Indice dei contenuti per October - November 2015 in Facility Management

Despite its rapid development and diversification in the last decade or two, facilities management (FM) is still suffering from an identity crisis. What working in FM exactly entails remains a contentious issue. This issue of Facility Management looks at what FM constitutes, what a facility manager is and how the FM profession can be enhanced. These key issues are the building blocks of the discipline. Without cohesion, development of FM will likely remain fragmented. One thing is certain though: the focus of FM is clearly on the workplace. Our lead feature has Loralyn Mears charting the future of FM, how it’s changing and the biggest challenges ahead. Martin Leitch boldly questions if we can unify workplace silos in his column, FM Insight. While we’re on the topic of the workplace,…

Meet the demands of a fluid work environment with OptiLine 50 Clipsal by Schneider Electric has launched OptiLine 50 – a complete building fitout cable management solution. A series of click-in, click-out outlets, USB and data points, floor boxes, poles and posts, trunking and furniture boxes, the system has been designed to keep the workspace agile and fluid. The secret of the new system is 25 percent fewer parts, and a simple installation method that’s 50 percent quicker. This simplicity enables you to move and alter components when a change occurs, meaning a building’s occupancy rate and rental yield are kept high. www.clipsal.com/optiline50 Dyson Airblade – sleek and powerful The fastest to dry hands hygienically with HEPA filtered air, the new Dyson Airblade hand dryers are powered by the Dyson…

Australian small to medium businesses (SMBs) are at risk with their approach towards disposing of confidential information. Indeed, as Shred-it’s general manager (Australia) Eric Konicki puts it: “What I’m finding not in just Australia alone, but on a global scale is that large companies have lots of resources and awareness, but small companies are just focused on running their business and thus they don’t have the time to think if their security protocol is really secure. Some allocate resources to facilities managers to handle this. And some consider information disposal as a waste stream. Now, how this is important to facilities managers is that they need to understand their liability to make sure the security company they choose follows the proper security procedures. An audit is very important, and available…

Research in an ISS white paper titled ‘Perspectives on the FM market development’ found that the worldwide FM outsourcing market is expected to grow from US$959 billion in 2012 to US$1.3 trillion by 2018, with growth evident across global markets from North America and Europe to Latin America and Asia Pacific. This demand is now coming from both the public and private sectors. The changing economy in the Asia Pacific region requires a new way of thinking about the way facility management services are delivered. Providing added value, increasing efficiency while also taking responsibility for regulatory compliance and business continuity is an increasing trend being seen at ISS and other providers across Australia. Rather than outsourcing a single service, or maybe two lines of services, customers are now requesting a…

The word ‘institution’ conjures up many associations in aged care - most of them negative. However, institutions such as universities, student housing and science research organisations have many things in common with the aged care sector, and share similar challenges. Although they are usually run like businesses, it is the human values and a research-led design approach that drive much of their activity. A research-led design approach explores how the end user – the student or resident in this case – will use the space, and how the space will influence how they feel and behave. It is an essential and ongoing part of the design process that puts the user at the centre of the design right from the start. Many aged care providers are now applying the lessons…

The 1950s had the Empire State Building and then, nearly 50 years later, the Petronas Towers were built, followed rapidly by Taipei 101, before Burj Khalifa took the crown... What’s coming next in 2018 will be the completion of Kingdom Tower in Jeddah. Pegged to be at least 1000 metres high, it will be the world’s tallest building. Crucial to Kingdom Tower’s impressive height is an innovative piece of technology – carbon fibre lift ropes. It’s a pity that the tower had to be scaled back from its original 1.6-kilometre height due to ‘unsuitable geology’, because it definitely was not limited by technology. At most of the tallest skyscrapers, the Shard in London for example, transfer floors are needed and those ‘commuting’ around a building have to switch lifts as…

The sit stand desk revolution is sweeping through our urban workspaces. Is this just a new fad or is the sit stand desk not only changing the ergonomics of our workspace, but making a difference to our health at the same time? I think it is important to note that with anything that you do throughout the day there are opportunities for repetitive strain type (RSI) injuries. If you sit at a desk or have manual labour job, or you stand all day long, each activity has its own set of pros and cons, and each has its own repetitive strain patterns that play out in the body. The good thing about the sit stand desk being adjustable is that it means you have a choice. An important thing to…

