FM World February 2017 taster edition

I N F O R M I N G FA C I L I T I E S M A N A G E M E N T P R O F E S S I O N A L S

NEVER ENDING STORY

The Stoddart Review: how the most productive workplaces are those constantly adapting to change

BREXIT BITES Contract law and staffing the key issues as Article 50 arrives

COMMANDER IN CHIEF CRE, HR, IT and FM – is there one role to rule them all?

fm-world.co.uk / February 2017

TA ST E R E D I T I O N

THE EDGE PERFORMS Lessons in individual productivity from Amsterdam’s finest

F M WO R LD

FEB RUARY 2017

CONTENTS COM M UNI TY

2 2 PE R SPE C TIV E S The four most interesting and insightful opinions on FM this month 2 5 A BIT A BOU T YOU Sebastian Breen on raising the bar at Hovis Ltd

KNOW LE DGE

36 ENTERING THE BIFM AWARDS Judges on what makes a strong awards entry, and what’s in it for you

26 THINK TA NK What tech developments are FMs currently dealing with?

ANA LYS I S

7 F M AND BRE XIT Brexit is set to impact on contract law, staffing and European FM contracts

38 HOW TO ASK FOR A PAY RISE Advice on negotiating and putting your case forward at pay reviews

28 F E BRUA RY @ BIF M The people and projects currently informing BIFM activity

10 H M RC’ S E STATE PLAN A report indicates that HMRC’s efficiency plan was “unrealistic”

3 9 BIR D PROTE C TIO N Preparing your site for the forthcoming nesting season

3 2 C A LL S TO AC T ION The events, surveys and discussions that deserve your attention

12 O F FICE DE TOX “Toxic” workplaces and their impact on well-being and productivity

40 COOLING TOWER S How to keep contaminants clear of cooling towers

13 NEWS MAK E RS The stories proving most popular with FM World’s online visitors this month

41 F IR E DA M PE R S Keeping on top of fire damper safety, cleaning and compliance standards

18 H EALTH WARN IN G The private FM sector’s role in the NHS continues to grow steadily

42 GR E E N V E HIC LE S New tax policies are making the case for green vehicle technologies

FM World’s in-depth analysis section 46 PERMANENT BETA The design of a workspace and the productivity of those who use it was made abundantly clear by the Stoddart Review.

But design requires constant review if that vital link is to be maintained.

50 THE CWO One recommendation in The Stoddart Review’s Workplace Advantage report was the potential for the role of chief workplace officer. But what would a notional CWO do – and how would the post affect FM?

54 THE EDGE The Stoddart Review’s vision of the future is the reality of OVG Real Estate’s The Edge building in Amsterdam. Opened in 2014, it’s one of the most talked about office buildings in the world.

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58 WORKPLACE ADVANTAGE The Stoddart Review focuses on putting the productivity potential F E BRUA RY ’ S TO P I C of the workplace THE STODDART in to the national REVIEW spotlight. Here we look at the themes it explores from anB FM W W W. I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N perspective.

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INSIDE 07 10 12 13 14

Triggering Brexit: an Article of faith HMRC’s estate plan hits speed bumps ‘Toxic workplaces’ jeopardise well-being Newsmakers: The month’s other top stories in short Rentokil enters workwear and hygiene JV

FRONT DESK

B RE X I T

THE MO N TH’ S MOST I MP O RTA N T F M STO RI E S

TRIGGERING BREXIT: AN ARTICLE OF FAITH

W

hen Britain voted to leave the European Union there was no immediate indication of what it would mean for the country’s facilities management providers.

Seven months later, the uncertainty remains – but there is gathering clarity to the agenda.

Last month, the prime minister set out her 12 objectives for the negotiations ahead. Then, following a Supreme Court ruling, the government introduced its ‘strikingly brief’ bill designed to trigger Article 50 by March.

Three issues emerge as being particularly germane from an FM perspective; contract law, access to European facilities contracts, and staffing. In the longer term, beyond the parameters of the next two years of negotiation, the European

WORDS: MARTIN RE AD

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February 2017

S U P P LY S I D E

BUSINESS NEWS

Weeks to view A month of divesting The year ended with another headache for Capita investors even before the Christmas season began as the outsourcing giant issued another profit warning after disappointing trading at its IT Enterprise Services arm. Meanwhile, the overall bid pipeline shrank during the year from £5.1 billion to £3.8bn, but management tried to shore up confidence with plans to maintain its dividend payment and cost-cutting and asset sales across parts of its business.

