2011-09-29 FMW

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011

FMW ld www.fm-world.co.uk

Staff well-being is top of the agenda at Innocent Drinks’ Fruit Towers

CORE VALUES 01_FMW_Cover.indd 1

20/9/11 17:21:12

Ladderless Gutter Cleaning Services We have cleaned hundreds of commercial buildings up to four storeys high with our safe and efficient vacuum system across England and Wales We do not need to use access equipment and can pass on the enormous savings to you.

Are you ready to clean your gutters, we will survey your locations to give you a free no obligation quote.

You can trust us to deliver excellent gutter cleaning with after clean photos or video evidence if required.

Do you have your own maintenance team We can supply a gutter vac system to ensure you have the safest and quickest method of gutter cleaning and complies with Working at Height 2005 legislation.

BEFORE Gutters cleaned up to four storeys high from the ground by our team members

AFTER

Call 0800 316 7616 and ask for Juliet Davis

We can supply equipment and training for your staff.

Moss Treatment Services SAVE YOURSELF THE COST OF A NEW ROOF We spray a safe and gentle non invasive biocide spray that kills the moss, lichen and algae and the weather will complete the cleaning process by removing the debris from the roof revealing the tile colour below.

Our team will usually carry out this service in one day, therefore minimising disruption to your building

Our prices, as ever are kept to minimum

SAFE & EFFICIENT WITHOUT DAMAGING YOUR ROOF WITH HARSH PRESSURE WASHING

Tel: 0800 316 7616 ~ Birmingham

Tel: 020

E Mail: info@dreamteamcleaning.co.uk

8226 4030 ~ London

Tel: Bristol ~ 0117 366 0949

Website: www.dreamteamguttercleaning.co.uk

Dream Team Cleaning Solutions Ltd, 23 Henley Crescent, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 2JD

FMW.29.09.11.002.indd 1

16/9/11 17:00:58

VOL 8 ISSUE 17 29 SEPTEMBER 2011

CONTENTS

7 | Contract cleaning growth

18 | Innocent Drinks

22 | Access to IT

NEWS

OPINION

FEATURES

6 Tenants seek more contact with landlords according a survey 7 Contract cleaning market set for modest growth from mid-2012 8 Project of the Fortnight: Salford University out to tender for halls 10 FM 100 poll: how will your staffing levels change in the next year?

12 Business news: Graeme Davies predicts a chilly front blowing in from the Left this winter 13 SGP profits up 25 per cent for half year 2011 after boosting order book

16 Diary of a facilities manager: David Walker’s regular look at the daily challenges he faces in his working life 17 Five minutes with Mark Cosh, European director, SitexOrbis 50 Felicity Messing

MONITOR 34 Technical: The nuts and bolts of biomass boilers, by Steve Dolby 36 How to: Document outsourcing can time and cut costs 38 Legal: Organisations now have to adhere to a Waste Hierarchy

28 | National Archives

18

Innocent Drinks: After moving into a new headquarters in West London, Innocent kept staff well-being on top of the agenda, finds Natalie Li

22

Access to IT: Taking into account your staff’s individual IT needs can unlock huge potential in the workforce, finds Susan Scott-Parker

28

National Archives: Kevin Skinner explains how a refurbished cooling system is keeping the nation’s treasury of records in top condition

30

Compliance: Nick Martindale discusses the abolition of the DRA and new legislation covering the employment of agency workers

REGULARS 40 BIFM news 44 People & Jobs 48 Appointments 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

visit fm-world.co.uk/jobs COVER IMAGE: SAM KESTEVEN

For immediate notice of new FM World content, sign up to follow us on Twitter

visit twitter.com/fm_world FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 03

03_FM Contents.indd 03

22/9/11 17:21:04

you

nter?

Surface snow melting

Gutter snow melting

Pipe frost protection

Pipe frost protection Surface snow melting

Surface snow melting

Harsh winters require winter safety in buildings In winter, freezing temperatures can be a latent danger for buildings and the people who live and work in them. As the responsible person, it is in your best interests to properly equip your buildings and give everyone maximum protection against frost, ice and snow.

Raychem systems can help you avoid the risk of material, physical and ďŹ nancial damage. They are all self-regulating, innovative and easy to install frost protection solutions.

Request a FREE WINTER AUDIT of your building at www.tycothermal.com/winter

www.tycothermal.com

FMW.29.09.11.004.indd 1

16/9/11 10:54:25

Redactive Publishing Ltd 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP 020 7880 6200 www.fm-world.co.uk EDITORIAL Tel: 020 7880 6229 email: editorial@fm-world.co.uk editor: Martin Read ⁄ news editor: David Arminas ⁄ sub editor: James Richards ⁄ assistant editor: Natalie Li ⁄art director: Mark Parry ⁄ art editor: Daniel Swainsbury ⁄ picture editor: Sam Kesteven ADVERTISING AND MARKETING email: sales@fm-world.co.uk

MARTIN READ EDITOR COMMENT

LEADER

senior display sales executive: Adam Potter (020 7880 8543) ⁄ display sales executive John Nahar (020 7880 6230) ⁄ recruitment sales executive: Carly Gregory PRODUCTION production manager: Jane Easterman production executive: Aysha Miah PUBLISHING publishing director: Steve Bagshaw Forward features lists and media pack available at www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us SUBSCRIPTIONS BIFM members with FM World subscription or delivery queries should call the BIFM’s membership department on 0845 0581358 FM World is sent to all members of the British Institute of Facilities Management and is available on subscription to nonmembers. Annual subscription rates are UK £110, rest of world £130. To subscribe call 020 8950 9117 or email fm@alliance-media. co.uk – alternatively, you can subscribe online at www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us/ subscribe/ To order the BIFM good practice guides or the FM World Buyers’ Guide to FM Services call 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, FM Tutor and author ⁄ Chris Wood, senior associate at Advanced Workplace Associates

Average net circulation 11,357 (Jul 10 – Jun 11) 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

t’s increasingly difficult to deny the impact of mobile technologies on the way that office teams work. What was once a choice between a very few tried and trusted hierarchical models is now a choice of myriads, a result of the flexible working revolution that continues around us and the technology that enables it.

This means the gradual erosion of the old certainty required by FMs to plan ahead. How do you calculate future levels of space utilisation when individual workers are trying out new teamwork models all the time? If you attempt to dictate how things should be, you stand to look out of touch with what proves the most productive way of doing things. After all, what do you say to the board when that expensive new break-out space you specified is ignored by workers in favour of meetings in the local Starbucks?

The latest Johnson Controls Global Workplace Solutions’ latest survey suggests that by 2020 the traditional office is likely to offer one function above all others – dramatically enhanced collaboration space. Dr Marie Puybaraud and her colleagues believe that flexible working will continue to see more teams operating on an atomised, task-to-task basis, with individuals roaming in and out of buildings and setting their own working hours. However, for reporting, planning and strategising purposes they’ll use their offices as meeting spaces. In fact, meeting spaces will become the essence of what an organisation is all about. These ‘collaboration hubs’ will need to be 100 per cent up-to-the-minute technological paradises, capable of integrating with whatever each team member uses as their day-to-day device.

Puybaraud sees a future in which organisations will embrace a ‘bring-your-own’ approach to technology, allowing employees to use whatever tools they themselves prefer – and indeed own themselves. For most organisations, this will involve a massive about-face on present policy, with workspace IT organised around what the workforce demands, not what prevailing issues of safety and security suggest is prudent.

So – the future is one of nomadic workers nipping back to the office to meet, share, and interact on an occasional basis. Work itself will take place in all manner of spaces, the office merely one option among many.

FMs will need to become yet more expert in their understanding and deployment of conferencing and networking technologies, while on the supply-side we’re already seeing some FM companies partnering with telecoms firms.

All of which represents quite a paradigm shift.

Consultants will be required to offer a different concept of looking at space, and there’ll be new training needs for FMs seeking to stay up to date with the technology landscape. Add to this some more prosaic FM issues (how on earth do you cope with such an erratic flow of people in and out of buildings? Heating, security and cleaning are all affected) – and you’re left with one hell of a headache. It seems that the more we move towards flexible working, the more flexible the FM team will have to be.

I

“PUYBARAUD SEES A FUTURE IN WHICH ORGANISATIONS EMBRACE A ‘BRING YOUR OWN’ APPROACH, ALLOWING EMPLOYEES TO USE WHATEVER TOOLS THEY PREFER”

Tel: 0845 0581356 email: admin@bifm.org.uk web: www.bifm.org.uk

www.fm-world.co.uk

05_Comment.indd 05

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 05

22/9/11 17:52:50

FM NEWS SIGN UP FOR FM WORLD DAILY AT FM-WORLD.CO.UK

SERVICE CHARGES

Occupiers seek more contact with landlords UK commercial property tenants are slightly more satisfied with the service they received from landlords than last year, according to the Occupier Satisfaction Survey 2011. However, service charge arrangements remain an area of particular discontent.

The annual survey – which ranks answers from 1 to 10, where 10 is extremely satisfied – found that despite overall satisfaction levels increasing from 4.9 last year to 5.4 this year, satisfaction with service charge arrangements remained almost the same at 4.3.

Nearly 90 per cent of tenants claim to pay service charges for the properties they occupy. But almost 25 per cent stated that either “a minority” or “none” of their landlords provided them with a service charge budget.

Satisfaction levels vary according to size of an organisation, the survey noted.

Large occupiers reported a score of 5.4, while small- and mediumsized occupiers gave a slightly lower satisfaction level of 5.

By sector, office occupiers recorded a satisfaction level of 5.6, while retail occupiers recorded 5.2 and industrial occupiers 4.9.

Property owners are still performing poorly when it comes to engaging with their tenants on environmental issues, according to the survey. Occupiers gave a score of 4 out of 10, although this was up from 3.5 last year.

Satisfaction levels were highest for the leasing process, with a score of 6.2, up from 5.5 last year.

The level of communication with landlords was “about right”, according to 57 per cent 06 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

06_FMNews.indd 06

of respondents. The majority of occupiers said they received communication every three to 12 months.

However, a third of occupiers considered the level of communication with their landlord “not frequent enough”.

John Story, chairman of the survey’s steering group, said that “significant issues still remain”, particularly with service charges and environmental matters.

“Many tenants, for example, do not receive any information concerning their building’s service charge budget. This is of particular significance, given the requirements of RICS’ Service Charge Code, which was published earlier this year.”

The survey was commissioned by the Property Industry Alliance in conjunction with the UK

GETTY

DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

Chapter of CoreNet Global and is based on 159 interviews with occupiers. The questionnaire is based on the Code for Leasing Business Premises,

and covers diverse areas such as It looks at property supply, lease terms, business relationships, progress with environmental initiatives and value for money.

INCIDENT REPORTING

HSE takes incident reporting online DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

Only fatalities and major injuries and incidents are to be reported by phone to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following newly published advice. All other workrelated injuries and incidents that come under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) must now be reported online.

The HSE has set up seven online forms for the reporting of lesser injuries and incidents. It maintains that the change to online reporting will not be difficult.

“This should not be a significant

change for many as more than half of reportable injuries are already notified to HSE through its website,” said Trevor Carlile, HSE’s director of strategy.

“The new forms are intuitive and quick and easy to complete.

The most important thing is that there will still be somebody at the end of the phone to assist those who are reporting a traumatic event that has resulted

in a death or major injury.”

Later this month, HSE’s Infoline will close its telephone service, which provides basic information.

Instead, from 30 September, people seeking information and official guidance will be directed to HSE’s website.

The HSE has produced a Q&A page on its website to answer questions about the new rules and changes to reporting.

“There will still be somebody at the end of the phone to assist those who are reporting a traumatic event” www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 17:43:22

NEWS

Cleaning market set for modest growth

SIA takes to the road GETTY

The contract cleaning market is on track for above-inflation growth from mid 2012, with specialist cleaning services driving market value in the near term.

Business confidence in the sector is fragile, but growth of 2 per cent for 2011 is possible, according to the report Contract Cleaning Market Optimism for 2012, from MTW Research.

Just under 60 per cent of contractors had sales growth in the past 12 months and 90 per cent of the industry had a healthy credit rating as of this month.

The report forecasts total industry sales to rise by around 15 per cent in the next four years, reaching almost £5.5 billion by 2015.

BRIEFS cleaning, suggesting that companies seeking to enhance service levels continue to outperform contractors operating on a price/volume strategy”.

Other key differentiators employed by contractors to add value to their core offering include environmental credentials, rapid response services, improved customer relationship management (CRM) strategies and staff training.

Deferred capital equipment purchases are likely to get the go ahead in the coming year.

More than 50 per cent of the sector comprises well-established companies with more than 11 years’ experience, “reflecting established trading history and experience”.

But a quarter of the businesses are less than seven years old.

These companies “remain in the most vulnerable position due to a combination of low profitability in the sector in general, a relative lack of liquidity and the current lack of credit available”.

The report also noted that there is an “increasing importance of differentiation in contract

GOVERNMENT POLICY

Flexible workforces ‘key to growth’ Politicians and the public agree that a flexible workforce is good for the economy, but government policy is too focused on permanent workers, according to new research.

The joint ComRes survey of 158 MPs and 2,000 members of the public, commissioned by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and freelancers’ organisation Professional Contractors Group (PCG), found that 86 per cent of MPs and 78 per cent of the public agreed that “encouraging a flexible labour force is important in stimulating economic growth”.

When asked if the government should do more to encourage employers to take a flexible www.fm-world.co.uk

07_FMNews.indd 07

GETTY

DAVID ARMINAS newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

approach, 69 per cent of MPs and 79 per cent of the public agreed.

Moreover, most respondents among MPs (78 per cent) and the public (71 per cent) believed that businesses adopting flexible measures “got through the recession better than they otherwise would have done”.

The researchers said that the findings showed a consensus that flexibility was a very desirable trait and called for businesses to embed it into more areas of public policy, such as pensions, the new agency workers regulations, the benefits system and tax.

“It’s abundantly clear from these results that both the public and MPs understand that flexible working is crucial to ongoing UK economic growth. However, we feel policy is dangerously lagging behind,” said Simon McVicker, head of public affairs at PCG. Tom Hadley, REC director of policy and professional services, said government must move away from the outdated notion that traditional full-time work is the only viable or desirable form of employment.

The Security Industry Authority is hosting a series of roadshows to explain changes to regulations in the private security sector which could see registered businesses playing a greater role in checking and registering individuals. Events start in Bristol on 20 October, ending in Belfast on 22 November.

Kids keen on the Cube A portable food serving station has been a big hit with school children, according to BAM FM. The Food Cube, a portable cabin measuring 2.4 metres by 3 metres, is installed at the Oasis Academy in Brightstowe, Bristol. Pupils pre-order their choice of food using a dedicated cashless system and then collect it from the cube. Some 30 per cent of students prefer the cube to the canteen. The idea was developed in partnership with modular commercial kitchen specialist PKL Group.

Forth Bridge painting ends Restoration work on the Forth Bridge has ended the myth of continuous painting. When the final coat is applied in December, it could be 20 years before another is needed, according to the bridge’s keeper, Network Rail Scotland (NRS). Restoration work, costing about £130 million and carried out by main contractor Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering, has been essential because of under-investment in the 1970-80s.

New name for uni FM block Sheffield Hallam University, home to the Centre for Facilities Management, is renaming the Furnival Building on Furnival Street after the city’s wellknown furniture designing family, the Cantors, benefactors of the university.

It houses the arts, computing, engineering and sciences faculty.

Higher Apprentice levels Asset Skills, the sector skills council for FM, is considering developing higher apprenticeships in FM at levels 4, 5 and 6. If enough interest has been shown after a consultation, funding will be sought from the Higher Apprenticeship Fund. Training will be focused on senior managerial posts entailing managerial responsibilities, team leadership and project management.

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 07

22/9/11 17:25:12

FM NEWS SIGN UP FOR FM WORLD DAILY AT FM-WORLD.CO.UK

PROJECT OF THE

FORTNIGHT NEWS BULLETIN

Union warns of outsourcing fraud risk Procurement fraud in the public sector could get worse as a result of government plans to outsource more services, a trade union has warned.

Unison, the public sector workers’ union, claims outsourcing contributes £1.3 billion of the £2.4 billion annual cost of procurement fraud to the public sector. The union also believes that this figure could rise further if proposals to tender more services to the private sector under the government’s Open Public Services white paper are implemented.

The £1.3 billion estimate includes £825 million from central government and £470 million from local government. More tendering could “create more opportunities for price-fixing, false invoicing and other forms of fraud associated with public sector outsourcing”, Unison said.

