FM World July 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

fm-world.co.uk / July 2017

TA ST E R E D I T I O N

PEOPLE FIRST Putting the end-user community ahead of the IoT solution

GETTING PERSONAL What the science of behavioural analytics means for FM

BLOCKS AWAY The digital ledger that could change the way FM is delivered

F M WO R LD J U LY 2 0 1 7

CONTENTS COM M UNI TY

2 2 PE R SPE C T IV E S The four most interesting and insightful opinions on FM this month 2 5 A BIT A BOU T YOU Friends of the Earth’s Sean Bridge: Dreaming of an FM trial at West Ham

KNOW LE DGE

35 GROWING PLACES The CityTree is ‘the intelligent air filter for cities’

26 THINK TA NK The relationship between workspace density and employee effectiveness

ANA LYS I S

7 REGULATION ON TRIAL What lessons can be learned from the fatal Grenfell House fire?

36 AHEAD OF THE CURVE An ambitious FM found himself fast-tracked up the career ladder

28 JU LY @ BIF M The people and projects currently informing BIFM activity

8 LEGI O N E LLA PE RIL Infections from Legionella bacterium in UK water supplies are on the rise

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

3 8 PU M PE D U P Variable speed pumping systems are a greener option for hot water

10 I N A HAPPY PLACE How can workplace design make workers happy – and more productive?

3 9 FOLK M E M ORY Five ways to address the loss of FM expertise when staff leave or retire

12 SO FT LANDIN GS TAK E OFF A ripe opportunity for early FM involvement in the design of a building

4O BU R NING Q U E ST I O N The need for fire compartmentation and regular fire risk assessments

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

41 E LE VATING SE C U R I T Y Lifts can pose a threat to life if not managed and checked correctly

FM World’s in-depth analysis section 46 COMMUNITY SERVICE The revolution in measurement promised by the Internet of Things will falter if the communities of users for whom it is installed are left out of the discussion.

50 BLOCKS AWAY A digital ledger of unalterable, timestamped records could in the long term have huge ramifications for business transactions, including facilities management contracts.

54 LOOKING UP This year’s ThinkFM made clear how the rapidly developing Internet of Things landscape is providing unprecedented access to actionable workplace data, presenting an entirely new challenge for FM.

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58 BEST BEHAVIOUR Of all the many advances suggested by the Internet of Things, JU LY ’ S behavioural analytics TO P I C could easily emerge as FM AND THE INTERNET the new productivity OF THINGS frontline, and one with particular resonance facilities Wfor W W. B I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N management.

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F RO NT D E S K A N A LY S I S

R E S E A RCH DATA

Happiness quotient

39%

Only 39 per cent of UK workers report feeling “very engaged” at work.

In the UK office environments have moved swiftly towards more efficient use of space and a culture of openness and mobility.

Engagement, empowerment and fulfilment are important to workers. Almost nine in 10 respondents to the UK survey say it is “important” (40 per cent) or a “priority” (46 per cent).

“There was a real recognition that this was an emerging and important issue for our clients,” he told FM World. “We were seeing the focus on experiential real estate in areas including retail and how it was starting to translate into the office environment.

Individuals in the workplace were looking for an improved experience and we wanted to tap into this in depth.”

Debra Ward, strategy and growth director, corporate solutions, EMEA for JLL, said one of the surprises of the study for her was “the need for kindness and trust in the workplace”, which was highlighted by many respondents.

She said: “The fact we have to

call that out is surprising – and a bit sad if I am honest. These are things we teach our three-yearolds… it’s almost as if we have to go back to those basics about what a human being needs and requires in order to feel fulfilled in their daily lives.”

The workplace and real estate is one part of the solution.

Carroll said the report also reveals how any changes come down to “the crucial importance and increasing confluence of a range of drivers”.

Management approach, HR policy and governance, the right technology, and physical space, he said, “come together to create the right ingredients to improve the workplace experience”.

“SMARTER USE OF UK OFFICE SPACE COULD IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY BY 1 TO 3.5 PER CENT”

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The results of the global findings show nearly 70 per cent of participants agreed that “happiness at work” led to a better work life.

