FM World 2011-12-08

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | 8 DECEMBER 2011

FMwww.fm-world.co.uk World

LED lighting has the potential to transform the workplace

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VOL 8 ISSUE 23 �8 DECEMBER 2011

FM WORLD |�8 DECEMBER 2011 |�03

CONTENTS

FEATURES

20 Meeting expectations: Marie Puybaraud

discusses the ramifications for FM of her recent research project into collaboration space

24 Occupational density: Per-person office space is

diminishing, driven by a rising population and technological progress, finds Mark Eltringham

26 Standing proud: Helen Parton argues that

exercising our muscles by walking around at work can help us to be more productive

28 LED Lighting: How ‘solid state’ lighting systems

are challenging traditional products by offering sustainability, longevity and flexibility

OPINION

16 Diary of a facilities manager: the final instalment of David Walker’s column for FM World

17 Five minutes with Martin Atkinson atPiMS Workspace

42 Felicity Messing

MONITOR

30 Legal: Implications of the new European lighting standard

32 Insight33 Technical: How

compliance with SFG20 can be affordable

REGULARS

34 BIFM news38 People & Jobs40 Appointments

8 | Project of the Fortnight 26 | Standing proud 28 | LED lighting7 | City ownership

NEWS

6 Brand image is main driver for sustainability, according to survey

7 Research shows foreign firms now own half of City office space

8 Project of the fortnight: Gatwick North Terminal opens after major refurb

9 FM 100 poll: how do you cater for religion in your workplace?

10 David Arminas analyses sustainability trends in the FM sector

12 Business news: Graeme Davies on the future potential of FM in the health sector

13 Sodexo revenues up for 2011 despite drop in overall UK figures

14 Special report – Graeme Davies on what 2012 may hold for FM firms

18 Cathy Hayward reports from the efficiency-focused FCRE conference

COVER IMAGE:GETTY

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LEADER

here does a client’s business end and its supply chain begin? It’s increasingly difficult to tell. Over the past year we’ve been hearing more from companies keen to talk about the ground-breaking elasticity of the contracts they’re running

with FM service suppliers, as well as those suppliers’ eagerness to adapt to them. Some are effectively gain share deals, whereby suppliers are incentivised, at their own risk, to look at the work they do for their client before suggesting, costing and then implementing the necessary change.

In any event, the onus is on the service provider to innovate, and innovate hard.From the client’s perspective, there’s clearly an added value in the service provider’s

commitment to constant innovation and improvement, going beyond the SLAs and KPIs to offer something extra. For the service provider, the story is in proving just how capable it is of adapting to the most onerous of short-notice requirements. Both parties can look good.

But is there a downside? Perhaps, depending on where you stand. These contracts demand service providers that are capable of handling the cost fluctuations that are inevitably involved. The larger the supplier, the better it is placed to absorb such fluctuations. Cutting service delivery costs to the bone won’t help if your performance is judged on stepping back, assessing and then introducing new forms of service delivery. Good news for the largest

suppliers in the sector, but not for small firms unable to offer the same flexibility. Our financial columnist Graeme Davies writes in this issue about how 2012 will probably see the trend towards larger, more integrated service providers continue. Smaller firms beware.

This flies in the face of the received wisdom that smaller firms are more agile and able to adapt. In fact, with FM it’s the larger firms that are adapting and developing service improvements ‘on the job’ to fulfil their contracts and smaller firms are obliged to be more rigid in their scope to stay profitable. It’s odd to see such certainties reversed, although perhaps not in a year in which so many previously certain aspects of economic logic have been tested to breaking point.

This is our last print edition of the year, so I’ve a couple of things to bring to your attention. Firstly, we’re asking for a few minutes of your time to complete the FM World readership survey: we’d like you to critique the magazine, web site and newsletter so that we can plan to provide the best product for you. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a £300 prize draw – to have your say, go to tinyurl.com/FMWorldSurvey.

Secondly, some dates: the last FM World Daily will be sent out to you on Friday, 23 December, with the first of 2012 arriving in your inbox on Tuesday, 3 January. Until then, and on behalf of the entire FM World team, I’d like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Redactive Publishing Ltd17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP020 7880 6200www.fm-world.co.uk

EDITORIALTel: 020 7880 6229email: [email protected]

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 MARKETINGemail: [email protected]

senior display sales executive: Adam Potter (020 7880 8543) ⁄ display sales executive John Nahar (020 7880 6230) ⁄ recruitment sales executive: Carly Gregory

PRODUCTIONproduction manager: Jane Eastermanproduction executive: Aysha Miah

PUBLISHINGpublishing director: Steve Bagshaw

Forward features lists and media packavailable at www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us

SUBSCRIPTIONSBIFM members with FM World subscription or delivery queries should call the BIFM’s membership department on 0845 0581358FM World is sent to all members of the British Institute of Facilities Management and is available on subscription to non-members. Annual subscription rates are UK £110, rest of world £130. To subscribe call 020 8950 9117 or email [email protected] – alternatively, you can subscribe online at www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us/subscribe/To order the BIFM good practice guides orthe FM World Buyers’ Guide to FM Services call Natalie Li on 020 7880 6229.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARDSimon Ball, business development manager, Interserve ⁄Jason Choy, director, Persus⁄ Ismena Clout, energy consultant, powerPerfector ⁄ Nick Cook, managing director, Haywards ⁄ Rob Greenfi eld, 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

British Institute of Facilities ManagementNumber One Building, The Causeway, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 2ER

Tel: 0845 0581356email: [email protected]: www.bifm.org.uk

© 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 refl ect 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

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MARTIN READ� EDITOR�COMMENT

W

“LARGE FIRMS ARE ADAPTING AND DEVELOPING SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS ‘ON THE JOB’ TO FULFIL THEIR CONTRACTS WHILE SMALLER FIRMS ARE OBLIGED TO BE MORE RIGID TO STAY PROFITABLE.”

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Corporate image drives sustainability policyDAVID [email protected]

Corporate image is the main reason for having a sustainability policy and physical building constraints are the main barrier to implementing them, a BIFM survey has found. The results represent a change in the position of a year ago, when survey results suggested financial concerns were paramount.

In the fifth annual BIFM Sustainability Survey, 67 per cent of the 410 respondents cited a building’s structure as a “very significant” or “important” barrier to a more successful ‘environmental/sustainability/corporate social responsibility’ policy. Financial constraints were cited by 58 per cent of respondents. The importance of having a sustainability policy is increasingly evident, the survey report noted.

Just over 90 per cent of respondents believed that their organisation has a sustainability policy in place, up from 65 per cent in 2007, the first year of the annual surveys.

Within the private sector, 39 per cent said their organisation had a sustainability policy. Within the public sector this figure was 42 per cent, while 40 per cent of small- to medium-size companies said they had a policy.

Keeping abreast of legislation was the main reason for having a policy for the past two years. But this has now been overtaken, albeit only slightly, by the need to maintain a good corporate image.

In 2010, 66 per cent of respondents said legislation was the driver for implementing a policy, while 61 per cent said it was corporate image.

However, this year, 98 per cent

of respondents said corporate image is the main driver, while legislation was the driver for 96 per cent.

The report also found that 91 per cent of respondents’ organisations had a policy, up from 65 per cent in 2007.

Where a policy exists, 36 per cent of respondents said that the performance of sustainable activities was either excellent or very good. This is down from 38 per cent last year and 40 per cent in 2009.

However, over the past three years, fewer respondents have reported the performance of their organisation’s sustainable activities as “poor”. In 2008, a quarter of respondents rated performance as poor. This year, it was only 3 per cent.

SUSTAINABILITY

The top three most important issues affecting sustainability policy continue to be waste management and recycling, energy management and the carbon footprint.

Water consumption was included

for the first time in the survey and it was ranked as the sixth most important issue – ahead of sustainable travel, staff wellbeing, building refurbishment and building disposal (see analysis, page 10).

DAVID [email protected]

The government has published a list of more than 150 contract opportunities, including for facilities management, that have values of over £5 million.

“Details on over £50 billion of potential business opportunities across government will be published online,” a statement by the Cabinet office said.

“The data will forecast potential contracts over £5 million, with over 150 potential opportunities. These are in sectors such as ICT and facilities management – giving an unprecedented view into the government’s expected future requirements and helping to build the confidence to invest in plants, machinery and people.“

The move is part of a wider policy announcement by Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, to cut red tape for businesses, especially small- to medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

“These measures will support businesses and the voluntary sector and stimulate growth by ending the public sector’s short-sighted and risk averse approach to business,” according to the statement.

The government wants dialogue between Whitehall procurement departments and supply chain partners, and potential suppliers.

The package of procurement reforms “will reverse the, at times, bureaucratic, closed and transactional UK approach and bring the UK more in line with best practice”, the statement said.

“It marks the end of the overly formal and legalistic relationships and the beginning of much longer-term and collaborative relationships with our supply chains.”

Maude said other countries develop long-term relationships with business, but “this country appears to have taken a rather less successful, overly formal and legalistic approach, failing to think beyond the immediate contract and failing to adequately support our businesses. We look forward to working with businesses on our new approach.”

More details of government efficiency plans in general were announced in the Growth Review, released on 29 November. (See page 9, ‘BSA welcomes chancellor’s infrastructure spend’).

CONTRACTS

Government publishes contract opportunities

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Organisations are keen to show off their environmental credentials

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FM World is running a readership survey to find out what BIFM members and FM World subscribers think of its magazine. In this rapidly changing media environment, we want to make sure that FM World is providing you with the material you need to do your job. This is your opportunity to give us your views


Banks have thrown Mouchel a £180 million lifeline – despite the infrastructure-to-support services business recording greater losses than expected for its past financial year. The company’s revenue

FM World launches reader survey

Banks stand ready for Mouchel

on the magazine and help shape its future content.

As a thank you for filling out the survey, everyone who completes it will be entered into a prize draw to win £300. All answers in the online questionnaire will be treated as completely confidential and will only be analysed in aggregate form

slumped 13 per cent, from £632 million to £551.4 million, according to preliminary results for the year ended 31 July 2011.

Underlying full-year profit before tax and exceptional items plummeted from £30.5 million last year to £5 million this year – an

– we will not pass the information on to anyone else.

The questionnaire should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, with the deadline for completing it being Thursday 12 January. Thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated. To take part, go to:tinyurl.com/FMWorldSurvey

84 per cent drop. However, the troubled company’s order book remains healthy, although it fell from £1.82 billion last year to just over £1.42 billion this year.

Mouchel said it will be working towards a major management overhaul by next summer.

BIFM considers presidentThe British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) is looking at introducing the role of president as part of a review of its management structure. The part-time post has been a possibility under the institute’s constitution, but has not previously been filled. If introduced, the role would involve taking on some of the ambassadorial work currently undertaken by the chief executive and chairman. Acting chief executive Gareth Tancred also said that BIFM membership had increased by more than 150 members in the past year, rising to just over 12,200.

Kier Sheffield: 50 jobs to goKier is to make around 50 people redundant at its Kier Sheffield maintenance business, a joint venture with the city council . A brief statement from Kier blamed the economic downturn for the job cuts, which will affect the 1,000-strong workforce on the Sheffield contract. A joint statement in July by the council and Kier said the council needs savings of over 30 per cent within three years, including £80 million in 2011/12.

TfL sets out 2012 optionsTransport for London (TfL) has released a 2012 Olympic Games transport ‘hot spot’ advice service that it says will enable businesses to organise the best travel plans during the Olympics.Around 70 per cent of road traffic in greater London will be unaffected and two-thirds of Tube and Docklands Light Railway stations will see no impact, in terms of additional time taken to board a train. The advice is available at www.tfl.gov.uk/2012.

PFM publisher diesPeter Middup, publisher for more than 20 years of Premises & Facilities Management (PFM) magazine, died of a heart attack while hill-walking on holiday in Wales in November. “As editor of PFM, I worked with Peter on the magazine for five years, from 1994 to 1999,” said Richard Byatt, corporate and public affairs director at the BIFM. “In the fiercely competitive market, he was a gentleman with a wry sense of humour and the ability to get on with everyone across the business.”

SURVEY

BUSINESS

Over half of London City offices are foreign-owned, a rise from 40 per cent in 2006, according to research.

In 1980, around 8 per cent of the City was foreign-owned, rising to 25 per cent in the mid-1990s. It’s now 52 per cent, noted the research commissioned by property developer Development Securities.

The latest Who Owns the City? report, researched by the University of Cambridge, noted that despite sinking asset values in the aftermath of the economic crisis, buyers are still interested, unlike in the US. Foreign investors have increased their share of City ownership, accounting for 66 per cent of acquisitions by value since 2008.

London, as a whole, attracts more inward office investment than any other city in the world, including New York, the report noted.

Between 2008 and 2011 foreign buyers paid an average of £91 million per deal, compared with

£27 million by UK investors.There is a growing trend towards

private ownership by high net-worth investors, who now own at least 6 per cent of City office floorspace. Traditional owners – livery companies, institutions and established property companies – have experienced a sharp decline in City office ownership, from 29 per cent in 2005 to 17 per cent this year.

Meanwhile, specialist real estate

investors have increased their share of City space to 45 per cent, compared with 35 per cent in 2005.

By country, Germany remains the largest overseas investor, with 16 per cent of ownership, followed by the US at 10 per cent. Japanese holdings have dropped to 2 per cent, compared to a peak of 11 per cent in the early 1990s. Middle Eastern ownership is 6 per cent.

Foreign firms snap up City space

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NEWS BRIEFS

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PROJECT OF THE FORTNIGHT


Former Prime Minister John Major recently opened the new-look North Terminal at Gatwick Airport following its £73 million extension. The Terminal, with its 13,000 square metres (140,000 square feet) of additional space, should now be able to handle 20 million passengers annually by 2020.

The additional space was designed by Capita Symonds and constructed by Morgan Sindall. It provides 40 check-in desks, bringing the total to 150, and includes an additional 30 self-service kiosks. There are also four new baggage reclaim belts – two for international flights and two for domestic.

Special features of the extension include ASIAD-compliant (bomb-blast) cladding and glazing systems, an ETFE canopy over new exterior forecourt and siphonic rainwater systems.

The extended North Terminal follows the completion of work in late 2010 to expand the terminal’s forecourt and construct a new traffic interchange, also designed by Capita Symonds. Passengers dropped off outside the new entrance will go up one of two moving walkways or lifts, where they will meet passengers coming off the new inter-terminal shuttle.

Passengers arriving home, or tourists visiting the UK, move through at ground level with a direct route into the car park. They have easy access to the airport’s taxi service, car hire or inter-terminal shuttle.

“Passengers flying out of the North Terminal used to be greeted with a dated 80s feel with little aesthetic appeal and confusing wayfinding,” said Stewart Wingate, Gatwick Airport chief executive. “Today, the layout and design of the upgraded forecourt, interchange facilities and the expanded terminal building provide a much more positive first impression, all part of our £1.2 billion investment programme.”

Gatwick has also established the first direct air link between Britain and Vietnam. New routes have been opened to Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and China.

Who’s who: other contractors involved in the project: WSP (structural engineers); Hoare Lea (MEP engineers); Firstco (IT); Vector Foiltec (ETFE canopy specialist); Logan Teleflex (baggage systems); BRE Global (Fire consultant); Prater (cladding) and Mike Crossley Consult (glass).

This isn’t just any store refurbishing plan...Marks & Spencer (M&S) is negotiating with suppliers to convince them to pay 1.25 per cent of their turnover to part-finance the refurbishment of the retailer’s stores. The retailer wants 60 of its key suppliers of general merchandise, which includes clothing, home and gifts, to make a one-off contribution to pay for a revamp of its stores.

Although the retailer confirmed that these discussions with the suppliers were ongoing, a spokesman for M&S declined to give further details.

The decision to turn to suppliers for extra cash reflects tough trading conditions, highlighted by recent financial results and rising commodity prices, which the group promised not to pass on to customers.