The biggest sale is tipped to be Capita Asset Services, which could net £60 million in cash profits for 2016.

Week commencing 12 December

Construction and services consultancy business WS Atkins proved that UK assets remain in demand with buyers seeking long-term returns when it announced the proposed sale of PFI interest in the M25 motorway-widening project. The buyer, a consortium advised by Australian bank Macquarie’s European business, agreed to pay £66.3m for the 10 per cent stake in the project just months after a consortium had bought Skanska’s 40 per cent stake for £265m. Balfour Beatty, which holds a 40 per cent stake, is also believed to want to offload to institutions looking for solid long-term returns.

Weeks commencing 19 December & 26 December An escalating bidding war for industrial access equipment specialist Lavendon enlivened the Christmas period. Belgian group TVH and French rival Loxam had begun bidding in early December. TVH eventually raised its offer to 261p a share after building up a 20 per cent stake in Lavendon and Loxam said it was taking on a watching brief while considering another offer. TVH started the process with a 205p-a-share bid in late November.

Week commencing 2 January

Babcock International’s specialism in defence markets is well known and the company began 2017 with news that it had won a €500m, 11-year deal with the French Air Force to provide training aircraft and simulators for training fighter jet crews. Babcock’s deal is part of a wider outsourcing deal from the French Air Force and half of the contract’s headline worth relates to assets supplied with the balance for services. The first aircraft is due to be delivered next year.

Q&A

PARETO TWEETS ITS CREATIVITY INTERVIEWEE: Andrew Hulbert, Pareto FM

ISSUE: Challenges of growing a small FM business

What are the advantages of having a smaller business?

Our board and senior management team is made up of some of the best talent within the industry, and they spend significant amounts of time with the team and the clients. This gives the client access to high-calibre senior staff and allows the service provider to understand very specifically what needs to be delivered.

Smaller businesses are able to be entirely bespoke in the way finance, helpdesk, H&S, HR, operational delivery processes are delivered.

And the disadvantages?

Smaller businesses can struggle to attract certain candidates as they are concerned about longevity of the business … and in some procurement measures for tenders they don’t score highly on things like financial history.

How have you manoeuvred Pareto to achieve 300 per cent growth at the end of FY2?

The main tactic has been employing exceptional people and focusing on workplace intelligence. We’ve specifically employed some of the best talent in FM from the beginning of the business and have the management capability of a company 10 times our size. We have also been specific in what we focus on service delivery-wise.

Workspace management, building service engineering and FM consultancy are our three core strands, which we deliver to a high standard. We are focusing on quality customers who want to advance their workplace with us. We’ve also grown a great Twitter account @ParetoFM, which documents what it’s like to work with us.

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February 2017

Have you learned any new tactics ‘on the job’ over the last year (especially given shocks like Brexit)?

The key tactic for me has been to embrace inclusivity and diversity. We specifically look to be disruptive in our recruitment and offer roles to individuals that wouldn’t fit the typical, old-fashioned, FM mould.

FM is a people business, and this tactic alone creates a unique selling point for us… With political issues such as Brexit

“SOME OF THE BEST IDEAS, INITIATIVES, AND CLIENT FEEDBACK HAVE COME FROM OUR STAFF BEING CREATIVE AND TRYING NEW IDEAS” and US politics, we feel it’s important to promote this type of philosophy within our business. I’ve also learnt to allow our staff to shape how we do things and give them free rein to be disruptive in a business context. Some of the best ideas, initiatives, and client feedback have come from our staff being creative and trying new ideas without fear of repercussions.

What are Pareto’s plans?

We are strengthening our board and looking for clients to partner with who, perhaps, have become frustrated with the old-fashioned approach to FM and like the sound of the ‘Pareto Philosophy’. We are increasing our apprentice programme and formalising our graduate programme in the nextW12Wmonths and W. B I F M .O adding RG .U Kto / Four M WJ O I N recent accreditations.

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V I E W P O I NT

Have your say

PERSPECTIVES

Visit fm-world.co.uk for longer versions of these comment columns Get in touch by email – editorial@fm-world.co.uk Topical, inspirational, angry or amusing – we consider all relevant comment

PERSPECTIVES 1

2

HELEN HOUSSART is director of workplace change at Transition PM

EDA WAN is facilities and business centre administrator at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Would you do that at home?

