Facility Insight Oct./Nov. 2014

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INDEX

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2014 1

ontents

Aparna Shivpuri speaks to the team at CHICAGO – where we learn how they fully service the education industry as well as educate and train their staff with the focus of exceeding the standards in the UAE and the region expected of themselves

2 INTRODUCTIONJamal Lootah, President of MEFMA, welcomes you to the third issue of Fa-cility Insight.

4 NEWS The latest developments in the field of facilities management.

10 GUESTDavid Kentish, Director and Co-Found-er of Kentish & Co, talks about making sense of facilities management at the workplace

12 TRAINING MEFMA sets out to launch Taheel- a new training programme. We bring you the overview of this initiative.

26 SOFTWARE SOLUTIONSAntonio Ramirez, CEO, Rosmi-man Software Corporation, informs us about the work being done by the company to help the customers achieve their targets.

28 CLOUD COMPUTINGBen Churchill, CEO, Urbanise , an in-sight as to how technology can help build a stronger link with the customer.

FM IN HOSPITALITY FM services are increasingly becoming important for the hospitality industry. Aparna Shivpuri Arya takes a look at this relationship.

SUPPLIERUnipods, the leading company for ‘plug-and-play’ construction, a clos-er look into the efficiency and concept of Off Site Construction.

3230

FM IN EVENTS Abdulhadi Ali Alalyak, MEFMA Board Member, what really happens be-hind the in managing an event

36

SUSTAINABILITY Saeed Al Abbar, Chair-man of Emirates Green Building Council, high-lights the issues and im-portance of sustainability in the FM industry.

40

20 INTERVIEW

FACILITY INSIGHT, THE VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY, IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MIDDLE EAST FACILITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

VOLUME 1 / ISSUE 03 / OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2014

INTRODUCTION

In a new paper published by the Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ), the Emirates ID Authority has outlined

its proposals to implement an ICT infrastructure that will better enable electronic payment systems, which will be a global first and is part of the country’s smart city strategy.

In Qatar, the World Cup is a catalyst for its transformation into a smart city with three objectives that will improve the use of solar energy, water desalination and cyber security.

And in Saudi Arabia, two new Smart Cities are under construction; Kingdom City and King Abdullah Economic City. Their success will no doubt pave the way for the development of old and new cities to follow suit.

It is all part of the trend to develop Middle Eastern cities as smart cities, which will help create a world-renowned environment for sustainable innovation. Never before has facilities management had such a good opportunity to prove its worth by integrating itself into these government initiatives by helping to create efficiently managed assets.

To build this indispensable bridge, facilities management cannot do it alone. The industry needs to pool its resources and partner with technology providers to host building management software and active management analytics. Likewise 3D-modelling techniques need to be adopted by architects and facility managers to anticipate how a building will be used by its tenants, and managed by its FM provider. As Ben Churchill of Urbanise outlines in this issue, the opportunities to create added value with a more IT-focused and customer-centric strategy, are endless.

MEMFA is doing all it can by actively engaging governments and supporting industry discussion through events such as Smart Cities by MEED. It is also organising its own collaborations with the likes of Emirates Green Building Council and incorporating the topic into its training programmes. But the best approach, just like the technology, is for ever changing and it is critical that we stay abreast of new innovations through the likes of Facility Insight. So I want to take this opportunity to encourage the industry to use MEFMA as a platform to share new technologies, research and insight that will help governments realise their vision for a smarter society.

Jamal LootahPresident of MEFMA

MIDDLE EAST FACILITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONPO Box. 1166, Dubai, UAEPhone: +971 4 3409595, Email: [email protected]

CONTACT USSinead BridgettDirectorPhone: +971 50 8491447Email: [email protected]

Alaa AlboaliRelationship ManagerPhone: +971 55 8482808Email: [email protected]

Kamya KundaniCoordinatorPhone: +971 4 3409595Email: [email protected]

ADVERTISING INQUIRIESVass MafilasPhone: (D)+971 4 361 4177Mobile: +971 55 887 0720Email: [email protected]

Latest developments in the Middle East

THE “SMART”FM INDUSTRY

2 OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2014

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 03 OCT-NOV 2014

Cover Story: Aparna Shivpuri speaks to the team at CHICAGO – where we learn how they fully service the education industry as well as educate and train their staff with the focus of exceeding the standards in the UAE and the region expected of themselves - pg 20

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www.chicago.ae8 0 0 C H I C A G O

Chicago Maintenance & Construction Co LLCPO Box 27499

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T: 04 388 4469F: 04 346 5859

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TOTALFACILITIES MANAGEMENTSERVICES

NEWS GENERAL

IMDAAD SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH MRHE

According to the Middle East Facilities Management Association, the industry will rise from close to USD 21.7 billion to USD 81 billion. Addressing this

key sector will be the theme at the second edition of the Middle East’s premier international trade expo on cleaning and hygiene, CMEP - Clean Middle East Pulire. CMEP Expo is set to be held from October 21st to 23rd, 2014 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s exhibition is 30% larger than the previous edition. Dubai Municipality is leading the charge to maintain international hygiene standards in the emirate, and, as such, will be presenting interesting studies on the country’s facilities management industry at the International Cleaning & Hygiene Conference.

Imdaad recently signed a five-year strategic agreement with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MRHE) to offer full and integrated

maintenance services for MRHE’s occupied residential units and houses with expired maintenance contracts.. The partnership is in line with the Establishment’s commitment to providing world-class community services and the highest standards of quality, luxury and welfare to its beneficiaries in Dubai.

The agreement was signed by H.E. Sami Abdullah Gargash, CEO, Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment, and Jamal Abdullah Lootah, CEO, Imdaad, in the presence of high-ranking executives from both sides. The partnership between Imdaad and Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment covers a total of 3,485 houses including 544 units in Al Warqaa; 940 in Oud Al Muteena; 509 in Al Warqaa; and 252 houses in Al Barsha. The prices and types of services are applicable to the Establishment’s 1,240-unit project in the Al Barsha area

WASL DISCUSSES WORKPLACE SAFETY

The workshop started with Tariq Chauhan (CEO EFS) & Steve

Moore (GM Operation) from EFS, giving a short introduction on their Centre of Excellence & also discussed on importance of EHS.

Shanu Mohammed (AMSS Wasl) briefed on Wasl philosophy for accident investigation & reporting. After this Manzoor Chowdhury (EFS) elaborated on the topic – Investigation of Incidents & Reporting. Mahamat Ali (Idama) mentioned the incident about the gas leakage, and its impact, as a case study. Sathishbabu (EMCO) presented on Hazard & Precautions on Manual Material Handling.

The floor was opened to the audience where topics, such as importance of liaison with the police and government authorities, periodicity for cross checking and many other issues were discussed.

UAE’S FM INDUSTRY TO REACH USD 5.44 BILLION BY 2015

Facilities Management (FM) services contracts in the UAE

could be valued at approximately USD 5.44 billion per annum by next year, according to G4S, a leading global security and outsourcing group in UAE.

The statistic included FM services that ranged from cleaning services, pest control, office services, landscaping, waste management and building management systems with the exclusion of security services, an average of 60% of most industries in the UAE may outsource its FM requirements, says the firm.


MIDDLE EAST CLEANING AND HYGIENE INDUSTRY TO GROW BY 275% BY 2020

NEWS GENERAL

Dubai Properties has revealed details of a third project in the unique Cul-ture Village district - a luxury waterfront hotel. The hotel, due to open in

early 2018, will be one of the first luxury hotels in Culture Village, and will be operated by Anantara Hotel Resorts and Spa.

The news was announced by Group, following an agreement with luxury hotel operator and owner of the Anantara brand, Minor Hotel Group, in the presence of Mohammed Al Habbai, DPG, Chief Officer, Urban Planning and Infrastructure, DP World and James Kaplan SVP, Development from Minor Hotel Group.

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING SOFTWARE GAINS POPULARITY

Designers and contractors need to convince clients to allow for proper

design periods in order to gain the full benefits of Building Information Model-ling (BIM) software, according to Jef-frey Freund of Abu Dhabi-based iTech.

Speaking at the second in a series of BIM Breakfast panel events held by Construction Week in association with Middle East Architect and MEP Middle East last week, Freund mentioned sev-eral projects in the region which had seriously overrun cost and/or budgets, which he said was due to unrealistic targets initially being set over delivery dates.

He pointed to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, which was initially due to open last year, but will not now open until 2015, and has run over its initial bud-get.

He also mentioned Dubai’s Cayan Tower, which he said finished AED 81 million over budget.

However, Elizabeth Peters, a BIM lead practitioner at Aecom’s Building & Places division, said that clients will not simply accept a request for more time to model projects. Instead, the industry needs to convince property owners and investors of the long-term benefits of BIM by assuring them of the return on investment they will receive.


WATERFRONT PROJECT BY DP WORLD ANNOUNCED

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NEWS GENERAL

Dubai Developer Nakheel announced the launch of two new residential

projects in Dubai at Cityscape 2014, including a three-tower residential complex at the Palm Jumeirah.

Located at the entrance to Palm Jumeirah, the Palm Gateway is a three-tower waterfront leisure complex with more than 1,300 homes, a beach club, retail, dining and health and fitness facilities, a statement said.

The 5.5 million sq feet. project will comprise of three individually- designed high-rise residential buildings – the tallest topping 260 metres – with one, two and three bedroom apartments, available for lease.

According to the statement, the towers will be constructed on the existing Palm Monorail Gateway

NAKHEEL LAUNCHES TWO RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS IN DUBAI


terminal, the roof of which will be transformed into a 15th floor podium with infinity pool, shops and sports facilities.

The Monorail is linked to the Dubai Tram and the Dubai Metro, and allows residents and visitors to travel to and from the Palm Jumeirah.

Unveiling the project, Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah, said, “The project combines luxury beachfront living, exciting shopping, dining and will have convinient transport links for travel within the surrounding areas and across Dubai.”

The second project, named the Jumeirah Heights Fronds, is a lakeside residential complex of more than 1,400

apartments and villas at the northern edge of its high-end Jumeirah Islands community in Dubai.

The 900,000 sq feet project, which will be constructed on two plots of land, will consist of four towers – two on each frond – each containing 343 apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms, as well as 34 three-bedroom villas, with leasing opportunities available, a statement said.

The site is also the location for Nakheel’s Jumeirah Islands park, recreation and retail centre, a new waterfront leisure and dining hub for residents of Jumeirah Islands and surrounding areas, as well as a gated community of 84 townhouses.


