Taster edition
FAC I LITATE
OC TOBER 2020
CONTENTS AN A LYS I S
6 M I TI E/ I NT E RS E RVE S AL E CMA launches investigation into the sale of Interserve’s FM business 7 SO CIAL VALUE Firms need to outline their priorities including Covid-19 recovery measures
COM M UNI TY
KNOW LE DGE
17 IWF M POLICY PIPE LINE The potential for the government’s £2billion Kickstart Scheme
38 FIT-OUTSTANDING A checklist for how to go about sprucing up your workplace
3 0 PE R SPE C T IV E S The four most interesting and insightful opinions on FM this month
39 FACE: THE FACTS Facial recognition and a streamlined approach to attendance tracking
3 3 A BIT A BOU T YOU Russell Wood is facilities manager at Dentsu Aegis Network
40 INTELLIGENCE ENQUIRIES AI in FM can play a significant role in improving the industry
3 4 OC TOBE R @ IWF M The people and projects currently informing IWFM activity
42 COLLABOR ATION STATIONS The pandemic has taught us valuable lessons about how to collaborate
3 5 C A LL S TO AC T ION The events and training options that deserve your attention
43 HATS OFF Ensuring workers’ return to the workplace is as safe as can be
8 CO MMUTIN G Call for part-time season tickets to get workers back into city centres
LONG FORM
18
THE END – AND NEW BEGINNINGS Open plan offices, catering, cleaning – is it really the end for the way things used to be done? Has the
10 SO CIAL VALUE Heat pump retrofits ‘must start now’ if the UK is tov meet its 2050 net zero carbon obligations 15 NEWS MAK E RS Ten top stories from Facilitate online
WHAT WE DO
Facilitate – the magazine and online news content resource of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) – keeps IWFM members and others up-to-date on all workplace and facilities management issues, ensuring you are informed of the latest developments and thinking.
pandemic set off a seachange in the way clients organise the way their workplace services are procured and structured – or is any change just temporary?
– your award winning magazine
In 2019, Facilitate won Best Magazine (10-32,000 members) award at the Association Excellence Awards, judged by a body which assesses the media brands of trade bodies, membership organisations and associations. And here in 2020, our editor Martin Read has won Editor of the Year at the MemCom Awards, as run by
the association for membership communities. We aim to continue producing our award-winning product for you, so feel free to get in touch with your thoughts. Got a story? email editorial @facilitatemagazine.com
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LE A D E R
COMMENTS
MA RTI N R E A D
L INDA HAUSM ANIS
Resilience is key, as are you While the sun was setting on summer and spoiling many of us with an encore of warm, bright days, news arrived like a chilly autumnal wind that the Government-driven rush back to the office was off: once again, we were being advised to work from home if possible. Of course, many in our profession will continue to work on-site, just as they have throughout the pandemic; a lot of us, however, will remain largely confined to working remotely. Whichever category you fall under, I cannot stress enough how crucial you are to the effort to overcome these difficult times. Whether you are keeping people and buildings healthy and working or helping to establish new ways of working, you are key to your organisation’s and country’s fortunes. Just before Boris’ announcement, I took part in a very timely launch event for the Resilience Alliance: a coming together of four professional membership bodies, including IWFM, to share knowledge and promote resilience in organisations. There has never been a greater need for organisations to be adaptive and flexible, both for navigating through the disruption and uncertainty, and for ensuring your people are equipped and supported to do their best work. Inspiration can come from intense pressure, but reliable creativity and innovation under duress requires a calmness of mind that comes from being prepared for any eventuality. Thankfully, we have steady hands steering the ship at Facilitate magazine in our newly crowned ‘Editor of the Year’, Martin Read, who was acknowledged by the memcom excellence awards last month. Thank you for all your hard work, Martin, and congratulations for winning this richly deserved award!
