RICS strategic FM case study launch: innovation, education and collaboration

Tuesday 19^th July marked the launch of the fourth edition of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) strategic FM case studies, hosted at their beautiful HQ on Parliament Square. In previous years we’ve seen best practice and shared knowledge on topics including: ethical procurement at Co-operative Group; fostering creativity at the BBC; merging asset and facilities management to produce efficiency and flexibility in the NHS; and talent management at Mitie Client Services.

This year’s edition was made up of six case studies from across a range of FM services, each with their own invaluable lessons and tips on how FM can be used to achieve great things. The case studies featured were:

Integral – how an FM provider has helped a national museum to maintain environmental and comfort controls for world class collections
OCS – the strategic role of FM in enabling a top international school in Thailand to keep its students safe and secure
Kier – utilising FM and asset management to enable an English Borough Council to self-fund services
EMC – using a ‘One Team’ approach for FM excellence
Service Works Group – how a public–private partnership helped to deliver Olympic standard services to an international sporting event
Fairmont Singapore & Swissotel The Stamford – delivering integrated preventive guest room maintenance for thousands of hotel rooms in Singapore

The launch event started off with breakfast served in the Council Chamber before moving into the RICS lecture hall for the presentations. Paul Bagust, director at RICS, welcomed delegates to the event and introduced David Sharp, managing director at International Workplace which produces the case studies on the institution’s behalf. David started by reflecting on some of the past case studies and shared his thoughts on this year’s, before introducing the presenters.

The first presentation, from Integral business development manager Mark Whitaker, outlined the power of good partnerships between service providers and their clients. The Integral case study on their work with National Museum of Liverpool (NML) demonstrates that collaboration between both sides is able to create tangible results.

The five-year contract was a long game project that saw no profit for Integral for the first two years. However, their open book approach and a willingness to understand and appreciate the NML environment allowed Integral to deliver first class service that reduced reactive call outs and allowed for more accurate budget forecasting. Additionally, they were able to demonstrate a stabilised environment, which in turn instilled confidence in exhibit lenders.

Ken O’Mahony, senior director EMEA at IT giant EMC, took to the stage next to share the ‘One Team’ approach for FM excellence. He discussed how over the past two years, the EMC real estate and facilities team across EMEA, which includes more than 13 service partners and an in-house team, has transformed from a group operating independently, to a fully-aligned One Team where competitiveness is put aside to create the best possible outcome for the client and the EMC business. The impact on the business, in terms of efficiency gains, cost savings, improved customer experience, CSR objectives, raising the profile of FM within the business, and making EMC a Great Place to Work, was substantial – and ongoing.

The third case study, presented by Kier Head of Contract (Chesterfield) Matt Sorby, explored how the public sector can alleviate budgetary pressures by increasing funding away from Central Government. Chesterfield Borough Council currently self funds 50 per cent of the cost of delivering its services by generating revenue from existing assets. By investing in the redevelopment of its properties, the council has been able to centralise staff in purpose build offices and depots, freeing up buildings for rental and sale.

Finally, Service Works Group account director Louise Gregory guided us through the public-private partnership that helped deliver the Pan Am and Parapan Am games. Using the Canadian PPP model (arguably the best in the world) public and private organisations were able to come together to create the world’s third largest games.

This included the construction of the Athletes’ Village, which was built in a run down part of Ontario and, even after the event, continues to support the wider community through environmentally sustainable housing, retail and recreational opportunities. All of which was only achievable thanks to the implementation of QFM, a CAFM tool that optimises asset and resource control, improves delivery, and provides powerful reporting to ensure transparent service and rapid return on investment.

The fourth edition of RICS strategic FM case studies once again brings together a range of projects and organisations, each with their own information, insight, and inspiration to share. They provide a window through which some of the most innovative activity in FM is showcased. For me, if there was a formal theme to the case studies I might suggest it was: innovation, education, and collaboration.

The RICS strategic FM case studies can be downloaded here.