FM World 19 September

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013

FMWorld www.fm-world.co.uk

INSIDE INFORMATION

H FMs How FM can preventt company data falling into the wrong hands

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THE COFFEE YOU LOVE FOR 75 YEARS

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VOL 10 ISSUE 17 19 SEPTEMBER 2013

CONTENTS

6 | Client relationships

16 | Surveillance

20 | Risk Awareness

NEWS

OPINION

FEATURES

6 Poor relationships threaten supplier contracts 7 GPS announces lots for new FM contracting model 8 Project of the Fortnight: A new business school for Cardiff 9 Think Tank: What does a lack of trust in providers say about the market for FM services?

10 Business news: Graeme Davies on how strained client relations are hurting sector 11 Optimism increases in building services sector 12 In Focus: David Clemetson of ADT Workplace

14 Perspective of a facilities manager: Roger Amos takes the ‘outside-in’ view 15 Five minutes with Brian Teale of Future Designs 46 No Two Days

24 | Green Returns

16

Surveillance: Improvements in IT have contributed to a need for considering possible industrial espionage, finds Richard Wright

20

Risk Awareness: What connects Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale and making the case for facilities improvements? Bernard Williams explains

MONITOR

24

Green Returns: Elisabeth Jeffries examines the true value of sustainable features on new and planned buildings, in terms of rent and resale

34 Technical: The importance of supplying ergonomic chairs 36 Insight: Market intelligence

28

Open-plan Offices: Nick Martindale explores the increasing sentiment that suggests open-plan offices don’t get the best out of a workforce

32

Legal Angle: Legal professionals Tim Farr and Justin Mendelle talk about their work on the breakthrough Tri-Borough contract in London

REGULARS 38 41 42 43 44

BIFM news Diary of events People & jobs Products Appointments

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r u yo ow k o ts n o B ke tic The must-attend event 14 OCTOBER, GROSVENOR HOUSE HOTEL, LONDON

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Redactive Publishing Ltd 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP 020 7880 6200 www.fm-world.co.uk EDITORIAL Tel: 020 7880 6229 email: editorial@fm-world.co.uk editor: Martin Read ⁄ news desk: Call 020 7880 8544 ⁄ sub editor: James Richards ⁄ editorial assistant: James Harris ⁄ consultant art director: Mark Parry ⁄ art editor: Daniel Swainsbury

MARTIN READ EDITOR COMMENT

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ADVERTISING AND MARKETING email: sales@fm-world.co.uk senior display sales executive: Norbert Camenzuli (020 7880 7551) ⁄ recruitment sales executive: Leila Serlin 020 7324 2755 PRODUCTION production manager: Jane Easterman senior production executive: Aysha Miah PUBLISHING publishing director: Joanna Marsh Forward features lists and media pack available at www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us SUBSCRIPTIONS BIFM members with FM World subscription or delivery queries should call the BIFM’s membership department on 0845 0581358 FM World is sent to all members of the British Institute of Facilities Management and is available on subscription to nonmembers. Annual subscription rates are UK £110, rest of world £130. To subscribe call 020 8950 9117 or email fm@alliance-media. co.uk – alternatively, you can subscribe online at www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us/ subscribe/ To order the BIFM good practice guides or the FM World Buyers’ Guide to FM Services call James Harris on 020 7880 6229.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Simon Ball, business development manager, Interserve ⁄ Martin Bell, independent consultant, Norland Managed Services / Lucy Jeynes, Larch Consulting / Nick Cook, managing director, Haywards ⁄ Rob Greenfield, group SHEQ director, GSH ⁄ Liz Kentish, managing director, Liz Kentish Coaching ⁄ Anne Lennox Martin, FM consultant ⁄ Peter McLennan, joint course director, MSc Facility Environment and Management, University College London ⁄ Geoff Prudence, chair, CIBSE FM Group ⁄ Chris Stoddart, general manager, Heron Tower ⁄ Jeremy Waud, managing director, Incentive FM ⁄ Jane Wiggins, FM tutor and author ⁄ Chris Wood, FM consultant

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

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e consumers have learnt to live with the fact that loyalty is not what it used to be. In years past, the longer the relationship between a consumer and their service provider, the likelier that consumer was to benefit from discounts, rewards or other benefits commensurate with their level of commitment.

Today, things are different. Many utilities, banking and telecoms providers seem only interested in new business, putting ever-more exotic offers in front of potential clients while relying on an existing customer base that hasn’t the time to sort through an array of tariffs and terms-and-condition technicalities.

Frustrated consumers eventually move over to whomever is the existing supplier’s least offensive alternative. But while all of this may lead to ‘best value’ for the consumer, does that really equate to a satisfactory service? Go online and search the forums relating to any two major suppliers in the utilities or telecoms fields to get your answer. Customers and ex-customers alike seethe with anger at shocking levels of customer service, despite the only option for most being to swap from the one to the other, ensuring that the whole sorry cycle starts over again.

Moving from B2C to B2B (and focusing on client-to-FM service provider in particular), we see that things aren’t necessarily better despite plenty of rhetoric to the contrary. A consultancy (admittedly with business to gain from its findings) published a survey this month that suggests loyalty between clients and FM service providers is more fragile than in any other business service sector. FM providers risked losing their contracts “because of poor relationship management”.

Business Services Growth (BSG) conducted its UK FM Industry Survey in partnership with another interested party, the Brookeside Group. Just one in twenty facilities managers considered their providers ‘trusted advisors’ while a third of client/provider relationships were described by clients as ‘antagonistic’. 22 per cent of respondents reported merely “transactional” relationships with their FM providers – going against all we know about how good client/provider relationships should look.

The word ‘loyal’ is defined as ‘to give or show firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution’.

Note there’s nothing in that definition about money – which, at the end of the day, is the issue for both consumer and business. Clients and suppliers pull naturally in opposite directions over what they should be charging or paying.

Of course clients want their FM providers to put forward new ideas about how the service can be improved – but how is that value quantified? Improving client/supplier loyalty requires extraordinary amounts of transparency between client and supplier about what each expects to get from the relationship financially. Whether that level of bottom-line honesty, in what will always be a business relationship, can ever truly be achievable for the full, mutual benefit of both parties, remains an unknown for the sector. This particular survey merely serves to highlight that fact.

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“Only one in twenty facilities managers considered their providers ‘trusted advisors’; a third of client/provider relationships were described as ‘antagonistic’”

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FM SECTOR

Poor relationships threaten supplier contracts A consultancy specialising in client relationships has concluded that facilities management is the sector with the most service providers at risk of jeopardising their contracts because of how poor their client relationships are.

A survey by consultancy Business Services Growth (BSG) on behalf of client relationship consultancy the Brookeside Group concluded that FM service providers are failing to adequately maintain and manage client relationships and that loyalty between clients and providers is lower in FM than in any other business sector.

The UK FM Industry Survey asked 80 facilities managers to evaluate their relationship with outsourced service providers. Only six per cent of clients surveyed considered their providers as “trusted advisors”,

compared to an average across all sectors nearer to 25 per cent.

The survey provided data covering 39 suppliers, including large corporate suppliers such as ISS, G4S, Interserve, Mitie, Balfour Beatty Workplace and Emcor, as well as medium-size players such as Norland, Graysons, Shield and Noonans. Smaller firms, with turnovers of less than £250 million, had stronger relationships with clients than their large corporate supplier competitors.

Just under a third of relationships were described by clients as “antagonistic” and a further 22 per cent of respondents were found to have “transactional” relationships with their supplier. 85 per cent of respondents agreed that a benchmark for client management would help improve standards.

Top division: a survey reveals a lack of trust in supplier-client relationships

BSG’s managing director Andrew Shaw said that many suppliers would find it difficult to renew contracts if they did not improve relationships.

“More than 50 per cent of suppliers are in this ‘at risk’ category,” he said. “This is a shocking result, which identifies the lack of client management capability within the FM industry.”

“If suppliers don’t pay more attention to how they manage their client relationships, they will suffer contract retention losses.”

The research also suggested that

regular client surveys could help.

Around 44 per cent of in-house facilities managers said that their suppliers collected client feedback, and where this was the case client loyalty was 56 per cent higher when measured against those that did not.

“What these findings clearly show is that suppliers need to pay much more attention to how they manager their client relationships,” said Shaw.

“Effective account management is key to retaining clients in this challenging market.“

Collaboration key to FM contract success

ISTOCK

ANALYSIS

Norland group services director John Maidment said that “rogue selling”, where contracts are won at low margins, did not help client/provider relationships.

“Poor loyalty and high levels of churn are always going to be a characteristic of markets that use price as a differentiator,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time before the existing relationship is undercut by a new provider with deeper pockets.

“The provider is working on the basis that the margin

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will be grown during the duration of the contract, which leads to the antagonism described in the survey.”

Maidment suggested that “both sides of the industry would have to balance cost and value and find ways to ensure quality is being specified and delivered.”

FM consultant John Bowen argued that the client also has a responsibility to buy at the right price – but can often be hampered by a lack of understanding about what they need from the contract.

“That contributes two factors,”

he says. “Firstly, if they didn’t know what they needed, their specification was almost certainly wrong and that alone will lead to dispute when the supplier tries to deliver to the contract. And secondly, if you don’t know what you need how can you judge what you should be paying?”

The survey also concluded that relationships and loyalty was better with smaller providers, defined as companies with a turnover of less than £250 million.

Several providers that FM World spoke to, including Norland and

G4S, said that they invested heavily in monitoring and maintaining relationships, resulting in good levels of customer retention.

Emcor’s group executive director Christopher Kehoe pointed to his company’s success in using BS11000 in Collaborative Business Relationships to provide a roadmap. “The FM industry is beginning to recognise the importance of effective collaboration and the benefits it can bring.”

www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 14:31

NEWS

BRIEFS Apprenticeship boost

GPS announces lots for new FM contracting model The Government Procurement Service (GPS) has issued a Prior Information Notice (PIN) for the establishment of its new FM contracting model (FMCM).

The model is set to replace the existing framework (RM708), and is intended to enable customers to access a ‘wide range of specific services’ through a choice of separate facilities management lots.

Through establishment of an ‘FM Marketplace’, the government will set up a pre-approved supplier approach, the intention being to

enable a large number of providers, from SMEs to multi-nationals, to participate. The FM Marketplace should provide customers with a quick and efficient route to market for low value contracts, typically less than £1 million.

The model will also incorporate options for total FM models, hard FM and a range of soft FM service lots including cleaning, security, waste management and catering.

The FMCM framework follows the announcement in July of the new Crown Commercial Service,

which is set to handle between £10 and £12 billion of spending on a range of goods and services from FM to energy and IT. The CCS aims to save £1 billion by working with departments and wider public sector organisations.

The GPS has planned a series of conferences in late September and October to engage with potential FMCM suppliers.

Full details of how to register are available at tinyurl.com/ GPSFMcontractmodel

ENERGY POLICY

ISTOCK/IMAGE SOURCE

Whitehall must ‘untangle’ energy policies, says CBI The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called on the government to “untangle overlapping policies” that hamper businesses from investing in energy efficiency systems and schemes.

The employer’s organisation also called on industry to make more effort to reduce energy consumption in the face of ever-increasing energy costs.

According to the CBI, unless these issues are addressed, the country’s service, business and manufacturing sectors will miss opportunities for growth.

The CBI’s 40-page report, Shining a Light: Uncovering the business energy efficiency opportunity, argues that energy efficiency has been neglected for too long in the wider energy debate. www.fm-world.co.uk

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The CBI took aim at the Energy Efficiency Deployment Office (EEDO) that was set up within the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in February 2012.

The EEDO says on its website that it was created “with the objective of advancing energy efficiency across the UK economy”.

The EEDO chair “will provide strategic guidance to ministers,

DECC management board and officials on the government’s energy efficiency objectives”.

But time is running out for the EEDO to be effective, the CBI said.

“The EEDO will need to make its mark quickly if it is to spur higher spending on energy efficiency measures. It could start by talking more to businesses on the ground,” said Rhian Kelly, CBI director for business environment policy.

Recommendations in the report include the idea of government waiving business rates in the short-term for projects involving the refurbishment of empty properties.

Kelly said this rewards those businesses that plough money back into improving the energy performance of their buildings.

Mitie, Skanska and SPIE Matthew Hall are among firms set to train more than 90 employees on the new government-backed Higher Apprenticeship in Engineering Environmental Technologies.

More than 40 apprenticeship places have been confirmed since the qualification was launched two months ago. A further 53 places are expected from other employers in the construction, manufacturing and building services sectors.

More than half of the Higher Apprenticeship places will follow the building services pathway of the qualification, with Skanska taking up twelve places and Mitie a further six.

BIM survey results The BIM4FM group, of which the BIFM is a member, has announced the results of a survey, it conducted recently into FMs’ views and perceptions of building information modelling (BIM).

The group was set up to champion the involvement of facilities management with BIM and Government Soft Landings (GSL) projects.

Interestingly, the report identified that, despite the positive perception of BIM, 63.2 per cent of respondents were uncertain as to whether they would use it in the future and only 23.5 per cent of respondents were certain they would use it.

Workplace theft Over a quarter of British workers have stolen from the workplace, according to a survey.

The survey, conducted by security products provider Versapak, showed that 27 per cent of respondents admitted stealing from work in the past, with stationery being the most commonly stolen item.

Nearly three in ten of those who admitted to workplace theft confessed to taking items “over the value of £100”.

Over a third of respondents claimed that they would steal from the workplace in the future, if the chance arose.

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PROJECT OF THE

FORTNIGHT NEWS BULLETIN

BSRIA releases soft landings advice BSRIA has published guidance on Government Soft Landings (GSL) for clients and contractors. A set of three guides aims to provide understanding to help public and private sector clients and main contractors procure soft landings services from their construction supply chains.

BSRIA said that its ‘How to Procure Soft Landings’ guide is a response to the need for clear and standardised requirements for the industry, because many clients and consultants did not fully understand the process.

The aim of the guide is to help clients better understand what they are requesting in tenders and contractors to understand in more detail what steps are involved in the process. Two other accompanying guides are ‘Soft Landings Core Principles’ and the ‘Soft Landings Framework’.

The soft landings policy is also now being adopted by central government as a formal procurement policy known as Government Soft Landings (GSL).

Four prisons to close as super-prison site announced

BOYES REES ARCHITECTS

A business school for Cardiff Construction and fit-out business ISG has secured its first project at Cardiff University, the £13.5 million Business School development on the Cathays Park campus.

The 5,045 square metre (54,300 square foot) project will bring under one roof all of Cardiff Business School’s postgraduate business resources from around the university and city locations. It will feature a 250-seat lecture theatre and boast impressive environmental credentials.

The elliptical four-storey structure will have terracotta rain-screen cladding and an attached two-storey teaching wing, with extensive curtain walling.

Designed to a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standard, the building will have bi-fold walls and folding partitions throughout for maximum flexibility.

This will also allow it to be used as a conference venue.

The new structure will have a range of modular offices, flexible teaching spaces, two postgraduate common rooms, a large central core and break-out area, as well as a main 250-seat lecture theatre.

Environmentally friendly systems include roof-mounted photovoltaic panels and a rainwater harvesting and re-use system to flush toilets. The project will also help enhance the biodiversity of the campus through bird boxes, bat boxes and log-pile habitats.

Completion is set for summer 2014, ahead of the new academic year.

Earlier this year, ISG announced it had won a £740,000 contract to refurbish former Liverpool City Council offices and create a new academy.

The Harmonize Academy, delivered as part of the North West Construction Hub framework, will provide a school for students who have failed to thrive in mainstream education. The school plans to open for an intake of 48 students this September, a figure that is planned to increase to 104 students by 2015.

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Four prisons in England are to close and a new ‘super prison’ built in Wales as part of the government’s prison modernisation programme.

The Ministry of Justice will close HMPs Blundeston, Dorchester, Northallerton and Reading, removing 1,400 places from the estate. This will cut £30 million per year from the prison budget, the government said.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said the older facilities were either expensive to run or would have required substantial capital investment in the next few years.

“This is the latest part of our plan to modernise our prisons, bring down costs, and to make sure that by the next election we still have access to more prison places than we inherited in 2010,” Grayling said.

He added: “Of course the reorganisation of our prison estate … means some difficult decisions. But we have to make sure that we have modern, affordable prisons that give the best opportunity for us to work with offenders to stop them committing more crimes when they leave.”

Global real estate uses less energy Real estate across the globe is significantly reducing its energy consumption, according to new research. A study, by benchmarking organisation Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), suggests that the real estate sector is in the process of significantly reducing its environmental impact.