LINDA HAUSMANIS is CEO of the IWFM
FROM THE EDITOR
D
eadlines and rescheduling meant that this year’s main IWFM conference sessions fell on our press day. Accordingly, commentary from that event will appear in our November edition, although you can also find our reporting now at www.facilitatemagazine.com. Covid-19 also means the IWFM Awards ceremony following just two weeks after the conference. The Covid Response Award will add further energy to the 12th October awards ceremony. I’ve read the submissions and know that those stories are worthy of the publicity they’ll receive, showcasing all that’s best about this profession. Which is where, if you can forgive me, I should mention this title’s own awards success. Last month I was named editor of the year by MemCom, the membership organisation for membership organisations. As IWFM’s membership title, Facilitate overcame competition from other excellent membership organisations including RIBA. It means consecutive awards for Facilitate; we were Best Magazine at the 2019 Association Excellence Awards. None of this would have happened without the work of my editorial colleagues Bradford Keen and Herpreet Kaur Grewal, our sub-editor Deborah Shrewsbury, newly wed designer Seija Tikkis-McPhail and all the other Redactive staff you’ll find listed on page 50. Nor would judges have picked out my work had it not benefited from IWFM support; its head office staff, our editorial board and the members whose energetic input keeps us on our toes, just as it should. The nature of community communication continues to evolve. I know that you can never please everyone all of the time, and that awards are only ever a (very welcome) snapshot of performance at a point in time. My job mirrors that of a workplace and facilities manager; to routinely evaluate how best to facilitate the performance of those we provide for. I’ll be redoubling our efforts to present the work of this sector so that you continue to glean the insight you need to inform your decision-making. The pandemic means more tough times ahead for all of us. Creativity in adversity is key, and new ways of doing our job on Facilitate will be needed. I’m grateful for this award, but your opinion of what we do on your behalf will always be the true mark of our success.
“AWARDS ARE A (VERY WELCOME) SNAPSHOT OF PERFORMANCE”
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MARTIN READ is the editor of Facilitate magazine
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F RO NT D E S K A N A LY S I S
H
eat pumps will play a critical role in tackling emissions from London’s buildings and delivering the mayor’s 2030 net-zero ambitions, said a report by the Carbon Trust last month. The study, Heat Pump Retrofit in London, commissioned by the Mayor of London, includes analysis of the potential to retrofit heat pumps across a range of existing buildings in London and recommends a plan for scaling up energy efficiency and heat pump retrofit across the capital. The report will assist local authorities, social housing providers and others considering a heat pump retrofit by highlighting good practice system principles. Decarbonising heat is London’s biggest challenge to achieving net-zero emissions. Natural gas, used mainly for heating buildings and water, accounts for 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the capital. To achieve the mayor’s net-zero target by 2030, London will need to make a rapid transition from gas to low-carbon heat solutions, most of which will be retrofitted with at least 80 per cent of current buildings expected to still be standing in 2050.
Thermal efficiency
NET ZERO CA RB ON
HEAT PUMP RETROFITS ‘MUST START NOW’ TO HIT NET-ZERO TARGETS
Heat pump systems have the potential to deliver immediate carbon emission savings of 60-70 per cent compared with conventional electric heating and 55-65 per cent when compared with an efficient gas boiler. As the grid decarbonises further in coming decades these carbon savings are expected to increase to 90-100 per cent of W O R D S : H ER P R EE T K AU R G R E WA L carbon emissions by 2050. But heat pumps are not a like-for-like replacement for gas boilers and good Additionally, a prerequisite for practice system design will be essential to their the roll-out of heat pumps in many effective deployment. The report contains guidance buildings will be improved thermal for building owners on the technical options for energy efficiency, which is likely installation and the principles of good practice to require significant investment system design in heat pump retrofit. from central government, alongside
