THE MAGAZINE FOR THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | 24 FEBRUARY 2011
FMWorld www.fm-world.co.uk
THE BANK JOB Keeping the client in view is the key focus at Nomura’s European HQ
001_FMW_Cover.indd 1
16/2/11 14:20:07
WWW.THEFACILITIESSHOW.COM/REGISTER
For further details on stand bookings and sponsorship opportunities, contact Fergus Bird at fergus.bird@ubm.com or 020 7921 8660
BIFM.Fac Show.280x210.indd 1 FMW.24.02.11.002.indd 1
11/2/11 08:46:49 14:36:00 16/2/11
VOL 8 ISSUE 4 24 FEBRUARY 2011
CONTENTS
8 | Downing street prowler
24 | Public sector cuts
16 | Nomura International
NEWS
OPINION
FEATURES
6 Apple resolves to clean up personnel issues in supply chain 7 An IoD report calls for a review of the right to request flexible working 8 Number 10 recruits cat to handle executive rodent problem 9 FM 100 poll: will there be more consolidation of SMEs to win contracts? 10 Business news: Is the prime minister’s Big Society programme merely cover for cuts? 11 MoD invites bids for a major UK military housing contract 12 Report from the fifth Life and Work seminar on future working 13 Service providers hold the key to reducing cost hears Workplace Futures
14 Diary of a facilities manager: David Walker’s regular look at the daily challenges he faces in his working life 15 Five minutes with Mark Fox, Business Services Association chief executive 42 Felicity Messing
32| Online learning
16
Nomura International: David Arminas gets a sneak preview of the investment bank’s yet-tobe-opened 525,00 sq ft premises: One Angel Lane
20
Greener and Leaner: Peter Janoska explains the implications of a new report calling for the rationalisation of local government estates
24
Comprehensive Spending Review: Public sector cuts are forcing FMs to forge new business relationships with government, by Simon Hawes
MONITOR 29 Legal: EU egg farming legislation 30 Technical: Ventilation and heat recovery requirements 31 How to: green your print function
REGULARS 34 BIFM news 37 People & Jobs 38 Appointments
30 Keeping cool and compliant
For exclusive online content including blogs, videos and daily news updates
visit fm-world.co.uk FM World Jobs – the best place to find FM career opportunities online COVER IMAGE: Nomura
visit fm-world.co.uk/jobs FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 03
03_FM Contents.indd 03
17/2/11 17:18:02
FMP.FP.indd 1 FMW.24.02.11.004.indd 1
15/2/11 08:50:35 12:06:12 16/2/11
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: Cathy Hayward ⁄ news editors: Louisa Roberts and David Arminas ⁄ sub editor: James Richards ⁄ assistant editor: Natalie Li ⁄art director: Mark Parry ⁄ art editor: Daniel Swainsbury ⁄ picture editor: Sam Kesteven
CATHY HAYWARD EDITOR COMMENT
LEADER
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING email: sales@fm-world.co.uk display sales executives: Adam Potter (020 7880 8543) and John Nahar (020 7880 6230) ⁄ recruitment sales executive: Stephen Fontana PRODUCTION production manager: Jane Easterman production executive: Aysha Miah PUBLISHING publishing director: Cathy Hayward 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 non-members. 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 Natalie Li on 020 7880 6229. EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Simon Ball, business development manager, Interserve ⁄Jason Choy, director, Persus⁄ Ismena Clout, energy consultant, powerPerfector ⁄ Nick Cook, managing director, Haywards ⁄ Rob Greenfield, director for health, safety, environmental and quality, Sodexo ⁄ Anne Lennox Martin, FM consultant ⁄ Peter McLennan, joint course director, MSc Facility Environment and Management, University College London ⁄ Lionel Prodgers, principal, Agents4FM ⁄ Chris Stoddart, general manager, Heron Tower ⁄ Jeremy Waud, managing director, Incentive FM ⁄ Jane Wiggins, freelance lecturer and FM author ⁄ Chris Wood, senior associate at Advanced Workplace Associates
Average net circulation 11, 654 (Jul 09 – Jun 10) FM World magazine is produced using paper derived from sustainable sources; the ink used is vegetable based; 85 per cent of other solvents used in the production process are recycled © FM World is published on behalf of the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) 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
BIFM ENQUIRIES
British Institute of Facilities Management Number One Building, The Causeway, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 2ER
earch Twitter under the hashtag fail and you’ll come across a lot of examples of poor service, disgruntled customers and some almost unbelievable situations. Look for the hashtag fmfail and there are some great examples of facilities management failings, enough to make even the most robust facilities professional blush – the security guard playing solitaire in a City office reception and the receptionist reading news stories on the internet (thanks @fmguru), the security asleep when the FM turns up to do a site inspection (@stapletoncoach), the empty Klix machine during a swimming pool gala (@FM_day2day) or the retailer who plays rap so loudly in their changing rooms that shoppers are forced out (cathy_fm_world). BIFM deputy chair and powerPerfector consultant Ismena Clout (@iswhiz) added to the list when she went for a night out at a local restaurant and spotted the big aggressive sign in a restaurant to instruct people to use the loo brush after use – with no loo brush provided. As a nation we’re renowned for being poor at complaining and being prepared to put up with some awful service but the joy of Twitter has allowed us to rant about poor service without the embarrassment of actually complaining to a person (big companies should take note – if you’re not searching Twitter for mentions of your company and responding quickly to complaints, then you’re missing a trick and what might now be a minor complaint could escalate very quickly when people retweet the more hilarious or serious complaints). Virgin has been very swift to respond to #virginfail tweets but other companies have not performed as well. It’s now known by BT customers that it’s very difficult to get through to their customer service department to actually speak to someone but if you post negative tweets about an organisation, they will respond more promptly. Surely properly staffing their call centre in the first place would avoid customers having to go public via Twitter with their complaints? But do we reward good service? Asda is known for its very competitive pricing but not usually for its good customer service or friendly staff. So when an Asda delivery driver went beyond the call of duty and carried my shopping down two flights of stairs to my kitchen (not even the Ocado man used to go that far) I went on to Asda’s website to email my thanks to his bosses, so he would get recognised. Even though there was an option to complain, there was no way to simply make a comment or say ‘thank you’ so I ended up sending a complaint to say thanks (which probably never got read). As an industry, we need to get better at recognising great service. Yes, there are various annual awards, but what about the numerous examples of exceptional service that happen in facilities management teams every day? Which is why @izwhiz and @theatreacle have suggested an #fmgoldstar hashtag on Twitter. If you have witnessed great FM, then post your comments on Twitter with #fmgoldstar and we can start to recognise all the great things happening in our profession and learn from them. But don’t stop the #fmfail either – it’s good to know when we get it wrong so we can make it right. My next #fail is directed at computer manufacturers who bury the hash key deep inside the keyboard – they need to move with the times and have it as easy to reach as the exclamation mark. Moan moan moan…
S
“THE JOY OF TWITTER HAS ALLOWED US TO RANT ABOUT POOR SERVICE WITHOUT THE EMBARRASSMENT”
Tel: 0845 0581356 email: admin@bifm.org.uk web: www.bifm.org.uk
www.fm-world.co.uk
05_Comment.indd 05
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 05
17/2/11 12:00:32
FM NEWS SIGN UP FOR FM WORLD DAILY AT FM-WORLD.CO.UK
Apple get to core of supplier problems Poor ventilation, underage workers and an attempt to bribe auditors are some of the violations within supply chain businesses at electronics giant Apple. Other problems found by Apple after a facilities and management practices audit included unsafe working conditions, inadequate safety devices, lack of first-aid supplies, improper handling of hazardous chemicals and excessive recruitment fees. According to Apple, in its 25-page Supplier Responsibility 2010 Progress Report, 97 first-time and 30 repeat audits were conducted in facilities. The report also has a chapter dedicated to the issue of suicides at Foxconn, the Chinese company that makes the iPad and other Apple devices. “Eighteen facilities where workers had paid excessive recruitment fees, which we consider to be involuntary labour; 10 facilities where underage workers had been hired; two instances of worker endangerment; four facilities where records were falsified; one case of bribery; and one case of coaching workers on how to answer auditors’ questions.” The report lays out “Findings” and “Corrective Actions” taken to remedy the situation, although suppliers are not named. For example, “81 facilities did not have adequate exit paths for emergency situations. We found narrow evacuation aisles or locked emergency exits.” The “Corrective Action” was, “We required facilities to make 06 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
6-7_FM News.indd 06
improvements to their exits and to check them regularly to ensure fast and easy evacuation.”
GETTY
DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk
Evaluated: Apple supplier Foxconn
Apple found 10 facilities that hired a total of 91 underage workers. One supplier was using 42 child labourers and “we determined management had chosen to overlook the issue and was not committed to addressing the problem,” the report said. “Apple has terminated business with the facility.” Last summer, Apple and Foxconn management met to put a suicide prevention plan in place. Around 1,000 Foxconn employees including managers were interviewed and the joint team “evaluated working and living conditions firsthand”. The result was that Foxconn hired psychological counsellors, set up a 24/7 care centre and installed nets to prevent impulsive suicides. ”Foxconn’s actions “definitely saved lives”, the report said.
PA
SUPPLY CHAIN
Cat’s the end of the road for No.10 rodents
IoD: flexible working generates red tape DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk
Dump the right to request flexible working, the Institute of Directors said in a document advising government on how to cut red tape for business. “Abolish the right to request flexible working. This right creates red tape for firms, and does little or nothing to boost flexible working,” the IoD said. The government proposes to extend the flexible right to all parents with children under 18, said the seven-page policy statement, The IoD Freebie Growth Plan. The government “looks set to retain the training right introduced by the previous administration. There is no need
to formalise rights which exist informally because when you formalise a process it creates new cost burdens, on small firms in particular.” Other proposals include keeping the default retirement age. “Why does the government want to make it harder for companies to remove staff who are no longer effective? No sensible employer is going to get rid of someone if they are performing. “By removing the DRA you
are forcing employers, who will have to remove older staff at some point, to manage them out through the normal dismissal procedures. This is immensely time consuming, complex and costly for small businesses and is fraught with the risk of tribunals.” The institute also wants to “abolish the right to request time off for training. This right also creates red tape for firms, and does little or nothing to boost training for workers.”
“Abolish the right to request flexible working. This right creates red tape for firms, and does little or nothing to boost flexible working” www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 16:08:20
NEWS
BRIEFS saying, “I’m delighted to welcome Larry to his new home. He came highly recommended to me by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, who did a fantastic job looking after him.” Concerns over the rat population have been on the agenda since a large black rat was seen scuttling past No.10 during a news broadcast. Chief Mouser Larry, who was formerly living rough, is a “good ratter”, has “a high chase-drive and hunting instinct” and has “a very strong predatory drive”. Larry was trotted out in front of the camera and took a dislike to the press, scratching reporters who tried to coax sound bites out of him. The post was empty during the prime ministership of Tony Blair. In the 1920s, Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald had a cat called Rufus of England, but nicknamed “Treasury Bill”.
In an effort to control the rat population at Downing Street, senior cabinet officials have introduced a new pest control system called Larry. Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the four-year-old tabby Larry to his official residence,
HSE safety drive Refurbishment, repair and maintenance work is the focus of a new crackdown by the Health and Safety Executive to ensure a safer working environment. HSE is visiting sites to ensure that sites “are managing work at height safely and that they are in good order, as well as checking that the risk of exposure to asbestos is being properly managed”. Last year, inspectors visited more than 2,000 sites and 2,414 contractors and issued more than 350 prohibition notices to stop dangerous work, much of it relating to working from height. During 2009/10, 42 workers died while working in construction, nationally. Of these, nearly three-quarters occurred during refurbishment, repair and maintenance work, the HSE said. “This will be the fifth year that we have run the inspection initiative,” Philip White, HSE’s chief inspector of construction, said. Inspectors asbestos surveys have been carried out prior to any refurbishment work.
Orient cries foul over stadium plans
6-7_FM News.indd 07
LONDON 2012
DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk
www.fm-world.co.uk
A health trust has bought a PFI hospital back from its private contractor, in a bid to save millions of pounds. The Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust took advantage of a break clause in the PFI contract and bought the hospital back 23 years early for £41m. The trust has paid £18m to Aviva, the PFI funder, to terminate the contract, saving £1.4m a year in interest charges and £300,000 a year that was being paid off the capital sum.
Cable backs skilled training Business Secretary Vince Cable urged more employers to drive economic growth by creating a new generation of skilled workers, while underling the government’s commitment to increase the budget for apprenticeships to over £1.4bn in 2011-12. “I want to reinforce the message to business and young people that apprenticeships are a firstclass way to start a career,” Cable said at the start of National Apprenticeship Week. Cable welcomed the expansion of British Airways engineering scheme, to take on 120 students this year.
New green council meet
OLYMPICS
West Ham is the preferred bidder for legacy use of the London Olympics stadium, but Leyton Orient could upset the game through a legal challenge. The Olympic Park Legacy Committee named West Ham over Tottenham Hotspur as the group to take over the 80,000-seat stadium. The stadium can be dismantled down to a 25,000-seat venue that would keep its track and field facilities surrounding a sports field. West Ham proposes to keep the track and convert the stadium into a 60,000-seat multi-purpose venue for football, athletics, T20 cricket, music and community events. The club also will get £40m financial backing from Newham Council. Leyton Orient claim that if West
NHS trust buys hospital PFI
Ham moves into the stadium, their proximity would threaten Orient’s existence. Leyton Orient chairman, Barry Hearn, wrote to the prime minister, David Cameron, and London mayor, Boris Johnson, asking them to review the decision, according to a report in the Guardian. Johnson has
yet to put his rubber stamp on the decision. At the time FM World went to press, Hearn was in talks with his legal team about a judicial review. This could delay the process of confirming West Ham’s tenancy. “It’s a question of due process and whether the Olympic Park Legacy Committee, the department for culture, media and sport and even the prime minister have given consideration to Leyton Orient in these discussions,” Hearn said. “Leyton Orient has been in existence for 130 years and by any stretch of the imagination we are the incumbent club,” Hearn said. “To have a giant like West Ham on our doorstep offering discounted and free tickets would seriously bring into question the survival of Leyton Orient.”
The government’s new Green Economy Council has held its first meeting to discuss how businesses can make the most of a new low-carbon economy. Government ministers are joining property directors and other business leaders to develop policies on climate change and the environment. “We can be a world-leading low carbon economy, but we need to get ahead of the likes of China who are closing down on us fast,” added Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne.