Between 2011 and 2012, energy consumption fell by 4.8 per cent greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 2.5 per cent and water consumption decreased by 1.2 percent.

The GRESB report is based on sustainability data gathered from 543 property companies and funds, providing aggregate information on 49,000 properties across the globe.

Less room for UK office workers UK office space is becoming more densely populated, according to new research from the British Council of Offices (BCO).

The average density of workplaces in the UK today, according to the BCO’s 2013 Occupier Density Study, is 10.9 square metres per workplace.

This compares to 11.8 square metres in the previous BCO study conducted in 2008. Regions with the lowest densities across entire buildings are London (11.3 square metres), the South East (12.7 square metres) and Wales (11.4 square metres).

A higher proportion of corporate headquarters based in these regions is a factor in the figures, suggests the BCO, as such facilities are more likely to include meeting, conferencing and client entertainment space. This contradicts common perceptions that London-based offices are more densely populated due to land costs. The region with the highest density offices, at 8.6 square metres per workplace, is the South and West. www.fm-world.co.uk

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THINK TANK

WE ASKED 100 FMS…

Clientsupplier relationships are improving 32%

What does a lack of trust in providers say about the market for FM services?

Consultancy Business Services Growth (BSG) certainly stirred a hornets’ nest when it published, out of the blue, results of a survey suggesting that only six per cent of clients considered their FM providers to be “trusted advisors” (see page 6).

We asked our FM World Think Tank group whether they agreed, and nearly seven in ten respondents told us that yes, FM does have some major issues to address in this area.

One respondent told us that the larger an organisation becomes, the more out of touch it will get with its clients and customers.

“In my experience, this applies to a company’ own staff, as the larger you become, the more departments you create. A breakdown in communication is likely to affect

performance, which is then felt by the customer.”

FMs continue to see cost-driven performance indicators as key in these continuing times of austerity.

“No longer is there time to cosy up to people, learning about their current and future requirements,” explained one respondent. “Now it is all about innovative cost-cutting and winning the next contract.”

“Trust is different to loyalty,” said another respondent. “That is more about performance than scale.

Smaller suppliers try harder to keep their clients - every pound is more important, and top management are closer to the front line.”

FM World has reported recently on the view held by many about longer contracts between provider and client being a prerequisite for

building up a better understanding about how FM should be delivered.

And here again we found rhat there was plenty of scepticism among respondents about the perceived short-term nature of client-supplier relationships.

“It does appear that the high level work involved in keeping existing clients has been replaced by the need to win a constant stream of new clients to replace the departing ones,” said one respondent.

“This has created a ‘roundabout’ culture of FM provision with FM companies swapping chairs every five years. Clients live in hope that the next one will perform better

FM has major issues to address in this area 68%

than the last.”

Despite a wave of negativity, nearly a third of those who responded to our question said that they believed client-supplier relationships were in fact improving.

“I do believe that relationships are improving with contractors understanding the value of customer care and clients being more receptive to supplier input,” explained one FM – although they did still think that there was still room for improvement.

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

SHUTTERSTOCK

Workers missing out on office ‘buzz’ Three-quarters of workers spend their days “tied to the desk”, according to new research.

A survey by workplace consultancy Morgan Lovell claims that more than three-quarters of workers (76 per cent) feel tied to their desks for the majority of the day.

However, 81 per cent say that being more active would significantly improve the atmosphere at work, with 9 in 10 saying a ‘buzzy’ atmosphere increases productivity.

The study surveyed 2,000 office-based workers across the UK to gauge office atmosphere.

Office design did not reflect the way workers wanted and needed to work for 67 per cent of respondents.

Just over 80 per cent said that www.fm-world.co.uk

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More than three-quarters of workers feel tied to their desks for the majority of the day

their organisation did not provide a choice of working environments and more than half (54 per cent) said they thought that contributed to a ‘tense atmosphere’. More than four-fifths (86 per cent) claimed that they work best when given a choice of environment, such as quiet or open areas.

The survey further found that

three quarters (78 per cent) of employees believed that they would be “significantly more productive” if their workplace had “more buzz”.

Corporates are failing to match small company buzz, with fourfifths (81 per cent) believing that SMEs offered a better working atmosphere than large companies.

Monica Parker, head of workplace consultancy at Morgan Lovell, said: “As a company grows and matures, it is essential that leaders consider what they can do to reinvigorate the right kinds of social interaction at work and engage a demotivated workforce.”

The study created a “Buzz Barometer” to measure the atmosphere at workplaces across the UK. Welsh offices topped the rankings for overall atmosphere. Yorkshire was best for energy and morale, while employees in the East Midlands enjoy the most laughter at work.

Northern Ireland came out on top for creativity, while London and the South East failed to top the list for a single indicator of office buzz.

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ANALYSIS

Strained client relations are hurting sector GRAEME DAVIES newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

What price relationships in business? In a ‘people’ business, such as facilities management, one would have thought that maintaining strong professional relationships was paramount. But recent research suggests otherwise, and highlights a worrying trend for the sector.

The consultancy Business Services Growth recently surveyed relationships in the sector and found them to be seriously wanting, in fact it concluded that the ability to maintain relationships and client satisfaction with them

was lower in the FM sector than any other – and the problems were worst among the larger players in the sector.

Among 80 facilities managers surveyed about their relationships with providers, only six per cent said that they thought of their providers as ‘trusted advisers’.

Even more worryingly, around a third of relationships were described as ‘antagonistic’.

Tellingly, companies with a turnover of under £250 million were rated more highly by the facilities manager than the larger companies in the sector.

This worrying result for the FM

sector raises questions over the ability of companies to retain contracts when they come up for renewal and suggests more must be done to concentrate on improving client relationships to improve retention rates.

So where do the major problems stem from? First, the tendering process in the industry could be identified as one of the main contributors. Such is the competition, and reliance on driving down costs, that contracts are often won on wafer thin margins – which starts the relationship off on a stress point.

Suppliers will be tempted to try to push up margins as the contract progresses, often through trimming costs or service levels, which can lead to antagonism between client and provider and raises the risk of performance undershooting expectations.

For larger companies, who appear to be the worst offenders,

Contract wins

NEW BUSINESS Amey has won major contracts with the Highways Agency (HA) and Transport Scotland. In a £200 million extension of its existing relationship with HA, Amey will manage and maintain 600 miles of strategic roads across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and parts of Cambridgeshire. Amey will also manage and maintain the road network constructed under a project to complete the Central Scotland motorway network.

The £145 million project will secure 33 years of operations, maintenance and investment revenue to the consortium.

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has appointed Interserve to provide support services at the British embassy and nine consulates in Spain. The twoyear contract starts in September, and includes an option to extend by a further two years. Interserve will be delivering cleaning, waste management and hygiene services.

Highlands and Islands Airports has appointed Norland to provide FM services to three of its airports. The contract includes maintenance and customer services to Inverness, Kirkwall and Stornoway airports, and includes a commitment to source locally and create employment

opportunities. Under the contract, Norland will provide a range of specialist maintenance services for the terminal buildings.

G4S has won a contract with Shell International to provide security solutions to the company in more than 30 countries. Under the five-year global deal, which has an option for a further two years, G4S will continue to provide manned security and fire and safety services to Shell, as well as extra integrated reception and security services.

Pabulum has secured multiple contract wins with schools and colleges worth more than £7.5 million.

The independent contract caterer has been appointed to provide school meals at 11 academies, a community college, primary and secondary schools across the South of England. The contract covers provision of meals for 8,200 pupils in Essex, Bristol, Kent, London and Cambridge schools.

there is more scope for companies to replace lost business with new business so less reliance on retention. Also, there is more potential for middle-ranking managers to be far enough from the mother ship for their poor performance to go unnoticed. At smaller companies this is something that is less likely to happen and for smaller companies, the reliance on contracts tends to be far more important, which necessitates closer attention.

Some providers must simply rely on inertia, on behalf of their clients, to help them keep hold of their contracts and for many years this may work, as clients get comfortable, or resigned to, the level of service they receive.

But in a difficult economic situation where cost saving and improving efficiency is increasingly paramount, this is not a sustainable policy for maintaining one’s level of business. And from the clientside, there needs to be more vigilance in terms of reviewing contract performance and addressing any concerns with suppliers.

FM providers may have become complacent in the years of plenty, but one would have thought that by now, five years after the credit crunch and financial crisis took hold, they would be paying more attention to retaining the contracts they have as well as filling up their order books with new business.

After all, this is surely the most efficient way to run a business: look after the existing relationships already in place – then you’re less reliant on winning new business to keep things ticking over.

Graeme Davies writes for Investors Chronicle

www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 14:32

Optimism increases in building services sector Market conditions in the building and engineering sector have improved over the past six months, according to research.

More firms are experiencing an increase in orders and enquiries, a state of trade survey among members of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) has revealed.

Overall, a quarter of respondents said they were optimistic about the future, with confidence about future prospects, rising to twothirds in the case of the largest B&ES firms. However, material and labour costs were still increasing.

Of members involved in services in facilities, an above-average 61 per cent said they were optimistic about the future. Almost a third said that order books were up, along with invitations to tender.

The results were in contrast to the

Things are looking up for the building services sector

previous two state of trade surveys in July 2012 and January 2013.

Overall, turnover and direct employment levels were reported to have stabilised, with a widespread expectation that workforce numbers would increase in the short term, along with apprentice recruitment.

BUSINESS BRIEFS The brighter picture was evident across the UK, with the exception of the East Midlands and eastern counties, where more companies reported a decline, rather than an increase, in their six-monthly turnover.

B&ES chief executive Roderick Pettigrew acknowledged the signs of recovery were fragile, but said the findings were encouraging.

“Of course, we still have a long way to go to return to pre-recession business levels, but it does seem that many of our members do perceive a chink of light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

More than 150 B&ES members took part in the independent state of trade survey, covering six months from January to June 2013.

ISS Group returns to profit The ISS Group in Copenhagen reported net profit of £15 million for the first half 2013, compared with a loss of £35 million for the same time last year.

Revenue for the first half of 2013 was £4.5 billion.

Jeff Gravenhorst, ISS Group chief executive, said Q2 saw solid results in the face of continuing challenging macroeconomic conditions.

“We continue executing our strategy, with divestments of several non-core businesses, including our pest control activities in 12 countries and our Nordic damage control activities.”

Organic growth for the half year was 3.5 per cent, with the second quarter posting organic growth of 4.3 per cent, according to a trading statement.

G4S targets better financial footing in 2014 Half-year revenue is up for G4S, but on the back of sell-offs, as the global security provider looks to get on a more sound financial track in 2014.

More international disposals and fundraising are in the pipeline, as recently-appointed group chief executive Ashley Almanza reorganises the business to cut debt.

G4S said it would offer 140.9 million new shares – up to 9.99 per cent of its current share capital – to existing shareholders and new institutional investors.

Revenue to June 30 2013 was £3,648 million, up 7.2 per cent from £3,402 million. Organic growth was up 5.4 per cent, of which 13 per cent came from www.fm-world.co.uk

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developing markets. However, profit before tax dipped from £202 million for the first half of last year to £201 million this half.

The group is upbeat about the order pipeline – “strong and growing” – of £4 billion annually across a range of sectors and regions that is, the statement said, supporting prospects for sustainable profitable growth.

But the first-half operating profit margin slipped back to 5.5 per cent from 5.9 per cent in the same period last year. A lost prison contract in the Netherlands and squeezed pricing in Europe including the UK were partially to blame. Net debt stood at £1.95 billion as of June 30.

Almanza said there was strong

Ashley Almanza, group chief executive

demand for the group’s services across key markets and industry sectors in the first half of the year that resulted in continued revenue growth.

“There are significant growth opportunities and this is reflected in our growing contract pipeline of around £4 billion per annum.”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Serco have called in the police over alleged wrong-doing on a contract to transport prisoners.

An audit by the government department has uncovered “potentially fraudulent behaviour”

by Serco staff in recording prisoners as having been delivered ready for court when in fact they had not.

The MoJ has put the Prisoner Escorting and Custodial Services (PECS) contract under “administrative supervision”, while Serco has been ordered to carry out “corporate renewal”, including overhauling the contract management team, strengthening internal auditing and opening its books to scrutiny.

Serco has agreed to return previous profits – estimated to be around £2 million – and to forego future profits on the contract.

ALAN LEWIS/VISMEDIA

Serco faces transport probe

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12/09/2013 14:32

FM BUSINESS IN FOCUS

THE ISSUE: Sustainable refurbishments are costly in the short-run with long payback periods, making them financially unfeasible

THE INTERVIEWEE: David Clemetson, director at ADT Workplace

Old dogs, new tricks The only truly sustainable building is a new sustainable building, or so received wisdom goes. New buildings can be sustainable because they were designed ‘on a clean slate’.

Older buildings simply won’t allow good sustainable practices to be put in place, due to space restrictions, ceiling heights and general structural issues that impede the reshaping of the internal work environment.

Sustainable refurbishments are thought to be too costly in the short-term with payback periods too long, making them financially unfeasible.

Time to blow these myths out of the water, says David Clemetson, director at ADT Workplace, which recently completed a major refurbishment of a nine-year-old NHS property.

With the vast majority of UK properties likely to be around for decades yet, Clemetson says it’s time to start thinking out of the box when it comes to sustainable refurbishment. This is essential, says Clemetson, because, after all, an estimated 11 per cent of UK construction spending is on fitouts and buildings may as many as 30 to 40 fit-outs during their life-cycle.

“Around 98 per cent of UK buildings are not new,” he says.

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“In our financial climate, there’s a big move toward improving the existing stock. Also, there are many cost incentives and tax benefits available for clients to increase their investment in an office’s technical infrastructure.”

Clemetson was refurbishment project director on the Mersey Care NHS Trust re-development in Prescot.

The contract was delivered through open-book procurement, whereby all packages were tendered and scrutinised by the Mersey Care procurement team.

Furniture was purchased using the Office of Government Commerce Furniture Framework. It was delivered on time, and on budget, says Clemetson.

Energy costs have fallen by around 39 per cent, compared to before the renovation.

Clemetson has more than 20 years’ experience in refurbishment. But it wasn’t until 2009 that his appetite was whetted for sustainable projects.

ADT was involved in a Serco project to convert a 1980s Home Office building to BREEAM ‘Good’ rating and Category A fit-out standard.

ADT used the Ska sustainability tool from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as a template. Ska is an environmental

assessment method, benchmark and standard for non-domestic fit-outs.

It has more than a hundred ‘good practice’ measures covering energy and CO2 emissions, waste, water, materials, pollution, well-being and transport. Using these, the Merseyside Care project received a Ska ‘Gold’ accreditation.

Importantly, the refurbishment design was created around how staff work now, and might work in the future, in order to meet their business goals, he says. To that end, there’s been a 400 per cent rise in meeting room provision.

Also, staff from 20 offices on a split site are now in one central open-plan area.

“In all projects, the client cut its cloth to suit its budget.

But fear often gets in the way of embarking on a sustainable refurbishment,” he says.

“Small-to-medium size businesses see the words ‘low carbon’ or ‘sustainability’ and think it’s going to be expensive.

In fact, it can be cost-neutral if approached in the right way.”

A good sustainable design is based on the balance between physical systems, workplace environment and required employee productivity.

But Clemetson warns that getting the balance right requires innovation and team integration at the start of a project. Both refurbishment company and client have to understand the amount of work, but also what rewards can accrue.

Clemetson believes too many clients and refurbishment

companies judge the viability of a sustainability project purely on how many physical systems, such as better air-conditioning, improved ventilation, extensive grey-water use can be crammed into a structure.

This is part of the box-ticking mindset. Once installed, the system may never operate to expectations; but the box is ticked, showing that it exists, with the presumption that it really is working.

The Mersey Care project used a fully integrated team approach, right from the design stage, he says. A workplace analysis and organisational mapping was done to see how employees worked and would need to work. This included use of spaces and times of use.

This input, coupled with appropriate heating-cooling and lighting sytems, are the most important part of the refurbishment. Even so, says Clemetson, big gains can be made for little money as long as the systems are maintained and operated effectively.

At Mersey Care, it was decided to take out an air-conditioning system that was only nine years old. Its efficiency had deteriorated badly because it had been so badly maintained.

