having worked in various fields has given me the life experience to deal on an emotive level; understanding the personal needs and the business Gavin Van Dam needs of the client. To summarise, I am blessed to be both a left brain and right brain thinker.” Van Dam said.

As a SAFMA winner, his advice to other FMs is that they should remember to focus more on people than they do on the built environment.

“Don’t forget, it’s not about buildings. It’s about people,” he exclaimed. “Look after the people and the rest will follow. Learn something new every day, and teach something new every day.”

Van Dam advised. n

At Sodexo, we believe that to create lasting value, organisations and society as a whole must place people at the center of their thinking. We consider Quality of Life to be an essential factor in individual and collective performance, and improving Quality of Life is our business and our core mission.

Every day we deliver more than 100 services, from IFM, food-services, maintenance and cleaning to facilities and equipment management.

We are constantly developing our offer with new services that impact the quality of life of our 75 million consumers and improve the performace of our partners in 80 countries around the world.

Find out how we can improve your quality of life Sodexo Southern Africa (Pty)Ltd. Website: za.sodexo.com Tel: + 27 11 803 6600 Email: contact.za.amecaa@sodexo.com

GREEN FM

SMART GRID DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA – THE REAL STORY

Climate change and the addition of renewable energy to the grid is changing the traditional power sector business model.

I

n South Africa, solar energy prices have almost reached grid parity and the tradition of large, centralised power stations is changing. As time passes and more alternative generation is embedded into the grid and added into the equation, fossil fuels and large generation will not necessarily continue to be ‘go to’ choice.

As we move toward an ever expanding energy mix that encompasses multiple options and the opportunities brought by renewable energy, a shift has to occur away from a centrally controlled mindset to one which encompasses distributed grid elements. Additionally, accommodation needs to be made for the fact that power flows from more than one direction.

To understand the South African context, Metering & Smart Energy International spoke with Minnesh Bipath, acting CIO and general manager: smart grids, data and knowledge management for the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), a government-funded think tank and research facility.

According to Bipath, the implementation of a smart grid has benefits across three levels – societal; for the country as a whole, municipalities inclusive; and for individuals.

“For society and the country as a whole,

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we have to meet the climate change targets we have agreed to and become more efficient. This has huge benefits for all South Africans and for our country. An additional societal benefit is the improvement to service delivery, particularly in municipalities.

The introduction of smart grid technology is a key enabler for South Africa to achieve its proposed energy mix. Without smart grids large scale integration is impossible.

With regard to service delivery, smart grid technology is enabling the use of integrated systems and processes in the municipal environment, thus enabling efficiencies and effectiveness not seen before in the municipal environment.

“Smart grids give municipalities visibility and control over the grid that they have never had before. In this instance, by giving greater visibility and control, technology really is a key enabler for change. Embracing this change will allow municipalities particularly to exercise greater efficiency and effectiveness.”

At an individual customer level, electricity pricing has gone up by almost 200% in South Africa over the last 8 years. Users often ask:“Why has it gone up so much?

What has changed to drive the price up?”

In developing economies, increasing tariffs impacts on the poor the most. “Smart grid

gives visibility and control so an individual can manage their own demand. This is important as the electricity system at large is demand driven. Traditionally it has been ‘uncharted and uncontrolled’ and it has been difficult to establish a direct link between demand and supply. Smart grid and automation changes that dynamic. Strategically, you may now have more options to control demand.”

SANEDI has been overseeing 10 pilot projects across the country in order to assess the benefits around management and selfmanagement of usage in particular. Through a signed Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Energy, SANEDI’s smart grids programme is tasked with the responsibility of implementing the EU donor funded smart grids programme with regard to the components that deal with the introduction of smart grid concepts within the South African electricity distribution industry (municipalities). The Department of Energy through the electricity chief directorate has identified five priority areas within the electricity distribution industry (EDI) to conduct applied research pilot projects. n Sourced from https://www.metering.com/ magazine_articles/energy-mix-sanedi-southafrica/

GREEN FM

THE LARGEST SOLAR FARM IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

T

he largest Solar Farm in the Southern hemisphere is located in Central South Africa. The largest solar farm located in the very sunny town of De Aar (Central South Africa) is actually the largest solar power plant located in the Southern hemisphere and the Middle East.