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etter use of space and collaborative working are becoming the status quo. We know that most people don’t like change – the idea that they are being asked to work from different desks or spaces during the day can be alienating.

Clients and their teams often voice concerns to us about staff treatment of the office by asking: “Would they do that at home?” We’ve all heard of people throwing cups half full of coffee into standard bins or standing on desks to Sellotape Christmas decorations to that new ceiling you’ve just installed.

Some of this is just bad behaviour, but many users that we talk to describe a feeling of disconnection from their workplace – “Why should I care about this space when I no longer feel comfortable here?” and “What’s the point of me reporting this problem when I won’t be sat here tomorrow?” There is less sense of shared ownership in the office – the fun has gone.

There is a role here for HR, but in property and FM we need to be asking a more challenging question: “Why do you do that in the office?”

Once FM leads get a better understanding of employees’

Life in a 118-yearold building

I

isolating water on one floor could risk isolating water on a different floor too.

The building also has two electricity supplies, which causes confusion during power cuts; depending on which supply is disrupted different areas of the building are affected. We lack detailed building records and it is only when we discover these problems that we can slowly build a record for future use.

Maintenance is an ongoing challenge. Our latest projects include works on the façade and turret. The project meant we had to tackle issues such as safe access to the spaces, as well as coordinating with the local council and The Royal Parks. Careful consideration is also needed to conserve the building’s original features – the turret roof repairs had to be undertaken using original and timeconsuming methods. And before any work could even start a specialist was brought in to ensure that mosses and this prestigious structure has lichens on the roof were not opened up my eyes to a whole protected species. different side of FM. The work is frustrating but It has evolved over time rewarding. I have learnt the to include incorporate two importance of never making further buildings, so it is assumptions, thinking not uncommon to find that about everything from every utilities such as water and and electricity cabling are notW W W. B Idirection, F M .O RG .U K /investing F M WJ O Itime N in recording everything. logically placed. Sometimes have been facilities and business centre administrator at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ headquarters in One Birdcage Walk for threeand-a-half years.

I previously worked in a modest, modern building in rural Lincolnshire, so it was a stark change to start working in a grand building in central London that is over 100 years old.

One Birdcage Walk, designed by architect Basil Slade, was specifically built as the institution’s HQ and opened its doors in 1899. A stone’s throw away from the Treasury and St James’s Park,

frustrations, they are also perfectly placed to work with the business, designers and consultants to introduce solutions to make staff feel they are being listened to.

If it’s part of a major transformation project then

“WE’VE ALL HEARD OF PEOPLE THROWING CUPS HALF FULL OF COFFEE INTO STANDARD BINS” you can help inform the concept and detailed design.

If you’re already working in new types of space, you can still make a difference.

If you must reinforce a clear desk policy, give people local storage for their daily working papers so they don’t have to re-file everything constantly. Engage teams in the branding themes that are local to them or incorporate simple display solutions into the office, rather than just banning whiteboards.

Otherwise, we’ll be fighting a losing battle both to keep our space well maintained and our teams’ work appreciated.

fm-world.co.uk

“I HAVE LEARNT THE IMPORTANCE OF… THINKING ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM EVERY DIRECTION”

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February 2017

F M -WO R L D.CO.U K / B I F M - N E W S

FEBRUARY@BIFM

BIFM PIPELINE

Things I’ve learned

BIFM members highlight useful ideas they latched onto at a recent members’ event ANNA STANTON is a senior consultant at LCMB and attended last month’s WiFM Conference 2017.

Like a lot of people at this time of year I tend to take some time out to reflect on work and family life and think about what I’d like to try and change over the next 12 months - a little bit of self-reflection is not a bad thing.

Change is part of our day-today lives. From changing job or career to leaving Europe by way of a ‘hard’ Brexit or the recent inauguration of a divisive new US President, change presents opportunities, challenges, a tidal wave of emotions and a lot of chat on Twitter.

FM is no longer just about supporting the core activities of the business. It’s about realising the potential of people, places and processes.

The speakers were informative and inspiring and the day was packed full of content

BIFM SEEKS EDCUATION EXPERTS

mixed with humour (an image of Amazon dash buttons was a particular highlight!) and it left me asking myself what changes lie ahead for FM and how can FM make a difference?