Over the last three decades the technical maintenance management of our built environment stock has been ‘dumbed-down’ by the property industry driven by cost savings initiatives. The dedicated on-site building engineers have become a rarity, with maintenance services outsourced with the promise of better outcomes at lower costs. The sales pitches offer technical service delivery with remotely located engineering expertise serving a number of buildings – and providing significant cost savings. With further efficiency drives, combined with the service providers striving to grow market share, the delivery of technical maintenance services has become more compromised because of even lower service pricing. Just as on-site qualified engineers were replaced by off-site engineers, these were replaced by technical facilities managers and finally generalist facilities managers responsible for all services. The dedication and…

ALL-ENERGY AUSTRALIA EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE 2015 WHEN: 7-8 October 2015 WHERE: Melbourne, Victoria CONTACT: www.all-energy.com.au IFMA WORLD WORKPLACE CONFERENCE AND EXPO WHEN: 7-9 October WHERE: Colorado Convention Center, Denver Colorado CONTACT: worldworkplace.ifma.org FACILITIES INTEGRATE 2015 WHEN: 15-16 October 2015 WHERE: ASB Showgrounds, Auckland CONTACT: www.facilitiesintegrate.nz ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AUSTRALIA 40TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE WHEN: 20-23 October 2015 WHERE: The Menzies, Sydney, New South Wales CONTACT: www.eh.org.au/events/category/national-conferences PARKS AND LEISURE AUSTRALIA 19TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE WHEN: 25-28 October 2015 WHERE: Sydney Hilton Hotel, NSW CONTACT: www.parksleisure.com.au BUILDING OPERATING MANAGEMENT’S NFMT ORLANDO WHEN: 27-28 October 2015 WHERE: Orange Country Convention Center, Orlando Florida CONTACT: www.nfmt.com CORROSION AND PREVENTION 2015 WHEN: 15-18 November 2015 WHERE: Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia CONTACT: www.acaconference.com.au AIOH2015 (ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION) WHEN: 5-9 December 2015 WHERE: Crown…

A Facility Management Content Partner is an organisation with which we’ve entered into a partnership to collaborate on content for the magazine (see page numbers listed for each). In this issue, thought leaders from respective organisations are: SCHINDLER LIFTS’ COLIN CARTY Colin Carty, director – Technical and Field Support at Schindler Lifts, has more than 12 years’ experience in the vertical transport industry. As a director on the national board, he is responsible for product quality and safety, quality assurance, employee technical training and technical support. ASSA ABLOY’S DAVID WARD David Ward, business development manager – Wireless Access Control at ASSA ABLOY, has more than 15 years’ experience in security management and access control services. David is well-versed in the capabilities of cutting edge wireless security such as Aperio –…

Facility Management: Things are varying wildly among the states. As regional director of Hays Facilities Management, could you tell us what’s going on? Austin Blackburne: Yes, things are varying greatly. In mining, soft services are in big demand. Our guys in Perth, especially my colleague in FM, she’s the biggest puller in the company. There’s still a lot of demand despite the downturn in Western Australia. Outsourcing FM services is also becoming a big issue. As more organisations turn to full service solutions – a definite trend that I don’t see changing – recruiters like us have to compete with full-service solutions companies. Is the industry plateauing to a more operationally focused one? Well, it’s more cost-sensitive and it’s the way the Australian economy and Western economies are heading. More…

The common myths of elevators: free-falling elevators, doors closing on people and, of course, the elevator rapidly ascending while the passenger is exiting, severing limbs or worse... While injuries in elevators do occur, they are extremely rare and when they do occur they are normally the result of gross negligence or are freak accidents. This, however, does not stop Hollywood from inspiring fear and awe into the hearts and minds of its audience with movies featuring elevators in free-fall and theme park rides like the ‘Tower of Terror’. It is not surprising with this Hollywood influence that more people have a phobia of taking an elevator than they do of taking the stairs (which statistically is 60 times more likely to cause an injury). Did you know that, statistically, elevators…