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TO ACCESS THE FULL VERSION OF FACILITATE MAGAZINE, JOIN IWFM investment and coordination with local authorities and the private sector. Retrofitting energyefficiency measures, combined WW W. I W Fprovides M .O RGmultiple .U K with heat pumps, benefits, including reducing energy
F RO NT D E S K A N A LY S I S
PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAMY
LONDON WILL NEED TO MAKE A RAPID TRANSITION FROM GAS TO LOW-CARBON HEAT SOLUTIONS, MOST OF WHICH WILL BE RETROFITTED
bills, and enabling the heat pump to operate more efficiently. According to Will Rivers, manager at the Carbon Trust, it is a similar picture nationally. He told Facilitate: “Broadly speaking, the national picture is similar to the London picture in lots of ways and many of the findings will be relevant nationwide. Our action plan for delivering heat pump retrofit at scale is certainly applicable at a national scale. Heat pump retrofit installations need to be scaled up rapidly across the UK in order to deliver net-zero carbon targets. London currently has particularly low numbers of heat pump installations , with the lowest numbers of RHI heat pumps
installations of any region in the UK.” He added: “A key overarching finding from the research is that heat pumps are a highly varied and versatile form of technology that, with appropriate design, installation and commissioning, can work well in all building contexts – and therefore can work well in all regions. “However, the profile of heat pump technologies is likely to differ between regions based on factors such as the age and energy efficiency of the building stock, local geology and the relative density of buildings – these will all influence the particular types of technology that are most suitable. For example, in London air source heat pumps are likely to be a key technology type, but probably less prevalent than in other regions due to the difficulties of retrofitting air source heat pumps in particularly dense urban environments such as large blocks of flats.”
Labour shortage needs addressing
Graeme Fox, head of technical at the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), told Facilitate that to achieve the net-zero targets, action would need to be taken now and even if it was, he pointed out a number of challenges that had to be tackled for this to happen. “The acual issues are multilayered,” he
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said. For a start, Fox says the most efficient type of pumps had to be fitted – known as the split type system. Fox says more engineers willing to fit pumps into domestic buildings were needed and fitted adequately – by someone qualified to fit it. Fox said manufacturers were “quite comfortable that they can meet the demand of actually producing the units. The demand or the supply shortfall is going to come in on the labour side. In the installer base rather than the manufacturing of products”. Fox added: “Then there’s the issue of servicing them and the repairs – that’s a lot of concern [if there is not enough labour].” He also thinks there “needs to be more government action” and that “heat pumps need to be made available to homeowners”. Although commercial buildings also need to have heat pumps fitted, it is a “more mature market” and already being done in retail and office buildings as a matter of course, according to Fox. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy, told Facilitate: “A Department for. Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy spokesman said the focus had to remain on decarbonising households for a real difference to be made. He said: “We remain committed to investing in this technology for the long term as part of meeting our target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. “Homeowners will be able to get heat pumps fitted with our £2 billion Green Homes Grant, on top of the £2.8 billion we are investing in heat pumps and similar technologies through the Renewable Heat Incentive.” The government also said that as of March 2020, there were approximately 60,000 heat pump installations in Great Britain W W W. I through W F M .O the RG .U K supported Renewable
TO ACCESS THE FULL VERSION OF FACILITATE MAGAZINE, JOIN IWFM Heat Incentive Scheme.