Earlier this month, M&S reported profit of £315 million for the first six months of the year, down from £349 million in 2010. The trading conditions led chief executive Marc Bolland to announce plans to give M&S stores a fresh look.

Essex Business School has designs on BDPBDP has been selected to design the £14 million Essex Business School at the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus.

The new building will be zero-carbon rated as part of the school’s ethos to lead the development of sustainable business strategies, according to BDP.

The site is located in Wivenhoe Park on a hillside overlooking the River Colne estuary. The area links the existing 1960s’ campus and the university’s new Knowledge Gateway Research Park.

The three-storey timber-frame school – to be built on a sloping site – “has been designed to be visibly sustainable at every level, from its orientation on site, choice of structure and materials, to landscaping and passive engineering strategies”.

The building is a south-facing crescent, shaped around a mature oak tree. Offices and teaching spaces in the building wrap around a winter garden, which has a corrosion-resistant ETFE plastic and timber roof that will be covered in photovoltaic panels.

Four scenarios for the future of FMISS and The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) have carried out a study on the future of facilities management in light of recent and ongoing political and social upheavals.

The 88-page study 2020 Vision for the Future of FM – available free on the ISS website – considers four global ‘scenarios’ and is based on interviews with more than 300 senior executives from ISS and 50 specialists from the Global FM network.

The research includes analysis of workshops and in-depth interviews with key industry spokespersons and looks at how FM will react to and develop in conjunction within the four scenarios: capitalism reinvented; the great transformation; sustainable business; fragmented world.

“The FM industry is professionalising while new technologies, regulations and customer requirements are reshaping the business,” the paper notes.

“Sustainability will continue to be an important trend over the next decade. Global warming, environmental challenges and resource scarcity remain topics of great interest for the FM and services industry.”

Asset Skills snaps up training fundAsset Skills has picked up over £2 million through the Employer Investment Fund to implement a range of employer-led programmes in facilities management, housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking.

The fund, to be used over two years, is administered by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. Projects will include setting up pilot projects for hiring and training people, as well as developing strategies to help employers identify and develop talented people.

Asset Skills, the sector skills council for facilities management, will also provide labour market information and careers advice to support employers with strategic planning.

NEWS BULLETIN

Gatwick North Terminal touches down

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FM WORLD |�8 DECEMBER 2011 |�9www.fm-world.co.uk


FM 100 POLL

Nearly two-thirds of FMs provide quiet or prayer rooms for employees as part of legal obligations to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs, according to the latest FM 100 poll. But nearly a quarter of respondents said they were not affected by the need to accommodate religious beliefs – apart from Christmas decorations.

Seven per cent of respondents said they organised work around colleagues’ prayer times and another 7 per cent said they provided storage space for ceremonial objects.

The Employment Equality

(Religion or Belief) Regulations state that businesses must cater for employees’ religious beliefs in the workplace. For the FM, what they provide depends on employees’ beliefs and needs.

At Oxfam, for example, they “openly encourage diversity and embrace it”, said facilities manager Aileen Peverell. “We have a prayer room, some staff have work arranged around prayer times, we have Christmas decorations and celebrate other religious festivals such as the recent Diwali celebration.”

One FM at a large university with more than 25,000 students

WE ASKED 100 FMS…How do you cater for different religions in your workplace?

and religiously diverse staff said time taken out by staff for things like prayers must be made up.

Being based in a predominantly Christian country, the university adheres to a Christian calendar, he said. “Anyone can book leave for the period of say, Diwali. However, almost everyone has to take leave during Christmas, as the majority of our facilities are closed down.”

Multi-faith rooms are not used

as often as FMs thought they would be before setting them up, said another respondent.

One respondent questions the extent to which FM’s are responsible for compliance with religion regulations: “Is compliance more an HR issue than an FM one? I think it is interesting that FM managers probably look after people better than do HR.”


The Business Services Association (BSA) has cautiously welcomed chancellor George Osborne’s commitment in his Autumn Statement for cutting the deficit and boosting infrastructure investment.

“I welcome the chancellor’s statement with its emphasis on stability, debt reduction and infrastructure investment,” said Mark Fox, chief executive of the BSA, which represents the outsourced service industry.

However, more must be done to ensure small- to medium-size enterprises have access to government contracts as well as financial backing from the banking sector.

“I would also encourage the government to look afresh at and speed up its programme of involving the private and voluntary sectors in the provision of public services,” said Fox.

“There are huge opportunities for government to improve value, protect the front-line and stimulate business growth and job creation.”

In his wide-ranging 98-page statement, Osborne announced: “£6.3 billion of additional infrastructure spending over the Spending Review 2010 period, of which £1.3 billion was announced earlier in the autumn”.

He committed up to £5 billion of capital projects in the next spending review period as part of the National Infrastructure Plan and around £1 billion of new private sector investment in regulated industries supported by government guarantee.

“These one-off investments in transport, broadband, science, regional growth and education will boost economic growth, unlock private investment and help businesses grow and compete effectively in the global economy,” said Osborne.

The government will also make

available “a package of interventions” worth up to £21 billion to ease the flow of credit to businesses that do not have ready access to capital. The amount available could be more in future, Osborne said.

This ‘credit-easing’ package includes up to £20 billion for the National Loan Guarantee Scheme and an initial £1 billion for the Business Finance Partnership. Osborne said the effect of credit easing will be to “enhance the

BSA welcomes chancellor’s infrastructure spend

demand for credit by reducing the price of loans for eligible companies” in short term.

The government also said it is allocating £200 million of additional one-off capital for the Green Deal, an initiative for home owners and businesses to improve their buildings’ energy efficiencies. The money is for the Green Deal’s initial phase over 2012-13 and 2013-14, to encourage early uptake. More details will be set out next year.PA

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Chancellor George Osborne announces £6.3bn of new infrastructure spending

Provide quiet/prayer rooms (63%)

Apart from Christmas

decorations, we’re not

affected (23%)Organise

work around prayer

times of colleagues

(7%)

Provide storage space for ceremonial

objects (7%)

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Green is good for business imageDAVID [email protected]

It’s official: Sustainability is not just good for the environment, but good for business. This year’s BIFM Sustainability in FM survey showed that corporate image is the main reason for an organisation having a sustainability policy.A building’s physical constraints remain the main barrier for businesses, according to the fifth annual survey based on 410 respondents. This represents a change from last year’s survey when financial concerns were paramount.

Money is becoming less a reason for not going down the sustainability road. Up until this year, the most important reason for implementing a sustainability policy has been to keep ahead of legislation, followed by corporate image. In 2010, 66 per cent of respondents said that legislation was the driver for implementing a policy, with 61 per cent saying it was corporate image. However, this year, 98 per cent of respondents said corporate image is the main driver, while legislation was the driver for 96 per cent. Financial constraints were cited by only 58 per cent of respondents.

This year’s survey is also notable for the increase in intensity of belief that these two factors are top of the list – nearly 100 per cent of respondents think so.

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of this year’s survey is how highly respondents rank the issue of water management (see graph 2). “This was the first year we included it in the survey, coming in as the sixth most important sustainability issue, and it will probably rise in importance,” says the survey’s researcher

Wisdom Kwawu, an architecture graduate with a PhD in construction management from Reading University.

Water consumption, waste management & recycling, carbon footprint and energy management will likely be the top four issues in future surveys for two reasons: as an issue, they are quantifiable and, therefore, measurable; they are also the main areas upon which the government focuses its sustainability legislation.

“Businesses increasingly have to monitor their consumption of water and energy, their tonnage of waste to landfill and their emission of carbons,” said Kwawu.

However, carbon footprint looks like being number one and that would be no surprise given the recent publication by the Environment Agency of the first Performance League Table designed to ranks large energy users as to output of CO2 gases.

SUSTAINABILITY

Many of the UK’s high-street names are listed in the table, which, because it is the first year, is not an indication of how well the more than 2,000 participating organisations manage their energy consumption. That comes next year, said the agency.

The table ranks organisations on the steps they have taken to install smart meters and comply with the Carbon Trust – or equivalent accreditation scheme – standards of energy management, a statement from the agency said. The idea is to be ready for the government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment.

The desire to do well in the table could push “carbon footprint” into the number one issue for next year’s survey.

Kwawu also believes the table is an illustration of how organisations’ transparency over their sustainability record has helped push up corporate image as the driver for implementing a

sustainability policy.Because corporate image is so

tied up with good sustainability credentials, Kwawu believes sustainability is now inextricably tied to core business.

Nonetheless, says Kwawu, an FM must be able to contribute to the creation of a sustainability policy. “This is an opportunity for FMs to contribute to a policy but they must broaden their knowledge because the issues they cover are so wide.

You can implement the best social policy in the world, he say, but if people don’t turn off the lights, all is for nothing. “It all boils down to communication, getting people to turn off that light, but also know why they are doing it.”

FMs are also the ones to ensure that employees know the results of their efforts, providing a form of positive feedback, says Kwawu.

BIFM members can access the full report at tinyurl.com/BIFMsustain

Sustainable travel

Targets, measurment and responding

Water consumption

Training

Health & safety

Carbon footprint

Energy management

Waste management & recycling

Percentage of respondents0 20 40 60 80 100

Examples of issues covered in sustainability policies

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Health sector set to offer more scope for FMGRAEME [email protected]

The Health Service remains one of the most emotive of political subjects, but it is also a huge element of the government’s overall budget. And despite protestations to the contrary, the Coalition government is trying its hardest to reduce the economic burden on the government’s coffers by introducing private sector providers in an effort to improve efficiency and cut costs.

The private sector has been playing a part in the NHS for years and many service providers have built up decent businesses

on the back of the slow creep of outsourced services over time. Now a quantum leap could be upon us, but does it represent an opportunity for more mainstream outsourcing and FM providers to pick up contracts with wider scope and will it tempt larger players to try to buy their way into the sector through the acquisition of specialist providers?

A target of £20bn in efficiency savings over the coming five years suggests that outsourcing will have to grow rapidly. Indeed, a landmark was reached recently when

private health company Circle took over the running of the Hitchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire after having won its spurs running a smaller scale NHS treatment centre in Nottingham, where productivity is said to have increased by 18 per cent since it took over.

Healthy competitionHealth remains a specialised area, which is why the main outsourcing providers so far have been the likes of equipment procurement specialist Asteral or sterilisation services provider Synergy Health or back office service providers such as Capita and Serco, whereas plain vanilla FM businesses have done well out of outsourcing buildings services.

But with major changes afoot to NHS procurement with the government proposing a shift to clinical commissioning groups led by GPs, the private sector’s role could expand much further.

ANALYSIS Indeed, doctor’s group the British Medical Association, has recently expressed its concerns over the plans, saying they favoured private sector operators too much. Indeed, the expectation that many NHS workers would opt out of the service and form their own mutuals with which to offer back the same services to their former employers has yet to take off in a significant way. Last August, 21 such ‘Pathfinder mutuals’ were formed and, since then, a mutuals taskforce has also been established in order to further encourage the development of this sector.

But it is doubtful that, in the long run, mutuals will be able to compete sufficiently in what is a very competitive market, where big players such as Virgin Healthcare are already winning contracts.

Mainstream FM operators are also believed to be looking at expanding into the healthcare sector, such are the opportunities to be targeted. Mitie recently admitted it wanted a bigger slice of the action and others who are already doing some work in the health sector are believed to be keen to expand their reach. This can be done organically, but it might be quicker to do so through acquisition, which can have the double advantage of bringing in contracts and expertise. Without this, it would be a long slog to build up specialist skills organically.

NHS change feels inevitable, although its passage will not be smooth. The government’s planned clinical commissioning groups could be in place by 2013 and well established by the time of the next election in 2015, during which the NHS will once again be one of the trickiest political hot potatoes.

Graeme Davies writes for Investors Chronicle

Contract wins

Social and supported housing business Home Group has appointed repairs and maintenance specialist Morrison in a seven-year, £98 million contract to look after more than 14,000 properties in the north-east.

Hochtief UK, as part of a consortium, is to plan, finance, build and operate four schools in Salford in a 25-year PPP contract worth around £274 million. It will provide three secondary schools and one primary school, with space for around 3,700 students.

In Belfast, Integral UK has won a mechanical maintenance contract

with Savills at the property agency’s Victoria Square shopping and leisure complex – a 74,330 square metre (800,000 square foot) six-level retail and entertainment centre.

London Luton Airport has awarded a three-year contract to OCS to provide services for people with reduced mobility. OCS already provides such services at 11 other airports.

Business relocation specialist Harrow Green has been appointed to a public sector national framework agreement with procurement consortium Pro5 Group. Under the four-year contract,

Harrow Green will handle small and large furniture removals, specialist disposals and storage services for the public sector.

Charlton House has signed a five-year £5 million deal with Thames Water to provide catering services to 2,100 people across five sites, three of them in Reading, and one each in Marlow and Swindon. The contract is worth around £1 million a year in revenue and began in early October.

Norse Commercial Services has won a three-year contract for cleaning and security at Northampton College. The deal, worth around £350,000 a year, starts on 1 January 2012.

EIC has been awarded an £800,000 contract to provide mechanical services to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick Temple in Sandwell, Birmingham. The services will be installed in a £7.5 million community annexe, currently under construction.

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BUSINESSBRIEFSSodexo

revenues up as UK figures dipSodexo Group has posted a 5.4 per cent increase in overall revenues for fiscal 2011, despite revenues from the group’s UK operations being down by 1.1 per cent.

Group consolidated revenue grew to £13.67 billion, up from £13.03 billion in fiscal 2010, according to financial results for year end 31 August 2011. Group operating profit was £730 million, up 10.6 per cent. UK and Ireland revenues were down 1.1 per cent to nearly £1.03 billion.

“Despite the steady decline in demand for food services, Sodexo returned to growth in corporate, with an increase of 0.3 per cent, thanks to its well-adapted offering

of integrated services for clients such as GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and Pilkington,” said the statement.

However, UK revenues in its healthcare activities were down nearly 8 per cent, affected partly by a decision made in the previous year not to renew the contract for part of the services outsourced to Sodexo by King’s College Hospital in London.

The UK division had 2.9 per cent organic revenue growth in education, up from a 6.5 per cent decline in 2010.

UK operating profit was £50.45 million, up 1.8 per cent, reflecting “significant on-site

Rentokil Initial is buying all the business operations of Managed Support Services (MSS) for £6.5 million, as MSS seeks to become an investment shell.

An announcement by Rentokil Initial said it had “exchanged contracts with MSS plc for the acquisition of its building services division, MSS Facilities Management”.

The division has 200 staff, an annual turnover of about £22 million and operates from two main trading sites in Manchester and London, the statement said.

“The acquisition provides excellent synergies with Rentokil Initial’s existing mechanical and electrical engineering building services business, which operates within the Initial Facilities division.”

MSS sells FM arm to Rentokil Initial

productivity gains, especially in the healthcare and justice services segments”. Operating margin in the UK increased by 0.1 per cent from 4.6 per cent in fiscal 2010 to 4.7 per cent.

Sodexo has also appointed a new UK and Ireland chief executive, Debbie White, who moves over from Sodexo’s North American operations on 1 January 2012. White replaces Aidan Connolly, who has been with the company for almost five years.

White worked for Sodexo UK and Ireland as finance director from 2004 to 2007 before crossing the Atlantic to join Sodexo North America as chief financial officer.

An MSS statement said that in the year ended 31 March 2011, the division had sales of £21.4 million. Operating profit was £1.6 million. Net assets at completion are estimated to be £2.5 million.

MSS plc is an AIM-listed company and the deal for MSS Facilities Management will have to be finalised at an MSS shareholder meeting on 5 December. However, no opposition is expected, Jamie Reynolds, chief operating officer of MSS, told FM World.

Reynolds, who sits on the MSS board, will be going over to Rentokil as part of the deal.

Reynolds joined MSS in December 2009 after 17 years at GSH, where he started his FM career on a Youth Training Scheme in 1993, working first as a sales

clerk. He rose to become chief executive of the business after running GSH’s US operations for several years (see FM World feature, p18, 25 February 2010).