1 2

3 4

Embrace change: FM can’t stand still. Our clients are constantly having to change and FM can play a pivotal role.

Traditionally, FM tends to react to change. But that’s changing and FM needs to help drive transformation.

Embrace technology as this is going to drive how organisations create people-powered places.

And with technology comes data on everything from buildings and services to processes and people, and this is going to drive performance.

Review our approach to FM recruitment. Focus on collaboration and commitment. Generation Y want to learn on the job, test their skills and find out where they work best. They don’t want to fit in at work.

They want to flourish.

FM needs to focus on promoting and sharing expertise. Other core skills are important, but providing solutions to problems, adding value, improving processes, increasing building performance - that’s where FM can make a difference. fm-world.co.uk

NEWS DIRECT FROM BIFM

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BIFM members with experience in FM professional learning and development are being sought as the Institute looks to bring together a range of skills to support the future development of its education offering.

Expressions of interest are being invited from any member who might like to be considered for future learning and development positions, and who has experience as, for example, a qualification assessor, online tutor, FM workshop trainer, FM subject developer, FE/HE external examiner.

For more information, please contact Steve Walsh at the BIFM Professional Standards & Education team on stephen.walsh@bifm.org.uk, outlining your experience and area(s) of interest along with a copy of your CV.

RESEARCH INTO BIM AWARENESS

FM professionals are being urged to take part in a new piece of BIFM research to measure the level of understanding and awareness of Building Information Modelling (BIM) within the FM sector.

The survey, which has been developed in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, aims to establish a benchmark of the current perceptions of the impact of BIM on the FM sector and the benefits and challenges it presents.

The findings of the BIM survey will feed into the development of a suite of BIM guidance tools for those involved in BIM projects.

The survey is open until the end of February and is available at tinyurl.com/BIFM0217-BIMsurvey

FM LEVEL 3 APPRENTICESHIP APPROVED

A new FM Supervisor (Level 3) Apprenticeship that was approved by the Department of Education at the end of 2016 is due to be published in the spring.

The standards and assessment plan for the FM Supervisor (Level 3) Apprenticeship were developed by a Trailblazer group of employers and higher education institutes in conjunction with BIFM to create new FM apprenticeships that reflect the FM Professional Standards and the desired knowledge, skills and behaviours required by the industry of somebody working at a supervisor level in FM. A proposed FM Manager (Level 4) Apprenticeship and FM Degree (Level 6) Apprenticeship are also both in development and due to be submitted to the government for approval in the coming weeks.

February 2017

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K N OW H OW

C AREER DE VELOPMENT

“THROUGHOUT THE YEAR YOU’LL BE DOING THINGS TO ADD TO YOUR STORY – THINK ABOUT IF IT IS HAVING AN IMPACT” SARAH HODGE, LEAD JUDGE, MANAGER OF THE YEAR

B IFM AWARDS

HOW DO I ENTER THE BIFM AWARDS? The BIFM Awards are open for entries (see p30 for more). But what sets apart a winning entry from the others? What are the judges looking for? And what’s in it for an FM or organisation? Here’s all you need to know about the process, and advice from this year’s judges on what makes a good entry N E XT STE PS

CHECKLIST: ENTERING THE BIFM AWARDS 1. Review the categories at www.bifmawards.org

2. Register with the BIFM Awards online entry system and select the categories you plan to enter. You can start your entry at any time and return and update as you go.

The BIFM team is on hand to help with any queries.

3. Read the criteria and entry guidance, and ensure that your entry addresses the key points covered in them. Prepare your entry, supporting documents and overview of the entry.

Ensure that the total of all attachments is no more than 10 pages of A4.

THE JUDGING PROCESS

4. Upload your entry material and any supporting documents on the entry site. You can log in and make changes to your submission at any time up until the entry deadline or when you submit your entry.

Once entries close, the formal judging process begins. Each category is judged by a panel of industry experts, each with a lead judge and a team of support judges. The judging process also checks and handles any potential conflicts of interest once the entries are in.

This means that the lead and support judges may change to ensure impartiality. There are two rounds of judging:

5. The entry fee is £250+VAT. Each of the Newcomer of the Year, Manager of the Year, Leader of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement categories are free to enter.

Round 1: Written submission The judging panel conducts a review of the written submission and scores each entry against set criteria. This score will count for 25 per cent of the overall score in the People and Impact categories, and 40 per cent in the Innovation categories.