Ten of the top stories from Facilitate online last month
NEWSMAKERS
The Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service have failed in their attempts to improve the condition and suitability of the prison estate, claims a report by the Common’s Public Accounts Committee. Despite promises to create 10,000 new-for-old prison places by 2020, just 206 have been delivered. Prisoners continue to be held in conditions that do not meet their needs, states the 26-page report. tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-prison
15/09
10/09
Three priorities for real estate
Real estate adviser JLL has designated three priorities for the real estate sector in the post-Covid decade. Its latest report details the priorities as 1) ensuring climate resilience and accelerating the net-zero carbon transition; 2) delivering healthy buildings and places, and 3) creating a fair and inclusive society. tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-jll
09/09 07/09
Bosses must be vigilant as workplace reopen
Employers must remain vigilant and have empathy as they reopen workplaces, said Raj Krishnamurthy, CEO at UKbased workplace technology company Freespace. A ManpowerGroup poll found the biggest reason people didn’t want to go back to the workplace was fear of a second Covid-19 wave. tinyurl.com/ FacMag1020-freespace
‘Golden thread’ survey
Members of the National Housing Federation and UK BIM Alliance are collaborating on a project to help housing associations implement digital asset management. it follows in the context of the Grenfell tragedy, the Hackitt Review and the government’s draft building safety bill. tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-digital
A shadow pandemic akin to post-war syndrome is likely to beset the world’s population for years after the immediate health concerns of Covid-19 have passed. Marie Puybaraud, global head of research at JLL, says “the shadow pandemic which will leave a health imprint of mental health, burnout, fatigue, psychological scars equivalent to what we have after a war or a terrorist attack.” tinyurl.com/FacMag1-20-pandemic
IWFM publishes Living Wage guidance
IWFM guidance says the institute “finds there is a powerful business case for paying the real Living Wage” despite the additional outlay involved. The guidance is published in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation (IWFM is one of more than 6,000 Accredited Living Wage Employers). tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-wage
26/08
25/08
UK BIM Alliance and NHF publish digital asset guide
Prepare for the shadow pandemic
03/09
26/08
The IWFM urged members to take part in a survey run by the Chartered Institute of Building and i3PT to investigate the built environment sector’s understanding of the digitall d ‘golden thread’ of information and ity whether the industry has the capability and capacity to deliver it. Results will be ear. shared later this year. olden tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-golden
Most markets see sharp dip in office take-up
The pandemic significantly affected leasing activity during Q2, shows Avison Young’s quarterly Economic & Property Market Review. Central London take-up fell to 1.1 million square feet – 57 per cent below the 10-year average. Availability rose marginally to 12.7 million sq ft, which was 5 per cent up on Q1 2020 but still down on the 10-year average. tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-dip
25/08
UK GBC flies crowdsourcing pilot
The UK Green Building Council is calling on built environment professionals “to share your knowledge of game-changing technologies, services, policies, and business and financial models” on how to drastically reduce the carbon emissions of buildings. It said: “The problem is that they aren’t common knowledge or well understood and we don’t have time to individually search them out.” tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-pilot
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24/08
l @Facilitate_Mag f FacilitateMagazine 15
TOP STORIES
MoJ ‘failing prisons estates’
Government vows to follow Grenfell recommendations
The government has said it is “committed to implementing all recommendations” of the Grenfell Inquiry despite MPs voting against Labour’s amendment to the fire safety bill. Granting the amendment would have implemented the recommendations from phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published last October. tinyurl.com/FacMag1020-inquiry
F RO NT D E S K
W W W. I W F M .O RG .U K
FacilitateMagazine.com/news
FacilitateMagazine.com / October 2020
F RO NT D E S K
POLICY PIPELINE
I W F M .O RG .U K / I N S I G H T/ P O L I C Y
SKILLS, SKILLS, SKILLS
KE Y CON TAC T S
SOFIE HOOPER Head of Policy PHIL JENKINS Policy executive policy@iwfm.org.uk
Announcing the transition from ‘furlough’ into the ‘Job Support Scheme’ in his Winter Economy Plan Statement, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, highlighted a few skills support schemes already outlined three months ago.
ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCK
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hose July measures focused on creating, supporting and protecting jobs to help the economic recovery, which had been planned for this Autumn. And while furlough will morph into a new scheme, many of the older schemes will progress, even if they may be tweaked. So, let’s remind ourselves. The Job Retention Bonus, which is a one-off payment of £1,000 to businesses for each furloughed worker employed until 31 January 2021, was mentioned first and will complement the new Job Support Scheme. The £2billion Kickstart Scheme has already gained some attention and will subsidise new jobs for those aged 16-24 and claiming Universal Credit (at the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours per week for six months). The scheme targets younger people as they are increasingly at risk of being part of a forgotten generation of school leavers who are not being offered an initial opportunity into a work pathway. As the scheme was only formally launched in September, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is still fine tuning it. As part of this, Mims Davies MP, the Minister for Employment, invited organisations, including IWFM, to a roundtable on how they can make the scheme work better. While the scheme should be explored by organisations looking to fill new vacancies, most organisations are prioritising retaining employees. Most organisations also often don’t need to fill 30 vacancies in one go, not least because they don’t have the staff in the office to help embed that many new people. However,
CON S ULTATI O N S
smaller organisations only wanting to start a few people should not be put off as there are over 100 intermediary organisations that can act as a coordinator. Intermediaries bring together several employers to make up the 30-people requirement, while also taking care of the administrative burdens of each placement. While the scheme could be an opportunity to access new skills, it is still unclear at the moment what the initial £1,500 for supporting new placements actually covers, even with the scheme’s ambition to deliver work-ready candidates. This inevitably brings us to the longstanding wider skills debate and the role of the apprenticeship levy. Sunak’s July announcement incentivises employers of new apprentices with payments of £1,500£2,000 depending on their new apprentice’s age. However, the levy can’t be used for short courses (beneficial for upskilling existing staff to equip them with much needed new skills) nor for embedding Kickstarters as the 12-month apprenticeship requirement is not compatible with the 6-month placement. COVID-19 has brought to the fore some of these pre-existing barriers which have reduced the great potential of the levy to a mere tax on business, as it is not responsive to agile skills needs. With the Department for Education currently reviewing the apprenticeship programme, IWFM welcomes member feedback on how to improve the levy to meet employer needs. Integration of short courses, realistic funding bands and an extended lookback period will be key to our policy position in this area.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy call for evidence on the recognition of professional qualifications / regulation of professions: tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP1 Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education consultation on the maximum government funding contribution for apprenticeships tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP2 DOCUME N T L I N KS
IWFM’s Position Paper on apprenticeships (published when BIFM) tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP7 IWFM: working to improve the delivery of apprenticeships tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP8 WE BS I TE R E F E R EN C E S
Apprenticeships: the FMs of the future tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP3 IWFM Career of Choice resources hub tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP4 Webinar: ‘Skills in the post-COVID world: evolution or revolution’ tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP5 Apprenticeships: Social Mobility Commission report shows system failing those from disadvantaged backgrounds tinyurl.com/Fac1020-PP6 COVI D- 19 R E S OU RC E S
tinyurl.com/IWFMTO ACCESS THE coronavirus FULL VERSION G E T I N VOLVED OF FACILITATE MAGAZINE, IWFM Share JOIN your views with us
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any policy matt W W W.onI W FM .O RG .Uer K at policy@iwfm.org.uk
LO N G FO R M
O P EN P L A N / C AT ER I N G / C L E A N I N G
T
he end of the invisible service? That’s the hope. It’s been nigh on three decades since the advent of battery operated back-pack vacuums allowed client organisations the option to revolutionise their cleaning service, deploying cleaners to work on-site during working hours. Yet in 2019 the concept of cleaners working alongside the end-users they serve was still a subject of debate. Cleaning remained the invisible facilities service. Today, after a sudden injection in enthusiasm from clients keen to show employees that they’re keeping them safe, many have, for now at least, opted to introduce ‘day cleaning’ and the back-pack tech it brings with it. That gap in time is instructive. For years, innovation in cleaning service - the way it is done, its measurement, the products used has largely failed to see professional cleaning budgets protected. Many, though, see the pandemic as bringing about the end of this thinking. Firstly, it has led to clients putting cleaning front and centre. “We’ve had some really positive client input about the work OCS has been doing for them during
Professional cleaning has always come at a price that too few have been willing to pay. So will the greater interest in genuinely effective cleaning brought about by the pandemic lead to the end of deeply ingrained prejudices against the service?