MSS Facilities Management provides management and maintenance services, including sub-contracting services and services delivered in a partnership such as cleaning, guarding and ancillary non-engineering services.

Mitie posts revenue boostMitie’s revenue has grown by 5.8 per cent to nearly £972 million for the six months ended 30 September 2011. Operating profit before other items was up 6.6 per cent to £51.6 million. Profit before tax was £43.3 million, up 17.3 per cent from £36.9 million for the same period in 2010. Mitie’s order book is up 17.6 per cent to £8 billion on the back of major long-term contract wins.

Mitie recently set up a new built environment division, with Danny Leonard as managing director, pulling together some of its M&E and interior fit-out services.

Shepherd FM in the blackShepherd Group’s FM business has made a profit for the first time, with the group reporting pre-tax profits of £31.5 million for the year to 30 June 2011. Revenue was up 16 per cent to £611 million (2010: £526.7 million). Although a statement confirmed that the FM division had made a profit, separate figures are not disclosed for the FM business, which was set up by Mark Perkins, former chief executive of Shepherd Engineering Services.

Compass profits hit £985mCompass Group saw revenue jump 9.4 per cent for the year ended 30 September 2011 to £15.8 billion, with pre-tax profit up 5 per cent to £958 million. Operating profit, after UK re-organisation costs of £55 million and other group adjustments, was £1,016 million (2010: £989 million). UK and Ireland revenue was up 9.5 per cent to £1.95 billion, for 12.3 per cent of total group revenue, as in the previous year. UK operating profit stayed at £114 million, while operating margin slipped to 5.8 per cent from 6.4 per cent.


SA

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Debbie White,new UK & Ireland chief executive

Jamie Reynolds, CEO of MSS

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www.fm-world.co.uk

That was the year that was...GRAEME DAVIES [email protected]

The year just ending has slowly but surely turned into a grind. The news is dominated by a stumbling economic recovery that faltered as the sovereign debt crises in Europe, coupled with concerns over the strength of the recovery in the US, created an atmosphere of apprehension.

This less-than festive situation has been compounded by the fact that growth has stalled just as governments are implementing the toughest austerity measures for generations. The resulting mix of fearful corporates, cash-strapped governments and squeezed consumers is likely to send some countries, particularly in Europe, back into recession in the-not-too-distant future.

Just as the world appeared to be hauling itself back on to an even keel after the trials of the credit crunch and the recession of 2008-09, the recovery has stalled. Even in the boom economies of the developing world, growth is slowing as the woes of the west prove impossible to ignore.

For FM service providers, prospects at the turn of the year looked potentially interesting as the drive for cost savings among western governments and corporations, coupled with the continued maturing of emerging economies, promised a significant expansion of the outsourcing model that FMs have thrived upon over the past decade. This

has happened, to an extent, but the sheer weight of government outsourced work has not been as substantial as first predicted and entry into some emerging markets continues to prove challenging.

On a more local level, 2011 saw smaller operators such as Mouchel and XChanging run into trouble, mirroring the previous year’s problems for the likes of Rok and Connaught. In Mouchel’s case, it was down to accounting errors rather than operational problems, but both illustrated the problems of operating on a smaller scale in what is increasingly a sector that favours larger, more integrated operators servicing a wide range of clients’ needs from under one organisational umbrella.

Mouchel has now refinanced and Xchanging has replaced its senior management in an effort to reboot the business. But whether one, or both, will survive in their current form, or whether they will be snapped up like many smaller operators before them, remains to be seen.

One only has to consider the fortunes of the larger players in the sector to see where the trend is heading. Despite competitive market conditions, Capita expects

to report full year revenue growth of around 7 per cent, boosted by acquisitions, having won £1.26 billion of new contracts during 2011.

Rival Serco has won almost £2 billion of new work in the second half of the year alone and also expects to meet expectations for the full year, with analysts forecasting profits of around £250 million. But the company also admitted that markets were tough and the level of work coming through was lower than expected.

What now for 2012?Economists are increasingly gloomy about prospects for the global economy in 2012. The European debt crisis still remains essentially unresolved and the credit crunch in Europe is affecting trade. The eurozone is expected to slide back

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into recession, possibly dragging the UK with it over the next six months. And with growth in the US and the emerging markets also slowing, it promises to be a tough year all round.

But tough times are not necessarily bad news for all sectors of the economy. The FM service sector can thrive on offering clients better value for money, especially when many of those clients are desperate to improve efficiency. In the private sector, this is likely to remain a strong theme and companies that can also offer specialism in areas such as energy efficiency or the provision of specialist services to the health sector will also find themselves in demand.

But specialists are likely to find themselves increasingly consumed into bigger players, much as eaga was bought by Carillion a year ago to boost its ‘green’ credentials.

Corporate activity is likely to remain firmly on the agenda and any successful specialist FM provider is likely to find themselves in demand from larger players looking to fill gaps in their skills


“The FM service sector can thrive on offering clients better value for money, especially when many of those clients are desperate to improve efficiency”

GE

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Sun rises on the East? Chinese money may underpin future economic recovery in the UK


sets. But takeovers are not always the optimum solution. Shareholders of G4S won a rare victory against management recently when they kicked up a sufficient stink against plans to make a big strategic move into FM in Europe through the debt-laden acquisition of ISS. Shareholders wishes prevailed and management was forced to pull the deal – probably quite rightly as a major strategic move into a European economy about to enter recession could have saddled G4S with some serious problems.

Market viewsIn the UK, 2012 will bring a further quantum leap of outsourcing and private sector involvement in the provision of public services. Indeed, the government recently vowed to publish £50bn of potential business opportunities online in a bid to speed up the painfully slow procurement process.

Meanwhile, councils continue to evolve in the face of the swingeing budget cuts they have been dealt for the coming years and which are leading to increased private sector involvement. But the margins

remain small and the competition fierce. The sector will most likely continue to converge around those larger, multi-disciplinary providers that can fulfil many roles under one contract.

Overseas opportunities are likely to be a mixed bag, with the US government about to enter a period of significant austerity with trillions of dollars of cost savings required over the next decade. True, there may be some headline vote-winning infrastructure spending announced ahead of the presidential election in November, but the overall trend is one of significant spending reduction. US corporates, on the other hand, are awash with cash, but cautious as the wider global economic picture remains uncertain.

Europe is likely to be a very tough environment over the coming year as the European economies grapple with hefty debt problems and anaemic growth making it a very long haul to recovery in Europe. The Middle East and Gulf region, which was previously a happy hunting ground for expanding UK FM operators,

remains subdued and the ongoing upheaval among the Arab nations of North Africa is a concern to those operating in the region.

Elsewhere in the world, emerging economies such as Brazil, India and China continue to offer opportunities and will continue to grow, albeit at possibly reduced rates. China, in particular, is beginning to worry some commentators amid signs that its growth rate is slowing and within the country there are signs of a property bubble and a localised credit crunch as banks, under the orders of the central authorities, tighten up lending.

So, 2012 threatens to be a tough year all round. We are likely to see further attempts by governments and central banks to inject life into the moribund economies of Europe. The UK government’s infrastructure spending splurge, and the Bank of England’s second round of quantitative easing – with a third expected in February – are signs of the seriousness of the situation. We have to hope policymakers and regulators do not run out of firepower or policy

levers with which to attempt to keep the global economy moving.

But the overriding issue of Europe remains and until its problems are resolved, the wider global economy will remain on tenterhooks. FM service providers can thrive in such conditions, but it will be tough and forecasts even for the bigger players are for relatively modest growth rates, we will also be likely to see more company failures and more companies being snapped up as the sector continues to evolve.

Infrastructure spendIn the dying days of November, amid increasingly dire forecasts for the state of the UK economy as we head into the first half of 2012, chancellor George Osborne tried to deliver a fillip in his Autumn Statement. He announced an infrastructure splurge in the UK that could be worth as much as £30 billion, accelerating projects, dragging some out of mothballs and initiating new ones in an effort to provide a crutch for the weakening economy.

The splurge will be funded by a mixture of further savings found elsewhere in central government’s budget and new investment from insurance companies, pension funds, infrastructure funds and overseas investors, in particular, cash-rich Chinese companies and sovereign wealth investors.

It is debatable how quickly this injection of fiscal adrenaline can be administered but, on previous experience, it won’t be instant and it won’t stop the UK economy slipping back into recession in the coming months. But over a 12-24 month timeframe, the effect will begin to filter through and some FM companies, especially those who have retained their infrastructure and construction capabilities, will certainly benefit.

Graeme Davies writes for Investors Chronicle

2011 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

THE YEAR IN FM BUSINESS

● Rentokil Initial picked up the business operations of Managed Support Services (MSS) for £6.5 million as MSS seeks to become an investment company.● Engineering and support services business May Gurney paid nearly £35 million for TransLinc, a supplier of fleet services to local authorities.● G4S shareholders gave a thumbs down to the £5.2 billion acquisition of Amsterdam-based ISS.● The merger of built asset consultancy EC Harris and Dutch consultancy Arcadis was given the green light by the 183 EC Harris partners.

● Compass Group acquired Integrated Cleaning Management (ICM) from its founders and also picked up the specialist school meals provider Cygnet Catering.● Support services group Mouchel jettisoned its rail engineering business in a deal with Australian rival Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) for a reported £3.4 million.● Sodexo UK and Ireland acquired the asset management businesses of Atkins for £5 million with a deferred conditional amount of £500,000.● Vacant property management business VPS bought SitexOrbis Holdings.

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FM OPINION� THE DIARY COLUMN�DAVID WALKER


Well, after three years and more than 70 columns, it is finally time to hand over the baton to someone else. However, before I do that I thought I would finish on a rather light-hearted note.

One of the things I like to do when looking after a large contract is to go into work a bit earlier so I can have a look at the progress of the job while the contractors are not around. This also gives me an opportunity to check the quality of the work and make notes of any snagging items or elements

s the year draws to a close, so too the curtain falls for our regular FM World

columnist. The past three years have thrown up their fair share of issues, so why should this last column offer anything less?

of the work I am not happy with.So one day last week, I decided

to visit the site early one morning, and while carrying out the inspection I thought I noticed something moving around the various stacks of materials that were waiting to be installed. My first thought was that it might be a rat or mouse that had found its way in. But upon closer inspection I discovered a small puppy peering out from inside one of the ducts.

All the puppy wanted to do was play and I had no idea how it came

to be on the site as all the doors were closed. However, it did pose a problem. What could I do with it?

The puppy had a collar on, but no name or address attached so I decided to take it to the vet around the corner to see if it had been chipped. Before I went, I decided to pop to reception to tell them what I intended to do and if anyone came in, that’s where the dog would be. I only reached 10 yards from the office when a man turned up looking for his dog, which had slipped the lead the previous day while out walking. A happy ending all round.

I have also had the small problem of a bird that appears every morning in the corridor where the work is going on. This one is solved in a slightly easier way – we simply turn out the lights, open the windows and the bird leaves of its own choice. It must be the light

that attracts the bird, so now we don’t turn the lights on until we need to and the bird has not paid us a visit.

As I said earlier in the column, this will be my last one so it’s time to pass on my thanks to a few people.

First of all, thanks to the current editorial team, which take the time to ensure the column is readable. Many thanks to ex-editor of FM World, Cathy Hayward.

A thank you goes out to Ian Broadbent for the help and advice he provided when I took over this column from him. Finally, a big thank you to those of you who have taken time to read the column and those that have been in touch.

I’m sure I will bump into many of you at events in the future. In the meantime, keep working hard and enjoy what you do. FM

David Walker is facilities project manager at Northumbrian Water

“WELL, AFTER THREE YEARS AND MORE THAN 70 COLUMNS, IT IS FINALLY TIME TO HAND OVER THE BATON”

A HAPPY ENDING

A

BEST OF THE WEB

British Institute of Facilities

ManagementAbi Hollick, account director at Hart Recruitmenttinyurl.com/FM-challengesWhat are the biggest challenges facing the facilities management industry? Jason Gurd: In the mid term, the biggest challenge is psychological. There is an undercurrent of fear that the increase

of agile working will mean that FM will not be important in the future. This, of course, is a nonsense. FMs spend their lives telling others that we are not just about ‘tea and toilets’; that we provide all the essential support services the business needs to operate, often including things like travel, conferencing, insurance, etc. It is, in fact, just happy coincidence that over the past few decades the services we have provided

have been weighted towards premises management. As we move into the future, the need for FM as a support service won’t diminish, but the nature of those services we provide could change considerably. We may find that a trend for facilities departments to drop ‘facilities’ from their name and re-brand themselves as business services, business support or the like .Dave Thomas: In the

short term, the biggest problem is going to be money, money, money. There isn’t enough to go round (and really never has been). We will have to get by on less, but still maintain the same service. We need to be able to get more training, more long term commitment from senior management, more interest in the bringing on of the youngsters in the team before they move on to other departments/disciplines.

@kerstinsailerPreparing for my

UCL lecture on #Office Buildings today. Found nice website on history of offices (including plans):tinyurl.com/history-of-offices

@oseland Nigel Oseland

“@DrKristensen: Three tips for designing a work space that embodies your brand – bit.ly/t8y0em – (I like “build a stage not a set”)

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Views and comments from across the web

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FIVE MINUTESWITHNAME: Martin AtkinsonJOB TITLE: Managing director COMPANY: PiMS Workspace

The strangest thing we’ve ever been asked forwas yellow rubber ducks in see-through plastic boxes. This was for a west end PR company, which also wanted zebra-pattern carpets and flowery wallpaper, so it certainly meant there was a contrast. It might not surprise you to learn that this was one of those projects where the client effectively took over the job. Of course the customer is always right, but…

We once had to install a solid marble desk on the top floor of a global investment bank. It cost £30,000 and had to be taken up there in three sections. Needless to say, it was one of the few things that didn’t ‘walk’ out of the building when the crash came…

SMEs are more likely to suggest the wacky fit-out ideas. The larger the company, the more likely they are to be tied to a corporate or global image. So we tend to find new ideas from working with our SME clients. We can then suggest them to our larger customers.

The fashion at the moment is for a lot of white. The advantage of this is that you can then use bright splashes of colour. Not long ago, the banking sector in particular tended to go for dark furniture with lots of screens or walls. We’re also seeing more soft seating and collaboration areas.

The banking and legal sectors may be the last ones dragged kicking and screaming, but we are seeing a move in general towards flexible working. But those people suggesting this will all happen by 2020 are optimistic. I think 2030 is nearer the mark. After all, it’s such a huge culture change.

Things are looking up. A lot of companies are taking the brakes off for next year and we’re expecting an improvement on what was already a good financial year for us in 2011.

Good meeting spaces facilitate good decisionsJohn Bowen/consultantMeeting areas shouldn’t be an afterthought when designing offices and in space planning. Meetings are a fact of modern business life: they are one of the catalysts that help move business forward by getting people together to spark ideas, plan strategy and similar dynamic activity.

Often, meeting space is fitted in around the office as best as we can rather than consciously designed and I’ve seen some horrors over the years. As an example, let me first set the scene: we were bidding to win the outsourcing of a service for an international business. On offer was a three-year deal with options for extension, but the basic contract was worth around £5 million. We were invited to present for 40 minutes, plus 20 for questions, told we could bring four people and use an SVGA presenter. All pretty standard for such a session and we turned up prepared and rehearsed.

We were taken up to a room on an upper floor, on the corner of the building. As the door opened, we could see that it was long and narrow. Three tables were end to end down the middle with six chairs either side and one at each end, and 11 of these were occupied. The door was in one of the short walls, and on the long wall and short wall opposite the door were windows through which the low winter sun streamed.

So, basic maths will show that there weren’t enough seats and common sense will tell you that we couldn’t project the SVGA presenter on to the door with any degree of success and to project on to the one possible wall meant that half the people would have to turn around and, in any case, the sunlight would wash out the slides.