GUEST

What is it that creates an environment that nur-tures a feel good factor and atmosphere that you

are consciously unaware of but subcon-sciously getting the benefit from?

An FM’s sole responsibility is to keep the building/estate he/she is in charge of maintained and running smoothly for the businesses in that building in order to allow their staff to perform without interruption. If you’ve got that covered, so far so good.

But what if the businesses wants more than that? They may have done some research that shows how altering the way the building looks, smells, and feels has a perceptible benefit to their employees, which may have a positive impact on their well-being and produc-tivity.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS MINDI have a personal story to tell here. My wife and I were flying back from Austra-lia to Dubai and there was a planned two-hour stop-over at the Singapore airport, (I’m not a great lover of airport departure lounges at the best of times).

However, after getting off the plane, we walked straight into the most amaz-ing and uplifting departure lounge I have ever seen. Landscaped water-ways full of koi carp, bright and exotic flowers, warming and calming facilities, music that relaxed me, shops that were interesting and fun. As much as I want-ed to be grumpy I couldn’t maintain it and when we got the call to re-board the plane I actually wanted to stay longer. This departure lounge appealed to my senses and it made me feel good.

How your subconscious reacts can start even before you reach where you are going. Your subconscious will al-

We spend the majority of our waking hours at work and most of us have thought about what we like and, more importantly, don’t like about the work place. So what is that makes a difference ? David Kentish, talks to us about it.

ways give you your first impression. If you have been working somewhere for a while your subconscious will reinforce your first impression!

THE SENSES RULEMany companies now bring in consul-tants to help them engineer the way their building both externally and in-ternally will promote well-being of their workforce.

Take sound as an example. We have a very small amount of bandwidth for processing auditory input, which is why office noise is extremely damaging for productivity. If you have to work in an open-plan office, your productivity is greatly reduced. You are one third as productive in open-plan offices as in quiet rooms.

There is also convincing evidence that pleasant fragrances can improve our mood and sense of well-being.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?The company that you provide FM for wants a better place for their staff to work in and draws up a plan which in-volves, new décor, lighting, furnishing, sound systems, almost imperceptible fragrances and revamped catering ser-vices, all of which hopefully you have been involved in, or possibly not. In ei-ther case it’s the FM who has to make it happen and keep it happening.

So as an FM how would you view this new order of environmental devel-opment? Is it a pain because it creates more work for you and your team/sup-pliers?

Is it all going to be worth it? Well the powers that be certainly hope so, it’s costing them a fortune and you need to deliver!

Just look ahead to when it’s all fin-ished, the work environment is more conducive, which is great because they complain less, which in turn makes your job more enjoyable and satisfying.You know it makes sense!

In addition, MEFMA also provides the following training courses and more:• CustomerServiceTraining:ManagingCustomerService• WritingReports&Proposals• ManagementSkillsfortheAdministrativeAssistant• CoolingLoadCalculations&BuildingEnergySimulation• Psychrometrics

FoundationinFacilityManagement

TrainingFMmanpowerto Middle East standards

CertifiedProfessionalinFacilityManagement

TrainingofMobileAluminumTowers

TrainingofPoweredAccess Equipment

SantiaHSEtrainingbyMEFMA

TRAINING CENTRE

ApprovedTrainingCentrefor: Contact:[email protected]

www.mefma.org

Get aheadof the competition...

...withMEFMAaccreditedcourses

MEFMA conducts regular accredited training courses in a wide variety of Facility Management disciplines which help industry professionals and companies get an edge over their competition. The association is leading the way with practical qualifications that you can implement in your daily role.

These comprehensive accredited and certified training courses inlude:

If you have to work in an open-plan office, your productivity is greatly reduced. You are one third as productive in open-plan offices as in quiet rooms.”

FACILITY MANAGEMENTMAKING “SENSE” OF

In addition, MEFMA also provides the following training courses and more:• CustomerServiceTraining:ManagingCustomerService• WritingReports&Proposals• ManagementSkillsfortheAdministrativeAssistant• CoolingLoadCalculations&BuildingEnergySimulation• Psychrometrics

FoundationinFacilityManagement

TrainingFMmanpowerto Middle East standards

CertifiedProfessionalinFacilityManagement

TrainingofMobileAluminumTowers

TrainingofPoweredAccess Equipment

SantiaHSEtrainingbyMEFMA

TRAINING CENTRE

ApprovedTrainingCentrefor: Contact:[email protected]

www.mefma.org

Get aheadof the competition...

...withMEFMAaccreditedcourses

MEFMA conducts regular accredited training courses in a wide variety of Facility Management disciplines which help industry professionals and companies get an edge over their competition. The association is leading the way with practical qualifications that you can implement in your daily role.

These comprehensive accredited and certified training courses inlude:

TRAINING

It is not easy to find trained personnel in the FM industry in this region. For instance, the average rejection rate for FM foremen, technicians and en-

gineers is 70% and currently there is no programme in the region that provides certification courses, which blend hard skills and the culture of this region. There is also a very high skill gap of 45%, which is impacting the service delivery.

According to Satish Chandran, Principal Consultant, PHI Strategic Consultancy Services, “Even before MEFMA’s inception, one of the main gaps was hiring qualified resources at different level within the FM industry. That is the reason we have decided to launch this initiative which was initially driven by MEFMA board members, es-pecially Ali Al Suwaidi. As FM consul-tants, we worked with AfriGulf who has

On August 19, 2014, MEFMA organised a networking evening to talk about one of its flagship initiatives, Taheel. This initiative serves the critical function of providing access to quality and trained personnel. We bring to you an overview of this initiative.

There is also a very high skill gap of 45%, which is impacting the service delivery.”

MANPOWER GAPBRIDGING THE SKILLED


TRAINING

been the HR consultant & MEFMA to lead the launch of the Taheel initiative.”

With this background in mind, the networking evening, began, with a pre-sentation by Ali Al Suwaidi, Executive Director – Ejadah and MEFMA Board Member, who highlighted the role MEF-MA and AFRIGULF can jointly play in alleviating this situation. He then went on to explain the structure of Taheel, which is aimed at solving these prob-lems through “quality talent access”, providing hard and soft skills to ease cultural integration, with a focus on high-level training across all levels and sectors of manpower recruited from India.

The initiative is led by Ali Al Su-waidi, Board Member, MEFMA, Sand-eep Thapa, CEO, AfriGulf Manpower Solutions, and Satish Chandran, Prin-cipal Consultant, PHI Strategic Consul-tancy Services, the Taheel programme has been envisioned as a platform through which FM companies in this re-gion can recruit benchmarked, qualified and certified professionals to work in all aspects of FM, ranging from technical engineers needed at a site, or staff to take care of housekeeping.

Al Suwaidi expounded on this and stated that the need of a programme was on their mind for the last one year. Rejection rate of candidates who used to appear for interviews, was very high. “Here we should take into account the fact that the engineers have to go into the field with technicians, who are raw and who don’t even understand the ter-minologies that are being used in the Middle East.”

Elaborating on the importance of this initiative, Sandeep, CEO, Afrigulf UAE, said, “Taheel has come at a right time, when the whole Middle East is transitioning towards the efficient and effective FM operating model bench-marked with the best FM practices of the world. The major USP of Taheel is that the training intervention is custom-ised to the needs of the Middle East . It is designed by the Middle East FM industry experts and is endorsed by MEFMA. It is an industry readiness pro-gramme, which aims to bring good FM professionals to become the best. More so it is also an employability enhance-ment programme.”

The Taheel programme has been especially designed for those people

who are eager to work in the Middle East’s FM sector, but do not have the requisite skills for the same. The pro-gramme will start off with training cen-ters in India, where they will implement Taheel, along with AfriGulf and PHI. “We will kick start the programme with training for FM engineers to be followed by FM supervisors and then FM techni-cians. There will be a very practical pro-cess for short-listing candidates to start with and at the end of the course there will be an exam and once they pass this they will be issued with MEFMA certifi-cates and unique ID cards. During the training, we will address the need to

This is going to be a big learning curve even for us and the biggest challenge is to make the candidates ready for the Middle East market,” Al Suwaidi said.


create awareness on the cultural and social elements, HSE, etiquettes and much more, apart from the technical training. This is going to be a big learn-ing curve even for us and the biggest challenge is to make the candidates ready for the Middle East market,” Al Suwaidi said.The programme will be administered through training institutes located in those countries where FM manpower has been traditionally sourced from—these include nations like India, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

TAHEEL TENTATIVE PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

The programme aims to reduce the hiring costs and increase the quality of manpower in the MENA region. ►TAHEEL FM Engineer Certifica-tion (TFMEC)►TAHEEL FM Supervisor Certifica-tion (TFMSC►TAHEEL FM Technician Certifica-tion (TFMTC)►TAHEEL FM Engineer Training Program (TFMET)►TAHEEL FM Technician Training Program (TFMTT)

TRAINING

OF THE MATERIAL PREPARATION HAS BEEN

COMPLETED


These MEFMA certificates will be valid not only in the Middle East, but also beyond the MENA region.

The first three courses will be for a duration of 10 day each, while the last two will be for 34 days each. There will be 10 modules and this is an integrat-ed programme with MEFMA Taseesy programme. Material preparation is in full swing and almost 70% has been completed. Once the rough cut is ready mock training sessions will be conduct-ed to fine tune the programme. “There is a team of six people working for the last one month to put together the ma-terial for training and we want to make this material useful and practical for the candidates. We are trying to create

material based on past experience with state –of- the- art buildings and facilities and to highlight what can go wrong if the asset is not maintained as per best practices and standards,” Chandran highlighted.

As pointed out earlier, this pro-

gramme has come at the right time, when the region is witnessing a boom in the demand for trained FM workers. Companies will benefit in terms of time, cost and efficiency, when the employ workers who have taken the training through the Taheel programme

STAFFING


Conventional wisdom regard-ing the outsourcing deci-sion states that you should outsource your “non-core”

business activities. However, there is no set guideline for defining core and non-core activities. Therefore, in many organisations, this demarcation of ser-vices ends up being highly subjective.

One occupational hazard of this in-dustry is that there are a lot of issues, such as funding, information about the life-span of an equipment, business plans, which are beyond an individual’s control.

But one area where the facility manager does have direct influence is the department staff. Making time to develop a personnel plan will have a far-reaching and long-lasting effect.

One place to start is to determine

the best source for the expertise that is required to accomplish facility functions that range from engineering to leasing, space planning and maintenance. For some facility managers, the answer is outsourcing.