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Round 2: Presentation round Successful entrants are invited to present and attend an interview with the judging panel. Interviews will take place in London during June. Scores in this round account for 75 per cent of the overall score for the People and Impact categories, and 60 per cent in the Innovation categories.

6. Entry deadlines: 19 April 2017 (30 June 2017 for nominations in the Lifetime Achievement category). fm-world.co.uk

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February 2017

K N OW H OW

JOHN CULKIN is director of information management at Crown Records Management

L EG I S L AT I O N E X P L A I N ER

FLE E T M ANAG E MENT

NEW TAX POLICIES MAKE THE CASE FOR GREEN VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY

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he UK fleet market has seen a sharp rise in the uptake of green technology over the past 18 months.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders show growth is running at 25 per cent year-on-year, encouraged in part by government tax incentives, the rising number of vehicle models available and continuing improvements to driving range.

The desire for environmental sustainability has also played a key role, particularly in the facilities management sector. The latest Sustainability in Facilities Management report shows the appetite for environmentally sensitive policies has grown significantly in the past five years.

Adopting plug-in hybrid, pure electric cars and electric LCVs (light commercial vehicles) has been a key strategy senior management teams have deployed across FM to grapple with the challenge. These ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) still form only a small proportion of business fleets, however, recent changes to salary sacrifice schemes and company vehicle tax bandings in

As the UK prepares to push ahead with leaving the European Union in 2017, businesses are being told to think twice before cancelling or delaying preparations for the forthcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Here, John Culkin of Crown Records Management explains why the new EU law will still be of great importance here in the UK the Autumn Statement should see this proportion increase markedly post-2020.

Forthcoming tax changes

is further complemented by both the government and manufacturers addressing some of the biggest obstacles to adoption. Together with broadening the range of vehicles available and bringing down costs, the new £80 million pledge for developing charging infrastructure is expected to translate into more charging points on the roadside in urban residential areas, and rapid chargers at service and petrol stations. And the new 100 per cent capital allowance benefit could provide firms with a tax advantage for installing their own charging points.

Regulatory changes announced in November have implications for FM companies running salary sacrifice or cash-for-car schemes. With the exception of ULEVs with CO2 emissions of 75g/km or less, the tax and national insurance advantages attached to these employee benefit programmes will be removed for all vehicles delivered after 6 April this year.

Running a fleet with a high proportion of traditionally fuelled LCVs and cars will undoubtedly become more Boosting ULEV adoption expensive for firms across the If you run a salary sacrifice car sector, but tax on ULEVs is also or traditional company vehicle increasing in the short term. programme, the changes signal For example, a plug-in hybrid a long-term commitment to with CO2 emissions of 0-50 g/ green technology and the km is currently taxed at 7 per government’s desire to see cent for the 2016/17 tax year, businesses boost the proportion rising to 13 per cent in 2018/19. of ULEVs in their fleets.

But the lowest emitting ULEVs Pure electric LCVs are will be subject to new lower tax best suited to lower mileage bands from April 2020 based and urban or local driving; on ‘charging range’ criteria. plug-in hybrids are useful for The changes will see 15 new occasional longer distances, bands, including 11 for ULEVs and must be regularly charged and zero-emission vehicles, to ensure the environmental depending on what range a car and cost benefits are realised. can travel in electric mode on a So while the chance to make single charge. The same plug-in fast savings will be tempting, hybrid with a range of over 130 businesses must invest in the miles in zero-emission mode fuel technology that best suits will be taxed at just 2 per cent. the company and employees It’s clear there is a stronger over the longer term. tax incentive for FM businesses W W W. B I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N tinyurl.com/FMW0217-govULEVpolicy to invest in ULEVs, but this

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February 2017

ENABLING PRODUC TIVE ENVIRONMENTS FOR PEOPLE AND BUSINESS

HR

ADVANTAGE FM What FM should learn from the Stoddart Review CHANGING ROOMS The most productive offices are those that constantly evolve PERSONAL TOUCH Putting building control in users’ hands at The Edge

CRE

CWO

IT

FM Hail to the chief

TO ACCESS THE FULL VERSION OF FM WORLD MAGAZINE, JOIN BIFM The Stoddart Review suggests popularising the position W W W. B I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N of chief workplace officer. One role to rule them all?