Unison also warned that contracting with the private sector leads to under-performance and poor value for money, as well as “costly and disruptive restructuring and procurement processes. Many employers have to bring services back in-house after money, quality and efficiency have gone down the drain,” said Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison.

Anglian builds more biogas plants

Salford Uni sets sights on student residence Salford University is going out to tender for the construction and running of a 2,000-bedroom student accommodation building that has received planning permission. The new building will centralise the university’s accommodation onto one site, replacing buildings outside the campus, including the Castel Irwell residences.

Construction of a £30 million building on Peel Park campus will start next year for completion in 2013. The new accommodation is part of the first phase of what the university says is “an ambitious” campus-wide redevelopment. Included in the 20-year plan is construction of a £51 million arts building and a major refurbishment of the current main arts building, the 1970s Chapman Building.

Wates Construction is working on a £4.6 million extension and renovation of the Chapman building. Upgrades include improvements to the lecture theatre, introduction of a café breakout space on the ground floor, additional learning areas on the first floor and improvements to the external appearance of the building.

Much of the university estate consists of buildings from the 1960s and 1970s which will be demolished or refurbished over the coming five years. Many issues apply across the entire spectrum of university buildings, including inflexible cellular office spaces, a disjointed classroom stock with a disproportionate number of large rooms and a general lack of informal spaces for individual studies or group work.

The university is also planning to install a site-wide district heating system including a combined heat and power plant using biomass technology. Its goal is to cut carbon emissions by 15 per cent.

“The new student residences form an important part of our plan to transform our university campus,” said vice-chancellor Professor Martin Hall. “Students will have easier access to modern state-of-the-art teaching and leisure facilities which will be shared with, and will benefit, the whole of the local community.”

08 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

08_News.indd 08

Construction group Galliford Try has won a £35 million contract in partnership with Imtech Process to construct two anaerobic digestion plants for Anglian Water. The deal, for Anglian’s Basildon and Ipswich sewage plants, will see biogas from the sludge treatment process used to generate energy. The plants will also produce fertiliser to recycle for land use.

Galliford Try has completed similar anaerobic digestion plants for Anglian at the water company’s King’s Lynn site in Norfolk and Great Billing site in Northamptonshire. Imtech UK is a mechanical and electrical engineering, contracting and water-processing provider and is part of the Dutch business Imtech based in Gouda.

Unions call for maximum working temperature The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers trade union (BFAWU) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have launched a campaign for a maximum workplace temperature. The ‘Cool it’ campaign is aimed at pressurising the government into legislating for a maximum working temperature.

There is a legally enforceable minimum temperature of 16oC, but the legal position at the other end of the scale is less clear-cut. The unions want to see a legislated maximum temperature of between 27 and 30 degrees.

The Workplace Regulations stipulate that if the temperature in a workroom is “uncomfortably high… all reasonable steps should be taken to achieve a reasonably comfortable temperature”.

BFAWU general secretary Ronnie Draper said: “It is high time that government recognises the misery that is heaped upon UK workers by working in extremely hot temperatures. There should be a consistent approach to control measures being triggered.”

FM buyers in US bullish about outsourcing Nearly all US buyers of outsourced facilities management expect to maintain or increase outsourcing in the short-to-medium term, according to a new report. In the short term, buyers were more bullish than service providers about the projected increase in outsourcing, noted the inaugural Global Real Estate and Facilities Management Outsourcing Pulse Survey from KPMG. Among the 200 respondents, 50 per cent said they plan to increase outsourcing of real estate and facilities management (REFM) within one to two quarters. In comparison, 21 per cent of service providers expect demand levels to increase during that period, with an equal number expecting demand levels to decrease. Over the next 12 months, 44 per cent of buyers plan to increase their REFM outsourcing, while 72 per cent of service providers expect outsourcing demand to increase. www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 16:55:45

A Sustainable Alternative to Air-Conditioning COOL-PHASEÂŽ is a revolutionary Phase Change Material (PCM) based low energy, ventilation, cooling and heat recovery system.

COOL-PHASE combines mechanical ventilation with a thermal energy store to create a truly unique offering; a low energy solution that it is able to meet building regulation requirements for thermal comfort and ventilation.

y y y y y y

Tel: 01494 897700 FMW.29.09.11.009.indd 1

Up to 90% reduction in energy consumption Payback is typically 5 years or less Maintains temperatures within the comfort zone Long lifetime, with low servicing and maintenance costs Easy to retroďŹ t, with scalable solutions Creates a healthier and more productive indoor space

www.cool-phase.com 16/9/11 16:30:33

FM NEWS SIGN UP FOR FM WORLD DAILY AT FM-WORLD.CO.UK No significant change in staffing levels (27%)

FM 100 POLL

WE ASKED 100 FMS…

Less staff (60%)

Analysts point to more outsourcing in the next few years, but 60 per cent of FM 100 respondents believe less staff will be around, both in-house and outsourced Analysts point to more outsourcing in the next few years, but 60 per cent of FM 100 respondents believe less staff will be around, both in-house and outsourced. Only 13 per cent of respondents believe more staff will be employed as the economy picks up, albeit slowly, while 27 per cent don’t think there will be any significant change in staffing levels.

FM service providers will continue to reduce both headcount and expenditure in

the belief this will help their bottom line, said one respondent.

“But these organisations are storing up problems for the future,” he said. Fewer FMs mean fewer brains to think strategically, at all levels of the FM job.

Some FMs suggested that the London Living Wage of £8.30 per hour could put a damper on hiring lower level tactical staff in the capital. This is a 5.7 per cent increase on 2010 and a 24 per cent increase since its introduction in 2005.

More staff (13%)

There is even a squeeze happening now on upper level jobs, according to an FM with recent personal experience of the job market. His four-month search for work convinced him the job market is the worst since the economic downturn in 1983.

“At least two jobs for which I was interviewed were eventually scrubbed and one was unfilled after six months. The client wanted the mythical 21 year-old PhD with 10 years’ experience.”

How the largest FM firms maintain such profitable margins – 6 per cent or more – is suspect, one respondent said. It could be they cut their headcount in order to win a contract.

Emigrating could be the answer, said another FM: “The only area I see as relatively buoyant is Australia and the Middle and Far East.”

Judges set to choose from four of FM’s finest

10 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

10_FM News.indd 08

success of public and private sector organisations.

Former politician turned writer and broadcaster Michael Portillo will host the event, which has Mace as its headline sponsor. The Awards take place at London’s Grosvenor House hotel on Monday 10 October.

Finalists in the other 2011 award categories are as follows: Innovation in Customer Service: Finalists: Balfour Beatty Workplace and BBC; Carillion Facilities Management; Devonshire Square Management; Mitie Client Services.

Innovation in Products: Faithful & Gould/HVCA; Managed Support Services; Plastic Surgeon; SitexOrbis.

Innovation in Technology snd Systems: Faithful & Gould; Serco with the Forth Valley Royal Hospital Trust; SGP Property and Facilities Management; SSS Management Services.

ISTOCK

This year’s gala BIFM Awards will see four of the sector’s finest managers in the running for the coveted Facilities Manager of the Year category. The finalists are: ● Ian Maher, facilities manager for Vinci at Whiston Hospital, Merseyside ● Hayden Matthews, facilities manager for BG Group ● Kate Morris, head of workplace services for The Co-operative Estates ● Chris Stoddart, general manager of the Heron Tower in London, for Cushman & Wakefield.

All four will be vying to take the crown from reigning FM of the Year Julie Kortens, head of FM at Channel 4.

The awards – the biggest and most influential networking event in the UK’s FM calendar – are designed to celebrate the increasingly strategic profile of FM by highlighting the key role that the sector plays in the

Michael Portillo

Impact on Organisation and Workplace: Amey; Balfour Beatty WorkPlace; Hallmark Cards; Interserve; Telefonica UK. FM Excellence in a Major Project: The Co-operative Food; Interserve; KPMG; Serco Local Government and Commercial.

Client of the Year: BDO LLP; The Co-operative; Everything Everywhere; Metropolitan Housing Partnership.

Consultant of the Year: EC Harris; Faithful & Gould; Mace Macro.

Service Provider of the Year: Aspire Defence Services; Balfour Beatty WorkPlace; SitexOrbis; Westway Services; Williams Lea. Communications and Marketing: HSS Hire; Liz Kentish Coaching; Managed Support Services.

Sustainability & Environmental Impact: Cofely; The Co-operative Food; Modus Services.

Individual tickets for the event are priced at £202 (ex-VAT) and include the drinks reception, dinner, awards ceremony and dance, with entertainment from The Supanova Dance Orchestra.

Tables of 10 (£2,020 ex VAT) and 12 (£2,424 ex VAT) are also available. To book, or for further details on the awards, contact Sandra Light at FM Events on 0141 639 6192, email sandra@ fmevents.biz or visit www.bifm. org.uk/awards2011 www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 17:25:51

Helpdesk & Work Management

Software for maintenance & facilities management

Planned Maintenance & Forecasting

Asset Management

• Industry proven • Complete control of the maintenance processes • Control & reduce maintenance costs

Inspection Routines

A complete solution for the management & control of all forms of maintenance with our 3 products:UltraSys Client – The core of the system where users can access all of the functionality within the software

Stores Management

• Enforces compliance with workplace or external regulations

Purchasing

UltraSysNet Assistant – Simple web screens which enables users to perform their key system tasks UltraSysNet Pocket – Our mobile application for remote or mobile workers Web Based Work Management Mobile Working

Personnel

Utilities Supply Management

Finance

Interfaces to 3rd Party Systems

Reports

Find out how UltraSys could benefit your organisation.

Contact us: 0121 233 3100 • sales@ultrasys.co.uk • Tempus Software Ltd, St Pauls House, 21-24 St Pauls Square, Birmingham, B3 1RB www.ultrasys.co.uk

Tempus 123x186.indd 1

19/4/11 17:41:52

Priceless information Register FREE at healthcare-estates.com If you’re serious about the healthcare market, you have to be at Healthcare Estates.

Meet over 150 suppliers in the Exhibition, and hear about the latest research and opinion in the Showcase presentations.

Make the contacts and gain

the knowledge you need to tackle the challenges you face every day.

Register FREE on the website, where you’ll also find full details of the Showcase programme and supporting content.

For Exhibition registration: www.healthcare-estates.com For Conference information: www.healthcare-estates.org.uk

1-2 November 2011 Manchester Central Stepex 186x123.indd 1

FMW.29.09.11.011.indd Sec1:11

Organised by:

Exhibition organised by:

16/9/11 14:29:03 FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 11

20/9/11 16:43:42

FM BUSINESS SIGN UP FOR FM WORLD DAILY AT FM-WORLD.CO.UK

ANALYSIS

Wrap up warm for the winter of discontent GRAEME DAVIES newsdesk@fm-world.co.uk

The recent Trades Union Congress set the scene for what could become a winter of discontent as disgruntled unionists from a host of sectors lined up to call for strike action.

In most cases, the main bugbear of the unions is the threat to public sector pensions. But that is only one of many issues that the unions are protesting against, as the government’s wide-ranging reform programme begins to bite –many are also taking aim at the rapid increase of outsourcing of public services that implies the outsourcing of thousands of union members’ jobs.

Indeed, in some areas workers are already walking out over outsourcing plans with Barnet Council staff under the Unison banner striking recently over the decision to outsource vast swathes of the council’s activities. Barnet Council has approved a plan to save £53.4m over the next three years with £29.1m of that front loaded in 2011-2012, putting up to 350 out of 3,500 jobs ‘at risk’.

Unison’s ranks are swollen with council workers, making it one of the most vocal opponents of increased outsourcing. It recently launched a scathing attack on the cost of outsourcing, claiming that it increased the likelihood of fraud. It placed a figure of £1.3bn a year on 12 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

12_13_FM Business.indd 12

the cost of fraud to the public purse through price fixing and false accounting. Describing outsourcing as ‘a recipe for disaster’, Unison claims that taxpayers are losing out as both local and central government take unnecessary risks to get costs off their books.

And a recent study from the US would appear to back up their claims. The Project on Government Oversight studied 555 contracts handed out to outsourcers covering 35 different roles across all levels of government and concluded that private contractors were actually costing more than public sector providers in 33 out of the

35 areas even when benefits and pensions were taken into account.

But furious words from angry trade unionists and even studies from third party groups are unlikely to shake the UK government from its course.

This government is turning out to be strongly ideological and, despite a number of high profile u-turns, is sticking doggedly to its overall philosophy of reducing the size and influence of the state and the quicker the better. Indeed, the reaction to the rumblings from the TUC has been noticeably uncompromising which suggests the government is girding its loins for a confrontation with the unions.

The outsourcers themselves certainly don’t appear to be expecting any slowdown in the pace of change and many of them are gearing up for expansion. Earlier this month Kier Group, which has traditionally been a provider of bricks and mortar rather

than services, said it expects to double the size of its support services business over the next five years as it plugs into the outsourcing boom.

Even in the US, where the economy is on the skids, a recent survey found nearly all buyers of outsourced FM expect to maintain or increase outsourcing in the short-to-medium term.

Among the political elite, there seems to be little appetite for turning back the tide of outsourcing, even the Opposition accept that some serious book balancing is required for the UK economy.

Indeed, Ed Milliband was jeered by the very trade unionists who swept him to the Labour leadership when he criticised their willingness to strike. But the unions appear to be set on course for confrontation with the government nonetheless, which means we could be in for a troubled winter ahead.

Graeme Davies writes for Investors Chronicle

Contract wins

NEW BUSINESS Mitie has won a three-year integrated FM contract for the 70 UK and Ireland sites of international drinks business Diageo. The contract, with a twoyear extension, has a base value of around £16 million a year with the possibility of up to £3 million of project works annually. Properties include manufacturing sites, packaging plants, distilleries and the company HQ. Bolton Council has selected BAM as its preferred bidder for major building work on Bolton’s Kearsley Academy, home to 900 students.

Work starts in December for completion in March 2013.

Pabulum has won a catering contract for Swavesey Village College and Nene Park Academy in Cambridgeshire.

The deal is worth £700,000 over the three years.

Building services provider EIC has won a place on a four-year mechanical, electrical and building fabric framework agreement with the Scottish Borders Council, including the towns of Duns, Kelso, Hawick, Galashiels and Peebles.

NG Bailey has won a £7 million contract for building services installation at the new Circle hospital in Reading. NG Bailey is working with main contractor Vinci Construction on the project for Circle, a private medical group.

London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s official promotional agency, has appointed G4S as a safety and security partner. G4S will contribute to an events strategy in the lead up to and after the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Property consultant Alder King has signed up Inviron to provide planned preventative, reactive and building fabric maintenance at 22 sites across the south-west. The contract covers offices, business parks and industrial estates in south Wales, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Devon. www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 15:56:52

SGP commercial director Gerry Askew

BUSINESS BRIEFS

SGP profits up 25 per cent at half year mark SGP, the facilities division of Johnson Service Group (JSG), has “significantly” boosted operating profit and increased its order book, according to its half-year results.

Revenue for SGP was £21.4 million, with an operating profit of £2 million – 25 per cent higher than the first half of 2010.

The FM division comprises SGP and the group’s Special Purpose Companies working with local authorities to manage six private finance initiative (PFI) contracts in the healthcare and education sectors. The division controls more than £1 billion of customer spend.

Revenue, excluding costs recharged to customers, was 20.4 per cent higher at £17.7 million against £14.7 million for the first half of 2010.

Market conditions remain challenging for SGP, according to the statement. But the FM division should have “satisfactory overall growth this year”.

The textile rental business had revenue of £58 million, with an operating profit of £7.7 million.

The division “performed very well and has benefited from a period of stability within existing customer accounts”.

Revenue for JSG’s dry cleaning operation was nearly £38 million,

but operating profit came in at £600,000 due to continuing high-street challenges, the statement said.

Total group revenue was £117.3 million, up from £113 million for the first half of 2011.

Adjusted operating profit increased by five per cent to £8.4 million; this refers to operating profit before amortisation and impairment of intangibles and exceptional items.

Group net debt was reduced further to £51 million and the group has “significant headroom under existing bank facilities”. Earlier this year, Gerry Askew, commercial director of SGP, said the business was looking to grow through an “aggressive” mix of organic growth and acquisitions.

Mace confirms good performance Mace has reported a good year for its facilities business, both in the UK and internationally.

According to its annual report, the construction and consultancy group “delivered a robust performance in 2010 despite the continuing global recession”.