The solar farm was inaugurated a year ago (early 2016), and has an installed capacity of 175 MW (megawatt). The entire solar farm facility is spread over a surface of almost 500 hectares and consists of a number of 700,000 solar panels, but the

number of panels will be increased in the near future. The solar power plant was built

by Solar Capital, which is a subsidiary of the Phelan Energy Group Ltd. and is run by Paschal Phelan as founder and Executive Chairman. Phelan says that the facility can create a number of 75,000 jobs based on manufacturing solar panels, because it is better to produce the panels in the country instead of importing them.

Solar Capital invested $400 million in this solar farm that supplies clean energy to the National Grid, but in the very sunny days, the power plant produces much more power than the grid demands, so the excess energy is wasted. Even if South Africa has the capacity to produce about 45 GW (45,000 megawatts) of solar power (the largest in Africa), solar and wind energy account for only 2% in the country’s energy mix. The government faces today a wave of new renewable energy projects as a response to the ongoing blackouts produced by the increased demand for energy in the country.

Dr. Bischof-Niemz head of energy at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria (CISR), says that renewable energy is quite new for South Africa because two or three years ago, the country had 0% renewables in the energy mix, and the today’s value of 2% going toward 2.5% is considered a pretty fast development. Dr. Bischof-Niemz stated further that the cost of renewable energy is 40% lower than the cost of coal, so he sees a rapid development of the renewable energy sources in the country.

He also added that South Africa can reach the level of 70% renewable energy share in its energy mix by the year 2040.

However, renewable energy cannot solve the problem created by the blackouts in the country produced by the increased demand for energy, plans for new coal power plants are also on the table, and there are also plans to build a nuclear facility. The solar farm projects located in De Aar, South Africa, show that the country has already set its path toward a green energy future. n Sourced from www.environment.co.za

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GREEN FM

GREEN FUND OPENS RESEARCH AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT WINDOW

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he Green Fund is inviting interested parties to submit proposals for research and policy development projects on themes that advance green economy policy objectives in South Africa.

Under the overarching theme of Research and Policy Development to Advance the Green Economy in South Africa, the call for proposals seeks to strengthen the sciencepolicy interface in the green economy sector.

Applicants can investigate sectorspecific issues in Windows currently funded by the Green Fund namely Green Cities and Towns; the Low Carbon Economy and Environmental and Natural Resource Management. The Fund is also considering research projects which explore innovative technological, institutional or financial products, instruments and/or frameworks that will advance policy objectives in the green economy sector - this includes legislative, policy and planning approaches.

The Green Fund is a national environmental finance initiative administered

by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) on behalf of the Department of Environmental Affairs. It has been set up to facilitate South Africa’s transition to a green economy. In 2012, the Green Fund received 590 project development applications when it made a call for funding applications. This research call builds upon the earlier process and aims to expand the learning required for transitioning to a Green Economy in South Africa.

Through this request for proposals, the Green Fund will be engaging the research community in building an evidence and knowledge base for the expansion of the green economy, of which the conceptualization is still evolving.

The Director-General of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Chair of the Green Fund Management Committee, Ms Nosipho Ngcaba, commenting on the opening of the window, said that “Strategic policy goals for transitioning South Africa to a green economy are expressed in South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Policy. Applicants to this Request for

Proposals will be required to demonstrate, through applied policy research, how their research projects will advance the green agenda.” She added that officials from the Department of Science and Technology had assisted the Fund in developing the thinking for this initiative.

DBSA’s Group Executive for Financing Operations, Mr Michael Hillary said that the Green Fund had set aside up to R34m for this particular call for proposals; “We are hoping that this will contribute to the research community playing a catalytic role in building the knowledge economy required to shift South Africa towards a resource-efficient, low carbon and pro-employment growth path.”

The Research and Policy Development RFP opens at noon on 1 February 2013 and closes at noon on 28 March 2013.

Applicants must consult the online guidelines and submit research proposals that support the implementation of green economy policy objectives. The application process is detailed on the Green Visit the Fund’s website for more information http://www.sagreenfund.org.za. n

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