Official magazine of the Facility Management Association of Australia Ltd Print Post Approved 340742 00155 $9.

55 $9.95 inc GST

facility
VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3, 2007 SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER integrating people – process – place

Lighting up the Future of

the Built Environment
Recruiting for the Future

Education in FM – the Path of Change

Water Management:
Avoid, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
ISS FACILITY SERVICES:
A GLOBAL COMPANY WITH A LOCAL ETHOS
ISS Facility Services is one of the world’s largest facility services
companies. It has a global workforce of over 410,000 personnel in
50 countries and annual revenue in excess of AU$15 billion.
The rapid growth of the company over the past 20 years largely
stems from its ability to draw upon its global experience to deliver
high quality services in the many countries where it operates.
More recently, its success has been driven by its ability to provide
integrated facility services that provides its clients with service
solutions that are even more efficient through process and labour
optimisation.
ISS Facility Services entered the Australian market in 2002 through
the acquisition of Flick Pest Control, an Australian-renowned brand
name. Since then, ISS has purchased a broad range of companies
and has extended its capacity to provide a full scope of Facility
Services. In Australia, ISS is a multi-service organisation employing
over 22,000 people in the provision of facility management,
maintenance, cleaning, security, non-clinical support services for the
health industry, grounds maintenance and washroom services. It has
a customer base of more than 100,000 clients and annual revenue
of more than AU$700 million.
)NTEGRATED¬&ACILITY¬3ERVICES
ISS is one of a handful of companies globally that offers a wide
range of service solutions that can be combined to meet all of a
customer’s service and support functions into one single solution.
This integrated approach creates synergies that maximise the
efficiency of service delivery for clients. It also enables ISS to improve
the quality of the services delivered because a single service provider
has greater control over quality assurance and can guarantee the
seamless delivery of services.
#LEANING¬3ERVICES
ISS is the largest provider of cleaning services globally and in
Australia. For more than 70 years, ISS has continually raised
the standard for cleaning services throughout the world. The
company’s solutions are always tailored to the individual needs
and requirements of different customers. ISS works closely with its
employees and suppliers to constantly develop new methods, tools
and materials to improve our cleaning services, enhance the working
conditions for our employees and minimise the impact of our
services on the environment.
ISS counts some of Australia’s largest organisations such as Telstra
Corporation, National Australia Bank and BHP Billiton amongst
its many cleaning clients in Australia. Since 1994 ISS has been the
primary provider for the NSW Government Cleaning Contract.
This is the world’s largest single cleaning contract within ISS and
provides services to more than 1,800 sites the majority of which are
Government public schools.
3ECURITY¬3ERVICES
ISS Security is the second largest provider of security services in
Australia. Core Services for the Security division include general
security guarding, emergency response, consulting services,
operational risk management, development and implementation of
safety plans and a focus on service supply to the Australian Aviation
and Maritime Security Sector.
INDUSTRY PROFILE
ISS Security is a major player in the Aviation Sector servicing 70%
of Australian airports, some of which include Perth, Adelaide and
Brisbane. Services provided incorporate passenger and baggage
screening, air-side patrols and frieght screening. ISS Security
remains aware of important factors including relationship building
with customers, experienced and competent supervisors and
management of ISS’ most important resource: personnel.
&ACILITIES¬-ANAGEMENT¬3ERVICES
ISS Facilities Management Services is a division which provides
a management structure and operational solutions with a
management team to cater for any facility service requirement a
client might have.
One of ISS’ highest profile contracts in the Facility Management
division is with Amcor in South Australia. ISS supplies the company
with a substantial workforce on a 24-hour roster to manage and
operate a large bottle manufacturing facility, which produces over
1.2 million bottles a day.
'ROUNDS¬-AINTENANCE¬3ERVICES
ISS Grounds and Maintenance Services is a growing division within
the company and currently has 160 staff operating in NSW and
Victoria. Providing services for internal plants and floristry as well
as strong experience base in landscaping design, construction and
maintenance, ISS is well set-up to provide full grounds services for
corporate customers. Specific services provided include Broad acre
mowing, turf construction and maintenance, high quality garden
maintenance and herbicide.
Charles Blinkworth
CEO ISS Australia
CEO of ISS Australia, Charles Blinkworth, is excited about the
potential for organic growth and expansion in the Australian
marketplace for Facility Services.
ISS Grounds and Maintenance Services provides services to such
clients as The City of Melbourne, ING and the Department of
Defence. Through strategic acquisitions and the ability to integrate
resources, ISS Grounds and Maintenance is continuing to grow in its
national client base
0EST¬#ONTROL¬3ERVICES
As part of Route Based Services, ISS Pest Control enjoys national
coverage and provides preventative and reactionary services for a
large commercial and domestic base. Service range includes control
of common pests and rodents, termite inspection and treatment and
feral bird control.
ISS Pest Control supplies services to business-to-business customers
with major sites including the Accor Group and the Star City Casino
Hotel in Sydney. Flick Pest Control, a subsidiary of ISS, provides
domestic services to over 51,000 homes across Australia and
possesses a reliable and well-known brand name that is renowned
for quality service and staff development.
7ASHROOM¬3ERVICES
ISS Washroom Services is one of only two national providers for this
service in Australia. With a business-to-business customer base of
28,000, ISS is continually looking for a more advanced product range
and efficiency to provide services for its customers. The service range
for ISS Washroom Services include sanitary and nappy disposal, air
fresheners, soap dispensers, urinal/WC sanitisers, paper products and
ISS is pleased to announce its newly released product; Pure Water.
ISS Pure Water, in partnership with the global-leading company
Waterlogic, focuses on the supply, installation and maintenance of
state-of-the-art bottle-less water dispensers.
“Through the integration of ISS’ various business acquisitions, ISS
can now provide a comprehensive facility services offering from both
a management and delivery perspective,” says Charles.
“2006 was a period of consolidation and alignment. 2007 and
beyond is about bringing international strategies, processes and
techniques to the Australian Marketplace in an effort to offer
compelling end-to-end service solutions.”
Charles, who has had over 20 years of experience in the Service
Industry, was appointed Chief Executive Officer for the ISS Group
in Australia, where he is now in charge of leading the Company’s
expansion program and championing its entry into new markets and
service areas.
Web: www.au.issworld.com
IN THIS ISSUE
facility
integrating people – process – place

Cover Story
22 Recruiting for the future
Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond spoke to William Mitchell, Director of the Centre of Full Employment
and Equity about the reality of the skills shortage situation in Australia, and also caught up with FM recruit-
ment specialists Judd Farris, Hays FM, Kingfisher Property Recruitment and the D&M Group to discuss the
evolution of the FM industry and what lies ahead for today’s facilities managers.

Regulars
3 Editor’s Comment 4 Fast Facts & News 10 FMA Australia Chairman’s Address
11 FMA Australia CEO’s Address 10-11 FMA Australia Calendar
27 FM LEAD STORY Workplace 2 – Delivering a Productive Environment
49 ESSENTIAL SAFETY MEASURES Building Update
70 SOFTWARE CASE STUDY Praxeo helps Mirvac fill the FM Gap.
74 PEOPLE 15 Minutes of FM Fame – Introducing the Young Facility Manager of the Year 2007 – Michael Russo

Features
12 EDUCATION & PD
Education in FM – the path
of change
Facility Perspectives Melanie
Drummond spoke to one of the quiet
achievers in advancing the
objectives of FM as a profession,
David Leifer, co-ordinator of the
graduate programme Facilities
Management at the University of
Sydney.
Facility Management training
at a glance
Current tertiary education
opportunities available for facility
managers throughout Australia.
32 FM ACTION AGENDA
Reform releases resources
The Work of the Regulatory Reform
Working Group
34 EVENTS
FM Innovations celebrate
a milestone
The new Tungsten
FMA Australia NSW Branch Risk &
Emergency SIG launch
44 PLANNING & INFRASTRUCTURE
Avoid, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
The success of Sydney Water’s
Every Drop Counts (EDC) business
program demonstrates why
monitoring is the best place to start
your water savings success story.
Sydney Water’s EDC Business
Program Project Officer Wendy Hird
reports.
50 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
PROCUREMENT
Sustainability in the procurement
of Facility Management services
The FM Action Agenda’s Innovation
Working Group’s idea for
procurement is that the focus for
procurement innovation should be
in the various commercial models
and associated risk reward
mechanisms that drive the best
outcomes for both the client and
contractor. FM Action Agenda
Innovation WG member and Currie &
Brown Director Mike O’Shea reports
on the concept.
56 LIGHTING
The big switch – Lighting up the
future of the built environment
Plans are afoot to phase out the
energy-guzzling incandescent
household light bulb within three
years. What can industry do to
match their efforts? Steve Coyne,
government advisor on lighting
policy implementation and Vice
President of the Illuminating
Engineering Society of Australia and
New Zealand (IESANZ) comments.
64 PROJECT SHOWCASE
response-group and the
management of change
Most are familiar with the specialist
“change management consultants”
from a business, cultural,
acquisitional, merger and/or IT
perspective, but few are familiar
from an internal planning or
physically built perspective.
79 FM PUBLICATIONS
FM’s Pandemic Role
IFMA Foundation’s Pandemic
Preparedness Manual is an essential
‘how-to-guide’ for any industry in our
global economy.

Sponsored Industry Profiles Next Issue

IFC ISS Facility Services Next Issue: FM Infrastructure; Service Delivery, Maintenance and HVAC;
Developments in Education Training & Professional Development.
47 Sustainability Victoria – Resource Smart
48 Thermoscan™ Inspection Services Front Cover: MCG members area – The facilities management work at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground will be one of the features of the December issue.
52 Otis
56 Lamp Recycling – The responsible thing to do

2 • facilityperspec ti ves
 EDITORS COMMENTS

Level 6, 313 La Trobe Street

Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: 03 8641 6666
Fax: 03 9640 0374
Email: info@fma.com.au
Web: www.fma.com.au MAX WINTER

Front Cover: MCG Members Area

Photography: WinterComms
Tel: 03 8417 6577 Better management
Published by:
of diminishing
ABN 30 007 224 204

Editor-in-Chief: Ric Navarro

Layouts: Anthony Costin
National Sales Manager: Phil Haratsis
430 William Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9274 4201
Fax: 03 9329 5295
Email: media@executivemedia.com.au
Web: www.executivemedia.com.au
Offices also in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide
Editorial: WinterComms
Director & Editor: Max Winter
National Communications Manager:
Melanie Drummond
WinterComms Sydney Correspondent:
Marie Geissler, Geissler Communications
Editorial enquiries
Tel: 02 4471 1252 or 03 8417 6577
Email: mrwinter@netspace.net.au
Stock Images: Photo Disc, Jupiter Images,
Digital Vision, Creatas.
Printed by Superprint Pty Ltd
The editor, publisher, printer and their staff and agents are not
responsible for the accuracy or correctness of the text of
contributions contained in this publication or for the
consequences of any use made of the products, and the
information referred to in this publication. The editor, publisher,
printer and their staff and agents expressly disclaim all liability
of whatsoever nature for any consequences arising from any
errors or omissions contained in this publication whether
caused to a purchaser of this publication or otherwise. The
views expressed in the articles and other material published
herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor and
publisher or their staff or agents. The responsibility for the
accuracy of information is that of the individual contributors
and neither the publisher or editors can accept responsibility for
the accuracy of information which is supplied by others. It is
impossible for the publisher and editors to ensure that the
advertisements and other material herein comply with the Trade
Practices Act 1974 (Cth). Readers should make their own
inquiries in making any decisions, and where necessary, seek
professional advice.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part, without
written permission is strictly prohibited. © 2007 Executive
Media.
resources
elcome the September issue
W of Facility Perspectives. It is
interesting to see the
interplay (in this election year
especially), of the economics of
rationalisation at all levels of government
with such events as the planned
introduction of the Commonwealth Water
Plan, and at Queensland state level, the
amalgamation of local councils. Industry
is also not immune, as key industry sector
players struggle to realise a better value
proposition through rationalising their
processes or their markets.
Rationalisation and integration seem
to be the key components in the drive to a
more effective allocation and
management of increasingly finite
resources, and from a facility
management perspective this equates
(as always) to doing more with less, and
doing it better than before. Better
management of diminishing resources is
something most facility managers know
how to do well.
Key to turning today’s better practice
into tomorrow’s best practice (apart from
the experience gained in the position,
which should never to be
underestimated) is education and
ongoing professional development, and
this is one of the feature topics of this
issue.
David Leifer, Co-ordinator of the
Graduate programme in Facilities
Management at the University of Sydney
discusses some of the issues facing the
industry, followed by a comprehensive
tertiary training guide to the training
available to facility managers and related
industry sectors.
One of the lesser appreciated
outcomes of past attempts at
rationalisation in the public sector is the
huge loss of commitment to ongoing
training (and as a consequence, a
significant contributor to the present skills
shortage). These issues are canvassed in
the Recruitment feature in this issue,
where Facilities Perspectives Melanie
Drummond speaks to William Mitchell,
Director of the Centre of Full Employment
and Equity, and gains some insight from
leading recruitment providers Judd Farris,
Hays Facilities Management, Kingfisher
Property Recruitment and the D&M Group.
Dealing with the complexities involved
in managing a distributed workforce is the
topic canvassed by Caroline Burns, (based
on a presentation given at the FMA
Australia ideaction 2007 Conference),
while risk management and security is
discussed with Facility Perspectives’
Sydney correspondent Marie Geisslers’
report on the launch of the FMA Australia
NSW Branch Security & Emergency
Management Special Interest Group.
As always, the topic areas of people,
process and place are featured in this
issue and no matter which perspective
you hold, if it’s about facilities
management, you will find it in Facility
Perspectives.
Enjoy.
Max Winter
Editor – Facility Perspectives

facilityperspec ti ves • 3
FAST FACTS + NEWS

‘Emerald Awards’
launched for World
Environment Day
Article reprinted courtesy
of the Climate Leaders
A new national climate
change award program – the
Emerald Awards – has been
launched to recognise and award
outstanding action by companies,
individuals, government and the community
in Australia towards achieving a true carbon
neutral future. The Green Building Council of Australia is proud to
support these new awards as an Advisory Committee member.
The creators and supporters of the new Emerald Awards include a
diverse group of climate change professionals and organisations
including The Climate Institute, ACF, WWF, Clean Up Australia, The Green
Building Council of Australia, Baker & McKenzie, The Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Environment
Business Australia, Country Women’s Association and Clean Energy for Eternity.
“The essence of the new Emerald Awards is to create a focal point in Australia for authentic climate action
through a group that is collaborative, inclusive and that represents a broad cross-section of the country,” said
Joel Fleming, Chair of Climate Leaders, the organisation behind the awards. “The participation of so many
distinguished organizations and individuals supporting the Emerald Awards will make them a unique and
important platform for real leadership on this issue.”
The Emerald Awards will help to reduce confusion about what carbon offsetting is and its place in helping to
reduce global warming. Carbon offsetting is not a panacea for being able to continue “business as usual.”
The Emerald Awards will be aimed at those who are or are committed and working toward becoming carbon
neutral with an emphasis on efficiency, renewable energy and finally on offsetting emissions that cannot be
eliminated. They will highlight innovation and creative approaches across Australia that leads the way in cutting
our growing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Through the Emerald Awards, we hope to showcase leaders from different spheres and create a picture of how
a carbon neutral world could look as a model for the broader community,” said Fleming, “By creating such a model,
we hope to inspire others to take action to rapidly reduce Australia’s emissions and to realise that we can
effectively cut our emissions and address global warming,” Joel Fleming said.
A group of technical experts in various fields will make up a Technical Committee who will develop authentic and
rigorous carbon reduction criteria for the awards.
“The principles of the awards are to Reduce, Renew, Offset and to encourage World’s Best Practice. By setting a
baseline, the awards hope to take some of the mystery out of what ‘carbon neutral’ means.
An official Emerald Awards launch event is planned for the end of August when the specific award categories
and criteria will be released and an information website made public. A call for entrants will follow with the first
award winners to be announced just before World Environment Day 2008 in Sydney. Efforts will be made to ensure
the awards are both credible and easy for those interested to be nominated.
The Emerald Awards will give leaders who are taking serious action on climate change a voice and a profile in
Australia,” Fleming said.
For more information, or to be included on the mailing list, contact Debbie Ludwig dludwig@dlstrategic.com.au