Almost 90 per cent of all respondents support the idea of having a “chief happiness officer at work, dedicated to employee well-being”.

52% Only 52 per cent of employees admitted being entirely satisfied with their current work environment. In addition, 42 per cent revealed feeling completely ready to move from their personal desk to open-plan offices or unallocated seats, to access new innovative workspaces.

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S U P P LY S I D E

BUSINESS NEWS

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CO M M E NTARY

MAY’S POLL GAMBLE COULD HURT MARGINS G R A E M E D AV I E S newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

Premier keeps Houses of Parliament contract

T

he snap general election result has created more questions than answers for many industries – and FM in particular.

Theresa May’s gamble of calling an election when her approval rating was high in a bid to secure a bigger mandate ahead of Brexit negotiations backfired, leaving the Conservatives as the biggest single party but relying on Irish unionists the DUP to prop them up in Parliament.

So what does this uncertainty mean for FM? Industry-watchers had already noted that contract awards had suffered a hiatus in recent months owing to the combination of Brexit and the calling of the election and there is little reason to believe this will dramatically change soon.

Analysts at Shore Capital said: “Contract decision-making and awards (along with efficiency/policy programmes) now appear pretty low down in the list of priorities. This may also have a further negative impact on the award of discretionary revenues with a potential margin impact.”

Further concerns raised by Shore Capital’s analysts included the weakening of the pound, which would put further downward pressure on domestically focused companies and the prospect that the renewed strength of the Labour Party could embolden workers and unions and lead to more industrial disputes and pay round calls. Both of these factors could negatively affect margins on contracts. And as the Conservatives stay in power for now, the austerity agenda remains on the table, so budgets in both local and central government will remain tight.

Some are more exposed to these risks than others. Capita, Mitie and Serco have significant domestic businesses that are deeply entwined with the public sector both locally and nationally, and although Serco has some foreign exposure to offset sterling weakness it is not significant enough. Serco is still rebuilding its reputation after a period of highprofile contract issues, while Capita’s juggernaut has spluttered over the past year after a series of profit warnings, a curse that has also hit Mitie.

Other companies came into this period on good form. In May, Babcock International reported strong figures for 2016 and has continued to pick up work domestically and internationally. And the weakening of the Scottish National Party in Scotland has hushed talk of a second ‘indyref’, which would have revived concerns about Babcock’s defence works.

“SOME ARE MORE EXPOSED TO THESE RISKS THAN OTHERS”

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Premier Workplace Services has been awarded the contract to provide removals, porterage and storage services to the Houses of Parliament.

The workplace change service provider has been supporting the Houses of Parliament since 2009.

The five-year contract covers dayto-day activities across the House of Commons and the House of Lords as well as special occasions including the State Opening of Parliament.

Three divisions of Premier Workplace Services will continue to operate across the Palace of Westminster as well as a number of other buildings including Portcullis House.

Premier Moves will retain its full-time porterage team on site, carrying out dining room and conference room setups as well as all moves and changes.

Premier IT Systems also retains the operation for the movement of desktop IT within the Parliamentary Estate. Security clearance is required for all staff servicing the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Dave Russinger, sales director of Premier Workplace Services, said the contract renewal was a “testament to.O their commitment W W W. B I F M RG .U K / F M WJ O I N and achievement”.

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GRAEME DAVIES writes for Investors Chronicle fm-world.co.uk

CON TR AC T

July 2017

V I E W P O I NT

SEEN AND HEARD

Ideas and comments made around the sector this month

FM@LARGE

70%

“Please take it, please use it, please continue to hold it dear”

“WE KNOW THAT 70 PER CENT OF THE WORKFORCE ARE KNOWLEDGE WORKERS, YET WE STILL TALK ABOUT LUNCH BREAKS. IF WE WERE ATHLETES WE’D BE TALKING ABOUT MUSCLE GROUPS.”

