Why facilities management is an investment and not just a cost

When we buy more printer paper, we think of that as a hum-drum cost, but when we buy management training, we think of that as investment that will affect future ability to generate revenue and profit. The distinction is that your paper situation is binary – either you lack it and hit a block, or you have it and can proceed. Staff skills are not simple, “you have it or you don’t” qualities.

Facilities management traditionally was seen as akin to office supplies – either your lobby is acceptably clean or there’s a problem; either the maintenance man has fixed the air conditioning system or he hasn’t.

Here we explain why facilities management should be viewed as an investment and not a cost.

Sustainability matters

Forty percent of all carbon emissions come from buildings (Forbes). If your organisation has sustainability targets, improving the efficiency of your buildings is therefore the low-hanging fruit.

A professional facilities management partner can advise on everything from the straightforward (using the most environmentally-friendly cleaning products) to the most ambitious (solar panel installation).

But in between lie other factors. Lighting and temperature control account for most of building energy, for example. Your provider will be able to advise you on smart systems that can cut your carbon footprint (and your energy bills) greatly, for example by adjusting output in response to human presence.

The more sophisticated options do a great deal more than merely switching units on or off. If a modern lighting system detects just one worker left in a large office, it might switch on the one light fitting over them to full, with adjacent ones to half, then a quarter, then off at the edges of the room. Such systems can also use presence-detector information to create “heat maps”, showing the patterns and levels of usage throughout your space.

The above is also an example of a broader point. Using their own processes, and systems they suggest and install, a professional partner accomplishes more than merely doing what you explain you need. They will come to you with information, options and suggestions which are their bread and butter, but which might otherwise have been missed entirely.

Compliance and liability

One of the reasons facilities management is a full-time profession is the ever-increasing number of regulatory obligations in areas such as health and safety, and energy performance. A professional partner will have written processes for each of the compliance obligations that exist and can help you achieve and maintain compliance.

Also, a typical service level agreement will involve the provider assuming legal liability here. It is important however to check the provider has adequate indemnity insurance, and ask what CAFM (Computer Aided Facilities Management) package they use, and how you will be able to check compliance, KPIs and so on.

Maximising the value of your assets

The heart of professional maintenance isn’t reactive work, it’s PPM (planned preventative maintenance) – scheduled checks of equipment with no known issues with the aim to stop – or at least reduce – the likelihood of reactive maintenance work needing to be carried out.

A professional partner will know, for each category of asset, what is the most cost-effective interval between checks. A higher quality partner will then modify that, unit by unit, after assessing the condition and age of each item. They will then refine that schedule in an ongoing way, taking into account, for example, level of usage.

Read more about the benefits of PPM schedules here.

Back to basics

It is also important not to forget the smaller details that effective FM can also help to deliver on.  Don’t underestimate the value that many will place on a first impression. A clearly neat and well-maintained building will generate a positive impression.

For those who visit, your building and its environs is the equivalent of your website – it’s your public face. A clean, bright appearance, even during the challenges of rain and snow, makes your building a haven people enter with pleasure. There is a value in making your public face better than just adequate and that impression is likely to be long lasting.

The reaction of your staff to their surroundings is also far from binary. Bright, welcoming spaces aid morale and productivity, and ensure that you have and retain good staff.

And, of course, we are sharply aware at this time of the importance of sanitising workplaces so as to manage time lost to sickness. Your staff are less and less likely to experience real danger from COVID, but they face, at the very least, disruption to work. A rigorous, professional sanitisation regime minimises this.

How much is an hour of your time worth?

As well as the points discussed above, a professional partner will also just take the hassle away, freeing up your day to get on with what you need to get done. No more figuring out from first principles what some regulation really means, or where to find some specialised maintenance contractor.

A professional partner will have all necessary staff, either as employees or else as vetted and assessed specialist contractors, plus a succession plan for staff departures.

If you think we might be the partner for you, please contact the team for more information on 0116 366 6508 or info@precisionfm.co.uk