Victoria’s first hybrid truck hits the road.
ictoria’s first hybrid truck hit the Melbourne roads in mid-July,
V initiating what may be a gradual move among the business sector
towards more energy-efficient vehicles.
Sustainability Victoria and Melbourne’s 106 year-old bakehouse,
Ferguson Plarre launched the Hino Hybrid diesel-electric truck, which it’s
believed will save 25 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions of a
regular diesel vehicle.
The hybrid’s combination of electric and diesel motors makes it ideal
for stop-start conditions and by returning power from the brakes, the
hybrid is able to run smoothly while reducing greenhouse emissions,
diesel particle pollution and fuel consumption.
Ralph Plarre, co-director of Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, says that
the purchase of Hino’s fuel-efficient and diesel truck is in line with the
company’s strategy to address energy, water and materials efficiencies
across its operations.
The company is also planning a state-of-the-art facility which will
use rain water tanks for flushing toilets and irrigation, solar hot water for
staff and high-efficiency air conditioning.
Sustainability Victoria contributed $35,000 to the purchase of the
truck and will monitor its performance through regular reporting of
mileage, travel routes and fuel efficiencies.
Sustainability Victoria CEO Geoff Mabbett says they will further fund
the uptake of hybrid truck technology within the light transport sector
on a case by case basis.
“It is an effective way for small to medium size businesses to lower
their carbon emissions,” said Mabbett.
In 2005, over 800 light-duty trucks were sold in Victoria (the
Melbourne metropolitan area accounting for 80 per cent of sales) and
Mabbett hopes other business will follow Ralph Plarre’s lead in
strengthening sustainable business practice by addressing transport
emissions.
For more information visit Sustainability Victoria at
http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au

4 • facilityperspec ti ves
%POµU SFTUSJDU ZPVS DBSFFS EFWFMPQNFOU

4QFBL UP +VEE 'BSSJT GPS RVBMJUZ '. PQQPSUVOJUJFT

4:%/&: U 


 G 


 F TZEOFZ!KVEEGBSSJTDPNBV

.&-#063/& U 


 G 


 F NFMCPVSOF!KVEEGBSSJTDPNBV
)0/(
,0/( U 

 G 

 F IPOHLPOH!KVEEGBSSJTDPNIL
4*/("103& U 

 G 


F TJOHBQPSF!KVEEGBSSJTDPNTH
-0/%0/ U 


G 


F
MPOEPO!KVEEGBSSJTDPVL
#*3.*/()". U 


G 

 F CJSNJOHIBN!KVEEGBSSJTDPVL
#3*450- U



G 


F CSJTUPM!KVEEGBSSJTDPVL

."/$)&45&3 U 

 G 

 F NBODIFTUFS!KVEEGBSSJTDPVL

&%*/#63() U 

 G 

 F FEJOCVSHI!KVEEGBSSJTDPVL

GPS BMM PVS MBUFTU WBDBODJFT MPH PO UP XXXKVEEGBSSJTDPN

FAST FACTS + NEWS
demographer Alison Taylor, the second report, Skills for a Sustainable
Queensland, has been written by former Queensland Education and
Training Department deputy director-general Chris Robinson.
Sustainable Queensland suggests that based on medium growth
projection, Queensland will have more than 7 million people by 2051,
based on high projection, the population could even reach a staggering
8.7 million people – more than double today’s figures.
Other key points in the report indicate that well over two-thirds of
the 2051 population will be clustered on three per cent of the state’s
land in the south-east corner.
With increasing strain on infrastructure as the population increases,
it’s clear that pervious strategies for coping with urban growth will be
reaching their limits – as obvious areas for urban expansion reach
capacity.
The report suggests that the largest threat to Queensland’s future
sustainability will come from unrestricted population growth occurring
Queensland Population on the rise in unplanned areas with inadequate facilities, a problem that will be
he population of Queensland is likely to gain an extra three million heightened by the unrestrained expansion of coastal settlements,
T people by 2051, according to projections in a new information paper towns and cities to accommodate interstate immigrants.
released this year by the Committee for Economic Development of To avoid an unsustainable future, the report suggests Queensland
Australia (CEDA). must focus on sustainable management of population growth.
The population report, which features as one of two reports in the Sustainable Queensland indicates that to do this Queensland must also
first volume of CEDA’s Sustainable Queensland research project predicts grow the skills of the population through:
rapid growth which could nearly double the state’s population in the 3 Workforce training
coming years. 3 Greater workforce involvement from the over-55s
Sustainable Queensland Volume 1 warns the state will need new 3 A fundamental shift in employer and community attitudes to hiring,
strategies to accommodate the new population and suggests that developing and retaining workers
despite Queensland’s current labour shortage, the workforce of the 3 Increasing the up-take of vocational and technical education
coming decades will need to have higher skill levels. CEDA aims to promote Australian’s economic development in a
The first report of Sustainable Queensland Volume 1, Population sustainable and socially balanced way.
Growth and Demographic Change, has been written by state government For more information visit www.ceda.com.au

6 • facilityperspec ti ves

Humans in ‘Space’
from DB RREEF Media Release, 18 July, 2007
B RREEF’s recent announcement to develop one of Australia’s first
D double-skin façade high rise office buildings looks set to bring about a
striking new addition to the Sydney CBD skyline.
The 42, 000sqm, transparent, elliptical-shaped building to be known as
‘Space’ will be constructed on the corner of Bligh, Bent and O’Connell Streets
in the thick of Sydney’s financial district.
In creating ‘Space’, DB RREEF has enlisted the design expertise of
German Architect Christopher Ingenhoven of Ingenhoven Architekten, in
collaboration with Architectus in Australia. DB RREEF, one of Australia’s largest
integrated property groups, has had the building designed to achieve a
world’s best practice 6 star Green Star rating and a 5 star ABGR rating.
Features of the building will include large, flexible floor plates of
approximately 1,600sqm and high levels of access to natural light which will
cater to a variety of tenant needs. Twin off-set cores, a full height atrium and
ceilings of 2.85m will be employed to enhance space and air flow and provide
horizontal and vertical connectivity. The lack of perimeter columns will further
enhance the lightness and transparency of the façade.
The unique use of the elliptical design will maximise coverage over the
site and allow the orientation of the floor plate to the north towards the
stunning Sydney Harbour views. It also offers any tenant base, large or small,
ultimate flexibility in terms of maximising floor space.
To achieve the esteemed Green ratings, another included design feature
of ‘Space’ is the inclusion of a full height atrium, which serves as the
environmental backbone of the project. The atrium, which will provide high
quality access to daylight and fresh air will allow for impressive views
throughout the building, from each floor up, across and down through the
building. Glass lifts that travel through the atrium core will enhance the
‘transparency’ experience.
Essentially, the key sustainability feature of the building, and what will
Solar Gard Window Film will significantly reduce the transmission
®
of solar heat through glass windows.
Solar Gard helps cut energy costs associated with air conditioning
in homes and commercial buildings.
Solar Gard Reduces Energy Costs
• Up to 81% solar energy reduction
• Up to 93% glare reduction
Improve internal living and working conditions by reducing heat and
glare and let Solar Gard show you how it will pay for itself.
Free quotations - phone (02) 8825 6677
for your local installer
www.solargard.com.au
FAST FACTS + NEWS
maximise harbour views and access to sunlight, is the fully glazed double-
skin façade. The double-skin façade comprises from two layers of glass – an
outer glass skin separated by a large ventilated cavity from an inner double
glazed skin.
The cavity, which contains retractable and adjustable automatic
horizontal blinds will serve to shade the internal skin and reduce solar heat
gain without losing the Harbour views.
Other features which contribute to the 6 Star Green Star rating include a
tri-generation system which uses gas to generate energy for the building’s
cooling, heating and electricity. Electricity needs will also be supported by the
roof-mounted evacuated tube solar panels. ‘Space’ can also can boast more
green efforts with the intended implementation of black water recycling for
the bathroom flushing systems and using recycled rain water for irrigation.
It’s not just the building developers who will be happy with the 6 Green
Star rating, a working environment with access to fresh air is one of the key
features of Space, 1 Bligh – Sydney and, naturally ventilated space in the
atrium for reception, break-out and meeting rooms is sure to provide an
inviting work environment for occupants.
Tenant needs will also be catered for on a day-to-day basis through the
incorporation of secure bicycle parking, male and female shower/change
facilities, a childcare centre and a large, sun-filled forecourt and entry hall
which is accessible to the public during working hours.
Architect Mr Hoog Antink said that Space, 1 Bligh-Sydney will transform
an underutilised site into a unique building that will meet the needs of the
occupiers well into the twentieth century.
“Space, 1 Bligh – Sydney will revolutionise the way people are able to
work together. It will bring a completely new perspective to workspace design,
sustainability and energy efficiency, and create a working space that people
will enjoy experiencing day by day.”
Construction of Space, 1 Bligh-Sydney is scheduled to begin next year,
with completion scheduled for late 2010, early 2011.
ADworks 10850
®
Registered trademark of Bekaert Specialty Films Australia
facilityperspec ti ves • 7
FAST FACTS + NEWS
The Wonders of WiMAX
new wireless technology which may one day revolutionise rural
A Australia’s access to the Internet, is already being successfully
utilised in a small island off Britain.
WiMAX1, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a
telecommunications technology aimed at suppling wireless data over
long distances in a variety of methods – from full mobile cellular type
access to point-to-point links.
Based on the IEEE 802.16 standard (also called WirelessMAN), the
technology enables a user to browse the Internet on a laptop computer
without connecting to a wall jack. The WiMAX Forum created in 2002
describe WiMAX as “a standards-based technology enabling the
delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to
cable and DSL”.
As reported by Nick Miller of The Age on June 21 of this year, The
Isle of Man is the location of Britain’s first commercial WiMAX
implementation. The new technology was bought to the Isle of Man by
John Huges, creator of Wimanx – a company now using WiMAX wirless
technology to bring high-speed broadband to the Island.
Hughes says WiManx is already attracting a growing number of
business users who recognise that the advanced wireless internet
access solutions they offer represent a viable and cost-effective
alterenatives to conventional fixed-line telecommunications. The
WiMax service they offer, when combined with advanced VoIP (Voice
over IP) will offer businesses a range of soltuions to minimise call
costs and improve productivity.
While WiMax has been likened to Wi-Fi (standard wireless interface
of mobile computing devices) one difference is that range is
calculated in kilometres instead of metres. WiMax is also considered
more reliable than Wi-Fi, particularly when engaging applications such
as VoIP that demand high bandwith and consistent, reliable quality.
The Age reported that WiMax is a key part of the Australian
Government’s plan to provide high-speed internet access to remote
areas.
1 Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX)
2 http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/communications/soa/Why-you-should-care-
about-WiMAX/0,139023754
More Green Star Certifications Awarded
Article reprinted courtesy of the Green Building Council of Austalia
he Green Building Council of Australia has certified three new
T projects in June, taking the total number of Green Star certified
projects to 29. These certifications have been accompanied by strong
growth in registered projects, which now number over 360 nationwide.
Greater awareness of the benefits of building green and the impending
deadline to register under version 2 of Green Star – Office Design and
Green Star – Office As Built has prompted 100 projects to register in the
past month.
One of the newly certified projects is located in Queensland.
Brisbane City Council continued to show leadership in green building
with the certification of their new office accommodation, Brisbane
Square. This 5 Star Green Star – Office Design certified building was
designed by the architecture firm Denton Corker Marshall. It is a 37
storey building featuring such innovations as a tunnel for bicycles and a
river-sourced cooling system.
This certification follows the Sustainable Development grants
program launched as part of the Lord Mayor’s CitySmart campaign. This
has provided developers with financial incentives to build green and
allowed them to reap immediate benefits of sustainable development.
Green Star certified projects have already had a tangible impact on
the environment through innovative sustainable building practices. In
February 2007, the Green Building Council of Australia discovered the 25
Green star certified projects showed on average:
3 A reduction in energy use of up to 85% against equivalent
conventional buildings
3 A reduction in potable water consumption of over 60% against
8 • facilityperspec ti ves
Six golden rules to managing a crisis
Leon Gettler, June 16, 2007
Source: The Age, at http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/LeonGettler/index.html
ccording to an article in The Age newspaper earlier this year, US
A pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson’s response to the 1982
Tylenol poisonings has been proclaimed as the textbook standard for
crisis management, in this case with products.
Johnson & Johnson’s then CEO, James Burke, spent hundreds of
millions on a product recall and embarked on an enormous public
information campaign.
Johnson & Johnson immediately called a news conference,
posted a reward for finding the culprit, established 24-hour help lines
to deal with inquiries, and instructed doctors to suspend supplies, and
introduced tamper-proof packaging.
The end result of the potential disaster was the Johnson &
Johnson’s reputation (and indeed as an indirect result, the reputation
of other industry players) was held intact.
As a more successful approach than denying responsibility or
withdrawing from comment, public relations specialists cite six golden
rules for the successful management of crises:
1. Work with authorities and recall faulty products immediately. If
the company is stonewalling, agencies will step in.
2. Be upfront, providing the public with information and apologise,
expressing your regret and sympathy, without necessarily
admitting legal liability.
3. Actively demonstrate that your company is doing everything
possible to solve the problem.
4. Identify your vulnerabilities, and mitigate the risk. Have a plan
prepared to cover these events, and keep the plan updated.
5. Develop strong relations with employees and customers.
6. Keep competitors in the loop. This helps the whole industry to
better manage the situation, and act appropriately.
conventional buildings
3 CO2 reduction in some buildings which is equivalent to removing
130 cars off the road permanently
3 An average of 69% of construction waste being diverted from landfill
These real benefits of building green are becoming increasingly
known to organisations which is reflected in the substantial growth in
the number of both registered projects and buildings that have achieved
Green Star certification. In 2005/2006, there were 56 new registered
projects, with a further 12 new certifications. Just one year later, these
figures have increased to over 360 registered projects and 29 certified
projects.
Romilly Madew, Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of
Australia, reveals “This growth is not isolated but rather is occurring
Australia-wide. New South Wales now has the highest number of
registered projects, with a total of 101.”
“South Australia and Victoria have continued to lead the way. The SA
Government has sponsored the development of the new Green Star –
Education and Green Star – Healthcare rating tool,” Ms Madew continued.
The other states and territories are also witnessing an eager uptake
of Green Star. The Australian Capital Territory is home to 35 registered
projects and 3 certified projects. There are a further 20 registered
projects in Western Australia, 2 registered projects in Tasmania, and 2
registered projects in the Northern Territory. These numbers indicate the
enthusiastic embrace of building green and an acknowledgement that in
business, the green of nature is becoming as important as the green of
money.
Simple Steps to Relocating…
Rack, Pack, Stack, and Go!
Making All the Right Moves
Movers and Shakers Reusable Plastic Crates
(RPCs) provide the ultimate in protection for
your important documentation and belongings,
whether you’re moving internally or across the
city. Designed to replace the standard
cardboard carton, our simple rack, pack and
stack system provides a quick, safe, secure
and cost effective solution to packing and
relocating your business.
Thinking of using cardboard boxes…
Think again…