Clemetson agrees that a sustainable refurbishment project doesn’t end once the contractor has left the site and employees move in. He says many businesses fail to “execute” the project, meaning an organisation’s habits usually must change to get the most out of their upgraded building.

www.fm-world.co.uk

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11/09/2013 16:39

FM OPINION THE DIARY COLUMN ROGER AMOS

“IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE MARKET, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR FMS NOT TO LOSE SIGHT OF THE BASICS”

NHS Trust

FM University Consultant Estates

Roger Amos is head of property and HR shared services at the London Borough of Ealing

FROM THE OU T S I DE I N

o you’ve got your fancy helpdesk setup S with all your response processes in place... then the customer phones the engineer directly, turning your world ‘outside in’ Facilities managers will often point out that their service is the original ‘invisible service’, where it is only ever talked about when things go wrong. While I have some sympathy with that outlook, I believe that all too often FM as a service - and more specifically its procedures and processes - tend to be built from the inside-out and therefore too internally focused, rather than starting from the customers’ perspective and going from the outside-in.

If I wanted to be really emotive I might even suggest that this is a by-product of all the accreditations or so-called quality assurance that

most of us have to adhere to these days. Consequently, we often end up losing sight of the main objectives in the process of ticking boxes. Customer requirements can very easily be overlooked.

Here in Ealing, we are in the throes of a major exercise, looking at many aspects of our FM service with a lot of the focus being on reaching a greater understanding of the customers’ experience and requirements, supported by factbased evidence. This is part of our overall strategy to deliver a great FM service to our organisation – and one that supports our corporate objectives.

This review has been fascinating to me. Like any round of customerbased feedback, there was a mixture of the good, the bad and the indifferent. But my overarching observation was that we still don’t do enough to build our FM procedures and processes from the outside-in – and this can make such a difference.

Here is a classic example: “My preferred engineer is very good and I contact him directly with my issues, as going via the helpdesk tends to take too long to get a resolution to my problem.”

So, here we have a fault, it’s reported and it’s fixed in a timely fashion, by all accounts. The customer is happy and the engineer is praised, but only if they can go directly to him!

We have a helpdesk in place, we have our CAFM software and we have a process for allocating the works and a means to purchase the

spare parts. Yet here is a customer, and I suspect not the only one, bypassing the entire process to get the service they desire. While I accept that in our industry, this is always a possibility, it suggests to me that we need a bit more customer feedback to refine our procedures and processes.

The consequence of not putting this right is that we end up with inaccurate reporting, unidentified spend, a lack of transparency, a single point of failure, and incorrect prioritisation of repairs.

What are we going to do about it? Well, in summary, we need to build a greater customer-centric organisation, ensuring efficiency and customer focus throughout.

I accept that this is easier said than done, particularly with our ‘invisible service’. But in an increasingly competitive market, it is important for FMs to not lose sight of the basics.

BEST OF THE WEB Views and comments from across the web Why haven’t you done a retrofit to LED lights already?

(Facilities management group) Erich Friend: One item that has caused problems is wildly inaccurate estimates of delivery time for the LED fixtures.

Andrew Ormonde: We have carried out cost recovery analysis for lighting systems and LED has lost out to T5 14 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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fluorescents, to date.

This will change over time but at present, this is the fact for quick-payback proposals.

Pamela Tresp: I think FMs need to work with people they can really trust to guide them in these decisions. LED is already great for some applications with a quick return on investment, but you need to stay with a reputable manufacturer

or there will be problems.

Why FMs deserve a seat at the design table (FM professionals UK) Marcus Goring: It is far better to be able to prevent the additional costs, rather than be handed the live grenade of ‘fix this situation now’.

Michel Theriault: It’s not a matter of deserving a seat at the design table. It should be a requirement.

The initial design/

construction costs can be dwarfed by the ongoing operational costs over the life of the facility.

What do you need to ask your cleaning supplier?

(FM professionals UK) Anisha Sharma: Cleaning is a challenging business because it involves so many different personalities. We have found that instigating a focus to our contracts

and refreshing them on a regular basis is useful, as it becomes repetitive for staff and standards drop.

Ronald O’Brien Williams: Cleaning is no longer an art, it’s a professional service provided by staff, trained to use chemicals and technology. They must be aware of health and the enviroment.

If they are not using a CAFM system, they will not achieve anything. www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 14:33

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

BEST OF THE

FMWORLD BLOGS We deserve better than a debate on open-plan offices Andrew Mawson, managing director, Advanced Workplace Associates Stimulated by a number of rather unsubtle commercial interests, the ‘in’ workplace discussion seems to have swung from ‘collaboration’ i.e. organisations need more new spaces for formal and informal collaborative interactions, to ‘distraction’ i.e. open-plan workplaces are creating a loss of productivity because people whose work requires concentration are impeded by constant interruption.

The implication of the latter is that people should keep their ‘cubes’ and open-plan should be avoided at all costs. You can see pretty quickly where the commercial axes are being ground, can’t you.

But this rather unsubtle polarisation does give the opportunity for people like me to put a different set of thoughts forward based on experience and research, and a genuine desire to help organisations achieve the optimum workplace to maximise personal, team and business performance in an economic fashion. How very sensible.

Let’s highlight some blindingly obvious ideas. All organisations are an aggregation of human endeavour, collections of people (tribes) that are trying to achieve some beneficial outcome. The only resource that organisations really have are people.

People design things, people sell things, people monitor things, people write things, people control things. People, people, people. Nothing else matters as much as the effectiveness and the performance of your people. But surprisingly enough, organisations don’t even measure the degree to which people think their people think they are effective, or the impact of their workplaces on effectiveness.

There is an awful lot of opportunity to use the space we have in offices in a much more effective way, so that people can have the sorts of spaces and services that they really need, in order to do their best work, while using things better.

Read the article in full at tinyurl.com/qzsoogg

Clean desk policy? Who needs a desk?

Martyn Freeman, Mitie There was an interesting discussion on one of the web forums last month about how to enforce clean desk policies. FMs were complaining about staff who won’t help the cleaners, and others were arguing that, after ten hours sweating over a hot keyboard, the last thing they want to do is the cleaners’ job!

While I was musing on the difficulty of enforcing what is, in fact, a very sensible policy, another email popped up. This brought with it a report co-authored by Deloitte and EE, urging companies to fast-track mobile working strategies, or risk losing out in the race to hire the best people.

The concept of agile working is here to stay, and it’s important not to lose sight of who is driving it. We’re seeing the first ‘Generation Y’ CEOs – people who have grown up with the idea of permanent connectivity throughout their lives, and who expect to enjoy high standards from whichever environment they’re in at the time.

One of the challenges with agile working is that people will always need somewhere to meet and congregate. Whenever someone uses one of these spaces, they will expect it to be clean and properly equipped, regardless of whether someone else has just finished with it, or it has been empty all morning.

This kind of ‘hoteling’ approach to working places can be highly efficient, and make a significant improvement to the company’s bottom line, but it calls for a complete re-design of the way that workplaces are managed.

Read the article in full at tinyurl.com/plh29kq

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FIVE MINUTES WITH NAME: Brian Teale JOB TITLE: Non-executive director, Future Designs and former project director for a major national contractor

Capability and experience in the construction project supply chain is critical to project success – but so is mutual respect, understanding and communication between each discipline in the chain.

Within a project team, all links are equal, and there must be an agreed and accepted understanding of the client goal. Unfortunately this is not always the case and supplier relationships start to unravel. It results in parties working on minimising exposure to unreasonable or unrealistic contract responsibilities.

The trend towards ‘two-stage’ tenders, away from lump-sum tenders has seen an improvement in project delivery and a change in team relationships, to the client’s benefit. It enables contractors to bid with limited and reduced resource and exposure to cost, since they offer bids based on overheads, profit and site costs linked to the programme. It also allows for earlier contractor engagement, while the design is still being developed.

The business landscape has changed.

Relationships in the team are different because risk has shifted through the supply chain, resulting in a lack of trust. Many clients distance themselves from the project, leaving essential management and often decision making to the team and the project manager.

The design team often has limited duties when they should be integral to every element.

There is far too much involvement from procurement departments with seemingly increased power, leading to projects becoming purely cost-driven and “value engineered” through de-scoping and specification changes.

Communication and relationships are key.

Unfortunately, the current tender practices – which too often involve driving at the lowest price, sitting alongside tight programme timelines – are not conducive to good team relationships.

FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 15

12/09/2013 16:30

FM FEATURE SURVEILLANCE RICHARD WRIGHT

INSIDE INFORMATION Improvements in technology have made it easier than ever to commit industrial espionage. Richard Wright examines the FM’s role in responding to this growing threat

ILLUSTRATION: ADAM HANCHER

F

or some, spying is the stuff of fantasy. But the risks from industrial espionage and covert surveillance are just too great to be ignored.

Consider the cases of Formula 1 team McClaren, fined £50 million in 2008 by the FIA – global motorsport’s governing body – for illicitly obtaining a manual from rival team Ferrari; or energy firm EDF, fined ¤1.5 million by a French court for spying on Greenpeace.

Darren Stapleton, operations manager for Bradburys – an international security, investigation and intelligence gathering company – says it’s hard to know exactly how widespread covert surveillance is as, by definition, “the majority of illicit (and lawful) surveillance is carried out in a covert manner. If the lawful surveillance is carried out under strict ethical guidelines,

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it should go undetected unless firms have the recommended adequate counter-measures and policies in place to negate this.”

Darrell Johnson, owner of Shield Security Consultants notes that unlike other forms of crime, there are very few figures about this area because “most companies are wary of reporting intrusions, since it looks bad and dents client confidence.”

Surveillance can include, says Stapleton, attempts to monitor a company’s daily business activities while obtaining trade secrets, such as forthcoming plans and projects that can then be used to their competitors’ advantage. Surveillance can also extend to noting senior managers’ commercial and social engagements with a view to obtaining information and damaging evidence that can discredit an individual or be used against a brand. The problem is

made more acute in open-plan offices that make keeping secrets much harder.

With so many fingers in so many pies, facilities managers need to be careful about who is watching the people they provide services for. This is especially so in situations in which client departments are dealing with suppliers over large tenders and contracts. The solution, says Johnson, is technical surveillance counter-measures — TSCM.

Who is listening?

Ian Mann, a senior consultant and founder at ECSC Ltd, says, “The tools and techniques for setting up covert surveillance within an organisation are becoming commonplace.” He says that espionage is not restricted to security services as “employees can monitor confidential meetings, while competitors look for insider information

– journalists and private investigators are routinely found to use such measures.”

Mann makes the point that ‘spies’ don’t need to be experts in covert monitoring, since certain websites and retailers can supply a wide range of bugs, while offering guidance on their deployment. Mann’s right of course – anyone plugging ‘covert surveillance techniques’ into YouTube will find plenty of instructional videos.

Stapleton agrees that the human element of surveillance shouldn’t be discounted: “These ‘covert human intelligence sources’ are commonly deployed across industries to obtain valuable inside information regarding a company’s operations.”

He says that this can involve disgruntled employees, informants, office cleaners and contractors who have been approached by rival competitors to leak information using memory sticks and confidential documents containing a company’s proposed future projects, prototypes or client databases in return for a cash payment or the offer of a position within a rival firm.

Sometimes the threat can arrive on-site through the front door. A visitor will the reception desk after offering one of a range of plausible excuses – ‘I’m here for the audit’ or ‘I’ve been called to fix a phone’. As most individuals want to be of assistance, rather than be obstructive, the visitor is often waived through and can wander freely around the site.

Johnson talks of ‘phishing’ where a surveillance operative will contact a company’s computer system administrator purporting to be, say, a user of the company system who cannot gain access. Typically, the helpdesk technician will www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 17:18

SURVEILLANCE

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12/09/2013 17:18

FM FEATURE SURVEILLANCE RICHARD WRIGHT

assist them in gaining access.

Another method could be for the operative to pretend to be an angry supervisor threatening the technician if they do not help them. Many fold at these threats and pass on the requested information.

But it’s only after problems come to light that TSCM firms are generally called in. Johnson compares this to fitting an alarm after a home has been burgled.

Bugged-out Covert surveillance will always be restricted by the available technology. The problem in the past, according to Mann, “was how to supply power to a bug.”

Previously, many were just simple FM radio transmitters, which were very easy to detect with a simple scanner. However, “the latest devices are cheap to buy; they include mains sockets with built-in microphones, and everyday devices, such as clock radios with hidden cameras.

These devices, being attached to the mains work indefinitely, and now often contain the electronics from a mobile phone. This allows an operator to dial in from anywhere in the world.”

Stapleton echoes this sentiment, making the point that technology “can remain in place, lying dormant until activated remotely, while a third party retrieves confidential and sensitive information.” He adds that devices can also be placed in office furniture, fire/ smoke alarms, computers and individuals clothing.

But the problem goes deeper.

Quite often, issues arise because of the human instinct to take shortcuts which are then exploited. Johnson gives the example of a number of firms that he’s seen using a single server with no access rights controls, that allows anyone in a business to access anything on 18 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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the server. “One IT supplier was used to winning all of its tenders but then lost three in a row to a rival,” he explains. “We found that an in-house IT engineer used to work for the company’s rival and was passing on tender information.” The damage could have been minimised – if not cut out completely –by using administration rights control and an audit trail of access to the systems.

Johnson says that problems arise as companies grow because it becomes harder to protect secrets and watch for surveillance over various sites with many more employees. Clearly, it’s important for facilities managers to understand the threats ranged against the business that Mann suggests falls into two main categories.

The first involves a casual threat from employees, journalists and private investigators that make use of off-the-shelf devices freely available to buy in the UK. The

second is far more sophisticated and uses techniques deployed by foreign (and domestic) intelligence agencies. These include technologies that are not legal to purchase in the UK (such as remote bugs that can be used to listen into a room from a distance), and also custom technologies and advanced techniques that evade simple detection.

Measured response There’s no point using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, says Mann. He advocates the view that says “efforts should be related to the actual threat to the organisation.” For many businesses, the threat may be quite small, perhaps just “rogue employees trying to gain access to management discussions.” But Johnson takes this further and says that often surveillance revolves around low-level appropriation of confidential material that can help an employee leave and set

up in competition with minimal cost: “One client, a training company, lost everything – training material, prices, quotes etc. – to an employee, who saved thousands in start-up costs.”

Again using an audit trail and locking down USB ports may have helped here.

Mann says that FM’s who are notified or suspect that the firm is being spied on should, in the first instance, tell colleagues not to talk about it. “You don’t want whomever is listening or watching to know that you suspect them.

He recommends starting by conducting all sensitive meetings away from suspected areas and not using company telephones or mobile phones.

In terms of boardrooms, offices and areas that hold classified and sensitive conversations and client meetings, Stapleton recommends that they should be regularly swept and secured.

“Access should only be given to individuals in senior positions who have a genuine interest in the future of the business.”

He says that electronic countermeasures are expensive in the short-term, but can protect companies in the long-term.

These include mobile phone jammers, covert camera detectors and bug-locating equipment.

Professional help The next, more proactive, step is to call in TSCM to help locate, and remove devices. According to Stapleton: “Prevention is key when it comes to surveillance devices.” He advises strict security risk reviews and regular auditing of procedures in addition to penetration testing, which should be the norm within a business that does not want to be targeted by industry competitors. Johnson terms this as ‘hostile surveillance’.

Mann says that there are www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 17:18

SURVEILLANCE

numerous techniques to find surveillance devices, including: a simple scan with hand-held devices looking for, say, mobile phone signals in areas you wouldn’t suspect, or camera lenses within a room; detailed scanning and profiling of a widefrequency range to identify any suspicious signals in a given area; physical inspection to examine an area and look in the places, and inside objects, in which devices are commonly placed; sophisticated techniques, such as Non-Linear Junction Detection (NLJD) to find electronic circuits that might be hidden within walls and ceilings. These paddle shaped devices pulse energy into walls etc. looking for reflections that are typically returned by anything containing a semiconductor. The alternative is destruction of the area (object) being scanned.

Procedurally, says Mann, this all involves, sweep and clean, the initial detection, and removal, of covert devices from the work environment. This usually involves out-of-hours work and covers both physical inspection and electronic detection of devices. Stapleton adds that there should be (regular) sweeps of sensitive locations within the business premises and private residences in addition to vehicles, and especially chauffer-driven vehicles.

Next comes the risk assessment. This follows the initial detection, and analysis, of devices, and is based on an understanding of the threats facing an organisation.

From here, preventive measures are put in place ranging from restricted physical access to key areas, to the design and build of specific ‘secure rooms’.

It may also involve restricting devices that can be brought into certain areas, and ensuring that all visitors (and contractors/ www.fm-world.co.uk

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cleaners) are escorted in certain areas. Mann says that some clients even install their own covert surveillance to help them identify who is placing devices within their facilities.

Lastly, periodic sweeps are necessary to keep critical areas free from bugs – TSCM is not a one-off project.

Finding a contractor Mann says “it is relatively easy for someone to quickly set themselves up as a contractor.”