Schools energy failings Just 15 per cent of schools are ‘above average’ in their building performance, according to new research. Almost 12,000 schools took part in the LessEn League Table, with only 0.24 per cent achieving a DEC ‘A’ rating. The top local authority, with a rating of ‘C’ was Dorset, which has had an energy team in place since the 1970s. Of the top 20 local authorities in the league table, most are in rural rather than urban areas. As part of its research, LessEn have published tips for schools to lower their carbon footprint (less-en.org). FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 07
17/2/11 17:35:52
FM NEWS SIGN UP FOR FM WORLD DAILY AT FM-WORLD.CO.UK
PROJECT OF THE
FORTNIGHT NEWS BULLETIN
Buying Solutions chief exec resigns
EIC completes fit-out of lifeboat station substantially reducing response time Building services provider EIC ramped up its efficiency to complete a 21-week M&E fit out for a new lifeboat station in Shoreham, West Sussex. The new boathouse base is designed by Royal Haskoning and built by Dean and Dyball to house the Tamar class boat, the RNLI’s latest and most sophisticated vessel. The facility is designed to collect and use rainwater rather than drawing on fresh supplies for cleaning the lifeboats. As part of the project, the engineering team installed a rainwater tank and covered all associated pipework in AluZinc to protect against the elements and the spray from washing down the boats. Wet and dry areas are separated within the station, with waterproof seals used in those more likely to become wet, in order to protect the electrical systems. Equally important is the maintenance of a dry atmosphere in the boat hall, home to the Tamar offshore vessel and the smaller inshore lifeboat. This prevents degradation of the equipment, requiring high-impact PVC and GRP containment. Additional works implemented by EIC include systems of winches, cranes, fuel-dispensing equipment and a technical communications system, provided by EIC’s datacomms specialists. “We went fully operational in December and the facilities are fantastic,” spokesman for the Shoreham Lifeboat Station, Dave Cassan, said. “The speed and efficiency of our response time has increased thanks to the new systems which have been installed, dramatically reducing the time it takes us to get out onto the water and do our job.” EIC has a network of 13 regional offices, from Cornwall to Scotland and a national headquarters in Alcester, Warwickshire. EIC South is based in Lymington, Hampshire. 08 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
8-9_FM News.indd 08
Alison Littley resigned as chief executive of the public sector procurement agency Buying Solutions. Her resignation after five hears at the helm of the agency comes as the future shape and funding of Buying Solutions is under review. David Shields, procurement delivery director for Buying Solutions, has taken on provisional day-to-day management of the organisation, reporting to John Collington, executive director of procurement within the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group. The Cabinet Office is yet to confirm when Littley will depart and whether it is seeking a new full-time chief executive. As the government’s commercial arm, Buying Solutions – formerly OGCbuying.solutions – manages national framework agreements for the whole public sector. If the organisation is downsized, it is not yet known whether new deals will be open to the wider public sector. Collington is also examining its future funding status. One possible outcome is that it will cease to be a trading fund by 1 April and could be solely funded by the taxpayer. A Cabinet Office spokesman said it is expected that the organisation would be transformed to become “leaner and more efficient”. During her time as chief of Buying Solutions Littley urged public sector purchasers to increase collaboration and improve efficiency. She also pledged to boost interpersonal skills after discovering staff needed a better understanding of customer needs and criticised the spending habits of large government departments.
Firms happy to pay more for ‘green’ space More than half of businesses say that they will pay extra for ‘green’ office space as their focus shifts towards sustainability and employee wellbeing. A new report from CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle shows that business leaders want to balance the environmental performance of their buildings with overall financial performance. The report shows that 92 per cent consider sustainability criteria when choosing business real estate. Half say that they will pay more for green office space. A quarter said they would pay more in rent if it were offset by lower energy costs. The report said that this willingness may be a result from the relatively stable economic climate, compared to the past two years. Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability services at Jones Lang LaSalle added: “Although a lot of energy management strategies pay for themselves the first year, many companies have exhausted those opportunities and want to go to the next level.” “By replacing lighting systems or putting in ‘smart’ systems, companies may see their investment pay off within three years.”
HSE enters reporting consultation period The Health and Safety Executive has opened a three-month consultation on proposed changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. The proposals, as recommended in Lord Young’s report on health and safety published last year, include increasing the threshold for reporting workplace injuries to seven consecutive days. At the moment, when an employee is absent from work for more than three days following an incident, employers are required to report the injury to either the Health and Safety Executive or the local council. The change would align the incident reporting threshold with that for obtaining a ‘fit note’ from a GP for sickness absence, and would ensure that someone who has suffered a reportable injury has had a professional medical assessment. www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 16:19:17
FM 100 POLL
WE ASKED 100 FMS…
YES 84%
Do you think there will be more consolidation, mergers and acquisitions of SMEs as a way to win contracts? Around eight out of ten FMs think there will be increased consolidation, merges and acquisitions of SMEs as a way to win contracts. Mergers and joint ventures could take place not just in government contracts, but in any sector during these tough times, according to the latest FM 100 Poll. It’s a sad fact, said one FM, but the strategy must be more than ever “to get bigger and bigger in order to stay ahead of the competition. Who said size doesn’t matter?”
It appears, said another FM, that the coalition government’s “Big Society” requires big providers. SME’s should consider “forming a joint venture or coalition, thus increasing their potential to attract larger contracts while maintaining their individuality.” Part of the problem is that the government contracts are increasingly total FM deals, wherein the single, large provider does all the work. This, said a respondent, is choking off potential contacts to SMEs. These small businesses would be more involved
NO 16%
if the government contract is let to a managing agent or managing contractor, whereby SMEs are hired and managed by the overall FM agent. Otherwise, they will be left with taking contracts that the TFM provider can’t handle for various reasons, such as during peak times,
or special events, or in remote locations. But given the low margins for government work, many SMEs might not want local council work, a respondent said. There are high expectations and too often low profit margins with contracts usually let on lowest cost.
Government contracts to be split up Hoare Lea victory
PA
DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk
David Cameron wants large government contracts broken up into smaller deals suitable for small and medium size firms. The prime minister made the announcement in a speech to launch Contracts Finder, an online “one-stop-shop” for identifying government tender opportunities. “We’re going to break up large contracts into smaller elements, so that SMEs can make a bid and get involved,” Cameron said. Government will “work proactively with our large suppliers to directly increase opportunities for smaller organisations”. The initiative was designed to raise the amount of central government work that goes to SMEs, estimated at between five and ten per cent, a report by the BBC said. Cameron said the coalition is committed to ensuring that 25 per www.fm-world.co.uk
8-9_FM News.indd 09
cent of all government contracts are awarded to SMEs. Government wants to get rid of “excessive bureaucracy and petty regulation” through initiatives including firms no longer having to input their information each time they apply for a new contract. “This is a welcome package of measures,” said Susan Anderson, the business body’s director for public services, “but it could be much more radical by opening up all government contracts and public services to a range of innovative and expert providers.” Contracts Finder website will show all public sector contracts worth more than £10,000. Pre-qualification questions for central government contracts
at Cibse awards
under £100,000 will also be eliminated, according to the Cabinet Office. Last November, Cameron pledged to reverse the state’s “institutional bias” against small business. He appointed businessman and former cabinet minister Lord Young to conduct a review, something that Cameron said he hoped would be a “brutally honest report”.
The initiative was designed to raise the amount of central government work that goes to SMEs
The project team at Hoare Lea won recognition at this year’s Cibse awards for its work on the Canolfan Rheidol Offices and Carbon Neutral Energy Centre in Aberystwyth, Wales. Refurbishment work on Hampshire County Council’s 1960s office building won consulting engineers Ernest Griffiths the Refurbishment Project award. British Land took top honours in the Building Operation category for its London head office, York House, near Marble Arch in London. The Carbon Champion of the Year went to Metropolitan Housing Trust for their work on upgrading Victorian housing. The gala formal event at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane – with awards presented by BBC presenter Huw Edwards – focused on overall building performance. The black tie dinner was the first annual Cibse Building Performance Awards 2011, which “builds upon the success of the Cibse Low Carbon Performance Awards, launched in 2007”, Cibse said. FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 09
17/2/11 16:20:31
FM BUSINESS SIGN UP FOR FM WORLD DAILY AT FM-WORLD.CO.UK
ANALYSIS
Cameron’s big promises for the Big Society GRAEME DAVIES newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk
Is the prime minister David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ simply a soundbite and a fig leaf covering for public sector spending cuts or, as the prime minister reiterated this week, a genuine solution to help repair our fractured communities. Cameron re-launched the Big Society project this week, which may strike some as odd given that it has not really launched in earnest yet anyway. The prime minister went to great lengths to stress its personal importance to him as he bids to see communities, mutual societies, charities and individuals pick up the mantle and deliver local services. But some critics are already suggesting it will only result in more and more private sector involvement in public sector delivery. Indeed, critics claim the Big Society is merely window dressing aimed at covering for the swingeing spending cuts, and others point to the increasing difficulty charities and the like will encounter when their own funding is being cut so sharply. And the problems in selling the frankly still rather woolly concept to an increasingly sceptical electorate have not been helped by the news that one of the early flagship ‘Big Society’ councils, Liverpool, has already withdrawn from the government’s pilot scheme in protest at cuts within the city. Cabinet secretary Francis 10 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
10-11_FM Business.indd 10
Maude has also been criticised for his role promoting the Big Society when he has been one of the chief architects of the departmental spending cuts already imposed by the Coalition administration and critics have also picked up on the irony that the ‘Big Society’ tsar, Lord Wei, has recently had to cut back the hours he has voluntarily agreed to devote to the project as he needed more paid work to pay the bills. Maude wants to see more examples like the ex-nurses and healthcare professionals who make up Central Surrey Health. Four years ago they left the employ of the local primary care trust to set up a not-for-profit organisation
to sell their services back, so far proving to be a success. But such examples are few and far between and even though it is early days the signs are that much of the shortfall in services will end up being bought in from professional businesses and outsourcers rather than mutuals, community groups and charities. Indeed outsourcing specialists Serco, Sodexo and Mitie have been named as the preferred bidders for the Community Payback scheme and there are only two voluntary organisations among a total of 35 businesses who have qualified to bid for welfare to work programme contracts. This suggests that at least in the early months of this project, the private sector will have an inherent advantage over hastily formed mutuals and cash strapped charities. But this may not necessarily signal bumper paydays for the private sector operators as many of them will have already suffered from setbacks and lost contracts elsewhere in their public sector portfolios.
Furthermore, over the longer term, if the ‘Big Society’ does actually get off the ground - and this week Big Society Bank advisor Sir Ronald Cohen said this is a 10 year project, then the bidding for contracts will become even more competitive. Meanwhile, some in the private sector are still struggling to come to terms with cuts in government spending. In the past week we have seen a shocking trading statement from business process outsourcing specialist Xchanging, Phoenix IT announcing pricing pressure with public sector contracts and AEA Technology being forced to lay off staff after changes in UK government procurement. For the FM sector, the picture remains somewhat blurred. In many cases the government appears to be taking away with one hand and potentially giving back with the other, a confused state of affairs which will do no-one any good in the short term. Graeme Davies writes for Investors Chronicle
Contract wins
NEW BUSINESS
year contract to clean the University of Greenwich’s three campuses. The estate includes sports and leisure facilities, canteens, theatres, lecture halls, libraries and common areas.
Babcock International Group has won a five-year, £170m contract from Defence Estates to provide facilities management at British Forces bases across Germany.
Ordnance Survey mapping agency to provide facilities management services. The contract will centre on the OS site at Adanac Park, Southampton.
The Fine Food Company and Creativevents have won a three-year contract for all public catering at the Hampton Court Flower Show in July.
Mitie has expanded its facilities management contract with Rolls Royce. The group will manage 56 sites across the UK, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France and Poland.
British Airways has extended facilities and energy management contract with Emcor in a new deal worth £50m over three years. The contract includes M&E services, building fabric maintenance, cleaning services, and landscaping.
Catermasters has been awarded a five-year extension to its contract for all staff catering at Oxfam’s headquarters in Oxford.
Reliance has been selected by the
Interserve has won a £960,000, three-
Balfour Beatty WorkPlace has won a contract with the University of London’s Central Academic Bodies and Activities to provide all facilities management, except catering.
Vacherin has won a three-year catering contract with media and marketing agency Mindshare. www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 17:22:38
The MoD estate includes 49,000 family homes
Defence Estates, the group responsible for managing the Ministry of Defence estate, has invited companies to submit proposals for a major UK military housing-related repairs and maintenance contract. The new National Housing Prime contract, which will be worth £1.5bn over 10 years, will provide repairs and maintenance to more than 49,000 UK military homes, as well as grounds maintenance and housing construction projects worth up to £3.93m. The contract could also provide
GETTY
MoD’s new £1.5billion housing contract
BUSINESS BRIEFS
additional services, including furniture and fittings provision and world-wide housing allocations. It will replace the current housing contract for England and Wales plus seperate contracts for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The contract will be awarded in April 2012, and will run from April 2013, with the option to extend for a further five years. The deal has been developed under the Next Generation Estates Contracts (NGEC) programme. David Olney, deputy chief executive of Defence Estates, said:
“Our armed forces and their families deserve a good standard of accommodation. This contract is designed to ensure that we get the best possible solutions with the resources available.” The MoD estate is worth £15.3bn, spans 240,000 hectares. As well as 49,000 homes, there are 45,000 other buildings, including barracks, airfields, naval establishments, workshops, offices, messes,1,300 scheduled monuments and 289 sites of special scientific interest.
Rentokil acquires Santia’s services Rentokil Initial has acquired the services division of Santia Group, previously known as Connaught Compliance, for £5.6m. The acquisition is expected to generate £24m in revenue. The division consists of fumigation and pest control; water treatment and hygiene; fire safety and prevention. Pest control will be merged with Rentokil’s UK pest business. Water will be merged with Rentokil’s UK water Hygiene business within the Initial Facilities Services division Fire will form a separate business unit within the IFS division. “Our immediate priorities will be to deliver excellent service to our new customers and to engage with the 430 colleagues who will join us as a result of this acquisition,” the statement said. Santia is the rebranded www.fm-world.co.uk
10-11_FM Business.indd 11
Connaught Compliance business, following the collapse of parent company Connaught in September. Last August, financial woes deepened for Connaught after it reported a “breakeven” situation expected for its upcoming results. Rentokil released its full-year results after FM World went to press and will be reported on the FM World website. However, in November, a trading update for the third quarter ending 30 September, Rentokil reported flat revenue year on year with adjusted profit before tax up 16 per cent. In the Initial Facilities Services division market conditions remained challenging, the firm said. Quarterly revenue grew year on year by 6.9 per cent but this was largely due to the contribution of
Knightsbridge Guarding, acquired in June. Excluding Knightsbridge, revenue was marginally below last year, the result of new contract wins offsetting contract losses in late 2009. Adjusted operating profit grew by 19.3 per cent (14.0 per cent excluding Knightsbridge), reflecting actions taken in H2 2009 to streamline the business and the turnaround in the Retail and Window Cleaning businesses. Cleaning revenue fell by 1.7 per cent, a significant improvement on H1’s decline of 5.2 per cent. Catering revenue grew by 12.3 per cent reflecting the start of a significant new contract in Q3. Hospital Services revenue declined 3.5 per cent due to the loss of three large hospital contracts in 2009.
Mitie creates new division Mitie has set up a support division, headed up Alex Boddy, aimed at the non-core police services market. Included are custody services, detainee escorting and the provision of modular police cells. Services may be extended to provide support for door-to-door inquiries, scene of crime management and bail management. A Mitie state-ofthe-art security centre, Mitec, opens in Northern Ireland later this year.
Partnership for Agents4FM UK consultancy Agents4FM has teamed up with US business consultancy Facility Engineering Associates to provide advice and training globally. Agents4FM is an international group of facilities specialists founded in 2009 and operates in the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Facility Engineering Associates is an international engineering and FM consulting firm with its head office in near Washington, DC. Each business will trade independently. Members of the alliance are Lionel Prodgers, Dave Wilson, Teena Shouse, Chris Hodges and Jim Whittaker.