Rack… Pack… Stack… You Benefit from…

Optional rack inserts
mean your suspension
files transfer quickly and
easily from cabinet to
Crate.
• No more ‘floating’
files, losing their
contents
• Quick and easy to
use
• Sequence of files
maintained
• Large label areas for
ease of identification
• Files can be located
and accessed right
up to moving day
Crates arrive ready to Loaded Crates are more • Cost saving - Eliminate time
pack – no assembly efficient to handle and and labour of assembling,
required. transport. breaking down, and disposal of
• Attached lids close • Crates stack to maximise cartons
firmly with NO available space in storage • Space saving - Empty Crates
TAPING required or during transport nest to conserve valuable floor
• Wide opening allows • Recessed, attached lids space
quick packing provide secure stacks to • Eco Friendly – Crates are
• Optional security ties prevent load shifting or made of 100% recyclable High
ensure contents are getting crushed. Density Polypropelene with a
kept safe from • Ergonomic handles life expectancy of up to 10
tampering or spillage incorporated into Crate years
• Rigid plastic design • User friendly – no sharp edges
construction provides • Stacked Crates are easily or corners. NO BOX CUTTERS
all-round protection and quickly unloaded NEEDED
for goods being utilising purpose designed • Securable and identifiable,
moved ‘Skates’ unlike cardboard boxes.

Contact us: 1300 136 681

www.moversandshakers.com.au
FMA CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS

The Role of
Facility Management
ANDREW MCEWAN
in Infrastructure
The Sustainability Agenda
The need for ecologically sustainable
development (ESD) and the concept of
sustainability generally has been widely
accepted by building owners as they respond
to a groundswell of public, media and investor
expectations about their contribution toward
reducing global warming and maximising the
longevity of precious natural resources such
as water.
Faced with the increasing burden on their
aging utility infrastructures, governments
have quite wisely decided that the public and
private sector building portfolios were the low
hanging fruit that needed the primary focus,
since it was quite obvious that buildings are a
major energy and water user.
While there have been a plethora of
organisations that have emerged to bring their
energies to bear educating, reinforcing and
driving the sustainability agenda, there are
signs of a uniform approach gathering pace
with accepted standards such as Green Star
and NABERS.
These standards have been utilised in new
buildings to the stage where it is now
becoming a point of deprecation to not have a
Green Star rated building in either the public or
private sectors, and rightly so. New buildings
however, only represent a minor proportion of
an aging building stock and so the focus soon
moved educating building occupants about
their role in the environmental performance of
their buildings.
The sustainability agenda is still in its
infancy, however out of all the building and
construction professions, facility managers are
best positioned to have the greatest influence
over and to take an exemplar lead in
sustainable management practices – the
whole-of-life management focus from planning
and design through to disposal aligns totally
with the concept of sustainability more so than
any other discipline.
The FMA Australia Agenda
All these factors point to the fact that there
has never been a better time to be in facility
management, and FMA Australia’s strategic
planning seeks to ensure that facility
managers are provided with the best
opportunities and professional development
services to take advantage of the many
opportunities that exist in managing the
facilities currently, and for the future. These
are exciting times, and FMA Australia invites
you to take the challenge and ensure facility
management takes its rightful place as
managers for a sustainable environment.
Andrew McEwan
Chairman – FMA Australia
Photography: Larry Pitt

Professional Development Programs Summary

Persuasive Tender and Proposal Writing Excelling in Project Management Skills
18 October 2007 1pm-5pm NSW 16 October 2007 10am-5.30pm NSW
13 September 2007 1pm-5pm QLD 18 October 2007 9am-5pm QLD
20 September 2007 1pm-5pm SA 23 October 2007 9am-5pm VIC
11 October 2007 1pm-5pm ACT 31 October 2007 10am-5.30pm SA
29 November 2007 9am-1pm WA 1 November 2007 9am-5pm WA
25 October 2007 9am-1pm VIC 21 November 2007 10am-5.30pm ACT

The 7 Steps to Create Outstanding Teams Managing for High Performance

19 September 2007 10am-5.30pm ACT 18 & 19 September 2007 Day 1 – 9am-5pm Day 2 – 9am-3pm VIC
20 September 2007 9am-5pm NSW 25 & 26 September 2007 Day 1 – 9am-5pm Day 2 – 9am-3pm QLD
11 October 2007 9am-5pm VIC 10 & 11 October 2007 Day 1 – 9am-5pm Day 2 – 9am-3pm WA
18 October 2007 10am-5.30pm SA 30 & 31 October 2007 Day 1 – 10am-5.30pmDay 2 – 9am-4pm ACT
25 October 2007 9am-5pm WA 14 & 15 November 2007 Day 1 – 10am-5.30pmDay 2 – 9am-4pm NSW
30 October 2007 9am-5pm QLD 28 & 29 November 2007 Day 1 – 10am-5pm Day 2 – 9am-4pm SA

Managing Contracts Successfully Benchmarking and Performance Measurement

19 September 2007 10am-5.30pm NSW Breakfast Course
25 September 2007 10am-5.30pm ACT 14 November 2007 7.30am-9.30am VIC
2 October 2007 9am-5pm QLD 28 November 2007 9am-5pm VIC
11 October 2007 10am-5.30pm SA 13 February 2008 10am-5.30pm SA
12 November 2007 9am-5pm WA 20 February 2008 10am-5.30pm ACT
28 February 2008 9am-5pm WA
6 March 2008 10am-5.30pm NSW
13 March 2008 9am-5pm QLD

10 • facilityperspec ti ves
 FMA CEO’S MESSAGE

CEO’s Message
DAVID DUNCAN

ell here we are three months into a FMA Australia Professional Development Courses Victoria Branch has decided to spread the good

W new financial year, and we are all

undergoing new projects, budget
control and looking for new
opportunities to enhance member services and
benefits.
As always, these member benefits need to
be funded and to this end FMA Australia have
developed some exciting opportunities for
industry participants to become involved and
engaged with the membership and the broader
industry.
A current focus has been our member
benefits packages, ensuring that we offer
services that are relevant to every day business.
This has led us to look at the services on our
website and as many of you would have seen,
we have recently launched a new look, easy to
navigate site. We now have new features like our
scrolling events calendar and our section on
Recruitment and Careers. This website is very
much the members’ website and the new
navigation facility makes it easier for members
to update their profiles, seek new information
and ask questions. We now also have the added
opportunity of advertising your products or
services on the site. This is your interactive link
into the FM industry and I welcome your
feedback.
We have also developed and enhanced our
products and practices, and I am sure our
members would have noticed that many new
have recently been released across Australia. We
have taken the results of our member survey
and instigate the first of many new topics. We
are always interested to hear from the industry,
to canvas preferred topics, and to speak with
possible presenters. Please do not hesitate to
contact our office if you have any suggestions.
Education and training is very important to our
members and along with our Accreditation
Program that has recently been further improved
and re-launched, we are looking forward to a
very exciting year.
I have just had the pleasure of visiting NSW
and the ACT; during which time it was very
rewarding to meet with members and hear their
views on the industry and our Association. All
ideas, comments and suggestions were bought
back and discussed at all levels throughout FMA
Australia and you will see that many of these
have been instigated and utilised at upcoming
events, and in further communications. The
passion our members show for the industry is
always inspirational for the national office staff
and I, and once again I welcome the interaction
with our members.
For many years several of our branches
have supported Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation (JDRF) as a charity. The work that is
undertaken by this organisation offers an
outstanding contribution towards diabetics.
Having initiated the support of this organisation,
will of their Victorian Members and have now
embraced Challenge, which is an organisation
providing services and programs that support
children and families living with cancer and other
life-threatening blood disorders. The role of
Challenge is to ensure that these children and
families are provided with continual support,
from the time of diagnosis through to the
treatment period. Challenge offers free programs
and services to more than 120 young people
aged 18-years and under each week, as well as
providing support to their family members.
Thank you Victoria Branch for showing your
support of Challenge and to other branches for
their continuing support of JDRF, and I thank you
all for your donations to the relevant state
chosen charities.
My time has recently been taken up with the
strategic plan, which is designed to ensure FMA
Australia will continue to move forward in
achieving the objectives and outcomes for our
members and the broader industry. Many new
developments and initiatives will emerge from
this plan and I, along with my team, look forward
to communicating and implementing these in
the coming months.
I wish you all a profitable, rewarding and
sustainable 2007/08 financial year.
David Duncan
Chief Executive Officer – FMA Australia
Photography: Melbourne Headshot Co.

ACT BRANCH EVENTS

2007 Branch Events Date Function
VIC BRANCH EVENTS 30 August Lunch
Date Function 27 September Site Visit
24 August Branch Lunch 25 October Golf Day
21 September Branch Lunch 29 November Lunch
19 October Branch Lunch 6 December Lunch
16 November Branch Lunch
6 December Branch Christmas Lunch QLD BRANCH EVENTS
Date Function
NSW BRANCH EVENTS 31 August Annual Golf day
Date Function 12 September Site Visit
19 September Lunch 19 September Site Visit
25 September Site Visit 24 October Site Visit
10 October Lunch 6 November Melbourne Cup Lunch
30 October Site Visit 7 December Christmas Lunch
6 November Melbourne Cup Lunch
27 November Site Visit WA BRANCH EVENTS
28 November NSW South Coast Lunch Date Function
5 December Christmas Lunch 26 October Golf Day

facilityperspec ti ves • 11
EDUCATION + TRAINING

Education in Facilities
Management – the path
of change
The facilities management industry
is blessed with a sizable number of
enthusiastic ambassadors who
quietly and continually endeavour to
advance the objectives of facilities
management as an industry, and
who strive to gain recognition of the
facility manager’s role as a
profession. Facility Perspectives’
Melanie Drummond spoke to one
such advocate, David Leifer, Co-
ordinator of the Graduate programme
in Facilities Management at the
University of Sydney.

12 • facilityperspec ti ves

David Leifer is one of the original members of the industry
body that went on to become the Facility Management
Association of Austraia. He has continued to be an active
contributor to industry developments including the recent
outcome of the FM Action Agenda -FM Exemplar Project:
Sydney Opera House, which was managed by the CRC for
Construction Innovation.
An architect and an incorporated engineer, David has
been teaching facilities management for about twenty
years. Starting out at the University of Queensland for
seven years, David then taught for eight years at the
University of Auckland, before arriving at University of
Sydney, where he has been teaching for five years.
The programme David conducts is a Masters Course
with three levels; a Post Graduate Certificate, Post
Graduate Diploma and a Masters in Facility Management.
With this sort of education and industry experience,
Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond took the
opportunity to ask some pertinent questions regarding
facilities management education, and the likely trends.
Facility Perspectives: Since you started teaching, what changes have
you seen unfold in the course content being taught to Facility
Managers?
DL: I would guess it’s a question of sophistication and level. When
Facility Management first emerged, we didn’t have a great
understanding of what facility management was. Now we have a much
better understanding of what it is and how we see Facility Management
relating to the other building disciplines. Actually creating things is a
very high profile and sexy thing to do, in comparison, maintenance
management is very much a Cinderella profession and it has got very
little allure. What’s happened now is that sustainability, which is now at
the forefront of the agenda, has put a premium on life-cycle costing:
Whilst society is more interested in the long-term use of buildings,
developers aren’t as there’s no financial incentive in worrying too much
about the operational side of the buildings they create. Change requires
the education of building providers as much as building maintainers.
The programmes in Facility Management really ought to be coming out
of business schools because after wages and salaries, the next biggest
cost in business is generally facilities.
When the Facility Management Association of Australia produced its
competencies, the courses at University of Sydney aligned themselves
to those competencies, so by and large we cover all of those
competencies.
Facility Perspectives: What areas of FM education still need some
development?
DL: There’s still no recognised FM profession as such; school kids are
not aware of facilities management as a career option so it’s still
EDUCATION + TRAINING
something that people fall into. I think the discipline hasn’t yet decided
whether it’s a trade-based discipline or a management-based discipline.
There’s no presence out there within the schools to say this is a viable
career option. The intake we have in our programme – we have about
30 students entering a year – is made up of largely of people already
working as facility managers.
Facility Perspectives: What difference will establishing more FM
undergraduate degrees make to the industry?
DL: We have a bit of a problem with the undergraduate degree in that
getting undergraduate degrees going depends on the government
funding places for Facility Management courses. This means that if
they fund places for facility management, they have to take places
away for other courses. DEETYA (Dept of Employment Education
Training and Youth Affairs)’s involvement becomes a major problem in
trying to get undergraduate degrees going. The logic is, if you have a
structure in Vocational Educational Training courses articulating into an
undergraduate degree then you have a career development structure
that takes people through from operatives to managers. There’s big
competition to get people at the top end, and also a yawning gap and a
demand for technicians and air conditioning engineers at a lower level.
The gap means that lower level facility managers can’t get the high
flying jobs because they don’t have the experience they need and they
can’t get the experience they need because they don’t have the high-
flying jobs. Business doesn’t appreciate the role that facility
management play in the scheme of things.
Facility Perspectives: Why do you think facility management isn’t
valued by business?
DL: Good management is seen as minimising cost, where Facilities
Management is essentially about optimising cost – that is getting the
greatest of value for money which may mean spending more. In this
climate, shareholder value is important. People are cutting things to the
bone so they can give their shareholders back the greatest dividend.
This means that you end up trying to curtail your costs and maximise
your income.
Facility Perspectives: Is the corporate sector still not aware of the long
term gains of running buildings efficiently?
DL: A ‘commodification of building’ has developed. Most of the large
corporations don’t own property anymore; they lease it, whereas in the
past they were much more likely to be owners having a financial stake.
If you have a 5-year lease, it doesn’t really worry you if the air
conditioners are going to pack up in 7 years – it’s someone else’s
problem. For organisations the commodification of property means that
operation and maintenance is a short-term issue – whereas
sustainability is a long-term goal.
Facility Perspectives: Will some owners go green to exploit the market
value in having a sustainable building?
DL: The thing is, no-one has actually seen convincing demonstrations
to prove that going green has significant financial returns – people talk
a lot about productivity for example. If it can be shown that sustainable

Great University Great Courses

Facilities Management Programmes Accessible intensive mode
programmes for industry professionals.
Grad Cert, Grad Dip, Masters, CPD and combined degrees
For more information contact Jennifer Ryan:
The Faculty of Architecture, Design & Planning offers a large (02) 9351 2686 or jennifer@arch.usyd.edu.au
range of postgraduate programmes in Facilities Management.
You do not need an undergraduate degree to enter our Graduate
Certificate. Come to our Postgraduate Info Night at the faculty
on 11 Oct, 5.30–7.30pm to find out more about our programmes.