He says it’s important to engage an organisation that is well established, respected, with a solid client base, and with their own security systems to protect any information they may need to access to in order to conduct the operation.

Johnson says that it’s also important to look at the background and experience of the contractor: “There’s no recognised qualification or database with which to check the claims of a contractor so it’s key to ask for proof of experience.” He adds that most security contractors use staff from the military or the police and they give certificates for any training undertaken.

But just as with any other service sought, the right firm for the right situation is necessary.

Johnson says to be wary of any firm that offers a total package.

“Some can offer base protection [that is good] and others offer high-level sweeps.”

The costs reflect this and naturally vary according to demand, experience and services.

Charges can start at around £200 per day for a single consultant to £400-600 per day for a twoperson full survey and up to £10,000 per day for a high-end sweep. The cost is high at the top end, says Johnson, because of the cost of the equipment used which starts at £50,000. FM

PERSPECTIVES

THE EXPERT’S OPINION ichard Rafferty, is associate director, operations at Incentive Lynx Security, which is a subsidiary of Incentive FM. He has spent many years in the facilities management sector.

Rafferty believes that the level of covert surveillance is extremely difficult to gauge, but he suggests that “it is much more common that many would like to believe.”

He continues: “As an indicator, if there are benefits to be sought from eavesdropping on your business dealings, from either business adversaries or from criminals, then you need to be aware and take measures.”

For Rafferty, “the key measure is to threat-assess your business and then align your regime against what threats you find.” He advises facilities managers to look at buildings, occupiers and also staff. He warns FMs to be aware of what their near neighbours are doing, since they might be in a good positioned to mount a technical or physical ‘attack’ against them. According to Rafferty: “If you are holding sensitive meetings, you must control access to the meeting rooms. Also, ensure drivers involved in visiting clients are aware of risks posed by surveillance. The important thing is to risk assess, plan and seek professional help if unsure – too often FMs seek help after they find out they are losing bids or leaking data, which would only be possible via the back door.”

“If an FM is unsure of the risks,” concludes Rafferty, “then get in the experts. I would always recommend that technical sweeping or counter-surveillance measures should only be carried out by trained and experienced operatives with the right technology and training.”

R

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12/09/2013 17:18

FM FEATURE RISK ANALYSIS BERNARD WILLIAMS

BEYOND THE BALE? Using the example of star footballer Gareth Bale, Bernard Williams explains how to make a case for expensive capital expendidure for facilities improvements

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H

ow much is footballer Gareth Bale worth? Most sane people in the country agree that the staggering price paid by Real Madrid to sign Bale from Tottenham in the summer transfer window was a bit steep. Certainly, £85 million plus £30,000 per day does seem quite pricey.

However, as ludicrous as this amount seems, for one individual player, such a vast investment can actually be afforded. Here, we’ll have a look at the sums that you might do in order to justify this kind of soccer-star investment decision. Why? Well, because this is exactly what facilities managers do when trying to convince the wider organisation to make a major capital or revenue investment.

But for now, we’re going back to Gareth Bale. Before looking more

closely at the absence or otherwise of formal investment appraisal, we need to look at the marketplace in which such transactions occur and the sources of funding that feed these acts of apparent financial madness.

First, there is the money from TV rights to the matches. Then there is the money taken on match-days at the turnstiles and in the ground. Then there is the income from related product sales and sponsorships. Fourth, the profits made out of selling players for more than they cost.

And, finally, there are those ‘sugar daddies’ with money to burn who invest in football clubs as a hobby.

Together, these sources make up a pool of money which pays for transfers and players’ wages – the latter accounts for about half of the outgoings of most professional soccer clubs. Players’ transfer value and salaries tend to be driven by supply and demand and are only affordable if the owners’ return on investment requirements are reduced or if further income can be generated.

After they reach a peak, say at the age of 27, footballers become a ‘wasting asset’ i.e. their value begins to decline. So, any notion of a footballer’s value must be related to their usefulness over a given period of time, as set against what they are paid and how much is lost on their subsequent sale.

It isn’t quite like an investment in property or shares where supply and demand is not greatly

influenced by the age of the asset, only its ability to perform and the prevailing market needs. Also, unlike financial investment, there is no residual value for the initial outlay on a top-price player at the peak of his career. [JR NOTE] If anyone has made an internal business case for the investment in Gareth Bale it would look something like: ● A – Transfer fee less sales value at end of contract period (£85m – say £20m) plus ● B – Player’s remuneration over the contract period (but only the excess over the norm for the team assuming that he is not supernumerary to the normal squad of players) set against… ● C – Directly attributable additional income that Bale brings to the club from all sections of the club’s activities (see above) For argument’s sake, we’ll say the total of A+B is £90m (£65m + approx £25m), which works out as £15m per year, which is how much Bale costs the club, every year, for the six years of his contract.

You would imagine that the accountants at Real would want to make a return on investment of 10% per annum (£1.5m). If so, the Bale-generated income (C) must amount to £15m (Bale’s cost per year) + £1.5m (the hopedfor ROI) = £16.5m per year. This figure is, in other words, the £15m transfer fee depreciation plus 10% on the £15m once recovered; this is, in fact, over 3% of the Real www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 17:04

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12/09/2013 17:04

FM FEATURE RISK ANALYSIS BERNARD WILLIAMS

Madrid annual turnover.

And if you discount the future income stream, he would have to generate double that amount to make the 10%. If he does the business on and off the pitch he might just help the club to realise some of that extra. But this is conjecture – who knows what rate of return the owners of Real Madrid require from their investments?

In purely commercial terms it won’t be a low initial yield like prime property, which factors building appreciation into the investment yield to produce low initial yields of 5% or less. But the club may factor in a very low ‘social return’ e.g. reflecting the pleasure that owning a successful football club brings to a magnate with a bottomless pocket!

like this was factored into Real’s thinking.

But now, it’s time we saw how this thinking applied to facilities – not just Gareth Bale.

Risks of not acting Looked at another way, what if Real Madrid did not make this investment? Would it put them at risk?

First, another club might swoop in and sign Bale. This is a real concern for clubs at the highest level; a single goal can – and often does – clinch a major trophy. Time and again, Bale has demonstrated his ability to win matches single-handedly.

A bonus for Real Madrid in all of this has been the media mania that focused on the club from all over the world; clubs like Real depend heavily on the media exposure from this type of activity and this would simply not have been there had the sale not been progressed.

A potential bonus not taken is, essentially, a risk of loss. If I don’t accept a new job that pays £10,000 better than my current earnings, that amount equates to the ‘risk value’ of not acting. A risk-avoidance consideration like this may well have been factored into Real’s thinking alongside the player-related issues. No doubt at risk-avoidance consideration 22 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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Justifying FM investment In the 4th July edition of FM World, we discussed the idea of using an assessment of the risk avoided as a direct result of increasing the quality of facilities service provision. We suggested that this was an easier concept to ‘sell’ compared to trying to justify an increase in productivity. In either case we have to resort to judgements of either a) potential increased income or b) potential losses. Some of these factors may be observed as ‘hard values’. These could be, for example, savings in the cost and/or frequency of whole-life replacement of components, or the avoidance of fines for breaches of statute.

Others relate to indeterminate issues, such as increased or reduced levels of productivity and/or the impact of failure on the market appeal of the organisation.

The stark reality of the facilities economics syndrome is that you never got a worthwhile investment return on higher quality facilities by saving on ‘hard’ operating

costs. For example, apart from energy conservation, which will pay back in two or three years, the extra revenue costs of planned maintenance can only ever be justified by the soft ‘returns’, such as those involving image and productivity.

Equally, a better quality air handling unit may last a bit longer and involve less maintenance but a meaningful ROI can only come from improvements in staff efficiency, which the extra quality introduces.

So in order to justify this investment in higher quality without resorting to whim or the conventional wisdom – or more likely both! – we have to get into the habit of a subjective assessment of the effects of higher or lower facilities quality on business performance.

All this really isn’t a million miles away from the Gareth Bale investment decision. For example, the operating cost of any abovezero-base service level is like the extra salary paid to Bale over and above the team norm. You have to have a team and you have to pay them, the same as you have to have environmental services and some kind of maintenance regime. It’s the extra over zerobase cost which is the investment and, like Bale’s £3m-a-year extra over salary, above-zero-base maintenance is a wasting asset – you have to get it back before you start to make a return on it.

So £100,000 a year spent on an above-zero-base maintenance regime has to produce £100,000 of extra benefits before it makes a penny of ROI. On the capital investment side of things, it is not too different either. Real Madrid will lose the depreciation on Bale’s value over the six years of his contract whereas the plant and machinery in a building may well last 20 years or more – still a depreciating asset but at a much slower rate.

However, if a higher quality component does last a bit longer than the zero-base option, it only reduces the annual depreciation figure. This may be insignificant when discounted to present worth.

So again, the ROI has to come from the soft benefits it brings – if any!

And on the income side you can either look at how much extra income will be generated, or the worth of the loss potentially avoided. In the football scenario the concept of added value is relatively easy to apply because the players are core business and represent 50 per cent of business expenditure. Their performance is able to be reviewed in quite ‘hard’ terms – results, gate receipts, product sales and the like. But with facilities, still considered by most to be non-core (except in the hotel industry!), any return on investment is not only secondhand knock-on, but also only able to be justified and valued in ‘soft’ terms.

Back of the net In the same way that the man-inthe-street remains incredulous and probably indignant at the money paid for – and to – Gareth Bale, the finance director will always find willing ears open for his diatribe on ‘wasteful, unaffordable’ facilities expenditure. So you have to have a business case available in his terms; why not start by using the tools he applies to core business investment decisions?

To be affordable, the investment has to meet the organisation’s criterion rate of return so the facilities case should be fought the same way. If calculating and proving affordability means assessing the loss, rather than the added productivity, then so be it.

Anything but having no business case to answer the criticism.

Next time we will take a look at how this affordability argument can be made – and made to stick. FM www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 17:04

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Selected forthcoming features in FM World:

3rd October issue: Cleaning innovations 17th October issue: Data security 31st October issue: Benchmarking

We have something of interest for all advertisers.

For a full 2013 features list visit:

www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us

or contact : norbert.camenzuli@redactive.co.uk | 020 7880 7551

Features are subject to change - please contact the editor for further details. FM World welcomes contributions and ideas for articles.

Send a short synopsis to Martin Read at martin.read@fm-world.co.uk.

Please note that we reserve the right to edit copy submitted for publication in the magazine.

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28/08/2013 15:50 FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 23

11/09/2013 10:44

FM FEATURE GREEN RETURNS ELISABETH JEFFRIES

THE GREEN PREMIUM

SHARD

How much value do sustainability improvements bring to a property?

Elisabeth Jeffries looks at the numbers behind the ‘green wash’

24 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 16:50

I

n 2012, property developer Heron International reported its new office building opposite London Victoria station was 80 per cent full, only two years after it opened in the middle of an economic crisis.

Known as The Peak, the nine-storey building boasts a whole suite of green features.

These include louvres that act as solar shading and a façade designed to balance the requirements of natural day lighting and solar gain control, solar PV and solar thermal and a heat pump for air conditioning.

Flagship new green buildings

www.fm-world.co.uk

24-27 Green Returns.indd 25

such as these attract widespread attention. This also includes the Shard (constructed to consume 30 per cent less energy than similar buildings), The Pinacle, formerly Bishopsgate Tower, (generating electricity through 2,000 square metres of photovoltaic cells), and Broadgate Tower, (through a heat recovery system and efficient cooling plant).

All the above buildings have drawn tenants attracted to these trendy, innovative features. The rents may often be offered at a premium. It might be expected that the same would be true of retrofitted commercial buildings.

But the opposite is often the case for most of the market for existing, older building stock. Poorer performing buildings may be reduced in price, but more energy-efficient buildings do not always command a green reward.

That, at least, is a common perception and is certainly the view of Daniel Grandage, an expert at energy consultancy WSP. “It was originally expected that a premium would be attached to green property. Instead, you still get the usual market value for a normal building. But if it is a particularly poorly-performing building in terms of energy

FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 25

12/09/2013 16:50

FM FEATURE GREEN RETURNS ELISABETH JEFFRIES

efficiency, you can get a brown discount. More energy efficient properties don’t get above the market value, but it does protect their value,” he says. Location and building function nearly always take first place in terms of tenant priorities.

But recent international research from several sources has indicated that a reverse trend may be emerging. That is the conclusion of Richard Francis, principal at The Monomoy Company, a consultancy specialising in sustainability and the built environment.

and therefore incentivise green premiums. Assessing a building constructed in 2000, he estimated its energy consumption within 3 per cent of the actual costs incurred by the client.

Matching these energy usage habits with a similar building constructed in 2006 (and therefore according to stricter standards), the consultancy showed the client could be spending £2.96 less per square foot. Francis suggests this type of calculation can be used in rent reviews relating to older buildings needing greater energy efficiency investments. Eventually, it could act as an incentive to refurbish.

A broader view Francis challenges the common perception, arguing that evidence of green premiums is masked due to a lack of market data.

Making a broad comparison across a wide range of studies considering building rents and energy efficiency, he found that recognition of good energy performance was indeed a factor that determined building rental and sale prices.

Francis collated studies from all over the world, including the Netherlands, Germany, the US, Switzerland and the UK, investigating existing buildings both in the residential and commercial sectors and for both sales prices and rental rates.

These are rated on the basis of ‘greener’ labels, such as higher Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings, Energy Star or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) labels. Both UK studies were based on BREEAM ratings.

One of them, commissioned by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) [1], found BREEAM-certified properties command a 28 per cent premium over non-certified properties, controlling for basic building characteristics.

According to Francis’ research, 26 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

24-27 Green Returns.indd 26

Cerfification nation

Broadgate Tower, located in the City, London’s financial district

all the studies demonstrated green premiums of 3-30 per cent.

“No matter where you are looking or on what [energy label] basis, the impact is always positive and there is always a premium,” he states. The magnitude of the premium, he suggests, may be challenged. “But the direction is hard to dispute.”

An influential study of the US market [2] found, for instance, that for around 10,000 subject and control buildings, those with a green rating command rental rates roughly three percent

higher per square foot than otherwise identical buildings – controlling for the quality and the specific location of office buildings. Premiums in effective rents were higher – more than 7 per cent – while selling prices of green buildings were higher by about 16 per cent.

Francis’ own primary research shows it is possible to separate the energy performance due to building age from tenant usage.

This may demonstrate the impact of landlord investment (or lack thereof) on tenant operating costs

At the moment, the market is still reliant largely on Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), generally considered a blunt instrument. This is because they are based on different standardised elements rather than individual actual operating performance.

Nonetheless, many consultants believe they are having an impact. “The EPC of a building is now quite a key driver, and it’s the only driver at the moment that a tenant has available to understand. Landlord clients are now turning to us and asking us whether achieving a certain rating is important as part of a refurbishment,” comments Sophie Hutchinson, head of sustainability at Morgan Lovell, an office design and retrofit consultancy.

With lower-rated (F and G) buildings outlawed by 2018 according to the 2011 Energy Act, the brown discount will become more visible.

Obsolescence could threaten some buildings: “The year 2018 is beginning to focus people’s minds because there could be a number of buildings where it is not possible to drive efficiencies through – they might have to be demolished,” says Bill Wright, head www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 16:51

GREEN RETURNS

“Quote”

But more powerful change could be driven by client demand rather than the regulatory stick.

Richard Francis indicates that inadequate data explains why this is not already happening.

Wheeling and dealing

The Peak building, situated opposite London’s Victoria Station (top; above)

of energy solutions at the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA).

The introduction of Display Energy Certificates (DECs) to sectors beyond public buildings, a change mooted for the future, could also drive regulatory-led innovation towards greener premiums. “DECs are of far greater use, giving a better view of the use of the building. Many groups would welcome it if the government extended their use to commercial buildings provided the benchmarks they are using are correct,” says Bill Wright. www.fm-world.co.uk

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FM QUICK FACTS

28%

The extra value of BREEAM-certified buildings (RICS)

2018

Year in which ‘F’ and ‘G’rated buildings become outlawed in the UK

Francis perceives an undercurrent of savvy negotiating relating to energy performance, which is affecting some final deals. “The smart observer in this market has been asking for two years about energy performance by price; it tells the tenants whether they are dealing with a sustainable building. So people are bypassing regulations because the source data [such as utility bills] is more reliable,” he says.

If energy awareness continues to spread, he suggests, energy efficiency data will send out signals to potential tenants looking to cut a bargain. They can use energy costs as a lever for rental negotiations, even if this is not their biggest running cost. In turn, this could have an impact on energy performance and eventually, perhaps, the EPC framework. But awareness should be founded on good data, which the EPCs have so far failed to provide.