As bid director, I had covered for not being able to run the presentation – it’s always a risk, so you prepare for it. I’m also used to standing to present, so standing against the door for the hour that we were there was not really an issue, even if it was unusual.

The people facing the windows were covering their eyes a lot of the time to avoid being blinded and the solar gain was turning the room into a sweatbox. We were only there for an hour, but they had five presentations to sit through and debate on, and I would question the quality of the decision making under such conditions of discomfort.

The point is that meetings are about human interaction, so having the right sort of space for people to actually interact in is crucial to making meetings successful.

More from FM World’s blog pages:Professionalising the industryThe FM industry is transforming itself, blogs Charles Sinton, commercial director at Rollright Facilities.tinyurl.com/professionalising-industry

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WORKING IN A GHOST TOWN

FM EVENT� FCRE AUTUMN SEMINAR 2011

The Federation of Corporate Real Estate focused its autumn seminar on efficiency and asked: what do we need from our workspace?

of productivity is changed by workplace developments.

But Anderson said that real-estate teams should simply argue that any changes will not reduce productivity – the realestate savings will be enough to win the board round.

Flexible working does need to be carefully thought out, however. One organisation introduced it so successfully that it turned its offices into virtual ghost towns. That might be good for the bottom line, but it does little to motivate those who are office-based.

Mark Pearce, from Pearce Consulting, argued that workplaces become less productive in the interfaces between people and people, and people and processes. “Just as windows don’t leak in the middle, but in the interface between the frame and the glass, processes break down when people and organisations meet.”

Lean and keen Pearce talked about how ‘lean principles’ could be applied to transforming workplaces, although he acknowledged that this has not yet been done successfully.

Knowledge workers spend 35 per cent of their time searching for information, he said, simply because it was not readily available in the organisation.

He outlined seven types of service waste that could be reduced through improved process flow: duplication, delay, unclear communications, incorrect inventory, lost opportunities to win or retain customers, defects and rectifying errors, and unnecessary movement in a building. If this waste was reduced

With real-estate costs under constant pressure, the Federation of Corporate Real Estate’s (FCRE)autumn seminar in October at Jones Lang LaSalle’s London West End office, revealed the key requirements for an efficient workplace.

More than 100 delegates heard from Tim Oldman and Annie Leeson, founders of Leesman, which is the opensource index that measures the performance and effectiveness of office environments and the capability of the workplace to support the people who use it.

According to research from the previous quarter, key areas range from good lighting, temperature and noise levels, to the provision of a variety of workspaces.

But the research also revealed that users are not getting what they need. Almost 30 per cent were unhappy with the lighting, 64 per cent with the temperature, 38 per cent with noise levels, 49 per cent with air quality, 26 per cent with copying and printing equipment, 52 per cent with quiet rooms and 45 per cent with informal break-out zones and workspace variety.

These ‘productivity toxins’ are getting in the way of effectiveness, said Oldman, although he noted that certain factors are more important than others in different organisations. Can we personality-profile organisations in the same way the

Myers-Briggs system personality profiles people, he wondered?

Meirion Anderson, managing director of workplace project and change management specialist Aberley, explored what people need from a workspace.

“At its most basic, a workplace is there to protect us from the elements,” he said. “A desk is just there to stop your laptop falling on the floor.” He urged businesses to use more club-style furniture to encourage flexible and collaborative working.

Discussing the case for flexible working, Anderson argued that the primary driver was always reduced real-estate costs. Organisations often failed to recognise the secondary benefits, including attracting and retaining talent.

Show us the moneyBut it doesn’t matter how organisations buy into new ways of working, said Dr Anne Marie McEwan from the Smart Work Company in a break-out session. “If saving money is the key driver, that’s great, we can then go on to demonstrate all the added value benefits afterwards.”

Delegates quizzed Anderson and Oldman about how they could demonstrate to their boards that productivity would be increased by introducing flexible working. Oldman’s research, for example, is subjective – users are asked whether their own sense

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or removed, he concluded, organisations’

productivity would rocket.

In the panel debate at the end of

the morning, other speakers cited specific

examples of where a lack of process led to a reduction

in productivity. Oldman used the example of the FM team that delivers printer paper to the printer, but doesn’t fill it up, so people arrive with their printer card, only to find they have to wait for their printout while they fill the machine themselves.

The last session of the morning heard from Martin Pitt, real estate director at Johnson Controls, who, having been seconded to Motorola during his time at Jones Lang LaSalle, discussed the technology firm’s real estate transformation. “Motorola’s ideal real estate strategy would be no real estate,” he said, adding that the EMEA real estate team used to be made up of 31 people, but has now been outsourced to one person.

“There has been a radical reduction in the use of offices – they are no longer considered a destination people must go to every day. Instead they are there to facilitate work when it’s appropriate.” FM

Cathy Hayward is director of Magenta Associates

● To read tweets from FCRE seminars, search Twitter for #fcreuk ● Read Neil Usher’s blog, which uses Marxist theory to consider the difficulties individuals and organisations have in trying to bring about new ways of working http://workessence.com/?p=116

Tim Oldman and Annie Leeson, founders of Leesman

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20�| 8 DECEMBER 2011�| FM WORLD www.fm-world.co.uk

MEETING EXPECTATIONS

FM SUPPLEMENT� WORKPLACE DESIGN� DR MARIE PUYBARAUD

In our research, the critical point we established was the shift towards collaboration space at the expense of the current status quo. And while no two

organisations have the same needs, structure or culture, they will have to develop the right collaborative workspace for their specific set of circumstances. By 2020 we anticipate that around 70 per cent of office space will be collaborative, while the rest will support more individual methods of working – the exact opposite of today’s ratio. This may present challenges for companies in leased premises, but as the cost of collaborative technologies decreases, these challenges will fall away.

people, buildings, technologies and working practices.

Today, many collaborative technologies are regarded as expensive and complex, but this will change dramatically in the coming years. As collaboration becomes more widespread, the number of products coming to market will increase and their price will come down, particularly as a result of collaborative offerings becoming available as cost effective ‘collaboration as a service’ (CaaS) solutions empowered by cloud computing. The opportunity for FM providers will be to adapt their models to accommodate even those on shorter-term leases.

FM providers and collaboration spaceToday, many FM providers help clients to integrate new technologies or sustainable ways of working, so this move to collaboration may become something of a standard FM product. I would envisage FM companies partnering with telecommunication providers and other providers of collaboration solutions to analyse a client’s needs, advise them of what to install and where to place it in the building, manage installation and then service it on a day-to-day basis. FM providers will have to demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between the client’s

Earlier this year, a research project concluded that, by 2020, office workers would be swapping daily access to their desks for occasional collaboration and meeting space. Here, the project’s co-author Marie Puybaraud looks ahead at what all this might mean for FM

The impact on workplace designA fundamental shift is happening in the way that the office is used. Ubiquitous technologies, such as broadband and mobile internet, mean that most employees can perform many of their daily tasks at home or elsewhere. The future purpose of the office will be to provide an environment that allows employees to collaborate, which will absolutely impact workplace design. This drive towards mass collaboration will change the way companies think about the buildings that they occupy.

Today, companies examine building occupancy and desk utilisation rates, so in the future

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WORKPLACE DESIGN

esearch for Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions

(GWS) Collaboration 2020 project involved 1,700 white collar workers across the planet. It revealed a gap between the amount of teamwork that today’s workplace can support and how much workers expect to be using in 2020. Office workers expect to spend more time working in team spaces that incorporate collaborative technologies, such as interactive digital screens, touch surfaces and live video streaming.

The project was undertaken by Dr Marie Puybaraud, director of global workplace innovation, Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions and consulting strategist Dr Kjetil Kristensen, Kristensen Consulting.

The results suggest a trend towards virtual teams, with workers using a range of communication technologies, coupled with a decrease in the amount of time that office workers expect to spend at their desks, on the phone, or in traditional meeting rooms.

The report’s authors argue that collaboration between white–collar office workers is a principal driver of creativity, innovation and business advantage. Their response to the survey (results can be found on p.23) is that the collaborative style of working allows teams to become more than the sum of their parts – but that there is a gulf between future expectation and current reality. The research indicates that there is a gap between the amount of collaboration supported by today’s workplace and the amount that workers expect to be using in just under a decade’s time. Failure to invest in collaborative technologies and updated

workspaces will hamper productivity.The type of environment seen

in the office is also likely to change. The frequent use of team spaces that incorporate collaborative technologies will increase from one fifth of people who currently report high usage to 52 per cent in 2020. However, people expect to be using traditional meeting rooms far less – 40 per cent said they currently use them regularly, compared to 27 per cent who expect to be regularly using them in 2020. The use of the desk phone is also set to decrease from the half of people who use them frequently today to just a third.

The research revealed that a one-size-fits-all workplace environment is less effective than one built for purpose. No two organisations are the same, so each one will need to customise its space to support its business model and culture. This drive toward mass collaboration will change the way companies think about the real estate they occupy. A higher proportion of company floor-space will be designed to support collaboration, requiring an understanding of the interplay between people, the real estate portfolio, technologies and working practices. The use of video communication and real-time technologies is also set to increase substantially. The number of people regularly using web conferencing is expected to triple from 19 per cent currently to 57 per cent.

Workers also expect to be using collaborative technologies that are still only at the developmental stage. For example, just under half (44 per cent ) expect to be using three-dimensional video conferencing in 2020, which would allow users to perceive depth on screen for a more realistic image.

RESEARCH RESULTS PAINT PICTURE OF A NEW COLLABORATION AGE

R

THE REPORT

it’s likely that many will occupy less floor space, but, significantly, a higher proportion of that space will be designed specifically to support collaboration, rather than individual working.

Designers have tended to allocate a workstation for each occupant, even if people spend the majority of their day collaborating. Most studies of the workplace show that the majority of workstations are unoccupied for large parts of the day, so this under-utilisation will need to be addressed in conjunction with the provision of collaborative spaces, if companies are going to derive value from the workplace.

The universal use of video conferencing will also have a significant impact on office design and equipment. Not only will there be dedicated, networked rooms for conferencing, but webcams will be standard equipment. However, as video conferencing evolves, it will become far different than the technologically complex, expensive and space constraining medium that we know today. In the future, it will be highly mobile (on your mobile phone and laptop), transportable (office, home



FM SUPPLEMENT� WORKPLACE DESIGN� DR MARIE PUYBARAUD

or anywhere), easy to use and affordable, while simultaneously allowing a high level of interactive activity (share data, access review and amend data, and so on).

This will all impact on how an office is designed. There will be far more collaborative/common areas with integrated technologies and fewer traditional meeting rooms and individual workstations. The design of the workplace has a key role to play in supporting collaboration – i.e. the provision of the right physical spaces and technology that assists these virtual teams in achieving business objectives, making quality decisions and creating new innovations.

The future of space planningToday’s office has around 30 per cent of space for collaborative working with 70 per cent reserved for individuals. The opposite will be true in 2020 – 70 per cent of workspace will be for collaboration, so there will be an important shift in how space is allocated and planned.

However, the challenge will be more to do with human behaviour and getting people to share information in remote teams, rather than simply one of collaborative technology and cost.

We know that people will work more in teams in the coming years, but they may not necessarily know how to do that effectively. An investment in technologies is required, but this must be coupled with training and education on effective collaboration.

Clearly, those people who can effectively work in teams using remote, collaborative technologies will be better equipped to thrive in tomorrow’s highly dynamic knowledge economy.

The impact on leased office spaceThe increase in dedicated collaborative meeting rooms will mean that FM service

providers will have to support these technologies and working practices. FM providers will have to act in a consultative capacity, so they can advise companies on the right workspaces and technologies for their businesses. They will also have to adjust their FM service offering to support this new range of requirements, i.e. room booking, use of new technologies, access to space on demand and in real time, and the training of staff to use new equipment.

They will also have to have a far closer relationship with the client and users than before in order to support them appropriately.

Most employees will be able to perform many of their daily tasks at home or elsewhere, so the future purpose of the office will be to provide an environment that allows employees to add significant value through new business processes empowered by collaboration. This will have an enormous impact on the amount of space leased, as collaboration changes the way companies think about buildings.

The rise of flexible working and increased collaboration means that many companies will need less floor space, but, a higher proportion of it will be bespoke areas specifically for collaboration. Very soon the days of expecting employees to commute to simply sit at a computer will be seen as archaic.

Final thoughtsThe way organisations anticipate deploying technology in the future will define their relationship with their FM

supplier. FM suppliers will have to become more expert in how to use the technology. I expect to see more FM suppliers setting up long-term partnerships with telecoms companies as they prepare for the future.

So much of this is consumer driven. The trend towards a ‘bring-your-own’ approach to IT is going to grow quickly and employers will be faced with a lot of new equipment that they’ll have no choice but to deal with. FM providers will need to think about supporting this level of activity in the workplace because it’s going to be new for them.

We’ve seen a move towards nomadic, flexible and co-location, working – now we’re saying that in the future people will want to go to the office to meet, share and interact with colleagues.

We have a lot of clients that have embraced this shift already, and these businesses are predominantly in the technology and finance sectors. Others will need to be led. There’s an opportunity for FM providers to really consult on this issue.

We’re very quickly moving towards a time when we’ll all have a single piece of kit for collaborating. But ultimately, this new world of collaboration will be more about training and leadership than technology.

Dr Marie Puybaraud has been director of global workplace innovation for Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions since 2004. Her leading Global WorkPlace Innovation Programme (www.globalworkplaceinnovation.com) explores workplace issues, challenges and trends.

ABOUT THE SURVEYKey findings – the use of technologies and workspaces now and in 2020:

19%-57%Web conference – 19 per cent reported high use currently, with 57 per cent anticipating high use in 2020

18%-51%Two-dimensional video conferencing

20% to 52% Team spaces with incorporated collaborative technologies

18% to 36%Dedicated collaboration room

33% to 54% Instant messaging

50% to 33% Desk phone

0% to 44% Three-dimensional video conferencing – 44 per cent of office workers anticipate high use in 2020

SURVEY SNAPSHOT



FK 123x91.indd 1 31/10/11 12:17:19If you’ve got what it takes,we’re here to help you progress

Are you still at the right BIFM membership grade to reflect your increasing achievements in the FM industry – or is it time to progress?To upgrade to the next level or to find out more, please visit: www.bifm.org.uk/climb or contact the Membership Team on: 0845 058 1358 or email [email protected]

Selected 2012 features in FM World magazine:

We have something of interest for all advertisers - for a full 2012 features list visit www.fm-world.co.uk/about-us or call Adam Potter 020 7880 8543

26th January issue: CAFM and the cloud

9th February issue: FM in pharmaceutical production

23rd February issue: Mailroom management

22nd March issue: Pest Control – Birds

5th April issue: Workplace catering supplement

14th June issue: IT Systems and strategy

19th July issue: Waste Management

16th August issue: HVAC Innovations

Features are subject to change – please contact the editor for further details. FM World welcomes contributions and ideas for articles. Send a short synopsis to Martin Read at [email protected]. Please note that we reserve the right to edit copy submitted for publication in the magazine.

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The news that the official human population of the Earth had exceeded seven billion for the first time, as of October 2011,

provoked the expected bout of soul searching and anxiety. Many of the concerns expressed were nakedly Malthusian in their pessimism.

Although people might have assumed we’d left behind this kind of flawed thinking, there is obviously something appealing about the idea that exponential population growth is unsustainable when resources increase only in arithmetical terms. What we should have learned in the two centuries since Thomas Malthus first popularised the idea, is that there are complex and interrelated factors that can influence the resources we need to survive, not least in terms of greater efficiency in the way we produce them.

layer of complexity because it is not based solely on the number of people who work nine to five in a fixed place in an office. It is also based on a new idea of the office as a base to work from, for an increasingly mobile workforce,” explains Clarke.