COMPETENCE, QUALITY AND COSTIt comes down to the question of core competency, say outsourcing support-ers. One company started by contract-ing out operations, but retained man-agement in-house.

IN-HOUSE OR

This is a question many companies wrestle with, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Competence, quality, and cost should decide whether to contract out facility functions.

OUTSOURCE?

STAFFING


If you partner with the right company, you do end up with someone who is aware of the latest technology and takes ownership.”

FRESH THINKING

The skills needed by an organisation depend on the strategy for staffing. An in-house staff clearly needs to maintain a higher level of technical competence. Organisations that outsource technical expertise put more

emphasis on new areas. Others hire employees from other parts of the com-pany even though they have no real estate or facility background. The idea is to embed knowledge of the business into facility functions.

Approaches like that are likely to become more common. Outsourcing is being looked at seriously in a growing number of organisations— even ones that had rejected the option in the past.

When it comes to outsourcing, of course, money is a major consideration. Facility managers are frequently asked to compare the cost of in-house staff against the going rate for contract services. And in some cases the decision is made purely on the basis of the bottom line. Even though staff is important, facility managers should try to keep the focus on long-term impact, and not short-term costs.

But many other facility managers are equally convinced that in-house staff provides better service to the or-ganisations at lower cost.

However, some facility managers prefer to get things done in-house. This has been called in-sourcing where the concerned person tried to eliminate or

reduce outside service contracts, by sometimes hiring new staff to handle the work, if that proves cost-effective.

DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTSIn many organisations, of course, there is a mix of outsourced and in-house staff. What’s more, it isn’t uncommon for outsourced functions to be brought back in-house. Service quality is one reason, while another is the sense that the facility manager has lost control.

For all the disagreement — some-times heated — about whether the skills needed in facility functions are best ob-tained by developing an in-house staff or by outsourcing, there’s consensus that the skills themselves are changing.

Technical knowledge, long the mainstay of the profession, is still im-portant. But increasingly facility manag-ers are focusing on soft skills.

At the top of the list is the ability to communicate. That skill is essential as customer service has become very im-portant for facility managers.

For management positions, finan-cial and other quantitative skills and strong management abilities in areas like team-building and decision making are high on the list. In the end, it’s all about managing people efficiently.

TRAINING

IPAF is a non- profit organisation, owned by its members, which in-clude manufacturers, rental compa-nies, contractors and users. Talking

about the importance of the Middle East market, Jason said, “Within the Middle East we have a lot of move-ment of Powered Access Equipment. These units come in various sizes with different lifting elements. Our mission is to create safer users by issuing the correct training certification. Over the past few years IPAF has run a number of events, from exhibitions, safety talks and working with high safety panels. All the work with height panels has includ-ed the Ministry of Labour.”

Elaborating further on their training programmes for platform operators, Jason remarked that the IPAF training programme for platform operators was developed by leading industry profes-sionals. It is certified by TÜV as con-forming to the international standard ISO 18878:2004 Mobile elevating work platforms – Operator (driver) train-ing. More than 100,000 operators are trained each year through a worldwide

The International Pow-ered Access Federa-tion (IPAF) promotes the safe and effective use of powered access equipment worldwide, through providing tech-nical advice and infor-mation. Jason Woods, Middle East Represen-tative, IPAF, gives us the details.

FIRSTSAFETY


network of over 600 training centres. Successful trainees receive a PAL Card (Powered Access Licence), a safety guide, a log book and a certificate. The certification is valid for 5 years.

IPAF itself does not provide train-ing. It is provided by approved train-ing centres, mostly manufacturer and rental members of IPAF. Approved training centres set the course fees independently for the training provid-ed. They are regularly audited by IPAF and class sizes are kept small. Courses generally last one to two days and are a mixture of theory and practice, with a written and a practical test. Course material is available in many languag-es and training centres receive regular updates.

While training is one side of the rope, the other is safety. So what does IPAF do to ensure safety standards for operators? According to Jason, the IPAF UAE Country Council and Minis-try Bodies, are working together and focusing on safer practices. “Whilst we deal with working at heights, there are many risk factors we have to think of, for example, making sure that the operator understands the emergency lowering device. Contractors are also focusing on better standards of training and are requesting IPAF training over non IPAF training,” he added.

In the UAE, IPAF Training Certi-fication is fully accepted by Dr Ali Sa-lem – Director of Occupational Health and Safety Ministry of Labour UAE. Dr Ali has welcomed the commitment of IPAF Training through a network of pro-fessional centres. Both IPAF & Ministry of Labour share the same goal to min-imise the risk of people falling from a height, while at work.

“We believe by having the training

TRAINING

programme fully accepted by the Min-istry pushes out other training providers who do not cover the essential infor-mation for safe use of mobile elevating work platforms,” Jason stated.

IPAF has just received an award from the Ministry of Labour, for their commitment to the UAE and other Gov-ernment sectors are also welcoming IPAF standards. At the same time ma-jor contractors throughout the UAE are also recognising IPAF certification as a sign of good training.

In early 2014, the IPAF UAE Coun-try Council was set up and the council members consist of rental companies and manufacturers.

There is also no denying that there are benefits of being a part of IPAF, and these include:

TECHNICAL ADVICE AND INFORMA-TION 1) Guidance documents and videos covering topics including harnesses, ground conditions and Inspections2) Work of the IPAF Manufacturer’s Technical Committee3) Magazines and publications includ-ing the IPAF Powered Access Rental Market Reports.

SAFETY PROMOTION AND DEVEL-OPMENT1) Campaigns including Clunk Click and Spread the Load2) Accident reporting project3) Work of the IPAF Country Council and Regional Councils.

PROMOTING THE POWERED ACCESS INDUSTRY1) IPAF Rental + quality mark

2) Conferences and events including the IPAF Summit and International Awards for Powered Access (IAPAS), Europlatform, the IPAF North American Convention, the IPAF Asia Conference, Regional Meetings and more3) Participating in major exhibitions in sectors such as access rental, con-struction, and health and safety.

INFLUENCING AND INTERPRETING LEGISLATION AND STANDARDS1) Developing standards including Eu-ropean EN standards, US ANSI stan-dards, Canadian CSA standards, ISO standards;2) Monitoring international regulations that govern equipment use;3) Working with health and safety au-thorities worldwide.

MANAGEMENT AND OPERATOR TRAINING PROGRAMMES1) Internationally recognised PAL Card for trained operators2) Backed up by auditing and quality control3) Professional Development Seminars for Instructors

So what does the future hold for IPAF in this region? Jason was ex-tremely optimistic about it and said, “The promoting of IPAF Training will never stop and we will continue to drive the safety message throughout the UAE/ Middle East. This will run through our network of members and safety campaigns along with workshops and networking events.”

With the goal of becoming the only accepted license for operating mobile elevating work platforms, IPAF has definitely started on the right track

IPAF Training courses:

►1a - Static Vertical Lift►1b - Static Boom Lift►3a -Mobile Vertical Lift►3b - Mobile Boom Lift►H - Harness ►Mewps for Managers

IPAF Training Level:

►Operator ►Demonstrator►Instructor


INTERVIEW

- Chicago’s COO- Craig Adams


INTERVIEW

CHICAGO’s facilities man-agement division provides a holistic package of services, including both hard and soft

services. It operates with a focus on predictive and preventive maintenance, such as HVAC systems, maintenance, life safety systems, energy manage-ment, to name a few. However, CHI-CAGO also knows that these facilities have to be matched with soft services and hence provides an array of addi-tional options, such as housekeeping, 24/7 help desk, pest control, security, and more.

The approach of the company in-volves customer services, safety, en-vironmental and health issues. It only outsources certain specialist activities, making it not only effective but a very resourceful company that is always able to meet its commitment and still adhere to a high standard of quality and service.

The company provides solutions to over 40 schools in the UAE. Elaborat-ing further on this Craig Adams, COO of CHICAGO Maintenance and Construc-tion Co. LLC said, “In the contracts that we have, we provide a variety of main-tenance agreements where we follow standard practices. We do everything in terms of the hard services from HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air condition-ing) systems to VAV (Variable Air Vol-ume) systems.” CHICAGO has a team of close to 956 female employees, who double as cleaners when the school is in session and as school bus conduc-tors otherwise. When school sessions are on-going we provide the front and back of house cleaning services. Then

CHICAGO Services is a division of CHICAGO Maintenance & Construction Co. LLC, and a leading integrated facilities management provider throughout the UAE. Aparna Shivpuri speaks to the team here to get a better understanding of the work being done by them in the UAE and the region.

YOUR ALL-IN-ONE

We started our proj-ects for GEMS Schools where we provide them with furniture. We also do hotel furniture among other things, which de-pends on the project that we are working on. In our factory we do products like fire-rated doors, claddings, kitch-en cabinets and more.”

FM PARTNER

during the summer and Christmas school breaks we do deep-cleaning, external facades and everything else in terms of cleaning and soft services.”

While their primary focus is on the education sector, Adams was quick to point out that they are also looking at other industries. “Since May we have revamped our brand and have started targeting commercial and hospitality sectors. By October 2014, we are look-ing at doing business in the residential segment. CHICAGO is not just in FM business. We are also in services busi-ness – we have a joinery factory and are also active in the trading industry. We manufacture and supply products such as timber cladding, facades, fixed

and loose furniture and the likes.”Having started their joinery busi-

ness less than two years ago, Adams elaborated on this and spoke about their interiors & furniture section. “We started our projects for GEMS Schools where we provide them with furniture. We also do hotel furniture among other things, which depends on the project that we are working on. In our factory we do products like fire-rated doors, claddings, kitchen cabinets and more.”

Some of the clients that approach CHICAGO, already have their own de-sign consultants and a particular de-sign in mind. CHICAGO’s team works with these consultants to deliver their client’s vision. CHICAGO, unlike oth-er manufacturers, does not only sell a standard set of products but is happy to adjust the designs depending on its cli-ent’s needs. It is mostly about informing the clients and getting their budgets in line with their expectations in the aes-thetic and specifications aspect, and this is something that most manufactur-ing companies do not do.

But how aware are the proper-ty developers in this part of the world, about the importance of facilities man-agement at every step of the way? Ad-ams was quite ambivalent about this and said that sometimes it’s just over-looked.

Robbie Cameron, Head of FM, added to this and remarked that they are trying to get developers to consid-er the importance of the role of FM in the infrastructure design. There are still discussions going on about the need for involving facilities management companies in the design process, but


INTERVIEW

Our construction busi-ness also follows these standards and policies. We have teams that are regularly monitoring and auditing these stan-dards throughout the year rather than doing it all in one go.”

sometimes they do get lucky. There are scenarios wherein the end results are much better if a FM professional is in-volved in a project.

