Table of contents for April - May 2020 in Facility Management

From the bushire summer to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s impossible to recall a more challenging start to a year – and it looks like it’s going to get worse before it gets better. In our jobs as facility managers and in our lives as human beings, we are reminded of our responsibilities, and to do what we can to take care of those around us. We certainly live in interesting times and we’ll learn much in the coming days, weeks and months. Nothing around us will avoid the touch of the current global situation and trade press and this magazine is no exception. So what you’ll find within these pages is a combination of our usual best practice guidance on how to manage the built environment better, combined with more…

CYBERSECURITY Jacqueline Jayne, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, recently provided guidance on how organisations can protect themselves and employees from cyberattacks and hacks. “The outbreak of COVID-19 has seen many organisations encourage their people to work from home or work remotely,” she says, “while this is a logical step in keeping us safe from becoming sick, we also need to be safe when it comes to cybersecurity. “When you are working without your IT support team down the hall or a colleague sitting next to you to speak with, a suspicious email received at home seems different somehow. It’s important to be more aware than usual and know what you need to do should this situation present itself. When it comes to remote working both IT and HR will need…

Ashley Austin is the global customer development director, Urbanise. Nearly five billion of the world’s 8.1 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2030. That’s a rise of six percent from 2019, bringing the total to 61 percent. The boom will predominantly, but not exclusively, be felt in the developing world. Populations across Australian cities are on the rise, with Sydney and Melbourne forecast to hit eight million each by 2050. Bordering on unsustainable, these increases will put more stress on properties and, as a result, property managers. The upside will be a rise in demand for space in commercial and residential buildings – at least, it will be an upside for some. For others, the opportunity to make the most of this growing demand is already…

In a recent risk and governance forum held by the Governance Institute of Australia, experts declared that organisations must undertake rigorous review of non-financial risks. While sectors such as banking and agriculture were directly called out in terms of their impact, there were implications for all sectors of industry, including facility management. This report shall distil the key findings from this forum and identify critical questions that non-executive directors must ask to ensure they are acting in the interests of their organisations and clients. The main areas covered in the conference and reported on here are: • corporate view of risk and culture • regulatory view of risk and culture • the future of work • blockchain • cyber risks • climate-related risks and opportunities, and • other learnings, lessons…

High-performance teams are vital to an organisation’s success, but they need one thing before they are able to succeed: trust. A common misperception by leaders is that trust will come naturally to their team. The reality is, however, that you can’t bring a talented group of people together and simply expect them to gel and work seamlessly. The top team at Google learned this the hard way. The company would hire the best engineers, the highest-achieving PhD recipients, and throw them all together with a couple of extroverts. To Google’s dismay, this rarely resulted in the creation of a competent team, let alone a high-performing one. So the organisation’s leaders decided to investigate. Five years and millions of dollars later, they realised that it doesn’t matter who is on the…

Now more than ever before, tenants want to be connected to the buildings they inhabit. With the world beyond the walls in continuous flux, it’s no wonder that place creation is becoming a higher priority for occupants. In the past few years, community spaces, coworking options and high-comfort amenities have become the norm, and sustainability is climbing to the top of the tenant agenda too. But whose responsibility is it to create this new normal for tenants and how do we measure success? As building managers, I believe that our bottom list is now best measured by impact. We are no longer simply concerned with occupancy numbers and aesthetics, but rather how our building contributes to its context and how our tenants feel within it. Therefore, it is our job…

How did you come to work at the MCG? I was actually doing some private consulting work. Someone I worked with referred me to a recruitment agency because they were looking for someone for a three-month contract at the MCG leading up to the 2006 Commonwealth Games, to manage some of the major projects in the facilities area. I went and did that role for three months. During that period the CEO at the time, Stephen Gough, asked me if I was interested in staying. The rest, as they say, is history. I’ve been GM of facilities since mid-2006. What are some of the building’s notable features? I suppose its size, for one. It’s 200,000 square metres and has nearly 3,000 different spaces within the venue. It’s a very, very…

While we’re sure many of you may have heard enough on the topic, it would be impossible to provide news highlights from recent months without touching on coronavirus. The fast-spreading pandemic is presenting many issues relevant to facility managers, in both their professional roles and personal lives. Cleaning and sanitation, air quality and ventilation, remote work and cybersecurity are all affected here. Another huge impact is the havoc wrought on the industry’s calendar of events. In late February and early March, upcoming events began announcing their postponements and cancellations. The risk of spread, travel bans inhibiting international delegates and a general public sentiment to steer clear of large gatherings were too much to ignore. This culminated on 13 March when Prime Minister Scott Morrison imposed a cancellation on all gatherings…