“The idea that this would come to pass has been with us for some time,” explains Paul Statham of Condeco Software. He recalls a time when there was great deal of talk about hot-desking and flexible working nearly 20 years ago with many predicting the death of the office. “Personally, I try to remember that we are only human. The majority of people will always need or want to go

A similar debate is also apparent in the way in which the commercial property market is able to offer the right sort of buildings for modern organisations. “It’s always been a complex equation at the best of times,” says Ann Clarke of Claremont Group Interiors. She feels that the accelerating pace of change in technology and working practices is making things ever-more challenging.

“The major complicating factor here is how to square a relatively fixed resource like a building with the demands of its occupants, when the occupants and their demands can change from day to day,” she says. “Add in the need to keep costs down and organisations soon begin to sweat more out of their assets.”

Packed to the rafters?The most immediate manifestation of this is the ongoing pressure on

PUZZLE

Flat screens have been a powerful force for change by shrinking workstation footprints by a fifth

space allocations for employees. In its 2009 Guide to Specification, the British Council for Offices reported that the average occupational density of a British office had increased by around 40 per cent since 1997.

As a result, the BCO increased its density standard from the previous advisory 12-17 square metres (129-183 square feet) to 8-13 square metres (86-140 square feet) per person. The new average benchmark for the office environment has been set at 10 square metres (108 square feet). Just two years on, even this is now generally seen as high especially in sectors such as financial services.

“This figure conceals another

The occupational density of offices is increasing, driven by a rising population and technological advances, finds Mark Eltringham

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PEOPLE

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out to work. But there’s no doubt that things are changing beyond recognition,” he says.

Clarke agrees, suggesting that the past few years have seen structural changes in the way firms design and manage their workplaces. “Mobile technology and new working practices have meant that time is no longer the fixed element that determines the way we use space. It has become a variable and that has changed everything.”

For Clarke, technology in particular has been a catalyst for change. “The mobile workforce is a consequence of the mobile technology it uses. Even for office based employees, flat screens have been a powerful force for change by shrinking workstation footprints by around a fifth and allowing more people to work in the same space.”

Clarke cites the humble bench desk, which is often

“When you increase the number of people in a given space, that inevitably has a major effect on the specification of the building. Toilets have to be specified accordingly, for example. So too, environmental systems, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical systems, escape routes – all these elements must be dealt with intelligently.”

One of the biggest challenges comes with buildings that have been designed for the past, a place where they do things very differently. Clarke is convinced that this one of the reasons why the fit-out and refurbishment of existing buildings is now such a focus of the work we do.

Old school tiesAs well as the time lag in the property sector, health and safety legislation is also playing catch-up. For example, when it comes to providing a productive working environment in terms of air quality, most of the existing regulations are related to dated models of space allocation; most guidance is based on the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Display Screen Equipment regulations of the same year.

“Both sets of regulations are clearly outmoded,” says Tabish Aiman of DAS Business Furniture. “The regulations are based on old technology and determined by the ceiling heights of old buildings.”

Aiman explains that DSE regulations are based on people using cathode ray tube monitors and desk-based working with a single, fixed PC, which we also know is no longer the case for the majority of people.

While there is also a general duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974, which covers pretty much everything without going into specifics, there is still a problem with the Workplace Regulations

in that they ask for things like ‘a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air’. The problem comes, according to Aiman, when you come to define ‘fresh’ and ‘sufficient’.

The regulations also fail to fully take into account other factors such as humidity, airborne particles and chemicals, heat, air conditioning, planting, smells and so on. In many cases, it is up to facilities managers to set their own parameters.

Your space, or mine?One other aspect of working culture that is likely to act as a brake on the relentless increase in occupational densities is that of personal space. Already, we are seeing signs that we may be at the limit of people’s tolerance for the presence, smell, sight and sound of other people. Hence the growth of interest in the subject of proxemics, which is the study of measurable distances between people as they interact.

“The human element also acts as a limit on occupational densities in other ways,” adds Statham. “The evolution of technology has allowed us to make almost limitless changes in the way we use workspaces. Yet people are still essentially the same creatures that were hunting and gathering over 50,000 years ago and we must work with that knowledge when designing and managing offices.”

According to Statham: “Technology may have driven the underlying changes in the first place, but it is a great enabler of a new kind of approach,” he concludes. “In any system with people involved there is a natural brake on going too far, but there are plenty of opportunities to strike the right balance.”

Mark Eltringham has worked in the office design and facilities management sector for 15 years as a marketing professional and magazine editor.

the core element of an office furniture installation, as the key manifestation of the change, an opinion echoed by Grant Morrison of Methis Furniture. “The bench is absolutely a product of the times,” he says. “There are very good reasons why, with all the space planning and product options now available to us, that a product like a bench should have taken off in quite the way it has.”

It has significant advantages and simply represents the best response to contemporary needs in terms of its simplicity, flexibility, space efficiency, price and ability to create environments for team working and desk sharing.

Infrastructure issuesBut increasing the occupational density of a building is not just an interior design issue. “One of the major implications of change is the impact it has on the building’s infrastructure,” says Ann Clarke.

OCCUPATIONAL DENSITIES


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While as children we’re often told to sit still, for working adults that’s often the worst thing we can do for our

health and our productivity. Which is why getting to our feet is so good, and why places to stand and gather are an increasingly popular facet of the office landscape.

“As the amount of residual desk space is reduced, so we are being asked to provide more and more collaboration space, including areas to stand,” says Martin Atkinson, managing director of workplace consultancy PiMS Workspace. This space, he says, tends to fall into two categories. “Firstly, breakfast bar-style areas near water coolers or vending machines; having something to lean on means staff will psychologically encourage people to stay longer. Then there are touchdown areas, where you can break out with a laptop.”

Standing up areas are more conducive for faster-paced, more spontaneous meetings, argues Craig Murray, workplace consultant with designers TSK.

“It’s really formalising something that’s always happened,” says Murray. “Whether it’s waiting in reception or gathering outside a meeting room, people have always tended to meet standing up. Now we’re seeing more mapping of how people move through an office space, and taken this idea of fortuitous encounters into something more valuable.”

“Maybe colleagues will be on their way across the office to the photocopier or the watercooler, for example. Standing spaces create a time and place to go beyond the formalised world of booked-in meetings in Outlook.”

Of course, there are health benefits too. In a 2010 report, the Standford Centre on Longevity, part of the university’s medicine

department, cites the workplace as the best place to address sedentary lifestyles. That’s something that Emma Mitchell, UK design and marketing director for office furniture manufacturer Steelcase, agrees with. “Worksettings that encourage people to stand up for part of the time every day are a great way to address sedentary habits. Not only is this movement good for the limbs, but it keeps blood flowing to bring a steady stream of oxygen and glucose to the the brain, and that keeps it functioning efficiently.”

And according to research from Austrian furniture firm Bene, approximately 55,000 hours of people’s professional lives are spent sitting. Office

STAND AND DELIVERBy walking around during our working day, we are exercising our bodies, allowing us to work more effectively. Helen Parton argues in favour of ‘taking a stand’

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and screen work performed while sitting causes severe stress to the musculoskeletal system, in particular to the neck, back and shoulders – a problem highlighted in the World Health Organisation’s ‘Protecting Workers Health Series 5’ document, which warned that inactivity represents an additional factor for the development of musculoskeletal disorders.

On a simpler note, by standing rather than sitting in your place of work, you burn three times as many calories says Dr James Levine from the US clinical institute the Mayo Clinic. Muscle contractions, including the ones required for standing, seem to trigger important processes related to the breakdown or fats

and sugars. When you sit, muscle contractions cease and these processes stall.

Up to the taskArchitect Sevil Peach is a

proponent of designing standing space into offices. Peach was responsible for Microsoft’s Amsterdam headquarters,which incorporates every conceivable furniture configuration. Says Peach, “Standing is good for your spine and prevents you having to resort to an ergonomic chair. It allows you to have a fresh perspective and a way of getting away from the monotony of sitting at a low level.”

In an organisation of a different scale altogether, and in a space measuring not quite

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STANDING SPACE


standing.” Antenna Workspaces from Knoll is a range of storage options – desk-mounted, big table mounted, wall-mounted and freestanding cabinets – designed to work with workstations without blocking visual access, all to encourage ‘standing up interactions’. As designer Masamichi Udagawa, one half of Antenna Design puts it, “We took that idea of gathering round the watercooler and transposed it. It’s just a better way to gather around informally, rather than appearing suddenly and tapping someone on the shoulder.”

Design rhetoric aside, what are the practical facilities management issues that need to be considered with standing areas? Firsrtly, there’s a danger

500 sq m, 1104 Architects has installed a copper unit in the kitchen of the central London offices of production company Final Cut. 1104 director Chris Roche comments, “It’s intended as a standing workstation for a number of runners within the organisation, and as such suits their operations. It works as both a social focus and as a leaning post for staff between assignments.”

Up to the taskFurniture manufacturers are

offering an increasing number of desking and storage solutions that cater for both seated and standing work. Bene’s T-Lift desk, a typical example, is “for work that alternates between sitting and

ALLOWING WORKERS TO STAND AT EASE

CASE STUDY

The central London offices for fit-out firm The Interiors Group were designed by interiors specialists Scott Brownrigg. The brief for the 418 sqm space, which consolidated two existing sites, called for a ‘memorable yet functional’ design. This included a compact servery area on the ground floor, which incorporates a solid stand-alone bench for both sitting and standing. “With the designers’ input, this grew both in the physical sense and in the focal sense as a hub for both internal and external meetings, as well as a place for after work drinks and a key area for our hospitality programme,” says The Interiors Group’s chief

executive Andrew Black. Far from being just a tea point, Black says, “It works brilliantly. People are by nature more at ease standing with something to lean on or hide their otherwise readable body language and mannerisms. The stools also give the more vertically challenged an appearance of seeming more ease.” Located in what could easily have been the no man’s land between the reception and the meeting rooms and adjacent to a staircase, this standing area brings people physically closer, where they are able to share ideas and staff are far less subconsciously concerned about their own space.

that demand for the space could outstrip supply; and secondly, there needs to be a common understanding about how the space should be used. “They also need to fit in with a clean building policy,” says Martin Atkinson, “There needs to be a certain element of policing the area and reminding staff, through obvious signage, what is acceptable.” To avoid excluding wheelchair-bound office workers, Atkinson recommends that standing areas include a supply of low level seating as well.

While some office workers might want to plug in and break out, says Craig Murray, “There’s a lot to be said for areas without technology where you can simply sketch an idea or look at images.

Areas such as standing space should drive different behaviours from being sat at your desk.” Touchdown standing areas are also where the worlds of facility management and IT converge, where the wireless network for visitors and the public needs to have a sufficient firewall from the part of the server containing more sensitive company information.

In the end, says Phil Hutchinson, “many stand up meeting places are serendipitous.” Even if it’s the large bookshelf that becomes a focus point to drop in, or the bank of cabinets that lends itself to laying out documents on top of, “alternative workspaces are all about choice.”

Helen Parton is a freelance journalist

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FM FEATURE led lighting anna king

www.fm-world.co.uk

The promise of being ‘first’ is always seductive and for some companies, the decision to use LED lighting in their offices

might be made for that reason alone, regardless of whether the technology is right for the application.

Indeed, being first can come with a huge price tag. Early adopters can pay a premium to cover research and development. In the case of LEDs, there is also the matter of future-proofing manufacturers against an inevitable reduction in unit sales. Why a reduction? Put simply, LEDs last too long – and they could easily become a victim of their own success.

According to David Clements, managing director of Future Designs, LED lighting “offers savings as a result of the increased lifespan of LEDs of up to 60,000 hours. This means reduced maintenance, as well as the reduced amount of energy that goes into making the lighting in the first place.”

Other potential benefits can be realised as a result of the lower voltage required to power an equivalent level of light quality. LEDs have cooler running temperatures than fluorescent lamps (approximately 25 degrees), resulting in two

potential benefits: a reduced requirement for air conditioning, and a reduced fire hazard (LEDs are already widely used in the risk-averse aviation industry).

HealthThe largest proportion of light in our workplaces is generated from

overhead lighting, with the lack of control and light wastage that this involves. Indeed, lighting remains a hugely contentious issue in the workplace and can lead to significant eye-related health problems.

Across the pond, research by Brusking and Goldring shows

that up to 80 per cent of office workers experience at least one negative effect from poor lighting and 75 per cent want more lighting control – an issue that ergonomics specialists Humanscale believes can be dealt with through the highly directional nature of LED task

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LIGHT WORKLED lighting is gaining wider acceptance as the efficiency, reliability, longevity and versatility of this ‘solid state’ technology challenges traditional lighting options. But while the technology offers much, it is not quite ready for the big time, as Anna King discovers

www.fm-world.co.uk FM WORLD | 8 deCeMBeR 2011 | 29

led lighting

CASE STUDY: CLYDE & COperspectives

LED lighting at the offices of Clyde & Co

London-based international corporate and commercial law firm Clyde & Co required a solution for lighting its cellular offices. the engineer, Chapman Bathurst, and the architects, tP Bennett, had developed a design solution that required the offices to be lit without the use of light fittings in the ceiling, to create seamless ambient lighting throughout the space. the resulting solution from future designs was the development of KurVe, a unique fitting that would throw light from the top of the wall-mounted storage units out and across the ceiling.

More common in offices, there is a false ceiling with a 600mm light fitting that sits in the middle of that ceiling, producing pockets of bright light rather than a consistent illumination, an issue that is more noticeable in a small cellular office, hence the need for a bespoke solution.

The solutionthe lawyers’ offices were furnished with wall-mounted cabinets above their desks with an uplighter installed on top of the cabinets. the fluorescent lamp sits inside an aluminium semicircular reflector, which is coated with a resin powder to maximise its reflectiveness. this overhead light is supplemented with a strip of Led beneath the storage units to ensure that the lawyer could sit at his or her workstation without finding themselves working in their own shadow.

seven potential versions were developed before future designs achieved the accurate size, shape and angle of the reflector was realised, for which they now have the Certificate of registration of design from the Patent Office. KurVe is easy to maintain and to replace the bulbs as the fM team only needs to get on top of a cabinet rather than take down a whole ceiling. Consequently, future designs estimate that, overall, KurVe will prove to be 17 per cent more cost efficient than a standard overhead lighting solution.

lighting. Tim Hutchings, president, international of Humanscale explains: “By supplying the right amount of adjustable illumination for each user, task lights reduce glare and computer vision syndrome – a condition causing eyestrain, eye fatigue, dry eyes, light sensitivity, blurred vision and headaches.”

When the lighting industry progresses its technology to produce the economies of scale required for an all-inclusive LED lighting package, it will undoubtedly be a giant leap forward on energy consumption and spend. Until then, FMs need to ensure that they are being offered the right technology for an effective and efficient lighting solution. In offices, this usually means a mix of the two, with fluorescent still dominating the main light source, with adjustable task lighting deployed

for individual use.

current considerationsFM strategies need to be carefully considered before any outlay on LED lighting is undertaken. A reduction in energy consumption alone will not be enough to persuade a board to switch from one form of lighting to another, and there needs to be a relatively swift financial return.

But despite companies urging us all to retrofit LEDs immediately, expert industry opinion maintains that the technology is not a viable way of lighting an office environment just yet. It’s unlikely that a reputable consultant would currently advocate the exclusive use of LED, with businesses changing from fluorescent to LED lighting right now unlikely to see anything more than a negligible energy saving. FM

www.fm-world.co.uk

FM MONITOR� PETER LE MANQUAIS

30�| 8 DECEMBER 2011 | FM WORLD

The new standard is the first update since 2002 and contains significant changes to the original. These changes are aimed at encouraging lighting designers and specifiers to consider all of the light sources that are used within the workplace and, to a greater extent, include natural light as well as artificial light. In addition, a greater emphasis has been placed on the use of controls and thinking about lighting the workplace as a whole, rather than on what lux level there is on the work surfaces.

Obviously, as a standard rather than a regulation, the new recommendations are to be seen as ‘best practice’ advice, unless the brief on a job is to comply with the latest European standards. However, this latest revision offers specifiers some important guidance on delivering light efficiently, yet effectively.