FA C I L I T I E S M A N A G E M E N T www.arch.usyd.edu.au
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES

facilityperspec ti ves • 13
EDUCATION + TRAINING
buildings have lower turnover rates, less sick days and keep the
employees happy then maybe people will be willing to pay a bit extra
on their rent to be at such premises. If that happens then the market is
working properly but we haven’t got to that stage yet. Until ‘green’
attracts a rental premium there is no effective market ‘pull’.
Facility Perspectives: Is the lack of a clear career path within the FM
education framework the reason FM is still not clearly defined as a
trades-based or management-based industry?
DL: I certainly think a clearer career path would make the industry
more coherent. The current orthodoxy tends towards a vocational
education model which supports the TAFE end of things. It is a not a
model that I subscribe to and my vision is that FM is the overlap
between business management and the management of property,
which is not to say that the trades side is not valuable. Some of the
most valuable facility managers at the moment are people who have
risen from the trade ranks and who have certificates in electrical
installations/air conditioning installations and who can actually have a
very good understanding of the services side. However, the fact is that
FM has ‘management’ in the title and if we’re not training people to be
managers then I’m not sure what we’re doing.
Facility Perspectives: It does seem there’s a move in the industry to
elevate FM to boardroom level, does that mean trades people who don’t
have the communication skills in place to adapt to the managerial
focus, could risk being left behind?
DL: We take the position that facility mangers should be able to take
their place in the boardroom; should be able to talk to directors in the
language of management and business; are au fait with the concept of
measurement, monitoring and controlling; everything which is focused
on assisting the organisation fulfil its mission and goals. If FM is not
doing that then we are part of the problem not the solution.
Facility Perspectives: Do you think with a problem currently exists
with Facility Managers who don’t have sufficient management skills to
be running a building efficiently?
DL: Absolutely. To be a manager you have to get people to do what you
want them to do, not what they want you to do; and that means having
an understanding of organisational behaviour and good management
skills. Some people are just born good managers and I really think
management comes down to ‘people skills’. For example, too much
project management tends to end up in bullying rather than
persuading, and if you want an organisation to run smoothly then you
know which of the two you’d prefer to be working with.
Facility Perspectives: Do you think some facility managers have an
unrealistic perception of where they might be able to progress to within
the industry?
DL: Facility Management has two major facets. One is day to day
operational management, the other is the strategic aspect. About two-
thirds of our graduates will end up as operational managers. This is
where trades based facility managers are going to score very highly. On
the other hand there are people who are more comfortable in the
managerial role and they will be looking at their organisation’s event
horizon, 3-5 years into the future.
Facility Perspectives: In a few years time, do you think it will be less
likely for facility managers to ‘fall into’ the role?
DL: There are two quite strong pressures, one is increasing concerns
with due diligence: – when organisations plan to do something they are
required to exercise due diligence, the other is OH&S. As managers are
increasingly expected to act responsibly, and with increasing
occupational health and safety duties, ‘falling into the role’ will not be
good enough.
The other one is reporting requirements in government – the
processes you have to go through to report on how you’ve done things.
You can’t let amateurs do various jobs that have legal responsibilities
attached to them. People are soon going to be asking whether building
owners have a qualified facility manager.
Facility Perspectives: When do you think the general public will
become aware of Facility Management as an industry?
14 • facilityperspec ti ves
DL: There is an interesting parallel I draw, and that is with the human
resource management profession. It emerged in the 1940s in the
States because of the difficulty in getting manpower due to people
being getting called up for the army.
Smaller businesses are now well aware of what HR managers do
and now human resources is really a concern in more or less all
medium sized organisations. As recognition of the role of Facility
Mangers in the large corporations becomes better understood, in
another decade people will look at facilities management in the same
way that they look at human resource management. I think, by then,
probably any reasonable size firm should consider that they should
have a facilities manager.
Facility Perspectives: What FM education developments do you see on
the horizon?
DL: I definitely see that we will have more bachelor degree courses –
I’m not quite sure who they are going to appeal to – what sort of people
we are targeting at school level. Obviously occupations with pay and
status will be promoted at the school level and as sustainability and
life-cycle costing throws more focus on the FM industry, we will
definitely see a stronger public profile develop.
Facility Perspectives: Do you think it’s important for there to be an
influx of young people into the industry?
DL: Yes, for any industry if it’s not attracting young people then it’s a
Dodo industry.
Facility Perspectives: Should trades-based facility managers be
making a move to further their education as far as gaining management
skills?
DL: It seems to me that because they’ve come from all walks of life,
having a piece of paper at the end of the day that actually qualifies
them in the area they work in means that someone has recognised that
they know what they’re doing. If you look at the other recognised
professions such as medicine, law, architecture, and accounting they
have a recognised entry degree. Anyone who hasn’t got a degree won’t
have the necessary credibility.
Facility Perspectives: How soon in the future do you envision most
employers requiring their facility manager to be qualified?
DL: I would say 5 years. At the moment in the building design section of
the Building Code of Australia, the requirement is that you employ
consultants who have sustainability credentials to design and
construct your buildings. I think this will also extend to people who
know what they’re doing when they run a building. The way people use
buildings can have a greater impact on the way energy is used than the
actual design. The focus will swing very clearly towards the way people
use buildings, and I think that’s what will be the major impetus towards
increasing the status of Facility Management and the need for facility
managers to be recognised properly.
DAVID LEIFER
David Leifer completed his doctorate in
Computer Aided Architectural Design in
1984. Whilst his work was overtaken
by the rapid development of computer
hardware, he became interested in the
way that computers were used to
control complex buildings. Realising
that there was little point in
automating buildings without a
DAVID LEIFER
management purpose for doing so, he
careened into Facilities Management.
In the course of this excursion he became the chairman of the
Queensland IFMAA around 1990/93, and later the NZ Chapter
Chairman of the Chartered Institution of Building Services
Engineers (1996-99).
He is currently disseminating the FM information learned from his
students in the name of education at the University of Sydney.
4FU
B

DPVSTF
GPS

ZPVS
MJGF

#"$)&-03
0'
'"$*-*5*&4
."/"(&.&/5

8*5) )0/0634
130(3".

"SF ZPV JOUFSFTUFE JO B DBSFFS JO 'BDJMJUJFT .BOBHFNFOU

5IFO DPOTJEFS PVS FYDFMMFOU QSPGFTTJPOBM QSPHSBN

Deakin University offers the Bachelor of Facilities Management degree as an early exit from the Bachelor
of Construction Management/Bachelor of Facilities Management combined degree. The course is the first
of its type in Australia and is offered on-campus at Geelong Waterfront. From 2008 the course will also
be available in off-campus mode.

High-performing students have the opportunity to extend their studies to Honours level, involving
industry-relevant research and concurrent work placement. Tax-free scholarships are available and the
Honours program is fully accredited for FM practice by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

'PS NPSF JOGPSNBUJPO DPOUBDU 1SPGFTTPS $SBJH -BOHTUPO BU UIF 4DIPPM PG "SDIJUFDUVSF

BOE #VJMEJOH PO    PS FNBJM DSBJHMBOHTUPO!EFBLJOFEVBV

XXXEFBLJOFEVBVTDJUFDIBCDPVSTFT
FDUC707_21

MELBOURNE GEELONG WARRNAMBOOL

TERTIARY TRAINING GUIDE

Facility Management
Training at a Glance

In order to fully explore the current movement of education within the Facility
Management Industry, Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond investigated
the current tertiary education opportunities available for facility managers
throughout Australia. continues page 18

16 • facilityperspec ti ves
 Facilities Management
&HUWL±FDWH 'LSORPD OHYHOV

Courses designed for:

asset supervisors/managers
facility supervisors/managers
PDLQWHQDQFHRI±FHUV
property works managers

Features:
enrol at anytime
no academic prerequisites
ongoing academic support
pathways to further study

%HQH±WV
improve skills in people mangagement
manage assets effectively
manage risk exposure in the workplace
gain formal recognition of your skills

1800 677 147

www.unepartnerships.edu.au
facilities@unepartnerships.edu.au
UNE Partnerships Pty Ltd • PO Box U199, University of New England, NSW 2351
74 003 099 125
TERTIARY TRAINING GUIDE
Charles Darwin University, Northern
Territory
Charles Darwin University offers a Diploma of
Project Management which can be completed
by full-time study in half a year, or undertaken
in a part-time capacity over the duration of one
year.
www.cdu.edu.au
Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD
Bond University offers a Bachelor of Property
and Sustainable Development degree with a
major in Assets and Facilities Management. The
degree consists of 24 subjects which cover
topics such as Building Pathology, Sustainable
Construction, Business Law, and Cultural and
Ethical skills. The degree can be completed over
2 years of full-time study or students can study
at their own pace part-time.
www.bond.edu.au
University of the Sunshine Coast,
Maroochydore
The University of the Sunshine Coast in
Maroochydore offers a Bachelor of Business
with a major in Property and Asset
Management. Property and Asset management
underpins areas such as residential and
commercial developments, construction, and
tourism and facilities management. The
program includes the core business courses
such as marketing, accounting, economics and
human resource management to ensure
graduates understand key business
imperatives. This is supported by specialist
units which provide detailed knowledge on key
industry areas such as property economics,
property management, investment decision
making, property law, valuation issues and
asset and facilities management. Students can
also apply to undertake first-year courses in
this program at the USC Noosa Centre.
www.usc.edu.au
University of Southern Queensland
The University of Southern Queensland offer a
Master of Project Manager which aims to
produce graduates who have appropriate skills
and knowledge to be capable of managing
small, medium and large-sized projects as a
senior team leader, a project manager or project
director. The Masters can be completed on
campus, through distance education or online.
Duration is 2 terms full-time or 4 years part-
time.
www.usq.edu.au
Central Queensland University
Central Queensland University offers a Master
of Maintenance Management program. The
program is suited to those currently employed
in the areas of maintenance engineering or
maintenance management who would like to
advance their careers through professional
upgrading of their knowledge, skills and
qualifications.
18 • facilityperspec ti ves
The aim of the Master of Maintenance
Management program is for the student to
apply the knowledge and skills gained from
experience and studies in maintenance
management towards creation of opportunities
to improve maintenance practices thereby
providing leadership in the industrial
maintenance organisation.
www.cqu.edu.au
Queensland University of Technology
While QUT do not offers specific facility
management courses, they do run the Bachelor
of Urban Development with a major in Property
Economics. A number of graduates from this
QUT program do venture into the FM industry.
QUT is also the headquarters of the Centre for
Integrated Engineering Asset Management – a
major research initiative funded under the
Federal Government’s CRC scheme. The CRC for
Construction Innovation is also headquartered
at QUT and it has an emerging focus on the FM
Field
www.qut.edu.au
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia currently
offers a nested Graduate Certificate/Graduate
Diploma/Master in Facilities and Asset
Management program through their
Construction Management and Economics
(Building) discipline. Most (and likely all) of the
courses are being developed in online mode.
www.unisa.edu.au
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide offers a Masters in
Project Mangement, a Masters in Aplied Project
Management and a Graduate Certificate in
Project Management.
www.adelaide.edu.au
Curtin University of Technology,
Western Australia
Curtin University offers a 1-year graduate
certificate in Facilities Management. Also
covered in the course are project management
and procurement management.
curtin.edu.au
Victoria University, Melbourne
Victoria University of Melbourne offers a
Graduate Certificate in Project Management, a
Graduate Diploma of Project Management and a
Master of Contacting and Project Management.
www.vu.edu.au
University of Melbourne
Facilities Management is offered at 4th year
undergraduate level as part of the University of
Melbourne’s Bachelor of Property and
Construction program. It is also offered in
conjunction with Asset Management and
Corporate Real Estate as part of the Master of
Property and Construction program. FM lecturer
Chris Heywood says it is possible with the
Masters, and to some extent the undergraduate
program, to construct a FM focused
qualification by undertaking other subjects
such as services, sustainability and building
regulations.
www.unimelb.edu.au
Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology (RMIT)
RMIT offers a generic Master of Project
Management as well as specialisations in
Engineering, Facilities Management and
Information Technology. The duration of the
Masters (one and a half years full time)
incorporates the Graduate Diploma (One year
full time or two years part-time) and the
Graduate Certificate (Six months full time or one
year part-time). The program allows students
who are working as Project Managers in a
particular discipline to specialise in
engineering, information technology or facilities
management.
www.rmit.com.au
Swinburne University of Technology,
Victoria
Swinburne University of Techology in
Hawthorne Victoria offers a Certificate in Project
Management, Diploma of Project Management
and a Graduate Certificate of Business (Project
Management). In the area of Construction
Management, also offered is a Graduate
Certificate of Technology (Construction
Management), Graduate Diploma of Technology
(Construction Mangement) and a Master of
Techhnology Management (Construction
Management).
courses.swinburne.edu.au
Deakin University, Geelong
Deakin University offers Australia’s first
undergraduate degree in Facilities
Management. It is offered over three years, with
an additional (invited) honours year available,
leading to a Bachelor of Facilities Management
(Honours) fully accredited for FM practice by
the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
(RICS). At Deakin, students can also enrol in a
double degree (called ‘infrastructure logistics’)
which comprises of a blend of construction
management and facilities management units.
The double degree is a five-year full-time
program, also accredited by RICS for
construction, facilities management and
building surveying career destinations.
Students can exit early from the program after
three years with a Bachelor of Facilities
Management. Deakin also offers and FM major
as part of their Bachelor of Management and
Bachelor of Commerce degrees. From February
2008, Deakin is offering a distance learning
pathway for FM (both pass and honours
degree), which will enable students to
participate from anywhere in the world. Face-
to-face study is conducted at Deakin’s award-
winning Waterfront campus in Geelong.
 Know how to manage
facilities better.
RMIT University’s Master of Project Management offers a specialisation in
Facilities Management and uses cooperative learning to:
· Build on students’ experience through case studies
· Develop and enhance project management capabilities
· Provide skills and industry knowledge needed locally and internationally
Demand is increasing across all industry sectors for good project management
skills to improve productivity, save resources and create better outcomes.
Specialise in Engineering, Facilities Management or Information Technology.
The Masters program incorporates both the Graduate Diploma and
Certificate qualifications.
RMIT also offers:
· Master of Property · Doctorate of Project Management
· Graduate Diploma of Valuation
For more information or to apply email ian.mcbean@rmit.edu.au or phone
(03) 9925 3907 www.rmit.edu.au/pcpm
RMIT280

Faculty of Architecture,
Building & Planning
Make some new plans.
From 2008, the University will introduce landmark educational reforms, known collectively as the Melbourne
Model, designed to create an outstanding and distinctive Melbourne education for all students.