Moving on to another important topic, I wanted to know if sustainabil-ity is a part of their work. To this, Ad-ams said, “Yes, as a matter of fact we have recently accredited all our ISOs. Our construction business also follows these standards and policies. We have teams that are regularly monitoring and auditing these standards throughout the year rather than doing it all in one go. We have assigned people to mon-itor the sites, factories and our clients’ facilities as well. We always make sure that we track every aspect of quality and sustainability in our operations.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAININGAn important milestone for CHICAGO recently, has been the signing of an agreement with MEFMA, which will make them a founding member of the organisation and allow them to contrib-ute to its work in the future. CHICAGO was also very impressed with the work being done by MEFMA to train workers

through their Taheel programme, as training and investing in workers is an important part of CHICAGO’s policy.

Earlier this year CHICAGO opened a training centre which was very well-re-ceived by their partners and clients.

“As an example, as of now we have 356 new cleaners. When they arrive in the country they go through a standard orientation process – a company wel-come, the dos and don’ts in the Middle East, health and safety information, and so on. Afterwards, they go through the next stage which includes an in-tensive training course and practical examinations. We have a number of training areas where we can examine how they work in various aspects of the job,” Adams said.

He further added that there are senior supervisors and managers in-volved to assist them, should they need further directions or training. The dura-tion of the training sessions vary based on the level needed to be achieved, and ranges from two days to two weeks. Therefore CHICAGO makes sure that the workers are all prepared and equipped with the knowledge they


INTERVIEW

need before they are deployed to their respective assignments.

Their engineers also undergo sev-eral training programmes and use the test beds for mock up situations in or-der to stay updated with the latest tech-niques and software, because these things change on a regular basis.

“As part of our recruitment pro-cess, earlier this year we spent a few weeks in India with people from the ITI institutes selecting people that are ITI qualified, so we know that we are get-ting a baseline that we can work from. As a policy we will not hire people who don’t have these basic qualifications. These are some of the things we do to enhance our services,” Adams pointed out.

According to both of them, the FM industry has come a long way from when they first came here, when the FM engineers used to carry all their equipment in a plastic bag. The system of safekeeping the tools has improved and is more secure now. The equip-ment that they use is also much better.

There is little doubt left that with this complete package of services pro-vided by CHICAGO, it is at the top of the game. The team doesn’t deny that. “Roughly around November we should be launching CHICAGO Home – we have just signed-off the branding and worked out everything in its business side. CHICAGO Home will offer differ-ent kinds of services, such as maid, nanny and other soft services. We will also offer maintenance services and a

variety of packages to suit each individ-ual customer.”

A lot of other FM companies offer packages like regular cleaning and maintenance of AC systems and 24/7 services, but CHICAGO can give vari-ous packages far beyond that of your typical FM provider. Earlier this year it worked on a large number of apart-ments that were painted, deep cleaned and furnished.

THE ROAD AHEADSo what does the future look like? CHI-CAGO already has an office in Oman and has recently acquired a license in Qatar and has a team there.

According to Adams, they will be more focused on efficiency and in re-lation to that they will offer further train-ing, and make sure that their people are following the standards and actively practicing them. “We definitely see this as one of our strengths, as we apply the training and standards in our op-erations. As you may know, MEFMA, is looking into having the Star Rating System for buildings, which we think is a brilliant idea and everybody in this in-dustry will have to step up their game.”

Adams also highlighted that they are working on a project called CHICA-GO Unity. “We have our construction of-fice, services office and worker camps in several parts of Dubai, and we are looking at combining all of these in one area. We are in the process of finding

land. The idea is to bring everyone and everything under one roof. We have also recently got into a partnership with Urbanise a company that created a cloud-based platform for delivering building services, designed for the facil-ity management industry. The partner-ship will enable us to work together on aspects such as Computer-Aided Facil-ity Management (CAFM) and is firmly focused on customer care.”

“We believe that FM is a people or employee-oriented business. If you have the right people and you look after them they will be more productive. We try to address all our employees’ needs, however small, and we make sure that they are well taken care of,” Cameron pointed out.

Krishna Kumar the CHICAGO Hu-man Resources Director and his team have invested a significant amount of their time into developing the CHICA-GO accommodation for all of their oper-atives which has paid dividends when CHICAGO was awarded recognition from Dubai Municipality for the high standards that they provide to all their operatives. From sports facilities to La-bour Day celebrations they work on en-suring that they go that extra mile for all their employees.

It is CHICAGO’s vision to be amongst the top FM companies in the region and beyond. They have a very robust and sustainable plan to achieve that in the next three years

FEMALE EMPLOYEES

If you have the right people and you look af-ter them they will be more productive.”


PROPERTY MANAGEMENT


wasl Asset Management Group, one of the largest real estate management companies in Dubai, was established by the Dubai Real Estate Corporation (DREC) in 2008 to oversee the administration of its assets and grow its real estate portfolio. We speak to the management to get all the details about their interaction with the FM industry.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR FORAY INTO PROCURING FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICES? As an asset management company, wasl plans its facility management (FM) strategy internally through its Asset Management Services and Solutions Department (AMSS), with execution outsourced to external FM companies. This enables wasl to rapidly scale and expand its scope as per market de-mand.

wasl properties established five customer service branches in different areas in Dubai in addition to a 24/7 Call Centre to cater to all kinds of custom-er requests. The call centre, branches, AMSS, the Property Management De-partment and the FM service providers are all connected to an integrated sys-tem that ensures that all maintenance and facility management needs of all projects are attended to in a timely and professional manner.

In line with this strategy, wasl properties has recently opened a new service provider training centre in con-junction with our FM service providers to enhance its customer operations. Located within our Deira Zone portfo-lio, the newly inaugurated facility will provide housekeeping, security and Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) training to teams on the ground.

CAN YOU TELL US SOME INTEREST-ING ANECDOTES OR MILESTONES ALONG THE WAY, WHICH HAVE DE-FINED THE WORK BEING DONE BY YOU? Before 2008, wasl properties used to deal with over 100 service providers. With the company’s rapid growth and expansion leading to managing over 27,000 real estate residential and commercial units within the Emirate of

THE LEADER IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Dubai, wasl properties has consolidat-ed service providers into five or six.

Previously, each building was man-aged by a single service provider and without a proper communication sys-tem, all calls could not be attended in a timely manner. Now, the call centre re-ceives and processes all maintenance calls in real time, with defined KPIs, response time is kept to a minimum. In addition, wasl has implemented ad-vanced IT systems with state-of-the-art technology to make it easier to e-com-municate with the various service pro-viders working with us. The adoption of the new smart strategy has led to vastly improved maintenance job completion times. Overall, this consolidation of ser-

vices and operations has resulted in improved customer service.

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION REGARD-ING THE FM INDUSTRY IN THE UAE? The FM industry in the UAE now has an integrated FM service provider ap-proach to managing asset, which is more advanced than other Middle East countries. Local companies started with few FM services and then grew into in-tegrated FM service providers. Market conditions are competitive in the UAE due to the cost control approach by landlords, who tend to source FM ser-vices from multiple service providers and manage them directly. Majority of the landlords don’t have a life cycle

- Dubai Creek Golf-Yacht-Club-Villas-3

-Club house

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT


costing approach in their planning pro-cess.

However there is a gradual shift to integrated FM solutions by other larger real estate companies as they have ob-served the success of wasl properties as a leader in managing assets through outsourced integrated FM service pro-viders. Other smaller landlords have also now changed the outlook in favour of quality service delivery rather than focusing only on cost.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES/BOTTLENECKS?The main challenge for the FM industry is the availability of skilled labour at a short notice. The recruitment process is a long-drawn exercise stretching for several weeks and months with low success rates. FM service providers need to incorporate career planning of their employees in their strategy.

In a region with significant asset growth, there is an obligation on the industry to make a contribution pro-portional to the growth levels. The ab-sence of technically certified FM work-force generates lack of confidence in the industry. Creation of a specialised training and development center and programmess for the shortage of skills is mandatory to address the skills gap.

The laws applicable to maintaining assets and the local regulations are currently managed by several local au-thorities. Clients tend not to comply with such regulations due to lack of aware-ness or understanding.

Another challenge would be the ab-sence of any established benchmarks for various FM operating parameters, which makes it difficult to verify and confirm whether the operating efficien-cies are the best.

The other main challenges facing the FM industry include sustainability and the importance of preserving the current resources for the succeeding generations.

HOW DO YOU WORK WITH FM COM-PANIES TO PROCURE SERVICES? IS THERE A STANDARD FORMAT OR IS EACH PROJECT TAILOR MADE?The selection methodology for our FM services procurement involves multiple stages. The first stage is the prequal-ification of the integrated FM service providers. The prequalification exer-

cise enables us to shortlist the best FM companies and makes it easier to com-pare their ability and costs fairly. The prequalified FM service providers list is periodically reviewed and updated so as to ensure that new companies are also given an opportunity to participate in wasl’ s tenders.

The final selection of service pro-viders is done through an analysis which is based on weighted average of scores of multiple evaluators on various significant parameters like the compa-ny’s credentials, financial standing, client base, technical capability, value add services, energy saving and envi-ronment protection.

The technical assessment espe-cially for new service providers is done by visiting a few of their full-fledged FM integrated managed sites, their staff ac-commodation and site office to assess the ability to provide central support services.

wasl properties believes in trans-parent procurement processes and every shortlisted bidder is given an op-portunity to present itself and market its capability.

ONCE A CONTRACT HAS BEEN AWARDED, WHAT IS YOUR PROCE-DURE FOR FOLLOW UP?Once a project is awarded, the per-formance measurement assessment and score card is applied to assess FM contracts in all projects. The SLA (Service Level Agreements) and KPI (Key Performance Indicators) are also part of the RFP and once a contract is awarded they are converted into per-formance assessment tools. With each year of the contract the target score is increased to push service providers to continuously improve each year.

There is a transition phase, where the service provider is given a three

months window to familiarise with the site and focus on training resources and fine tune services and other logis-tics.

Multiple meetings at all levels are held to communicate and convey feed-back. Moreover, a team of qualified facility supervisors conduct scheduled site visits to evaluate the service deliv-ery. Every six months FM compliance full audit is done to provide high level feedback to the service provider.