Group turnover increased 17.2 per cent to £851 million for the year ending December 2010.

Profit before tax increased 9 per cent to £21 million.

Mace Group had a “healthy” cash balance of £104.6 million at December 2010 with no debt.

Turnover in its construction business grew from £500 million in 2009 to £647 million by the end of 2010, “which is a significant achievement”, www.fm-world.co.uk

12_13_FM Business.indd 13

the report noted. “Much of this success was due to our determined focus on providing a ‘better way’ of delivering for our clients.”

Mace Macro, the UK facilities business, cemented relationships with key clients, said Mark Holmes, chief operating officer for the consultancy division that includes Macro.

Turnover for the FM business was nearly £45.9 million, down slightly from £46.9 million for year-end 2009.

Holmes was also upbeat about its international FM business, especially the opening of a

new business in India, initially to service a property run by global investment management company Invesco. Mace provides integrated cross-border FM services for Invesco’s global office portfolio.

However, international project and facilities management turnover was down from nearly £88.8 million to £66.6 million.

Group turnover, meanwhile, by geographical region for all divisions, saw the UK rise from nearly £642 million to £773.5 million.

The report also noted that Mace Group has high hopes for its new business of managing the utilities for major construction programmes.

Universities framework Vinci Facilities, Ecovert FM, Mitie, Ocean Group and Initial Building Services are among the suppliers awarded places on a major London universities’ framework agreement set up by the collaborative London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC). The threeyear framework has 21 suppliers to cover fabric maintenance, mechanical and electrical, lifts, asbestos services and water compliance. The LUPC is a notfor-profit organisation set up in 1968 and owned by its members.

Compass buys Cygnet Contract caterer Compass Group has bought school meals provider Cygnet Catering with its portfolio of more than 500 state schools and colleges. In June this year, Compass acquired Hong Kong catering operation Shing Hin Catering Group.

Shing Hin specialises in catering for universities, colleges and hospitals and generated annual revenues of £12.7m in the year ending 31 December 2010.

Cyntra appoints six firms Social housing procurement consortium Cyntra has appointed six contractors tos its framework agreement to be used by the organisation’s 30 members.

Around £800 million of work will be shared by Apollo Property Services, Bramall Construction, Breyer Group, Kier Support Services, Mears and Vinci Construction.

Under the contract’s “regional variation” clauses, a user, for example in the north-east, won’t be paying a ‘national average price’, but a locally adjusted price reflecting local conditions.

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 13

22/9/11 15:57:11

FM FEATURE TOTAL WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT 2011

THE MAIN EVENT his year’s Total Workplace Management (TWM), in association with the BIFM, takes place on 11-12 October at London Olympia.

With the workload of facilities managers ever increasing, TWM is ideally placed for London-based managers within the industry to minimise their time out of the office.

More than 300 exhibitors will be attending this year to showcase their latest products and services.

The TWM conference, which has been running for over 20 years, is the ideal place to meet with professionals from across the industry and engage with suppliers on projects and requirements.

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

T

Innovation The Innovation Showcase makes a return for the second year running – providing a chance for visitors to see first hand the latest products and technologies, from wireless touch screens that monitor activity and improve responsiveness to the latest computer aided facilities management (CAFM) tools.

The Prop IT Trail will bring 14 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

14_15_TWM.indd 14

together market leading companies offering cutting-edge services in CAFM, document management, resource booking software, security and fire services, mobile communication and systems integration.

This year will see the launch of the Innovation and Sustainability Awards, which celebrate innovation and business excellence. The awards highlight innovative and sustainable products and services that support the effective and efficient management of a workplace.

With the increasing pressure on organisations to ensure that their working practices are as sustainable as possible, the judging panel will be looking at products and services that have a significant effect on

the environmental impact of a working building and/or the operation of an organisation.

The 2011 categories: Best innovation in green products or services ● Best innovation in energy management ● Best innovation in FM services ● Best innovation in building services ● Best product innovation ● Best innovation in health and safety ● Outstanding contribution to the industry ● London workplace of the year ●

Other highlights of the show include a Fire, Safety and Security Zone in association with FIA, IOSH, BSIA and media supporters www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 16:54:43

TOTAL WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT 2011

BIFM ITINERARY

FM Academy Theatre A

two-day programme at the FM Academy Seminar Theatre will provide over 150 hours of free educational content. Highlights include:

Tuesday 11 October 10.15-10.45, Fire, Safety and Security Theatre Working with your insurer, Speaker: Steve Dance, managing partner of RiskCentric and chair of BIFM Security and Business Continuity Special Interest Group In this session a commercial insurer, broker and risk manager will provide a joint presentation on how organisations can optimise their commercial insurance premiums by demonstrating that they are a good quality risk to the insurer. The session will cover how to create a presentation that demonstrates risk quality to an insurer and the adoption of ‘visible and demonstrable’ risk management frameworks to ensure premiums remain mutually attractive.

info4fire.com, SHP and info4security.com. Exhibitors will offer products and services across the sector.

In addition, a Green FM trail will allow visitors to discover exhibitors displaying products, services and innovation, that help keep businesses green and sustainable. A recycling centre is on site to ensure the event remains sustainable. Waste material will be collected and processed throughout the event via state-of-the-art equipment.

Visitors are encouraged to take a low carbon visit by either cycling or using public transport to get to London Olympia.

For more information about Total Workplace Management and to register free visit www.twmexpo.com. FM www.fm-world.co.uk

14_15_TWM.indd 15

STAND B20

Visit the BIFM stand he BIFM will be on stand B20 and invites all attendees to come and meet the team to learn about how it is advancing the facilities management profession, and find out how to get involved with the UK’s largest FM body.

Enter a draw to win a year’s free individual membership of the BIFM, or a renewal of your existing membership.

Non-members can join as an Affiliate (new membership grade) for just £99 at the show. See a demo and learn more about SkillZone, the BIFM’s new interactive e-learning portal, offering professional development at your fingertips in adaptable bite-sized chunks that work to your personal time schedule.

BIFM Training will be on hand to talk to delegates through the range of available training options, including formal qualifications and accredited programmes.

T

12.45-1.15pm CSR/FM: The perfect marriage?

Speaker: Ian Broadbent, BIFM chairman Do FM and CSR live together in perfect harmony? This session will explore the benefits to the FM (and their team) in leading the CSR agenda. This session will cover building and delivering the strategy, using practical examples of how the Hallmark FM team spread the message to employees, suppliers, consumers and customers alike.

Wednesday 12 October 10-10.30am, Fire, Safety and Security Theatre Panel discussion hosted by Ian Fielder, chief executive of the BIFM. Some key changes loom on the horizon for health and safety, including impending charges to be made by the Health and Safety Executive, and also changes to fire risk assessment. The panel, which includes Rob Greenfield, Peter Hall, Jean Hewitt and Michael Morgan from the BIFM Health and Safety Special Interest Group, will discuss what impact these changes will have on FM. 12.30-1pm Good Practice in FM Speaker: Bob Anderson, chairman of the BIFM publications committee. This year will see the publication of more new BIFM Good Practice Guides. Join this session to get a high-level overview of the new guides and take away some new knowledge and key points to implement in your organisation.

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 15

22/9/11 15:58:15

FM OPINION THE DIARY COLUMN DAVID WALKER

“FOR ME, THIS HAS INVOLVED SPACE PLANNING. WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO SIT? WHO DO THEY NEED TO BE NEAR?”

David Walker is facilities project manager at Northumbrian Water

WATER PAL AVER

n 1 October, changes to private sewer O ownership will take place. This has prompted the employment of around 100 members of staff and a series of office changes to accommodate them Many of you by now will have received notification that from 1 October 2011 the responsibility for your private sewers and lateral drains will transfer to the ownership of your local water company.

So what does that mean?

Well, at the minute when surface water or foul sewerage leaves your property it travels through a private drain which serves your building only. This drain is your responsibility.

The water and sewage then enters the public sewer either

directly or through a shared sewer, or it will enter through a lateral drain, which is a drain which travels through neighbouring land. All of these are your responsibility for any problems that may occur. Your local sewerage company only owns and maintains the private sewers.

The Government has decided that, from 1 October, private drains and sewers will be better looked after if the ownership is brought under the sewerage company. There are, as you can guess, a number of ‘what if’s, which I won’t list now,

but there are some benefits in that it will clarify the ownership of the pipework.

It is also estimated that your bills will rise from £3 to £4 per annum.

Now I guess that at this point you may be wondering – what has all this got to do with me?

Well, for a start we have had to employ around 100 new staff to deal with all of this. I would guess that all of these staff – a mixture of contract and in-house personnel – have had to go through an intensive training programme, and then, of course, they require a seat and a desk.

For me, this has involved space planning. Where are they going to sit? Who do they need to be near? What furniture is required?

And then there’s the installation of the new furniture and the moving of existing staff to accommodate them. To give you an idea, at one office I had to squeeze in 24 new

staff; however, I had to move a further 120 in order for this to happen.

In some offices I have had to carry out minor refurbishments – moving walls, decorating, new carpets. All in all, it has kept me busy while I have waited for new projects to start.

I have also been struck by the IT curse over the last week. First of all my phone stopped working (I can hear many of you saying – “what?

No phone?!”). Then my laptop decided to go on the blink. First of all, the safe boot login stopped working so I could not log in. IT staff set up a temporary password which got me logged in but then the computer froze.

After a week or so it was business as normal. The only slight downside was I had to do a presentation to some directors but couldn’t get into my machine for the slides I required. FM

BEST OF THE WEB The latest views, comments and reaction across the web BIFM LinkedIn group discussion thread (http://linkd.in/o5WVOk) Does anyone have experience of LED lighting retrofits? I’m bombarded

by LED stuff from all over the place.

Steve Young: One of my colleagues mentioned the other day that they are doing a UK-wide change from fluorescent lighting to LED for a major high street retailer. They’re providing

1

16 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

16_17_Opinion.indd 14

a turnkey design and installation services and can also provide funding/ guaranteed savings under an ESCO type model.

Lindsay Sharp MBIFM: We looked at LED for our head office (to replace fluorescent), in conjunction with Carbon Trust and our M&E consultant; the view was it was good, but too expensive just now.

Wait a few years until scheduled lighting system

replacement, and LED will be much cheaper. We also looked at LED to replace MR16 fittings, but the need to add the driver meant swapping out 8 MR16s; I was quoted £1,000. The only place I put LEDs are where GU10 fittings are on all the time.

Facilities Management Professionals International (http://

2

linkd.in/nK5Z7L) Mohamed Sedick: Offices or open plan? Your views?

My building, which was originally designed for 350 people is now overloaded with nearly 800 employees due to an ‘open plan’ policy.

Tim Oldman: Mohamed, building capacity will always have a finite point.

This may be the “tethers” of the sardine-tinned occupiers, or on the ability for the “design load” of

the base building and the facilities and features you provide within it, to support employees effectively in the jobs they are employed to do.

We can now prove statistically the relationship between the activities that occupiers undertake and how well they are supported by the workplace, with the employee sense of productivity. www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 15:58:43

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

BEST OF THE

FMWORLD BLOGS Who reigns - customer or client?

John Bowen/FM consultant Recently I’ve been doing some work with clients about the joys of customer service. In one case the delivery of product direct to those that have ordered it; and in the other the delivery of service to various sites where the contract, and therefore the service level, has been placed with a central client.

In the former case things are straightforward; the product is requested and the customer advised as to when it will come. As long as the promise is kept the customer is happy and will come again, or at least in theory, because there are times when the customer doesn’t take account of the fact that what has been ordered has to be put somewhere when it arrives, and they don’t always realise quite how large a delivery might be.

One of the great benefits that I have enjoyed in my managerial career is to have worked in sales, operations and purchasing and so have seen how these three disciplines interlink (or not). I still recall a career low point when I took over a facilities management contract that had been centrally placed with no thought to what was going on at the sharp end.

Off I went to the first quality of service quarterly meeting of my tenure.

We sat either side of the table with the client as they ran through the KPIs. Most were within the required standard, but a couple were not and we got the required dressing down. That dealt with what was actually contractual and relevant to what we were paid, but then we got on to “end user feedback” (complaints). Now there we got pretty well hammered by the people we were serving on a day to day basis in every area, except for the ones where we were failing the KPIs, but it didn’t matter to the client because it wasn’t in the contract.

We turned that contract around, in spite of the intransigent client team, by talking to the people at the top of the organisation about what they really needed from us, not to deliver just for them, but to enable them to deliver what their customers wanted. Contracts should be about what a business needs to succeed, and should be flexible enough to adapt to changing needs.

More from FM World’s blog pages: Ten things worth knowing about London 2012 BIFM London Region’s event about preparing for next year’s Olympics was full of useful information for the capital’s FMs. You may know about the road closures, but are you aware of National Houses? Live Sites? Read on… http://bit.ly/qi1SmR Culture shock Culture changes over time and the FM service must try to respond to this, blogs Michael Pitt, professor of FM Innovation at University College London. http://bit.ly/qvCmKM

FIVE MINUTES WITH NAME: Mark Cosh JOB TITLE: European director COMPANY: SitexOrbis

The best ideas come from the people at the heart of the business and, of course, our clients.

The key risk facing FM companies is delegating responsibility to areas of the business where people may not realise or understand the sensitivity of some security issues.

Vacant property can often make up 2-3 per cent of a portfolio and can account for 70 per cent of losses.

In my experience, facilities managers are not interested in why things may have gone wrong, they are more interested in the resolution.

We have learnt that facilities managers are paying more than they should for security. For example a factory we were securing in Somerset had experienced multiple break-ins and they were paying for 24 hour security guards. We slashed their costs by 90 per cent by installing CCTV which captured images and we were able to take these to the police.

Manned security on vacant property is always a requirement.

Live-in guardians fulfil a certain role in securing a building. But the opportunity lies in identifying the ambition. This solution might work in a vacant church, but it might not be suitable in an empty industrial unit.

Government moves towards making squatting a criminal, rather than civil offence, is good news for property owners. It will make it easier for commercial property landlords and homeowners to evict the estimated 20,000 squatters in the UK as the police can be involved at an early stage.

Interview by Natalie Li

www.fm-world.co.uk

16_17_Opinion.indd 15

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 17

22/9/11 14:56:58

FM FEATURE CASE STUDY NATALIE LI

SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE SITE: 24,270 NUMBER OF STAFF IN ORGANISATION: 214 NUMBER OF STAFF ON FM TEAM: FOUR IN-HOUSE, MANAGING VARIOUS EXTERNAL CONTRACTORS CLEANING: JOSE’S CREW SECURITY: PORTOBELLO DOCK/SFM M&E MAINTENANCE: EDMUNDS SERVICES LIMITED ARCHITECT: STIFF & TREVILLION CONSULTING ENGINEER: ARUP PROJECT MANAGER: QUANTEM CONSULTING MAIN CONTRACTOR: PARKERAY

FRUITS OF THEIR LABOURS PHOTOGRAPHY: SAM KESTEVEN/INNOCENT

Innocent Drinks serves up popular fruitpacked smoothies. Natalie Li finds that at Fruit Towers, the FM department goes bananas for creating a home from home

18 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

18_20_InnocentDS.indd 18

M

oving home after 11 years in the same building was bound to evoke emotions among staff at Innocent Drinks.

The smoothie manufacturer began business in the back room of a flat in West London. But it firmly laid down its roots in the open plan industrial unit in the Goldhawk Estate in Hammersmith for more than a decade.

Transferring this fun, quirky environment to a new building would inevitably present an enormous challenge.

Since its inception, the company has promoted the importance of creating an inspirational and healthy working environment for its staff.

This resulted in the Hammersmith unit space being fitted out as the company evolved and grew – artificial grass covered the floor space; staff adorned every surface with creative

pictures, doodles and memories.

It became a home from home.

But in April 2011, the facilities team, known as the environment team (e-team), undertook a project to move around 200 staff members to a light and airy office building spread across six floors in Portobello Docks, Ladbroke Grove in west London. This regenerated part of London was developed by Derwent London (also responsible for the Shoreditch Tea Building).

The site, a converted Victorian rubbish interchange on the Grand Union Canal, houses the Virgin Records building where Richard Branson made his first million.

Innocent’s other neighbours include British designer Tom Dixon, and Dutch designer Marcel Wanders has a studio and showroom on the estate.