POLLY PLUNKET-CHECKEMIAN WITH A PASSIONATE PROMOTION OF THE STODDART REVIEW’S WORKPLACE ADVANTAGE REPORT AT THE RECENT THINKFM CONFERENCE

HANNAH NARDINI AT THE FACILITIES SHOW ON HOW A NEED TO BOOST WORKERS’ BRAIN PERFORMANCE DEMANDS A DIFFERENT KIND OF THINKING IN ITSELF

“Blockchain is an opportunity that we could be using to manage transactions and automate payments. If we got technologies that allow that money to flow, it frees up opportunities to invest in R&D and create better relationships where people feel incentivised through things like pain and gain sharing, to work together.”

NOTED&QUOTED

TECH CONSULTANT PAUL WILKINSON AT LAST MONTH’S FACILITIES SHOW ON THE POSSIBILITIES OF BLOCKCHAIN TO DRASTICALLY CHANGE HOW FM OPERATES. MORE ON THIS IN FACILITATE, PAGE 50

“THERE’S A MANDATORY $100,000 FINE IF DESIGNERS DO NOT TAKE NABERS INTO ACCOUNT, AND A FURTHER $11,000 A DAY THEREAFTER. NOW THAT'S AN INCENTIVE” CIBSE’S DAVID STEVENS ON THE BENEFITS OF AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL AUSTRALIAN BUILT ENVIRONMENT RATING SYSTEM

“Apps are set to be a key feature of high-performing workplaces. Organisations who adopt these apps and digital platforms will reap the rewards of increased workplace productivity and employee satisfaction.”

PHILIP ROSS, FOUNDER AND CEO OF UNGROUP AND CORDLESS GROUP

“IF IT’S NOT BEEN HANDED OVER PROPERLY, THAT AUTOMATICALLY PUTS US ON THE BACK FOOT” JANE WAKIWAKA – CROWN ESTATE, SPEAKING OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OPERATION TEAM AND THE CUSTOMER AT LAST MONTH’S BSRIA SOFT LANDINGS CONFERENCE (SEE PAGE 12 FOR MORE ON THIS TOPIC)

”HMM. PERHAPS #FACMAN INDUSTRY SHOULD START USING THE GOV SOFT LANDINGS FRAMEWORK BEYOND PUB-SECT WORK BEFORE THINKING IT CAN “STREAMLINE” IT.” @LEESMANCEO – TIM OLDMAN – BELIEVES THERE IS A REQUIREMENT TO BROADEN THE USE OF SOFT LANDINGS BEFORE WORK CAN BE DONE TO MAKE THE PROCESS MORE EFFICIENT

”THERE’S BEEN A LEGACY OF ARROGANCE. WE’D CREATE A TOWER IN CANARY WHARF AND SIMPLY ASSUME THAT THE TALENT WILL COME TO US. BUT THAT’S NO LONGER THE CASE. WE’VE GOT SUCH A FASCINATING CHANGE IN OUR WORKFORCE BALANCE AT MOMENT.” JOHN BLACKWELL OF QUORA CONSULTING ON THE NEED TO BE MORE ENERGETIC IN PROVIDING THE OPTIMAL WORKPLACE EXPERIENCE FOR TODAY’S WORKFORCE

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“A potentially enormous change to fire engineering design and fire safety practice will hang on this inquiry”

TOSTACEY ACCESS THE FULL COLLINS, HEAD OF ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND FM VERSION OF SAFETY AT TRAINING PROVIDER INTERNATIONAL WORKPLACE, ON WORLD MAGAZINE, THE GRENFELL TOWER DISASTER, WHICH JOIN IS POSING SOME SERIOUS BIFM QUESTIONS IN THE INDUSTRY W W W. B I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N

V I E W P O I NT

A B IT AB O UT YO U SEAN BRIDGE is facilities officer at Friends of the Earth

What do you do? I’m responsible for all aspects of FM (soft and hard services) and I’m also the health & safety officer across nine offices throughout the UK. What attracted you to FM, and how did you get into the industry? I was put forward by a close friend for a receptionist job and I (like many others) ‘fell’ into FM, but it was the biggest blessing in disguise because if I’d have known about FM at school I’d definitely have chosen it.

How long have you been in your current role?

Two years.

Do you see yourself predominantly as a task or a people manager?