ISS considers IPO launch ISS is considering launching an initial public offering of shares, in a bid to raise £1.5bn. The group said that the IPO would provide improved access to capital markets and international shareholders. Jeff Gravenhorst, ISS’ Group CEO, said: “Since the acquisition of ISS by EQT and Goldman Sachs, we have undergone a remarkable transformation. We look forward to offering new shareholders the opportunity to be part of our growth.” FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 11
17/2/11 17:22:51
FM EVENT AWA
Director of AWA, Wes McGregor
REPORT
OFFICE OF THE FUTURE Cathy Hayward reports from AWA’s fifth seminar on future living and working CATHY HAYWARD cathy@fm-world.co.uk
The fifth seminar on Life and Work in 2020, organised by Advanced Workplace Associates, explored how the workplace itself will change over the next 10 years, specifically, on the implications for and new capabilities needed by organisations to maintain success. “The modern office is an unsustainable folly” was the blunt message from Craig Knight, head of the Prism team at the University of Exeter which explores the psychology of working and living space. The office has changed little since the beginning of the last century, Knight said, comparing pictures of Sears’ Chicago office in 1906 which was almost identical to a typical UK call centre today.
Desk jockeys If anything, the work of the office had become demeaned, he added. “From the Pharaoh’s scribes, to medieval monks and on to Dickensian bank clerks, office work had considerable prestige, so why are office workers treated so badly today?” Knight compared the office to a Panopticon, a type of prison designed by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1785, whereby all the prisoners can be observed without knowing whether they are being watched, creating a “sentiment of an invisible omniscience”. Office layouts are being explicitly used to reduce or remove places where workers can 12 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
12_AWA.indd 012
pursue un-sanctioned non-work identity activity, Knight said. In addition to creating an observed environment, thanks to Taylorist principles of consistency, standardisation, and efficiency, offices are increasingly becoming lean with little personalisation or decoration. “A happy rat sits in a luxurious cage, a sad rat in a lean cage, so why do we create lean offices?”
Getting personal Knight pointed to research that his team had conducted which concluded that having control over your immediate office environment improves concentration, well-being and productivity. “It’s a lot more hassle for the facilities manager and the organsation to allow people to personalise their own space and have control over the environment, but the increase in productivity and well-being makes it worthwhile,” Knight concluded. But Wes McGregor, director of Advanced Workplace Associates, predicted a de-coupling between work and workplace. “Today, people generally think of work and the workplace as synonymous but we can separate them. People feel shackled to their desks but this will change by 2020 thanks to everadvancing technology. The world Apple is predicting won’t need a desk.” Showing pictures of people working in a school classroom, a library, a tutorial room and an
office, McGregor asked why if, from the age of five, we get used to not having our own desk, we need to own a space when we enter the office in our mid20s. The idea of people meeting and working in coffee houses is not new, it goes back to Victorian times and beyond, he said. But McGregor agreed with Knight in arguing that many of today’s workplaces aren’t working. “I recently saw someone grabbing a fellow office worker by their throat because they were being disturbed and just couldn’t concentrate in the office with an important deadline looming.” He argued that we must focus less on what the workplace is, and more about what it can do and avoid polarisation or universality. “A diversity of needs requires
a diversity of solutions.” The workplace of 2020 needs to be integrated, McGregor concluded, with physical, information and service environments supported by appropriate protocols. “The individual is king.” The 2020 seminar series aims to build a picture of how life, work and the workplace will be in 2020. The inaugural seminar, focused on the likely macro-economic, demographic and social context for the UK in the world in the next decade, took place in April 2010; the second explored the future of sustainability; the third looked at the role of virtual worlds and social networking; and the fourth, held last November, explored how work itself will change over the next 10 years. FM
PREDICTIONS FOR 2020
Craig Knight Monitored majority ● Less money ● Increasing surveillance ● Lean but ‘fun’ office ● Less space ● Fewer rights
Privileged few ● More money ● More mobility ● Less office time ● Free address space ● Sexier offices
Wes McGregor ● Agile working in some form will be demanded by almost all employees ● Major corporations will debunk the centralist, aggregate approach for employee location in favour of dispersed, stressfree, low-carbon approaches ● Workplace performance will assume much greater importance, leading to real-time workplace performance measures ● Circadian rhythms will feature prominently in planning the way we work ● The first reality TV programme centred on an advanced working model
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 15:14:12
FM EVENT WORKPLACE FUTURES 2011
Derek Paxman, head of FM at the University of the Arts
WORKPLACE
RIDING PUBLIC SECTOR CHANGE Service providers hold the key to reducing costs said speakers at Workplace Futures 2011 CATHY HAYWARD cathy@fm-world.co.uk
The real winners in the facilities management sector over the next few years will be service providers who work proactively with the public sector to reduce costs – their ears are open. That was the message from Robin Cartright, partner at KPMG, opening the Workplace Futures conference earlier this month at the Cabinet War Rooms. “The public sector will be a mixed bag for FM over the next few years. There is massive cost and volume pressure but there is also a desire for new ideas and for help,” he said. Describing the £81bn of cuts and average real budget cuts of 19 per cent by 2014/15, Cartright said there will be some “rough and ready” approaches to cost cutting predicting blanket-style service withdrawal (such as the cuts in libraries and public toilets in Manchester) and BP-style “20 per cent savings” for all suppliers. The recovery to a business as usual focus on service delivery will not happen until 2012 at the earliest, he said. “But other issues such as David Cameron’s “Big Society” and the mutualisation of local government services may offer new opportunities for FM providers,” he added citing the examples of Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea councils which have agreed to merge every council service to reduce duplication and drive out cost and Suffolk council which has www.fm-world.co.uk
13_Workplace Futures.indd 015
essentially become a ‘commissioning body’ of outsourced services. Different parts of the public sector would experience different challenges, added KPMG assistant director Matthew Webster. The outlook for healthcare was difficult, he said, with significant pressure on non-clinical spend, and moves towards centralising non-clinical procurement. Defence was also a challenging sector with the need to save £350m in estate running costs, but this could be achieved through increased outsourcing, albeit with pressure on contract values. The most positive opportunity was in public services where operational spend on older estates may provide prospects, together with the mutualisation and localisation agenda. The private sector provides considerably more prospects, particularly the financial services sector which is growing and with a great deal of cost taken out of contracts, there will now be a focus on service quality with contract churn a direct result. The ICT market was also a great opportunity for FM providers. Cartright and Webster valued the
core FM service market at £81bn, and predicted that after modest growth over the past few years, the sector would grow by 3.6 per cent until 2015. The mergers and acquisitions market would also see more activity over the coming years as the commoditisation of basic services; the move to broader multiservice contracts; and changing regulation continues to drive smaller provides to be acquired, or go out of business as margins are pressured and costs are under scrutiny. They concluded by arguing that the Total FM delivery model “has found its place alongside multiservice as a model of choice” partly because TFM providers have started to address the issue of double margins and also because of an increased focus on partnering.
Delivery models The focus on different delivery models was explored throughout much of the day with presentations from Atkins talking about the value that consultants can bring; security firm Wilson James, and Shred-it, arguing for the single service model; G4S Integrated Services promoting the bundled service model; Compass on integrated services; Total FM being promoted by Emcor; and Fiona Perrin, sales and marketing director at HSS Hire discussing being a commodity supplier to the industry and why facilities professionals should take equipment hire more seriously. If there is one criticism of the conference it was the inclusion of speakers who were also sponsors, which resulted in some fairly salesy presentations.
“THE PUBLIC SECTOR WILL BE A MIXED BAG FOR FM OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THERE IS MASSIVE COST AND VOLUME PRESSURE BUT THERE IS ALSO A DESIRE FOR NEW IDEAS”
But there was also plenty of grist for the mill. Discussing the benefits of keeping FM delivery in-house, Derek Paxman, currently head of FM at the University of the Arts but who has worked supply side and as a consultant, argued that customer connections, loyalty and willingness were more natural with an in-house team. “In-house facilities teams are also closer to the corporate strategy and proactivity is easier to achieve.” The issue of VAT with outsourced providers was also a major challenge, he said. Also talking from the in-house perspective was Sean Allen, head of FM at National Air Traffic Control, who argued that he didn’t care whether the service was done in-house, in a bundled, integrated or Total FM model. “I just care that my account manager knows my business inside out. That when they wake up in the morning and hear about the ash cloud on the news, they immediately know how that’s affecting my business and are already coming up with ways to help.” Echoing John F Kennedy’s famous experience talking to a NASA cleaner, Allen said “My key aim is to ensure that each security guard and each cleaner knows they’re part of the team which keeps air-traffic control and the skies working well.” Edward Finch, FM professor at the University of Salford, turned his attention to the workplace itself, arguing that new ways of working such as mobile working, teleconferencing and the virtual office were leading to loss of commitment, ownership, rootedness and territory. But Ben Munn, joint global head of workplace strategies at CB Richard Ellis, said that FM is no longer about workplace but workforce. “Choice and convenience matter greatly when it comes to where we want to work.” FM Read the Twitter feed from this event at #wf11 FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 13
17/2/11 17:29:24
FM OPINION THE DIARY COLUMN DAVID WALKER
David Walker is facilities project manager at Northumbrian Water
“SECONDARY ‘SIDE FLASHES’ CAN BE ENOUGH TO IGNITE A FIRE OR BLOW A BRICK APART” L IG HTN IN G TH E LOA D
uildings struck by lightning can be at B risk of fire if an adequate protection system is not in place. David Walker explains the dangers and prepares for a busy office move while finding time to practise his swing We recently had a condition survey carried out at the office I am in the process of refurbishing and one of the things it highlighted was the inadequate lightening protection we have at the building. A lightning protection system is designed to protect a structure from damage due to lightning strikes by intercepting such strikes and safely passing their extremely high voltage currents to ‘ground’. Most lightning protection systems include a network of
lightning rods, metal conductors, and ground electrodes designed to provide a low resistance path to ground for potential strikes. The system also offers a form of protection against fire by mitigating the fire hazard which the lightning strikes pose to a building. No lightning protection system can guarantee absolute safety from lightning as the current will divide to follow every conductive path to ground and even the divided current can cause damage:
secondary ‘side flashes’ can be enough to ignite a fire or blow a brick apart. Some structures are inherently more at risk of being struck by lightning than others, the risk for a structure is a function of building size (area), height and the number of lightning strikes per year. For information purposes the National Fire Protection Agency provides a risk assessment worksheet in their lightning protection standard which is a good source of reference. My guess is that it’s something which many of us may take for granted. The past few weeks have seen my two projects progressing quite well, the problems with the leaking water main and oil tank at the Museum of Power have been overcome – work is now progressing at speed.
I have however, had one small matter to deal with on the larger of the contracts I am looking after. One of the sub contractors walked off the site over a small matter of a missing payment from the main contractor. However, after a few frantic phone calls and emails, all is now well and work progresses on-programme. I have also been planning for the new furniture I am expecting – we are in for a busy week and weekend as I have a large part of the office to relocate including some IT kit which is business critical. Fingers crossed it goes well. On the personal front, I am starting to get some practice in on the golf course as I am off to Turkey early March to play in a Pro Am golf tournament with 70 teams from around the world. Who said it’s all work no play! FM
BEST OF THE WEB The latest views, comments and reaction across the web
1⁄
British Institute of Facilities Management LinkedIn: Alan Cork: Where will technology take us in the next five years? At a recent BIFM International Sig event I was involved in a lively discussion regarding what the next advance in technology will be that will most impact on FM. In fact, the subject was more broad that that but the common answers related
14 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
12-13_Opinion.indd 14
to technology. We agreed that benchmarking could get a lot easier because it is getting easier to measure things and, due to the need to measure energy usage, there are more measurement solutions being offered. The thought was that “plug and play” could see some big advances. If anyone is interested in creating an event around this topic and know some good speakers please let me know.
Adam Masters: The importance of the SME With the ever increasing popularity of the outsourced total FM or integrated FM solution, are organisations ignoring the importance of using local SME’s to support their FM needs? Having attended the Workplace Futures Conference last week only one of the four global Integrated/ Total FM service providers recognised the
importance of this in their presentations. Each of the global FM service providers has a core discipline that it has founded it’s reputation on. For example when you think of Emcor, you think of engineering, when you think of the Compass Group you think of catering, when you think of G4S you think of security and so on. Each of these FM service providers are only as good as their weakest service
and therefore there is an important part to play for SME’s to support and strengthen the quality of service provided. With many of the FM service providers having already gone through aggressive acquisitions and mergers to bolster their FM offerings, it’s time for them to look at developing true partnerships with SME’s. I believe this will strengthen their position, and improve customer service. www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 17:24:04
You can follow us at twitter.com/FM_World and cathy_fm_world facebook/fmworldmagazine
BEST OF THE
FMWORLD BLOGS
FIVE MINUTES WITH
1⁄
NAME: Mark Fox JOB TITLE: Chief executive UNIVERSITY: Business Services Association
Is your workplace working?
Matthew Wailing/director at Cordless Consultants We move into our new, bigger homes, and unpack. Then we acquire stuff. More stuff and sometimes more children. You’ll find you can fill any space you’re given, and quickly too. And that’s just what happens in most offices. It starts off as ample space, but we acquire more staff, more furniture, more reference books, equipment and so on until it seems to be bursting at the seams - you can’t hold a telephone conversation in peace, and you start to worry about the impression the place is giving to visiting clients. Then you start thinking about relocating, questioning how you can possibly succeed in such inadequate accommodation?
2⁄
The gender divide
Lauren Grest/FM graduate at Rollright Facilities The subject of gender is still a hot topic in facilities management. FM has a reputation for being male-dominated, in part due to gender stereotypes and in part due to the male bias we inherit from the engineering side of facilities management. But as even as the remit of facilities management grows to include more typically feminine soft services, the problem of gender stereotypes is potentially halting career progression for men and women in our industry. Facilities management aims to be a unified, comprehensive service but there is still a divide between the hard and soft services. Women are often associated with managing the soft and men managing the typically masculine hard services.
3⁄
This year will be a tremendously exciting year for outsourcing. There’s going to be a huge opportunity to play a significant role in revitalising the UK economy. We are beyond the simple dichotomy of publicversus-private provision. The goal should be to inject the best of the commercial world into the provision of public sectors and vice versa. It is unhelpful to talk about a bonanza in public sector outsourcing. In this country, we have been engaged on a 20-25 year process of the use of the private sector to deliver a range of public sector services. I expect this will continue under the Coalition government and any government of any persuasion. There are opportunities in both public and private sectors to get better value for money. There are cases were less money will bring greater efficiency but there are also cases where less money will mean less service. We need a fair and level playing field between private and public sector bidders otherwise it creates a completely unfair commercial environment and unrealistic pension requirements that are a deterrent to suppliers.
Is it partnerships or competition?
John Bowen/chair of BIFM’s Procurement Sig Competition, taking sides, winners and losers or true partners taking things forward for common good? My thoughts on this started off from work I’m doing for a client where we have some EU competition issues, and then I read a tweet from Cathy Hayward where someone had mentioned the reaction of their purchasing team to talk of partnerships. I’m often labelled as a purchasing expert, but it is just one thing that I have experience of. I see myself more as a businessman who has, over the years variously been John the Buyer, John the Salesman and finally John the Operations guy trying to deliver what the sales people have sold.