The move, which happened at around Easter time this year came after the Goldhawk Estate in Hammersmith was sold by the www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 17:39:59

INNOCENT

Pulling together: staff cut nonessential power to the building overnight (left); staff congregate in the main hub to eat and share ideas (centre)

landlords. Although the Innocent team was very happy in their then building, they saw the opportunity for growth and positive change.

The e-team searched for some time to locate a new office on favourable rates. It was vital that new offices were situated close by to enable a swift and seamless move.

Changing places John Durham, head of IT and environment led the move alongside project manager, Jenny Middleton – both working with estate landlord, Derwent, to retrofit the building.

“It was crucial we were able to make fundamental alterations to the building to fit in with our needs. We worked closely with Derwent to communicate our vision,” explains Durham.

With a floor space of 4,000 square feet on each of the five floors, the team was faced with www.fm-world.co.uk

18_20_InnocentDS.indd 19

the challenge of replicating the collaborative space which existed, and worked effectively, in the Goldhawk estate.

“We needed to retain the Innocent principle of not sitting in teams, but mixed together.

This had worked well for the last decade. In our old industrial unit space, teams were united all on one floor plate. But now we had to recreate this community spirit in the new office.”

Retrofitting the main kitchen hub area was crucial in creating a reincarnation of the old building to instil familiarity. It was also paramount to create a space where the whole company could gather for the weekly Monday morning meeting to share ideas and update on progress. To achieve this, the environment team took the decision to sacrifice some of the first floor space in the building and remove two thirds of this floor space to create a double height

space on the ground floor. This resulted in a conjoined area where staff can eat, meet and greet in a huge open plan area, overlooking the canal. This main hub has been a huge success, says environment manager, Charlie Heavey.

The artificial grass, associated with the Innocent brand, has been reinstated in the main hub, as well as across all floors. Picnic benches sit in the centre of the ground floor space for informal meetings and lunches. A large, inviting kitchen, stocked with fresh fruit, is available for all staff to use. Two cosy booths in the corner of the ground floor are flanked by a wall of staff baby photos.

A table-tennis table provides lunchtime entertainment, and, in a glass-fronted room, a team dressed in white coats carries out product development. In the Goldhawk Estate, the product development kitchen was in the heart of the office. Bringing it back into the

centre of the business space was a key requirement. This is where all the innovation and quality testing takes place, indeed, the glass partition bears the legend, “where the magic happens”, which is a pithy summary of the room’s function. It is the spot where staff can test recipes and offer suggestions and feedback.

The space is undoubtedly warm and inviting with a strong sense of community, bringing the best of the old office into the new, says Heavey.

Environment team With her environment team, made up of Conor, known as the ‘office superman’ and two receptionists, affectionately called ‘office angels’, Heavey was responsible for managing the move and instilling a sense of the familiar. Each member of the environment team has been allocated a floor to look after and inspect every week.

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 19

22/9/11 17:40:19

FM FEATURE CASE STUDY NATALIE LI

PROFILE

A light indicates to staff when staf can open windows to let fresh air in (right); product research in progress (bottom)

SMOOTH OPERATION ambridge graduates Adam Balon, Richard Reed and Jon Wright sold their first smoothies at a music festival in 1998. Today, Innocent Drinks is now the number one smoothie brand in the UK. Innocent sells more than two million pure fruit smoothies each week in 11,000 outlets. The company turns over more than £100 million each year. The team has now expanded from the three original founders to 250 people, who are based across the Fruit Towers offices in London, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Hamburg and Salzburg.

C

“There is no doubt it was a daunting task, she admits, but the ‘Innocent touches’ still remain.”

A tour around the building reveals an open-plan feel. Hot desking is encouraged and teams working on the same projects tend to congregate in the same area.

Innocent’s founders are evenly spread across the office too – a management corner is nonexistent in this office. Bespoke desk systems made from FSC certified woodwork contain pull-out drawers that double up as desk seats to hold informal meetings.

A roof terrace provides views across London and a retreat area from the main office – an ideal spot for office summer parties.

Doors are held open during the day by magnetic locks on each floor to increase the feeling of space and introduce a welcoming atmosphere, rather than closing offices off into separate areas.

Creatures of habit “It was a great opportunity to break any bad habits from the last office – and so we were strict on reducing clutter,” says Heavey.

“This involved auctioning off old belongings but bringing some of the old touches, like the red telephone box onto the first floor.”

Five years with Innocent has kept Heavey well versed on the brand’s vision and how to reflect this throughout the office. With a deep respect for the importance of good design – she is a former art consultant – she has begun reinventing elements at the new office to introduce a more formalised approach, and has produced an office manual to document the process.

Contracts have been renegotiated since the move and a new relationship established with M&E contractor, Edmunds Services Limited.

Facilities on each floor have been minimised with just a simple tea/coffee making station, which 20 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

18_20_InnocentDS.indd 20

draws focus to the large communal kitchen space on the ground floor – encouraging people to leave their desks and increase circulation throughout the building. Even toilets have become informative spaces with blackboards – an unlikely, but innovative, space for people to share thoughts and ideas.

Striking the work-life balance meant ensuring the new office incorporated a first floor gym and changing rooms with showers.

Cycling to work is encouraged and easy bike parking is ensured with around 65 spaces across the shared estate.

Cool runnings The team modified the base build displaced-air cooling system in favour of a new ‘mixed-mode’ model. It seemed a simple but effective concept to save energy, explains Durham.

“When the temperature of the

outside air is nearer what we want inside, a green light surrounded by the words ‘fresh air time’ illuminates on each floor letting people know that they can open the windows, enjoy the fresh air and save energy in the process.

“When the light comes on, the chiller on the roof is turned off with only the air handling units remaining on to draw fresh air from outside through the opened windows and round the building.

“We are hoping to see a material saving in our energy consumption and costs as a result of the change.”

The building is a BREEAM ‘good’ building, and maintaining green credentials saw the team successfully hit a 99 per cent recycle rate for the strip out and fit-out works.

Dual circuits are fitted on each floor – one to look after the computers and the other to power

all the lamps, monitors and phone chargers; this latter circuit can be powered down each night. A ‘last leaver pulls lever’ switch on the wall cuts all non-essential power overnight.

Part of forming new habits across the workplace resulted in a new recycling programme for all office waste, including composting and soft plastic recycling. Fob based printing (swipe security fob to start printing) avoids wasted paper – a predicted reduction of 30,000 pages per year – and the team hopes to reduce printing costs by 30 per cent.

The FM team works hard to support workers, making themselves approachable. “The office represents who we are – open and transparent. There is definitely a ‘work hard, play hard’ mantra that is both professional and focused. Creating an innovative space can support this work ethic.” FM www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 17:40:38

FMW.29.09.11.021.indd 1

15/9/11 13:48:50

FM FEATURE DISABILITY SUSAN SCOTT-PARKER

EACH TO THEIR OWN Realising that every user has a unique set of IT needs is a key step in unlocking the potential of your workforce, says Susan Scott-Parker

ccepted wisdom suggests that information technology is meant to serve a business.

The computers you use are meant to cut costs and increase productivity; they are supposed to lead to happier customers; they are supposed to protect you from legal risk and reduce frustrations. They are supposed to enable you; to make life easier for everyone who uses them.

But the reality is that IT often gets in the way. Systems are designed according to their own conventions rather than taking account of how colleagues or customers actually need to use them, and making changes can be expensive. Worse still, not making changes can be legally risky.

It’s common sense that as many people as possible need to be able to use your systems as effectively as they can. This helps colleagues perform better and it means that your customers can interact efficiently, improving sales and

A

22 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

22_25_Disability.indd 22

driving conversion rates.

What’s now more apparent than ever is that different people interact very differently with the systems they need day-to-day.

Some of these interactions differ because of needs or technologies – a visitor printing their own badge using a self-service terminal in your reception has quite different requirements to a colleague who is uploading content to your website or updating records in your CRM system.

However, some of these interactions differ because users have different abilities and skills and some have impairments that affect their ability to interact with technology.

Answering the call You and your chief information officer need to respond to these issues, and so your technology – your IT system – needs to cater for the differences between users.

There are two angles to this.

First, business performance: if every user can interact in a way that suits them, they are likely to be more comfortable, more efficient and more effective in how they use the technology they need. This is likely to help your colleagues do their jobs more effectively and your customers interact with you more smoothly.

The business benefits may be difficult to quantify in cash terms, but are nonetheless real.

Second, there’s a legal requirement to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for employees and customers who have a disability, to ensure they can work or use your services without being disadvantaged. With IT services this might mean making sure a customer can increase the font size displayed on a self-service terminal, or installing voice recognition software for an employee who can’t type at speed.

This means thinking about differences every time you’re www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 13:56:40

DISABILITY

www.fm-world.co.uk

22_25_Disability.indd 23

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 23

22/9/11 13:57:03

FM FEATURE DISABILITY SUSAN SCOTT-PARKER

procuring IT products and services, and every time you’re providing them to users. In an ideal world, you’d start at the design stage, thinking about how different users need to interact with the system and how to remove the barriers that will get in the way of different groups. This might mean choosing a product you know will interact properly with specialist assistive technologies, like a voice recognition package.

Valuing your assets In practice, at least in the short term, it’s likely to come down to how you can enable all your users to make best use of the technology you already have. Whether your desktop IT services are provided

and supported in house or by an outsourcing provider, you need to understand what is possible and agree in advance who must do what.

Outsourcing your IT services does not transfer the responsibility for getting it right. You will get the business benefits from colleagues and customers who can use your services effectively.

However, you also risk bad publicity and a possible claim for disability discrimination if someone cannot do their job because you or your service provider has not made an legally required adjustment.

This need not be difficult. Many simple adjustments can take place just with features that are already

built into every PC. Empowering users to manage these themselves is something that’s seen as good practice by the corporate members of the Employers’ Forum on Disability’s Business Taskforce on Accessible Technology.

Changing a screen or mouse or installing additional software, may be more complicated for an individual user. However, good practice is to ensure that even this level of change is simple for colleagues and line managers to set in motion.

Recognising that the most common adjustments include ergonomics (for example, chairs) and working hours, one model is for the facilities helpdesk to provide a single point of contact,

and for the technology needed for most common IT adjustments to already have been tested and part of the organisation’s IT catalogue.

Ownership of the process should be defined, perhaps by sitting with a single case manager for each staff member involved, and thinking about cost implications. One option is to meet the costs of adjustments in house if this is the case, they should be managed centrally rather than each one being charged to a local manager’s cost centre.

No doubt the arguments for the costs to be met client side or by the outsourcing provider can be rehearsed in full during negotiations, but it’s clear that

PC TOOLS

Already built into the operating system

Who it might help – examples

Enlarging the default font size

Users with low vision

Enable an on-screen magnifier

Users with low vision

Change the PC colour scheme

Users with dyslexia – coloured backgrounds can make text easier to follow Users with low vision – high contrast can help

Change document background colour

Users with dyslexia

Enlarge mouse pointer

Users who find it difficult to hit individual keys accurately (in Windows, FilterKeys ignores a key you have accidentally brushed against), or who cannot press ‘shift’ and a letter at the same time

Different mouse or keyboard

Left-handed users Users with limited upper limb mobility

Larger screen

Users with low vision

Screenreader software

Users with low vision Blind users

Screen magnifier software

Users with low vision

Voice recognition software

Users with dyslexia Users who find typing difficult

24 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

22_25_Disability.indd 24

DREAMSTIME

Additional hardware or software

www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 13:57:22

DISABILITY

the price of adjustments is far less than the costs implied by poor performance, staff absence or the need to recruit when a member of staff is forced to leave.

Finally, the helpdesk should understand the implications of such adjustments where something goes wrong. An individual who uses specialist software can’t just switch to a different PC while their own is fixed: they would benefit from a tighter service level agreement to get them working again as soon as possible.

Working in partnership with your provider is vital to ensure that the services deliver on the needs of your business and your users, and this is just as important if you are procuring new systems. Simple design decisions, whether it’s for a website or for a desktop system, can make all the difference between the technology being accessible to all users, including those who can’t use a mouse or need to use screen

reading software, or shutting out particular groups.

There are all sorts of standards that look at IT accessibility from a technical standpoint, but perhaps the most important thing is to judge how well your supplier understands the subject.

Inevitably, it’s subjective, but it may be helpful to judge the quality of the supplier’s answer to open questions rather than asking them to complete a checklist.

If the supplier can describe their approach to IT accessibility, or outline any differences a user with an impairment will see when using the product, this suggests they have thought about what they – and you – will need to consider for your users.

Agreeing an approach at the outset can minimise problems and maximise the usability and accessibility of your systems in the future. FM Susan Scott-Parker is founder and chief executive of the Employers’ Forum on Disability.

“THERE’S A LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO MAKE ‘REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS’ FOR EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS TO ENSURE THEY CAN USE YOUR SERVICES WITHOUT BEING DISADVANTAGED” ORGANISATION PROFILE

Employers’ Forum on Disability and the Business Taskforce on Accessible Technology Employers’ Forum on Disability (EFD) is the world’s leading employers’ organisation focused on disability as it affects business. EFD has around 400 members who, in total, employ around 20 per cent of the UK workforce. The EFD supports them in mainstreaming their employment of persons with disabilities and their provision of services to employees and customers with disabilities.

EFD’s Business Taskforce on Accessible Technology brings together leading global ICT suppliers and corporate purchasers to mainstream accessibility across all ICT-enabled processes. For more information visit: www.btat.org.

www.fm-world.co.uk

22_25_Disability.indd 25

CASE STUDY

LLOYDS WORKPLACE ADJUSTMENT PROCESS loyds Banking Group has always taken providing workplace adjustments for disabled colleagues seriously, but the process that was originally implemented in 2000 was suffering from weaknesses. In 2010, Mark Fisher, director of group operations, in his role as executive sponsor for disability, was determined to ensure the process was improved.

Working in partnership with Atkins Global (which manages the Group FM helpdesk) in March last year, Lloyds developed a process that aims to reduce the endto-end time for even complex adjustments to 20 working days.

Once a colleague or their manager has identified that adjustments might be beneficial, the Atkins helpline serves as the first point of contact.

Every individual gets their own case manager from specialist supplier Microlink. The case manager works with a further specialist, AbilityNet, to ensure a full assessment of the colleague’s needs to establish what changes will be best for them and for the business.

Lloyds has pre-approved a wide range of assistive technology solutions, which are now part of its standard IT catalogue. If one of these technologies is the best solution for the colleague concerned, Microlink can order it directly from the catalogue: it is fulfilled and deployed through normal channels.

If the assessor recommends a product that isn’t in the catalogue, this triggers an individual approval process aimed at deploying the solution as soon as possible.

In all cases, if the colleague needs training (perhaps on new screen-reading or voice-recognition software), this takes place as part of the deployment process, as does a diarised three month follow-up and on-going support.

The new process has helped ensure the speedy implementation of adjustments and Atkins provides clear intelligence on costs – the average spend on IT adjustments is just £126. “The benefits go beyond this relatively small investment”, says Fisher. “Users now feel genuinely valued by the organisation, are able to give their best and contribute to the success of the group.”

L

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 25

22/9/11 13:57:39

“I HAVE ENOUGH ON MY PLATE WITHOUT HAVING TO CONSIDER WHETHER WE’VE CHOSEN THE RIGHT SUBCONTRACTORS” Duncan Pierce, Director, Page Associates

ECA electrical contractors are periodically assessed to ensure their technical competence

ONE LESS THING TO WORRY ABOUT. FMW.29.09.11.026-027.indd 2

15/9/11 13:53:03

To find an ECA contractor that’s right for you:

www.eca.co.uk FMW.29.09.11.026-027.indd 3

15/9/11 13:53:17

FM FEATURE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

NATIONAL TREASURE A refurbishment of chillers serving the National Archives at Kew has ensured that the UK’s key historical records are being protected, while achieving savings in running costs, explains Kevin Skinner

PA

The National Archives’ (TNA) collection of over 11 million historical government and public records is one of the largest in the world.

From the Domesday Book to modern government papers and digital files, its collection includes paper and parchment, electronic records and websites, photographs, posters, maps, drawings and paintings.

The right environmental conditions in TNA’s repositories at Kew are crucial to maintaining the nation’s heritage for generations to come. Unless temperature and humidity levels are strictly controlled, these important documents could suffer lasting damage.

Conditions are very tightly controlled in the repositories. Space temperatures are controlled at 18 ± 1ºC and humidity levels to 50 ±5 per cent.

Ecovert FM’s special projects team is tasked with keeping these figures constant.