The best performing service provid-ers are rewarded with certificates and plaques of appreciation. Individual per-formance of service provider’s resourc-es who have done specific outstanding work is also appreciated and rewarded. Wasl also conducts FM workshops, an-nual supply engagement programmes, which create a platform for service pro-viders to discuss innovations, creative ideas and challenges, which helps us enhance our relationship with the ser-vice providers.

DO YOU FEEL THAT THE FM INDUS-TRY HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, IN TERMS OF TRAINING OF WORKERS, SERVICES PROVIDED AND THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE MAINTENANCE OF A PROPERTY?There has been a lot of emphasis on training resources in the last few years. Many companies in the FM industry have set up training centers to train their resources on the latest technolo-gies, which are expected to significantly enhance their output and efficiency.

The management of FM companies has realised that training is needed and should be imparted not just to the new recruits, but refresher courses for the existing staff should also be there as they yield rich dividends in terms of im-proved productivity. Some companies track the performance of resources after the training and incentivise high performers to motivate others as well.

- Wasl Square

- Park Hyatt

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

After 20 years of experience and thanks to a highly qual-ified team, the company has one of the most complete

and comprehensive suites for asset and facility management, as well as service automation.

Currently, more than 500 compa-nies all around the world with more than 10.000 users trust Rosmiman solutions to manage their assets. As part of company expansion, we have already opened our first office in Dubai in order to better support the customers and in-crease the presence in the region.

Based on our incessant efforts to improve, our goal for the next years is to consolidate our leadership as a glob-al supplier of smart technologies and services. In the last few years we have seen how our activity field has evolved rapidly both in business and structure. With the purpose of facing those chal-lenges and be able to lead the market, we have set the following goals:

►Broaden our knowledge in order to undertake new areas of business.

►Empower our passion for new tech-nologies and improve our technical ca-pabilities and infrastructure.

►Add the most recent trends and technical disciplines, enhancing the exchange of knowledge, technological partnerships and our R&D.

►Consolidate our international proj-ects with global partners in a basis to exchange knowledge and technology.

PRODUCT AND SERVICES FOR FM Facility management is a continuously evolving field and the companies in-volved should be aware of the emerg-ing technology trends. These new technologies will add value and help to improve efficiency as well as effec-

THE SOFTWARE

EXPERT

tiveness. Rosmiman offers unique solu-tions to maintain all assets of a com-pany enabling all people, who interact in the environment of the company to have access to the same maintenance tool. However, the tool has different en-

vironments or portals customised to the needs of each type of user. In that way, all information is always up to date and available from anywhere at any time in the most comprehensive way.

Our solution specially developed

In RSC we have always bet for innovation and to maintain our products one step ahead of the trends.”

Rosmiman Software Corporation (RSC) was founded in 1993 as a developer of its own MMS (Maintenance Management Solutions) software. Antonio Ramirez, CEO, Rosmiman Software Corporation, tells us about the work being done by the company to help the clients achieve their targets.


SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

to support facility management, pro-vide an overview of all costs related to a property through its entire life cycle. This solution shows the necessary in-formation to control all aspects of the usage and maintenance of the assets in a comprehensive manner. Moreover, it helps, both, to reduce maintenance cost as well as to plan resource and costs assignment.

This solution has been specially designed to support real estate main-tenance. Thanks to its web based and graphic-management system for space planning, Rosmiman brings a com-prehensive way to manage all graph-ic information based on CAD vector maps, GIS information and inventory information. With this functionality the user can easily define as many spaces and sub-spaces as necessary, to know and to control the use of each space, dimensions and availability, to manage its reservations or organise relocation of assets assigned to each space. We also help to gather all information of an exhaustive building inventory, by using our mobile solutions. All these func-tionalities gather up enabling the user to deal with the daily tasks like rental maturities, income statements, tax pay-ments, licenses or agreements with outsourced services.

All in all, the facility management field has today an important signifi-cance also for cities. Rosmiman Smart Cities is a new concept, which is the result of the evolution of the already ex-isting solutions for government that the company has been implementing.

Based on the experience and re-sults consolidated in several real proj-ects in different cities as well as dif-ferent administrations of the Spanish Government, this concept has been technically redesigned in order to inno-vate and evolve in connectivity, utilities and services to contribute to a more

sustainable future, smart and user friendly environment for the citizens.

UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION We are known for our level of innova-tion, versatility and its capacity to adapt to our customer needs. Thanks to the recently added improvements, our solu-tions benefit entirely from mobility. Our solutions already offer a fully integrated variety of mobility solutions specially developed for facility management; all of them supported by the main OS in the market, such as iOS, Android and Windows mobile. Thereby, the compa-ny allows the user to remotely manage notifications, spare parts, work orders,

purchase orders, GIS, asset manage-ment on a map or prepare inventories. This solution brings facility manage-ment to the next level of performance and optimisation.

In RSC we have always bet for in-novation and to maintain our products one step ahead of the trends. Proof of that is the fact that the company is always using the latest technologies, e.g., RFID (radio frequency identifica-tion) to easily identify assets, QR codes and integration with several new tech-nologies, enabling our customers to lead on business excellence.

RSC shall provide quality policies to guarantee that the implemented envi-ronment of the application fulfills the re-quirements of the ‘Good Practice of De-velopment; for security management, information management and product development. These policies are based in the current SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) of RSC with certification and audit Num. SGI 6009141 issued by TÜV Rheinland Inspection, Certifica-tion & Testing, ISO9001:2008 “Support Centre and Administrative and Inter-nal Organisation Processes”, ISO/IEC 15504 “Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination” also de-nominated SPICE, and ISO/IEC 12207 “Systems and software engineering – Software life cycle processes”.

All this solutions are provided with a flexible integration and the company develops its software to promote an easy integration with third party suppli-ers, such as ERP, Oracle and SAP and also offers its installation either on cli-ent’s premises or under the SaaS (Soft-ware as a Service) modality

Thanks to the recently added improvements, our solutions benefit entirely from mobility.”


CLOUD COMPUTING

Traditionally, building manag-ers, and the technologies at their disposal, have focused on the engineering of build-

ings. Managers have been more con-cerned about the building, than the people who occupy it – the residents, employees and visitors. Their technol-ogy has been ‘built by engineers, for engineers’, which is often very inward looking. Basically, building mangers have not been at all ‘customer’ or ‘end user’ focused.

CUSTOMER CENTRICGlobal thinking is shifting towards a more customer centric approach to satisfy consumer expectations for con-venience and personalisation. Even in traditional B2B industries, consum-er-focussed advertising campaigns are being used as a tactic to build the brand on a B2B level. Think IBM, Oracle or Airbus, who are all attempting to build brand equity with the consumer in order to win over the supplier or operator.

In a similar vein, building manag-ers need to consider their reputation with the end-user of facilities. However, much too often, the upfront investment in either time or money keeps the in-dustry focussed on short-term profit over long term reputation.

It’s a misconception that is hard to fathom since any reputable and for-

We live in a world of grow-ing urbanisation, where the tension between our en-vironment and our lives is ever - increasing. Where the expectations of the peo-ple who occupy buildings, and those of the building owners themselves, are changing. Now more than ever, there is an imperative to do things differently. Ben Churchill, CEO, Urban-ise, tell us how technology can help build a stronger link with the customer.

CUSTOMER CENTRICITY IN

FM


CLOUD COMPUTING


ward-thinking company, in any industry, is consistently identifying expansion opportunities that increase revenue and improve service, without significantly in-creasing costs.

In FM the most logical opportunity for a company to start providing value added services, is to focus on the peo-ple who live and work in communities under their management. In the Middle East this is especially pertinent be-cause the built-in environment revolves around residential towers and gated neighbourhoods that are controlled by a single FM provider, except these providers historically fail to capture the business of ‘consumers’ within these common grounds.

The practicalities of extending these services would mean having to manage thousands of customers, rath-er than a smaller number of corporate relationships, which typically deters management. But technology is rapidly changing how customers interact with businesses, whether booking flights or doing grocery shopping from home. So why can’t the same expectation not be met when ordering building services?

CLOUD-BASED PLATFORMThrough the use of technology and cloud-based platforms (like we have developed at Urbanise), FM providers can today extend their offer to encom-pass the purchase of services (and management of interactions associated with the sale of those services) to the people who live and work in the proper-ties under management.

While the use of e-commerce is not new, it has typically focused on the sale of ‘products’ and managing SKUs (stock keeping units). This approach needs to be different in the FM sector because, unlike a product, a ‘service’ has a life cycle involving multiple customer touch points and workforce interactions that need to be woven into a cohesive and simple online customer journey.

With this new approach, a gamut of new channels and go-to-market strate-gies open up for a company’s lifestyle services, as well as its B2B commercial contract businesses. Like with IBM, Or-acle or Airbus, the added bonus is the symbiotic eco-systems that start to form between a building owner and their cus-tomers.

For example, a bank will typical-

CUSTOMER CENTRICITY IN

ly tender contracts for maintenance services and the employees would be none the wiser what uniform the techni-cian is wearing or the FM company they work for. But with our cloud-based plat-form, the FM operator can extend its B2B maintenance service to the people who work at the bank and need mainte-nance services such as air-conditioning repairs at home – this service can even be adjoined with ‘nice to have’ ameni-ties like dry cleaning!

The opportunities with this kind of platform are endless and I use the bank as a perfect example because they typically offer mortgages for customers buying a home – which will at some point need cost effective maintenance.

Again, the scalability of the tech-nology can allow the FM company to rebrand its services into packages tai-lored to the bank’s very own customers and promoted directly by the bank – es-tablishing a B2B2C model in which ev-eryone wins; the company, the employ-ees, its customers and ultimately – the FM company who is now contributing to the banks bottom line and brand equity with added value.

The power of integrating e-com-merce with an operational service man-agement engine that plans and deploys the field-force can dynamically change an FM company’s DNA. It offers a whole new way to take services to market and is suddenly agile – able to design and deploy new services, including home energy saving measures, and even ex-tend the experience to smaller, distrib-uted businesses such as coffee shops.

MONITORINGCloud-based technology can also pro-vide functionality for real-time monitor-ing of building systems. The traditional maintenance of assets in buildings is driven by ‘planned preventive main-tenance’ schedules – sending an en-gineer to inspect a pump on a regular

basis – rather than providing service. The systems that exist to automate this scheduling more often than not over-look whether a visit from the engineer is actually required and just how critical the asset is to the business it’s support-ing.

By deploying low-cost sensors, building managers can receive an alert when an asset is not operating to full efficiency. With improved visibility, FM companies have the ability to imple-ment a more strategic and cost-effec-tive approach to business-critical main-tenance.