MPs want to know more about outsourcing. In every constituency across the UK, outsourcing makes things happen from cooking meals in schools, to running prisons to ensuring the traffic lights work. Outsourcing may be an answer, but it’s not the answer. It’s not a magic bullet to the UK’s fiscal challenge, but the industry is certainly part of the solution. Interview: Cathy Hayward
www.fm-world.co.uk
12-13_Opinion.indd 15
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 15
17/2/11 17:24:34
FM FEATURE CASE STUDY DAVE ARMINAS
SIZE OF BUILDING: 525,000 SQ FT FLOORS: 11 LEASE: 20 YEARS STAFF: 3,600 (3,800 BY THE END OF THE YEAR) OCCUPANCY DENSITY: 106 SQ FT PER PERSON ARCHITECT/INTERIOR DESIGN: TTSP FIT-OUT: COMO GROUP MAINTENANCE: CARILLION CLEANING: ISS CATERING: RESTAURANT ASSOCIATES AND BENUGOS SECURITY: WILSON JAMES RECEPTION: JOINTLY IN-HOUSE, BACKED UP WITH PORTICO PORTERAGE: SPARKS HEALTH AND SAFETY: IN-HOUSE MOVES AND CHANGES: MOVEPLAN REPROGRAPHICS, POST, COURIER AND LOGISTICS: WILLIAMS LEE GRAPHIC DESIGN: IN-HOUSE FITNESS CENTRE: NUFFIELD
Dave Arminas visits Nomura’s prestigious new HQ that has its sights set firmly on the client and boasts expansive views of the Thames
BANKING ON IT pectacular views along the River Thames and a focus on the needs of the client is the design basis of investment bank Nomura International’s new European headquarters in London. Few buildings have the expansive waterfront panoramas offered by One Angel Lane, an 11-floor, 525,000 sq ft speculative build on a 20-year lease from a property developer, signed in September 2009, still officially to be opened. With Tower Bridge lying to the east, and St Paul’s Cathedral and beyond to the west, the Thames is constantly in view, from rooftop gardens to restaurant vistas. One Angel Lane was built on the site of the 1975 Mondial
S
16 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
16-19_Nomura.indd 16
House, the former BT-owned Lego-like structure that was sold off to developers in 2004 and demolished in 2006 to make way for the current structure. The new building is not just for the work – and pleasure – of Nomura staff, but also of its clients, both current and potential. This is thanks to a major ‘client floor’ and multimedia setup including audio-visual systems throughout the building. Nonetheless, pleasure is part of the employee experience, whether taking a Thames walkway stroll starting outside the main door, or working out in the fitness centre. Physios, as well as GPs and a dentist, are also in hand. The restaurant was recently opened by two-star Michelin chef Michel Roux Jr. www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 12:02:34
NOMURA
IMAGES: NOMURA
Nomura took over the European arm of Lehman Brothers which fell in 2008
the failed Lehman Brothers investment bank; Nomura’s headcount doubled overnight to around 4,600 employees.
Brand building
Around 3,600 employees are based at One Angel Lane that officially opens 4 April in a ceremony to be attended by the Chancellor George Osborne. By the end of the year, around 3,800 employees will be based at the office, excluding roughly 800 staff remaining at Nomura House in St Martins-le-Grand, near St Paul’s Cathedral. New Zealander Tony Bartle heads up real estate and services which includes traditional FM as well as corporate services across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Born in New Plymouth, Bartle gained a mechanical engineering diploma before leaving for Britain in 1981. He worked in the petrochemical sector and moved into building services engineering in 1989, taking www.fm-world.co.uk
16-19_Nomura.indd 17
an MSc in mechanical engineering at Brunel University in 1995. His credentials include four years as head of real estate at Mellon Financial Corporation where he relocated staff from 14 small London locations into one 235,000 sq ft building. After joining Nomura in 2006, he directed a major seven-year upgrading of Nomura House, the 19th century former headquarters of the General Post Office which is still owned by Nomura. The Nomura House upgrade included the creation of a client floor, a project that won Best Practice in a Fit-Out Project in the BIFM awards 2008 (FM World, 6 November, 2008). But big changes came in September 2008 when Nomura acquired the European arm of
At the time of the merger, says Bartle, the challenge was to analyse what were the combined assets: “What did Nomura have, what was legacy Lehman Brothers, and who had the best buildings?” It was, he says, a time of “a new organisation, with a new start, a new identity, and our brand had to go above the door”. Lehman Brothers had leased property in a large tower at Canary Wharf and Nomura owned Nomura House. Offices in a shared Canary Wharf tower would not be easily branded, and Nomura House could not accommodate the enlarged business. Nomura, albeit a smaller player in global investment banking circles before taking over Lehman, had traditionally been close to the City. Strategically, remaining in London proper was a signal that Nomura was committed to the capital and its clients. One Angel Lane fitted the bill, says Bartle, in a very particular way. The nine-month fit-out included infilling the atria to raise it two floors and adding floor FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 17
17/2/11 12:03:02
FM FEATURE CASE STUDY DAVE ARMINAS
“THE BESPOKE INTERNAL FIT-OUT MEANT THAT NOMURA COULD INSTALL THE BEST MULTIMEDIA EQUIPMENT – OF IMMENSE MARKETING IMPORTANCE”
The nine-month fit out involved infilling the atria to raise it two floors
18 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
16-19_Nomura.indd 18
space for trading areas. Also, 90 per cent of construction waste was recycled. The project received the gold award standard for the City of London Considerate Contractor Scheme 2010. On the sustainability side, the building’s rooftop solar panels supply 5 per cent of its annual energy needs and 60 per cent of its grey water is recycled. Roughly 1.5km of chilled beams stretch around the property, the glass facade of which aids heating as well as ensuring that light reaches deep inside the open-plan building. An impressive 2.5km of trading desks and 5km of workstations are available, with offices situated internally and having at least one glass wall. Occupancy density is around 106 sq ft per person. Banking is about moving data, including images and voice, as fast as clients need it. And what the client needs, Nomura needs, says Bartle. Matching the speed of their clients is important for Nomura.
At One Angel Lane, being a bespoke internal fit-out, Nomura could install the best, most efficient multimedia equipment – of immense marketing importance for the bank, says Bartle.
Courting the media The setup in London for audiovisual handling has been just as useful for clients as well as for general and financial media companies such as the BBC, ITV, Reuters, Bloomberg and CNBC, reporting on Nomura events (see box). As much as the building is a showcase for Nomura, the multimedia system is one of the most important marketing tools that shows clients and potential clients can carry on their seamless business processes even if they are at meetings at One Angel Lane.
The auditorium with 200 armchair seats, wide curved screen and stand-up viewing gallery, is used for everything from clients presenting their financial results to hosting children’s parties, including movies. Nomura’s events are often filmed and simultaneously broadcast to other Nomura offices globally, as well as TV stations. The in-house FM team of 74 is supported by service providers employing over 400 on-site staff. Importantly, explains Bartle, the multimedia systems report to him at real estate and properties. While multimedia is technically an IT service, it is also integral to the Nomura package to clients – comfortable meeting rooms, good catering and the best in communication systems. If there is a problem, the facilities team alone has the responsibility to www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 12:04:22
NOMURA
Atrium level glass lifts (far right) and the client reception area (near right)
TECH SPEC At One Angel Lane, all multimedia systems are operated through a state-of-the-art audio-visual control room that monitors and produces footage, and where public media crews can also edit material. Technology throughout the building includes:
215 LCD DISPLAYS for trading floors, meeting rooms and media walls, which display television broadcasts including business news channels
26 AUDIOVISUAL make it right and take decisions fast without consulting other departments. Nomura is a Japan-based bank, but the decor of One Angel Lane is distinctly international; 64 nationalities work there. There are several nods in the direction of the bank’s Japanese roots, says Bartle, including excellent Japanese cuisine. But the decor is designed to make as many employees and clients as comfortable as possible. Also, the carpets, wallpaper and lighting has to last at least 10 to 12 years without dating. In the client dining room with its views up the Thames is the artistic highlight: a cubist oil painting by Le Corbusier, the 1953 Taureau IV. The piece is valued at over half a million pounds and was sent as a gift from the collection at Nomura’s head office in Japan. www.fm-world.co.uk
16-19_Nomura.indd 19
It resides in the client dining room rather than sequestered away where people are too busy to admire it, says Samantha Lynch, head of corporate branding, a department sitting within the real estate services. Lynch was in charge of choosing the 126 pieces and spent months scouring art fairs, antique shops, galleries and even the internet, compiling a collection that ranges from a £150 print to the Taureau IV. The nine-month fit-out was challenging but completed on time. A three-week risk window meant delays beyond that stood a chance of not being pulled back. It was pretty tight, said Bartle. When decisions were needed, senior managers had no time to procrastinate. In that sense, it adds weight to the argument that a short risk window tends to focus minds. FM
meeting rooms remotely managed from the AV control room
7 EVENT SPACES with AV installations, including the auditorium, two meeting rooms, two tanning rooms and the main restaurant
17 HD BROADCAST cameras installed in various rooms for recording events, be they financial results or announcements to townhall type meetings
15 IPTV CHANNELS (Internet Protocol Televison) available to employees, five SD television for desktops, five High Definition channels for LCD display
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 19
17/2/11 14:22:53
FM FEATURE ESTATES
ocal government is facing dramatic spending cuts and must start looking for new ways to deliver the same services with less money. A report published by the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum (WSBF), suggests that this can be achieved by local authorities “rationalising” their property management. By combining councils with other local public service providers, service delivery becomes far more efficient. In fact, the findings show that managing property effectively can reduce the amount of office space needed by 30 per cent, delivering potential savings of up to £7bn in running costs, every year.
L
ILLUSTRATION:EDWARD MCGOWAN
The need of economic and environmental efficiency In October 2010, the Comprehensive Spending Review set forth cuts of 26 per cent to local government funding over the next four years, with councils’ budgets being reduced by up to 8.9 per cent in 2011. To tolerate such reductions in spending without affecting services local authorities are being forced to seek efficiency measures. A likely target is local government property. Currently valued £250m, this vast estate typically represents one fifth of local governments’ revenue expenditure. Downsizing such large outgoings through better facilities management and procurement could save significant sums. However, monetary savings are not the only hurdle local government faces in maintaining service. The public sector is now under additional pressure to improve the environmental efficiency of its operations. In 2009, the UK committed to legally-binding EU targets, to cut national carbon emissions by 20 per
cent by 2020. This, alongside the rapidly rising cost of carbon, has meant that carbon savings are quickly becoming essential to an efficient local government. So how can local government deliver both economic and environmental savings, while maintaining the same quality of services?
Leaner and greener property management Evidence suggested by the WSBF report Leaner and Greener indicated that the public sector could deliver significantly more with less. By “rationalising” their property portfolios by streamlining, sharing, and working effectively, local authorities’ operational costs and carbon emissions could be notably reduced, saving the public purse and the environment. Matthew Hancock MP, member of the parliamentary Public Accounts select committee and the chair of the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum research inquiry described the findings: “This report shows the sheer scale of savings available to local government from better use of their property. A trinity of benefits, lower costs, lower carbon emissions, and better services can thus be delivered through improved property management.” Based in the real world, using real world case studies the report notes key steps that local government and public sector partners should take to achieve more effective estate management. So for the uninitiated, the pathway to success should involve: ● Reducing space. Firstly, local government should adopt internal measures to rationalise its own property. Such measures should be focused on financial savings made through the improved use of space and improved environmental efficiency of the estate.
Peter Janoska explains how a close of examination of local government estates could reveal opportunities for economic and environmental savings
UNDER THE
MICROSCOPE 20 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
Estates.indd 20
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 17:30:06
XXXXXX
www.fm-world.co.uk
Estates.indd 21
FM WORLD | 10 FEBRUARY 2011 | 21
17/2/11 17:30:26
FM FEATURE ESTATES
● Going
“NOT ONLY DO THESE GREEN MEASURES SAVE MONEY, BUT THEY ALSO DELIVER ADDITIONAL BENEFITS, INCLUDING IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY”
green. The business case for operating sustainably means that local government can no longer afford to ignore energy and environmental efficiency measures ● Establishing central control. More efficient property management across a local authority estate could be achieved by removing control over property from individual departments within local government, and centralising it within a single Central Property Unit (CPU) ● Working in partnership. Local government should enable collaboration and cooperation between other public sector and voluntary partners
Reducing space By following best practice examples of low-cost, flexible working practices, local government could reduce the space it occupies by 20-30 per cent, with the potential to deliver savings in running costs of up to £7bn annually. The magnitude of these potential efficiency gains suggest reducing space through well-thought through estate rationalisation should be a priority for local government property teams across the UK. Many would claim that such a space reduction is over-ambitious. Yet, the example of Birmingham City Council showcases the possibilities. Through reducing its core office portfolio from 55 to eight buildings, the council estimates that it will cut the space used by 40 per cent and save over £100m. Addressing the flexibility of both working practices and property can improve efficiency even further. A flexible workforce allows for greater estate rationalisation as less desk space is needed in the office. Using technology to facilitate remote working with the support of drop-in offices where staff from any agency can call in to use desks, phones and internet or network connections, could all reduce the need for space.
Going green Investment into environmental sustainability also represents an opportunity for achieving economic savings, by mitigating the escalating price of carbon. To produce a tonne of carbon emissions, the energy cost lies somewhere in the range £150 to £200. The Carbon Reduction Commitment, introduced in April 2010, will build on this cost, charging an extra £12 per tonne emitted. Although small change in light of the initial outlay, the average cost to participant organisations will be £200,000 a year from 2012. The annual costs for one London borough is estimated to run to £224,000, while for a unitary council, the total cost is approximately £162,000. For local authorities, any opportunity to reduce 22 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
Estates.indd 22
emissions should be embraced as a money-saving exercise. Meanwhile, continuously updated building regulations also demand ever-lower carbon emissions from the public property. The 2010 building regulations amendments require a 25 per cent decrease in carbon emissions from the previous 2006 version; a forthcoming update in 2013 will require a further 20 per cent, and perhaps ambitiously, by 2018, all new public sector buildings will have to be zero carbon. Again, this enhances the incentive for local government to go green. The report’s findings clearly demonstrate that there is a strong business case for environmental efficiency. The outcomes of the inquiry show that the introduction of green measures for a standard administrative building, with staff paid average public sector wages, can deliver annual financial savings in the range of £180-£200 p/sq m from lower energy spending. Moreover, not only do these green measures save money, but they also deliver additional benefits, including improved productivity and reduced sickness, all of which only add to the quality of service and economic efficiency.
Establishing central control Further efficiency savings can be delivered by centralising control over property within single departments – for example a Central Property Unit. The Central Property Unit would in the first place act as a corporate landlord for service departments by arranging their accommodation requests, managing building improvements, procurement processes and negotiation of property contracts. The creation of a corporate asset management service and facilities management function would enhance the economies of scale by uniting often fragmented local government property portfolio. The experience shows that more centralised and consistent facilities management of buildings has the potential to deliver significant efficiency savings. Mark Tailby, head of property strategy at Oxfordshire County Council said: “Putting in place a corporate facilities management function has produced initial savings of £340,000, but will also enable the county to procure external provision of hard and soft FM services bringing a further estimated saving of £300,000. Several other organisations have expressed interest in participating in the contract”.