The team has recently carried out a full replacement of the chiller units supplying the older

28 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

28_29_National Archives.indd 28

22/9/11 15:59:21

NATIONAL ARCHIVES

of TNA’s two repositories, dubbed ‘Q1’. Three obsolete machines have been replaced by three units from Klima-Therm’s Turbomiser range. Turbomiser is the result of a joint development programme by UK companies Klima-Therm and Cool-Therm, and Italian manufacturer Geoclima.

The original screw compressor chillers were over 15 years old and one had failed terminally. Spares were difficult to obtain for those models which today would be considered inefficient. Also, they ran on the R22 refrigerant, which is now banned for new models.

Handling the heat The National Archives’ specification called for chilled water at 2ºC at certain times of the year for the repository’s constant air volume and variable air volume air conditioning systems, while also maintaining water at 6ºC to common area air handling units (AHUs). The 24/7 operation also demanded reliability and enhanced environmental credentials over the old system, both in terms of running costs and the refrigerant gases used.

Ecovert FM worked with design consultants Ian Mackay Associates to develop the concept, opting for Klima-Therm Turbomiser chillers primarily for their efficiency and proposed energy savings.

Three 910 kW water-cooled Turbomiser models were selected, each featuring three oil-free, variable speed centrifugal compressors. These operate on a fully-flooded immersion type shell and tube evaporator.

Selection proved to be the easy part – it was the chillers’ location in the lower ground floor plantroom at Kew that gave the team something to think about.

Also, there were severe limitations because of the height, size and shape of the equipment and the space that the contractors were working with. The chillers are effectively bespoke units specially designed to fit. The restricted plant room access meant that the compressors had to be removed from the chillers and lifted back on once in the plant room.

This, of course, was only after the operation had been carried out in reverse on the old chillers.

The importance of preserving the documents meant there could be no loss of control of environmental conditions, so chilled water production had to be continuously maintained

while the refurbishment was taking place.

The dead machine was removed first, leaving the other two running, Then, the first chiller was installed.

Once that was up and running and online, the two remaining old machines could be removed with the chilled water supply maintained.

Due to the obvious importance of humidity control at the National Archives, the building management system (BMS) has been developed to determine the most beneficial instantaneous chilled water temperature for dehumidification within the archives.

The new chillers operate on a variable chilled water output, down to 2ºC when the building requires lower water temperatures.

The equipment has now been up and running since January this year. The National Archives monitored energy use for February and March 2011 against the previous year, finding that the new chillers have helped bring about a 42 per cent reduction in running costs.

For Ecovert FM, it has taken quite a bit of getting used to the different sounds that the new units make, as they are considerably quieter. What’s more, the units can start off on just 5A of current and appear capable of stopping and starting again for an unlimited amount of times each day. Ecovert FM has opted to use the same type of chillers for Barnet Hospital and North Middlesex Hospital, with installations at other Ecovert FM clients under review.

As well as supplying the chillers, Klima-Therm was instrumental in the project as the installing design and build contractor. A tough and involving project for the chiller manufacturer, but ultimately a rewarding one.

Klima-Therm was able to tailor the equipment to the specific needs of The National Archives, making the actual installation of the equipment a relatively straightforward operation. With the help of MEIT Associates, the company was able to implement construction consultant Ian Mackay’s concept of variable chilled water temperature in a secondary water system designed for 6ºC. For Ecovert FM, the biggest challenge was in maintaining water at 6ºC to common area air handler units (AHUs) while still generating water at 2ºC for the archives. FM Kevin Skinner is manager special projects at Ecovert FM, a total facilities management provider

UNLESS HUMIDITY LEVELS ARE STRICTLY CONTROLLED, IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS COULD SUFFER LASTING DAMAGE FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER | 29

28_29_National Archives.indd 29

22/9/11 15:59:52

FM FEATURE NICK MARTINDALE WORKPLACE LAW

T

he common commencement date of 1 October sees the introduction of two pieces of legislation which have, in various forms, been hanging over the heads of employers – and facilities practitioners – for some time.

The impact of the abolition of the default retirement age (DRA) – finally making it illegal to force someone to retire on the grounds of age – and the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), which grant equal rights to temporary workers employed through employment agencies after 12 weeks, will be most keenly felt in HR and legal departments. But as is so often the case, FM professionals will also need to be aware of the key points to ensure the new regulations are implemented in practice.

The abolition of the DRA, in particular, could have implications for FM, both in how they manage their internal and contracted workforces and for the wider facilities set-up. Ali Moran, HR consultant at Workplace Law, points out that the removal of an automatic age at which people can be made to retire could make workforce planning more difficult.

“But it is possible when you have an annual review or one-to-one meeting to enquire of everybody what their future plans are, and whether they see themselves staying in the same job. That would then hopefully allow a person to say they might be thinking of retiring,” she says.

Asking the question For Claire-Jayne Howden, HR manager at soft FM service provider Servest, the biggest issue will be training managers to have a different kind of conversation with those employees who are approaching an age at which they might be thinking of retirement, particularly if their ability to do the job has diminished. “You can 30 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

30_32_Legislation.indd 30

AGE CONCERN From 1 October, it will be illegal to force staff to retire on age grounds.

Also, agency workers will be entitled to equal benefits as permanent staff after 12 weeks. Nick Martindale explains the impact for FMs

www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 16:55:07

WORKPLACE LAW

an external supplier, where the in-house FM team may pick up on substandard work or cases where it is becoming increasingly apparent that an older individual may be struggling, especially in more physical areas such as catering or cleaning.

Right to refuse “Where a company purchases services from an FM supplier they often have the right to say they don’t want that person any more and they need to find a replacement,” says Moran.

“Providing that the supplier has done some due diligence in terms of making sure there’s no unlawfulness behind that request – if the client didn’t like the person because they were getting old that would be a risky strategy – and if they can prove the person’s capabilities have diminished, the FM supplier is then tasked with finding a replacement.” In this case service providers could look to deploy the individual in a less demanding role, she says, or there could be grounds for dismissal.

“NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO REVISIT THOSE SUPPLIER CONTRACTS TO ENSURE THEY DO INCLUDE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE”

GETTY

Contract focus

talk about different jobs they could potentially do or about reducing hours and that may be something the employee really wants to look into,” she adds.

“But it is uncomfortable when you get an employee who says they want to stay exactly as they are and they don’t want to have a conversation about their performance because they’ve worked there for 30 years.”

The critical aspect here is effective performance management, says Euan Smith, employment partner in the FM practice of McGrigor’s law firm. www.fm-world.co.uk

30_32_Legislation.indd 31

“It should not be assumed that workers will not be able to cope with the demands of a physical role simply because of their age,” he says. “If physical capability is an integral part of a role, then the performance assessment for that role should recognise that, and all workers fulfilling that role should be assessed to the same standards.

In that way, any worker, of whatever age, who is incapable of fulfilling the physical aspects of the role may be replaced.”

For facilities managers, there’s also the added dimension of managing staff provided through

Denham Bell, a partner at commercial law firm Mundays, suggests now would be a good time to revisit those supplier contracts to ensure they do include the right to refuse to have someone provided by a third party perform a certain role.

“There should always be an awareness of the contract that you’ve entered into and in reality the law is so fast changing in this day and age that there should be regular reviews of contracts anyway,” he says. “We’ve often had companies saying they have contracts and they’ve never had to rely on them but now they need to, and they’re often four or five years old and the world has moved on.”

An older workforce can also

have implications for the wider workplace, particularly with the broader definition of disability introduced under the 2010 Equality Act. “There’s a lot FMs can do to think this through for themselves,” suggests Andrew Mawson, managing director of Advanced Workplace Associates.

“You’d expect as people get older that eyesight becomes a bigger issue, posture and musculoskeletal injuries are probably a greater concern and maybe there’s a need to provide greater health support in the workplace. Even people’s hearing can drift off FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 31

22/9/11 16:01:52

FM FEATURE NICK MARTINDALE WORKPLACE LAW

after the age of about 55.”

“If a provision, criterion or practice within the workplace places older people at a substantial disadvantage when compared to younger people, then it may be necessary to remove the challenging element,” says Stuart Neilson, employment partner at McGrigors. “Whether or not change is necessary will depend on whether the challenging element is justified. It will only be justified if it is a proportionate way of achieving a legitimate business objective.”

“STAFF WHO COME THROUGH AN AGENCY AND STAY FOR 12 WEEKS ARE ENTITLED TO THE SAME REMUNERATION”

But while the abolition of the DRA will create headaches for those in FM, there is a more positive view, with in-house and external teams able to benefit from individuals’ skills and experiences for longer. “It’s not just about age; it’s about competency and fitness to work,” says Lionel Prodgers, director of Agents4FM. “Companies will always want to employ experienced workers and there are examples I know where people have worked well beyond retirement age, regardless of any new legislation. Their attributes, knowledge and skills are rated.”

The AWR, meanwhile, will have an impact on FM practitioners who source labour such as cleaners or security staff through employment agencies, rather than through service providers which directly employ their own staff.

The most important element is to ensure that staff who have been with the organisation for more than 12 weeks receive equal rates of pay, but this also extends to equal access to facilities within the workplace, from day one.

“The AWR requires that all agency workers have access to collective facilities and amenities to the same extent as a comparable permanent worker would have,” says Neilson at 32 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

30_32_Legislation.indd 32

GETTY

On the bright side

McGrigors. “This includes access to a workplace canteen; crèche; on-site toilets or shower facilities; prayer room; mother-and-baby room; on-site parking; on-site gym and transport services. But it will not include car allowances or company cars, access to off-site facilities such as subsidised gym membership off-site or off-site car parking.”

It does not, however, put agency workers at an advantage to permanent employees, so if there is a limited amount of carparking space, for example, they will have to fit in with the existing eligibility criteria.

“Managers will have to pay far more attention to who is employed and doing what because there is no getting around the fact that those people who come in under an agency and work there for 12 weeks are entitled to have the same remuneration in terms of cash benefits,” adds Bell.

“A example of that is if you have someone with a permanent workforce and they offer childcare vouchers, they will have to offer

those vouchers to agency workers who have been there for 12 weeks. I don’t think many people have realised the extent of the impact of this.”

Time to reflect Inevitably, FM will have to assess its use of such labour in the light of the new regulations, as well as putting in place measures to ensure they are not accidentally caught out. “If companies are using an agency directly and are always getting the same people they will need to start thinking about whether they want to start rotating people once they get to the 12-week point,” suggests Moran at Workplace Law. “They need to balance whether it’s going to cost any extra once they’ve hit that trigger point against the cost of changing the team every 10 weeks.”

The starting point should be to assess how many agency workers FM uses, she adds, and to establish how many of these could potentially end up working for longer than a 12-week stint,

she adds, before evaluating the likely impact on workplace facilities, costs and any added administrative burden.

Yet despite the additional requirements, the AWR should not pose too much of a problem for responsible employers, says Ian Fielder, chief executive of the BIFM. “If you take on temporary staff and you’re going to employ them longer than 12 weeks, why wouldn’t you give them access to your cafeteria or car parking?” he asks.

“Other than changing their instructions to their employment agencies to give them details of how people can apply for jobs advertised internally – and there will need to be a communication shift to make sure that information is available not only to the agency but also to the temporary worker – this is probably only an issue for those who abuse the system. I would see this as good news.” FM Nick Martindale is a freelance business journalist, editor and copywriter working in the FM sector

www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 16:55:25

We help you sleep better at night

✓ Air quality ✓ Water quality ✓ Occupancy comfort ✓ Hygiene and cleanliness ✓ Maintenance standards

NDEN

ADVICE

OF

PE

T

INDE

Independence

YE

With our Workplace Environmental Assessments you can be comfortable that you’re always receiving objective unbiased advice from an independent organisation. The only one in the UK with UKAS accreditation to carry out sampling, transport and analysis of air and water samples offering you complete protection.

ARS

Independent health, safety and environmental consultancy t 0844 800 7705 e info@elementus.com w elementus.com

Combine this with our expert knowledge and Assurity, our free easy-to-use online management system, and you’ll have total transparency. Not only to deliver genuine improvements to the quality of your workplace environment but also to identify potential cost savings.

It all adds up to a better nights sleep.

FMW.29.09.11.033.indd 1

15/9/11 13:49:44

FM MONITOR STEVE DOLBY

TECHNICAL

Steve Dolby, operations and marketing manager, Woodpecker Energy UK

G REEN IN G YOUR H EAT I N G SYST EM

n light of the forthcoming Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, there’s never been a better time to consider renewable fuel sources such as biomass, says Steve Dolby

ISTOCK

I

Almost all businesses have been affected by the rising price of gas and oil. While this pressure is mainly financial, many organisations are also pushing to improve their own environmental credentials. Renewable energy is becoming an increasingly attractive option as a result.

Alternative energy Replacing fossil fuels with renewables is the main goal of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which is expected to come into force later this year. The scheme supports the government’s aim to generate 12 per cent of heat from renewable sources by 2020.

The first phase of a marketready Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme opened on 1 August this year and Ofgem (the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) will be inviting applications for eligible microgeneration installations from September 2011.

Under the scheme, public, 34 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

34_Technical.indd 34

commercial, agricultural and industrial sector buildings will be eligible to install renewable energy technologies. Owners will be paid for every kilowatthour of heat produced from renewable sources. Tariffs for using renewable energy sources will be paid for the next 20 years, for renewable heat systems commissioned after 29 July 2009.

In order to be eligible for RHI funding, systems with an output below 45kW have to be accredited through the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).

This quality assurance scheme certifies the technology used to produce electricity and heat from renewable sources in terms of supply, design, installation, set-to-work and commissioning.

Benefits of biomass Among the technologies that are eligible under the RHI, biomass is sometimes overlooked in favour of more ‘visible’ technologies. But there is also a lack of awareness

about financial incentives, the technologies available and where to get the right information, as well as often prohibitive upfront costs.

Facilities managers may wonder how biomass heating systems differ from the more familiar oil and gas versions. The answer is, not much. Biomass boilers do take a little longer to heat up than a gas or oil boiler and a buffer tank needs to be incorporated to avoid short cycling and to provide day-to-day instant access to hot water and heating. But otherwise the user experience can be very similar to a gas or oil heating system, except for the fact that biomass is a renewable fuel.

In terms of installation, modern biomass heating systems can be retrofitted very easily and cheaply, requiring little maintenance and monitoring. The installation is covered under the building regulations in the same way gas and oil appliances are.

Chip off the old block?

Biomass heating systems work with different types of biomass fuels, such as wood chip, wood log, or wood pellets. Of these, wood pellets are by far the easiest to handle, transport and store.

They have very low moisture and ash content, which results in a clean burn with little residue.

Wood pellets can be delivered by a bulk tanker and blown into a silo store. An automatic pelletfeeding system then fuels the boiler – there is no need to feed the boiler manually.

Made from compressed, virginmanaged timber sources or from waste products such as sawdust and mill off cuts, wood pellets are an extremely green source of fuel.

Wood pellet-fuelled biomass heating systems only require

about a quarter of the space needed for similar log or chip installations, for the fuel and the boiler combined. A 150kW boiler, for example, has a compact footprint of 1.86m x 1.63m and can fit into facility rooms with limited space and access. Its ‘fly-by-wire’ controls allow service engineers to remotely view and manage its operation.

Compliance check Biomass heating systems easily and cheaply achieve compliance with Code Level 4 and can help comply with an increasing number of regulations. When properly specified and installed, using locally produced fuel sources, biomass heating systems are truly carbon neutral and sustainable, so they may also help companies to adhere to the Carbon Reduction Commitment. Biomass heating can reduce a building’s CO2 emissions by up to 50 per cent.

One of the most important considerations for companies is the cost. Here, too, biomass heating systems perform well, as they can help reduce heating costs by a third. The capital investment in biomass heating can be considerable, but as more incentives become available and regulations come into force, biomass heating systems will become a familiar part of public and commercial buildings.

In conclusion With the very real threat of rising prices for fossil fuels, any building that has a biomass heating system will be an attractive investment for both buyers and tenants. Add to that the earning potential from the Renewable Heat Incentive and biomass could be an organisation’s next great investment. FM www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 14:57:30

Glide™ – the silent partner

When was the last time you noticed workplace storage?

Understated yet stylish, functional yet dynamic, Bisley storage quietly keeps businesses working.

Scan code for more info

Glide™ cabinets close with a perfectly smooth silent action and the perforated finish has the benefit of improving acoustics in an open plan environment. With quality, durability and craftmanship, our market-leading workplace storage enables business to work smarter.