FAC I LITATE

CHIEF WORKPL ACE OFFICER

“THIS MEANS THAT THE FM IS INCREASINGLY ATTUNED TO THE NEEDS OF AN AGILE ORGANISATION, BECOMING ‘SUPERCONNECTORS’ WHO CROSS OVER THESE BUSINESS FUNCTIONS”

James Sutton, executive director of BIFM, explains that that the shorthand of chief workplace officer was used to promote the principle first that the subject of workplace’s impact on productivity needs to be taken seriously at Board level.

He says: “The way in which it would work will no doubt differ between organisations, but there needs to be a clear understanding at board level and a clear route to or responsibility for the remit with the brief and empowerment to be able to implement and deliver workplace strategy.

“This poses an opportunity for FM to reframe how it is perceived in business from what is frequently seen in terms of costs, operational delivery and risk management to one that can drive high performance workplaces.

There is a natural connection with senior FM practice and there are many FMs already leading the way in this area. This needs to be more common place in corporate strategy, structure and culture with the benefits of an effective workplace being better understood not just at the top but throughout the organisation.”

She says: “The FM is evolving from being someone who is the recipient of a budget to being a budget holder.

They’re now required to integrate across an organisation with other disciplines which are in turn, also utterly reliant on the same changes, from the HR talent teams managing the practical implications of people to the IT department responsible for equipping these people with the technology needed for the digital workplace.

“This means that the FM is increasingly attuned to the needs of an agile organisation, becoming ‘superconnectors’ who cross over these business functions, developing integrated business cases and acting as the link between individual team/business unit needs and the infrastructure teams that deliver them.”

While ultimately the CWO role would concentrate on how to ensure that employees had the best possible environment to be as productive as possible, the very suggestion that one person would take on such a role does still beg the question who exactly would that be and at what level of experience?

For FM Guru Martin Pickard the acknowledgement that one person could steer the workplace debate is a step in the right direction, and he argues that determining which discipline took the lead could be W W W. B I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N decided simply by the task or project in hand.

Custodian sentence

Property and asset management specialist Polly PlunketCheckemian, programme director for the review, says: “We weren’t the first to coin the phrase, but it does run the risk of being sensationalist clumsy shorthand, which is what we’ve got a responsibility to avoid.”

The report’s overriding message, she says, is that of the changing role of FM. For instance, facilities management is no longer just about managing moves and changes, but about supply and demand. Instead of simply being custodians of the workplace, FMs are becoming portfolio managers with a variety of solutions at their fingertips to meet the requirements of the organisation – agility, talent attraction, engagement, productivity and retention.

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February 2017

FAC I LITATE

THE EDGE, AMSTERDAM

Y

PHOTOGRAPHY: RONALD TILLEMAN, COURTESY OF PLP ARCHITECTURE, HORIZON PHOTOWORKS, DIRK VERWOERD

EDGE

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ou pull up into the underground car park, get out of your electric car and plug it in to charge. As you walk through the light-filled atrium to pick up your ¾ Flat White with just the right amount of sugar you like with one hand, you flick through your phone with the other to see which of your colleagues are already in and which meeting spaces are available. A couple of clicks and a short walk later, and you’re all there. And all the while, the lights shining down on you are also sensing your presence, tailoring conditions to you.

This may well be the norm for the average office in 2050, but it is already the norm for those working in The Edge in Amsterdam.

Developed specifically for principle tenant Deloitte, designed and built by smart and sustainable building specialists OVG Real Estate and PLP Architecture, the firm behind 22 Bishopsgate, it is both the greenest and smartest building in the world.

It does have the electric car charging points, and the smart coffee machines, and all the apps and gizmos to enable real-time meeting plans and real-time room bookings – which with no actual assigned offices is a very important thing – but it also has a lot more.

With its huge covering of solar arrays and an effective water pump heating system, which heats water deep below its foundations and pumps it through the entire building when required, it generates more energy than it consumes.

With its data analysis of footfall, weather and traffic, it calculates likely catering demand to avoid wastage, with its rain capture, flushing the toilet carries no excess environmental impact, and from its spacious atrium to its top floor natural light illuminates everything.

It has all the high-tech flares and design flourishes of the internet of things, smart technology and sustainability that make it seem like a science fictioninspired art installation.

Light touch

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But as Martin Bell, a senior FM and member of the FM World editorial board found on a tour of the building, it adds substance to such concepts. “I’d heard so much W W W. B I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N buzz and fluff about the

February 2017

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