“Better benchmarks are needed in the UK... we do not know how much energy buildings are using per square metre nor what counts as ‘good’ or ‘bad’,” states Francis. Better benchmarking would probably lead to greater performance competition too.

Improved disclosure in the US, he suggests, may account for a more evident trend of greener premiums across the Atlantic.

Lack of transparency continues to be a common complaint in the UK market.

Beyond that, energy efficiency can be an indicator of quality and innovation, which often commands a premium in a positive economic climate. Simon

Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS paints a positive picture of the future in terms of the links between sustainability and UK property market economics.

Sustainability, he points out, is a type of innovation. “When the economy is buoyant and returns are high there is more willingness to consider innovation,” he says.

At the moment, however, the climate is cautious. “Looking at data over the last four or five years, there is no doubt that demand for space has been diminishing. They key point is the attractiveness of paying for retrofits upfront. Tenant demand is weak, there’s not much of an incentive for flashy new developments and retrofits – it’s hard to make a sell for high value capital outlay right now,” he says.

But, as Rubinsohn explains, there are signs the market is changing: “If we see a more solid recovery, I would probably expect budgets to be identified for increasing sustainability and to see more widespread innovation coming back,” he says.

In the mean time, FMs have an internal role to play in encouraging further energy savings. For instance, they can set targets for designers and builders to cut energy use by a certain percentage, and in some cases they are involved with procurement. “I think facilities managers do have a good perception of how the building operates and where the energy use is. They have a good idea of where changes can be made.

They are in an excellent position in terms of knowledge and responsibility – far better than designers themselves, because they live with the problems every day,” states Bill Wright. FM 1 Supply, Demand and the Value of Green Buildings, RICS, 2012.

2 Doing Well by Doing Good? Green Office Buildings. American Economic Review 100 (December 2010): 2492–2509

FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 27

12/09/2013 16:31

FM FEATURE OPEN PLAN OFFICES NICK MARTINDALE

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www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 17:13

OPEN PLAN OFFICES

OPEN TO THE FLOOR How effectively does the open-plan office promote concentration, creativity and effient working?

Nick Martindale challenges the accepted wisdom that dictates the shape and nature of office working today

ALAMY

O

www.fm-world.co.uk

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ver the past two decades there has been a definite shift in workplace design. Today, openplan arrangements with ‘breakout’ areas are the accepted norm. Theoretically, this ‘wallless’ office allows employees to collaborate more freely, providing a boost to both productivity and team morale. It’s a trend that has accelerated during the economic downturn, most likely due to the imperative to maximise occupancy rates and reduce overheads.

There are, though, suggestions that the balance may now have shifted too far towards collaboration, at the expense of a private workspace in which individuals are able to concentrate. A recent study by real estate association CoreNet

Global found that 43 per cent of organisations now have more collaborative spaces than private areas, while a third believe this could impact on employee performance.

It’s a trend Ken Raisbeck, vice president of global workplace strategy at Johnson Controls, which offers consultancy services to external customers as well as helping the organisation manage its own working environment, has also noticed. “The surveys we’ve done indicate that things have gone too far and that one of the barriers to productivity in the office is that people want more quiet space,” he says. “In the past there was a big assumption that everyone could desk-share but people work in different ways.

FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 29

12/09/2013 17:14

FM FEATURE OPEN PLAN OFFICES NICK MARTINDALE

We don’t want to hinder work; we want to enable it.”

Nigel Oseland is workplace consultant at his own business, Workplace Unlimited, and feels there’s often an inherent assumption that individuals and organisations want such collegiate environments.

“Architects and designers were brought up working in studios and open-plan environments and I still feel when I’m briefing them that that is their default position,” he says. “But it’s not appropriate for all industries.”

ALAMY/IMAGE SOURCE

Quiet revolution?

Recent thinking – such as the US lecturer Susan Cain’s 2012 book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – has also recognised the importance of providing the correct setting for individuals who may not enjoy the limelight or more social scenarios, he adds.

“Introverts have an inclination to do work that is more logical, process-oriented, can be a bit complicated and requires attention to detail,” says Oseland. “They don’t actually like the open-plan, buzzy environments, partly because it distracts them from their work but also because it’s just not their personality. By focusing on open-plan and collaboration spaces we’re ignoring 50 per cent of the working population.”

There are, though, cases where more collaborative settings work very well. Monica Parker, head of workplace consultancy at Morgan Lovell, gives the example of National Australia Bank’s new offices in Melbourne Docklands. “It’s probably the finest example of a corporate workplace that I’ve ever seen, taking out Google,” she says. “There are a variety of workspaces, no assigned desks and lots of quiet areas that people can use. The potential

30 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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for performance there is very high. To say open-plan impacts performance is too broad.”

The concept works particularly well among younger workers, suggests Roy Parrish, managing director of interior design firm Ranne Creative Interiors.

“Generation Y grew up in open-plan offices,” he says.

“They aren’t influenced by the hierarchy of private offices because they never knew that world.

“Generation Y-ers also go to work to make new friends and

have influenced an increasing socialisation of the workplace,” he adds. “They naturally use collaborative spaces in offices to work, in the same way that they studied in Starbucks, and chatted in college campuses.” By contrast, many older workers, who spent much of their careers in more hierarchical offices, struggle to adapt to the concept, he says.

The challenge for organisations – and those tasked with redesigning or modifying office space – as the economy begins to pick up is to identify and

implement the most appropriate working environment for that particular workforce. “The range of different tasks that people have to perform on an ongoing basis can be very different and if you’re going to try and get the maximum out of them, which is primarily what we should be doing, we need to recognise that they need different sorts of space at different times,” says Andrew Mawson, managing director of Advanced Workplace Associates.

“Our approach is to say that if we can understand more about www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 17:39

OPEN PLAN OFFICES

“Introverts have an inclination to do work that is more logical, process-oriented, can be complex and requires attention to detail” what people do and need, in terms of technology, interaction, quiet, noisiness and stimulation, then we can take an intelligent punt at working out what sort of workplace environment they might require.” The fact that most offices are only 60 per cent occupied during a typical day also means there is potential for significant space savings, he adds, potentially by reclaiming parts of the building that are rarely used.

Our survey says…

Raisbeck, meanwhile, points to the use of data in helping to understand how existing space is currently deployed.

“This is the real big trend in the workplace now,” he says.

“Certainly at Johnson Controls we’ve spent a lot of time investing in survey tools and other mechanisms to generate information, and that allows us to have a much more detailed understanding as to what is the right type of workspace, both for today and tomorrow.” This includes a desk space utilisation monitoring tool to provide information into how and when each desk is used, he adds.

The end-result of such reviews is likely to involve a number of dedicated private spaces while retaining the open-plan model in most cases, suggests Parrish. “Even the most ardent supporter of open-plan working will need to sit quietly and concentrate without interruption at some stage,” he says. “Small, non-bookable rooms which contain just a small desk and the necessary technology are proving very popular, so long as organisations can ensure that people don’t turn them into personal offices. I’ve also seen organisations create library spaces where people are encouraged to work silently, as a counterpoint to the café culture www.fm-world.co.uk

28-31 Open Plan.indd 19

embraced in some organisations.”

Alongside such investigations and changes, consultancies and organisations need to ensure the culture of a workforce is able to adopt any new regime, suggests Parker, to avoid situations where individuals feel they are unable to use communal areas. “We’ve got to have a full appreciation of what kind of cultural shift has to occur in order to achieve the behavioural outcomes of appropriate collaboration and contemplation, and then we’ve got to give individuals the autonomy to pick what space is going to suit them,” she says.

This could be as simple as explaining to individuals or groups of employees the idea that different tasks will require alternative work spaces, and outlining the intention

FM QUICK FACTS

60% 43%

The occupation level of the average office during the day

The percentage of organisations that have more collaborative space than private areas

behind the various areas.

This is particularly important for those people who may lose a traditional office as part of any re-organisation, suggests Phillip Ratcliffe, managing director of real estate advisory firm Procure.

“You have to really put yourself in the position of somebody who’s been with that company 10 or 20 years,” he says.

“These people really need to understand that if they have a different task, they need to find a different work setting to be able to do it. So their desk is there to do certain things, but if they want quiet time, there should be other suitable work settings.

People need to be encouraged to do that, and made aware of the work setting they need to use, because it doesn’t come naturally to them.”

Increasingly, one option for employees is likely to be working from home; something which arguably has become part of the working environment already, perhaps in some cases as an unofficial response to the issue of a lack of concentration space in the office. “The home is one option, but it shouldn’t be a forced option,” says Oseland.

“People should be able to say they want to write a report at home and get it done. But it has to be seen as a choice, not because they cannot work in the office.”

Companies, though, need to ensure individuals have the freedom to choose where they work best, rather than dictating to people the days on which they must work from home.

“That’s not about flexibility and choice; that’s about saving space,” he says.

Where are they?

Some organisations may start to push back against the trend towards working from home in any case, suggests Ratcliffe.

“There may be a point where companies realise that there’s a danger they’re becoming too disconnected with their workforce,” he says. “That may actually require an increase in workspace, where people can come in and collaborate with colleagues and where the chance meetings happen. Companies are becoming much more aware of where their workforce is.”

Yet if organisations are to ensure they have a productive and efficient workforce while also keeping office costs under control – particularly once businesses start expanding again – they will need to give employees much greater choice over where and when they work. “I’d say we’re significantly behind certain other cultures,” says Parker. “I’d like to say that in the next five years we will see that shift, and then I’d like to see greater consideration put to the purpose of the office and to create a space to facilitate that specific behavioural outcome you want to achieve.”

It’s a point Mawson also makes, suggesting that a well-planned design can not only help balance productivity and costs but also give organisations the flexibility to respond to their own changing requirements.

“It may be that the building is designed to provide a home for people who need it and a hub for those who can work a bit of their time elsewhere, thereby not destroying the integrity of the original design but thinking abount how the company will support growth and contraction,” he says.

“At the heart of the issue are productivity and the need to have a proxy for managing human effectiveness,” concludes Mawson. “If we could do that then we would stop making some of these crass decisions around simply ramming more people in the space.” FM FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 31

12/09/2013 17:14

FM MONITOR TIM FARR & JUSTIN MENDELLE

LEGAL ANGLE TRI-B OROU G H CO N T R ACT

wo of the advisors to the Tri-Borough procurement contract offer some indespensible advice to FM companies seeking to submit proposals to the scheme

T

In June this year, FM World reported that Amey had been awarded a £150 million, 10-year FM contract to service three London councils.

The deal saw Amey combining FM services at Westminster City Council, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

It was expected that each council would save over £2 million annually. Included in the arrangement were building security services, maintenance, catering, landscaping, cleaning and environmental management.

Justin Mendelle and Tim Farr of Sharpe Pritchard Solicitors advised the Tri-Borough authorities on this project, and have advised local government and public authorities on a wide range of FM contracts.

Based on their experience of ‘the good, the bad and ugly’ tenders from FM contractors over the years, Mendelle and Farr highlight four areas where bidders could improve their chances of success, particularly in relation to long-term, strategic facilities management projects. In the context of these four issues, they also outline some of the interesting features of the TriBorough contract.

ISTOCK

1) Demonstrate that you have understood the objectives Read the documentation that

32 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

32-33_Legal Tri-borough.indd 32

the authority makes available to you. Do not assume that you only have to provide the standard information that you have supplied before for similar tenders. There are few things that are guaranteed to alienate your potential clients as quickly or effectively as failing to properly understand their key objectives.

In a well-structured procurement, the project objectives will be clear. It may simply be a case of reiterating those, with a brief statement of how you intend to address each of them. In more challenging procurements, there is a real opportunity for bidders with initiative to shine – if you are able to distil a complex set of requirements into a straightforward, coherent and easily intelligible set of objectives, you will edge ahead of the competition.

Practically, you may choose to include a stand-alone summary of the objectives. Wherever possible and sensible, your responses to the individual questions asked by the authority should be linked back to those objectives. For example, in the Tri-Borough project, one of the key points in the proposals was the guarantee that each council would retain its sovereignty to shape shared services to local needs. This had to be safeguarded through mandates that set out the specific services that shared teams would deliver

Justin Mendelle and Tim Farr of Sharpe Pritchard Solicitors (l-r)

across each borough.

This was achieved through a structure for inter-authority arrangements which created a single client interface for the contractor, while ensuring that sovereignty remained within the three separate boroughs – in other words one estate but three councils.

2) Make best use of information published by the contracting authority Having got to grips with what the authority wants to achieve, take the time to comprehensively review the information that has been published. Sometimes, it can be difficult to distinguish between important materials and ‘filler’.

At the very least, you should read everything that has been made available to you and the other bidders during the course of the procurement.

Analyse the information,

then raise intelligent queries.

The authority is seeking the best outcome from its procurement and you should not assume that the information that it gives you is the complete picture.

In the same way as your solution will develop over the course of the procurement, so the information emanating from the authority can improve and assist you in optimising your offering.

If you receive information that is incomplete or simply cannot be ready in time for your submission (information relating to TUPE and transferring employees is often notoriously difficult to obtain), make clear to the authority what your assumptions are when you submit your bid. Be transparent (but avoid being critical) about the quality of the information that you have received.

Mendelle and Farr managed the procurement process on behalf of the Tri-Borough team via the competitive dialogue process.

Some authorities have tended to shy away from competitive dialogue due to its reputation for being resource-intensive, expensive and long-winded.

However, when used for the right project and if dialogue is focused, it is possible to achieve benefits, such as, savings and ongoing innovation, which would www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 14:33

Westminster is one of three London boroughs involved in the scheme

be difficult to achieve through other procurement routes.

There were two key features in keeping the Tri-Borough process on track and moving forward.

First, the project was planned thoroughly before the formal procurement process began.

Secondly, a set of clear internal and external communication policies were introduced to keep all parties informed of progress.

3) Incentivise improvement This is your opportunity to think creatively, to adopt an approach that neither the authority nor, perhaps, other bidders have considered. Although each procurement exercise has its own unique features, useful levers to consider for incentivising on-going improvements include: ● Monetary benefits – direct financial incentives related to performance, either to or from the authority; ● Non-cash benefits – such as investment in improvement schemes that are related to the procurement but do not form part of the key service delivery; or ● Mutually binding commitments – such as placing obligations on the authority to facilitate the improvements, thus ensuring their www.fm-world.co.uk

32-33_Legal Tri-borough.indd 33

‘buy-in’ to your proposals.

No matter what you propose, it is also vitally important to maintain credibility. Do not make outlandish offers if you cannot back them up with hard evidence.

Do not stretch yourself so thin as to compromise on the core quality of your services.

Having achieved cost savings as part of the procurement process, the 10-year Tri-Borough outsourcing arrangement also ensures that the three boroughs and Amey will innovate and seek to add value over the course of the contract, through shared governance arrangements.

Mendelle said, “We examined the traditional customer– contractor relationship and identified that moving from a polarised, reactive model to one of proactive collaboration and service delivery could unlock savings. In addition, while Amey was able to offer significant incentives for on-going improvements, the councils needed to be satisfied that these were credible and sustainable.

This was achieved through an open and transparent exchange of views and information during the whole life of the procurement.”

4) Structure your proposal effectively Do not be tempted to pull a model answer off the shelf. If you have understood the project objectives, made best use of the information available and have a compelling offer to make, do not stumble at the final hurdle by submitting your proposal in a confused or haphazard fashion.

Draw out the key elements in an executive summary. Read the questions, then re-read the questions and then re-read the questions again – all too often, we see bidders providing responses to questions that have not actually been asked or failing

to tell the authority what it actually needs to know.

Put yourself in the shoes of the authority and ask whether you have provided them with everything that they have requested. Far too often, bidders have a pre-conceived idea about what it is that they are being asked to provide and this has a negative impact on their proposal.

Review your final proposal in the cold light of day – best of all, give that task to someone in your organisation who has not had any involvement in the procurement.

They can usually tell whether the proposal is clear, logical and wellstructured. A fresh pair of eyes will identify whether it is difficult to follow or muddled.

If you have been provided with details of the evaluation criteria and scoring, ask your independent reviewer how easy it is to mark your proposals against the set criteria. This can be very enlightening.

The key challenge in structuring any shared services arrangement over different local authorities is how to balance each authority’s requirement to maintain their local sovereignty, while creating a single efficient structure for decision-making and management. Within the Triborough project, it was important to find a way to bring together three diverse estates and establish levels of services that would be acceptable to all three councils.

The outsourcing of the total FM contract covered around 20 services from reprographics to reception services, from fire-risk management to flag-flying and from energy management to electoral services.