FMW.29.09.11.035.indd 1

www.bisley.com

info@bisley.com

+44(0)1483 485 600

20/9/11 16:44:44

FM MONITOR DAVID LOWE

HOW TO…

UK director of Océ Business Services David Lowe

DOCU M EN T OUT S O URCI N G

aper and digital documents are the lifeblood of many organisations. David Lowe offers six tips for FMs who want to get to know their document processes

P

Your business is a living organism.

Its vital organs are the divisions selling your products and services, supported by teams processing the orders, paying suppliers and providing customer service.

Powering all of this activity are your documents – the organisational bloodstream.

Without the information and continuity provided by the flow of documents, whether paper or electronic, the organisation would die as surely as a body does when starved of oxygen.

This may surprise anyone to whom ‘document’ means no more than a yellowing sheet of paper imprisoned in a filing cabinet. But it’s essential if organisations are to understand the critical importance of how they outsource their document processes.

Win the paper chase By approaching your document outsourcing strategy with a refreshed outlook, facilities professionals can consider the sheer scale of documentation in any organisation. Just by walking the floors of an office, it is easy to notice just how far documentation, and related workflows penetrate every working day of every employee’s life.

Whether the document is sitting on a computer, printed out, or even presented to clients in glossy brochure form, the document is still the core method of formal communication between individuals in a team and between companies and their 36 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

34_How_To.indd 34

consumers. In a recovering market, the value of bringing control to these disparate activities and applying them to your business goals has never been so important.

1⁄

Business processes

It is essential that forward-thinking organisations consider how business processes are powered by information and document management. The document process is the business process. By understanding the lifecycle of a document – how the document enters the company via mail and email, moves into the workflow of a particular division, is processed and finally moved into archive or sent back out to customers and suppliers – you have started the journey towards understanding how effectively documents are used in your business.

2⁄

Choosing the important processes

What is your company trying to achieve in the next three years?

Make more money? Produce the next killer product? Save your clients more money while maintaining your margins? These are the hard questions you will ask of your business when aiming to identify the core business processes you need to optimise. Whether it is to improve your supplier payments or to design punchier marketing collateral, you will need to engage on a deeper level with your

document management processes, and prioritise the areas that need most attention.

3⁄

What does ‘good’ look like?

Now that you have recognised the value of the document process and have prioritised the processes that need most attention, it is important that you run a gap analysis. Benchmarking with other businesses, or even seeing what the competition is up to can help, but ultimately an evaluation of ‘what good looks like’ against your three-year strategy can only be answered by you and your colleagues.

Document outsourcing can save your organisation money, or generate new revenues via the installation of clever communications processes. It is important to recognise that some parts of your document enterprise are working better than others.

4⁄

Stakeholders

These processes are likely to have further reach than initially expected. This isn’t a bad thing, merely something that needs identification. Who uses the process versus who supports it? These are likely to require multiple stakeholders in your business, from process owners – such as marketing – to support functions such as IT. All of which are housed in the facilities maintained by the FM community. Everyone is affected, so teamwork here is essential.

5⁄

Understand the costs

Our research has shown that, depending on the industry, an organisation can spend up to 10 to 15 per cent of its revenues on document management activities. The more manual the processes, the more costly it can be to a business.

Optimising these processes with a carefully considered strategy and plan will dramatically reduce the impact of this cost. Leaving these document processes unaccounted for can expose the organisation to costly inefficiencies. So consider for a moment, what kind of business would leave a cost of that magnitude unbudgeted and uncontrolled?

6⁄

Transform your business

New ways of working are having an impact on every part of our lives. The onset of new, increasingly portable digital technologies, married with the growth in the flexible knowledge worker community means that, in the future, document outsourcing service providers sector will be paying more attention to collaborative working. It is important to future-proof your outsourcing, allowing for a world in which the proliferation of information has an in increasing impact on working communities.

As teams are becoming more virtual, so too are the processes you are aiming to outsource. FM

“Document outsourcing can save your organisation money or generate new revenues via the installation of clever communication processes” www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 13:57:57

• • • •

News updated at least five times a day Archive of every FM World article since 2004 Job email alerts Career advice

Coffee and CV fm-world.co.uk/jobs has over 100 job vacancies CoffeeCV HPH.indd 1

SkillZone SkillZone is BIFM’s new interactive e-learning portal available to all facilities management professionals to help you or your team develop business skills in bitesize, adaptable chunks. Courses currently available include:

21/10/10 10:22:15

Business Skills for FMs

Professional development at your fingertips

Negotiation Skills Advanced Negotiation Key Performance Indicators Conversations with Customers Managing Professionals for Results Managing Budgets in the Real World Innovation Thinking Strategically

3 fo

lau

nc

r2

ho

30 Avail No able vem u be ntil r2 01 1

ffe r

Want to start developing your skillset with SkillZone?

www.bifm-skillzone.org.uk Try our free taster unit from Thinking Strategically, and find out how SkillZone can help you develop your own or your team’s skills today at www.bifm-skillzone.org.uk

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 37

FMW.29.09.11.037.indd Sec1:37

20/9/11 16:47:04

FM MONITOR KAREN JAMES

LEGAL UPDATE

Karen James is commercial manager at LIME, the total waste division of PHS Datashred

WASTE REG U L AT I O N S 2 0 1 1 — EN G L AN D AND WA L ES

ew European waste regulations coming N into force this month aim to make businesses greener by formalising the process of transferring waste between organisations 28th September 2011, companies will be required to adhere to the new Waste Hierarchy before disposing of their rubbish.

Businesses will be responsible for monitoring the type of waste they produce, the volume of it, the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes and the methods of disposal used.

The hierarchy sets out, in order of priority, the waste management options that should be considered prior to disposal. In order of priority, these are: prevention, preparation for reuse, recycling, recovery, (e.g. energy recovery incineration) and disposal.

Effectively, the old principle of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ has been updated to accommodate this new waste framework.

Under the new regulations, businesses will be obliged to confirm in writing that they have applied the waste hierarchy when transferring their waste.

The process of documenting this activity will mean including a declaration on waste transfer / consignment notes. When waste is passed on, the waste producer will need to declare that they have applied the waste management hierarchy (using the words “I confirm that I have fulfilled my duty to apply the waste hierarchy as required by regulation 12 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011”).

Companies will also be asked to keep records of all this activity for inspection by the Environment 38 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

38_39_Legal.indd 38

Agency. If a business’s waste management decisions fail to comply with the waste hierarchy, they will be asked to justify them or face possible prosecution. More importantly, waste regulations will become tighter in the years to come. From January 1st 2015, waste producers will be required

to separate paper, metal, plastic and glass prior to it leaving site (the UK is obliged to introduce this aspect of the EC Directive by then.)

Guidance offered by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) explains that there is a legal duty on businesses that produce or handle waste to ‘take all such measures as are reasonable in the circumstances to apply the waste hierarchy to prevent waste and to apply the hierarchy as a priority order when you transfer waste to another person’. The definition

THE WASTE HIERARCHY

PUTTING THE HIERARCHY INTO PRACTICE IF YOU PRODUCE WASTE What type of waste does my organisation create? Is my business or public body dealing with waste in the best enviromental way?

Could my organisation send more waste to a business which can repaireit/refurbish it/clean it/ so the that it can be eventually re-used?

Prevention Could my organisation recycle more waste materials e.g by sorting it better?

Could any food or garden waste my organisation handles be used for aneorbic digestion? If not, can it be composted?

Most favoured option

Minimisation

Reuse

Recycling

Disposal

THE WASTE HIERARCHY

of ‘producing or handling waste’ includes importing, producing, carrying, keeping, treating or disposing of waste, and those organisations responsible for transferring waste.

Defra’s guidance also maps a variety of materials against the waste hierarchy to give organisations an idea of what option might best be applied in given circumstances. (Revised ‘definition of waste’ guidance will be offered later in the year.)

The waste management contractors you already deal with will be encouraged by the Government to explain to their customers what the requirements are and how they should prioritise their waste. LIME is certainly playing our part in this process.

The question does remain, though, of just how the new regulations will be enforced in our current economic environment?

From my perspective, I have no doubt that these new rules will have a positive impact on the environment and will help reduce the carbon footprint of businesses across the UK. However, I do feel that they do not go far enough.

I’d like to see stronger penalties for businesses that don’t treat their waste responsibly. These regulations may help to focus the mind, but in fact, systems that allow organisations to track their own waste have been available for some time. The database we use at LIME is capable of tracking the waste metrics for a whole organisation if necessary and allows us to produce complete schedules of all waste types and lists of any relevant regulations.

As a part of our ‘zero to landfill’ policy, last year, 100% of the waste we handled was diverted from landfill.” FM www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 14:58:07

LEGAL NEWS

New legislation BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED V RAIL SAFETY AND STANDARDS BOARD LIMITED [2011] CH.D In this article we look at a case in which a court had to decide whether a landlord had given its consent to an underletting where it had agreed in principle but a formal licence had not yet been completed.

In September 2007, British Telecommunications Limited (BT) and Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited (RSSB) entered into an agreement for underlease.

The agreement was conditional upon obtaining the consent of Prudential Assurance Company (the Prudential), BT’s landlord, to the underletting and to various alterations that RSSB intended to carry out.

The agreement defined superior landlord’s consent as: “The consent of the superior landlord to the grant of the leases by way of the licence to underlet and to the tenant’s works by way of the licence for alterations.”

The agreement also contained a longstop date of 5 October 2007 after which either party had the right to serve notice to terminate the agreement if the Prudential’s consent had not been obtained in accordance with the agreement.

On 20 November 2007, RSSB served notice to terminate. By this time, the licence to underlet had been executed by all three parties, and the licence to alter had been executed by BT and Prudential, but not by RSSB. BT served a notice to complete on 19 December 2007. RSSB failed to

complete the licence to alter and BT treated the agreement as being at an end.

The questions for the court were whether consent had been given before RSSB purported to terminate the agreement and therefore what the parties had intended by the definition of superior landlord’s consent contained in the agreement.

BT’s case was that completion of the licences was not necessary for superior landlord’s consent to be fulfilled: the Prudential’s consent in principle was all that was required and the licences would merely document this consent.

RSSB disagreed with this interpretation, arguing that the inclusion in the definition of superior landlord’s consent of the words “by way of” showed that the parties intended that the consent was to mean completion

of the two licences. This meant that there would be no ambiguity as to whether (and when) the Prudential had given its consent.

The court agreed with BT. Superior landlord’s consent in this case meant Prudential’s consent in principle, and not completion of the licences.

While the definition in the agreement contemplated that there would eventually be licences to document the Prudential’s consent, this did not mean that there could be no consent in their absence.

Furthermore, the parties’ intention was to allow them to terminate the agreement should the Prudential not consent to the proposed underletting and alterations. To require completion of both licences would be to allow the parties to change their mind about the transaction as a whole, which was not the original intention.

This case is a cautionary tale: when dealing with tenant consent applications, landlords, agents and their advisers must be very careful that they do not give consent inadvertently.

Source: British Telecommunications Limited v Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited [2011] Ch.D Beverley Vara is a Partner, and head of real estate litigation at solicitors Allen & Overy LLP.

Refurb firm faces fine An interior refurbishment firm has been fined £10,000 after a subcontractor sustained serious burns in an electrical explosion last year.

London-based Pineview Interiors was also ordered to pay costs of £4,283 in the case concerning a main electrical supply cable that was cut during its removal.

Pineview Interiors pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

HSE moves to online report Only fatalities and major injuries and incidents are to be reported by phone to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

All other work-related injuries and incidents that come under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) must be reported online.

The HSE maintains that the change to online reporting will not be difficult.

Council fined for asbestos A Grantham building contractor and South Kesteven District Council have been fined more than £20,000 after a spread of asbestos during a flat renovation.

In March 2010, workers from Belton Developments disturbed asbestos at the council property in Kinoulton Court while converting a bathroom into a wet room.

South Kesteven District Council pleaded guilty and was fined £16,600 and ordered to pay costs of £3,486.

Belton Developments was fined a total of £3,003 and ordered to pay costs of £900.

NEED SOME GOOD ADVICE? The Good Practice Guide to SELECTING FM SOFTWARE The BIFM publishes a series of good practice guides which are free of charge to all members. For a full list of titles or to download the guides visit www.bifm.org.uk Non-members: call 020 7880 8543 to order your copy

www.fm-world.co.uk

38_39_Legal.indd 39

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 39

22/9/11 16:02:38

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

Grosvenor House hotel, London: Venue for the BIFM Awards 2011

E-LEARNING

BIFM launch e-learning SkillZone is the BIFM’s new interactive e-learning portal available to all facilities management professionals to help you or your team develop business skills in bitesize, adaptable chunks.

The courses are offered online and they can be accessed anywhere at anytime.

Learners can pick up where they left off and access the professional development they need that fits in and around their day rather than having to take days out of the office.

The content of the courses can be tailored to individual learning styles, to ensure that the content is delivered in the best way possible, providing flexible, professional development at the touch of a button.

SkillZone currently ofers the following eight business modules which can be purchased singly or as a bundle: ● Advanced negotiation ● Conversations with customers ● Innovation ● Key performance indicators ● Managing Budgets in the Real World ● Managing professionals for results ● Negotiation skills ● Thinking strategically Take advantage of our special offer and get three modules for the price of two until 30 November 2011.

Why not try our free taster unit from Thinking Strategically, and find out how SkillZone can help 40 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

40_42_BIFMNews.indd 34

you develop your skills at www. bifm.org.uk/skillzone i Members can record completed modules on their CPD record. Learn more at www.bifm.org.uk/cpdrecord

KEEP IN TOUCH

flickr

» Network with BIFM @ www.networkwithbifm.org.uk » Twitter @BIFM_UK » LinkedIn » facebook » YouTube » Flickr POLL

BIFM AWARDS

BIFM Awards 2011 More than 1,200 of the FM industry’s most senior management figures will gather at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London on Monday 10 October 2011.

It is the most influential and prestigious networking event in the UK’s FM calendar.

The BIFM Awards, in association with Mace, is the premier showcase for excellence and innovation in FM, and gives national recognition to the leaders in our profession.

The awards highlight the ever-increasing role played by FM providers, practitioners and suppliers in the success of public and private sector organisations, and has become ‘the must attend’ event for all involved in the industry. i To book tickets and tables, contact Sandra Light at Sandra@fmevents. biz or call 0141 639 6192. Individual tickets are priced at £202, tables of 10 at £2,020, tables of 12 at £2,424 (all plus VAT).

BIFM and SitexOrbis survey The BIFM, together with corporate member SitexOrbis, the vacant property management specialist, has launched a short survey to obtain BIFM members’ views on the management of empty buildings.

The results will be fed into a BIFM Good Practice Guide on the topic to help members understand their legal and insurance requirements and good practice in the management of vacant property.

The survey, which will take just two minutes to complete, seeks to understand what facilities managers’ main concerns are when it comes to empty buildings, their understanding of the legal and insurance requirements

HEALTH & SAFETY SIG PROFILE Chair name: Robert Greenfield, group SHEQ director, GSH Group Members of the Sig have been involved in: The government Asbestos Liaison Group (ALG) and Victims Support Groups, Construction Industry Council (CIC), reviewing H&S Regulations and Passports, Lofstedt Review of H&S legislation, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents London FM conference. At Total Workplace Management they will be involved in a panel debate and later this year providing input into the Government’s public

consultation on the proposed changes to asbestos legislation.

Aims of the group: To provide health and safety input with a range of industry groups with a strong focus on FM. Why you should join: The Sig monitors changes that will affect the workplace and considers the health and safety impacts of proposed changes to legislation, guidance, standards and best practice. It has a small committee and is looking for new members to share knowledge and experience. www.bifm.org.uk/groups www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 16:00:25

Please send your news items to communications@bifm.org.uk or call 0845 058 1356

around empty properties and how they currently manage their vacant properties.

As a thank you for taking part, respondents will be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad2. All respondents will receive a copy of the BIFM Good Practice Guide to Vacant Property Management, written and sponsored by SitexOrbis, when it is published in the autumn. i Visit www.sitexorbis.com/ fmsurvey to take part in the survey

CHALLENGE

Chairman charity challenge BIFM chairman Ian Broadbent will be running, cycling and canoeing his way from Yorkshire to London for the BIFM Awards on 10 October. The 228 mile challenge, which starts on 7 October, will be in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, the chair’s charity during his two year term.