This critical asset response ser-vice can also be overlaid on traditional manpower contracts enabling any FM company to offer higher service-level agreements and fewer resources than competitors.

In addition, FM companies can also use the same technology to remotely monitor and sub-meter energy con-sumption in the buildings they manage, leading to the implementation of an en-tirely new level of value added services for B2B customers.

Rather than simply tendering to maintain assets, a company can adopt an energy-driven FM model where it would offer to implement the technology as part of the contract and then use the energy savings achieved to discount its core maintenance services below the cost of the pure manpower solutions that competitors were offering.

While remote monitoring and en-ergy measurement is nothing new, the cloud-based installation and operation-al costs of the technology are so low that customers could literally bundle the solution into its offering for free, provid-ing a huge perceived value-add service to its corporate clients.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR BUILDING MANAGERS? The future of FM means the transforma-tion of building managers into custom-er-focused service providers, which will demonstrate that the ‘customer-cen-tric service experience’ has well and truly arrived in the FM sector. The FM companies that are brave enough to embrace this change will quickly stand out from those who remain content with suppling ‘mops and buckets’; and be-come recognised as market leaders in the industry

FM IN HOSPITALITY


Getting the human resourc-es mix right is an ongoing challenge in any industry and market, but globally the

hotel sector suffers more than most, because of the difference in occupan-cy and seasonal cycle playing a major role.

In an ideal world staff would be on call – and on the payroll – 365 days a year. To add to this, company loyalty would be guaranteed, staff turnover would be minimal and customer ser-vice levels would be world-class. In the real world, where recruitment and bud-get go head-to-head against projected occupancies, yield and market uncer-tainty, in an unpredictable region, this remains an HR director’s pipe dream.

This part of the world also has its own unique recruitment challenges. While the UAE hotel sector is one of the fastest growing in the world, the absence of a flexible local workforce means that overseas recruitment has long been the sole source for the bulk of manpower requirements. In a rela-tively small market dominated by 5 and 4 star hotels, customer expectations are also above average when it comes to service quality.

According to Sinead Bridgett from MEFMA, “ In a competitive environment such as the hospitality industry, it is in-creasingly difficult to maintain consis-tency with every bed change, laundry wash, floor clean and deep clean – day in, day out. Whilst, quality assurance inspections, work order turnaround, and check-in times might all be very interesting to maintain a level of consis-tency, at the end of the day, what truly counts is the guest experience.”

It is quite evident that to have a good understanding of the hospitality business, it is important to know the developments in a parallel field – that of facilities management. Aparna Shivpuri Arya takes a look at this relationship.

HOTELS AND FM – WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP?

She further added that as a conse-quence of this, every aspect of a hotel establishment, from the reception to the check-out procedure has to be of an expected standard and the simplest inconvenience can ruin the overall ex-perience. It could be an old soap left in the bathroom, a towel not changed or a dirty window.

Bridgett also pointed out that even though traditionally all these services have been managed in-house, it is time to look at outsourcing. “This brings in facilities management which, in the Middle East, has traditionally been handled in-house but as an increase in supply creates an increase in stan-

dards, cleaning becomes ever more technical and specialist – not just in the delivery but also the management of it. You only have to look at hotels in New York, which were badly affected by a bed bug infestation in 2010, spread-ing to department stores, cinemas and theatres to understand how quickly a consistent standard can become, well, inconsistent!”

Which is why outsourcing FM, spe-cifically to one specialist provider, en-sures that hotels are minimising the risk because all the non-core operations of a hotel are being passed over to those who have a technical knowledge of such crises. This subsequently allows

FM IN HOSPITALITY


As FM providers tend to work across indus-tries they are already in a unique position to pool resources and best practice and apply that thinking to the hotel sector.”

management to focus on the guests and will allow the hotel’s internal oper-ations department to focus on its own longer term strategic priorities rather than concern themselves with everyday logistics.

There are many different reasons that explain the role of FM in the suc-cess of hotels. These reasons might be classified as strategic, operational, or functional.

Mentioned below is an indicative list of reasons on why a professional FM service is essential to hotel opera-tions:1. To keep up with the competition2. To maintain or increase market share by satisfying current or potential cus-tomers3. To improve the operational efficiency of the hotel that will lead to an increase in both productivity and long-term sav-ings in operational expenses4. To maintain corporate image and standards5. To upgrade the hotel to a higher cate-gory(e.g. from four-star to five-star)6. To comply with the new trends and technology in the market (e.g. the green movement)7. To cope with the governmental re-quirements (e.g. laws for the disabled etc.)8. To recover from natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquake

A specialist FM company can handle the hotels’ staff requirements, starting from their recruitment, to visa and residence, accommodation, leave settlements, replacement staff for sick leaves, re-recruitment and much more.

However, there has been a lack of awareness among the hospitality industry about the services that come under the scope of FM.

For example, a recent study on the development of FM and its application to the hospitality industry in the Middle East region established the apparent importance of FM in renovating pro-cesses in the industry.

However, the report found that al-though owners and operators of luxury hotels understood the importance of continual renovation and refurbishment in order to meet customer expectations and competitive pressures, there ap-pears to be a lack of strategic planning with regard to FM management in hos-pitality in this region.

Despite the importance of renova-tion, owners do not value it as an im-portant FM tool. There is therefore a need for the continued development and investment in FM in the region .The challenge for hotel managers is how to utilise the discipline of an FM approach to renovation projects without merely adding another layer of bureaucracy and administration.

FM providers can also help hotels become more sustainable – an issue that is become of prime importance in the hospitality industry. Speaking about this, Bridgett said, “When we discuss sustainability, in any vertical, it must go hand-in-hand with smart building management solutions that can moni-tor the hotel’s energy consumption and streamline efficiencies. Hence hotels need to look beyond their own circle of energy and sustainability consultants

and assess how other industries are creating effective systems. As FM pro-viders tend to work across industries they are already in a unique position to pool resources and best practice and apply that thinking to the hotel sector.”

Furthermore, a total FM company can assess and compare the sustain-able performance across all its ser-vices, from pest control, landscaping, waste management, window cleaning right through to room cleaning, security and MEP, Bridgett said.

There is no denying that there is a strong link between FM providers and the hospitality industry and this was also reinforced by MEFMA’s participation at The Hotel Show in September 2014 in Dubai. Elaborating about their positive experience at the event, Bridgett said, “We are pleased to see that more ho-tels are waking up to the advantages of outsourced FM and cleaning because it is illustrative of the progression our industry is making and the recognition it is receiving. The perception of a fa-cilities manager is shifting from that of an interchangeable supplier to a true strategic partner. To meet increased demand for services and the need to efficiently manage costs, hotel admin-istrators in Europe and North America have successfully partnered with in-dustry experts who provide complete non-core service solutions. The same, I believe, is now beginning to take shape in the Middle East that will support and enhance the industries performance”

SUPPLIER

Driven by the need to control cost and quality of construc-tion, several construction companies in the Middle East

are using off-site building solutions. The modular bathrooms concept of using a pod, which is literally ‘Plug and Play’, easily aids contractors in completing their projects within their build sched-ule time. The use of bathroom pods is now a growing phenomenon in the GCC since in the traditional build meth-od there is a lot of work for the contrac-tor including coordinating plumbers, electricians, plasterers, tillers, joiners and painters and more, which is time consuming.

Unipods, a member of the Al Rajhi Holding a Saudi-based Group with in-vestments in many companies across

the UAE., has successfully extended its expert services in building, producing and supplying supreme quality bath-room pods with bespoke specifications for hotel, residential and commercial projects in the GCC.

Sadig Abuagla, Head of Sales & Marketing at Unipods says that leading contractors and developers are now using bathroom pods, since they are well-versed about the wide ranges of benefits pod concept offers over tradi-tional construction methods.

With the adoption of pods, the key advantage for the developer is saving significant amount of time on the over-all project. The project start up to com-pletion time is cut by a minimum of 2-3 months, say Abuagla. This is because the pod construction runs in parallel

‘Plug and Play’ pod concept is a growing phenome-non in the GCC. The leading company, offering this globally renowned concept ,in the Middle East is Uni-pods LLC, based in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.

PODS GROWINGPOPULAR

along with onsite construction, result-ing in saving on-site the buildup and installation time. It also means there is less need for skilled labour on–site and coordination of site services, which can add significantly to the build time.

Bathroom pods are sustainably built at offsite locations maintaining high en-ergy efficiency standards. Hence, the wastage in construction of these pods is completed eliminated, which makes it environmental friendly practice.

Building the pods in a quality as-sessed factory environment also en-sures much more consistent quality standards compared to the traditionally built bathrooms. Abuagla explains, “Af-ter receiving the client’s requirement, a reference pod is prepared for client’s approval. Once client approves it, one reference pod is kept in the factory and other is shifted to the site. With this process we ensure that the quality is consistent and every pod leaving the factory is identical to the other, which cannot be achieved in the traditional built methods.”

This Plug and Play concept is con-venient for the developers and contrac-tors. He explains that when you use the pods you are eliminating the process of sourcing suppliers, which otherwise is a daunting and time consuming task in the traditional way. “When you se-lect Unipods bathroom pod services, we source the suppliers, do the fit out works and install the pod for the cli-ent, freeing him from all the hassles of sourcing supplier and eliminating all lo-gistics work.”

On a recent completed project, Unipods has manufactured, designed, supplied and installed bespoke bath-rooms pods for the world’s largest Holiday Inn in Makkah, due to open in KSA in 2016. The two towers consist of 5 and 4 star hotels with 1,238 rooms, which now houses Unipods exclusive pods.

Company’s immense success in their previous projects has allowed Un-ipods to secure prestigious residential villas project - Al Waseel Hills in Riyadh for Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SAB-IC), one of the world’s largest petro-chemical groups and the Gulf’s biggest listed firm. Al Waseel Hills high-end villas will soon feature 2006 bathroom pods that will be manufactured, sup-plied and installed by Unipods


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RE-TENDERING

The risk of losing a business is fundamental to ensure that best standards in operations and customer service are

maintained.Therefore, there should be a val-

id reason if a client feels the need to re-tender a project. These could in-clude, among others, lack of reassur-ance of continued best value, service levels dropping, rationalisation of prop-erty portfolios, new technology entering the market or client re-structuring.

Ali Al Suwaidi, MEFMA Board Member, explains to us how re-tendering can be avoided.