Key practicalities which needed to be addressed in such a large contract included issues such as property ownership and access issues, TUPE (one of the first on the agenda, but often the last to be agreed), IT infrastructure (to

ensure the systems talk to each other), KPIs and performance monitoring, and indemnities.

This was achieved by a transparent and clear sharing of information, with a contractor who clearly understood what the councils required and client who was able to respond intelligently and effectively to the demands of the procurement.

Conclusion “We were keen that the signing of the contract documents should not be the end of this, but the beginning, and that it should continue through the life of the contract,” explains Mendelle.

“It was important to ensure that there is a partnership approach to the whole project and that a “them and us” situation does not evolve.

To this end, the governance structure of the contract ensures regular top level meetings between the FM contractor and the authorities to plan strategy, iron out any wrinkles along the way, and look at ways of innovating and adding value in the future.”

When a long-term, strategic facilities management project works well, the prize for the FM contractor will be substantial.

Alongside the main contract, a framework agreement has also been set up which is already generating significant interest This opens the door for any of the other London boroughs, the City of London and maintained schools in those areas to join in and benefit from the economies of scale achieved by the Tri-Borough agreement.

Such bids require a major investment of time and resources on the part of a contractor, and it is worth exploring any way in which it is possible to give proposals that winning competitive edge. FM FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 33

12/09/2013 14:33

FM MONITOR PAKIZE NASUH

HOW TO

Pakize Nasuh, Managing director, Humanscale

ERG ON OMIC SE AT I N G

nvesting in good ergonomic seating will save you more in the long run.

Pakize Nasuh, Humanscale managing director, UK and Ireland, explains why

I

4⁄

The aging demographic (and their younger counterparts)

Initial costs can be a huge constraint in providing employees with good work tools. But it’s important to factor in the longterm savings when providing employees with quality seating.

Here are reasons to properly invest in your employees’ workspace.

1⁄

It’s all about priorities

Mark Mercer, Acxiom’s head of property and facilities for Europe, Middle East and Africa, decided on a new approach when managing a complete refurbishment of the company’s UK office. He removed the large, awkward L-shaped desks and replaced them with smaller desks.

This enabled Mercer to fit the budget around better ergonomic components, such as Humanscale’s ‘Liberty’ task chair. Unlike typical office environments, in which companies can spend up to £2,500 for each cubicle, yet rarely spend more than £100 on each chair, Acxiom UK saw the value in spending less on the bulky built-in items and more on the tools. “The most important elements are the things you interact with… that’s where the money should be spent,” says Mark.

2⁄

The longterm cost argument

A strong business case for proper ergonomic tools is that they are 34 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

34_HowTo.indd 34

“The number of applicants has increased by about 30 per cent as a result of the move, attendance to open days is up, and a significant improvement in behaviour has been noted,” says David Pigden, deputy principal of the college.

an investment in a company’s greatest asset – its employees.

You buy cheap, you buy twice.

Choose high-quality task chairs with a 10-year warranty. Calculate the spread of costs over that time period, compared to cheaper chairs you’re replacing every couple of years.

3⁄

The key to a flexible space

When London’s City of Westminster College needed to upgrade its amenities, seating was one of the most important aspects of the project. It had to suit the needs of a modern learning environment, and be intuitive and flexible to accommodate the college’s vastly growing diverse community, with students of all ages.

Humanscale’s Liberty chair was chosen because it adjusted to each individual easily without the need for a lengthy instruction manual.

Facilities managers in the UK face a conundrum. On one hand they need to specify equipment that accommodates both the aging population – which is growing as a result of the abolition of the compulsory retirement age – and on the other, younger workers, backing the argument for flexible task seating.

Recognise that no matter how advanced technology may be for workers, if they have to adjust complex controls and various levers on a chair, they will not use it properly. “I’d hate to be approaching retirement, working alongside a ‘millennial’ and be given a hi-tech chair that’s difficult to use,” says Sacha Burn, associate ergonomist at Humanscale. “It’s essential to have intuitive equipment that fits a space shared by a team of all ages.”

5⁄

Health awareness

Statistics from the Office of National Statistics tells us that around £35 million was lost in the UK in 2011 from absences due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Common causes were poor workplace conditions, posture and placement of equipment. “So, you have overall costs of compensation claims and absenteeism equalling more than

what you would have initially invested in proper workstations,” says Sacha.

6⁄

Increase in injuries

Musculoskeletal disorders, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis, are on the rise. Millenials, who have grown up using their smartphones, laptops and iPads for much of their lives, are entering the workforce and are already starting to show symptoms of MSDs. “Unfortunately, many people only speak up about discomfort when they’re injured, and then it’s too late,” says Sacha.

The key message is to prevent bad practice with correct ergonomic tools.

7⁄

Staff retention and productivity

If you want the best staff, you need to be attractive to them – and this naturally applies to staff retention too. Korean company Ahnlab’s main priority was comfort for their highly trained employees.

Having received complaints about the uncomfortable working conditions, the company set to buying chairs that would accommodate employees’ ergonomics needs throughout the long hours they spend at work.

This was achieved with proper ergonomic seating.

Through the inclusion of such tools, the company noticed a positive difference in their employees’ health and happiness. Employees showed a decrease in pain in their necks, backs and lower backs, while also demonstrating increased efficiency on the job and overall contentment. FM www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 14:34

FM MONITOR DAVID WARD

TECHNICAL

David Ward, Ward Security managing director

CCTV VER SU S WI DS

avid Ward explains the differences between CCTV and WIDS and considers which one provides the best security solution for facilities managers

D

For many years, CCTV reigned supreme in the battle of the remote site monitoring systems.

But wireless intruder detection systems, or WIDS, are becoming an increasingly popular way for facilities managers to keep a watchful – if remote – eye on property and assets.

According to a recent report from the British Security Industry Association, there are between 4 million and 5.9 million CCTV surveillance cameras in the UK. Regardless of whether you take the higher or lower estimate, it’s fair to say that CCTV has come a long way since Merseyside Police experimented with four covert cameras in Liverpool city centre in 1964.

CCTV has been – and remains – a hugely useful security tool, both in terms of deterrence and in terms of identifying criminals.

But it is not the only type of camera at the facility manager’s disposal.

Many manufacturers are witnessing a growing appetite among clients in a variety of sectors for WIDS. Construction companies, property estates, motor groups and commercial property firms are all using them. But what is the difference between WIDS and CCTV, and which one provides the better security solution?

Unlike CCTV, which captures footage continuously, a WIDS www.fm-world.co.uk

35_Technical CCTV.indd 35

only begins to film when it is activated. Integral to a WIDS are movement sensors. When they are activated, a 10-second video clip is sent via the mobile phone network to a control room or a mobile device where the footage can be viewed immediately.

Security staff can then challenge the intruder through a two-way voice system, and then make the decision whether officers need to be deployed to the scene.

The benefits of WIDS are considerable. A WIDS is portable because it does not require mains power. It can be an internal or external system or a mixture of both. It can also feature alarm sirens and smoke sensors.

One of the big attractions of WIDS is its cost-effectiveness.

WIDS can provide an alternative to the 24-hour manned guarding of sites, while the ability to review footage remotely and determine whether there has been a genuine security breach eliminates call-out charges triggered by false alarms.

This type of system now satisfies police response regulations and an individual WIDS can be given a police URN (unique reference number), which ensures that officers will respond to a request for attendance following an alarm activation.

In some cases, WIDS can be combined with dog handling teams to provide a hybrid – but highly effective –security solution. One example would be a vacant office

block with warehouses in South London where Ward Security was asked to provide security. Initially, the managing agent asked for two dog handlers providing 24/7 cover, but after consultation with the client, instead of deploying two dog teams, one team and a WIDS was agreed on. The WIDS protects the warehouse area and if an activation occurs the dog handler can investigate immediately.

This has almost halved the security cost without compromising the site’s security.

Another client has a considerable portfolio of properties in London, both residential and commercial. When they are empty, a WIDS is deployed. They can be installed without damaging the fabric of the building and are easily removed once the property is again occupied. Hired monthly, they give the client peace of mind for a relatively small cost.

While each site in need of security is different, WIDS is usually be far cheaper than a full CCTV system and deployed within hours. A typical CCTV system costs between £6,000 and £10,000 to purchase and install, with monitoring and maintenance costs adding on between £2,000 and £5,000 per year. WIDS, on the other hand, costs between £180 and £600 per month, with the only additional charges arising from call-outs to confirmed intrusions.

The reason for the cost difference is that, as effective

as they are as portable, lowmaintenance and low-cost devices, WIDS do not provide the level of protection of a full CCTV system.

CCTV is permanently ‘live’ and can be recording everything within its field of vision, and is always free of interference.

But while wired CCTV provides higher quality footage that is running around the clock, WIDS are proving popular as a costeffective security solution in a variety of settings. Among the locations where WIDS have been used are warehouses, farms, garages, shipyards, marinas, construction sites, fuel depots and water treatment plants.

As each security brief is unique, it is impossible to be too prescriptive about when CCTV should be used and when a WIDS should be deployed. But, as a general rule, if you need temporary security at a site with no mains power, and if you have a restricted budget, then WIDS is the answer. For more permanent security requirements, then CCTV may well be the solution.

For a camera-based security system to really work, facilities managers need to consider the best means of installation, monitoring and maintenance.

Technology undoubtedly helps provide security for assets, people and premises, but careful thought is needed to ensure that such technology delivers exactly what your organisation needs. FM

“A WIDS is portable because it does not require mains power – it can be an internal or external system or a mixture of both” FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 35

12/09/2013 17:19

FM MONITOR MARKET INTELLIGENCE

INSIGHT

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

ECONOMY

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

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

In retrospect, 2012 appears to have been a promising year for renewable energy sources.

Progress has been made against the UK’s 15 per cent target introduced in the 2009 EU Renewable Directive. Provisional calculations show that

4.1 per cent of energy consumption in 2012 came from renewable sources; a rise from 3.8 per cent in 2011. The contribution of all renewables to UK electricity generation was 11.3 per cent in 2012, 1.9 points higher than in 2011. Source: ONS (www.gov.uk)

GENERATION FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES IN 2012 (COMPARED TO 2011)

Source: HM Treasury (hmrc.gov.uk)

Bank of England base rate: 0.5% as of 5 September 2013.

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

46% OFFSHORE WIND GENERATION 46%

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

Consumer Price Index (CPI): The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation grew by 2.8% in July 2013, down from 2.9% in June. The largest contributions to the fall in the rate came from air fares, plus price movements in the recreation and culture sectors.

A rise in petrol and diesel prices partially offset the fall. These numbers continue the trend of broadly steady inflation seen since spring 2012. Source: (www.ons.gov.uk) EMPLOYMENT

National Minimum Wage NOTE: The following rates are due to come into effect on 1 October 2013: Hourly rate from 1 Oct 2013

Aged 21 and above

£6.31

Aged 18 to 20 inclusive

£5.03

Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school age)

£3.68

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

£2.65

NOROVIRUS RESEARCH

OFFICE WORKSPACE

ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECTIVENESS UNDER TYPICAL INDOOR CONDITIONS

CORENET’S ‘PROPERTY PARADOX’

ANTIMICROBIAL COPPER

STAINLESS STEEL

CFU (Colony Forming Units) of MRSA (millions) 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 30

60

90

180

270

360 MINUTES

New research from the University of Southampton has shown that copper and copper alloys will rapidly destroy the highly-infectious sickness bug norovirus.

The virus, which can be contracted from contaminated food or water or person-to-person contact, means surfaces made from copper could effectively shut down one avenue of infection. This is in comparison to stainless steel dry surfaces, which saw no reduction of infectivity in the same conditions.

In the UK, the norovirus reportedly costs the National Health Service up to £100 million per year.

The virus is responsible for more than 267 million cases of acute gastroenteritis worldwide per year.

Source: University of Southampton (www.southampton.ac.uk)

36 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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UP 15%

GENERATION FROM HYDRO SOURCES DOWN 7%

ALL RENEWABLES TO UK ELECTRICITY GENERATION WAS 11.3% IN 2012, 1.9 PERCENTAGE POINTS HIGHER THAN IN 2011.

0

Category of worker

GENERATION FROM BIOENERGY SOURCES

ELECTRICITY GENERATION FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES UP 19%

THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF SPACE PER OFFICE WORKER GLOBALLY HAS DROPPED TO 150 SQUARE FEET OR LESS, FROM 225 SQUARE FEET IN 2010…

2010

2013

225 150 SQ FT SQ FT

60%

…NEARLY 60% OF ORGANISATIONS PROJECT INCREASES IN EMPLOYMENT AT THEIR COMPANIES DURING THE SECOND HALF OF 2013 (ONLY 11% PROJECTED A DECREASE).

Source: CoreNet Global

www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 16:51

FM MONITOR WENDY GOUCHER

TECHNICAL

Wendy Goucher, senior information security consultant, Idrach Limited

PORTAB LE IT P R I VACY

s photography and tablet computer screen technology continues to improve, the risk of security leaks taking place is also increased, says Wendy Goucher

A

The ‘tablet’ computer has, within just a few years, become an established feature of everyday life. What explains the exponential growth in the popularity of these devices?

Several factors have played an important role, including portability, and the increasing acceptance of touchscreen displays. Perhaps the major selling point, however, has been the high quality of the displays.

Older people, usually the last to adapt to new technology, have found that the exceptional screen clarity aids reading.

And the technology is getting even better. In-Plane Switching (IPS) screen technology, for example, offers rated viewing angles of over 170 degrees, horizontally and vertically.

However, the risk of all this innovation is often overlooked.

Workers need to be aware of who is capable of reading their screens, and consider that if used out of the office or in a ‘third space’ working environment, those third parties could include business rivals.

A simple and readily available solution exists to instantly minimise these risks – the privacy filter. These filters provide the user with a clear view, but almost totally obscure the view from either side. The modern versions of these can easily be removed, even those on tablet devices, in the event www.fm-world.co.uk

37_Technical Tablets.indd 37

that the user wants to collaborate and share a screen in certain situations. It makes sense, therefore, that organisations consider giving every user of a laptop or tablet a filter where appropriate. Generally portable IT users underestimate the risk, overestimate their own ability to avoid the issue and ignore their legal obligation to protect sensitive data, and therefore resist this low-cost remedy.

What’s the risk?

Improvements in technology are increasing the risk, in particular the growth of ‘capturing’ devices, such as smartphones. Reductions in weight, size, and an increase in memory capacity and image clarity make it easier for third parties to capture a permanent record. The latest generation of smartphones have between 8-12 megapixels, for example, and photo-making functions will only improve in future models.

All of the modern smartphone platforms have apps that make it simple to perform post processing on camera images, such as de-skewing and optical character recognition. Wider viewing angles and improved resolutions on mobile device displays allow the image to be captured from further away and at more oblique angles.

People are increasingly getting used to using smartphones to store information as images.

They are very likely to capture

interesting material overseen on a nearby computer screen – duplicating the information without the user being any the wiser. This information can be sent to a rival, the media or posted on social media, bringing significant embarrassment to an organisation.

Beyond vigilance Although educating portable IT users about the risks is important, this should not be considered a replacement to a privacy filter.

The ubiquity of wi-fi in every airport lounge, hotel foyer and restaurant, as well as many trains, means that workers who connect to the office network wirelessly should get used to switching that wireless connection off when they leave the premises.

Once documents are open on an unprotected screen, any confidential or sensitive documents cannot be regarded as private. The temptation to work on such material mounts in the face of work pressures: tight deadlines, sales opportunities, or emergencies. Often it is precisely those pieces of work that are the most confidential.

Although it is possible to position a laptop to make it hard or next to impossible to be overlooked, it is still very difficult to really cover all angles. Make no mistake, ‘shoulder surfing’ is very commonplace behaviour.

Polling conducted by Comres showed that 71 per cent of UK professionals admitted to having read what another person was working on over their shoulder.

Similarly, in France, 46 per cent of people polled indicated that they had previously been concerned that confidential information they had worked on

might have been overseen – too late, of course, if that information had already been stolen.

Legal framework The use of a privacy screen is not specifically mandated by the EU Data Protection Directive,, but the onus is on the company and the user to protect data against ‘known and foreseeable threats.’

According to the text of the directive, “such measures shall ensure a level of security appropriate to the risks represented by the processing and the nature of the data to be protected.” (Article 17(1)).

The UK implementation of the directive, the Data Protection Act, includes eight principles, one of which is: “[7] Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.”