Day one involves a 90-mile ride from Harrogate to Nottingham, day two is a 90-mile ride to Leighton Buzzard, Sunday a 23-mile run from Leighton Buzzard to Watford, then finally a 23-mile canoe and two-mile run to London in time for the BIFM Awards that evening. Any BIFM members en-route who wish to join in the challenge for any amount of time or miles should contact Ian. Broadbent@bifm.org.uk. Support from corporate members is also welcomed. i Support the challenge at www. justgiving.com/bifmawardschallenge or send a cheque to the BIFM head office, payable to Macmillan Cancer Support. Book tickets/tables for the awards at www.bifm.org.uk/awards

www.fm-world.co.uk

40_42_BIFMNews.indd 35

Valerie Everitt is professional standards and education director of the BIFM

BIFM COMMENT SU P P O RT I N G YO U N G P E O P L E

The government’s skills for sustainable growth strategy includes key reforms of the skills system, all aimed at accelerating economic growth. There are plans to support the 19-24 age-group with fully funded training for entry level qualifications and also for those leaving school without basic reading, writing and mathematics. Labour market relevant training is being introduced for people on active job seeking benefits and SME focused offers are in place to help small employers train low skilled staff.

This is a welcome recognition that skills development plays a vital part in the success of the economy and that hard-pressed organisations need support to recruit young people with employer ready skills sets and attitudes. But what about those already in the workplace?

How can organisations capitalise on their middle-to-senior level staff and drive performance through higher level skills development?

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet of public funding to support learning and development at this level. Yes, there are some welcome initiatives, such as the current focus on developing apprenticeships across a range of business sectors. But post-recession, the direction of travel seems to be towards career development loans for individuals and a plea to employers to rise to the challenge and invest in their home grown talent.

So what are the options available for learning and development professionals tasked with managing staff development programmes? And how can busy FMs try to future proof their careers, while dealing with the challenge of delivering more for less?

A good place to start in this tough economic environment is by recognising and developing existing resources, and successful businesses know that succession planning and talent management are effective ways to meet future needs. Recruitment costs will be lower and there will be a positive impact on building a loyalty base and reputation as an employer of choice.

On an individual level, being in charge of your own career development makes sense too.

It’s important to take stock of where you are and where you want to get to. Yes, it takes time and effort to gain that recognition, but the rewards are tangible and may give you that much needed competitive edge when you most need it.

The choices, in fact, have never been better. The opportunities for formal education pathways in FM are now clearly established and with qualifications of different sizes and different levels, it’s easier to fit your learning round a busy work schedule and other commitments.

And for those wanting to top up practical skills in the workplace, there’s also a good range of training courses and CPD activities to help you keep up to date.

You can also access SkillZone, BIFM’s new e-learning portal at www.bifm-skillzone.org.uk

A

“YES, IT TAKES TIME AND EFFORT TO GAIN THAT RECOGNITION BUT THE REWARDS ARE TANGIBLE AND MAY GIVE YOU THAT MUCH NEEDED COMPETITIVE EDGE WHEN YOU MOST NEED IT”

valerie.everitt@bifm.org.uk

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 41

22/9/11 16:00:40

BIFM NEWS BIFM.ORG.UK

Golf Finals 2011: Winners

WORKSHOPS

C R E AT I N G A N D SU STA I N I N G MOD E RN WO R K P L AC E S

Global FM workshops Following the successful international workshops (with headline sponsor Qube Global Software) at Th!nkFM in April and in Vienna in May, Global FM is preparing the next International Workshops in Brazil and the U.S. The Brazil International Workshop, hosted by ABRAFAC, will take place during its Congress & Expo in São Paulo between 19-20 October 2011.

IFMA will be hosting the Global FM International Workshop during World Workplace (Phoenix, Arizona) on 28 October.

The workshop theme is ‘The New Economy - the Right Time and the Right Place for FM’. A panel of speakers from different nationalities, companies and institutes will discuss challenges that lie ahead in FM. i

Learn more at www.globalfm.org

BIFM golf finals 2011 On 15 September, the sun once again shone brightly on the BIFM National Golf Finals, held at Forest Pines Resort in North Lincolnshire.

Teams of members, corporates and sponsors competed for the prize of overall champions. Competitors were treated to a show of golf trick shots by David Edwards and were entertained after dinner by Duncan McKenzie, journalist and footballing legend.

The main sponsors for the day, HSS Hire, walked away with the sponsors section trophy on countback from Interfaceflor.

Our thanks go to them, Not Just Cleaning and Catch 22 for 42 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

40_42_BIFMNews.indd 36

ur newly launched programme addresses a key conundrum for facilities managers: how far can I reduce space costs before the workplace becomes unusable? And then what do I do?

Surprisingly, the answer could be to facilitate a transformation in the effectiveness of your business and this clearly structured two-day session will help you to identify the point at which addressing space quantity on its own becomes untenable for your business.

The first day focuses on moving from business-as-usual to a comprehensive asset management approach. This looks at the total value of space to the business not only in terms of its quantity and quality, but also its location, image, environmental and even social impact. The measures you need will be specific to the nature of your organisation and we offer a range of case studies to illustrate the issues, as well as how this essential and practical approach has its limitations in terms of cost reduction. To continue saving money, at some critical point the organisation will have to change its approach and address fundamental assumptions about how it operates on a day to day basis.

Day two captures the challenges of this process, and the opportunities it brings. In the past, it was only the high tech, highly mobile corporate firms that operated a flexible modern workplace – some have been doing it for nearly 20 years. We look at the challenges they faced, the benefits they achieved and the lessons learned for your business. More recently, some surprising organisations have achieved much more radical transformation, driven to risk new approaches by the necessity to reduce costs further than they can by addressing space alone. We describe this process, again using case studies to illustrate what has triggered a step change in approach for these organisations, reviewing the different skills sets and levels of organisational effort required for achieving change. How do you involve your senior management, and even external partners? How do you get the buy-in you need from staff? Practical advice is given on how, and very importantly, when to approach the process.

By the end of the programme, you will have a clear view of how and when you need to consider changing tack, how to measure the benefits change might bring and how to sustain the changes you achieve.

O

supporting the event.

In the corporate section, Harrow Green were clear winners from One Big Storage, led by David Ridler.

The Individual Members section was very closely contested and it required countback to separate the North Region – represented

by Justin Lawson, Chris Windass, Andy Ormondroyd and Brian Byars – from the eventual runners up from the Midlands Region – Lee Whitehead, Paul French, Colin Orbell and Richard Leek.

North Region also picked up the Overall Champions trophy, again from the Midlands in a very close second.

The 2012 Golf Finals will be held in Scotland.

MEMBERS

GOLF FINALS

BIFM TRAINING

New members The following organisations joined the BIFM as corporate members in August: BSkyB – In-house FM team Develop Training – FM supplier Electrum Services – FM supplier EMI Music – In-house FM team Fine Facilities Management – FM supplier Foreign & Commonwealth Office Full Circle FM – FM supplier Hertz – In-house FM team JLA – Product supplier Morris & Spottiswood – FM supplier Office Recycling Solutions – Consultant Robinson Services – Product supplier

i Creating & Sustaining Modern Workplaces has been developed for BIFM Training by Davida Hamilton and Nicholas Morgan of PLACEmaking - independent client advisors of workplace and estate strategy. The course launches on 25-26 January 2012 in central London. For more information, including a detailed programme, or to book, call 020 7404 4440, email info@bifm-training.co.uk or visit www.bifmtraining.com. You can now follow us online @ facebook.com/ bifmtraining or twitter.com/bifmtraining

www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 16:00:52

FM DIARY NATIONAL BIFM EVENTS 30 September Careers day for facilities management Come along to learn about the FM industry through our programme of presentations and interactive workshops covering the key topics affecting learning and development in the FM sector.

Venue: Westminster Kingsway College, 211 Grays Inn Road London Contact: Samantha.bowman@ hotmail.co.uk or call 07792 478232 4 October Getting the most out of your team Stuart McBride, Employment Law partner at TLT LLP, shares practical tips on how to use the legal requirements surrounding disciplinary action to get the most out of your team.

Venue: Gresham Street, London Contact: ali.moran@workplacelaw. net or call 07714 325574 5 October I wish I worked there The Women in FM Special Interest Group invite all Workplace Sig members to their next event.

Innovation consultant and author of I Wish I Worked There, Kursty Groves, will discuss workplace analysis and give a behind the scenes view of the workplaces of some of the world’s most famous global brands.

Venue: Boss Design, 7 Clerkenwell Road, London Contact: christine.jones@tigermouth. co.uk 10 October BIFM Awards 2011 The BIFM Awards are designed to celebrate the increasingly strategic profile of FM by highlighting the key role it plays in the success of public and private sector organisations.

More than 1,200 senior figures will attend the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, 80 per cent of whom will be director level and senior management.

Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, London Contact: Sandra Light at sandra@ fmevents.biz or call 0141 639 6192 8 November Women in FM/North West Region event Venue: Merseyside, venue tbc Contact: Liz Kentish at coach@ lizkentishcoaching.co.uk or call 07717 787077 IRELAND REGION 4 November The 15th Annual BIFM Ireland Region Facilities

www.fm-world.co.uk

43_Diary DS.indd 37

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

Management Conference & Exhibition The conference will include a number of illuminating and inspiring talks from FM professionals across the UK and Ireland. Presentations will touch on topics ranging from presentation development and delivery to retrofitting older buildings, to improving energy efficiency and implementing costeffective fire safety management.

This year, we will welcome Eric Hepburn, chief operating officer at Number 10 Downing Street, who will provide a unique insight into the day-to-day facilities management of the Prime Minister’s residence.

Venue: Belfast Waterfront Contact: l.mcmahon@hjmartin.co.uk MIDLANDS REGION 10 November Communication & relationships in FM What is neuro linguistic programming? What is emotional intelligence? How can we use this in FM to help with relationships and communication?

Venue: TBC Contact: carol.hearn@unilever,com or call 01234 222 421 24 January 2012 Agile working Pilot at Oxfam Presentations on Oxfam’s agile working pilot and tour of Oxfam House.

Venue: Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford Contact: carol.hearn@unilever.com or call 01234 222 421 HOME COUNTIES REGION 21 October BIFM Home Counties and South Region Member’s training day – engaging with FM A free event, and open to all our members Venue: 3 head office, Maidenhead Contact: ash@fm-recruitment.co.uk or call 01635 43100 SCOTTISH REGION 30 September Scottish annual conference – FM, our dynamic future Speakers include: Tim Yendell, Royal Bank of Scotland Head of Intelligent Working, Property Services Strategy.

Gary Wingrove: Head of BT Construction and deputy chair of the British Council of Offices.

Martin Pickard: Founding principal of The FM Guru Consultancy.

Debi Beattie: Performance coach and

owner of the Power of Positivity.

Paul Caddick: MD PHS Compliance.

John McGuire: MD Pulsion Technology.

Venue: Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh Contact: joanmelville@virginmedia. com or call 07855 961774 1 October Scottish Annual gala ball Continuing the success of our renowned annual gala ball, join us again this year for a night of fine food, drink, entertainment and networking in one of Glasgow’s finest hotels. The night will begin with a champagne reception, followed by a four-course meal and a variety of entertainment.

Venue: Crowne Plaza, Glasgow Contact: joanmelville@virginmedia. com or call 07855 961774 SOUTH WEST REGION 6 October Free building exhibition & Building Excellence 2011 A chance to visit an array of construction trade stands and talk to the experts.

Venue: Somerset County Cricket Club, the County Room, the County Ground, Taunton Contact: h.gamblin@tauntondeane. gov.uk or call 01823 356470 25 November South-West Region November Training Day A free-to-members training day organised by the South West Region committee.

Venue: Hilton Bristol Hotel, Aztec West, Bristol Contact: Joanne Bartlam on joanneb07@ntlworld.com or call 07808 908052 INDUSTRY EVENTS 11-12 October Total Workplace Management Organised in association with the British Institute of Facilities Management, Total Workplace Management has established itself as the leading meeting place for the FM industry.

Venue: London Olympia Contact: Visit www.twmexpo.com to register. If you are interested in exhibiting in 2011, contact Fergus Bird on 020 7921 8660 11-12 October Energy Solutions Energy Solutions provides an incredible range of innovation and education for the energy industry.

Venue: London Olympia

Contact: visit www. energysolutionsexpo.co.uk for details and to register 19-20 October FM & Property Event Join your peers and leading industry suppliers for a day and a half of networking and meetings, coupled with an exciting workshop programme.

Venue: Belfry, West Midlands Contact: jasonawatar@ globalbusinessevents.co.uk 20 October Workplace Trends conference This year’s theme is ‘Property is a people business’ and will focus on how we can create working environments that enhance performance and wellbeing, and explore the techniques used to understand organisations and work processes to inform the property and design community.

Venue: Royal College of Physicians, London Contact: For more details email maggie@merlin-events.co.uk 26-28 October IFMA’s World Workplace Conference & Expo The largest, longest-running and well-respected annual conference and exposition for facility management and related professions Venue: Phoenix Convention Centre, USA Contact: tj.mendieta@ifma.org 1-2 November Healthcare Estates Exhibition and Conference This exhibition brings together suppliers and customers in the largest gathering of the healthcare sector each year.

Venue: Manchester Central (GMEX), Manchester Contact: Register online at www. healthcare-estates.com or you can turn up and register for free 16-17 November Worktech 11 The eighth annual conference looking at implications of convergence between the worlds of technology, real estate, work and the workplace.

Venue: British Library, London Contact: caroline.bell@unwired. eu.com or call 020 8977 8920 24-25 November IFM Congress Venue: Vienna University of Technology Contact: kongress@ifm.tuwien.ac.at

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 43

22/9/11 13:58:19

FM PEOPLE MOVERS & SHAKERS

BEHIND

THE JOB What attracted you to the job?

Minster Law stated that it was “like no other law firm” and that interested me. Once I started with the company, it soon became clear that it was not the “norm”. Since I joined the company three years ago it has doubled in size, it is dynamic and pushes forward with changes in a really positive way to work as a team across departments and functions.

NAME: Linda Balmforth JOB TITLE: Senior manager – facilities ORGANISATION: Minster Law JOB DESCRIPTION: To manage total FM of both in house and outsourced facilities staff and contractors, managing sites in Wakefield and York.

My top perk at work is…

Minster Law had a fun day for all employees this year. This took place at Harewood House (Leeds) with fairground attractions, entertainment and refreshments, all as a thank you for our hard work during the year.

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

I have always been an organiser. I love ensuring everything is in its right place and that everyone knows what is expected of them. I started out as an office manager in a medical centre many years ago.

What has been your biggest career challenge to date?

Minster Law went paperless last year and therefore my mailroom/archiving team had the biggest challenges to face, putting new processes, guidelines and procedures in place that worked hand in hand with the solicitors’ rules and regulations.

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

That we love and embrace the stringent controls

ON THE

MOVE Changing jobs?

Tell us about your new role and responsibilities.

Contact Natalie Li Natalie.Li.@fm-world.co.uk

Soft services provider LPM Group has appointed Zoe Hewertson (pictured) as service development director. Hewertson is the current vice chairman of the Asset Skills Board for cleaning and was a council member for the British Institute of Cleaning Science for many years.

Eurest Services has appointed Steve Davies, managing director of Eurest Services (FM), as chair of the Asset Skills Business Services Board. In his capacity as chair, Steve has also been appointed to the Main Board of Asset Skills.

44 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

44_PeopleAndJobs.indd 61

around health and safety practices. We need to constantly explain that health and safety is all about common sense.

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

Although we still have a long way to go, the awareness of what we do as an industry has changed and organisations like the BIFM are helping us to get there.

And how will it change in the next five years?

FMs will have the knowledge and experience to help organisations deal with speciality changes in facility use themselves, rather than employing project leaders from outside.

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

Air conditioning management – it doesn’t matter what you do, there is always someone who is too hot or too cold.

What single piece of advice would you give to a young facilities manager starting out?

That you need to be able to juggle many balls and when others around you are running around like headless chickens, you need to stay calm!

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

Recognition – there are still people out there that think we just manage the office stationery.

Sodexo Justice Services has appointed Tony Leech (pictured) as managing director.

Leech previously held this role from 2007 to 2009.

During his time away from the business, Leech held the role of deputy secretary for the Department of Justice in Melbourne, Australia.

Apollo Services has appointed Andy Cornaby, a former Morrison director, to the post of group business development manager.

Property consultant Cushman &

Wakefield has appointed Simon Ward (pictured) as a partner in its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region occupancy division.

Ian Smith, head of project management Global Corporate Services EMEA for CB Richard Ellis, has become president of CoreNet Global UK Chapter.