AVOIDING THE PITFALL OF RE-TENDERING

There are a handful of very well respected FM consultancies who have an international pedi-gree and do very well in the Middle East”


RE-TENDERING

Despite the cost, time, effort and disruption involved, tendering for a contract happens in every business whether it is related to construction, en-gineering, IT or law. So, if the tendering or re-tendering of a project is fair, there can be no complaint.

However, there is a growing con-cern that the re-tendering of projects in the Middle East is becoming arbitrary and often the result of a company-wide procurement policy that dictates a re-view every two or three years with little consideration for the service being pro-vided. This is fast becoming one of the biggest concerns for MEFMA because it is inhibiting the industry’s growth and for reasons given below.

First, the lowest price is not neces-sarily a fair price. In life, I believe you get what you pay for and if prices are continually driven down it restricts the industry from progressing. As a result, the FM provider will end up streamlining resources and in the worst case, taking a short-cut in order to break-even, let alone make a profit. Therefore there is no room for innovation or a desire to ex-ceed expectation.

Second, upon winning a new contract the handover takes up to six months. Establishing a presence and settling in takes another six months. Therefore, optimising one’s presence happens over the course of 12 months. So the benefit to the client, whilst real-ised at the beginning of any contract is not maximised until an FM provider is the FM ‘partner’ – a process that is of-ten not allowed to happen.

Third, the level of service that an FM provider delivers has an effect on the end user and therefore on the brand equity and value of the building. To take this away and focus around cost will only serve to reduce value in the long term.

This problem is unique to the Mid-dle East, because the average length of a contract in the Middle East appears to be two years compared to a global average of five years.

THE SOLUTIONSo how to address it? It is up to the in-dustry and MEFMA to reach out to the concerned owners & their procurement teams and educate them on the val-ue of FM. By the same token, it is not the responsibility of MEFMA to act as a mediator between the client and the provider.

The best person for this job is a FM consultant. There are a handful of very well respected FM consultancies who have an international pedigree and do very well in the Middle East. Howev-er, there is an opportunity for an even greater uptake of their services, once clients begin to move away from tactical implementation and focus on a strate-gic approach to maximise savings and increase life expectancies of buildings.

Part of this process will mean iden-tifying a FM provider, who can help im-prove the productivity of a commercial organisation and modernise systems and processes that may even herald a return on investment. With such a plan in place, created by the FM consultant, there should be no need to tender ev-ery two to three years with a long term objective in mind.

Furthermore, in order for the letter of acceptance to be legally binding, it must be in accordance with the tender – so both parties understand expecta-tions at the very outset of the relation-ship. Likewise any new terms added by either party must be mutually beneficial and again an FM consultant can help offer impartial advice from the outset and throughout the duration of the con-tract.

Once employed, a clear and contin-ual conversation with the client must be established so that it is not just status reports and faults fed back to the client but also success stories and proof of a return on investment – financial or oth-erwise. That way the client can bench-mark against the original strategy and all being well, will be discouraged from re-tendering!

The level of service that an FM provider deliv-ers has an effect on the end user and therefore on the brand equity and value of the building. To take this away and focus around cost will only serve to reduce value in the long term.”

MONTHS, TO HANDOVER UPON

WINNING A NEW CONTRACT


FM IN EVENTS

Based upon the previous World Expos, MEFMA estimates that nearly 10% of the operational budget is dedicated to facil-

ities management for events of such magnitude. It would be interesting to dig deeper into this issue at the region-al level, since the Middle East organ-ises major large-scale sporting occa-sions like the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The region will continue to build on its ambition to host events on an unprecedented scale by hosting the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and Dubai Expo 2020. It has even begun to make references about the possibility of or-ganising a Summer Olympics.

Therefore, research on the subject will certainly highlight what we in the industry already assume, that FM is a critical component to ensure the suc-cess of any major event. But I wonder how much of that reputation extends beyond our own circle?

THE UNSUNG HEROES OF EVENT MANAGEMENTBehind every successful event is a dedicated and professional facilities man-agement team. However, how many of us know about the work that they do? Abdulhadi Ali Alalyak, MEFMA Board Member, gives us the details.

Abdulhadi Ali Alalyak, MEMFA Board Member

Think for a moment about the Dubai World Cup at the Meydan Hotel. On most days of the year it functions as a hotel but then for one day every-thing changes when it throws open its doors to 80,000 race-goers for the world’s most rewarded race! This is a very different dynamic and the demand on a hotel organising this size of event is staggering, with limited contracts be-ing signed for maintenance, cleaning, security, waste management, crowd control and everything else in between.

For any integrated FM company, these services are off-the-shelf, but a team that manages a built asset can-not simply replicate what they do on a daily basis and expect to achieve the same efficiencies, when organising an event. From a first-hand experience, it is important for an FM provider to work

hand-in-hand with event planners that know the intricacies of organising a particular event for a particular demo-graphic.

LESSONS FROM LONDONTo illustrate, the London Olympics was considered a great success because it addressed one of the principal corner-stones of an Olympic bid – the strategy which needed FM to be involved from the architectural concept.

This was because previous Olym-pic events failed to find a future use for the venues, which meant that mil-lions of Dollars of construction went to waste. For instance, the 2004 Olym-pic complex in Athens is similar to the Acropolis and likewise many venues used in 2008 in Beijing are ghost towns.

But two years on and London’s fa-


FM IN EVENTS


cilities are still being put to good use, such as The Queen Elizabeth Olym-pic Park, which came to my attention through a conversation with BIFM. To-day the venue doubles as a public park for recreational use and still utilises its Olympic venues for sporting events. As a consequence its management was passed over to the London Legacy De-velopment Corporation (LLDC), which was tasked with opening and maintain-ing the parkland area for public use.

All facilities services for the park were contracted out to Cofely GDF Suez. After the removal of the tempo-rary walkways, stands and three tem-porary games venues, new parkland intertwines with roads, cycle paths and walkways, and five venues remain for the FM team to operate and maintain.

So the challenge for a FM team is to balance state-of-the-art facilities that remain relevant for elite athletes whilst making them accessible to the general public with continuously changing peak times and off-seasons.

For example, the London Aquatics Centre, now open as a public swimming pool and diving centre inside the park, presents a challenge on being avail-able for public use as well as being readily accessible to international race standards. Lifeguards have monitors to see underwater (connected to cameras used to broadcast races). The centre is kept at a constant 27°C and the two swimming pools must have their pH level monitored daily. The team also faces the added challenge of maintain-ing and keeping the touch-plates (for use during races) correctly aligned.

The park highlights the changing paradigm for FM providers, who are becoming more accountable for the

successful management of an event, almost as much as the event planners themselves.

To tackle this in the Middle East, a gap in the market needs to be fulfilled with FM consultants who can advise on the intricate matters that no FM pro-vider can be expected to traditionally understand, such as setting up starting blocks for swimming events.

This means FM providers need to start thinking outside their comfort zone, if they want to begin positioning themselves as similar partners for the major events, slated for the region. They should also start looking at bring-ing in new talent with a completely dif-ferent experience.

By bringing in a new way of think-ing, FM will begin to have a more im-portant seat at the table and will be able to foresee issues. For example, the team used to manage the Sydney Olympics were able to visualise the consequences of road restrictions and closures, along with access to build-ings. As a result, FM providers advised a policy to ensure all non-perishable

goods were delivered in advance and to stockpile everything a month before the games.

For facilities management in the Middle East this represents a huge op-portunity if it can adapt, innovate and position itself as a critical partner at the highest level of an organising commit-tee. Therefore we must use the time to focus on training the workforce towards international standardisation and best practices.

This is a very different demand on an industry which typically operates be-hind the scenes maintaining commer-cial and residential units.

Now our industry is coming direct-ly in front of the consumers and oper-ating under time pressures. Therefore we cannot replicate the two or three year agreements we have with clients for a global event like the World Cup or World Expo. We need to show flexibility and an ability to add to the experience for fans and visitors to the events of the Middle East. Only then can we claim to be the hero for a successfully delivered event

PRODUCT REVIEW


BELL & GOSSETT TECHNOFORCE XLSThe TechnoForce XLS controls up to eight pumps from one system to meet the head and flow require-ments of a building. The system provides up to 300 pounds per square inch of pressure boosting with vertical multi-stage pumps and stainless steel piping. Programma-ble logic controller (PLC) technol-ogy commercialises features nor-mally associated with an industrial PLC, including Ethernet, wireless, and smart phone access for ad-vanced monitoring and controls.http://bellgossett.com

Facility Insight looks at some of the latest products available for our industry. If you have a new product that you want the industry to know about, let us know.

ON THE MARKET

CAT LIFT TRUCKS The 15,500-pound capacity diesel DP70N pneumatic tire lift model fea-tures the Perkins 854E three-liter, turbo-charged, four-cylinder engine. The lift features a diesel particulate filter that burns off soot in the system as needed during normal operation. The lift features a three-section hy-draulic control valve with fingertip controls, a full-suspension seat, and noise and vibration reduction features to improve operator comfort.Available Options• Light and strobe packages for your specific applications• Hydraulic control levers• Fire extinguisherhttp://www.cat-lift.com

ORBIT INDUSTRIES INC. EESLA-LED COMBINATION LIGHTThe EESLA-LED combination light includes two fully adjustable lamp heads. The fixture housing is constructed from premium-grade aluminum and is UL listed for damp locations. A back-up battery provides 90 minutes of emergency operation. The fixture measures 11-3/4 inches tall, 12-1/2 inch-es wide, and 2-3/8 inches deep. The housing and faceplate are available in white and black. Letters are available in red or green. The components re-quire no electricity since they absorb energy from ambient light and re-emit it when the light is out. The performance of a photoluminescent component is measured primarily by brightness and the amount of time it produces light. http://www.orbitelectric.com

Sensor series is made up of non-invasive, self-powered, miniature, wireless current sensors. The sensors clamp on the electrical outgoing wire from the circuit breaker, harvesting the magnetic field as a power source for mon-itoring the flow of electricity and sending information back — wirelessly. Real-time, high frequency current data is transmitted every 60 seconds to the company’s cloud-based application. Hundreds of sensors can be installed in a few hours with no disturbance of daily operations. Once installed, the remote sensor technology become part of the building infrastructure, never requiring mainte-nance, service or battery replacement.http://www.panpwr.com

PANORAMIC POWER SENSOR SERIES

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Powered by:AGM Battery (18km Duty Cycle)

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FM advert with printer marks.pdf 1 31/07/2014 18:29:32

SUSTAINABILITY


HOW IMPORTANT IS THE ISSUE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE UAE? A commitment to sustainability is im-portant not only for the UAE but for the entire world. In the UAE, specifically, it is estimated that between 1965 and 2013, the nation’s population increased by over 6000%, with 85% of its res-idents residing in urban centres. The UAE continues to develop rapidly, and the challenge is to sustain the develop-ment given the fact that the region’s re-sources, such as electricity and water, needed to sustain life, are limited. The economic development of the coun-try has enhanced wealth and millions of people benefit from the all-round growth. However, according to recent environmental reports, UAE residents also have one of the highest ecologi-cal footprints in the world, suggesting an imbalance between the demand and supply of resources that sustain a comfortable lifestyle. A focus on sus-tainability – meaning the effective man-agement of the demand for resources –

is imperative to achieve a balance with the supply of resources.