December daysWhere previously the 2002 standard encourages the installation of lighting levels that prepare the workplace for early winter’s evenings, the new standard not only takes into account, but encourages the greater use of daylight and lighting controls in schemes. For retrofits, increased day lighting might not be an option, but with energy efficiency high on the agenda, lighting controls are becoming increasingly

important and with this, the new standard encourages the implication of EN 15193: Energy performance of buildings – energy requirements of lighting.

Climbing up the wallsWhereas the 2002 standard concentrated on horizontal illumination, this latest revision has taken on board SLL (Society of Light and Lighting) addendums to LG3 (CIBSE Lighting Guide LG3: The visual environment for display screen use) and LG7 (CIBSE Lighting Guide 7: Lighting for Offices), which stated that there should be 50 per cent of the task illumination on the walls and 30 per cent on the ceiling. By incorporating the requirement for specific levels of illumination on the walls and ceiling, the new standard hopes to put an end to the trend over the past few years of lighting workspaces with swathes of downlights alone, which traditionally provide narrow shafts of light.

Although this approach to lighting moves specifiers a step further away from a product specification model and nearer a design led one, there is still a tendency for people to feel more comfortable with prescriptive calculations. The new standard is an improvement on LG7 in this respect, as the new standard sets a level of 50 lux on the walls for

enclosed spaces or 75 lux for offices and education facilities, with a uniformity level, which is far easier to facilitate, similarly on ceilings.

Getting the job doneAn interesting addition to the new standard is the move towards activity related lighting. It is no longer necessary to light an area to a uniformity of 70 per cent horizontal illumination throughout the entire space. Thanks to the updated standard, the minimum horizontal illumination in a space can vary between 40 per cent to 70 per cent uniformity, enabling energy savings to be achieved as light levels are reduced in background areas. With this amendment comes the realisation that high, uniform illumination is only vital in key task-based areas and not necessarily in corridors or other general spaces.

The only way is upAnother new introduction to the standard comes in the form of mean ‘cylindrical illuminance’ (measuring vertical illumination through 360 degrees). This encourages designers and specifiers to create schemes that deliver 50 lux on the vertical plane at heights between 1.2 and 1.6m above floor level, within activity areas. By specifying minimum illumination levels for walls and ceilings, it is hoped that this new recommendation will encourage the use of daylight where possible and by default, discourage the use of narrow beam downlights.

Although this all works well in principal, the new standard still has some way to go in terms of encouraging a revolution in workplace lighting design. The 500 lux work surface stipulation that still exists is still an acceptance of

EUROPEAN STANDARD, BS EN 12464-1:2011 LIGHTING OF INDOOR WORK PLACES

he new European standard, BS EN 12464-1:2011 Lighting of Indoor Work

Places has just come into force. Its aim is to improve the quality of workplace lighting and encourage greater energy savings. But what issues do FMs need to be aware of?

Tthe ‘old ways’ of lighting and it will be interesting to see when the next standard review occurs whether this will stand the test of time. As most of us are increasingly working on vertical surfaces in the form of computers, the argument for flooding the horizontal plane with light will become weaker.

With these and many more additions and revisions to the 2002 standard, the creators of EN 12464-1: 2011 are hoping that it will give designers and specifiers the tools they need to provide a better place for people to work, so that performance is enhanced and the light is efficiently delivered to where it is needed, saving energy in the process. FM

Peter Le Manquais is technical director at WILALEGAL

UPDATE

Day lighting – All light sources, including natural light, are now encouraged and seen as integral to the design.

Wall lighting – specifiers are encouraged to increase the brightness of a room via ceiling and wall illumination.

Activity lighting – illumination levels can now depend on the activities in that space, with high, uniform illumination only vital in key, task-based areas.

Cylindrical illuminance – looks at the light falling on all sides of a cylinder and averages it. This illuminance brings an emphasis on modelling a scheme so that vertical illumination can be measured through 360 degrees.

Screen lighting – new luminance limits are set for luminaires used with Display Screen equipment (DSE), the description of display screens is according ISO 9214-307.

KEY CHANGES

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Court Report

LEGAL NEWS

Under Section 30(1)(g) Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the landlord has the right to oppose the renewal of a protected business tenancy provided that it intends to re-occupy the premises for the purposes of (or partly for the purposes of) its own business.

In the following article, we look at an interesting case in which the court had to decide whether the landlord had the requisite ‘intention’ against a background of possible future rent negotiations with its tenant.

Case backgroundHumber Oil Terminals Trustee (HOTT) was the tenant under four leases from Associated British Ports (ABP), the landlord of properties comprising the Immingham Oil Terminal (the IOT) in the Humber Estuary. Between January and June 2009, ABP served notices to terminate the Leases under section 30(1)(g). Following failed negotiations, HOTT commenced lease renewal proceedings in December 2009.

Factors in the decision The issue for the court to decide was whether and in what circumstances ABP intended to re-occupy the premises. The court held that the word ‘intention’ should be given its ordinary and natural meaning and that the test broadly comprised two limbs: (1) whether the landlord’s intention was firm and settled and

(2) whether there was a reasonable prospect that the landlord would be able to fulfil its intention. It was accepted as common ground that the relevant ‘intention’ should be determined at the date of the hearing.

The defenceABP’s case was that it intended to take back and occupy the IOT with a view to maximising throughput, efficiency and capacity of the IOT, particularly by opening up the jetty to third parties. HOTT disputed that ABP had the requisite intention to occupy the IOT as well as the ability to carry out this intention on the basis that ABP was motivated by a desire for a high rent and that the ‘right price’ would induce it to agree renewal tenancies.

HOTT also noted that on lease termination, HOTT was entitled to remove its refinery infrastructure,

leaving ABP to reinstall it at huge cost and with considerable delay to operations, which, it contended ABP would not do.

The court’s decision The court held in favour of ABP. It accepted the genuineness of ABP’s decision to run the IOT itself. The court held that the fact that HOTT could and might make an offer of a higher rent that ABP might consider did not, in the absence of evidence to suggest that ABP would in fact accept such an offer, render ABP’s intention unsettled or conditional.

As for ABP’s ability to implement its intention, the court said that where a landlord’s plans are merely “aspirational or embryonic”, this might be relevant where the landlord was impecunious or insubstantial. Here, ABP was a major port operator with substantial financial support behind it.

Summing upIt was not for the court to decide how successful, or even economically viable, the landlord’s objective would be. It was sufficient for the court merely to decide that ABP had the relevant intention and that it had a reasonable prospect of achieving its intention, which it did in this case.

Beverley Vara is a partner and head of real estate litigation at solicitors Allen & Overy LLP.

BUSINESS TENANCIES – INTENTION TO OCCUPY UNDER SECTION 30(1)(G) – LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT 1954

Targeted HSE inspectionsThe Health and Safety Executive (HSE) should have the power to direct all local authority inspection and enforcement activity towards the most risky workplaces. That’s one of the main recommendations of the just-released Lofstedt Review of HSE operations, which was commissioned last March.

In the report, Reclaiming Health and Safety for All, Professor Ragnar Lofstedt makes a number of recommendations to simplify and improve the way that legislation is enforced. The publication of the report by the Department for Work and Pensions is part of the government’s plans to reform the health and safety system’s operation and introduce new legislation.

Waste firm faces fineA waste collection firm has appeared in court after poor safety measures led to a worker falling from the top of a truck in Blackburn.

Neales Waste Management was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after a 44-year-old employee fell four metres to the ground while trying to remove waste that had become stuck on the roof of a collection vehicle. The firm admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of employees. The company, of Walker Road in Guide, Blackburn, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £11,661 in prosecution costs on 29 November 2011.

Last year, more than 150 workers suffered major injuries in the recycling industry in Great Britain and one was killed.

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.ukNon-members: call 020 7880 8543 to order your copy

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FM MONITOR� MARKET INTELLIGENCE

INSIGHT

VAT rates: Standard rate – 20% (from 4 January 2011) Reduced rate – 5%Zero rate – this is not the same as exempt or outside the scope of VATSource: HM Treasury (hmrc.gov.uk)

Bank of England base rate: 0.5% as of 7 September 2011. The previous change in bank rate was a reduction of 0.5 percentage points to 0.5% on 5 March 2009.Source: Bank of England (bankofengland.co.uk)

Consumer Price Index Annual inflation was 5% in November, down from 5.2% in September. This welcome relief from the overall 2011 trend is a result of falls in the cost of food (with widespread discounting by supermarkets), air fares and petrol. Upward pressures from the energy sector continue to affect the overall figure. Source: HM Treasury (hmrc.gov.uk

National Minimum Wage

The following rates came into effect on 1 October 2011:

ECONOMY SOLAR THERMAL AND PHOTOVOLTAIC UPTAKE

CHP CAPACITY AND USAGE

VOLUME OF CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT

In 2009, there were annual sales of around 7,000 photovoltaic units and 24,000 solar thermal units into residential, commercial and industrial applications. Solar thermal remains dominant, reflecting lower costs and wider usage in domestic properties, compared to the much higher investment costs for PV

installations. The Feed-in Tariff scheme has seen sales increase rapidly to over 25,000 installations in the first half of 2011 – with provisional estimates of around 34,000 installations in the July-September 2011 quarter.DECC has announced a virtual 50% reduction in tariffs to take

effect from 12 December 2011. While some reduction has been anticipated, the scale and speed of the change has caused concern in the sector that the development of the industry will be significantly impacted. The changes are subject to discussion with consultation due to close by December 23.Source: AMA Research (amaresearch.co..uk)

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) capacity increased by nearly 7 per cent between 2009 and 2010 from 5,614 MWe to 5,989 MWe. Despite the increase in capacity, the amount of good quality electricity produced in 2010 was 26,083 GWh, a cut of 1.4 per cent on 2009, which represents a little under 7 per cent of the total electricity generated in the UK. Sixty-eight per cent of the fuel used in CHP schemes was natural gas. The use of renewable fuel increased between 2009 and 2010 and now makes up 6 per cent of fuel used (up from 5 per cent in 2009).Heat generation also fell by 0.7 per cent between 2009 and 2010. In terms of heat demand, the refineries sector had the largest share of total installed capacity,

followed by the chemicals sector and then the paper sector. Across the commercial and industrial sectors (including the fuel industries other than electricity generation) electrical output from CHP accounted for around 12 per cent of electricity consumption. CHP schemes in total supplied 47,815 GWh of heat in 2010, a decrease of 0.4 per cent

since 2009. In terms of electrical capacity by size of scheme, schemes larger than 10 MWe represent over 83 per cent of the total electrical capacity of CHP schemes. However, in terms of number of schemes, the largest share (81 per cent) is in schemes less than 1 MWe.

Source: DECC (decc.gov.uk)

The total volume of construction output in the third quarter of 2011 fell by 0.2 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2011. The total volume of construction output in the third quarter of 2011 fell by 1 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2010. All new work fell by 0.6 per cent and repair and maintenance rose by 0.7 per cent compared with the second quarter

of 2011. All new work fell by 1.8 per cent and repair and maintenance rose by 0.9 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2010. Quarter-

on-quarter volume reductions were experienced in six out of nine sectors reported. Source: Office for

National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

The figures on this page have been compiled from several sources and are intended as a guide to trends. FM World declines any responsibility for the use of this information.

Category of worker Hourly rate from 1 Oct 2011

Aged 21 and above £6.08

Aged 18 to 20 inclusive

£4.98

Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school age)

£3.68

Apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

£2.60

EMPLOYMENT


CHP installations by capacity and size range 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Number of schemes (1) 1,363r 1,414r 1,434r 1,495r 1,568Less than 100 kWe 462 456 457 448r 462r100 kWe to 999 kWe 643r 686r 705r 766r 806r1 MWe to 9.9 MWe 187 202 201r 209r 231r10.0 MWe and above 71 70 71r 72 69r MWeTotal capacity 5,432 5,438 5,449r 5,614r 5,989Less than 100 kWe 29 29 28 28 29100 kWe to 999 kWe 165r 179 181r 195r 2041 MWe to 9.9 MWe 705 733 709r 725r 77310.0 MWe and above 4,532 4,497 4,530r 4,666r 4,984

New Housing Other New work Public Private Infras- Public Private Private tructure Industrial CommercialYEAR TO THE LATEST QUARTER ON PREVIOUS YEARQ4 2009 – Q3 2010 4,034 12,059 12,048 12,852 3,606 22,595Q4 2010 – Q3 2011 4,526 13,633 12,920 13,161 3,191 23,509 % CHANGE 12.2% 13.0% 7.2% 2.4% -11.5% 4.0%

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FM MONITOR �HYWEL DAVIES

STANDARD MAINTENANCE SPECIFICATION

FOR BUILDING SERVICES — SFG20

TECHNICALHywel Davies is technical director of CIBSE

SFG20, the Standard Maintenance Specification for Building Services, is widely regarded as the industry standard for the management, specification and delivery of building services systems maintenance.

It was first developed more than 15 years ago, when the CIBSE Maintenance Task Group approached HVCA to propose guidance on building services maintenance management. This led to publication of CIBSE TM17.

HVCA then developed a specification for maintenance and inspection work on heating and ventilation plant and services, which has developed into SFG20.

This online tool is recognised as the industry standard for the maintenance of almost all plant and services likely to be encountered in buildings. It is continually reviewed to keep it up to date with technology changes, statutory and mandatory requirements, and to meet client expectations.

SFG20 also provides a standard for clients to use when setting out tendering requirements, and for service providers to use as the benchmark level of provision when costing work.

It recommends the frequency of visits to particular plant and services installations and sets out details of the work to be undertaken in a generic format, which can be adapted for each location. It also provides

ompliance with SFG20 in the current economic climate may not be as costly

as you think. Indeed, the new version will allow users to customise it to suit their needs

a structure for recording and auditing the work, if required.

The specification covers more than 60 categories of equipment and 500 detailed maintenance schedules, including the most common types of heating, cooling, ventilation, controls and electrical services in buildings most often found in Europe.

Core maintenance schedules include:● Heating and pipework systems● Ventilating and air conditioning● Controls, including building and energy management systems● Ancilliary plumbing and sewerage systems● Electrical services in buildings, including power supplies and associated electrical equipment up to 415V

It specifies the tasks that you need to perform to keep assets in the best condition. It does not make allowance for current asset condition, how hard it is working, what environment it is operating in or the quality of the manufacturing and installation.

Practical complianceThis may not always be the most economical way of maintaining a given asset. Given the economic climate, some customers may not want all of these tasks carried out, but may wish to focus on regulatory aspects alone.

The generic tasks listed in SFG20 are mostly recommendations, with statutory and other mandatory requirements – many health and safety related – clearly identified. This enables users to comply with the relevant regulations that apply to their installation, and to distinguish between essential maintenance to comply with regulations, and optional (albeit desirable) tasks.

The specification therefore enables users to focus their maintenance spend on the tasks that deliver the most value to them in their operational circumstances.

Labour takes up much of the cost of services maintenance, and so it is vital to set the frequency at which maintenance tasks are carried out.

Once SFG20 has been adopted, the client and service provider should keep service levels under review, to ensure that the maintenance provision continues to meet business needs and to ensure that each party understands fully what is required, and that it is being achieved to the required standard.

New rulesSFG20 is currently being updated and RICS has recently aligned the Maintenance New Rules for Measurement with SFG20. This will allow clients to adapt their maintenance regime to their specific business

Cneeds, enabling them to establish definitive costs at a very early stage and to budget and plan minor and major plant replacement over the life of the installation.

Subsequently, they will be able to monitor actual performance against budget predictions.

The alignment with the Maintenance New Rules of Measurement also means the addition of some new items, mainly renewable energy systems such as bio-mass boilers and boreholes for ground source heat pumps.

The new version is expected to enable users to customise the maintenance regime for their own circumstances. FM

This article was prepared with contributions from Jo Harris and John Armstrong, the current and former chairs of the CIBSE Maintenance Task Group.