Co-operation with public sector partners Finally, the current period of austerity will encourage organisations to look beyond their own boundaries to deliver efficiency savings. Although often considered too difficult in the past due to constraining financial www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 17:30:47
ESTATES
and contractual arrangement, such co-operation will now become crucial to local authorities operating with diminished budgets. Sharing property owned by different public sector service providers enhances the extent of efficiency savings by enlarging the size of the managed estate. Paul Hepburn, projects director at Interserve Developments said: “The co-location of front and back office services allows public sector organisations to generate economies of scale through enlarged scope of the property facilities management and procurement contracts.” For example, the standardisation of back office and support facilities will enable budget savings through the efficient property management and down-sizing of the estate. Pooling capital resources will also allow greater investment into joint property, improving the quality of public sector estate. Joint property management will then deliver operational cost savings through enhanced efficiency of its property use, which will contribute towards the improvement of frontline services and customer satisfaction. The report describes a variety of solutions for joint www.fm-world.co.uk
Estates.indd 23
property management, ranging from a local public sector property management board to a pooled asset vehicle for the estate of all local public service providers. Local government and its public sector partners should seek solutions that will work in their area and take into account sensitivities related to the transfer of control over assets to an independent body. In conclusion, this report, and the example of some forward-looking LAs forwards a strong case for local government being able to both save money and improve services by managing their property assets efficiently, sustainably and in partnership with other public and voluntary sector organisations. We are in a time of political and economic flux, which while often challenging, presents the opportunity for positive change. In light of this report, perhaps local government should embrace this opportunity and start using public property in a leaner, greener way. FM Peter Janoska is project researcher at Westminster Sustainable Business Forum FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 23
17/2/11 17:30:59
FM FEATURE STRATEGIC FM SIMON HAWES
Simon Hawes of PwC explains what the Comprehensive Spending Review means for facilities management. Illustration by Neil Webb
SHAPE OF THINGS
ong-term government contracts are a thing of the past. What were once considered to be the hallmark of a blue-chip customer base, such contracts have started to hint at potential financial vulnerability. But the spending cuts have also opened up new opportunities and over the coming year it will be essential for facilities management businesses to identify these opportunities, exploit them, and communicate how they are doing this to industry analysts and financiers.
L
We know “how much” The extent of the cuts expected across local and central government has become clear: they include a reduction in administration budgets across all Whitehall and government agencies of more than 30 per cent. In the private sector the biggest impact in absolute terms will hit the business services sector, with 3.7 per cent output losses and over 175,000 job cuts due to reduced public sector demand. However, the trend towards outsourcing has been a key historical growth engine and the coalition government’s focus on moving the boundary between the public and private sectors will actually see this growth trend increase. Even in departments facing the largest cuts, if the industry can provide services that reduce operating costs there will be money to be spent as government invests to save. And, being labour24 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
PWC.indd 24
intensive, this is a key sector for future job creations. Social housing is one market that has been significantly outsourced, with 60 per cent of social housing repair work now outsourced. But perhaps the cuts mean that local authorities will finally consider outsourcing the remaining 40 per cent from their direct labour organisations.
Now to work out “how to” How public sector bodies will adapt to operate within their new budgets is yet to be seen. However, three responses are all but inevitable: stop doing some things, do some things cheaper and do some things differently. Facilities managers have already felt the ‘stop and drop’ response, with the deferral of contracts hitting pipelines, margins on contracts being squeezed and contract specifications charged, for example, changing cleaning provisions from an input basis to output related. In December 2001, Essex Country Council announced its aim to save up to £3.1m by consolidating its facilities management contracts and slashing around 670 suppliers within the FM category down to one or two. More open to debate and consultation is how government and providers can work together to do things differently. Government is looking for where it can refine how it has traditionally done things, opening www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 16:22:08
STRATEGIC XXXXXXX FM
www.fm-world.co.uk
PWC.indd 25
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 25
17/2/11 16:23:22
FM FEATURE STRATEGIC FM SIMON HAWES
up opportunities for collaboration with industry. It’s also looking for where it can radically and completely transform what it does, opening up opportunities for co-creation with industry. This could involve a complete redesign of the core organisation – where the organisation is based, what operations it can share with other organisations, what services it offers and how it offers them. Government wants and needs a new approach. The winners in this sector will be the providers who can align themselves with the new approaches that emerge, or even better, pro-actively create new frameworks to take to government, using and adapting their existing capabilities. Government is pushing its providers to change and providers should be pulling government towards the changes they would like to see.
A new kind of customer There is no doubt that government is looking to reposition itself as a commissioner rather than a deliverer of many the services it currently provides. This is a new role and government will look to co-create with industry the market for outsourced services. The facilities management framework announced last July, managed through Buying Solutions, provides public procurement professionals with a selection of pre-qualified suppliers covering a full range of facilities management services including buildings maintenance. The opportunity for providers is to see where they can enter the market and actively consolidate it, or utilise the capacity they already have to take value for money offerings to the public sector, in anticipation of government needs. The consolidation of government properties is likely to create opportunities for FM providers to get involved at the front end by helping public sector organisations decide how to redesign and consolidate their facilities – what to keep and where, and how to move to a new model. Given the focus on climate change and sustainability, public sector organisations will need help to understand how to get the best energy conservation and generation solutions in place and ensure that capital invested in changing properties creates long-term solutions, and is not wasted on buildings that will be disposed of within a few years.
There are a number of ways this reframing of market demand might change what providers offer to the public sector market. A government buyer is going to be attracted to an early intervention which can demonstrate significant future cost savings, or to a package of services which are more effective in combination. It might seem counter-intuitive, but there may be instances where government is actually seeking a fuller service offering from providers. In the same way that energy companies advise customers on how to save energy, we could see strategic and technical advice from suppliers who have traditionally simply delivered contracts. For example, a council looking at how it manages its properties might be open to advice from a facilities services company on how to manage that. The integration of facilities management and real estate management, stepping in to purchase redundant sites, is a proactive way to overcome government inertia and kick start consolidation projects that are stalled until the new portfolio is established. Where facilities management companies see the sites they currently manage sold, new opportunities may emerge as the new owners seek management services.
New capabilities and new partners A change to service offerings doesn’t just happen and might require significant investment in developing new capabilities or some opportunistic acquisitions in the market. Government would like to see small and medium sized enterprises
New ways of framing needs and bidding for funds A system-wide funding problem means government is open to solutions as long as the cost savings can be demonstrated. For providers this means a new way of looking at the market, taking a broad perspective on what the customer wants, rather than looking at the vertical structure of department and agency boundaries and pitching services to match. 26 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
PWC.indd 26
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 16:24:29
STRATEGIC FM
LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS overnment has introduced Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to encourage a system-wide approach. How LEPs will operate is yet to be clarified, but they may emerge as commissioners for services within specific regions and bid with private sector partners for a share of the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund (RGF). Business services providers may be able to make a play for funding, through LEPs or directly from the RGF, if they can develop a bid which demonstrates significant potential for economic growth and sustainable private sector employment in a region (particularly those heavily dependent on the public sector) or a contribution to sustainability and green growth.
G
and the social enterprise sector take a greater role in growing the economy. But the lack of scale for SMEs and commercial experience for the third sector makes it very hard to see how they could bid successfully against the established providers. This creates an opportunity to form interesting partnerships which could lead to very attractive propositions for the government customer.
Contracting and procuring Government is focused on developing its commercial skills, so providers should anticipate a much more commercially-focused approach to contract management, especially on the big public sector contracts. And the structures of contracts are likely to fundamentally change, with traditional adversarial models giving way to an approach aligned to mutual incentives. Providers have an opportunity offer enhanced value for money through agreements which encourage better collaboration across multiple providers and rewards based on outcomes.
What will the winners in this sector look like?
Scale
– Despite the government’s desire to use a greater range and size of provider, there is no doubt that size is an advantage when providers are under pressure to drop margins and take on contracting models that transfer risk to the supplier.
Informed
– Good management information will also be a crucial advantage. The winners will be the organisations who realise how low to price, what they can afford to invest to open up opportunity, and can track profitability end-to-end on a contract.
Proactive – The winners will be those who are proactive and take innovative solutions to government, with a business case that focuses on how much money they can save.
Fast – In addition, those who can adapt to change and make decisions quickly will get ahead of the competition
Flexible – Finally those who are flexible and can creatively identify new ways of working with old and new customers will gain substantial rewards. What the CSR means for FM is not yet set in stone – the sector has the opportunity to write the answer to this question. FM Simon Hawes is a partner in corporate finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers
www.fm-world.co.uk
PWC.indd 27
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 27
17/2/11 16:25:34
Delivering bespoke Customer Solutions We provide the following services: • • • • • •
Mechanical, Electrical & Public Health Maintenance Services Project Management Helpdesk Services Life Cycle Reporting Condition Survey’s & Defect Reports Strategic Maintenance Reviews
020 7977 5650 info@pfms.co.uk www.pfms.co.uk
Fast Keys QP 100211.indd 1
26/1/11 11:40:43
Members of the BPA’s Approved Operator Scheme adhere to a Code of Practice ensuring that they: UÊ UÊ UÊ
Act rationally and professionally Behave responsibly Comply with the law
For more information about the scheme and its Code of Practice, visit www.britishparking.co.uk or email aos@britishparking.co.uk
DON’T LET THE COWBOYS RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET WITH YOUR CAR PARKS BPA.HPH.indd 1 28 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
FMW.24.02.11.028.indd 28
Visit the Parking Zone at the Facilities Show 2011 Hall 1 Birmingham NEC 17th – 19th May, Stand H42
15/2/11 14:51:01
16/2/11 09:02:51
FM MONITOR IAN PLATT
LEGAL UPDATE
Ian Platt is supply chain general manager at Westbury Street Holdings
CHAN G ES TO EU EGG FA R M I N G
DREAMSTIME
rom 2012, eggs from battery hens will F be banned in the EU. FMs searching for an alternative for their catering function can still switch to free range production at nil cost
The Welfare of Laying Hens Directive comes into force on 1 January 2012. From that date, eggs from hens in barren battery cages (so-called because they are arranged in batteries of rows and tiers) will be banned in the EU. The ban represents the culmination of a journey which began with the signing of the directive in 1999 to phase out the cages on animal welfare grounds. Several member states (such as Poland) and pressure groups are pushing for a delay to the ban, however, the EU Commission is standing firm. The move is significant. There are close to 400m egg-laying hens in the EU, with as many as threequarters confined to battery cages (in the UK there are 16m caged hens in a population of almost 30m). A significant amount of battery hen eggs are used in the UK catering industry at present, where the issue has largely avoided the negative publicity generated by the likes of celebrity chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver against the major retailers. www.fm-world.co.uk
29_FM Legal2.indd 29
What the changes mean Barren battery cages have floors made of wire mesh and the hens typically have nothing to scratch at (a natural behaviour). Each bird is allowed a minimum floor space of 500cm sq – less than an A4 sheet of paper. Although these cages will be banned, the EU is allowing the use of enriched laying cages (which may also be arranged in batteries) to continue. These provide more area and height than conventional cages – at least 700cm sq per bird – and include a place to nest, a perch, a litter area and a place to dust-bathe. A recent EU report suggested the cost of switching from barren to enriched cages would be less than one per cent per egg. This would give producers in the UK and Europe an ‘ethical’ marketing advantage. However, although legal after 2012, the enriched cages are not popular with animal rights groups such as Compassion in World Farming, the Humane Society of the United States, the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the RSPCA, who
continue to call for an outright ban on caged hen production. What FMs need to know The wellbeing of animals is top of the agenda when it comes to food concerns in the UK. Research from Mintel last May found that animal welfare remained the number one concern, with as many as four in ten (40 per cent) of Britons worried about the issue. And despite the recession, Britons’ appetite for free range eggs has not diminished, with steady year-on-year growth and two billion eggs sold last year. Consumers really care about free range eggs, so this could be the perfect time to switch to a different production method. As long as the battery issue is addressed and all alternatives (see box) are fully explored, it shouldn’t mean an onerous increase in egg prices. The ban will be enforced by local authorities under the Welfare of Farmed Animals Act (2007). Poultry farms face fines of up to
£2,500 and possible imprisonment for infringement, while operators of packers could be hit with fines of £5,000 if they are found to be misselling. The effect on your business Some retailers, including supermarkets, have phased out battery hen eggs, but it is not standard practice to use free range in catering. What do I need to do? Talk to your catering partner, supplier or in-house team. Establish where your eggs come from – chances are they’ll be from battery hens. But with careful planning there’s no reason why switching to barn or free range eggs should increase costs. While eggs brought from outside the EU will not have been produced with such welfare restrictions, and may be cheaper, the resulting damage to your image, given the public mood, could well prove much more expensive. FM
A GUIDE TO EGG PRODUCTION Laying cage system (battery) Consists of a series of at least three tiers of cages. These have sloping mesh floors so that the eggs roll forward out of the reach of the birds to await collection. This practice will be outlawed in 2012, although enriched cages will still be allowed. Barn System In the barn system hens are able to move around the area. The EU’s Welfare of Laying Hens Directive stipulates a maximum stocking density of nine hens per square metre of useable floor space for new systems. Free Range For eggs to be termed free range, hens must have continuous daytime access to runs which are covered mainly with vegetation. They have a maximum stocking density of 2,500 birds per hectare. Organic Hens producing organic eggs are always free range. In addition, hens are fed an organically produced diet and ranged on organic land.
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 29
17/2/11 15:15:07
FM MONITOR JOHN KELLY
TECHNICAL
John Kelly is marketing manager of Airflow
VEN TIL ATION A N D H EAT R ECOV ERY
roviding effective heat recovery and ventilation on non-domestic buildings has become more challenging after new building regulations came into force in 2010
P
The stringent changes to building regulations that came into force in 2010 has left facilities managers with the issue of how to deliver effective and efficient ventilation and heat recovery throughout multiple areas in a building, while remaining compliant with the new regulations. Among the raft of design documents and British Standards to be considered are the new 2010 Building Regulations Approved Documents L2A and L2B. These detail a range of measures for the conservation of fuel and power in new and existing non-domestic buildings. Due to the government’s drive towards zero carbon buildings by 2016, Part L of the building regulations has been revised more than any other section. The fundamental change in the latest revisions of Part L is the target setting process for new and refurbished non-domestic buildings. Reducing the loss of energy will be easier for some buildings more than others and the new target-driven process takes this into account, allowing the 25 per cent reduction in emissions to be spread out over the aggregate value of the building stock. To do this they are using the 2006 regulations as the baseline to introduce calculated reduced energy usage and carbon emissions in residential and nonresidential dwellings. Airtightness is a crucial element in achieving energy efficiency and carbon reduction in a building and many facilities managers may think 30 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
30_Technical 2.indd 30
Duplexvent S Unit – a compact ventilation and heat recovery unit
that the airtightness and energy savings, and therefore operating cost savings, will come from the design of the building. However much of it comes down to the correct use and implementation of controls for mechanical ventilation units.
Going with the flow Air distribution systems in both new and existing buildings now have specific recommendations for controls and energy usage. The air quality in sealed buildings can rapidly fall to an unacceptable level, leading to potential health hazards through contaminants in the air. Among the energy saving standards introduced are Maximum Specific Fan Power limits for central and zonal mechanical ventilation systems, which vary upon the designed installation of the equipment. Mechanical systems can run from a centralised location, often continuously, and yet need to be able to service multiple areas of a building that may have different needs. The maximum SFP of a commercial central mechanical ventilation system, including
heating and cooling with heat recovery by a plate heat exchanger, is now 2.1 Watts/l/ sec (SFP) as stated in the new Non-Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide. Mechanical air handling is one of the largest energy users in air-conditioned offices, often outstripping energy use in chillers. Air handling in offices typically uses 42 to 44 kWh/m2/a, whereas best practice installations can achieve roughly half that. Many systems are simply over designed; loads greater than 120 W/m2 are excessive and with best practice should be around 80 W/m2. Heat recovery is a process of continuously preheating the incoming cool supply air by warming it with the outgoing exhaust air. Warm air is not simply exhausted through the open window, but transfers most of its heat to supply air in a highly efficient heat recovery exchanger before being exhausted. At no time do the airstreams mix as the heat radiates through the plates of the exchanger. Using such heat recovery units also helps the building
to be assessed for the Breeam (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) standard that is the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for new buildings.