Resources such as energy and wa-ter are critical and need to be monitored and managed as their usage greatly

GOGREENSaeed Al Abbar, Chairman of Emirates Green Building Council, speaks to us about the importance of look-ing at the issue of sustainability in the FM industry.

contributes to the country’s ecological footprint. It is estimated that 57% of the footprint is attributed to energy con-sumption alone.

ACCORDING TO YOU, HOW CAN THE FM INDUSTRY PLAY A ROLE IN PRO-MOTING SUSTAINABILITY?Over the years, FM service providers have included several sustainability related functions into their portfolio. Today, energy and environmental mon-itoring for effective operational main-tenance is an integral part of most FM contracts. By providing energy audits and services to facility owners, the FM industry promotes an important requisite needed for the sustainable management of a facility. The audits establish the baseline energy usage for a facility, which owners can use to mea-sure their environmental impact and reference any improvement they make. FM Companies also have a vital role in

SUSTAINABILITY


New developments in the UAE have begun to increasingly adopt rat-ing tools to their con-struction methodology and many go on to be certified upon comple-tion.”

ensuring the efficient, safe and healthy operation of buildings.

WHAT GREEN BUILDING PRACTICES WOULD YOU SUGGEST TO THE FM INDUSTRY?Several sustainable practices can be adopted by the FM industry, which are cost effective in both the long term and the short term. These include:

Follow best practice for O&M: At the bare minimum, FM Companies should follow best practice measures for the operation and maintenance of building systems. This is vital not only for effi-ciency purposes but also to ensure the safe and healthy operation of buildings. In this region, O&M practices have typ-ically been quite poor and there is a big need for improvements in the quality of building maintenance.

Improved ventilation: Ensuring ade-quate fresh air provision, HVAC retro-fits, installing heat recovery technology, and demand-controlled ventilation can contribute to reduced energy consump-tion as well as the well-being of end users.

Efficient Building Management: De-signing spaces that are integrated through intelligent centrally automated management systems ensure that sys-tems within the building follow opera-tional patterns and are shut down when not in use.

Energy Saving products: The FM in-dustry can offer energy saving tech-nology as part of an upgrade packet. Efficient lighting, solar technology, and replacing old and inefficient systems with energy-rated ones can bring in energy savings to facility owners over time and help maximise the life of ex-isting assets.

Engagement with building owners: This is a key strategy which introduces an ed-ucational component to sustainable FM practice. Educating building occupants on the proper usage of equipment, pro-moting an efficient waste strategy such as through recycling and environmental awareness programmes, can help in preventive maintenance, affect asset efficiency and promote the continual improvement of a facility.

HOW CAN BUILDINGS, EXISTING AND UPCOMING, USE THE RATING TOOLS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRON-MENT?New developments in the UAE have begun to increasingly adopt rating tools to their construction methodology and many go on to be certified upon com-pletion. Rating tools such LEED and Estidama Pearl help ensure a building was built using sustainably sourced materials, uses less energy and water,

has a cleaner indoor environment, and will also last longer than a counterpart that is not built to the same standards. Existing buildings that are built to older standards are often extremely energy intensive and wasteful of resources. These can be retrofitted by using exist-ing rating tools as a framework and as a roadmap for progress in sustainability. The Emirates Green Building Council is on course to publish a technical guide-line which will provide just that frame-work, which existing building owners can use to advance their sustainability goals.

The EmiratesGBC Technical Guide-line for Retrofitting Existing Buildings is a comprehensive set of instructions which will offer facility owners and op-erators a cost-effective reference tool catered to the local region, which they can use in lieu of certification, enabling them to reduce their energy and re-source consumption over time and cre-ate a sustainable building overall

COUNTRY FOCUS

Since its foundation in 2010, MEFMA has never limited its focus on one country. MEFMA’s interest in the re-gion is reflected in the composition of its current board, whose members are made up of industry leaders from across the region including the Vice Chairman & CEO of United Facilities Management (UFM), Ahmad Yousef Al Kandari, who is a major business figure in the Kuwaiti real estate and FM industry. In this article, he elaborates on the challenges in the FM market in Kuwait and the role being played by MEFMA.

TAKING A LOOK AT

KUWAIT


Ahmad Yousef Al Kandari

COUNTRY FOCUS


The facilities management market in Kuwait is still in its early stages. However, mega projects are being launched

and recent report from Ventures Mid-dle East is projecting that construction contracts in the country are set to reach USD 17.5 billion by the end of 2014, up from USD 9.8 billion in 2011. With such growth, the FM market is set to expe-rience tremendous expansion which would translate into great opportunities for FM companies, who are already ready to act.

Key major infrastructure projects are propelling Kuwait into the limelight. Projects like the USD 698.5 million Ku-wait International Airport expansion, the metro and rail projects. As a result, fa-cility owners are now aiming at higher level of service delivery to ensure that such enormous investments are being protected.

WHAT ARE THE ROADBLOCKS?However, with growth come challeng-es. Currently, FM companies in Kuwait are facing the challenge of addressing the release of large facilities projects in the market, while awareness for com-prehensive facilities management ser-vices remains stubbornly low.

Customers in Kuwait are still ei-ther reluctant in embracing the con-cept of FM outsourcing or continue to operate in a single-service approach. MEFMA’s relentless efforts in the past few years, working with companies like UFM, in promoting the short and long term benefits of facilities management have indeed made a difference. We have seen an incremental increase in awareness, specifically with large real estate companies. MEFMA has been indeed instrumental in making the case for outsourcing facilities management services.

Another challenge for the FM in-dustry in Kuwait is the complex bureau-cracy and government red tape that hinder the development of categorisa-tion and company classification rules that ensure comprehensive licensing programmes for FM companies. The acquisition of foreign labour continues to be complicated and cumbersome.

Issuing tenders focused solely on FM services are appearing but at a slow rate and are still limited to the private sector. Public tenders for FM services

tend to be fragmented requesting ser-vices separately and not as an integrat-ed solution. This is a difficult challenge to overcome as it requires a change in business mentality and habits at the government level. Such a challenge has been discussed in detail at MEFMA to come up with a programme on how to convince government agencies to re-

ally change the way they see FM fitting in their work processes.

Nonetheless, we, at MEFMA are confident that the Kuwaiti market is reaching a tipping point where FM ser-vices could become standard require-ments for any major real estate devel-opment project. Government ministries are becoming more aware of the impor-tance of sustainability of their facilities and its impact on finances.

Tenants in modern buildings tend to be environmentally-aware and are de-manding a “green environment”. Real estate developers will have to respond to satisfy such needs. And that can only be through the adoption of inte-grated facilities management services.

MEFMA’s commitment to Kuwait was reflected in organising the ‘Aware-ness into FM Conference’ which was held in Kuwait in 2013. The conference helped in opening discussions and de-bates between stakeholders in the real estate industry for the need of FM ser-vices.

In summary, MEFMA will continue to apply its commitment to the FM mar-ket in Kuwait by educating customers, exposing stakeholders to the benefits of FM and by training and certifying professionals to enable the implemen-tation of best practices and efficiency in service for existing and new facilities.

Customers in Kuwait are still either reluctant in embracing the con-cept of FM outsourcing or continue to operate in a single-service ap-proach. MEFMA’s re-lentless efforts in the past few years, work-ing with companies like UFM, in promoting the short and long term ben-efits of facilities man-agement have indeed made a difference.”

DIARY DATES


UPCOMING EVENTS

18-11-2014 (9:00am) to 18-11-2014 (11:00am)

18-11-2014 (10:00am) to 18-11-2014 (3:00pm)

24-11-2014 (9:00am) to 24-11-2014 (5:00pm)

07-12-2014 (8:30am) to 11-12-2014 (4:30pm)

08-12-2014 (10:00am) to 10-12-2014 (7:00pm)

11-12-2014 (10:00am) to 11-12-2014 (1:00pm)

11-12-2014 (5:00pm) to 11-12-2014 (7:00pm)

14-12-2014 (12:00am) to 18-12-2014 (12:00am)

15-12-2014 (8:00am) to 15-12-2014 (10:00am)

18-12-2014 12:00 am to 18-12-2014 12:00 am

11-01-2015 (8:30am) to 15-01-2015 (4:30pm)

21-01-2015 (9:00am) to 22-01-2015 (5:00pm)

02-03-2015 (11:00am) to 04-03-2015 (7:00pm)

02-03-2015 (11:00am) to 04-03-2015 (7:00pm)

15-03-2015 (9:00am) to 15-03-2015 (3:00pm)

16-03-2015 (8:00am) to 17-03-2015 (5:00pm)

11-05-2015 (10:00am) to 13-05-2015 (9:00pm)

Sheraton Hotel, Mall of The Emirates

Riyadh

Kuwait

Executives Hotel

Dubai World Trade Centre

Doha

Doha

Kuwait

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Arjaan by Rotana Hotel

Riyadh



The Address Hotel Dubai Marina

The Address Hotel Dubai Marina

Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center

MEFMA - EGBC Networking Event

Pre-Conference Workshop - Riyadh

MEFMA Conference - Kuwait

Arabic Ta’aseesy - Foundation in FM Course - Riyadh

MEFMA is supporting Gulf Traffic Ex-hibition & Conference

MEFMA Workshop - Qatar

Networking Event - Qatar

Arabic Ta’aseesy - Foundation in FM Course - Kuwait

Networking Event - Abu Dhabi

MEFMA Board Meeting

Ta’aseesy - Foundation in FM Course - Dubai

MEFMA Conference - Riyadh

MEFMA is supporting the Middle East Electricity Exhibition

MEFMA is supporting Solar Middle East Exhibition

Pre-CONFEX Workshop

MEFMA Annual CONFEX - Dubai

MEFMA is supporting Saudi Power Exhibition

EVENT DATE LOCATION

Documents

Facility Insight Oct./Nov. 2014