Under the Melbourne Model, the Graduate School of Architecture, Building and Planning will be established
to provide graduate students with rigorous theoretical knowledge and critical professional skills from leading
academics and practitioners in the designed, digital and constructed environments.

Graduate programs in 2008:

architecture urban design
construction management urban planning
landscape architecture workplace planning and design
property
Built environments undergraduate students will also benefit from the Melbourne Model with the creation
of the interdisciplinary degree of the Bachelor of Environments allowing students to major in built
environments specialisations of their choice, as well as being able to study a wide range of other areas.

For more information, contact the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning
t: +61 3 8344 6417 f: +61 3 8344 5532

www.abp.unimelb.edu.au
TERTIARY TRAINING GUIDE
www.deakin.edu.au
University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat currently offers a
Diploma of Project Management. The course is
offered on a fee-for-service basis, and monthly
workshops are scheduled over one semester.
www.ballarat.edu.au
University of Sydney
The School of Architecture runs a Graduate
Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Masters
Degree in Facilities Management. A Master of
Design Science (M.Des.Sc) programme offers a
degree that majors in FM. The Faculty of
Economics and Business in conjunction with
the School of Architecture offer a doubles
degree, the Master of Commerce and Master of
Facilities Management.
The program is designed for those currently
working as facility managers and allows for
interstate students to participate. Candidates
with industry experience but without formal
qualifications may enter the Graduate
Certificate course, and subject to their
performance, can then upgrade to a Diploma or
Masters.
www.usyd.edu.au
The University of Newcastle
The University of Newcastle offers a Bachelor of
Construction Management (Building) which is
accredited by the Australian Institute of
Building, the Australian Institute of Quantity
Surveying, The Chartered Institute of Building,
and the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and
Valuers. The program is offered in mixed-mode,
allowing students the flexibility to either attend
classes at our Callaghan campus, or to learn in
a virtual environment wherever they are
located. The program is also offered off-shore
in Singapore (TMC).
www.newcastle.edu.au
University of New South Wales
The Faculty of the Built Environment at the
University of New South Wales is the largest
faculty of its kind in Australia by range of
programs offered. On offer at the FBE is the
Bachelor of Construction Management and
Property which focuses on people and process
management within the specific contexts of
building construction, property development,
quantity surveying and facilities management.
The four-year full-time program of study offers
students management skills in the areas of
planning, risk assessment, occupational health
and safety, property management and
organisational behaviour. The FBE also offers a
Graduate Certificate in Construction Project
Management, Master of Construction Project
Management and a Master of Construction
Project Management (in Professional Practice).
Another postgraduate offering from FBE is the
Master of Property and Development which
allows students to specialize in Investment and
20 • facilityperspec ti ves
Development or Asset and Facilities
Management.
In the area of sustainable development, FBE
offer a Graduate Certificate in Built Environment
(Sustainable Development) and a Master of
Built Environment (Sustainable Development.
www.unsw.edu.au
University of Technology, Sydney
UTS offers a Bachelor of Construction which
provides students with comprehensive building
education. The degree is concerned with all
aspects of the construction process, including
business management, construction
technology, project management, quantity
surveying, applied economics, contract
administration and property development.
There are also opportunities for further study
after completing the course through an
Honours program, the Master’s programs in
Project Management and Facility Management
or a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
www.uts.edu.au
University of Western Sydney
The University of Western Sydney offers
students a Bachelor of Construction
Management. Students will develop specialised
skills in construction management taught
through theoretical, practical, and hands-on
experience. Topics covered in the program
include: project management, building law,
accounting and design science.
www.uwa.edu.au
University of New England, New South
Wales
The University of New England offers a
Graduate Certificate in Project Management
which can be completed over 1 trimester full
time or over 2 trimesters part-time.
www.une.edu.au
Charles Stuart University
Charles Stuart University offers a Graduate
Certificate in Project Management which
includes accreditation as a Certified Associate
Project Manager (CAPM) from the Project
Management Institute. In the area of
sustainable management, CSU offer a Master of
Sustainable Management which is comprised of
a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable
Management and a Graduate Diploma of
Sustainable Mangement.
www.csu.edu.au
The University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia offers a
Master of Engineering in Asset Management.
The emphasis of Engineering Asset
Management is on achieving sustainable
business outcomes and competitive advantage
by applying systematic and risk-based
processes to decisions concerning the
engineering assets of an organisation. The
postgraduate degree includes units from the
Faculty of Engineering, Computing and
Mathematics and the Business School. Students
will engage in a balanced inter-disciplinary
programme of asset management, engineering
and business units with a focus in practical
applications and the challenges faced by
today’s organisations. Emphasis is on the
development of technical skills, decision-
making, program implementation, change-
management and communication.
The full programme consists of six core units,
three electives and a dissertation. There are
options to exit with a Graduate Certificate or
Graduate Diploma in Engineering. The estimated
time frame to complete the Masters, for a part-
time student combing study with full time work
is 2-4 years, though this may be shortened
depending on any advanced standing available
for prior learning.
www.uwa.edu.au
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong offers a Master of
Engineering Asset Management. The objective
of the program is to ensure continuous
improvement in the strategic and tactical
response of organisations and their managers,
to the management of infrastructure assets.
This is achieved through a balance program of
subjects in asset management science and
engineering, business administration and
management. Other topics covered include:
Project Implementation and Outsourcing, Life-
Cycle and Risk Management, Maintenance
Requirements Analysis and Managing People in
Organisations.
www.uow.edu.au
Facilities Management and other
practises related to the industry may
also feature as a component of
courses offered at the following
tertiary providers:
University of Tasmania
www.utas.edu.au
Monash University
www.monash.edu.au
Murdoch University (Perth)
www.murdoch.edu.au
Southern Cross University (Coffs Harbour)
www.scu.edu.au
University of Canberra
www.canberra.edu.au
Australian Catholic University
inet.acu.edu.au
Flinders University, Adelaide
www.flinders.edu.au
Griffith University, Gold Coast
www.griffith.edu.au
James Cook University, Townsville
www.jcu.edu.au
La Trobe University
www.latrobe.edu.au
Macquarie University
www.mq.edu.au
RECRUITMENT FEATURE

Recruiting
for the future

Despite a thriving industry, the lack of sufficiently trained facilities managers available to meet
demands has forced employers to draw on skills outside the traditional candidate pool when recruiting
for the future. The situation has prompted questions as to where the responsibility for the skills
shortage should fall – should it simply be a case of employers investing in staff training to meet the
changing industry needs or should the federal government be taking more of leadership role in
addressing the crisis?
Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond spoke to William Mitchell, Director of the Centre of Full
Employment and Equity about the reality of the skills shortage situation in Australia, and also caught
up with FM recruitment specialists Judd Farris, Hays Facilities Management, Kingfisher Property
Recruitment and the D&M Group to discuss the evolution of the FM industry and what lies ahead for
today’s facilities managers.
22 • facilityperspec ti ves

he media focus on the skills shortage throughout Australia has
T left employers in the property and facilities industries nervous
about the future - and facility managers in red-hot demand
when positions emerge.
In 2000, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
claimed that increasing skills shortages were becoming one of the
most significant barriers to the continued growth of Australian
Industry. The ACCI cited that despite industry and governments
adopting a range of approaches to address skills shortages, it
remained an issue that would not disappear.1
Seven years on, and the skills shortage in Australia is still a hot
media topic and a contentious talking point in both the public and
private sector. As the number of Australians living and working abroad
reaches figures nearing 1 million2, many employers are now taking a
global approach to recruiting the skills they need back into our
industries.
Government research3 into the causes of skill shortages offers a
number of possible factors contributing to the problem including low
remuneration, poor working conditions, a poor image of the industry,
unsatisfactory working hours and firm – specific or highly-specialised
skill needs. The growth in demand for new skills is also associated
with the pressure of globalisation, international competition,
structural change and new technology.3
While it’s clear more than one answer exists for why the skills
shortage phenomenon is sweeping the globe, a number of groups
suggest the problem in Australia has emerged due to a lack of federal
government guidance and the reluctance of industry to invest in up
skilling workers for future performance demands.
The University of Newcastle’s Centre of Full Employment and
Equity’s (CofFEE) working paper on skills shortages in Australia
asserts that the responsibility of training previously accounted for by
the public sector has fallen back on industry as a result of the
privatisation of public utilities.4
With the reduction of public sector workforces, the government’s
role in offering a training platform has significantly reduced, leaving a
glaring omission of skilled candidates on offer for employers.4
Director of CofFEE and Professor of Economics at the University of
Newcastle, William F. Mitchell, believes skills shortages and labour
underutilisation are two sides of the same coin.
“Both are products of the same source – a lack of federal
government vision in establishing full employment. Labour
underutilisation comprises official unemployment, underemployment
(part-timers without enough hours of work) and the hidden
unemployment (who are not counted in the labour force). It arises
because there is insufficient demand for goods and services in the
economy. A primary responsibility of the federal government is to use
its budget policies to fill the spending gap left by the private sector. In
running huge budget surpluses over the last decade the government
has reneged on this responsibility and the result has been persistent
underutilisation rates around 10 per cent despite official
unemployment falling.”
Mr Mitchell suggests firms are now forced to lower hiring
standards and package training with their employment offers or else
they lose the opportunity to recruit the scarce labour.
“In the 1960s, when unemployment was around 2 per cent and
underemployment was zero, vacancies outstripped the workers
available and this created a very dynamic skill upgrading environment
for the economy. In allowing the economy to run at high levels of
labour underutilisation over the last few decades, successive federal
governments have taken the pressure off firms to offer adequate
training. The result is now showing up in the form of skills shortages.”
Compounding the problem, he says, has been the withdrawal of
the public sector from training – in the 1960s a coherent national
skills development framework was provided by the federal
government which encompassed a systematic apprenticeship
program largely provided by the public sector agencies, and
RECRUITMENT FEATURE
MAKING THE MOVE
Our four recruitment specialists: Hays Facilities Management, D&M
Group, Kingfisher Property Recruitment and Judd Farris provided the
following tips for managers planning their next career move.
Hays Facilities Management:
3 Make sure you are making the right move and it’s not a case of out
of the frying pan and into the fire. Due to the pressures in the
market, I think people do need to consider whether their need to
move is knee-jerk or whether it’s of real benefit.
3 I think it’s important to consider how long they’ve been in that role
before making the move – we’re still finding employers in the
industry look at longevity in certain positions as being a good thing.
It’s getting more towards the two or three year mark now, one or two
of those on a CV is fine, but if you’ve moved religiously every one
and a half to two years, you’re not a long-term prospect for
employers.
Kingfisher Property Recruitment:
3 Review your own skills, strengths and weaknesses.
3 Set clear goals and objectives.
3 Research and identify specific role types – when you leave a
position you want to make sure that you’re bettering yourself and
improving your position. You need to give some thought to where
you want to be in 5 years so you know where to go now, rather than
just jumping into a position that might not be taking you in the
direction you want to go.
3 Select a professional recruitment company that can advise and
guide you as well as search for your desired position.
Judd Farris:
In regards to interview presentation the Facilities Management industry
is comparable to others:
3 Spend time on your CV; make sure it encompasses all of your skills
and education, in addition to clearly defining your secular
achievements.
3 Spend time on researching your prospective company, from the
contracts under management, their leadership team, brand
reputation and their current market activity.
3 Be able to clearly articulate your career goals.
3 Whilst salary level is important when looking at making a move, be
careful not to make it an overly accentuated aspect of your
interview process. Employers will appreciate your honesty
surrounding money; however, balance this with your other
motivators.
3 If you do register with a recruitment agent use their knowledge to
complement your research. A specialist recruiter in FM should be
able be able to provide extensive commentary on the client they are
representing.
D&M Group:
3 Talk to the industry professionals to discuss where you stand in the
facilities market place, in terms of your skillset, transferable abilities
and your relevant experience. A well informed recruitment
consultant with direct industry knowledge can help you to
realistically evaluate your expectations and future career prospects.
3 If you are currently exploring your next career movement, remember
that it is a very tight industry. Understand that the grass may not
always be greener on the other side, try to research and collect as
much information as you can about prospective employers and
opportunities. Look beyond the immediate positions and evaluate
where you want to go in the long term and assess if this is the role
that will get you there. Don’t focus on the immediate frustration of
wanting to change your current situation, look at where your career
path can take you.
3 Look for an opportunity that will set you on the path to your ultimate
career goal, and make sure you stay on top of the industry because
it is building rapid momentum – the best candidates are those that
keep their skills up and are constantly developing their
understanding of the major issues confronting the industry.
facilityperspec ti ves • 23
RECRUITMENT FEATURE
occupational forecasting and planning conducted by the Department
of Employment.
“The privatisation of the public agencies over time has reduced
the capacity of the public sector to offer skills development. The
ideological obsession of the federal government with abandoning its
role as a major employer, particularly of our youth, has meant that
skills are now not systematically developed,” said Mr Mitchell.
Mr Mitchell acknowledges the role industry can play in addressing
the skills shortages by increasing their willingness to train
disadvantaged workers and making workplaces more tolerant of
people with mental and physical disabilities and more flexible for
those with family responsibilities. As to the Federal Government’s next
move, he suggests introducing a national employment guarantee
scheme.
“By introducing a Job Guarantee, the public sector would be able
to embrace the capacities of those that it has abandoned to
unemployment and marginal status. There is ample evidence to show
that training on the job, in a paid work environment is significantly
more productive than churning jobless workers through a sequence of
training programs divorced from the paid work context. By introducing
a Job Guarantee, the government would immediately create a
dynamic pool of workers who could not only contribute to expanding
the welfare of our communities and free the workers from welfare
dependence, but also generate skills development which would feed
the skill demand of the economy.”
At the Skilling Australia Conference in September of last year,
Prime Minister John Howard addressed the responsibility issue of the
Australian skills shortages dilemma.
“A more skilled Australia requires a genuine, ‘bottom-up’
partnership across governments, businesses, education and training
providers and individuals ... Employers are demanding a higher level
of skills, a broader range of skills and more frequent updating of skills.
To attract and retain skilled labour, education and training must be
part of core business.”5
During his speech, the Prime Minister proposed that the high
demand for skilled workers in Australia is the flip-side of an economy
now in the 16th year of economic growth.
“In a vibrant, growing economy, some level of skills shortages is
part of the normal functioning of the labour market. As pressures
emerge, people re-skill and respond to wage signals in order to adapt
to changes in labour demand.”
As demand for more flexible work and training arrangements
comes from employers and employees alike, Mr Howard says
employers now want training to be delivered when and where it is
needed, whether in a classroom or in the workplace itself.
“Workers want to be able to respond to change and access
training opportunities throughout their working lives. An education
and training system predicated on a world where someone was
educated until young adult-hood and then entered a job lasting
roughly 40 years has become basically obsolete. Younger Australians
in particular no longer expect or want a job for life. They want portable
skills that let them move between jobs and locations. All this points to
why we need a more flexible and responsive education and training
system – where the users are the drivers of the system,” said Mr
Howard.
Clearly, industry will have to find its own solutions. So where does
the Facilities Management industry fit in the big picture of the skills
shortage situation?
Kingfisher Property Recruitment’s FM specialist Mathew Barnett
believes the talent pool of facility managers in Australia would be
increased by the establishment of a clearer training path into the
industry.
“The skills shortage is something we hear about on a daily basis
across all industries. When relating it purely to the facilities
management industry we need to consider that FM is an industry
evolving faster than many other industries and traditionally people
24 • facilityperspec ti ves
come from a variety of different industries and backgrounds to
become a facilities manager. The problem now we have skill shortages
is there is a lower entry point into the industry than there should be.
Because facilities management is still not recognised compared to
some similar positions, it allows people to come into the industry with
a lower skill set than we would ideally require. There will come a time
when there will be specific qualifications for Facilities Managers and
that will coincide with an established route into the industry such as
you would expect when talking about an engineer for example. The
result will be more consistency in the skills and attributes of a
Facilities Manager.”
As the pressure of skills shortages increases and the talent pool
draws tighter, recruitment agencies are taking creative measures to
draw people into the industry – for many it means looking to
associated industries for potential candidates.
Louise Rowe from Judd Farris Recruitment urges that people who
haven’t had the direct industry experience but who show the
dynamics, energy, cultural fit and polish may still prove to be the right
choice for Facilities Management positions.
“We’ve certainly seen interest from other industries such as
logistics, venue management, hospitality and general operations.
Some people coming into FM at junior levels may have been operating
in customer service, security, administration, accountancy or
mailroom positions” said Rowe.
If looking at related Australian industries doesn’t solve a
company’s employment needs, Rowe suggests employers should also
consider accessing the global candidate pool.
“Within the property industry, there have been some sectors
which have embraced sponsoring overseas candidates for a number
of years – for instance building services and civil consultancies. FM
firms in Australia need to accept the reality that sponsorship of
overseas candidates in the future is essential. This coupled with an
offshore move of middle and senior management to locations such as
Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong further illustrates the need to attract
offshore talent to Australia.”
Clearly, another contributing factor to the FM skill shortage in
particular is the increasing diversity of the industry. As Facilities
Management continues to gather unstoppable momentum, it is
evident that technical qualifications alone will no longer be sufficient
to guarantee the continued career progression of today’s FM. With
more time spent in the boardroom and less time on the ground,
facilities managers who have a strong business acumen and the
ability to communicate with everyone from stakeholders to
contractors are becoming increasingly more desirable to potential
employers.
Employers now look for professionals who have a rounded
understanding of building services and operations, security systems
and HVAC controls as ideal candidates for the job. Kingfisher’s
Matthew Barnett says it is also essential for facility managers to stay
abreast of the latest developments in environmentally efficient
practises if they want to increase their chances of working for
progressive companies.
“Increasingly it’s becoming important to have a good
understanding of sustainability, being able to take an existing building
and identify potential cost, savings, and payback periods for
environmentally sustainable developments and improvements. It is
also important for an FM to demonstrate a good understanding of the
current legislation and codes of practice. Strong administration skills
are another essential for recording, preparing and presenting
information,” said Barnett.
The movement of FM towards a corporate service delivery model
has bought with it a creeping fear among some facilities managers
that they may be left behind as skill requirements within the industry
revolutionise. For facilities managers who have come from a
traditional trade’s background, Hays Facilities Management’s Paul
Burch suggests personality and the ability to manage successful