Fixed service guides In addition to the approved documents are three newly introduced compliance guides. Of particular relevance is the Non-Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide, which encourages good practice while laying down minimum standards for people installing fixed building services in new and existing nondomestic buildings. This includes space heating, hot water, comfort cooling, interior lighting and mechanical ventilation. When employing the services of an engineer for mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, it’s important to ensure this compliance guide is adhered to from both a legal and efficiency point of view. The regulations also require that building managers keep a logbook to demonstrate that they are operating the building as intended. FM
ISSUES AT A GLANCE
The health factor Where poor ventilation exists within a building, those who work in the environment on a daily basis are at risk of conditions such as Sick Building Syndrome. Poor maintenance of ventilation systems can result in a build up of pollutants within the workspace, leading to much lower quality internal air. Major polluters An audit completed last year showed that public buildings – mainly prisons and hospitals – were the worst for carbon emissions. In total, it found that 28,000 buildings emit almost 14m tonnes of CO2 per year and eight of the ten most polluting buildings are hospitals. The correct installation and effective management of MVHR systems can reduce and combat both of the above issues.
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 12:08:27
FM MONITOR GARY DOWNEY
HOW TO…
Gary Downey is group marketing director at Balreed Digitec
GR EEN YOU R PR I N T FUN CT I O N
hen you set yourself the objective of ‘greening your print function’, you set a course to optimise your business. So where do you start? The answer lies not only in eco-technology but rationalising your print processes. Gary Downey explains
W
An organisation with a relatively high print-based environmental impact is likely to be suffering from one or several of these factors: ● Excessively high volumes of output per user ● High volumes of wasted print ● A poorly managed fleet of environmentally inefficient equipment ● An over-reliance on paper processes within a business
1⁄
Take stock
What are you currently producing and why? Before you change equipment you should know why you currently produce the documents you do. Don’t rely on eco-technology in isolation to achieve your goal. Your first step should always be to carry out an assessment to identify: ● The types of documents being produced per device and why ● Utilisation of each device in place ● Type of consumables used/stored ● Any conspicuous print waste eg uncollected print-outs ● The current cost of printing to enable you to quantify the benefits of any green changes
2⁄
Think sparse
Squeeze your print volumes, reduce your waste. You will quickly identify spikes of printing that your staff www.fm-world.co.uk
31_How to.indd 31
produce, which from a cost and environmental impact need to stop. Frequent discoveries include: printing out large reports, often from automated programs which are not used by anyone; volumes of print from browsing lunchtime web users, and bin-loads of email print outs which are read once then binned. Be aware the total volume of many one or two page documents can really add up. Identify specific documents which should no longer be printed and educate staff of non-print alternatives such as email and filesharing repositories. Every page saved at this stage will reduce your energy, toner, paper, waste and other costs and their associated environmental impacts.
3⁄
Optimise
Find a balance between optimising the cost-savings and environmental improvements with the practicalities of staff being able to work efficiently. For example, rationalising all your devices down to very few high-performance machines may be attractive in some respects, but may prove impractical in buildings like rabbit warrens. A thorough physical assessment in step 1 will pay dividends here. Some simple considerations to bear in mind ● There is always potential to reduce the absolute number
of print devices you have, particularly those with low utilisation ● Minimise the number of single function and non-networked devices you have and remove any that cannot be justified ● Older devices are generally less energy-efficient and consume more energy than modern technology designed for purpose ● Equipment using multicomponent cartridges typically has higher page costs and generates significant supply and waste streams so minimise these ● When procuring new technology consider both their environmental credentials and their ability to be networked, and scan and distribute documents electronically ● Cost-accounting is key to controlling print volumes and costs. Modern print technology can require a user to identify themselves with a proximity card and pin number, for example, before they use it. Every document produced can be attributed to that user, and accurate costs tracked and potentially charged back to departments and clients.
4⁄
Print smart
The key to achieving and maintaining a greener print function is to leverage all the steps you’ve taken with company-wide adoption of best practices in both print and business processes. By now you should only be printing what your organisation needs, using technology that is networked and delivers multiple functions to users in an environmentally sensitive way. Your objective is now to reduce the impact of necessary printing by using this infrastructure as
efficiently as possible. Simple best practice policies for printing and automating frequent processes can really help: ● Reduce page margins so you use less pages ● Adopt a smaller font size as a company for the same reason ● Print multiple pages or slides per page or in booklet formats ● Duplex should be your standard and the default on every device ● Re-use rather than recycle blank and non-confidential pages ● Introducing forced release of print jobs will reduce waste ● Provide staff with simple scanning capabilities on the same devices ● Use your devices to automate digital workflows ● Control and measure access, usage and costs generated by every user of your print infrastructure ● Continually monitor and promote best practice print and document processes. FM GREEN SUPPLIES The sleep, standby and in-use energy consumption information is useful when comparing competing models, but also take into account how the device can be configured the best way for your staff and your processes. Suppliers can reduce your impact and cost significantly. Look for a partner who: ● Pre-configures equipment ahead of delivery managing the waste themselves ● Provides remote support to the equipment, delivering pro-active service while minimising engineer journeys ● Operates engineers on foot as well as in vehicles ● Incorporates waste management and recycling into their service and logistics operations
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 31
17/2/11 12:43:00
FM MONITOR DR JANET MACDONALD
CAREERS ADVICE
Dr Janet Macdonald is learning and teaching coordinator for the Open University in Scotland
ON LIN E LEARNI N G
he world of e-learning can be a daunting place for the uninitiated. This brief guide offers guidance on how to get the most out of online learning
T
Unless you left school in the last few years, beginning a course of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) or work-based training could make you feel like Rip van Winkle, waking into an unrecognisable world. Due to the increasing power and influence of the internet and digital technology, the world of learning has been transformed. A wide variety of tools are now in use including email, SMS, social networking, instant messaging, blog, forums and web conferencing.
Many students make use of web tools alongside traditional class attendance, while some educational courses are now fully online. The major attraction of online learning is that it gives students the flexibility to study when it’s convenient for them.
1⁄
What to expect
Learning online does not just mean that you need to be able to use a computer, although you will certainly need basic IT skills. You will learn in new ways and you may need to do some advanced planning.
2⁄
Managing learning
● Time management becomes important as learning online gives you more flexibility to study at a time and place that suits you and your lifestyle ● You will need to keep yourself motivated: this can be more challenging especially if you are not regularly meeting your classmates and tutor face-to-face ● You will be expected to take more responsibility for managing your own learning and 32 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
Careers.indd 032
choosing how and when you will study.
3⁄
Managing the technology
There are lots of ways in which online technologies are used for successful study. You may be listening or reading and trying to make sense of new course content in language that is new and unfamiliar. Technology has made it possible to present course content in online texts with activities, which help you to test your understanding, or perhaps podcasts of important information, which you can carry around on your mp3 player to repeat at leisure. When preparing your assignment there are many great educational resources, which are freely available, but you’ll need to know how much to read, or indeed what sources are believable or appropriate for the course. When writing there are lots of new opportunities; not only is it easy to change your mind after the first draft, and straightforward to save work for later, you can also use and re-version those notes you made into the basis for an essay. You can even include audio clips
or photos in your written work, or co-write a document with fellow students. And online networks help you to keep motivated and in touch with fellow students while studying on your own outside the classroom. In summary, here is a list of key technologies used in e-learning: ● Computer literacy is essential, as is a grounding in mobile technology in order to be able to write, communicate or access resources on the web ● You may be familiar with a web browser, email and word processing; you might also find you need to use spreadsheets, presentation software or online forums ● You may need to access web pages, online journal articles and ebooks, graphics, photographs and podcasts (audio) and video, or use web-based search tools to find relevant information ● You may be asked to communicate via email, instant messaging, videoconferencing or texting, or undertake group work online ● You will certainly need to log on regularly and keep up to date with the latest course information and learning activities.
ONLINE TIPS Quick tips for online forums and social networking ● Consider the audience and be sensitive to their interests and values. Think of it like walking into a crowded room and looking around before you open your mouth ● Find out the purpose of the group, whether course-related or social, and note how others write ● Be ready to participate regularly and watch your time – forums can eat time ● Do not believe everything you read ● Introduce yourself with a little information about your background and interests ● Write as you would speak and keep your message concise with a meaningful title ● Be ready to respond to others, taking part in the discussion ● Be explicit about your feelings, so it is clear what you are communicating ● Be considerate to other group members ● Think before you send
4⁄
Share ideas with students
Communicating with your student group is one of the most important elements of studying. We know that to learn effectively you not only need to hear or read about new knowledge and skills, but also to do something active with them. One way to do this is to share new ideas and discuss them with other students. Belonging to an online group can help you feel part of a community. It can be enough just to keep you going. FM
i Dr Janet Macdonald is learning and teaching coordinator for the Open University in Scotland. She has recently published the book, Learning with Online and Mobile Technologies: A student survival guide (Gower, 2010) together with co-author Dr Linda Creanor
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 14:47:41
FM NEWS
Call Adam Potter on 020 7880 8543 or email adam.potter@fm-world.co.uk For full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack
FM innovations ▼Cool filtration system
▲Polyflor takes green message to Ecobuild With 24 product ranges that have been certified A+ by BRE Global - the most recognised environmental accreditation in the UK- Polyflor has more individually assessed A+ product ranges than any other resilient flooring brand. The A+ portfolio was increased recently by the addition of four of Polyflor’s commercial Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) ranges. This is significant for the vinyl flooring market because they are the first LVT ranges to have been individually assessed by BRE Global. With successful environmental management processes in place, last year Polyflor reduced its own carbon emissions by 775 tonnes and managed to recycle over 385 tonnes of general waste and 11,728 tonnes of vinyl waste. For further information, visit stand S364 at Ecobuild. Tel: 0161 767 1111 Website: www.polyflor.com. Email: info@polyflor.com
Bollfilter has installed an automatic filter at the National Oceanography Centre as part of unique Seawater Cooling System. The cooling system utilises seawater to indirectly cool the building via a heat exchanger. A Bollfilter 6.18 self cleaning filter has been fitted to remove marine detritus, such as seaweed, and help maintain the efficiency of the system. Although the filter is designed for minimal maintenance, Bollfilter provided on-site training for NOCS’s engineering staff to allow in-house adjustment and cleaning if necessary. Candice Snelling, NOCS Environment & Energy Advisor noted that “The system will reduce annual electricity demand by approximately 5%, saving an estimated 117 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions a year. It also helps maintain a comfortable environment for our staff and students.” Bollfilter UK Ltd Tel: 01621 862180 E-mail: sales@bollfilter.co.uk web: www.bollfilter.co.uk
▲COFELY innovation helps United Biscuits to reduce its carbon footprint As part of a wide-ranging sustainability programme operated by United Biscuits, COFELY has helped the company achieve a 27% reduction in gas usage, a 5.2% reduction in electricity consumption and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 27,468kg at its headquarters in Middlesex. The range of works carried out formed the first phase of an ongoing energy conservation programme as part of the COFELY’s energy and facilities management contract with United Biscuits. “The key to the success of this project is that we have been working as one team,” noted United Biscuits’ Mark Tupper. “Once we had agreed what needed to be done, COFELY simply went off and delivered it. Tel: 020 7633 2300 Web: www.cofely.co.uk
▼Safehinge research stresses risk to facilities managers of using inadequate finger protection
▲David Lloyd Leisure sees sense in scenting from Ambius David Lloyd Leisure Clubs has selected Ambius, the world’s leading environment enrichment company for a new, nationwide contract as sole supplier of interior planting services to the 85 David Lloyd Leisure clubs across the UK. The contract capitalises on Ambius’ extensive expertise in creating planting solutions that provide both aesthetic appeal and deliver health benefits. David Lloyd Leisure is also trialling Ambius Microfresh scenting in the changing rooms of is clubs in Hatfield, Finchley and Romford. Ambius Microfresh is an ambient scenting system which can be used for both scent marketing and odour remediation. Unlike conventional commercial air fresheners, Ambius Microfresh does not mask odours; it neutralises and replaces them with a more pleasant fragrance. www.ambius.co.uk
Research gathered by leading finger protection specialist, Safehinge Ltd, reinforces the risk to both private and public sector facility managers of failing to ensure their facilities meet legal safety obligations. With research showing that 30,000 children in the UK suffer from a finger trapping accident each year* ˆ some of which are very serious ˆ the problem is significant. Safehinge advises that, as well as reputational damage, organisations also face severe legal and financial repercussions by not meeting contractual obligations and using poor-quality, or nonexistent, hinge protection. With facility managers at the ‘sharp end’ of ensuring that buildings are safe and compliant, the number of annual UK accidents serves as a stark reminder of what can happen if door hinges are not made safe. Hinges can be unsafe either because there is no hinge protection at all, or because the protection is old or broken. For further information about Safehinge and its products, please visit www.safehinge.com
▲ Wilson Vale start the new year on a high Niche caterers, Wilson Vale, have gained a staff catering contract with Amgen, the pioneering biotechnology company. The contract, which is valued at £500k, is across two sites in Cambridge and Uxbridge, where Wilson Vale now provide breakfast, lunch and hospitality services for 750 Amgen employees. The independent caterers have already commenced a catering service for Amgen staff at Uxbridge, and the Cambridge catering operation opens today, 31st January 2011. The news comes after Wilson Vale’s financial Y/E results (December 2010) show that annual turnover is up approximately 10 per cent on 2009 at £13 million. The company now holds 65 contracts and employs 550 staff. FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 33
FM Tech Spec 240211.indd 40
15/2/11 17:49:21
BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK
A lavish affair: The BIFM Awards ceremony 2010
BIFM AWARDS
Award entries open The BIFM Awards are now open for entry and the search is on for the award winning teams and individuals of 2011. These awards present a great opportunity for teams and leading individuals in the FM industry to be recognised against the very best of the competition. To win an award sends a powerful message to the employers of in-house teams, to the clients of outsourced teams and to all staff and team members at all levels. Do you want to sponsor a BIFM award? This is the biggest and most prestigious networking event in the FM calendar and gives national recognition to the leaders in our profession. We offer an unrivalled platform to showcase your organisation and raise your brand’s awareness among a very powerful FM audience. i To find out how to enter the awards visit www.bifm.org.uk/ awards2011. To find out which sponsorship opportunities are available, please contact sandra@ fmevents.biz
TH!NKFM
SIMPLY PHOTOGRAPHY (C) 2010
Headline sponsor announced Leading independent contract caterer, BaxterStorey, has been announced as the headline sponsor at the Th!nkFM Conference 2011. Known for its award winning sustainable and fresh food, BaxterStorey will already be familiar to many FM firms and practitioners for its first class offering within the workplace dining market. The company,
34 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
BIFM news2.indd 36
KEEP IN TOUCH » Network with BIFM @ www.networkwithbifm.org.uk » Twitter @BIFM_UK » LinkedIn » facebook
established in 2004, works with single and multi-location businesses including the likes of Barclays, IPC Media, Oracle and Virgin Atlantic and is a corporate member of the BIFM. Simon Esner, director at BaxterStorey said: “We have a successful track record of forging close, long-standing partnerships with FMs and through sponsoring the Th!nkFM Conference, we hope to demonstrate our ethical approach to corporate dining and position ourselves as the caterer of choice for a new generation of decision makers.”