CLEANING
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LO N G FO R M
O P EN P L A N / C AT ER I N G / C L E A N I N G
lockdown, getting their facilities ready and then reopening them,” says the company’s head of cleaning, Yvonne Taylor. “What we’re seeing is clients who initially wanted cleaners to be seen all the time to give their endusers confidence are now moving to using different methodologies and different cleaning chemicals. Many have reverted back to the same cleaning schedule as they had previously, but with more appropriate chemicals.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY / PACVAC.COM
‘Miracle cures’
Early attempts in the pandemic by the unscrupulous to sell potentially toxic cleaning chemicals have largely abated. Taylor controls what products her teams deploy, researching the many misleading claims being made by suppliers. “We had to get the evidence about these products and then talk it through with clients for them to actually understand what particular products do and don’t work.” Some claims do not stand up to sensible scrutiny. The Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) points out that “any claim on a product stating it is proven to kill the virus is untrue.” Like other service providers, Taylor used her experience to assess what product firms were claiming. “Perhaps a product will last for 30 days on a surface, but that’s based on no one going in and using those surfaces, so of course it’s still going to be clean.” She has been surprised by firms that have not done the necessary due diligence and risk mitigation, hoping that a British Standard focused on the efficacy of barrier cleaning products will be developed as a result of the pandemic. Vinci Facilities head of cleaning Melanie Richardson has had a similar experience. “Clients are reading a lot, so when you meet with them they’d be cross questioning everything getting things wrong. Obviously they are
nervous and wanted to do the right thing. But most, thankfully, have listened to us. You have to ensure you know enough about how to treat the virus and how to work in their best interests to make buildings safe yet not increase costs to a point where it’s untenable.” Like Taylor, Richardson has had to battle companies selling in products that claim miraculous capabilities. “Just spraying everything with dangerous chemicals is the thing I am most concerned about. That’s not how you get rid of it. You have to sit down [with clients] and rationalise what’s actually going on and what you really need to do.” Training operatives is crucial, with Vinci opting to put their personnel on ISSA courses. “The key instruction that came from that course was to keep it simple. Don’t over complicate things. It’s actually a really easy virus to dismember; you just need to do a thorough clean using soap and water, then sanitise afterwards and make sure people are washing
their hands. It’s as simple as that.” James Gilding, Mitie’s managing director, Cleaning and Environmental Services, says there is another reason for clients’ newfound interest in cleaning product efficacy. “As businesses turn their attention back to driving net zero carbon targets, we anticipate a move to more sustainable cleaning solutions – be that chemical-free or reduced packaging. This is set to be one of the biggest shifts in our industry over the coming years.”
Day cleaning
The pandemic may also herald the end of an enduring prejudice against cleaners doing their job during office hours. “We’re seeing cleaning staff now being used during the day,” says Taylor. “I think an element of that daytime cleaning will stay, and that will be fantastic for our industry. Many organisations will now need to see a visible cleaning team on site, and not necessarily one that’s just running around cleaning
ATTEMPTS BY THE UNSCRUPULOUS TO SELL POTENTIALLY TOXIC CLEANING CHEMICALS HAVE LARGELY ABATED TO ACCESS THE FULL VERSION OF FACILITATE MAGAZINE, JOIN IWFM W W W. I W F M .O RG .U K
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V I E W P O I NT
SEEN AND HEARD
“The challenges of the current situation are here to stay, at least for the time being, and you have to adapt to the situation. There simply is no valid excuse for poor service if you intend to survive and prosper. Good customer service doesn’t just happen, you need to work hard at it.” MARTIN EDWARDS, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT TBR GLOBAL LTD, ASKS WHETHER THE PANDEMIC IS JUSTIFICATION FOR POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE
Ideas and comments made around the sector this month
FM@LARGE
“221. That is two days in the office, two days elsewhere, one day wherever you like. Why two of each? We don’t work with everyone in our organisation. We can map collaboration clusters. We can build a two-day face-time schedule and allocation of space based on what is needed. That means we only require half of the workspace we presently have.” NEIL USHER, CHIEF PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER AT GOSPACE, SAYS BALANCE IS KEY TO THE DEBATE ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME OR AT THE WORKPLACE
“Any wholesale shift in CRE comes down to changes in values and in customer experience from occupiers… It is already defining office/ workplace strategies of the most progressive businesses who are implementing more distributed ways of working.” DAVID GALSWORTHY, CEO OF SCALEUP, COMMENTS ON THE FUTURE OF THE WORKPLACE
NOTED&QUOTED
“THE BEST TEAM MEMBERS ARE THOSE WITH HEART: HUMBLE, STRIVES FOR EXCELLENCE, BRINGS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE, DRIVES RESULTS AND IS A TEAM PLAYER. LEADERSHIP ISN’T ABOUT BEING IN CHARGE; IT’S ABOUT BEING SOMEONE OTHERS WANT TO FOLLOW.” CBRE’S CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OFFICER CHANDRA DHANDAPANI REVEALS WHY HAVING A HEART IN BUSINESS IS KEY
“Watching the office vs home working debate rumble on, after years of leave vs remain, mask vs not mask etc, etc. It has made me wonder whether we’ll ever see the return of balanced debate or critical evaluation. It seems that social media’s lasting gift to us is a world of extreme, rigid opinion.”