relationships are the key attributes for facility managers hoping to
secure senior level positions.
“I think what will allow you to make that first step from the tools
and into a managerial role are the personality traits and the ability to
communicate. As you move further up the ladder, people will need to
look at further education as a way of proving to the business that they
can operate at that level. It’s also a way of validating skills they may
already have. If you look at some tradesmen, they may have run their
own businesses so they may already have a certain level of financial
acumen that isn’t necessarily recorded and taught but certainly doing
something Post Graduate to back that up could be a good way of
proving that at a slightly higher level,” said Burch.
As sustainability increasingly becomes a key component of any
good facility manager’s objectives, establishing, operating and
maintaining environmentally effective systems within buildings has
become something of a daily requirement. The crucial role facility
managers play in ensuring their buildings run at optimum efficiency
has led to more facility managers participating in the front-end of
building design. By engaging with designers, architects and
engineers, facility managers can guarantee they are receiving the
fundamental lighting, HVAC and space requirements needed by the
building occupants.
D & M Group’s Adam Kelly agrees the role of a facility manager has
long since moved on from the ‘maintenance man’ image of the past.
“The industry is really crying out for people to take a bit of
innovation and to really try and drive it forward. A lot of people in the
industry at the moment take on the idea that facilities management is
just to keep the building ticking over or just to keep the portfolio
ticking over, there needs to be a change in thinking. They’re not just
there to wait until something is broken and then get it fixed, they
need to be looking at making their building perform better and operate
better. The amount of savings and revenue that this can generate for
RECRUITMENT FEATURE
companies and clients is enormous, just through better Facilities
Management,” said Kelly.
For facilities managers who want to stay on top of the latest
developments and expand their career horizons, it may unfortunately
require covering their own costs for completing additional business
courses. Judd Farris Recruitment’s Louise Rowe resolves it’s about
time companies start taking responsibility for investing in the
education and upskilling of their facilities managers.
“The level of proficiency that is out there in the FM industry has
increased tenfold over the last few years. The strategic and business
element of the role is becoming increasingly paramount. To be fair, I
think a lot of FM’s want to undertake additional courses but there is a
lack of financial support – most are self-funding their extra curricular
studies. Corporations are slowly recognising that they must do more
in this area. On-the-job training has always featured highly but
employees have limited access to employer-funded tertiary or
business qualifications. A few of the major service providers are now
recognising that by providing financial support and availability to
academic studies and/or training courses that that they will not only
develop a higher level of FM but also gain retention of their staff.
Moreover, this approach offers a competitive advantage by attracting
candidates in a tight market as well as providing their clients trained
and qualified Facility Managers,” said Rowe.
Although FM training options have increased significantly in
recent years with the start-up of an undergraduate degree in FM and
online study options, D &M Group’s Adam Kelly feels smaller
companies will still find it difficult to train and retain their staff.
“The FM recruitment market for a lot of companies is still very
reactive; there are not a lot of clients that are able to build their team
to account for growth and churn. If you’re looking at a company that
has a portfolio of 10 properties, they will generally have a set FM
team, and if they lose a property or they lose a person they recruit
facilityperspec ti ves • 25
RECRUITMENT FEATURE
reactively. Unfortunately most clients are not able to take on facility D&M Group
managers in order to build up their team or to develop the skills base D&M Group is an innovative and
within it as they are often very restricted to contracts and the size of growing recruitment
their portfolio. In my opinion there are not enough clients that have consultancy. We have 8
been able to train and develop staff through the ranks because of specialist Business Units as
these restrictions and in turn it creates a lot of sideways movement in part of the group, they are:
the marketplace,” said Kelly. Executive, Property,
In order to overcome the skills shortages and ensure facilities Architecture, Construction, Civil,
management cements itself as a credible and valued industry, it is Facilities Management,
essential that young people can follow a concrete career path to the Resources, Mining & Power,
FM job of their choice. Add to that the combined support of both the Project Management &
public and private sector, and facilities management is undoubtedly Development. Extensive
set to be a defining industry in the future of the built environment. experience underlined by a
For Adam Kelly, it is the bright prospects of the industry that keep Adam Kelly, D&M Group dedicated pursuit of quality,
him committed to recruiting for the future of facilities management. providing technical recruitment solutions at the professional and
“FM is now very much a corporate-oriented business, a business executive level is the hallmark of our service, offering clients and
that for many organisations is becoming a high revenue earner. It candidates tailored solutions across Australia and internationally.
used to be a side note to property management or to operations, The D&M Facilities Management team boast the most senior and
whereas now it is an industry in its own right. The opportunities for FM experienced Facility Management recruitment professionals in
as a separate entity are just phenomenal.” today’s market. Our team sit on the FMA committee and are
actively involved in addressing the needs of Facilities Management
References professionals in this continually evolving market.
1 Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry – ‘A cure for the common cold – ways to
address skills shortages (ACCI review – January 2000, Issue 59)
2 “Life is Elsewhere” by Kate Nancarrow. The Age, February 2004
3 Department of Education, Science and Training – ‘Nature and Causes of Skill Shortages –
Reflections from the Commonwealth National Industry Skills Initiative Working Group 2002 Hays Facilities Management
4 Centre of Full Employment and Equity, Working Paper No. 05-15 ‘Skills shortages in Hays has been at the forefront
Australia: concepts and reality of FM recruitment since its
5 Prime Minister of Australia John Howard – address to the Australian Financial Review – inception in the early nineties.
Skilling Australia Conference, Sheraton on the Park Hotel, Sydney, 18 September 2006. Originating out of our activities
recruiting within the built
environment and maintenance
markets Hays Facilities
ABOUT OUR CONTRIBUTORS Management has grown to
become synonymous with
Judd Farris many of the industry’s key
appointments.

Paul Burch, Hays Facilities Management

Kingfisher Property Recruitment

Kingfisher specialise in
recruitment for the Property
industry, providing leading
organisations with access to
high-level recruitment advice
Louise Rowe – Divisional Manager Facilities Management, Judd Farris and quality candidates. The key
At Judd Farris, we understand the pressures that the modern day objective of Kingfisher is to
FM encounters in hiring staff. Regarded as being at the forefront of establish long-term
FM recruitment, Judd Farris have been recognized by The Recruiter relationships with leading
Awards for Excellence as the “Best International Recruitment Firm property organisations, to
2007.” Our ability to attract talent from interstate and overseas to provide them with the best
Australia has contributed to our status of largest privately owned talent in the market place. Our
property recruitment firm in the world. Delivering consultative Matthew Barnett, a Director of specialist consultants possess
advice in the niche sector of FM and Property, Judd Farris is Kingfisher Property Recruitment detailed knowledge of the
confident in advising at executive/senior appointment level industry, having worked in Property roles before moving into
through to the middle management and supervisory. By employing recruitment. Matthew Barnett is a Director of Kingfisher and has
only experienced consultants, we are confident in identifying the almost 10 years’ recruitment experience, specialising in building
right candidate or career opportunity for you. To find out more and services, technical engineering and facilities management. In
to review our network of offices in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore addition to his strong local experience, Matthew has also worked as
and the UK, please review our website www.juddfarris.com.au or a recruitment consultant in the fast-paced London market.
contact Louise Rowe, Divisional Manager Facilities Management on Matthew is dedicated to providing professional and proactive
03 9600 1487. solutions to both client and candidate recruitment requirements.

26 • facilityperspec ti ves
 PLANNING + INFRASTRUCTURE

Workplace 2.0™
Delivering a productive environment
BY CAROLINE BURNS (BASED ON A PRESENTATION GIVEN AT THE FMA AUSTRALIA IDEACTION 2007 CONFERENCE)

Workplace 2.0™ (trademark pending) is similar in concept to

Web 2.0, a term coined by O’Reilly Media in 2005 to describe the
second generation of web-based communities and hosted
services – such as social-networking sites, wikis and
folksonomies – which facilitate collaboration and sharing
between users.
Like Web 2.0, Workplace 2.0 refers not to a new or updated
version of the technical/physical environment, but rather to
changes in the ways people (such as staff, contractors,
consultants, vendors, visitors, customers etc) use the
workplace in its broadest sense as a platform for working
anywhere, anytime. It emphasises the idea that the reciprocity
between the user and available tools and resources is what’s
important. In other words, genuine interactivity. In this way,
Workplace 2.0 also refers to the following evolutionary trends:
3 the transition of “workplace” from separate physical silos
scattered nationally or globally, to “places of work” where
sources of content and functionality are accessed and
communication can occur
3 a socio-economic and demographic phenomenon
embracing an approach to generating and distributing
knowledge and developing relationships, characterised
by open communication, decentralisation of authority,
freedom to share and re-use, and freedom from time and
place constraints
3 enhanced access to more and more information and
knowledge, which have shorter and shorter half-lives,
emphasising the importance of deep linking, cross-
fertilisation and generation of new insights and ideas

facilityperspec ti ves • 27
PLANNING + INFRASTRUCTURE
raditionally workplace initiatives have been substantially driven

T by the need to reduce costs. However the increasing pace of

social and technological change and effects of globalisation have
created an increasingly complex role for facility managers in
providing a workplace that meets the demands of the new business
environment we are working in.
Research from the Buffalo Organisation for Social and Technological
Innovation (BOSTI)1 states that the benefits of a well-thought out
workplace strategy are equal to 3–15% of an employee’s annual salary,
or 4.7–23% of corporate profits on a per employee basis. This is
equivalent to around $1,900 to $9,600 per employee per year. Business
leaders need to embrace technology and workplace trends so they can
help knowledge workers – not just the ones they have now but also the
ones who will be working for them in 5 years time – be more effective
on both a personal and business level. This means providing an
integrated environment in which to:
3 Access and share information and knowledge
3 Access people – colleagues, clients, suppliers, peers, networks
3 Balance “always on” with the need for personal “downtime”
This article looks at the ways in which facility professionals can
support these corporate drivers through integrated workplace platforms,
with particular focus on “how” rather than “what” is delivered.

Lasting the Distance

Workplace 2.0™ is not a destination, but a journey.
To create a customised platform, each organisation must consider
its own unique needs and challenges – what works for one will probably
not work for another. Success is often as much a product of the process
as of the outcome and this value chain is particularly evident in
organisations that have implemented mobile or flexible work programs,
as these initiatives require the bringing together of real estate, human
resources and information technology to collaborate in new ways.