In some industries we readily accept technological (and subsequent social) change as par for the course. Since digital communication exploded into dominance, marketing and advertising campaigns have become interactive and measurable. The one-way communication channels that ruled in the past (print and TV advertisements, billboards, direct mail, etc) have lost their crown to the digital channels (websites, email, social media etc) that facilitate two-way conversations between businesses and their customers. In the accounting space, clever cloud-based systems have afforded smaller businesses an unprecedented level of transparency and convenience. Business owners can manage and monitor their accounts from almost anywhere, using a simple app on a mobile device. Optical recognition of payable invoices in programs like Receipt Bank have drastically reduced the data-entry burden and electronic batch-payments have bought back the…

SCOPE OF WORKS Many businesses today are looking for help in moving their staff to O365 and SharePoint, with aspirations to reduce the escalating costs and reliance on land-based server footprints, and removing duplication of systems. The change manager with technical know-how is the perfect person to help the client side IT project manager to do this by first articulating the benefits of a well-structured change program and secondly by facilitating the many phases to enable this work to be successfully completed. The change manager will also manage stakeholder concerns and coordinate the timely provision of services through unified communication and collaboration. When moving to O365 and SharePoint, businesses can enjoy a flatter IT structure, improved ways of working, reduction in vendor contract management and reduced server footprint – supporting…

The built environment comprises rich streams of data with much of it remaining invisible. Capturing and properly harnessing this data will allow building owners and occupants to better manage risk and create ‘smart’ buildings. The advent of IoT technologies is accelerating the collection of data, enabling greater insights into how buildings operate. Comprehensively interpreting data can highlight possible failure points, identify where opportunities may lay to improve the indoor environment, reduce absenteeism, improve productivity and decrease costs such as maintenance, energy, insurance and employees. IoT TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATES THE COLLECTION OF DATA The collection of most data within the built environment has been derived through what could be termed ‘man-made’ or via building management systems (BMS). One example is fire extinguishers and the reading and recording of data on the registration…

What got you into FM? Was there anything from your early career that sparked your interest? I’ve always been in roles that were risk related. I spent a long time in policing and then went into safety regulator businesses and then into infrastructure businesses. Those big infrastructure businesses in high-risk environments led me into FM more broadly – the type of roles that are centred on managing enterprise risks and operational risks, like health and safety and service delivery. Focusing on the client and getting efficient, effective, safe, high-quality outcomes has always been at the centre of the roles that I’ve had in FM. Tell us about your first role in FM and your career journey from there. Coming out of electricity distribution I was working for a company called…

Baoying Tong. David Lister. Electrical testing aims to quantify signs of deterioration early by assessing the data collected during the test and comparing it with previous values or accepted criteria. Testing on existing electrical equipment primarily focuses on the testing for degrading insulation performance, wear or component damage that may impact continued operational safety or reliability. Compared with testing of new equipment, which is normally prescribed clearly by standards, testing existing and aged equipment can be different and more complicated. Firstly, the type of tests that need to be carried out on existing equipment are not prescribed in Australian standards and are normally agreed between the engineer and facility managers based on various factors. Secondly, the tests should avoid imposing too much stress on older equipment, as it may result…

History shows us the business graveyard is littered with companies that failed to innovate. Size is no cushion it seems. Think Kodak, Nokia, General Motors, Tower Records. Sometimes in business, change occurs organically – other times it can be thrust upon you. Adaption is one response, but innovation is always better. The building game has long bemoaned the negative impact of new or changing regulations on its operations. Sometimes seemingly minor adjustments to existing rules can send some businesses into a tailspin and others out of the game altogether. But far from being a disruptor, new or changing regulation should be seen as an opportunity to innovate. Global business consulting firm Accenture recently released a report that identified three basic responses to changing regulatory environments. Firstly, there are the Innovators…

Sustainability is being used by various businesses globally as a vehicle to increase engagement with stakeholders including clients, government and employees. Why? It has a lot to do with the Millennial generation and a trend it is setting in the workplace. Increasing numbers of Millennials around the world hope and wish for ‘something more’ from a job – a move beyond chasing profits and positions, to seeking a sense of purpose. A Cone Millennial Cause Study from 2006 showed that three out of four of the Millennial generation (those born between 1978 and 1998) want to work for a company that “cares about how it impacts and contributes to society”. In a Deloitte Millennial Survey from 2019, which spoke to Millennials worldwide, ‘climate change and protecting their environment’ is their…