“The true impact of the pandemic is as of yet still not known, but a tough economic environment is to be expected. In such circumstances how does your CV stand out; do you have the currency of a regulated qualification to help shine a light on you?” IWFM CEO LINDA HAUSMANIS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING AND UPSKILLING
IWFM DIRECTOR OF INSIGHT AND ENGAGEMENT CHRIS MORIARTY REMINDS US OF WHAT’S MISSING IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE
“There is a big difference between a clean desk and a clear desk. The former now relates to hygiene and the latter to management practices. I think the risk of conflating the two gives licence to the proponents of clear desk TO ACCESS THE policies (which are often as much to do with dogma FULL VERSION and the need to control as it is to do with efficient OF FACILITATE space management) to the detriment ofthose that MAGAZINE, JOIN IWFM feel such policies to be detrimental.” W W W. I W F M .O RG .U K
KENNETH FREEMAN, OWNER OF PURPOSEFUL PLACES, GIVES INSIGHT INTO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLEAR AND CLEAN-DESK POLICIES
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V I E W P O I NT
A B IT AB O UT YO U
RUSSELL WOOD is facilities manager at Dentsu Aegis Network
What do you do? I’m FM for Dentsu Aegis Network, a multinational media and digital marketing communications company. I’m responsible for both London HQ buildings comprising c.200,000 sq. ft. and c.1,800 employees. What attracted you to FM, and how did you get into the industry? I started as a
facilities assistant in a law firm around 15 years ago and the contract soon turned into a permanent position. I quickly understood that facilities is crucial to the operation of a business.
How long have you ben in your current role? Just under
a year. It feels a longer than that – a good thing I hope, but likely contributed to by the impact of Covid-19.
Do you see yourself as predominantly a task or a people manager? I’m more
weighted towards a people manager. Having strong personable and relationship skills gives you an extra edge, especially in a client servicing and supporting function.
Would you describe your role as predominantly operational or strategic?
PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK / ISTOCK
It’s a blend, but more operational. The size of the business requires the role to have a strategic requirement whilst naturally having to support and operate the function effectively.
BEHIND THE JOB
RUSSELL WOOD & facilities who reports into the director of operations. There are 16 in-house FM team members in our London HQ office, a mix of Front of House, Mailroom and Operations.
“SOMETHING THAT MEANS NOTHING TO ONE PERSON MIGHT MEAN A LOT TO ANOTHER.”
My top perk at work is…
We have such a diverse and dynamic team that is a joy to be a part of. Being next to Regents Park and having the opportunity to stretch the legs is also a perk.
showcased our industry; the planning for operational readiness of Covid-safe workplaces a great advert.
What has been your biggest career challenge to date?
If I wasn’t in facilities management, I’d probably be… Maybe coaching football.
Having to adjust and deliver having being promoted to head of property and facilities at Close Brothers Asset Management. Being promoted to that role exceeded my career plan at that stage. Fortunately I had a good support base which helped me in the early days of that role.
Growing up I managed to play at a good level but couldn’t quite make the grade. It was always a passion of mine.
Which FM / workplace ‘myth’ would you most like to put an end to? I often see
job adverts stating you must have five years’ experience in a corporate / advertising / legal environment. I struggle to understand that. As long as you are versatile and able to adapt, you should not see this as a blocker to applying.