Conclusion Today, shoulder surfers pose a significant threat, to workers both within an open office environment or accessing work data in a public place. The pace of technological change and users’ awareness of what their devices are capable of means any work data brough up on screens is vulnerable. Personal vigilance alone is never enough; images can be captured silently, quickly and from quite some distance. Back in the 1990s, inexpensive privacy filters were a staple on PC screens. For today’s new technology they remain an effective tool to ensure that on-screen data doesn’t fall into into someone else’s hands. FM FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 37

12/09/2013 16:31

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

Gyles Brandreth will host this year’s BIFM Awards

BIFM AWARDS

Entertainment Gyles Brandreth has been confirmed as the host for the 2013 BIFM Awards. The awards, with headline sponsor Macro, take place on 14 October at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, former MP and Government Whip - and one of Britain’s most sought-after award ceremony hosts and after-dinner speakers. Currently a reporter on The One Show on BBC1 and a regular on Radio 4’s Just a Minute, his Victorian detective stories – The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries – are now being published in twenty-four countries around the world. He is also touring the UK with his acclaimed new one-man show, Looking for Happiness.

The live music will come from ‘Star’, a nine-piece band with a wide repertoire of music, featuring classic songs from the past four decades and the best of today’s chart hits. They perform regularly for the most prestigious parties and glittering occasions in the country’s top venues.

The BIFM Awards are a highlight of the facilities management calendar, when over 1,300 guests attend to see the best individuals, teams, projects and organisations recognised for all that they bring to the profession and the wider business community.

A few tables and tickets are remaining for the BIFM Awards, to book tickets request a booking from +44 (0)1279 712 640 or email awards@bifm.org.uk. Learn more at www.bifm.org.uk/awards2013 i

PROFESSIONS

Youth engagement BIFM will be presenting and exhibiting at an event created by 38 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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Total Professions and the Career Development Institute, and which takes place on 25 October 2013.

This inaugural event brings together two communities that are central to the future career aspirations of the UK’s young population: ● Careers advisers in schools, colleges, universities and beyond ● Professional bodies that are experts in the individual careers existing in the UK. Taking place on Friday 25 October 2013 at the Institute of Education in London, this oneday conference and exhibition combines presentations from professional bodies, panel debates with professional bodies and careers advisers, networking and exhibition stands from a wide variety of professions.

Come to learn about the issues facing the professionals of tomorrow and help individuals understand the opportunities open to them with a career in the professions. Topics include: ● How to engage students of today and the future - students don’t see the value of professional bodies as much as those who joined them in the past

● What students of school age need to be thinking about – professional bodies will have an opportunity to talk about the various routes into professions ● What advice children of school age are looking for when making decisions on what subjects to study – schools career advisors will also have an opportunity to highlight resources that school students need ● Fair access – Total Professions is supporting the Brightside Trust in its ementoring programmes. ● Professions Week 2013 – supporting access into the professions.

i For further information visit www.professionsweek.org

KNOWLEDGE

New GPG BIFM has launched another new good practice guide (GPG), the Good Practice Guide to Inclusive Access, Disability and the Equality Act. Good Practice Guides provide real ‘how-to’ information on

a range of topics to help FM professionals with their day-today roles and to build effective strategic FM practice.

Users of this inclusive access GPG can expect to gain an understanding of what the barriers might be in terms of providing an inclusive service or building, and also learn how to develop strategies for the removal or the development of management practices that minimise or overcome those barriers to equal service delivery.

Accessibility has always been a critical component for many types of facilities and with people extending their working lives into their sixties and seventies, it has become more important than ever. It is crucial to understand that access and inclusive design impacts every aspect of facilities management, from strategic procurement and design of space, to appropriate selection of lighting, finishes and fittings.

This updated guide gives a summary of all legislative and regulatory changes and gives

KEEP IN TOUCH » Network with the BIFM @ www.networkwithbifm.org.uk » Twitter @BIFM_UK » LinkedIn » Facebook » YouTube » Flickr www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 14:35

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

GUEST COMMENT B IF M AWARD S : A R EFL ECT I O N O N P RO GR ESS

Oliver Jones is chairman of the judges for the BIFM Awards

he last four years have flown by… as is always the case when you are busy and enjoying life!

My role as chairman of the judges for the BIFM Awards has been a key part of this journey. As I finalise this year’s programme and prepare the handover to Steve Gladwin as the new chairman, it is a good time to reflect on how the awards and our pursuit of excellence in FM has progressed.

In late 2009, we were all still in evaluation mode following the financial crisis from one year earlier. The economy seemed to be in free-fall and staying in business was the priority for most companies.

Tough times indeed. But such periods are also when the next generation of winners emerge.

True competitive advantage needs to be clearly set out and demonstrable through delivery of results.

It was against this backdrop that we set out a clear plan to enable the BIFM Awards to become an important part of that opportunity for the leaders in our industry. We planned a big push for growth in raising the profile and authority offered by demonstrating leadership. We wanted to ensure we could work with objectivity, auditability and participation by active industry senior professionals throughout the judging teams.

T

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At that time, we were typically receiving only 40 to 50 entries each year – so only four or five submissions per award category – meaning less competition and, consequently, less kudos for the winners through success. Back then, we only accepted entries in hard copy (remember when we used to live life on paper?); limited coverage took place of the winners each year; feedback wasn’t available; and the pool of judges was relatively small.

Our primary goal was to energise the process and secure entries from the best, in volume, to make winning any category a real stamp of success.

We did this by bringing in leading names to the judging process to assure all entrants of the rigour of the evaluation process. We also needed to leverage the relationship with the marketing and promotion tools of BIFM through the regional networks, the online communications mechanisms that were rapidly developing, and through the pages of FM World. Finally, we needed to change several awards categories, which we did over the years.

Our success measure would be the number of entries and the extent to which these reflected the full breadth of the FM market in the UK and the manner in which winners told the world about their achievement.

Today we have a transformed awards programme that attracts two to three times the number of entries that we started with. We have over 80 judges involved in a range of relevant and hotly contested categories.

We also have leading FM firms, alongside innovative and fastgrowing new entrants, all producing exceptional entry submissions. All are excited to make the finals and thrilled and proud in the event that they win.

I have enjoyed leading this development and have been superbly supported by many talented and highly committed lead judges throughout. The

BIFM Awards are a key event in our respective calendars and clients, consultants and service providers alike now all make time to make sure they are there.

I am looking forward to my final awards night as Chairman of the Judges on Monday 14 October with great expectations and a lot of pride in our collective achievements.

I hope that as many industry colleagues as possible are also there to join in the celebration of excellence and success and to pass the baton onto Steve Gladwin for the next chapter. i

www.bifm.org.uk/awards2013

“I HOPE THAT MANY INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES ARE THERE TO JOIN IN THIS CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE AND SUCCESS” FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 39

12/09/2013 16:29

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

BIFM TRAINING

USER NEEDS, ‘DDA’ AND REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS – WHY EVERY FM SHOULD ATTEND

practical tips on achieving reasonable access for all.

This new guide follows on from the recent launch of two other GPGs on benchmarking, space planning, and management. i All GPGs are available at no charge to BIFM members at www. bifm.org.uk/GPGs

IRELAND REGION

Recognition Awards The BIFM Ireland Region is searching for exceptional organisations and individuals operating within the FM industry in Ireland to enter their Recognition Awards 2013.

The awards are aimed at recognising and rewarding outstanding achievements, projects and those teams and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of the FM industry in Ireland.

Organisations and individuals are encouraged to enter the awards which will ensure they are recognised for the excellent work that they are doing and the benchmark they are setting for the industry. Categories include: ● FM Professional of the Year This award recognises outstanding personal and professional performance of an individual employed within facilities management in the private, public or voluntary sectors in Ireland. ● FM Team of the Year This award recognises the outstanding contributions made by an FM team operating within the private, public or voluntary sectors in Ireland.

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● FM Project of the Year A ‘major’ project is one that makes a significant contribution to almost every aspect of an organisation’s operating style and affects the majority of its employees.

The closing date for all entries is Friday 11 October 2013. i See full criteria at www.bifm.org. uk/irelandawards. Winners will be announced at the BIFM Ireland Region Conference on 15 November at the Belfast Waterfront. Learn more about the conference at www.bifm. org.uk/IC2013

MEMBERSHIP

Corporate members The BIFM welcomed the following corporate members in August: ● Commercial Services Trading end user, in-house FM team ● CSL DualCom - product supplier ● Electrosonic - FM service suppliers, contractors ● Esh Construction - product supplier ● Graysons Restaurants - FM service suppliers, contractors ● Kellogg Brown & Root - FM service suppliers, contractors ● KSD Support Services - FM service suppliers, contractors ● Monitise International - end user, in-house FM team ● Sovereign Property Facillities end user, in-house FM team ● The Gritting Company - T/A J.W.Crowther & Son - FM service suppliers, contractors ● VAMED Healthcare Services Sdn Bhd - FM suppliers i Learn more about corporate membership at www.bifm.org.uk/ corporatemembership, email corporatemembership@bifm.org.uk or call +44 (0) 1279 712675

roviding a welcoming and inclusive facility is at the heart of all facilities management service delivery aspirations. FMs strive to meet the needs of our facility users on a daily basis; why then would you need a course that tells you how to fulfil this ‘everyday’ requirement?

Sadly, most new build projects still fail to deliver accessible premises that meet the general needs of many. The vast majority of accessible toilets, for example, do not fully meet the needs of wheelchair users – often the first time an FM knows about this is a complaint or an accident. Most often this isn’t a failure in the standard, but the result of a misunderstanding or knowledge gap somewhere along the line from design to site completion.

Of course, FMs are expected to address any shortfalls - but many well-intentioned management or building adjustments improve the situation for one potential user group while compromising usability for others. Since some 20 per cent of any workforce is likely to have additional or different needs (50 per cent of disabilities are hidden!), the increased awareness that would result from attending this course has the potential to considerably increase customer satisfaction levels.

This insightful course equips FMs with the tools to decipher the diverse user demands of a given environment, and how to make physical or management adjustments in a cost-effective and dignified way, balancing all user needs. It gives a full update on legislative and regulatory changes, some of which have occurred very recently as part of the red tape challenge. The course covers interpretation of the law in practice, and many attendees are able to save money straight away by putting reasonable adjustments into place in an appropriate way.

The course also covers, in great detail, evacuation arrangements for disabled people - a topic that often confounds FMs. Do you know enough? ● What is sufficient contrast and how is it calculated? ● Does safety conflict with or support accessibility? ● Is an enclosed cistern acceptable in an accessible WC? ● Is it possible to maintain good aesthetic standards and meet user needs? ● Should physically disabled people be carried out during a fire drill?

P

The course next runs in Central London on 24 Oct 2014 – email info@bifm-training.co.uk, call 020 7404 4440 or visit www.bifm-training.com

www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 14:35

,

FM DIARY

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

INDUSTRY EVENTS

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

19 September | BIFM national golf finals 2013 The event returns to the venue of the first national finals in 2001, following a series of regional qualifying events. Sponsored

by HSS Hire and supported by Incentive FM and Interface.

Venue: Bowood Golf Hotel & Spa, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN11 9PQ Contact: Don Searle at don@c22. co.uk or call 020 7220 8900

2-4 October | IFMA World Workplace conference & expo The largest annual conference for FMs includes exhibitors, discussions and networking.

Keynote speeches from author Barbara Corcoran and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

Venue: Pennsylvania Convention Centre, Philadelphia, US Contact: www.worldworkplace.org

24 October | Sustainability - AGM Following a short annual general meeting, the group will learn about the venue, considered to be the UK’s greenest public building., due to its energy saving design and the level of sustainable materials used in its construction.

Venue: Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ Contact: Simon Grinter at simon.grinter@london.gov.uk or visit www. tinyurl.com/ sustainabilityagm

Contact: Cathy Hayward at cathy. hayward@magentaassociates. co.uk or visit www. bifmlondonprojectmanagement. eventbrite.co.uk

13 November | Risk and Business Continuity – Regional resilience Providing insight and advice for all levels of business continuity experience, together with the opportunity to meet with suppliers.

Venue: DSM Peterborough, The Old Hangar, PE8 6NE Contact: Steve Dance at steve1dance@btinternet.com or visit www.eastregionresilience. eventbrite.co.uk/

22 October | AGM BIFM North Region annual general meeting and careers day.

Venue: Cooperative headquarters, 1 Angel Square, Manchester Contact: Steve Roots or Justin Lawson at bifmnorth@gmail.com

The BIFM London region holds its monthly CPD events on the first Tuesday of every month.

Contact: www.bifm.org.uk/bifm/ groups/regions/london/events

NORTH REGION

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 14 October | BIFM Awards 2013 The BIFM Awards is the most influential networking event within the UK’s FM calendar and gives national recognition to the leaders in our profession. The BIFM Awards are designed to celebrate the increasingly strategic profile of FM by highlighting the key role it plays in the success of organisations. The ceremony brings together the leaders of our sector with the winners and to celebrate excellence in FM. Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, London Contact: communications@bifm. org.uk or call 0845 058 1356 4-8 November | Workplace week A showcase of workplace and workforce innovation.

Organisations including Mintel, BBC and Innocent Drinks are to host 90 minute site visits.

Venues: London, Salford and more Contact: www.workplaceweek.com

24 September | Rising FMs – What is a workplace?

Seminar on space analysis, and design and art in the workplace.

Due to the nature of the room and capacity, the event is only open to operational FMs. Venue: Waterloo Room, Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London Contact: Visit tinyurl.com/ofq59pg 25 September | Business continuity – incident management A panel discussion with incident management and technology platform professionals, discussing the significant impact of social media on incident management.

Venue: Haworth Showroom, Clerkenwell, London Contact: Steve Dance at steve1dance@btinternet.com

5 November | Workplace week convention The convention will explore the concept of the connected organisation its implications for leadership, infrastructure and professional productivity.

Venue: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, London, SW1 Contact: www.workplaceweek. com/workplace-convention

30 September | Catering and hospitality – Catering in the workplace: a look into the past and future Talks from Chris Craggs and Tim Hammond on what has influenced changes in the industry, innovations in catering, and what to expect in years to come. Catering provided by Elior. From 6pm.

Venue: Linklaters, 1 Silk Street, London EC2Y 8HQ Contact: paul.greenwood@tricon. co.uk or visit www.tinyurl.com/ futurecatering

19-20 November | Worktech This two-day conference examines the workplace environment: technology that will change work; engineering serendipity; innovation in the workplace; what people want from technology; real-time real-estate; and ‘digital nomads’.

Venue: The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG Contact: registrations@unwired. eu.com or visit www.unwired. eu.com/worktech13/london

9 October | Catering – Luke Johnson at the National Archives Luke Johnson is a leading British businessman, best known for his involvement with Pizza Express and Channel 4. The serial entrepreneur will be opening up about the secrets of his success.

The event is sponsored by The Genuine Dining Company.

Venue: The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU Contact: Clive Hilton at clive@ inlocum.co.uk

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IRELAND REGION 15 November | Ireland conference Talks on negotiating effectively and intelligently, taking control of outsourced contracts. Interest can be registered online. Sponsored

by Aramark and H&J Martin FM. Venue: Belfast Waterfront Contact: Laura McMahon at l.mcmahon@hjmartin.co.uk or visit www.bifm.org.uk/IC2013 MIDLANDS REGION 30 October | Lotus F1 Team visit Site visit of the home of the Lotus F1 Team. Hosted by Martin Cummings, facilities manager for Lotus F1 Team, who, following a site tour, will share the challenges that come with managing the site.

Venue: Lotus F1, Whiteways Technical Centre, Enstone, Oxfordshire, OX7 4EE Contact: Visit www. bifmlotusf1team.eventbrite.co.uk LONDON REGION 26 September | Project management From 5.45pm. Presentation from Phil Ratcliffe, managing director of Procore, followed by a team activity, highlighting how essential thorough planning, managing and implementing a project is to ensuring a successful outcome.

Venue: BBC New Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London,

SCOTLAND REGION 10 October | All about FM! Conference and exhibition, with speakers to be announced.

Venue: Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, EH12 5PJ Contact: Michael Kenny at mkenny@fesfm.co.uk or visit allaboutfm2013.eventbrite.co.uk SOUTH REGION 3 October | Supply chain management: who manages who?

A case study on how a global FM supplier embraced cloud technology to take control of their growing supply chain.

BIFM South Region and Trade Interchange host.

Venue: CAA Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussexx RH6 0YR Contact: Dave Barrett at dlbarrett@ dsi.pipex.com or call 07861 684579 SOUTH WEST REGION 1 October | Networking event The region’s inaugral networking event, from 8.45am.

Venue: Plumer House, Tailyour Road, Plymouth, PL6 5DH Contact: Richard Greaves at richardgreaves@voomeroon.co.uk or visit tinyurl.com/pdqgcm6 15 November | Hard services Detailed programme and speakers to be confirmed.