Bob Dunnett has joined NG Bailey as managing director of the IT services division. He will report directly to NG Bailey’s chief executive, David Hurcomb.

www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 13:58:46

FAST KEYS

®

Replacing your Keys & Locks GO

KEY SEARCH

SEARCH for keys and locks online

• • •

Over 100 job vacancies on line Archive of every FM World article since 2004 News updated at least five times a day

www.fastkeys.co.uk

Visit our website for special discounts on Rottner products.

2.60 2.25 2.05 1.85 1.75

Daily news

2.30 2.00 1.85 1.75 1.70

www.fastkeys.co.uk

for FMs online every morning

fm-world.co.uk

HOT DATES planning your future with us

Fast Keys QP TWM ISSUE ONLY.indd 1 28/9/10 15:43:15

Daily News QP.indd 1

“

Great content, easy to absorb and very well explained by the tutor - Assistant Facilities Manager, ITV

”

[Ref. Team Leading - ILM Level 2 Award in Team Leading]

NOVEMBER COURSES 1-3 2 3 7

8-10 14-18 15-17 21-25 22 22-24 23-24 28

16/9/11 15:50:11

The Professional FM 1 [Intermediate] - FULL Cutting Costs but Maintaining Services IOSH Safety for Senior Executives NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety [Exam] - FULL Team Leading - ILM Level 2 Award in Team Leading IOSH Managing Safely - FULL The Professional FM 2 [Intermediate] Management Development - ILM Level 3 Award in First Line Management Introduction to Catering Contracts Understanding FM Foundation - (optional) ILM Level 3 Award or Certificate in FM - FULL Making Catering Contracts Work Executive Programme: Exploring Innovation in FM

+44 (0)20 7404 4440

Telephone info@bifm-training.co.uk | www.bifm-training.com facebook.com/bifmtraining

twitter.com/bifmtraining

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 45

FMW.29.09.11.045.indd Sec1:37

20/9/11 16:50:12

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 NEWS

FM innovations ▼Telling composite panel systems

▲ Portsmouth Council chooses DMS

In a collaboration between Telling Architectural and Eurobond Laminates, the Argeton terracotta rainscreen system can now be applied directly onto Rainspan insulated steel faced panels.

The Rainspan composite panel system can be clad using the natural finish and clean lines of the Argeton terracotta tile available in 13 natural colours.

Architects and specifiers are not restricted in the aesthetic achievable for their buildings when using the fast-track construction method offered by the Rainspan composite panel system. Developed by Eurobond Laminates, Rainspan is a robust insulated panel system with a two-hour fire rating available in spans of up to 6 metres and with an ease of installation that creates a quick, weather-tight building envelope. T: 01902 797700 E: info@telling.co.uk W: www.telling.co.uk

Portsmouth City Council has installed DMS (Deaf Message Service) in its civic offices. DMS is a new fire safety product that informs deaf or hard of hearing people when the fire alarm sounds.

The very simple solution uses text messaging (SMS) to alert people that a fire alarm is sounding, a warning they could otherwise miss.

The DMS unit can be installed in under half an hour.

When the fire alarm sounds a text message (SMS) is sent to the mobile phone of connected users to inform them the fire alarm is sounding.

DMS gives deaf and hard of hearing people the freedom to move around public places like supermarkets or libraries without the worry of missing an emergency situation.

T: 01273 320 650 E: info@deafmessageservice.com W: www.deafmessageservice.com

▲ Don’t chop office plants, says HTA As many businesses consider ways of cutting costs in the current economic climate, the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) is urging bosses to think twice before getting rid of plants in the workplace, as their benefits may far outweigh their cost. Research conducted for the HTA by Reading University has shown planted areas deliver substantial social and environmental benefits.

For example, the provision of green areas and plants around offices has been shown to reduce employee annual sick leave by up to 23 per cent. It has also been shown that in offices plants improve air quality and remove both carbon dioxide and toxic volatile organic compounds, reducing what is known as ‘sick building syndrome’.

T: 0845 345 7494 W: www.flora-tec.co.uk

▼ Bisley opens factory doors Storage manufacturer Bisley will open the doors of its cutting-edge Newport factory on 8 September to celebrate 50 years of manufacturing excellence, investment and innovation. The UK’s largest supplier of office storage will be inviting clients, suppliers, employees and friends to tour the facility and reflect upon the half-century of business.

Bisley has invested more than £60 million in the most advanced metalworking machinery and stateof-the-art painting equipment since the Newport factory opened in 1989.

Since then, the factory has more than quadrupled in size to 40,000 square metres – more than six football pitches. The present facility includes a high bay warehouse and loading bays, plus two mezzanine floors and offices, which were installed in 2005.

W: www.bisley.co.uk/home.php

▲ Zigor launches new ‘long life’ UPS

▲ Modern solution for ancient society

The Zigor (UK) has launched a new ‘long life’ uninterruptible power supply that can resolve mains electricity problems without resorting to the use of the battery. Using on line double conversion high frequency technology, the new Volga Plus series continuously monitors the power supply and enables it to remove distortions and provide clean, safe and more efficient energy.

This makes the Volga unit ideal for supplying critical systems that require high reliability and quality power supply, with the added benefits of low operating and maintenance costs.

Available in 1, 2, 3, 6 and 10kVA nominal power in a tower configuration, and protects against overloads, short-circuits and low battery voltage.

T: 0844 854 6264 E: salesuk@zigor.com W: www.zigor.com/uk

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple has purchased QFM Property and Facilities Management software from Service Works Group to control maintenance activity, manage contractors and monitor service level agreements.

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple is one of the four Inns of Court responsible for the training and accommodation of barristers. The Inns of Court have existed since the 14th century and they hold the exclusive rights to call candidates to practice law at the Bar of England and Wales.

Richard Snowdon director of Properties for The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, said he chose QFM software due to its modular nature, consequent ‘scalability’ and intuitive layout.

W: www.swg.com

46 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

46_FMProducts.indd 46

22/9/11 16:56:09

BaxterStorey offers a wide range of contract catering services to business and industry. As the UK's leading independent contract caterer we offer a personal service that focuses on fresh food.

We tailor our services to each clients individual needs and we ensure we provide the right people to deliver the exceptional.

Whether you need a dining room for board members and clients, or meals for over 1000 people per day, and whether you have a single or multi-site operation, BaxterStorey will respond to your needs, very often with award-winning solutions.

And if you need to provide special hospitality for meetings, we'll take care of that too.

What's more, the solution will be designed to your individual requirements - whether it's a small trendy in-house cafĂŠ, a deli bar, or a large complex site with diverse catering services.

For more information please call us on 0118 935 6700 e-mail sales@baxterstorey.com or visit us at www.baxterstorey.com.

FMW.29.09.11.047.indd 1

22/9/11 10:04:07

Appointments

Call Carly Gregory 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

Find your ideal FM job at www.fm-world.co.uk/jobs

cal Techni ioning s s i m Com er Manag n Croydo ,704 0 - £52 9 7 ,7 0 5 £

of s d a litie don 00 e H ci Lon 5,0 Fa ter to £8

Cus Rela tomer tio Man nship ager C r o y £46, 050 don - £47 ,907

ea 0 Gr ,00 5 £7

d y an ver y i it el r r D cu ic age on 33 e p S m an nd 5,8 o ly M L £5 O st o

Ea

3 61 , 8 £4

48 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

FP.indd Sec1:2

FM New appoints 290911.indd 48

t

jobs.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 14:19:16

22/9/11 14:28:02

XXX D DP VL

Compliance Manager, Nationwide, up to ÂŁ55,000 plus package Our client, a major national Facilities Management Service Provider, is recruiting a Compliance Manager to develop the service offered to both internal and external clients. In order to be successful candidates will be required to demonstrate an excellent working knowledge of regulatory and engineering compliance. This is as much a business development role as it is compliance. Candidates should therefore have proven experience of successfully developing client relationships and selling services (specifically compliance) to end users. As the majority of the client base is in London and South East the role will ideally be based from offices in North London although our client would consider a base in the North for the right candidate. CVs to ed@c22.co.uk

M&E Manager (residential), London, to ÂŁ35,000 plus package A property management firm are recruiting a Technical Services Manager to manage building and concierge services at a cluster of Thames-side, 5 star residential blocks. Candidates must have an M&E qualification, sound residential building service engineering experience including a handson knowledge of CHP Plant, Trend BMS and under-floor heating systems.

Applicants should ideally also have a Health & Safety qualification. CVs to russell@c22.co.uk

RESOURCE (FACILITIES) MANAGER Fixed Term Two Year Contract Salary Scale 9 ÂŁ53,361 a year Based at: Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority Headquarters (Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire)

Facilities Manager (6 month contract), London, ÂŁ30,000 pro rata A ‘top tier’ FM Services Provider is looking to recruit an FM with an excellent Health & Safety knowledge for a 6 month contract. You will manage subcontractor delivering hard and soft FM services across a large client property portfolio in North and Central London. You will have day to day front line dealings with the client and must have exceptional customer service skills and at least 2 years FM experience. A minimum of IOSH qualification is required. CVs to russell@c22.co.uk

providing quality people

Leeds 0113 242 8055 London 020 7630 5144

Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority aims to make its area the safest place in England in which to live, travel and work. An ambitious aim for ambitious people.

As the Resource Manager you will be overseeing and managing the service’s assets in relation to property, ICT capability, eet and equipment. You will co-ordinate the provision, contracts and assets of the service to achieve compliance with statutory requirement, governmental and national guidance and value for money.

Your key responsibilities will include: • •

Catch22 QP.indd 1

21/9/11 18:02:40

•

Join our Revolution

•

The Co-operative’s BIFM Award Winning Workplace Services team, are looking for two passionate Facilities Managers to contribute to our continued drive to revolutionise our Workplace Management. Providing a great service is our passion, and our award-winning approach continually drives us to improve our workplace, our services and our people. Responsible for over 1.5m sq ft office space and 350 Banks we provide a full range of Hard & Soft FM services, and deliver business programmes.

Technical Services and Engineering (Hard) Support Manager £25,136 - £29,157 pa • Manchester

Business Services (Soft) Support Manager £25,136 - £29,157 pa • Manchester Experienced in Soft or Hard Service Management you will work with a range of suppliers ensuring services are delivered to contractual standards. Prime responsibility for both roles is managing suppliers’ performance, following our Supplier Management Framework. You will ensure services are delivered in a cost effective and value added manner, benchmark current service and continue to look for industry leading ways to revolutionise our services.

Co-ordinate the provision, contracts and assets of the service to achieve value for money Responsible for the tendering process in conjunction with the Authority’s Head of Legal Services Oversee the management of contractual arrangements for the supply of vehicles Performance monitoring of all service procurement contracts

You need to be educated to degree level or equivalent and hold an appropriate professional qualiďŹ cation. Experience is required in negotiating contracts in excess of ÂŁ100,000 and tendering processes from start to ďŹ nish.

For further information and an informal discussion please contact Des Williamson, Director of Service Support on 01296 744409 or via email to: dwilliamson@bucksďŹ re.gov.uk.

Applications should be in the form of a CV and supporting personal statement, of no more than 1,000 words, which evidences how you meet the requirements of this role and should be returned to Chrissy Moon, Human Resources Directorate, Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority Headquarters, Stocklake, Aylesbury HP20 1BD or via email to: cmoon@bucksďŹ re.gov.uk Closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 30 September 2011.

Both roles will contribute to the wider success of Workplace Services, sharing knowledge and skills, providing support and input to business projects, becoming involved in industry leading initiatives, and contributing to our good2Great journey.

To apply or for further information, please visit www.co-operative.jobs using ref: C8020 or C6283. Closing date: 13 October 2011.

www.co-operative.jobs We are passionate about equal opportunities and welcome a broad diversity of talent to apply.

FM WORLD | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | 49

jobs.fm-world.co.uk Buckinghamshire HPV.indd 1

FM New appoints 290911.indd 49

21/9/11 17:54:22

22/9/11 16:16:40

FINAL WORD FELICITY MESSING

FELICITY

MESSING

IT'S A NOMAD NOMAD WORLD The future, they say, is a foreign country. And certainly, if the workplace survey predictions come anywhere near to fruition, it’s going to be a pretty exotic place for me.

In essence, the idea is that we’re all to become nomads, roaming some grey business wilderness. Our offices, once the place where everything took place, from meetings to admin to planning, will instead be of little more use than the local pub, a place where we can occasionally pop in to see how all our colleagues are doing. (Alright, with perhaps a little more than an iffy Wi-Fi connection to keep us going.)

Apparently us nomads will instead work from our homes, cars, train seats, airport check-in desks and indeed anywhere else quite obviously not designed for work. Shiny handheld devices will hold sway, the data they contain being instantly synchronised with that of our teammates.

Call me old-fashioned – please do, it’s quite comforting – but I cannot believe this somewhat bleak and soulless existence will really come to pass. What’s that, you say? It's already happening? OK, that’s it, I give up.

CYBERSLACKING It seems that details released under the ‘Freedom of Information Act’ of civil servants’ Internet activity while at work is causing a great deal of coverage in the press.

The list of the top 1,000 web sites visited by thousands of public servants has been published by the Department for Transport, detailing internet usage between January and May this year.

According to the Daily Mail, Tory MP Nick de Bois, a member of the Commons Public Administration Committee, expressed surprise that civil servants had "so much time on their hands" to browse "rather bizarre sites".

Now apparently known as ‘cyberslacking’, civil servants have been found to spend their time monitoring live cricket scores, checking lottery results, booking holidays and even planning belly dancing lessons while at work.

Even a website dedicated to ranking MPs in order

of attractiveness – sexymp.co.uk – appears on the list, with 21,477 hits making it the 463rd most popular website accessed, slightly ahead of preseed.co.uk, a site which sells ‘intimate moisturiser’. It ranks 625th having been accessed 13,295 times.

One enterprising organisation (385th in the ranking) is making capital out of the news by announcing on its home page: “The Lorien Trust is proud to have been in the news recently as the Department for Transport (DoT) released figures that showed its staff visited the Bears faction forum regularly in the last year. As one of 10 factions in the game world of Erdreja, the Bears faction celebrates the peoples of Caledonia. The Bears forum provides an opportunity for players to chat, catch up and get advice and information from one another.”

My advice to the Bears is that they ought to watch out for the hunters!

"FM EVEN HAPPENS IN SPACE" Forum Events' Graham Price boldy goes where no definition of FM has ever gone before

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OUT 13 OCTOBER

CASE STUDY – FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AT TILBURY DOCKS /// SPECIAL REPORT – MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS /// HOW TO MANAGE YOUR CAR PARK /// REPORT – WORKTECH ASIA /// THE HOME OFFICE'S GAIN SHARE DEAL WITH AMEY AND BRITISH GAS /// NEWS AND BUSINESS ANALYSIS /// REPORT – UPKEEP CHARITIES FACILITIES MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

50 | 29 SEPTEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

50_Felicity.indd 50

www.fm-world.co.uk

22/9/11 14:01:23

,Q DVVRFLDWLRQ ZLWK

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT NEEDN’T COST THE EARTH

&R ORFDWHG ZLWK

TWM is proud to announce the launch of: The Fire, Safety & Security Theatre & Zone Dedicated areas providing education and solution providers across the fire, safety and security remits in response to the ever expanding role of a facilities manager.

Register to benefit from over 150 hours of free education and see over 300 exhibitors in one convenient place.

6XSSRUWHG E\

YOU CAN GET YOUR FREE TICKET AT

WWW.TWMEXPO.COM

BY QUOTING FMWA3

2UJDQLVHG E\

FMW.29.09.11.051.indd 1

15/9/11 13:47:05

Treat yourself to a new way of life with Zip HydroTap. Instant Boiling Water

Boiling filtered water, instantly.

Chilled filtered water, instantly.

Both from the one tap!

Plus more energy-saving features than ever before: Power-Pulse™ electronic power control, cuts energy costs.

Sleep Mode powers down after a period of non-use, maintains ‘boiling’ water at 64ºC until re-used.

Programmable 24/7 Timer turns power off when not required: such as overnight or weekends.

Call 01362 852 222 for a brochure.

Or visit www.zipheaters.co.uk

Zip HydroTap

®

Instant boiling and chilled filtered water.

Clover House, 147-149 Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell EC1R 3HN The terms ‘Zip’ and ‘HydroTap’ are trade marks.

FMW.29.09.11.052.indd 1

15/9/11 13:47:47