i For information on BaxterStorey visit www.baxterstorey.com. Th!nkFM, 5-6 April 2011, East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham. Book your place on 08701 632804 or visit www.thinkfm. com
MEMBERS
New members The following organisations (in the areas indicated) joined the BIFM as corporate members in November,
December and January: Ocean Facilities Services – FM supplier The Raised Access Flooring Company – Consultant Kingston University Service Company Ltd (KUSCO) – FM suppliers Accenture – End user Ecovert FM – Consultant Omega (F.M) – FM supplier Haworth UK – FM supplier Fingershield (UK) – Product supplier Integris Private – FM supplier SG Services LDA – End user Recru1tment Ltd – Consultant
WOMEN IN FM SIG PROFILE Chair: Liz Kentish Number of members: 1,180 Year established: 2007 Key dates and events for 2011: ● 3 March, The Glass Ceiling ● 24 March, What a Load of Rubbish ● 26 May, Networking Skills ● 23 June, World FM Day event ● 24 August, WiFM social event ● 21 September FM and Organisational Change Aims of the Sig Networking, supporting, encouraging
and developing. Why members should join the Sig? WiFM quickly established itself as a group that listens to the needs of members, producing events and programmes to support them. The Sig prides itself on demonstrating BIFM values and competences, and encouraging both men and women to focus on their continuing professional development. WiFM is not elitist or cliquey – it’s an inclusive and supportive environment with
many opportunities to network: to raise your profile, share successes and learn from other’s experience, hear about opportunities, grow in confidence and get involved to give something back to the industry. Contact details Liz Kentish 01778 561326/ 07717 787077 or email coach@ lizkentishcoaching.co.uk i To join the region, go to bifm.org. uk/bifm/groups
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 12:10:40
Please send your news items to communications@bifm.org.uk or call 0845 058 1356
SIG
Time for a defence group? Interested in FM and defence? Are you from the armed services and/or contractors who service defence establishments? Are you interested in raising the profile of the defence sector and being part of a group that will discuss defence FM issues from all angles? If so, please contact Richard Greaves via email, using the email subject heading: BIFM Defence Group on richardgreaves@ voomeroon.co.uk to find out more. The MoD is reorganising its estates management team (Defence Estates) and creating a new organisation called Defence Infrastructure. It’s also in the middle of letting property maintenance contracts for the whole country, worth about £500m per year. With all this going on, the defence sector is an interesting and exciting place to be. DIARY
Key dates Dates for your diaries: ● Th!nkFM Conference (www. thinkfm.com), Nottingham, 5-6 April ● Facilities Show, Birmingham, 17-19 May ● EuroFM Conference, Vienna, 23-25 May ● World FM Day, 23 June ● BIFM Members’ Day and AGM, June 30 (location tbc) ● BIFM Awards Gala Dinner, 10 October ● Total Workplace Management Exhibition, London, 11-12 October ● Ifma’s World Workplace, Arizona, 26-28 October www.fm-world.co.uk
BIFM news2.indd 37
Richard Byatt is corporate & public affairs director at the BIFM
BIFM COMMENT O U R NAT U R A L H O M E ?
t a recent conference on building information modelling (BIM), various presenters put up slides of the “construction process”, the “project lifecycle” or the “building timeline”. The sequence, from left to right, was usually something like this concept, design, procurement, construction ... manage. So, is facilities management essentially the tail end of the construction process? Is FM’s natural home within the construction sector or should we look elsewhere? There are alternatives. FM could strengthen its credentials as a management discipline, stressing the non-technical dimensions of the role and aligning itself more clearly with professions such as HR and project management. The choice is crystallised in facilities management education. With a few notable exceptions, FM higher education sits within engineering, architecture or real estate faculties. The BIFM’s position has always been to recognise the broad scope of facilities management and its interactions with many disciplines. The institute has sought alliances and influences wherever these can benefit our members and the wider profession. However, the question of where FM sits is not purely a matter of semantics. From time to time we have to make straight choices. For example, we fought hard to get FM recognised within the reorganised Sector Skills Councils structure. It currently sits (some would say uneasily) alongside housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking within Asset Skills. With pressures on public finances, and following the recommendations of the Morrell report, the skills picture is likely to change once more and the BIFM will again have to decide where its interests lie. Governments of all colours have called for professional and industry representation to be simplified and the construction industry is notoriously fragmented. The BIFM is an active member of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), the representative forum for the professional bodies, research organisations and specialist business associations in the industry. This affiliation serves us well. The BIFM believes that it is important for FM to be represented in forums such as CIC and the new All Party Parliamentary Group, although our voice can sometimes be hard to discern among those of larger and better-resourced interests. As FM and other aspects of procuring, occupying and managing buildings become more important so the balance of power and the language is shifting - less “construction” and more “built environment”. BIM does at least recognise the potential for FM to influence design and construction. Our challenge is to turn a linear process into a virtuous circle.
A
“BIM DOES AT LEAST RECOGNISE THE POTENTIAL FOR FM TO INFLUENCE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. OUR CHALLENGE IS TO TURN A LINEAR PROCESS INTO A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE”
richard.byatt@bifm.org.uk
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 35
17/2/11 12:11:09
BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK
BIFM TRAINING
Aiming high: Facilities manager, Brian Amos
A I N ’ T N O M O U N TA I N H I GH E NOU GH
MEMBERS NEWS
FM heads for pole position A BIFM member is part of a team of six who have taken on the challenge of walking to the North Pole. Brian Amos, head of buildings and facilities from Centrica, will make the 60-mile trek in April 2012 in temperatures as low as minus 35, using solar power to run laptops, phones and navigation equipment. Using the theme ‘six ordinary men doing extraordinary things’, the walkers are aiming to raise £250,000 for Sparks, the children’s medical research charity. The self-funded mission is being led by experienced polar guide Alan Chambers MBE, and the team doctor is Dr Ed Coats, who joined television presenter Ben Fogle and Olympic rower James Cracknell on their epic race to the South Pole in 2009. Learn more at 6ordinarymen.co.uk or email events@6ordinarymen.co.uk i
MEMBERS NEWS
Chairs Charity: Macmillan Macmillan improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They are a source of support, helping with all the things that people affected by cancer want and need. It’s not only patients who live with cancer, so they help carers, families and communities. They guide people 36 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
BIFM news2.indd 38
through the system, supporting them every step of the way. They fund nurses and other specialist health care professionals and build cancer care centres. But they give so much more than medical help. They also deliver: ● Information and support over the phone – including benefits people can claim; help completing forms and advice on financial help, such as help with hospital travel costs. ● Local Macmillan benefits advice services: advising people with cancer, their families and carers so they can access benefits and financial support they are entitled to. ● Macmillan Grants: small one-off payments to those affected by cancer to make life easier such as paying hospital travel costs, heating bills and essential household items. ● Fighting discrimination – from challenging unfair travel costs and insurance policies to improving the national benefits system.
Delighted Ian Broadbent, chairman of the BIFM, said: ”I am delighted with the amount (£11,066.21) members and employees have worked hard to raise since I became chair. Many of us are affected by cancer be it directly or someone we know, and Macmillan provides comfort and support to so many. The great thing about Macmillan is the many services they provide. Remember it’s not just donating money; there are many ways to help from supporting their campaigns to volunteering. On behalf of myself thank you for supporting the charity.” i You can donate at justgiving.com/ thebifm, learn more at macmillan.org. uk or call 0808 808 00 00
ver feel like you’re struggling to strike the right balance between planning, organising, motivating and controlling? Better informed customers coupled with an increasingly pressured economy are creating increasing demands on you and your time. And in this fast-changing world the need to innovate and adapt on a continuous and rapid basis, while balancing efficiency with effectiveness, means it’s easy to feel you’re trying to climb an endless mountain. Add day-to-day pressures, and it seems like you’re working longer hours and getting nowhere. But developing your managerial skills can make a huge difference and will really help you to strike the right balance and manage with success and confidence.
E
ILM Level 3 Award in First Line Management, 4-8 April 2011, central London This Institute of Leadership and Management Level 3 qualification offers a sound introduction to the skills, knowledge and understanding required by today’s first line managers and can be attained through attending our five-day management development course, which has been accredited by the ILM, followed by the successful completion of segment reviews and work based assignments. The programme is highly participative and engaging and as well as exploring varied, yet interrelated topics, there are exercises, discussions and even time to reflect and practice techniques in a ‘safe’ setting. The work based assessments which follow give you an opportunity to apply those techniques in your own working environment. This means you learn from experience and can share those experiences with fellow delegates. We pride ourselves on the quality of tuition delivered, and as proof of the pudding here are a couple of comments from previous attendees: ‘‘The tutor was one of the best. Well laid-out and well paced, the course was well worth the money and I look forward to doing more.’’ – facilities manager, Telecity Group ‘‘An interesting and very participative course that was enjoyable as well as thought-provoking in its usefulness within the workplace.’’ – facilities manager, Building Research Establishment i BIFM Training also delivers the ILM Level 3 Award and Certificate in FM, and the ILM level 2 Award in Team Leading. For information or to book a place visit www.bifm-training.com, email info@bifm-training.co. uk or call 020 7404 4440
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 12:11:33
FM PEOPLE MOVERS & SHAKERS
BEHIND
THE JOB How did you get into facilities management? I left school in May 2008 and began working for an FM company in June 2008 as an administrator. After six months or so I gained good knowledge of soft FM and decided to show my superiors that I could do more than filing and running a helpdesk. When my line manager left I was given the opportunity to manage the cleaners and front of house staff at the site where I was based and two additional sites which were in the city. After six months of being in this position I was then promoted again to assist the regional operations manager in London and south-west Wales. NAME: James Mallows JOB TITLE: Facilities manager ORGANISATION: Department of Health, Reading JOB DESCRIPTION: To manage a four-storey government building in Reading. We provide both soft and hard FM.
What’s been your career high-point to date? Being given the opportunity to prove myself within a management position with an established company and also being part of the mobilisation team at a £25m contract. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? I would like to see more young people like myself being given job opportunities in facilities management. If I wasn’t in facilities management, I’d probably be… in the car sales industry as I’ve got a massive passion for cars and sales in general. What single piece of advice would you give to a young facilities manager starting out? For any young FM like myself, the best advice I can
give is if you’re lucky enough to be given the chance to manage your own site at a young age, always put 100 per cent into every task you undertake and never turn down any opportunities which may help your career progression. Customer service is key and should always take precedence. Health and safety is a massive part of FM and you should always keep yourself and place of work up to date with all the latest legislation and policies. Do your friends understand what facilities management is? What about strangers? As I’ve been in facilities management for more than two years, my friends and I have had numerous discussions about my profession and they now know exactly what FM is all about. However, when I get asked by strangers about my line of work they seem to think I simply manage a team of cleaners and front of house staff and that’s it. They don’t appear to understand how much work goes on behind the scenes so to speak. What do you think it takes for a young FM to succeed? As you know, it’s extremely hard for anyone to get onto the career ladder at the moment, especially if you’re a young individual, but I’ve shown that if you have the determination, drive and the ability to do a job well, age is simply just a number and, given the opportunity, career aspirations and goals can be achieved.
Ingenuity welcome here
-RKQVRQ &RQWUROV
www.fm-world.co.uk
037_People and jobs.indd 38
ZZZ MRKQVRQFRQWUROV FR XN FDUHHUV
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 37
17/2/11 14:22:05
XXX D DP VL
Appointments
Call Norman Cook 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
Business Development Manager, National, up to ÂŁ65,000 + bonus, beneďŹ ts etc Our client is a large and highly respected provider of outsourced contract Facilities Management and Managed Security Services. We are seeking an accomplished Business Development Manager to aggressively expand their client base within FM. Reporting to the Sales & Marketing Director the Business Development Manager will be responsible for identiďŹ cation, development and negotiation of new managed services business opportunities arising from private and public sector procurement. In addition you will provide focused support to the existing client portfolio, seeking to develop and secure further business. This is an exceptional opportunity for a Business Development Manager to help forge the direction of an already highly successful organisation. You will be given the tools and support to take ownership for the future Business Development. We are seeking business development professionals of the highest calibre with a proven track record in the Cleaning & Security sector. CV and cover letter to steve@c22.co.uk
Customer Relations Manager, Manchester, cÂŁ25,000 A leading property development and investment company are seeking a highly organised and passionate CRM to work within the FM team. Previous FM experience is highly desirable, as is a background in Health & Safety (IOSH). The successful candidate will have an enthusiasm and passion for delivering high standards of customer service and be capable of organising and running regular meetings with clients and tenants to discuss and manage any Building and FM issues. This is a very demanding role and one which will grow with the expansion of the property portfolio and the organisations plans. CVs to ed@c22.co.uk
Multi Skilled Engineer, London, ÂŁ29,000 A Professional Association require a multi-skilled engineer to undertake building maintenance work at their central London residency (ofďŹ ces, function rooms and overnight rooms). Experience of M&E; boilers, cooling towers, plant, BMS, HVAC, water monitoring etc is preferred. An appropriate M&E qualiďŹ cation is advantageous as is CORGI registration - but the company will support further training. CV and cover letter to steve@c22.co.uk
Maintenance Engineer (Mechanical), Hertfordshire, Salary up to ÂŁ28,000 One of the UK’s leading charities seeks an experienced Mechanical Engineer to oversee all works at their site in Potters Bar. Good working knowledge of computerised building/equipment management systems; including fault diagnosis and remote access. Extensive operational experience of computerised building/equipment management systems is require while candidates must possess a relevant qualiďŹ cation such as City & Guilds / NVQ; having served an apprenticeship in a M&E engineering discipline. CV and cover letter to steve@c22.co.uk
Maintenance Technician, London, ÂŁ30,600 + vehicle, shift allowance, beneďŹ ts etc. An international blue chip organisation is looking for a Maintenance Technician to work at corporate ofďŹ ce buildings across central London. You will principally be responsible for the supervision and safety of contractors, ensuring they comply with PPM Schedules; risk assessments, monitoring of data room environments, power supply/UPS, air conditioning, permits to work, ďŹ re and water systems, heating and cooling and M&E systems. Although the role is essentially ‘off the tools’ candidates must be qualiďŹ ed with an electrical, mechanical or building services qualiďŹ cation in order to competently carry out 1st ďŹ x M&E and HVAC works when necessary. CV and cover letter to russell@c22.co.uk
HVAC Engineers, 2 x London, 1 x Cambridge, ÂŁ29,000 Our Client a nation-wide provider of refrigeration, mechanical, electrical and other core building services are looking to recruit a HVAC Engineer to undertake PPM required works covering trade speciďŹ c systems i.e. heating, plumbing, gas and air conditioning works. Other key tasks will be to carry out diagnostic and fault ďŹ nding to plant and equipment while ensuring the Company is promoted in a professional manner at all times, maintaining an appropriate attitude and appearance in front of the Customer. Essential Skills / QualiďŹ cations, CCN1, COCN1 CIGA1, CDGA1, CORT1, CEN1, ICAE1 TPCP1(A) & Oil burner qualiďŹ cations Full Driving Licence, NVQ 3 Install / Service and Maintenance discipline i.e. Heating & Ventilation, HVAC, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning etc, Ability to commission and test gas compliance’s / system and City & Guilds 2078 (soon to be 2079). CVs to steve@c22.co.uk
providing quality people
banner.indd 38 | 24Catch22 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM1WORLD
FM New appoints 240211.indd 38
Leeds 0113 242 8055 London 020 7630 5144 17/2/11 16:57:11
17/2/11 17:14:46
Facilities Management
Building better futures
Senior Facilities Manager
Property Business Partner
Operations Manager
property recruitment
Manchester – £27-35k + benefits
Midlands – c.£65k + benefits
London – £55-70k
Join this leading property company as a FM professional. You will manage a prestigious portfolio of properties and be responsible for total FM delivery, staff and contracts management, compliance, health and safety. You must have experience of multi-site management. Ref: KN/16111
You will be a commercially minded business professional with experience in delivering cradle- to-grave property services. You will be involved with devising and implementing property strategy. For this role, you must have a track record in managing P&L, conducting feasibility studies and conveying property strategy. Ref: KN/62113
Join this prestigious global investment bank as Operations Manager based in London. You will work closely with regional FM teams to ensure effective and efficient delivery of operations to clients. You must also have strong leadership and management skills, commercial and supplier negotiation experience with excellent personal presentation. Ref: CORE/62572
Contact Katie Noble on 0161 834 8666 or at katie.noble@juddfarris.co.uk
Contact Claire O’Reilly on 020 7845 5770 or at claire.oreilly@juddfarris.co.uk
Contact Katie Noble on 0161 834 8666 or at katie.noble@juddfarris.co.uk
Hard Services Manager London – £55-60k Do you have in-depth experience in sustainability and management, as well as M&E background? Join this property owner as Hard Services Manager to develop and implement the hard services strategy for the company’s workplaces where you will be responsible for the management of the outsourced services provider over a multiple, diverse portfolio. Ref: CORE/62621 Contact Claire O’Reilly on 020 7845 5770 or at claire.oreilly@juddfarris.co.uk
www.juddfarris.com
Property Manager
Area Facilities Manager
Birmingham – c.£27k + flexible benefits + bonus
North West c.£40k + flexible benefits + bonus
You will be a client side FM to a multi-site critical buildings portfolio, managing cost, space and external service providers. You will also manage customer relationships and ensure SLA’s are adhered to. The ideal candidate must have blue-chip customer site facilities management experience across multiple sites. Ref: AK/62626
You will be a Regional FM, responsible for a North West portfolio of blue-chip corporate sites. The ideal candidate must have hard & soft service delivery, budget, projects, health & safety and team management experience. This role has excellent scope for career development. Ref: AK/62576
Contact Amanda Kontzle on 0161 834 8666 or at amanda.kontzle@juddfarris.co.uk
Contact Amanda Kontzle on 0161 834 8666 or at amanda.kontzle@juddfarris.co.uk
Judd Farris acts as an employment agency for permanent or fixed-term contract roles and an employment business for temporary roles.