Working in the charity sector, you have to wear different hats at different times, but I’d say I’m predominantly a task person.

Would you describe your role as predominantly operational or strategic?

Within FM I’d say I’m very much operational but when I wear my health & safety hat I’m very strategic and plan for events, marches, public protests and safety planning and welfare.

How many people are there in your FM team, and who does the FM team ultimately report to? We

BEHIND THE JOB

SEAN BRIDGE What has been your biggest career challenge to date?

Consolidating 150 staff from two floors into one without having any downtime. While this was challenging, it was also my most enjoyable project and was delivered on time.

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

understanding the importance of the role that FM plays in the operation of the organisation.

Any interesting tales to tell?

During some weekend work while completing an office move project I managed to trap my chief resources officer’s hand between a filing cabinet and a door frame – resulting in him losing a fingernail. Not my finest day in the office. Oh, and I’ve also played quick cricket with Colin Salmon, Sara Cox and Peter Dickson.

If I wasn’t in facilities management, I’d probably be… Working in retail.

Which “FM myth” would you most like to put an end to? We’re not just here to

fix things when they break.

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK

have three people reporting into the infrastructure services manager.

“I’D LIKE TO WORK IN A SPORTING ARENA – MAYBE WEMBLEY OR MY BELOVED WEST HAM’S GROUND” What single piece of advice would you give to a young facilities manager starting out? Reach out to

people in FM via any means possible – the industry is second to none in supporting and promoting young people.

I didn’t realise this when I first started out but I’m making up for lost time now.

What was the weirdest day you’ve had in the office?

In the morning I was completing an on-site risk assessment in a hostel and in the afternoon I was playing football at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal football club were a charity partner (at a previous charity I worked for) and we were asked to go along and help facilitate the day.

Luckily for me, that included playing on the pitch.

Early bird or night owl?

What FM job in the world would you love more than anything? I’d love to work in

New York so somewhere like One World Trade Centre or The Empire State Building. If it were in England I’d like to work in a sporting arena – maybe Wembley or my beloved West Ham’s ground, the London Stadium. (Let’s hope Messrs Gold and Sullivan are reading.)

And where would FM be an absolute nightmare

As corny as it sounds, I don’t think anywhere would be a nightmare within FM.

To whom would you most like to say thank you, and why? Ross Fisher (who is now

UK communications manager at Cobra Group of Companies) who put me forward for my first FM role (as receptionist at Centrepoint homeless charity) and Nicholas Bowler (who is now FM at The Passage) who was my first line manager and gave me the opportunity to learn about the FM sector.

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Early bird; it’s easier to get things done in the office when it’s quieter so I Your life outside FM mostly start most days by doing involves… Football, running, my PPM checks and planning my wedding, studying, health & safety walk around W W W. Bseeing I F M .Ofriends, RG .U K walking / F M WJ the O I Ndog before the mayhem ensues. and drinking beer.

My top perk at work is…

I get to travel across the UK managing our different offices; it’s nice to get out of London every now and then.

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K N OW H OW

C AREER DE VELOPMENT

ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCK

R

ussell Wood is a facilities management professional, currently working at Close Brothers Asset Management.

He began his FM career as a facilities assistant at Mills & Reeve, where the facilities manager went on maternity leave after Wood was less than 18 months into his role.

He was given the opportunity to fill the facilities manager’s shoes, overseeing 7,000 square feet of office space at the law firm.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted the responsibility, but if I’m honest the salary was particularly appealing at that age,” explains Wood.

The FM decided not to return to work after maternity leave, so Wood took on the additional responsibility full time, which included managing budgets and being accountable for internal space planning and office moves. This would not be the last time that he would be offered the chance to take on additional responsibility.

In 2014, Wood joined Close Brothers Asset Management based in their London office.

“We were supported remotely by another part of the Close Brothers group in the London office and by local staff in most of the other regional offices. There was no integrated function for FM in the business and I was recruited to bring the London office initially up to speed.”

Less than a year after joining the business, Wood had a conversation with his finance director in which he suggested he could take on more than just the London office when the time felt right.