The Northern Sydney Institute has transformed an unused five-storey 1960s Brutalist-style science block on its St Leonards Campus into a world-class centre for learning and innovation. The refurbished building, now known as the Cameraygal Building, was designed by the New South Wales Government Architect’s Office. Before its refurbishment, the building was a science laboratory. The project was shortlisted from a field of more than 170 entries across the state for the prestigious NSW Architecture Awards held by the Australian Institute of Architects. At the 2015 Awards, the Cameraygal Building scooped the pool, winning awards in the Educational Architecture and the Sustainable Architecture categories and receiving a commendation in the Heritage (Creative Adaptive) section. The award wins now see the Cameraygal Building eligible for the National Architecture Awards, which will be…

The nature of work is changing from being materials-based to information-based. To accommodate this, the workplace is also changing by responding to the need for increased flexibility in how, when and where work is done. Organisations are becoming more structured around new ways of working and new work processes that are independent of fixed physical spaces. Facilitated by the growth in international trade agreements, the increasing demand for low-cost consumer products is driving manufacturing to countries with preferential labour costs. Many low-skilled jobs are being easily replaced with technological solutions, a trend that is destined to accelerate. The resulting vacuum of manual work processes is being filled with knowledge workers. Many of these are represented by younger generations that have different values, standards and work expectations than previous generations. But…

Facility Management: What are the key changes you are observing in the FM industry? Caroline Fitzwater: My general career started in the UK, but became more people-focused once I completed my postgraduate studies in personnel/human resources. For the past 20 years I have been in the service industry where my ‘passion for people’ has remained the focus. Facilities management services are all about people – a facility manager touches nearly everyone, everywhere in some way. Traditionally, an operational level profession, facility management has now evolved. The key change is the shift in focus from a day-to-day stakeholder need for tactical and operational support to a more strategic requirement, forecasting the future relevance and most cost-effective facility outcomes. A facility manager must be hands-on, but also needs to prepare operational and…

Facilities today face unique challenges to ensure the security of both physical and digital assets. Whether a data centre supports a single client or provides hosted services for thousands, managers are responsible for the sensitive information their users or customers rely on to conduct their business. “Many companies are seeking hosted services, which have strict physical security and auditing requirements. Operators of these type of centres must decide how to install the system that best protects the most critical environments in the facility, as well as meeting the requirements of their hosted customers,” says business development manager – Wireless Access Control at ASSA ABLOY, David Ward. No two facilities are the same and every opening is different. In this case, ‘One size does not fit all’ – it is critical…

We’ve all been there. In unfamiliar surroundings within a building or facility and the necessity to pay a visit to the amenities unexpectantly rears its head. For me, this is exactly how it occurred one evening last week, while attending a seminar in a wellestablished high-rise building in Sydney. As soon as I opened the door to the men’s toilets, I was immediately subjected to an eyewatering pungent odour, which, upon striking the back of my throat, caused me to struggle to breathe any last remaining gasps of fresh air available into my already struggling lungs. This smell is not what you were immediately thinking; it was the unmistakable stench of Struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate), caused by a build-up of scale from urine. After washing my hands and wiping away…

In recent times some surprising things have happened in areas close to my heart and probably yours too. A thermostat became sexy and resulted in a $3.2 billion acquisition by Google. A stationary battery pack for homes and large buildings became sexy and sold out months in advance. A robotic security guard started patrolling a college campus. The Pope even got on board with calls to reduce man’s impact on the climate. People are even murmuring that the clean technology industry – ‘cleantech’ – is alive again. So, as we think about the future, how many people are as excited as they used to be about the next gadget? Maybe it’s just because I’m getting a little closer to 40, but this gadget freak is starting to show signs of…

Billbergia builds Wentworth Point Marinas on Aconex Aconex Limited, a provider of a leading cloud collaboration platform for the global construction industry, has announced that the Billbergia Group has selected it to manage information and processes across all of its residential development projects under an enterprise agreement. An Australian property group, Billbergia is one of the largest developers of waterfront apartments in Sydney and is known for innovative designs and commitment to quality. Billbergia initially rolled out the Aconex collaboration platform to manage the Wentworth Point Marinas Project, beginning with Quarterdeck, an $85 million project of 286 apartments. This was followed by The Broadwater, an $80 million project of 252 apartments. Currently under construction are the Regatta complex, a $100 million development of 332 apartments and six retail areas, and…