USEFUL SOURCESCIBSE Guide M: Maintenance Engineering and Management, A guide for designers, maintainers, building owners and operators, and facilities managers. www.cibseknowledgeportal.co.uk

BSRIA BG7 Business Focused Maintenance Toolkit (Guidance on how to determine specific maintenance requirements) www.bsria.co.uk

CIBSE Maintenance Task Group www.cibse.org (goups section)

SFG20 www.sfg20.com/ S

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BIFM NEWS� BIFM.ORG.UK


QUALIFICATIONS

BIFM educationsuccessThe growing success of the BIFM qualifications in 2011 is a true testament to the value that both individuals and employers place on vocational professional qualifications.

BIFM’s qualifications were accredited on to the Qualifications and Credit Framework in March 2010 and the BIFM had 200 registrations for the period up until the end of 2010.

The year 2011 has seen a 200 per cent growth in the number of recognised centres. There are now 15 centres throughout the UK and the first international centre was recognised this year – the Portobello Institute in Ireland, which delivers the BIFM Level 5 programme in both Dublinand Cork.

We have also had a number of other ‘firsts’ this year, including our first further education college (Westminster Kingsway College); our first university (Leeds Metropolitan); and our first university that offers dual awards (Sheffield Hallam).

During 2011, the BIFM saw a 124 per cent increase in the number of learner registrations, which resulted in a total (at the time of going to print) of 450 registrations.

As we draw a close to the end of 2011, what do we have to look forward to in 2012? The BIFM is considering the opportunity to award competency worked based qualifications (i.e. NVQs) at both Levels 4 and 5. This will be a particularly attractive option for those experienced facilities managers seeking the recognition of a qualification, while not needing to undertake any additional learning.

These qualifications make full use of work-based evidence in order to demonstrate competence upon which a qualification is awarded. The BIFM is also hoping to launch Level 7 qualifications, which have been developed with a higher education institute and employers. This programme should be available in the autumn of 2012.

The BIFM continues to fulfil its mission to ‘advance the facilities management profession’ with the growth in its existing qualifications and plans for expansion into new products which provide the bedrock for professionalising the industry.

i For information on the BIFM’s forthcoming initiatives, call Linda Hausmanis on 0845 058 1355 or email [email protected]

BIFM SUBSCRIPTIONS

Annual BIFM subscriptionThe annual BIFM subscription fee will increase in line with the RPI inflation rate at 5.5 per cent from 1 January 2012. Using member

you don’t know who you’re aiming it at so start by getting a feel for the types of roles you’d like to apply for in the future. Check out current jobs at jobs.fm-world.co.uk

● Be specific and give concise detailFor example, if an employer is looking for procurement experience, make sure you mention the budget you were working with, how much you saved, big contracts you negotiated, and so on.

● Make it two pages maximumCVs aren’t about what you want to tell an employer, they are all about what that employer wants to hear, so target your experiences. If it’s easier, you can arrange your roles by adding different titles within your CV (for example, health and safety experience).

● Keep it consistent Use a similar layout, highlighting and tabulations throughout your

grade as an example, the annual fee will rise from £164 to £173. Full details will be included in renewal notices.

Members who currently do not pay by direct debit can offset some of the costs of the increase by switching to this form of payment, which means they receive a 5 per cent discount.

i Contact the membership team to learn more on 0845 058 1358, or email [email protected]

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Updating your CVHow up to date is your CV? With winter here and the appeal of the outdoors waning, why not take some time to get yours in shape? Here are some tips to get you going:

● Make it relevant It’s really hard to write a CV when

Learning curve: The BIFM continues to expand qualifications

KEEP IN TOUCH

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

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BIFM COMMENT

y board colleague Ismena Clout has previously compared the institute to a living body. She described staff at head office as the bones of the institute holding things together and the board as the brain, with the executive directors as the logical side

and the non-executive directors as the creative side. I’d like to sketch out a skeleton of what Ismena’s creative metaphor might logically tell us.

We can learn a lot from the organism metaphor. Living systems have needs and so a professional association has to satisfy multiple stakeholders, such as members, volunteers and staff. However, open systems need to survive in an environment and so the depressed economy is a factor for all businesses. The idea of an environment means that internally different kinds of management are required for different tasks. Viewed from the outside, professional associations are like different species in an ecosystem with different attributes. The natural selection approach highlights that there will be tensions between individuals in organisations and between organisations and the environment, whether these are positive or not is a matter of choice and flexibility.

George Harrison wrote: ‘And the time will come/When you see we’re all one/And life flows on within you and without you’. Organisational ecology helps to remind us that there are people and organisations that we need to relate to at human and organisational levels. From a more corporate perspective, the idea of a fit between an organisation and its environment is dominant in strategy. The organism metaphor is deeply embedded in management thinking, although has some disadvantages. There can be an over-emphasis on the environment when we all have some freedom of action. The organisation as organism can become a management

ideology, which can be criticised as much as the organisation as machine metaphor. However, advantages include that the organisation as organism view highlights the need for balance, options and innovation.

A way of seeing is also a way of not seeing. As we become more experienced as people and managers, it is tempting to rely on what we have seen before and to stop really looking at the world. We need to be mindful of this when using metaphors for organisations. In essence, a metaphor is a kind of symbolic model. If this seems a bit technical, then one practical application of metaphors is in the world of selling, whether in grabbing people’s attention, making a recommendation in a nutshell, or using a hammer to hit a message home.

Thank you Ismena for your spark of inspiration about metaphor that has helped me build this column.

[email protected]

M

Please send your news items to [email protected] or call 0845 058 1356

www.fm-world.co.uk

BUILDING A METAPHOR

CV so employers can easily spot the information that you need them to see.

● Give it the 30 second testThis is roughly how long employers spend looking at a CV, so make sure that the most important information is on the first page – and easy to find. i BIFM members can receive

impartial feedback on their CV through the new careers service: www.bifm.org.uk/careersservice

MEMBERS

New membersThe following organisations joined the BIFM as corporate members in October:

Assertio Services – Product supplier Blue Mountain Water – FM supplier BVG India – FM supplier Dorma UK – FM supplier Healthy Buildings (Ireland) – FM supplierLCG FM – In-house FM teamMASS Systems – FM supplierMiddleton Maintenance Services – FM supplierPrime Recruitment – ConsultantScaled Networks – Consultant

CONFERENCE

ThinkFMconferenceAre you up to date on ThinkFM?If not, it’s time you were. Taking place on 18 June 2012 in central London, ThinkFM is brought to you by the BIFM, in association with Workplace Law. It will include a day of learning, debate, interaction and networking.

i For full details, including information on the venue, programmes and latest news, visit www.thinkfm.com

“A WAY OF SEEING IS ALSO A WAY OF NOT SEEING. AS WE BECOME MORE EXPERIENCED AS PEOPLE AND MANAGERS, IT IS TEMPTING TO RELY ON WHAT WE HAVE SEEN BEFORE AND TO STOP REALLY LOOKING AT THE WORLD”

Stephen Bennettis strategy director at the BIFM


BIFM NEWS� BIFM.ORG.UK


ver the past year, we introduced a whole host of new initiatives and services to help us deliver an even better range of FM training, learning and

development – and we have plenty more plans for 2012.We pride ourselves on the quality of service we offer,

and one of our key priorities will be the implementation of a new CRM database, aiding smarter working for a more effectual service. We also plan to enrich our online information by introducing video clips showcasing our courses and qualifications.

The first session of our re-launched Executive Programme in November was an immediate sell-out and from June 2012 we’ll be rolling out six more new and up-to-the-minute briefings. You may also have noticed the return of our conference programme, which includes a day on managing building services next year.

We launched our first e-learning programme in the spring and throughout 2012 we will be adding to the portfolio with a range of one-hour, ‘pick ‘n’ mix’ modules for both organisations and individuals. Our next group of e-programmes will focus on health and safety, and we’re also organising further e-modules to support our qualification packages.

There’s a general consensus within the industry of a growing FM skills shortage and that one of the biggest contributory factors is a low proportion of employees aged 16-24 in the workforce.

Consequently, we’re exploring the apprenticeship landscape and how we may support employers through training. We’re also looking to grow our engagement with the FM supply side through specific e-learning and qualification packages.

Overseas, we’ll continue to work with our partners in Romania and the Middle East to grow our public course programmes in these regions. We will also work to raise the profile of UK FM qualifications in other countries.

Finally, those of you based in Scotland and further up North will be pleased to see the return of our foundation and intermediate programmes in Edinburgh next year – Understanding FM on 22-24 May and The Professional FM 1 on 30 October-1 November 2012.

Our usual donation in place of sending company Christmas cards goes to an organisation that’s close to our hearts – the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. This is in support of one of our longest serving employees, Lucinda Howe, whose 10-year-old son suffers from the condition. Last but not least, we wish you all the best for this year’s festivities and look forward to seeing you in 2012.

i Follow us online at facebook.com/bifmtraining and twitter.com/bifmtraining. Or visit us at www.bifm-training.com, email [email protected] or call 020 7404 4440

BIFM TRAINING

O

www.fm-world.co.uk

2012 – OUR RANGE OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT CHOICES HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER

SKILLZONE

Advanced negotiationSkillZone is the BIFM’s interactive online learning portal to help you or your team develop business skills in bitesize, adaptable chunks. There are eight modules available: including advanced negotiation.

Advanced negotiation enables learners to hone and improve negotiation techniques and strategies. Learners will be able to plan for complex negotiations, ensuring that the outcome of any undertaken is successful.

The course covers the process of negotiation, the trading of constants and variables in order to achieve a successful outcome, the balance of power and persuasion and rapport building techniques. It will give more experienced negotiators the opportunity to refresh their skills, while also providing an overview for those looking to improve their negotiation skills.

BIFM competencies include:● Management principles ● Project management ● Personal leadership ● Human resource management ● Relationship with suppliers and specialists ● Customer service ● Procurement, contracts and contract management

Learning outcomes include:● The principles of negotiation● Negotiation dynamics● Preparing for complex negotiation● Trading concessions● Getting out of deadlock

A three-for-two launch offer on BIFM SkillZone modules ends on 31 January 2012. Courses available include: ●·Thinking strategically● Advanced negotiation

● Conversation with customers● Making budgeting work in the real world● Innovation● KPIs● Negotiation skills: the principles● Managing professionals for results

i www.bifm.org.uk/skillzone

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Seasons greetingsThe BIFM would like to wish all our members a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Over the festive period our office will be closed from Friday, 23 December 2011 until Tuesday, 3 January 2012.

SUSTAINABILITY SURVEY

FM survey results 2011The results from the annual BIFM Sustainability in FM Survey 2011 are now available. Launched in 2007 by the BIFM and the University of Reading, the survey examines the key drivers, issues and best practices within FM. The results for 2011 are available and free to all members.

i For details visit www.sustainabilityinfm.org.uk

Merry Christmas from the BIFM

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FM WORLD |�10 NOVEMBER 2011 |�41

NATIONAL BIFM EVENTS

24 January 2012 It’s all about presentation – making your point countBeth Goodyear from the FM Guru Consultancy will impart her expertise on delivering presentations. The former head of ascot Racecourse, with 14 years’ experience in operational and strategic FM, will provide valuable advice on developing and delivering presentations including how to present information in the most cost eff ective way that ensures you get all the basics covered and create a seamless fl ow.Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel, London Stansted Airport, EssexContact: Email Graham Priceon [email protected] or call 01992 374 065

18 June ThinkFM 2012Next year’s ThinkFM will be a day of learning, debate, interaction and, of course, networking. Delegates will take away new ideas to implement in their organisations to make a diff erence. ThinkFM 2012 will include new features, such as site visits so that delegates can see fi rst-hand how great FM is making a diff erence. Venue: Royal College of Physicians, London Contact: [email protected] or call 08701 632 804

8 October BIFM Awards 2012The BIFM Awards is the biggest and most infl uential networking event within the UK’s FM calendar and gives national recognition to the leaders in our profession. The BIFM Awards are designed to celebrate the increasingly strategic profi le of FM by highlighting the key role it plays in the success of public and private sector organisations. The night of the awards ceremony brings together the leaders of our sector with the winners, fi nalists and high profi le guest presenters to celebrate excellence in the FM sector.Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, London Contact: [email protected] or call 0845 058 1356

MIDLANDS REGION

24 January 2012 Agile working pilot at OxfamPresentations on Oxfam’s

agile working pilot and tour of Oxfam House.Venue: Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, OxfordContact: [email protected] or call 01234 222421

INDUSTRY EVENTS 21 February 2012 Workplace Futures: New needs, new Solutions?The sixth annual conference looks at the changes in the industry. FM is a business discipline and a vast service industry. It is a simple service delivery requirement and a mission-critical support operation. Given that vast range, what does the future hold? More of the same or something quite diff erent? Is FM ready to face up to the big challenges and defi ne its own future?Venue: One America Square, London Contact: www.workplace-futures.co.uk, or call David on 020 8922 7491

26 February - 1 March 2012 HotelympiaHotelympia is the UK’s largest exhibition for foodservice and hospitality. Running every two years, it’s the ultimate platform for exhibitors and visitors to meet in a business-focused environment, covering food and drink, catering equipment, interiors, bathroom and spa, tabletop, careers and technology.Venue: ExCeL LondonContact: www.hotelympia.com

9-10 May 2012 Green Build ExpoGreen Build Expo focuses primarily on professionals working in the volume housing and non-domestic building sectors. It is also known as the biggest sustainable building and refurbishment event in the northern parts of UK. Green Build Expo has also expanded its focus to wider construction sectors, which include hotel and leisure, retail and offi ces as energy saving and refurbishment have impacts on these areas, too.Venue: Manchester Central Convention ComplexContact: www.greenbuildexpo.co.uk

15 -17 May 2012 Facilities ShowOrganised in association with the British Institute of Facilities Management, the Facilities Show

has established itself as the leading meeting place for the industry.Venue: NEC BirminghamContact: Registration for the Facilities Show opens soon. Visit www.facilitiesshow.com

15-17 May 2012 Safety & Health ExpoEurope’s largest annual health and safety event returns to Birmingham. The event, which will be hosted in partnership with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) and the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), was a huge success in 2011, attracting more than 20,000 industry professionals to the show.Venue: NEC BirminghamContact: www.safety-health-expo.co.uk

23-25 May 2012 BCO ConferenceThe usual ingredients will be on off er, including an outstanding series of plenary sessions, access to interesting projects and engaging seminars. Outside the conference itself will be the time-honoured tradition of BCO networking around the BCO Golf Cup, cycling, breakout sessions, welcome drinks reception and, of course, the grand gala dinner.Venue: Manchester Central, Petersfi eld, ManchesterContact: www.bco.org.uk

25-26 June 2012 31st Facilities Management ForumIn this ever-changing environment, all companies need to source sustainable FM services, products and solution providers that off er the best value for money. At the Forum, you can fi nd them quickly and effi ciently. This event is specifi cally organised for FM directors and managers who are directly involved in the procurement of FM products and services.Venue: Heythrop Park, OxfordshireContact: Mick Bush at [email protected] or call 01992 374 100

28 June World FM Day 2012The annual event aims to raise the FM profession profi le around the globe, promoting facilities management’s ideals,

not only within the profession and industry, but also among governments and the general business community.Venue: Across the globeContact: Visit www.globalfm.org for more details

12-13 September 2012 Offi ce InteriorsA new trade exhibition for the UK’s offi ce interiors industry.Venue: Olympia Exhibition CentreContact: Offi ce Interiors’ website will be live from mid-November, with stand bookings to commence in the next few weeks. For information and to enquire about exhibiting, please contact Ali Mead at [email protected].