“There was a relocation project on the horizon and I

RUSSELL WOOD is a facilities management professional at Close Brothers Asset Management

MANAGING YOUR PROMOTI ON

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Jamie Harris speaks to Russell Wood – an ambitious facilities manager who has climbed his career ladder “about five or six years sooner than expected”. His company, Close Brothers Asset Management, has been rewarded through putting its faith in him. Here, he details what he’s learned along the way about hitting the ground running

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K N OW H OW EXPL AINER

Industrial environments

LIFT M AINT E NANCE

COMMON CAUSES OF LIFT ELECTRICAL FAILURE Lifts can pose a serious threat to life if not managed and checked correctly. Liftstore Ltd’s Gary Morgan shares two stories of electrical interference in elevator systems, highlighting prevalent issues

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK

A

passenger lift is essentially a small, metal box with limited airflow, suspended many metres in the air by nothing more than a hoist. When you think of it like that, it is hardly surprising that so many of us harbour phobias of lifts.

One of the most pressing threats is from electrical faults.

In my experience of supplying lift control systems to businesses worldwide, two of the worst instances of electrical faults were at a Leeds shopping centre and a big manufacturing company in Germany. These two incidents highlight the typical electromagnetic compatibility

(EMC) issues that electrical contractors must tackle on liftrelated projects.

Retail settings

The shopping centre used a four-car variable frequency (VF) motor-drive group of elevators that had been working normally for three years, before then blowing a £3,000 central trafficdispatching computer. After spending three days on site, I found 180 earth faults – which was a shock as this installation had been checked for earth loop impedance by a reputable engineering company and passed with flying colours.

After another £3,000 worth

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The second interesting site was one for a big manufacturing company in Germany.

A factory the size of a car plant with automated trains and conveyors would dump its programmable logic controller (PLC) software on a weekly basis. The company spent a fortune sending engineers out to re-programme these huge machines for six months.

The problem was that the main control system was fed from a supply on the other end of the factory that already had an earth conductor and they didn’t want the expense of installing a second one.

Unfortunately, this earth conductor turned out to be the roof lightning conductor so the only option was for the German electrical contractors to dig up floors.

Same old story

Since these incidents I’ve been doing EMC training for customers. All these training days bring out the same stories.

For example, a tachometer fault will be the result of poor bonding of the trunking runs and pigtails on the screen for the tachometer.

From my experience, the two biggest problems are pigtails on the hoist motor terminals combined with poor bonding of the trunking runs.

Pigtailing cable screens has been frowned upon by EMC experts and IEC 61000-5-2 for years but, nevertheless, electrical contractors still do it.

How long will it take to retrain them so that fixed installations in Europe stand any chance of complying with 2004/108/EC regulations?

of kit failed, I went back and found the five-inch mains riser was terminated to a new distribution panel being installed while I was on site.

The riser went into a gland plate that sat on a cork gasket, nylon insulation washers and powder-coated metalwork. There was no earth conductor at all.

There are two problems with this. The first is that if we suffered a secondary fault, such as a door lock short to earth, then the elevator could run with the doors open. Secondly, the DC bus rises to 600V on each VF drive and could have proved www.emcstandards.co.uk fatal to the users pushing W W W. B I F M .O RG .U K / F M WJ O I N tinyurl.com/FMW-0116-lifts buttons outside the lift.

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ENABLING PRODUC TIVE ENVIRONMENTS FOR PEOPLE AND BUSINESS

Blockchain reaction Imagine a ‘post-document’ world in which every contractual transaction is an opportunity to share myriad pieces of information

SHARE IN THE COMMUNITY Consulting people before fixing IT requirements

THE KINGS OF THINGS Why FM can benefit most from the IoT revolution

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The increasingly personal element to data gathering

FAC I LITATE

USER COMMUNITIES & TECHNOLOGY

in an open-plan office as winter approaches to know how the politics of the thermostat causes divisions among the smallest group of people.

But as proponents of the Internet of Things (IoT) will tell you – indeed, did so at ThinkFM last month – the potential benefits of a reduction in use of energy and resources are attractive. To that end the rapid rise of smart city projects around the world – each essentially a collection of smart buildings around a common infrastructure (100 in India alone) – is a testament to the faith we are placing in the advance of such systems.