Clear Goals
Knowing your company’s objectives in implementing a new
workplace environment is critical. The different goals of a integrated
workplace platform may be achieved in a number of ways. Different
physical, technical and managerial elements can be harnessed in
different combinations to achieve different outcomes.
Expressing Culture and Brand
Part of the attraction of new forms of working is that they reflect a
modern, progressive and innovative organisation. Whilst many
companies embracing Workplace 2.0™ realise the non-financial benefits
they set out to achieve, the potential negative impact on business
performance from an ill-considered implementation may be far greater
than the real estate costs saved.
As an example, a financial services company that piloted a
hot-desking strategy in order to substantiate an estimated $13 million
in rental savings per year, found that in the test group, savings of
$27,250 per annum were completely obliterated by staff turnover costs
of more than $1 million.2 Staff turnover in the group increased by a
staggering 83% and morale and satisfaction dropped significantly below
the company average. The lesson learned was that in this particular
instance “smaller working spaces and better utilisation of floor space
would potentially generate more savings than the hot-desking method.”
This example reinforces the need for organisations to clearly define their
objectives and to understand existing culture and workstyles.
Mobilising the Workplace in the War for Talent
In an international poll of senior human-resources managers last
year, three-quarters of them said that attracting and retaining talent
was their number one priority and over 60% said that they suffered a
company-wide talent shortage.3
Whilst remuneration is important, today’s younger recruits are
concerned about the image of the company, placing high emphasis on
job satisfaction, work/life balance and demanding greater flexibility in
where and when they work. Increasingly, younger workers choose
where they want to live and the lifestyle they want to lead, and then find
a job, rather than the other way around. As a recent report on the
globalisation of white collar work states; “no longer is off-shoring all
about moving jobs elsewhere; increasingly it is about sourcing talent
everywhere”.4 Flexible work practices can be an important strategy in
the war to attract knowledge worker talent.
Replacing staff is an expensive exercise for any business and while
the specific numbers will vary between markets and organisations, the
cost of replacing senior staff is likely to far outweigh the real estate
costs of housing them. By way of example, one Australian based firm
uses a ball park of 50% of annual salary as the cost of replacing staff
(this equates to $40,000–$50,000 as the cost of replacing a middle
ranking employee). The real estate related costs of accommodating this
same person are calculated as $4,000–$5,000 for the workstation, with
a further $6,000–$7,000 per annum to cover rental and other annual
real estate costs. For this company, the cost of replacing staff is
somewhere between five and six times the real estate cost of
accommodating them.
Providing Knowledge Workers with Choice and Control
Companies have found that increasing work location choice and
mobility helps increase staff satisfaction and productivity by
empowering people with the tools and authority to balance work and
personal demands in a way that suits their circumstances, without
compromising performance outcomes.
In most organisations few people (except sales) work away from
the office all of the time. What is much more common is for between 5%

28 • facilityperspec ti ves

and 40% of staff within organisations to work part of the time within the
office and part of the time travelling (or in other places such as clients’
offices, in other offices of the firm or working from home). According to
the London Business School, there are more than 4 million workers in
the UK and 9 million workers in Europe using mobile communication
technologies to work outside traditional offices – a number set to rise to
27 million by 2010.5 The percentages are probably similar for Australia,
particularly given our reputation as an early-adopter of new
technologies.
For these types of workers, choice and control can be provided in
two ways:
Flexible Working arrangements – Staff have more flexibility in
determining where and when they work, for example through shorter
working days, days spent working from home or flexitime where they
take time off in lieu of longer hours for certain periods. Greater flexibility
also enables people to juggle commitments such as supporting kids
after-school activities and communicating with colleagues in different
time zones. Some firms or job types require that these arrangements
adhere to a fixed schedule; others are more fluid and reactive to
changing demands.
Work Mobility – Staff are able to match their immediate work needs to
the environment, whether this is an appropriate space in an office, at
home, on the road, in a hotel or at a client site.
However, as many companies have discovered, mobile working is
not for all people and not for all organisations. Staff whose jobs may
theoretically enable them to work from home part time may not be able
to due to space constraints, infrastructure constraints (such as not
being able to access high speed broadband), or family constraints (such
as having young children or partners working from home). Too much
PLANNING + INFRASTRUCTURE
time away from the office can also reduce peoples’ connection to the
firm and to their co-workers. This may have the longer tern impact of
lessening loyalty and commitment. In one professional services firm in
the US, specialist senior staff were provided with the tools to work from
home up to four days per week. It later emerged that many had realised
once they were able to function relatively independently that their
sought-after skills and experience could also be valuable to competing
firms, and essentially these staff were “freelancing” on the side.
Supporting Collaborative Work
Most companies are looking for ways to improve the effectiveness
of their top talent, and as the McKinsey Quarterly reports6: “what makes
these workers valuable is their ability to work collaboratively, to leverage
‘relationship capital’, and to improvise and improve new solutions within
an environment that fosters trust and constant learning.” However,
ideas are not generated in a vacuum, they stem from interaction and
exploration between people and in line with this the percentage of an
individual’s work product that will depend on group input is increasing:
Gartner Dataquest suggests that individual work has decreased from
approximately 40% of effort in 2000 to around 30% today, and will
reduce to only 20% of time by 2010.
As individual work can increasingly be done from anywhere, work
done in the office is becoming increasingly more collaborative. The
office is becoming a hub for teams to build relationships and trust, for
people to develop social networks within the organisation and for the
corporate culture and values to be expressed through the environment,
behaviours and symbols. At the same time, individual workspace
requirements are diminishing, while group workspaces become the
larger portion of the work environment. Evidence suggests that the ratio
of individual to collaborative space is shifting from the traditional 80:20
to current practices of around 70:30, and we predict is likely to increase
further to 60:40 over the next five years.
Developing a Workplace 2.0™ Platform
It is critical that both the C-suite and the FM team are clear about
the desired business benefits and therefore the objectives of the
initiative. Only then is the strategy able to be mapped out, and the
specific elements that are required to implement it – such as
desk-sharing, mobile working, team-based desking, or flexible working
hours – able to be identified, tested, refined and managed.
Understanding How People Work
Most organisations recognise that flexible and mobile work
strategies can not be uniformly applied across their entire office-based
workforce. Staff surveys or observations can be useful in helping
organisations map the mobility and workstyle characteristics of
different job types. While the definitions (and the names used) vary
between organisations, three broad groups of staff can typically be
identified in terms of their relative mobility:
Time typically Typical staff:
Staff Workstyle
Classifications
Nature of activities spent at their Also known as workpoint
desk sharing ratios
Finance/Support/ Territorial /
Office-based >80% 1:1
Admin/ Processing Zoners
Partially office-
Client-facing 40%-60%
Roamers /
1.2-2 : 1
based Mobile
Based outside of Virtual / Road
Consulting, Sales <30% 2-10 : 1
office Warriors
Many clients have initially adopted a “softly, softly” approach to
introducing desk sharing, an approach found to be valuable in gaining
early buy-in and allowing people to get used to different ways of
working. Often this is in form of a “group addressing system” which
assists in retaining a sense of team identity, ownership of space and
reduces the uncertainty of a “free for all” system.
facilityperspec ti ves • 29
PLANNING + INFRASTRUCTURE
Integrating Supporting Technologies
Flexible arrangements are usually (but not always) associated with
greater personal mobility. This may be external to the primary office or
within the office environment. Mobility is supported by both hardware
and software communications and information technologies, and it is
not surprising that many of the early mobility pioneers were IT
companies such as Sun, Cisco, Nortel, IBM, HP and Agilent.
Case Study: Microsoft7
Microsoft, the global leader in software, enabled 30,000 of its
people with wireless devices at a variety of global locations. It piloted
the technology for 12 months and measured the impact on workstyle
and productivity. The results speak for themselves:
3 24% used the WLAN for more than 6 hours a day
3 93% used their computer in new locations
3 50% saved 0.5–1.5 hours per day due to their wireless connection
3 72% said they could work without a wired connection
3 88% were interested in purchasing wireless for use at home
Additional IT investments are often required to support integrated
workplace platforms. Without the appropriate investments in
information technology equipment and infrastructure, mobile working
can present challenges for co workers and managers, who can find it
difficult to rely on remote technology to access secure systems and
share documents, files, ideas and monitor/manage progress. While
training, education and transition management can assist with these
issues, for some companies the burden of substantial investment in
new technologies and ways of working and managing outweighs
marginal savings in real estate or improvements in productivity for
certain individuals.
Information security concerns have also prevented many
organisations in the past from adopting more mobile arrangements.
Some of these concerns relate to wireless network security, others to
the risks associated with making confidential data (such as personal
customer details) accessible outside the physical office network. These
issues are significant and have serious implications for organisation,
particularly in banking, insurance, accounting and legal sectors.
However IT security is constantly developing and some of these
concerns, while no less critical, are able to be addressed in many
environments or through adoption of other strategies such as thin-client
networks*.
Efficient Scheduling and Managing of Space
As the number of staff sharing workpoints increases, more attention
must be paid to systems for booking and reserving non assigned or
shared spaces. Most companies use a mix of formal and informal
booking systems, depending on the extent of mobility and sharing and
the procedures in place.
For example, some organisations manage hot desks on a “first
come, first serve” basis, particularly where the desks are co-located in
clusters around natural activity hubs such as breakout areas, cafes, lift
lobbies or meeting facilities. This system saves the costs of
implementing and integrating new software and supports an informal
and more spontaneous way of working. However, tracking and
optimising utilisation can be difficult through an informal system.
Formal scheduling systems are often incorporated as an extension
of meeting room booking practices and have evolved to include
floorplans, the ability to identify and select spaces based on particular
attributes and to request catering, services or equipment. Some
systems are also able to be linked with concierge systems to provide an
enhanced suite of support services for mobile or teleworking staff, such
as stationary and equipment ordering, printing services, travel
arrangements and catering. Organisations need to assess options
against cultural factors (does the organisation use online systems for
most of its regular work processes?), scalability and economies of
scale, integration with other systems for MAC (move, add, change) and
internal space charging.
30 • facilityperspec ti ves
Conclusion
There is a general recognition that while different strategies are
needed to address the requirements of individual organisations, many
are still at a relatively early stage of moving towards Workplace 2.0™.
The experience of those companies who have embarked on the road to
integrated workplace platforms tell us that it’s all about the journey, not
just about the physical workplace results. Some of the key tips that are
constantly cited for success include:
3 Blend the Workplace 2.0 platform with existing management and
workplace practices, technology strategies and human resource
policies – the work environment is a platform not a place
3 Prepare a robust business case and clear projections on the return
on investment
3 Get senior level buy-in and foster a culture where performance
matters more than presence
3 Know your staff and how they want to work
3 Ensure new environments are pilot tested before major program roll
outs
3 Train employees in how to use the new workplace and new
technologies
3 Continuously refine and improve the platform as technologies, staff
needs and operations evolve.
*Wikipedia: A thin client (sometimes also called a lean client) is a client computer or client
software in client-server architecture networks which depends primarily on the central server
for processing activities, and mainly focuses on conveying input and output between the user
and the remote server. In contrast, a thick or fat client does as much processing as possible
and passes only data for communications and storage to the server.
References
1 “Leap Into Future Space”, Fischer, Glenn quoting BOSTI. February-March 2000. Building
Interiors.
2 “Workspace not so Hot” BOSS Magazine, July 2004
3 “The Battle for Brainpower”, The Economist, 5 October 2006
4 The Globalisation of White-Collar Work – The facts and fallout of next-Generation off-
shoring”, Booz Allen Hamilton, 2006
5 London Business School, 2006.
6 “Competitive advantage from better interactions”, Scott C. Beardsley, Bradford C. Johnson,
and James M. Manyika. McKinsey Quarterly, 2006 Number 2.
7 www.unwired.co.uk case study
Caroline Burns
Caroline has fifteen years consulting
experience in corporate real estate and
workplace strategy for public and
private sector clients. Her background
in business management, land
economics and architecture enables
her to balance organisational and
financial needs when assessing
alternatives. Caroline is skilled in
analysing and responding to the
CAROLINE BURNS complex business issues faced by
organisations, often dealing with challenges such as post
merger/acquisition integration, re-structuring and growth
opportunities.
Caroline has been an active industry participant for many years,
and was the first female to be elected National Vice Chairman of
FMA Australia in 2000. She has presented at FMA Australia
ideaction and Corenet conferences and contributed to articles in
the Australian Financial Review, CFO Magazine, Sydney Morning
Herald, Business Review Weekly, FM Magazine, Business Sydney
and Commercial Property News.
Caroline is currently undertaking research for a PhD in economics
at Sydney University, analysing the impact of corporate real estate
on the competitive advantage of organisations.
fa• cil• i• ties [fe sil et ies] n. pl.
an establishment set up to fulfil a particular
function or provide a particular service.
ORIGIN early 16th cent. From French facilite,
or Latin facilitas.

man• age •ment [man ij ment] n.

the people in charge of running a company
or organisation, regarded collectively:
management was extremely cooperative.

: PROPERTY

: EXECUTIVE

: ARCHITECTURE

: CONSTRUCTION & CIVIL

: FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

: RESOURCES, MINING & POWER

: PROJECT MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT

For specialist recruitment expertise contact :
Adam Kelly on 0410 646 466 or
email adam@dmrecruitment.com.au
Marc Owen on 0434 989 810 or
email marc@dmrecruitment.com.au