Venue: Hilton, Woodlands Lane, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 4JF Contact: dan.knight@ norlandmanagedservices.co.uk or visit tinyurl.com/oqsfehs FM WORLD | 19 www.fm-world.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2013 | 41

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FM PEOPLE MOVERS & SHAKERS

BEHIND

DATA

THE JOB

CHRIS HARE TOPIC TRENDS

NAME: Chris Hare JOB TITLE: Operational manager ORGANISATION: Infinity Tower São Paulo, Brazil, CBRE JOB DESCRIPTION: ”perational responsibility for the most prestigious address in São Paulo.”

be a good FM at the operational level if you do not understand the human element of everything we do.

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

Managing the interests of three competing groups: the building owner, the tenants, and finally CBRE. These interests do not always overlap 100 per cent and managing this tension can be a professional minefield. But managing stakeholders is an essential part of being a good FM!

What attracted you to the job?

The opportunity to be involved in a high quality, high profile project from handover through to implementation and operation. The profile of the tenants in Infinity Tower and the level of automation and technology incorporated in the building means the demands on the management team and our service providers is far beyond that experienced in any other building in São Paulo. I felt this was an opportunity to broaden my FM experience and stretch my management skills.

My top perk at work is…

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

To educate clients to look beyond the ‘cost factor’.

Working in a quality-orientated environment is a phenomenal challenge, and does not necessarily mean losing control of the bottom line, but it does mean working harder and smarter!

Any interesting tales to tell?

MY TOP PERK AT WORK IS…

A recent one would be the day an unfortunate taxi driver became confused on a dark and rainy day and drove into the water feature in front of Infinity Tower...

Arriving at Infinity Tower in the “Arriving at Infinity morning and knowing I am a Tower in the morning and part of something very unique and special. Although my team knowing I am a part of If I wasn’t in facilities and I do not always get things something very unique management, I’d 100 per cent right, and every and special.” probably be… day brings its special challenges An architect or a builder. and surprises, I am very proud I am obsessed with all facets of my role in taking forward the of the built environment. owner’s vision of an iconic building, providing an exceptional working environment to the tenants.

How did you get into FM and what attracted you to the industry?

I became an FM by accident, and it took time for me to understand the huge scope of activities that could be covered by the description. As a service provider, each client presents a specific set of challenges, and a specific basket of services to be managed. The sheer diversity of the challenge is what motivates me and makes me proud of my profession.

What’s been your career high point to date?

If I were to single out any of them I would probably focus on those that involve people, helping young staff grow and seeing them become competent professionals in their own right, and helping to deliver consular services while at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in Sao Paulo. There you could make a difference to people during what could be the worst moments in their lives. It is impossible to 42 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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OUR INTERVIEWEE RATES THE IMPORTANCE OF CURRENT FM TOPICS OUT OF 10. THE ‘AVERAGE’ SCORE (IN GREEN) IS TAKEN FROM OUR OTHER 2013 INTERVIEWEES.

Working with procurement

6

7

AVERAGE

CHRIS HARE

Introducing/ working with new forms of IT

4 5

Working on energy-efficiency initiatives

7 8

Adapting to flexible working

5 3

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

I would like to see clients being honest about their outsourcing goals. Is it finding a specialist to do the job better, is it cost reduction, is it headcount reduction, is it back-office cost reduction? What exactly is the driving force behind the project? I have been involved in projects where (in my opinion) the true goal has been hidden behind a lot of blurb and politics, being pushed through in pursuit of a hidden agenda, or where hugely expensive ‘sacred cows’, are protected at the cost of key front-line activates.

How do you think facilities management has changed in the past five years?

I sometimes feel that the inclusion of technology has reduced the importance of human contact.

Email, for example, is a good way of ensuring people are kept in the loop, but it is a dismal failure when it comes to real communication!

Maintaining service levels while cutting costs

7 8

Adapting FM to changing corporate circumstances

9

8

www.fm-world.co.uk

12/09/2013 17:29

FM NEWS

Call Norbert Camenzuli on 020 7880 7551 or email norbert.camenzuli@fm-world.co.uk For full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack

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

The accolades include a shortlisting in the Air Conditioning Product of the Year category for the company’s recently launched SHRM-i three-pipe heat recovery air conditioning system. It is believed to be the most efficient VRF system in the market at part-load conditions. Toshiba’s refrigerant leak prevention and management systems have also been shortlisted in the same category. The technology, which attracts ‘BREEAM’ points, is being adopted by a growing list of national end users, keen to eliminate the possibility of refrigerant leaks from their buildings.

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

▲ Jangro raises £100,000 for Macmillan

▲ Fireco’s Freedor: safe and convenient

Jangro, the largest UK network of independent janitorial supply companies, which has 41 outlets, is on the road to raising £100,000 pledged to Macmillan Cancer Support.

The fundraising campaign started with a sponsored walk involving 27 head office staff and friends, each covering five miles around the Rivington and West Pennine Moors in Lancashire.

This raised £1,252. Kyle Macintyre, son of Jackie Macintyre, director of Jangro Perthshire member, Co-An UK, simultaneously ran the Edinburgh Half Marathon and donated the £503 he raised to the Jangro Macmillan fund. The youngest walker was five-year-old Rhys Green, who completed the walk in the same time as the adults.

T: 0845 458 5223 E: enquiries@jangrohq.net W: www.jangro.net

Safety and convenience often don’t sit well together.

We all know we need to keep fire doors closed to hinder the spread of fire, but for reasons of ease and convenience, they are often propped open.

Fireco has the perfect solution. A wire-free device, Freedor, holds fire doors open at any angle but automatically closes the door when the alarm sounds.

Simple, neat and unobtrusive, Freedor is easy to install in new buildings and retrofit. With a battery life of between 12-18 months, it also comes in a number of finishes including chrome, brass and stainless steel, allowing it to fit into your decor.

Fireco’s Freedor swings open freely and then can be left in any position, but will close automatically, preventing the spread of fire and smoke.

T: 0845 241 7575 W: www.firecoltd.com

▼ New design features for Dimplex Dimplex has updated its AC3CN recessed ceiling heater for commercial buildings with a new white linear grille and hinged access for easy installation and connection.

Designed to provide subtle heating where wall space is limited and fast response is needed, the popular 1.5kW/3kW heater is recommended for ceilings up to 2.3 metres in height.

A new hinged grille, which has been designed in line with customer feedback, will increase the speed of installation and ease of maintenance, saving time and money for installers, compared to removable sections on the previous model.

The existing grille has also been updated with a new, white linear design that will blend in better with ceiling installations.

T: 0844 879 3587 E: marketing@dimplex.co.uk W: www.dimplex.co.uk/commercial

▲ Jangro – bigger, brighter and better

SteriHandle launched by PHS Washrooms

Jangro, the largest UK network of independent janitorial supply companies, which has 41 outlets, has launched the biggest, brightest and probably best website in its sector. www.jangro.net is packed with useful information to help users select products and check the health and safety data sheets before purchasing.

Visitors can locate their nearest Jangro member, see 40,000 products in the Jangro catalogue, and read the Jangro Training Solutions programme. It enables national accounts to buy online for regional deliveries. Training DVDs and a short, informative Jangro DVD are included.

The new-style sites enable customers to place orders direct to members.

T: 0845 458 5223 E: enquiries@jangrohq.net W: www.jangro.net

An innovative hygienic door handle, which is proven to kill 99.99 per cent of germs, has been launched by PHS Washrooms to help combat a rise in spreadable infections and viruses.

SteriHandle is coated with the antibacterial technology of SteriTouch, which harnesses the natural sterilising properties of silver. Available in both push and pull options, SteriHandle is permanently fixed to the door and incorporates a replaceable component, serviced every six months.

In independent trials, SteriHandle achieved an impressive 99.99 per cent reduction of MRSA and E.coli within 10 minutes, reducing the number of organisms typically found on a door handle from over 140,000 to less than 10 in the same time period.

T: 029 2080 9090 W: www.phs.co.uk/washrooms

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Appointments

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

Introducing....

Executive Search The FM Network would like to introduce their Executive Search division. We have a proven track record of delivering retained Executive Search to the Facilities Management sector. We have conducted searches for a number of the top facilities management providers as well as some of the world’s leading global investment banks and corporate end users.

For key positions within your organisation an executive search assignment is the most effective solution. We offer a range of client services designed to assist companies to find and retain the top talent in the FM industry.

While there are certainly talented people in search frequently require an active approach. Additionally, outstanding work and are unlikely to be interfacing large pool of applicants is not the same as having

of new opportunities, higher level and difficult to fill positions many companies value candidates who are consistently doing with traditional, passive solutions like job postings. Having a the right talent in consideration.

Some our recent assignments include:

EMEA Head of Facilities Head of Operations Head of Business Development Head of Bid Management Managing Director Critical Engineering Director If you have a executive requirement or are looking for your next opportunity then please contact Alex Sutherland on 0121 450 5000 or email Alex@thefmnetwork.co.uk

0121 450 5000 info@thefmnetwork.co.uk

N O.1 FACILITIES M A N AG EM ENT RECRUITER IN THE U K

*

www.thefmnetwork.co.uk *according to a recent survey

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Latest UK FM Opportunities M&E Project Manager London • £49,000 plus car & bens We require an M&E Project Manager to join a service provider on one of its flagship contracts. You will join the UK division of a global financial contract and oversee multiple projects (circa 20) at any one time. You will be responsible for delivering these projects from inception to completion, have an M&E background, strong communication and client facing skills. In addition you must also be commercially astute and have the ability to foresee where value can be added to the contract.

Ref: 236011

Total Facilities Manager Berkshire • £45,000 Our client is seeking a Facilities Manager to manage the delivery of all FM services to one of their key clients based on site in Berkshire.

You will manage a mix of self delivered services and outsourced contracts ensuring contractual KPI’s and SLA’s are exceeded. The successful candidate will regularly liaise with a number of key stakeholders within this busy environment and previous client facing experience is therefore essential.

Ref: 235091

Regional Facilities Manager East Midlands • Up to £39,000 (including Car Allowance) We are seeking a Regional Facilities Manager to manage a mixed portfolio of 18 commercial office, industrial property and retail parks across the Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire region. You will be experienced in managing multi-site portfolios for a managing agent, handling service charge budgets, health and safety and statutory compliance and managing contractors. Strong tenant liaison skills are essential.

Ref: 235991

Offices globally www.cobaltrecruitment.com Please apply for any of the above roles by emailing apply@cobaltrecruitment.com or call 020 7478 2500 to speak with Claudio Rojas, Ryan Coombs or Matt Thomas quoting the relevant reference number.

JOBS

The power of people

Want to be involved in one of the UK’s largest FM & workplace change programmes?

Moves & Relocations Manager - £55-60k + bene¿ts Customer Relationship Manager - £55-60k + bene¿ts Programming & Planning Supervisor - £45k + bene¿ts Based in West Midlands Jaguar Land Rover has an exciting future. Demand is soaring and with iconic

PLAN YOUR NEXT MOVE

on the move See latest job listings Create job alerts by email Save and email jobs from mobile Apply for jobs by saving your CV to your profile Keep track of your activity

brands and a long heritage, the company has ambitious plans for growth.

In response, the UK property portfolio is to undergo signi¿cant change and the challenge for the Group Property department is to create an appropriate supply of modern workplaces. The FM & Workplace Team is looking to recruit the above 3 roles to bring improved control, forward planning and reporting to the project management of physical workplace changes.

A key focus for this Team is to re-align functions across selected UK sites to improve business adjacencies, whilst in parallel, leading the roll out of new workplace styles. Critical to the success of this initiative, is not only to ef¿ciently and effectively manage thousands of physical moves but also to understand individual business function requirements, and to guide internal customers through the process.

You can ¿nd out more and apply at:

Go to www.fm-world.co.uk/jobs

http://jobs.fm-world.co.uk/

FM WORLD | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | 45

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FINAL WORD NOTES FROM AROUND THE WORLD OF FM

NO 2

DAYS

THE SAME

YOU'RE SO VAIN...

...you probably think this unoccupiable space is about you.

'Vanity height' is a new phrase being used by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat to describe the distance between a skyscraper's highest occupiable floor and its architectural top.

No surprise, perhaps, that the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, has been crowned the "vainest building in the world", according to the council's report. At 828 metres tall, the top 244 metres is, they say, essentially unusable space.

Meanwhile, the Burj Al Arab has the greatest proportion of vanity height, its highest occupied floor at 198 metres being just 61 per cent of the way to the top.

Other buildings on the list include the Bank of America Tower in New York and the Zifeng Tower in Nanjing, China.

MELTY-STOREY 20 Fenchurch Street – the Walkie-Talkie – hit the news recently when its unusual concave shape reflected light down on to a London street below, melting car body work and allowing one particularly inquisitive journalist to fry an egg on the pavement. We took a look for ourselves; it really is quite something to see Eastcheap so oddly illuminated in comparison to the surrounding streets.

Which makes us think – in all this talk about FM informing the architectural design process, what operational data could have been extracted from a building information model and provided by FM to guard against this peculiar outcome? It's one thing to report, for example, on actual vs. projected footfall or energy consumption, or perhaps the impact of westerly/easterly facing façades on carpet fading – but quite another to point out the possibility of a potentially lethal light reflection developing such a concentrated and pernicious beam.

"WORKPLACE STRATEGY SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT BUSINESS NEEDS AND HOW REAL ESTATE WORKS WITH HR, IT, FINANCE AND OTHER SUPPORT FUNCTIONS" RICHARD KADZIS, VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR CORENET GLOBAL

A TOUCH OF GLASS Retail FMs, you are either going to love this or hate it: the world's first 'virtual shop' is now open in Korea.

Rather than doing the normal thing of removing items from heaving shelves of easy-to-drop groceries, consumers are faced with walls of touch screens designed to look just like the shelves they've replaced.

See something you want? Just tap it and it'll be bagged up for collection when you get to the checkout.

So, bittersweet news for the FM team: reduced spills should mean floor maintenance is surely a fraction of the problem it was. But it's been replaced by the need to ensure continual up-time for the many serried rows of giant digital screens…

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OUT 3 OCTOBER

REPORT – CORENET GLOBAL /// CASE STUDY: THE OVAL CRICKET GROUND /// THE FUTURE OF OFFICE STORAGE /// INTERNATIONAL FM RELATIONSHIPS /// LEGAL UPDATE: COMMON COMMENCEMENT CHECKLIST /// GREY WATER RECYCLING /// ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND BUSINESS ANALYSIS

46 | 19 SEPTEMBER 2013 | FM WORLD

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12/09/2013 17:34

Follow the best FM career path Take the fast track with the BIFM today.

Whatever in facilities facilitiesmanagement, management, Whatever your your position position in joining can send sendyour yourcareer careerininthe theright right joining the the BIFM BIFM can direction. targeted training trainingand andrecognised recognised direction. Our Our extensive extensive targeted professional qualifications cationscan cangive giveyou youaaclear clearpath path professional qualifi through As well wellas as through to to the the top top of of your your profession. profession. As qualifi our dedicated dedicated BIFM BIFMTraining Trainingdivision divisionoffers offers qualifications, cations, our over short training trainingcourses. courses. over 40 40different different interactive interactive short You Guides and andupdates updateson onkey key You also also get get Good Good Practice Practice Guides FM our fortnightly fortnightlyFM FMWorld Worldmagazine. magazine.

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

BIFM career path NEW 186x123.indd 1

HOT DATES Think about your how you can boost your own skillset and get ahead of the game BIFM Training now offer the widest range of FM courses globally and we’ve just launched a number of new programmes in areas we believe that FMs should be embracing including Building Information Modelling (BIM) on 19 Nov 2013 and BS11000 Collaborative Business Relationships on 11 Dec 2013 – call 0207 404 4440 for your copy of the new autumn 2013 brochure or email info@bifm-training.co.uk

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OCTOBER COURSES 22-24 23 24 24 28-1

The Professional FM 1 [Intermediate] - Edinburgh Energy Management Energy Legislation User Needs, “DDA” & Reasonable Adjustments IOSH Managing Safely in Practice

NOVEMBER COURSES 5 5-6 5-7

6-7 7 12-14

Introduction to Catering Contracts Display Screen Regulations & Risk Assessments Team Leading - ILM Level 2 Award in Leadership & Team Skills Making Catering Contracts Work Cutting Costs but Maintaining Services Understanding FM [Foundation]

+44 (0)20 7404 4440 info@bifm-training.co.uk | www.bifm-training.com facebook.com/bifmtraining

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linkedin.com/company/bifm-training

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