If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? Are we
doing enough to sell our industry to school and college leavers? This year has
What advice would you give to a young facilities / workplace manager starting out? Invest in
What was the weirdest day you’ve had in the office? We
once had a fire evacuation of our building where a member of staff took a tumble and broke their wrist. Then, when congregating at the muster point a pigeon left me a present on my shoulder!
Early bird or night owl?
I am at my best first thing plus I have two young children!
What FM job in the world would you love more than anything? FM at a world
renowned golf course which gives employees free golf memberships? I’d suffer a bit more time on the golf course to work on my handicap…
And where would FM be an absolute nightmare? I’m a
West Ham fan, so working at one of our rivals such as Millwall? I’m kidding. Maybe an organisation that refuses to see the value of what we do.
personal development, don’t be afraid to ask for help inside or outside of your organisation; listen to Your life outside FM mostly clients and look for quick involves… I have a wife and wins, too; something that two young children, so life means nothing to one outside is dedicated to person might mean a lot to spending time and.Ucreating WW W. I W F M .O RG K another. memories with them.
How many people are there in your FM / workplace team, and to whom does the FM team ultimately report? I report
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into the director of property
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K N OW H OW EXPL AINER
MUHAMMAD ASIF KHAN, Ph.D., MIEEE and senior FM professional
AI IN FM
The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in FM has been slow but it can play a significant role in improving the industry, says Muhammad Asif Khan AI – Why it’s lagging in FM
Despite its growing use in other areas, AI is not enjoying the same level of popularity in facilities management. The reasons include: Lack of awareness and FM professionals considering AI as a highly complex technology only used to solve scientific and research problems; and FM organisations are not ready for AI adoption; AI techniques are mainly data-
to learn from historical equipment data to perform real-time prediction about possible equipment failure or need for urgent maintenance. Fault identification: AI can be efficiently used to identify faults using system generated data such as alarms and logs. Examples of such identification are power trips, leakages in pipes and ducts. Work scheduling: AI can help to forecast future workload in terms of breakdown, service requests given the various parameters such as operational load, weather information, ongoing maintenance activities and building occupancies. Such kind of demand forecasting can be helpful to plan resources and work scheduling. People’s safety: AI-based video detection systems can now be deployed to monitor work sites to ensure that people are complying with
AI’s role in FM
AI can be applied to a range of problems. I have limited the list to those where AI techniques can be applied to gain operational improvements, enhanced customer experience and decision-making. AI-enabled products: AI-enabled equipment such as intelligent temperature sensors can learn the temperature of your comfort and build an automatic schedule accordingly. Smart buildings: AI can be integrated into the building management and control systems to automatically adjust system settings and create equipment schedules to improve the building performance index. Predictive maintenance: AI algorithms can be applied
Challenges of AI in FM
Several challenges are associated with adopting AI: FM professionals need to upskill to understand how AI can transform their functions; Organisations need to invest in gathering data with highest possible accuracy. The curse of inaccurate data can produce miserable results; In outsourced FM models, equal contributions from client and service provider are required. Client organisations must encourage and support the AI adoption, while service providers need to show full commitment; and Collaboration among different organisations to share data can boost the success of AI in FM. However, challenges such as data privacy, confidentiality, trust and sharing of benefits are serious hazards such W W W. I W F Mfor .O RG .U K collaborations.
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ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK
ABC OF AI
driven and require accurate historical data, which most FM organisations typically lack.
safety procedures, for example, by detecting people not wearing personal protective equipment. AI can be used to activate an event-specific building evacuation plan that directs people to evacuate the building via a safe route based on the incident location. Customer experience: Frequent customer feedback can help to understand customer requirements and expectations. AI can help to analyse automatically this feedback to build automatic recommendation systems to suggest best actions. Smart analytics: AI enables FM professionals to gather useful insights from data beyond ‘gut feeling’. Sophisticated AI techniques can analyse data efficiently and build insights that can help to quickly perform accurate decision-making.
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