Babcock leads the way in providing innovative engineering support services to a varied global client base.
PROJECT DIRECTOR Reporting to the Operations Director, you will provide an exceptional level of leadership and support to all Babcock DynCorp Stakeholders. Assuming a high degree of autonomy, you will take complete responsibility for the operational, strategic, financial and commercial delivery of the RPC to exacting contract specifications. Proactively driving opportunities to enhance profitability and excellence in service delivery to our client, you will implement innovative practices where appropriate, ensure safe operational delivery and carry out contract requirements to customer expectations. Creating a working environment, which is both motivating and rewarding to employees, you will also make sure that the highest levels of client and customer relationships are established, maintained and monitored. Responsibilities will include managing all aspects of the technical, financial and commercial performance of the RPC East contract within agreed
budgetary requirements, developing and implementing models to drive up productivity, reviewing and assessing services and actively seeking, evaluating and delivering new and organic business opportunities through innovative approaches. You will have a professional qualification and general management experience in a Business Services/Multidisciplinary organisation and be experienced in operating at Director level. Ideally familiar with asset management, FM maintenance and construction, you will also have experience of leading and delivering service excellence within a £100m scale organisation. In addition to your familiarity with requirements of operating within a plc organisation, you will also have prior experience working with the MOD, Local Government and private/corporate/commercial sector clients at senior levels.
To apply, please visit www.babcock.co.uk BABCOCK PROUD TO SUPPORT THE BRITISH ARMED FORCES
| Airports | Communications | Defence | Education | Emergency Services | | Energy | International | Nuclear | Property | Rail | Training | Waste | www.babcock.co.uk
FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 39
FM New appoints 240211.indd 39
17/2/11 17:12:55
Coveted jobs with Cobalt......................... Divisional Director (Leading Managing Agent): £55,000 - £60,000
London
A leading Managing Agent currently seeks to appoint a Divisional Director to play an integral part of their FM team. This client is unifying their FM operations across the UK and is seeking to appoint a highly skilled FM professional to head up the mobilisation of their Prestige buildings, and ensure the smooth running of trophy buildings in London, the Midlands and other UK cities. This is an all encompassing role including management, mobilisation of buildings and front end marketing to clients to develop their service offerings. Ideal candidates will have specific experience of managing large, key buildings, will be focussed on delivering extremely high levels of service delivery and will be proven in managing Ref: 24172 blue chip clients’ portfolios.
Premises Manager: £30,000 - £35,000
Cobalt Recruitment Abu Dhabi Auckland Berlin Düsseldorf Frankfurt
London
London
An established service provider is currently undergoing change and now looking for new management to work on varied school contracts in London. It is looking to recruit a Premises Manager based at a large school and oversee the delivery of the hard and soft services to the site. As the Premises Manager you will come from an engineering background and have a proven track record in working on BSF or PFI projects. You will be responsible for an assistant premises manager and team of school keepers. This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to make a Ref: 23582 difference in a challenging environment.
Manchester Tel: +44 (0)20 7478 2500 info@cobaltrecruitment.com www.cobaltrecuitment.com
To apply for any of these roles please email your CV in confidence to info@cobaltrecruitment.com or call +44 (0)20 7478 2500 to speak to a consultant.
www.cobaltrecruitment.com
Head of Bid Management South East
£60-75k + bonus
Head of Operations - BMS
Ref: AS0152
Working for the market leading Facilities and Construction group you will be responsible for the management of the bid team and the production of proposals for both hard and soft services. The ability to build and maintain relationships, both internally and externally, is crucial in fulfilling this role. You will have the ability to deal with large and complex tenders. You will manage a team of both Bid Writers and Estimators and you will be suitably experienced in pricing and writing both Engineering and FM proposals.
Energy Manager
Ref: AS0171
Working for this market leading Facilities Management provider you will be responsible for the energy performance on a number of their contracts covering the South of the country. You will be responsible for delivering various energy projects in order to achieve a committed energy saving. You will assist the operational team in a unified approach to energy management throughout the portfolio. You will come from a M&E building services background (ideally electrical) and have the ability to carry out energy surveys and produce energy budgets.
Business Development Manager Midlands
£50-55k + bonus
London, South East
Regional sales role with a market leading FM provider. Your role will be made up of 3 key areas: - Contract renewal, winning new contracts and maximizing on existing business. You will come from a technical background and have a proven track record of winning contracts within Hard FM. You will adopt the “cradle to grave” approach therefore you will have good experience of writing proposals, estimating and presenting.
Ref: AS0176
£44 – 55k Ref: NC0187
Working for a leading Construction Consultancy currently operating in FM strategic reviews, PFI/PPP Support, FM Procurement, FM Benchmarking, Whole life and LIfecycle Costing. As Senior FM Consultant you will provide clients with professional technical advice in delivering a range of Facilities Management commissions, in order to create value for their clients, through the application of knowledge and techniques to meet the client’s objectives / improve FM performance.
Technical Operations Manager
Ref: AS0169
£50k + bonus
A fantastic opportunity with a FM market leader. You will be responsible for the operations of a £4.5m BMS Controls division. You will be responsible for a team of regional managers across the UK. You will have a thorough understanding of BMS systems and be comfortable in both project work and maintenance contracts. This is a new role within the company and is purely operational. You will be suitably qualified and come from a controls background.
Senior FM Consultant
£40-45k
London/South
South
London, South East
£78 – 100k Ref: NC0178
A fantastic opportunity to join an accredited world class property services organisation serving one of the most prestigious Financial Institutions in the UK, Offshore and Europe. Highly experienced Technical Operations Manager required to manage the London key buildings’ portfolio. As this is a technical role an engineering qualification in either Mechanical or Electrical Engineering is essential. (HND or above).
Sustaining Your Future in Facilities Management Birmingham: 0121 450 5115 London: 0208 626 5225
Email: info@fmpropertyrecruitment.co.uk Web: www.fmpropertyrecruitment.co.uk
40 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
FM New appoints 240211.indd 40
17/2/11 17:13:08
Facilities Manager Manchester Salary Band: £30,634-£32,917 Loreto College is approaching the end of an exciting period of re-development that has seen four new buildings constructed since 2002. We now require an experienced Facilities Manager. You will be responsible for both strategic and operational aspects of the facilities management function across a mixed campus, managing and co-ordinating all activities associated with the college’s premises and for developing positive sustainable stakeholder relationships to ensure the successful delivery of all services. • • • • • • •
•
Suitable candidates will have the following experience: Experience in managing mixed campus-based single site facilities including listed buildings Technical services quali¿cation or suitable experience in a Technical FM service management role Experience of working with both direct staff and outsourced FM contractors Have an excellent understanding of Health and Safety preferably with a NEBOSH certi¿cation Competent with standard MS Of¿ce applications Strong and effective communication skills. Analytical thinker with demonstrated problem solving skills but a willingness to roll up the sleeves and get involved Previous team management experience, demonstrated leadership and performance management skills
Please telephone, write or email for an application form and return it to the Personnel Department, Loreto College, Chichester Road South, Manchester, M15 5PB. Tel No 0161 226 5156. Email: recruitment@loreto.ac.uk. Closing date for applications: Tuesday 8 March 2011
Find your ideal FM job at o..uk/jobs www.fm-world.co.uk/jobs
Key FM.indd 1
15/2/11 15:04:15 Loreto.indd 1
for all the latest vacancies pleasee visit the FM World job board. To advertise see on fm-world.com contact Norman Cook on 020 7324 2755 55 5
Bishop’s Stortford College E tate Managers Es A competitive packag e
Se
Vo nio daf o Co r m M Fa ne ex pe ana cilit ce tit g i lle ive er es nt sa be la ne ry fit + s
a edi ies dm e ilit h S Fac t n ista ager n Ass Ma 5,000 –2 £20 annum per
17/2/11 14:13:55
ffm-world.co.uk/jobs ld k/j b FMW Laundry list HPH Sec1:2
FM New appoints 240211.indd 41
17/2/11 16:58:02 FM WORLD | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | 41
17/2/11 17:13:23
FINAL WORD FELICITY MESSING
FELICITY
MESSING
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND A West-Midlands grandmother was trapped in her home due to an enormous pile of leaves outside her front door, it was reported recently. Irene Robinson from Wednesbury was unable to leave her house due to the build-up, which ‘drifted’ to an unbe-leavable depth of one metre (3ft). The 77-year-old said: “It’s been like this all week. I have lived here 23 years and I have never seen it like this.” Driven from a nearby cemetery by winds of up to 77mph, the leaf pile would fill at least 50 refuse bags – enough for a small park. Ms Robinson’s initial requests for assistance from the council fell on deaf ears. “They said they can only clear leaves from the footpaths,” she said. Thankfully, the boys in yellow eventually saw sense and arrived with a truck to initiate a clean sweep, much to her releaf. In the face of swingeing cuts to council budgets, we can only expect more of these examples of residents left hanging in the breeze.
BOGGED DOWN BY RULES As we think we’ve just about heard it all as facilities managers, something new crops up to surprise us. I am reliably informed by IceNews from the Nordics that a Norwegian workers’ union has undertaken a study into the country’s ‘tyrannical’ toilet rules. I don’t know what is going on with employee relations in Norway but it appears that business managers are ‘obsessed’ with lost productivity from staff spending too long in the loo. Apparently 66 per cent of businesses surveyed require staff to use an electronic tag to use the washrooms; others are required to sign in and out of a ‘visitors book’; and some have even put the toilets under video surveillance.
In an extreme case, one company has been reported to the country’s Chief Consumer Ombudsman, Bjorn Erik Thon, (why he?) for reportedly insisting on women wearing a red wrist band at the ‘time of the month’ to justify more trips to the loo! “These are extreme cases of workplace monitoring, but they are real,” said Thon. “Toilet codes relating to menstrual cycles are clear violations of privacy and is very insulting to the people concerned. I hope and believe that this is not representative of the Norwegian working life in general,” he added. Is this the ultimate in ‘time and motion’ study at the workplace?
THINGS YOU DARE NOT SAY AT WORK I’m out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...
You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
IN THE NEXT ISSUE OUT 10 MARCH
A LOOK INSIDE LIVERPOOL’S ROYAL LIVER BUILDING/// REBECCA BRADLEY INTERVIEWS JOHN DE LUCY/// ACCESS CONTROL/// HOSPITALITY AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT/// WASTE MANAGEMENT/// HOW TO PREVENT AND MANAGE GRAFFITI/// HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR/// ALL THE LATEST NEWS, ANALYSIS AND COMMENT
42 | 24 FEBRUARY 2011 | FM WORLD
Felicity.indd 50
www.fm-world.co.uk
17/2/11 12:14:20
HOT DATES planning your future with us
“
MARCH COURSES 23 23 23-24 24 22-24
29-30
The tutor delivered a really enjoyable and interesting course. It brought a lot of useful information to light - worthwhile. Site Services Manager, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster [Ref. Selecting & Controlling Contractors on Site]
31
Essential Communication Skills Customer Focused FM Project Management Service Level Agreements Understanding FM Foundation - (optional) ILM Level 3 Award in FM Health & Safety Regulations, Responsibilities & Risk Assessment Selecting & Controlling Contractors on Site
APRIL COURSES 5-6 4-8
”
4-8
Understanding & Managing Building Services Management Development (ILM Level 3 Award in First Line Management) IOSH Managing Safely Certificate
+44 (0)20 7404 4440
Telephone info@bifm-training.co.uk | www.bifm-training.com
AWARDS2011 This year’s BIFM Awards are now open for entries The search is on for the award winning FM teams and individuals of 2011. You and your team could be picking up a prestigious industry award at the most influential FM event in the UK. Entries close Friday 29th April 2011 (with the exception of Facilities Manager of the Year, Friday 15th July 2011) Contact us: 0141 639 6192 or Email: sandra@fmevents.biz
www.bifm.org.uk/awards2011 Awards ceremony: 10th October 2011 at Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
FMW.24.02.11.043.indd 1
16/2/11 08:55:08
Reduce the peaks and reduce your carbon footprint
Your energy proďŹ le provides an insight into your building’s consumption; identifying the cause of the peaks and base-load can highlight areas of energy waste and excess consumption. The t-mac energy management system can help; controlling building performance and instantly cutting energy costs and carbon footprint by up to 30%.
To find out how t-mac can help you, contact us on:
0844 287 0007 email info@t-mac.co.uk or visit us online at www.t-mac.co.uk
FMW.24.02.11.044.indd 1
16/2/11 08:47:53