Caring about the community

But one question remains – are we missing the point of such technology in the FM community?

We inhabit a world where we are measured by our customer at every step through our contracts, and where asset management is a key activity. Advances in IoT cause many ‘Eureka’ moments where all the possibilities suddenly become clear and we see ways to monitor critical assets more effectively to prevent downtime. We imagine an array of sensors around buildings to show that our staff have completed tasks within our service level agreements, not to mention the potential to measure the productivity of those same people.

Through these techniques we reduce the penalties that might be incurred through the unavailability, say, of a lift, because we’ve fixed the problem before it occurred.

We’ve proved to our customer that we’ve hit our SLAs and our contract payments will be less subject to deductions. The customer is getting what they want, and we’re able to work more efficiently because we’re better informed.

There is an argument, however, that an important part of the equation is missing. Because in all of the above we have not yet mentioned the people the building is there to serve – the hospital patients and staff, the

S H O RT- L I F E CO M M U N I T Y 1

THE MOTORWAY HOLD-UP

A good example of a short-lived community is found when there’s a hold-up on a motorway; the traffic grinds to a halt and before long we’re sitting in stationary traffic. After five or 10 minutes people start turning off their engines and getting out of their cars. One or two people will be checking their phones for news.

Those savvy with social media will be searching platforms like Twitter for ‘M1 hold-up’ and more likely than not they’ll see posts from people a mile or more ahead telling the world about the overturned lorry or whatever it is that’s to blame.

office workers, library users, the tenants in a housing association block. The focus on assets and SLAs takes our focus away from the communities that are the reason the buildings exist in the first place.

It’s instructive to explore this notion of communities (see boxes). We have seen through the rise of social media that communities can be both short and long-lived, geographically spread or focused on a specific area.

Users of buildings are similarly members of a community. They may be various tenants of a high-rise office block that share lifts, cafés, creche facilities, and so on. They may be visitors to an event at an exhibition hall or public facility. They may be members of those communities for a short time, such as a hospital inpatient, or an extended time like a company employee in an office. Regardless, these communities have a shared interest in the building they use; that it meets their individual and group needs, that it is warm, safe and

“BY CUTTING OUT INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE WE ALSO LOSE SOME REQUISITE CONTEXT ABOUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT”

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FAC I LITATE

B LO CKCHAIN

W

e are often too conditioned by existing frameworks to imagine just how far reaching the implications of new technologies might be. Earlier this year, for example, Professor John Hinks spoke of his fears for facilities management being at risk from “disintermediation” – essentially, global tech giants cutting out huge swathes of ‘middleman’ activity by making possible direct connections between huge monolithic service provider brands and their minnow suppliers, threatening those in the middle providing FM service.

It’s worth considering this kind of threat when evaluating the technology that powers Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Because when you understand the principles behind blockchains, you may well then be able to imagine a ‘post-document’ world in which every ‘transaction’ becomes an opportunity to share myriad pieces of valuable information.

Unalterable logic

The basic idea behind blockchain technology is not overly complex (see ‘What is Blockchain?’). Essentially, the key factors are that commercial transactions

can be entered into an unalterable and digitally verified ledger, the purity of which has significant ramifications not just for the way transactions are conducted, but how organisations relate to each other.

Information previously locked away in documents can be incorporated, making contractual transactions accessible and transparent to all parties at the very point of transaction.

Ledgers have forever been at the heart of commerce, most prolifically in the recording of money and property. So it’s not too much of a leap to imagine blockchain, as a new distributed ledger system, playing a key role in transactional activity across the full spectrum of property and property service delivery environments.

There has already been much speculation about how blockchain could contribute to a more efficient and less labour-intensive property industry. In whichever role it is put to work, the sequential and time-dependent nature of blockchain can assist in creating ‘next-to-live’ information feeds that help build an ever-increasing archive of information on all aspects of the built environment.

One good comparison is with building information models (BIM). Each BIM contains data about an

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