October 9-10 2012 Total Workplace Management Organised in association with the BIFM, and partner event to the award winning Facilities Show, Total Workplace Management is the ideal place to meet face-to-face with leading professionals from across the industry. This UK exhibition for facilities managers will off er all visitors a great opportunity to network face to face and engage with suppliers on projects and requirements. 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 offi ce.Venue: London OlympiaContact: Visit www.twmexpo.com for details

31 October - 2 November IFMA’s World Workplace 2012This is the largest, most longstanding and well-respected annual conference and exposition for facility management and related professions. Each year off ers a new experience, addressing challenges and strategies that are universal to every facility type, shape and size. A fully customisable experience, attendees can choose sessions under specifi c topic tracks and learning levels; spend time on the expo fl oor talking to vendors and attending exhibitor-presented sessions.Venue: San Antonio. Texas, USAContact: www.worldworkplace.org/2012

FM DIARY

Send details of your event [email protected] call 020 7880 6229


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BEHIND

THE JOB

NAME: Paul JacksonJOB TITLE: Facilities manager and project manager ORGANISATION: Stryker UKJOB DESCRIPTION: Responsible for managing all FM services, including overseeing outsourced service contracts for catering, cleaning, maintenance, security, waste and vending. Managing building leases, an 185-strong company car fleet, and accountable for delivering our UK headquarter’s office and logistics building on time and within budget.

How did you get into facilities management and what attracted you to the industry? I had been in a sales and customer service industry for a fairly long time and realised that I wanted to provide a variety of services to customers and facilities.

What’s been your career high-point to date? I would say being project lead on our headquarters construction project and having responsibility for a £24 million capital spend. It was a great opportunity and something that will be around for a long time.

What has been your biggest career challenge to date?Stryker UK have had many major business restructures during my time and constantly providing an enjoyable and effective workplace has been tough. I have learnt to be very flexible in my approach, for example organising the removal of walls only for them to be put up again a few months later.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be? For it to be much more proactive within business strategy, rather than reactive to business decisions. It’s changing, but still has a way to go.

Any interesting tales to tell? I was once locked in a lift alone with a very well-known Hollywood actress for two hours when I had initially come to rescue her (no names I’m afraid). I managed to open the doors that were stuck, only to step inside and have the doors closed and jammed again!

Which “FM myth” would you most like to put an end to? That facilities is not exciting. It can actually be fun, interesting and a great challenge.

Do your friends understand what facilities management is? What about strangers? I have a number of friends who work within the FM industry so no problems there, but I regularly conduct new staff induction presentations and start with the question: ‘Do you know what facilities or a facilities manager does’ and the vast majority of new staff look at me blankly and then hesitate and say no or just ‘maintenance’. They have a much better understanding afterwards though.

How do you think facilities management has changed in the past five years? It is much more professional now and has certainly become a professional career path for many people. Total facilities management and outsourcing has grown tremendously. And how will it change in the next five years? Facilities will be seen as much more part of the commercial strategic business decision making process.

What single piece of advice would you give to a young facilities manager starting out? Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and provide a service that you would be proud to receive.

FM PEOPLE� MOVERS & SHAKERS


Ingenuity welcome here

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FM NEWS� Call John Nahar on 020 7880 6230or email [email protected] full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack

FM innovations▼Business recycling confuses employeesBusinesses need more support to implement successful workplace recycling schemes, new research reveals.

According to drinks can recycling programme Every Can Counts 63 per cent of employers and employees from over 80 businesses surveyed, face challenges when implementing such initiatives in the workplace, the greatest of which is staff understanding. Nearly a quarter of the employers polled said they struggled to communicate how and why to recycle to create lasting employee behaviour change. The main driver for setting up a scheme was the desire to protect the environment (66 per cent), although 19 per cent cited cost savings compared to regular waste disposal.

With many organisations working towards sustainability objectives, including zero waste to

landfi ll targets, Every Can Counts has launched a new website to help facilities managers promote workplace recycling www.everycancounts.co.uk It provides information and advice on setting up a recycling scheme in the workplace, along with communications resources to help with promotion to staff and customers.

The site also includes case studies from organisations, including Jaguar Land Rover, Emap and Land Securities, discussing how they implemented the recycling programme and giving advice on employee and customer engagement.

Research shows that one in every three drinks cans sold in the UK is drunk outside the home. In 2010, Every Can Counts helped organisations save 27 million drinks cans for recycling – 394 tonnes of aluminium and steel – and over 4,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions avoided.

Although Every Can Counts specifi cally targets drinks cans, results from participating organisations show that volumes of other recyclables also increase as a result of introducing the programme.

Every Can Counts is a partnership between European and UK drinks can manufacturers and the aluminium and steel packaging and recycling industries (including BCME, Can-Pack UK, Novellis, Red Bull, Tata Steel and Can Makers UK). It is supported by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Organisations that register with Every Can Counts before 31 December 2011 will receive a free starter pack and be entered into a prize draw to win a can crusher worth £8002 and a free consultation. Visit: www.everycancounts.co.uk/businesses/case_studies/

▲ Dorgard X installed at St PancrasThe fabulous, quintessential St Pancras Grand Brasserie, Oyster and Champagne Bar, located alongside the Eurostar platform of St Pancras International, has installed Fireco’s hardwired System X with Dorgard X wireless fi re door retainers “…as it allows us to legally and safely hold open fi re doors and enhance access, automatically closing them in the event of a fi re emergency, preventing the spread of fi re and smoke.”

System X can be either hardwired into the fi re alarm panel or a completely wireless acoustic system. Any number of Dorgard X units can be linked to any one System X unit within range, although a site survey must be carried out prior to installation.T: 0845 241 7474 E: services@fi recoltd.com W: www.fi recoltd.com

▲ Alliance wins environmental awardAlliance Cleaning has been named Hertfordshire Environmental Business of the Year 2011.

Chairman Danny Bishop said: “We won against some very large fi rms because we’re the only carbon-neutral UK contract cleaning business off ering on-site carbon neutrality advice to clients.”

Key to Alliance’s win was achieving its main goal – to greatly reduce the carbon footprint of its own and clients’ cleaning activities. This included measuring and off setting energy and water consumption of all on-site cleaning.

Alliance has introduced many initiatives, from using sustainable paper, biodegradable products and electronic invoicing, to using hybrid Toyotas.

Alliance Cleaning specialises in daily cleaning for commercial premises of between 100m and 10,000m in London and the Home Counties. T: 01992 700073

▲ Security solutions for your locationA smile costs nothing, but says everything about you and the company you represent.

If you would like to enhance your service requirements, then having the right person in the right location is of paramount importance.

In order to maintain a high standard of practice, our personnel are regularly checked and briefed to ensure their roles are correctly applied to the highest level. Quality of service is enhanced with modern technology and communications. Our experienced management team provides the highest level of security at competitive rates. Our teams of fully qualifi ed, licensed offi cers adhere to our unique Rota system – and are in communication with head offi ce.

For all your requirements in concierge, porterage, front-of-house security offi cers and guard dogs. W: www.lapasecurity.co.uk T:01322 615 271

▲ Zigor Danubio unveiledZigor is proving with the Danubio uninterruptible power supply range that businesses can enjoy line interactive technology at Offl ine prices.

Designed with an automatic voltage regulator, the Danubio protects systems from fl uctuations in the electricity supply, avoids data loss and provides a longer service life for hardware. Zigor’s high-quality battery off ers at least 10 minutes of back-up time, depending on the load.

Ideal for small servers and workstations, the Danubio is available in 1000VA, 1600VA and 2000VA and includes monitoring software.

The Danubio also off ers easy access for battery replacement and includes a two-year warranty. The 1000VA starts at £192 (inc VAT). T: 0844 854 6264 E: [email protected] W: www.zigor.com/uk

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Call Carly Gregory on 020 7324 2755or email [email protected]

For full media information take a look at www.fm-world.co.uk/mediapack

Appointments

jobs.fm-world.co.ukjobs.fm-world.co.ukjobs.fm-world.co.uk

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

fm-world.co.uk/jobs

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FM New appoints 081211.indd 40FM New appoints 081211.indd 40 1/12/11 16:05:041/12/11 16:05:04

FM WORLD |�8 DECEMBER 2011 |�41jobs.fm-world.co.uk

Randstad Construction, Property & Engineering provide specialist recruitment solutions for the FM and Maintenance sector. Our specialist consultants offer tailored recruitment solutions for a broad spectrum of private and public sector clients operating in the commercial, domestic, leisure, retail, industrial and defence markets.

We offer both temporary and permanent solutions within FM, health and safety, management and consultancy, throughout our UK and International branch network. For all your FM & Maintenance requirements please visit www.randstadcpe.com/fm or call 0800 169 0863.

Experts in FM & Maintenance

www.randstadcpe.com/fm

Coff ee and CV fm-world.co.uk/jobs has over 100 job vacancies

News updated at least fi ve • times a dayArchive of every FM World • article since 2004 Job email alerts• Career advice•

London FM Opportunities

London officeTo apply for any of these roles please email your CV in confidence to

[email protected] or call +44 (0)207 478 2500 to speak to a either

Claudio Rojas or Ryan Coombs.

NEW WEBSITE: www.cobaltrecruitment.com

Offices in: Abu Dhabi, Auckland, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt,

London, Manchester, Melbourne, Singapore.

Chief Engineer | London £65,000

An established TFM service provider is looking to employ a Chief Engineer to take responsibility of the Authorising Engineer processes including the role of the Authorising Engineer LV. You will implement, monitor and review the company’s engineering and associated safety systems across all TFM contracts. You will be the company’s engineering expert liaising and advising relevant senior management on best practice, compliance, Health and Safety and engineering procedures. Our client is offering a competitive base salary, car allowance and other company benefits. Ref: 27501

Project Manager | London £50,000

A successful M&E service provider requires a proven Electrical Project Manager to take responsibility for a variety of ongoing projects across different contracts. You must have a track record in taking projects from inception through to completion and within budget. Typical projects will involve M&E plant upgrades, replacements, office fit-outs, data centre design and build and refurbishments. This is a new and key role for our client offering progression. Ref: 26896

Compliance Manager | London £35,000 - £40,000

A managing agent organisation is seeking a Compliance Manager for an au-tonomous role to monitor and deliver against legislative compliance across a diverse property portfolio. The position will involve liaison with surveyors and management of document systems to identify areas of shortfall in statutory compliance, along with coordination of contractors and work schedules to address the identified issues. The ideal candidate will have a technical background as well as an excellent understanding of health and safety legislation. Ref: 27508

Facilities Manager (Temp) | London £24-27/hr ltd

A small property consultancy is seeking a Facilities Manager on a temporary basis to cover maternity leave managing four properties in London. The sites include commercial, retail and leisure usage as well as some residential common parts. This organisation places great importance on customer service and the role will require a client facing individual with experience of working on behalf of a managing agent and ideally coming from a technical background. Ref: 27311

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THE VERY LAST WORD…LP: So, Felicity, what does it feel like to have reached the age of 60 and be facing retirement?FM: If you mention my age, I’ll report FM World to the Leveson Inquiry. In my view, retirement is a euphemism for opportunity – yet another door being opened for me. I think I may devote more of my time to the voluntary side of the FM profession – maybe stand for Supremo of ‘Wimmin in FM’, that sort of thing – depending on the fee.LP: Meeting a deadline every fortnight must have been difficult?FM: I can’t deny it had its challenges. That cartoonist, Ken Pyne, can be a bloody nuisance chasing me for the topic – it would have been more helpful if he could have read my mind and just got on with it.LP: You are a feisty woman, and evidently speak your mind. Some have dismissed your column as trite and inappropriate for a professional publication – what do you say to your critics?

FM: Off the record, “*$&@*!*&%^&£!” On the record, I am pleased to have received so many positive words of encouragement from hundreds of readers. It has not been easy in the past three years going through another divorce, being a single mother of six without a nanny, holding down a very important job and writing a column every fortnight.Anyway, you seem a nice man, are you married?LP: Let’s get back to the point. What is your final message to your readers?FM: While it’s seasonal to be hanging up my stockings, I’m rather sad to be leaving the world of FM at such a low point; the world economy and national politics is in such poor shape, the Euro on the brink of collapse, turmoil in the Middle East, world-wide demonstrations and strikes and the BIFM losing its chief executive. But as we always say in the Messing household: 'It can only get better, although it may get a bit worse.' It’s been fun – thanks for the opportunity.

FELICITY MESSING

THE COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES FOR 2012 /// FM AND PROCUREMENT — CAN THE RELATIONSHIP EVER CHANGE? /// CASE STUDY — FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AT TATA STEEL /// WHAT'S DRIVING THE GROWTH IN CONCIERGE SERVICES? /// TRENDS IN FM SERVICE DELIVERY /// ALL THE LATEST NEWS, ANALYSIS AND COMMENT

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OUT 12 JANUARY

PASSING THE PARCELAt this time of year, it is customary for businesses to clear out the accumulation of magazines, fl yers, hand-outs and reference books that have begun to spill out from the desks and cupboards, ahead of the wonderfully clean ‘fresh start’ that the promise of a new year suggests.

But, as I peer out of the fi rst class compartment to check on the hoi polloi, I note that the vast majority are now deploying ‘tablet’ computers, (and I note that ‘Kindle’ is not just a word for fi rewood these days). Incredible as it seems, the book and the magazine are on borrowed time.

So will future generations of FMs be spared the end-of-year clear-out? I’ll be sad to see it go. For all the paper cuts and aching muscles, the end-of-year clear-out is an enjoyable exercise in getting diff erent groups of people together – even if it is simply for them to roll their sleeves up and pass endless boxes of old paper from one to another. I used to think the paperless offi ce was an unworkable dream, but as I look at how few Christmas cards we get in the offi ce these days, I'm beginning to wonder.

FINAL WORD� FELICITY MESSING


“Workplace carbon will become an individual’s responsibility, impacting staff recruitment, involvement and retention – and highlighting a potential skills gap.”Katherine Deas, managing director, Low Carbon Workplace, at Workplace Week.

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HOT DATES JANUARY COURSES 24-26 Understanding FM Foundation - (optional) ILM Level 3 Award or Certificate in FM25-26 Creating and Sustaining Modern Workplaces - NEW

FEBRUARY COURSES 6-10 NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety [WEEK 1]7-9 The Professional FM 1 [Intermediate]7 The Tender Process8 Selecting & Controlling Contractors on Site8 Contract Management9 Negotiating to Win15-16 Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity21-23 Understanding FM Foundation - (optional) ILM Level 3 Award or Certificate in FM

dates for a brighter futureNEW - Creating & Sustaining Modern Workplaces25-26 January 2012 As today’s organisations face up to the reality of cut-backs, this course provides a clear route map to achieving the most challenging reductions in space costs whilst maintaining organisational value. For both public and private sector organisations, improving workplace performance has become business critical - but to meet today’s challenging targets it is essential to take a two-pronged approach -Call now for a detailed programme or to book!

Telephone +44 (0)20 7404 [email protected] | www.bifm-training.com facebook.com/bifmtraining twitter.com/bifmtraining

How do you compare? How can you improve?

Analyse differences, identify best practices, improve

Start benchmarking now www.bifm.org.uk/benchmarking

Benchmark on:

FMW.08.12.11.043.indd 1FMW.08.12.11.043.indd 1 28/11/11 11:48:4528/11/11 11:48:45

www.dysonairblade.co.uk

Usage based on 2 towels per dry. 1600W machine shown. Calculations include standby power. Cost based on 1 pence per paper towel (data from Dyson internal research – Jan 2010) and £0.1194 per kWh (data from Eurostat 2009 Semester 2 – published March 2010). Paper towel dispenser and Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer purchase costs are excluded from comparison. 10 second dry time based on NSF protocol P335.

Costs £1,460.00 per year to run.Based on 100 people visiting a washroom twice a day, a paper towel dispenser will get through 146,000 towels a year.

That’s a cost of £1,460.00.

Costs £39.76 per year to run.For the same use, the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer costs just £39.76 to run. It works in only 10 seconds and its HEPA filter cleans the air before it reaches hands.

It’s fast, hygienic and a fraction of the cost of paper towels.

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FM World 2011-12-08