www.dmgroup.com.au
FM ACTION AGENDA
FM Action Agenda reform
releases resources
BY STEPHEN BALLESTY – IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN FMA AUSTRALIA; DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FM ACTION AGENDA; MANAGING
DIRECTOR ADVISORY, RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL AND TONY STAVELEY – FM ACTION AGENDA RECOGNITION WORKING GROUP
CHAIRMAN FOR REGULATORY REFORM; DIRECTOR BALANCE CORPORATE PROPERTY.
he Facilities Management (FM) Action Agenda was
T established by the Department of Industry, Tourism &
Resources and produced its strategic plan entitled
‘Managing the Built Environment’ in 2005. The plan set out a
20 point action plan to improve the recognition of FM as a
contributor to a more productive and sustainable Built Environment
through improved innovation, education and regulatory reform. This
is being championed across four Recognition Working Groups;
Innovation, Education & Training, Regulatory Reform and
Sustainability.
The three-year implementation phase is well underway and has
made significant progress across a wide range of initiatives. This
article provides an insight into the activities of the Recognition
Working Group for Regulatory Reform chaired by Tony Staveley.
Government regulations, codes, standards and guidelines in
relation to essential the healthy and safe delivery, maintenance
and occupation of our Built Environment continue to evolve and
owners are required to reassess their obligations on an ever
increasing basis. With these increasing regulatory obligations and
variations generated across the three tiers of government in
Australia, it is amazing how our industry keeps up with it all – while
continuing to lead the way in innovative facility services solutions.
The streamlining of regulatory requirements, information sharing
and setting of national standards to achieve some national
legislative uniformity of compliance would release valuable FM
resources from administration tasks to focus on strategic issues
impacting on where society lives, works and plays.
Within the context of these challenges and opportunities the
FM Action Agenda’s Regulatory Reform Working Group (RRWG) has
developed a detailed understanding of the complex matrix of
regulatory requirements for each Australian State / Territory.
Specifically the RRWG are responsible for the following under the
2005 strategic plan entitled ‘FM Action Agenda: Managing the Built
Environment’:
Action 11 Promote awareness within the facilities management
industry of the regulatory requirements applying in
32 • facilityperspec ti ves
three selected areas (asbestos; emergency evacuation
plans; and cooling towers).
Action 12 Identify the regulatory requirements for a further five
identified areas (dangerous goods; fall prevention;
confined spaces; plant safety; electrical inspection and
testing and residual current devices).
Action 13 Promote conformity of regulatory requirements and
contribute to key areas of regulatory reform.
Integral to the RRWG’s strategy was the Trotman Report, which
was commissioned by the FM Action Agenda in 2004 to examine
the benefits, costs, and likely impact of regulatory simplification for
FM compliance for the eight selected issues, being:
3 Asbestos
3 Emergency evacuation plans
3 Cooling towers / Legionella
3 Dangerous goods
3 Fall prevention
3 Confined spaces
3 Plant safety
3 Electrical inspection, testing and residual current devices
The RRWG’s immediate focus has been on improving and
augmenting the selected issues into a concise National Protocol
recommendation that is consistent with State legislations, in order
to promote regulatory uniformity.
The RRWG also identified the area of access for persons with
disabilities as the largest single issue of regulatory compliance
affecting managers, owners, planners and practitioners. In 2006
the FM Action Agenda Implementation Board endorsed the inclusion
of equality of access as a ninth regulatory reform focus area, and a
Project Delivery Team was formed to deal with this area.
The legislative framework of Australia is at the best of times
complex, with the States and Territories seeking to maintain their
provincial concerns within a national framework. To attempt to
unilaterally bring about a single set of applicable regulations would
be near impossible within the short to medium term. The last thing
that industry wants is to be drawn into protracted negotiation
between the different imperatives of the States, and therefore the
focus of the RRWG has been on identifying the differences and
making them known.
Across industries the current trend appears to favour uniform
legislation in relation to matters of national importance. The Council
of Australian Governments (COAG) is the peak intergovernmental
forum in Australia and supports this view and the imperative to
simplify the compliance process. The advantage of uniform
legislation is obvious - people and industries affected by legislation,
and those who advise on it would no longer need to be familiar with
seven different variations on Acts and regulations in order to
conduct their business or advise their clients. This is of course
before even considering regulatory requirements that are enforced
at a local government level.
Industry and the businesses that are engaged in the
management of the built environment do not want to bear the
 FM ACTION AGENDA
increasing burden of compliance controls that vary from state to Having a centralised portal of compliance information maintained
state, and local government area to local government area. The by those who should be most motivated by it needs to be adopted.
industry charged with the management of the Built Environment A great deal of legislation does not distinguish between
needs uniformity and simplicity to create an easier understanding building owner, occupier or manager in terms of responsibility and
and accessibility of requirements and their obligations in applying accountability, and we contend that access to this information is
them. currently excessively difficult to access as competing interests vie
The Australian property market is growing in its spheres of for control of the information. It is in the interest of all who access
influence nationality and internationality: put simply, more the built environment to have ready access to legislation without
businesses that manage the Built Environment on behalf of the the imposition of or need for the acquisition of costly publications.
occupiers of space who ultimately foot the compliance bill, are We have considered that the only way to ensure the evolution
carrying out that management on a national basis. To do this of uniformity in the controls, legislation and regulation involved in
effectively and economically however, uniformity of regulation is Managing the Built Environment is by a commitment from industry
necessary. and government to allow updated legislative changes and
The RRWG’s initial focus has been on the completion of Action standards to be communicated to Built Environment stakeholders
11 – Promote awareness within the FM industry of the regulatory through a common portal.
requirements applying to: The next few months will see the release of a framework for
1. Asbestos delivery of the FM Action Agenda’s strategy for Regulatory Reform.
2. Emergency evacuation plans This will at its heart be focused on streamlining of key compliance
3. Cooling towers areas to achieve harmonisation of regulatory requirements,
The task of the RRWG is not to rewrite legislation, rather our information sharing and setting of national standards. This will in
work to date has concentrated on: turn release valuable FM resources from administration tasks to
3 Obtaining legislation and regulations for the Action items across focus on value adding strategic issues impacting on the ‘Managing
all layers of government, together with referencing Standards the Built Environment’ for the benefit of industry stakeholders, the
Australia, the Australian Building Codes Board’s Building Codes national economy and ultimately the community.
of Australia (BCA) and other industry bodies. The Facility Management Association of Australia would seem
3 Assessing the appropriateness of regulations an obvious champion and long term custodian for this initiative.
3 Recommending a uniform national minimum standard
3 Devising an effective yet simple mechanism to make
regulations readily accessible
3 Devising a simple process to keep a centralised data base of
regulations up to date
The RRWG have focussed on the adoption of a recommended
framework of minimum standards, and have established that
minimum appropriate standard based on reviewing the
commonality of existing regulations across all tiers of government.
THE RRWG considers that any existing national standard should be
the base of all legislation and therefore need to assess if this base
could be enhanced by, or is in conflict with, other existing
regulation. As we go through each area of legislation we have
referenced it to enable it to be readily accessible online.
To simply set about compiling a list of legislation would not
answer the needs of industry. Clarity of requirements and reporting
processes is required to enable an ease of understanding that does
not need complex interpretation to attain a maximum degree of
understanding. It is similarly important that occupiers and users of
the built environment are able to readily understand areas of
specific risk.
Maintaining regulatory simplicity and currency will allow STEPHEN BALLESTY TONY STAVELEY
evolution into a uniform set of industry Acts and Regulations.

Your career can benefit from a formal qualification in Facilities Management

fmedge offers nationally recognised training specifically tailored Are you interested in gaining an FM edge?
to the needs of practicing facilities managers and those seeking If so, the Diploma of Property Asset and
to gain an edge as they enter the industry. Benefits of studying Facilities Management (PRD50504) will deliver.
with fmedge include flexibility and a fully interactive
Contact us today to find out more.
learning environment.
The fmedge programme is
delivered on-line, using latest Level 8, 350 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
technologies, and presents T: 03 8605 4844 E: info@fmedge.com.au
industry current best practice. www.fmedge.com.au

facilityperspec ti ves • 33
FM EVENTS
FM Innovations celebrate
a milestone
When FM Innovations (FMI) held a celebratory party at the Melbourne
Aquarium recently, it didn’t just mark a significant milestone for the
company, it marked three key milestones for Facilities and Property
management software in Australia.
ncredibly, FM Innovations’ two directors
I started in a tiny corner of a shared office in
Melbourne’s Queen Street, where they
borrowed a desk and a computer.
A key decision however, saw them purchase
the sole Australian distributorship of US based
Aperture software.
Aperture was, and remains, one of the
world’s best systems for space management,
which dozens of organisations around Australia
now use thanks to FM Innovations.
Said FMI Director Kris Greenwood, “While we
had already done extensive research into the
market potential, the research itself had been a
34 • facilityperspec ti ves
considerable investment and as a result we
knew we were in for a challenge to gain
acceptance in the market quickly.”
The first to invest in the space management
solution that Aperture provided was Argyle
Diamonds in Perth in 1997, closely followed by
(then) Maddock Lonie & Chisholm (now
Maddocks Solicitors).
The solution soon found a ready market in
the tertiary education sector with several TAFE
institutions welcoming the product’s
functionality and features, and these were
quickly followed by DNRE (Forestry Victoria),
the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and The
Australian Wheat Board.
As a result of their rapidly expanding
market, FM Innovations moved out of their
corner of the office and employed staff to assist
in servicing their clients. They also began to
develop and introduce their second milestone
contribution to facility and property
management, WSMenterprise.
WSMenterprise is FM Innovation’s own
proprietary system and as the name suggests,
the solution provides a flexible and effective
operational, infrastructure, and asset
management tool. Adaptable and modular,
WSMenterprise enables all aspects of managing
facilities and the leveraging of those assets
such as space, works, assets, leases, contracts
and more.
All the components of WSM work
seamlessly together as a complete functional
unit, or as individual stand-alone entities,
providing many different users such as
managers, operations teams, contractors and
suppliers with the information they need to
make better business decisions.
WSMenterprise complemented the existing
Aperture space management solution to provide
a more comprehensive suite of solutions to
clients such as Siemens, Swinburne University,
DIIRD (Department of Innovation, Industry and
Regional Development), NSW Health, Rio Tinto,

DPI (Department of Primary Industries, Victoria),
CB Richard Ellis, and others.
The true testimony however, is provided by
the people Kris Greenwood calls her
‘campaigners’. “Campaigners are the people
who purchase our products and services and
then move to different companies. They
continue to either purchase our products, or
campaign on our behalf,” said Kris.
Five years ago, FM Innovations moved into
their current office and commenced work on
their latest milestone which is set to
revolutionise how software is created, specified
and customised in this industry.
In doing so, FM Innovations take facility and
property management objectives, develop
quantifiable key performance indicators around
them and customise their software system to
measurably assist organisations in achieving
those objectives.
FM Innovation’s consulting applies unique
diagnostics to a client’s current systems, plots
their requirements and objectives, and design
the modules and interfaces to provide exactly
the systems infrastructure needed.
The steps taken in the diagnostic process
are:
Discovery: A meeting with each major
decision maker identifies and assists in
establishing their key needs. FM Innovations
develop a Project Team of key staff within both
companies to oversee the whole project.
Diagnostics: The second step is a
workshop that identifies the currently planned
corporate and FM objectives and the objectives
likely to contribute to those plans. Based around
FM EVENTS
Previous page: Networking in progress.
Left Top: Benita Husband – Connell Wagner; Ian Brookman-EES Milton Cations Property Dynamics.
Top Right: Top Cantwell – DLA Phillips Fox & David Craven-Green Building Commission
Middle Left: Jim Black and Trish Ferrier – Victorian Legal Aid.
Middle Centre: Tony Cunsolo – Cunsolo Architects and Peter Kavan – Facilities Architecture
Middle Right: Kris Greenwood – FM Innovations and Ken Jarrot – NAB.
Below: Celebrating Crowd
a process developed in Harvard University, FM new enterprise-wide integrated environment
Innovations add critical FM objectives that provided by the software solution.
support the original model, and one that will The result of this unique process is that
optimise the client’s investment in technology generally within 6 months, a client’s corporate
and software. and FM objectives are clearly being measured,
Design: FM Innovations then design the and met. The success of the process has been
system, its installation and the training required applauded by clients, and FM Innovations is
to meet or exceed the specifications the team currently working on entirely new project
developed from the diagnostics workshop, deliverables, including a major focus on
including all aspects of the software. Where environmental sustainability and data centre
possible, the design is fully costed at this stage management systems.
to assist the client in planning for project “We always strive to offer the market and
milestones. our clients the best solutions that technology
Delivery: System delivery is rolled out and software can provide,” said Kris, and with
according to established project milestones and this sort of ethos, we can only wish FM
staff are assisted in making the transition to the Innovations and its directors all success.
facilityperspec ti ves • 35
FM EVENTS

Tungsten’s new milestone

BY FACILITY PERSPECTIVES’ MAX WINTER

The Tungsten Group’s growth over the years from management buy-out in the last
decade through to its expansion and its recent acquisition by Programmed
Maintenance Services has been nothing short of hyperbolic.
So when Tungsten announced they had reached a new milestone, Facility
Perspectives was there to report on the findings.

aving braved the wintry and wet

H Melbourne weather, ‘The Point’ on

the banks of Albert Park Lake
presented a warm and inviting
venue to enjoy some networking, have a drink
and to learn of Tungsten’s achievements.
Tungsten CEO Steve Taylor looked relaxed
and pleased as he welcomed the guests and
introduced them to Tungsten’s journey,
Tungsten’s philosophy, and Tungsten’s
business model in outlining their plans to
move forward.
Steve reminded his guests that Tungsten’s
beginnings were to be found in international
service companies Serco and Symonds (later
to become Tungsten Group).
The Tungsten approach has always been
about developing open and collaborative
relationships with their clients, and this
approach has served them well in aligning
their services to the business needs of their
clients.
Key to this has been their disciplined
approach in developing robust management
systems such as i-manage, Tungsten’s
integrated operational management system
that integrates the essential assurance and
management components such as health,
safety, risk, and environmental. The
management systems guides the development
and operation of each contract and the
business as a whole, allowing them to
effectively implement change from the design
stage through the transition and into dynamic
contract arrangements.
While Tungsten was experiencing their
considerable growth, Programmed
Maintenance Services Limited acquired a
number of contracts from Serco in 2004, which
were branded Infraserv. In 2005 Programmed
Maintenance Services acquired the Tungsten
Group, and in 2007, these businesses merged
together with elements of Programmed
Maintenance Services Building Services to
form the new Tungsten – business advisers
and operational managers.
Operating in facilities management,
infrastructure management, assurance
services and consultancy services, the
following is a break down of Tungsten’s
services.
Consultancy Services
The range of consultancy services that
Tungsten offers includes:
3 Assisting customers to set the strategic
direction of their FM to fully align with their
overall business strategy through the
development of effective and appropriate
FM strategies.
3 Assisting customers to implement their FM
strategy. For example, through the
provision of FM procurement support.
3 Advising customers on the extent to which
their FM provision offers value for money
through benchmarking techniques.
3 Advising customers on the quality of their
FM through operational audits using their
proprietary ‘RiskTraK tool.
3 Informing customers’ asset procurement,
refurbishment and disposal programs
through the life cycle modelling of their
built and fixed assets.
3 Providing a professional resource for the
management of projects such as office
relocations and building works.
3 Providing Interim management support
within customer organisations. For
example, to drive contract mobilisation or
change management.
Their team of consultants are experienced
FM experts, both in Australia and overseas.
Their experience has been accrued within
public and private sector organisations, service
providers and other consultancies. The range
and depth of this experience offers us a truly
360 degree view of the FM industry.
This experience informs their approach to
the delivery of consultancy services to their
customers. Tungsten’s objective is to empower
and enable their customers to make informed
decisions about their FM provision going
forward.
Infrastructure Management
Tungsten has extensive experience in the
asset management and maintenance of water
utilities, power generation sites, educational
facilities, correctional facilities, local
government infrastructure, public housing and
industrial manufacturing sites.
The following list of services indicates the
depth of their service delivery capability in this
area:
3 Maintenance and asset management of
public utilities, civil infrastructure, above
and below-ground assets, open space and
industrial services
3 Building maintenance services (including
plumbing, technical and electrical
services)

36 • facilityperspec ti ves
 FM EVENTS
3 Building condition surveys and audits
3 Essential services compliance
3 Fire and security system maintenance
3 Contractual and operational compliance
3 Supplier and contractor management
3 Inventory management and store control,
including calibration services
3 Preventative, corrective and reactive asset
maintenance
3 Reliability-centred maintenance and
predictive maintenance
3 Vendor and contract management
3 Capital works and project management
3 Waste management and cleansing
3 Catering and food services
3 Civil works
3 Energy and water management
3 Traffic management
3 Customer service centres and 24/7 call
centres
3 Emergency planning and response
coordination centres
3 Provision of specialist trade and field
maintenance services
Through this broad range of capabilities,
tungsten can assess, design, implement and
operate an integrated infrastructure where their teams become the eyes and ears mechanical and electrical services)
management solution to meet the needs of of the infrastructure environment, constantly 3 Asset compliance and management
customers and their operating environments. looking for, monitoring and addressing the 3 Essential Service compliance
potential risks that have been identified on- 3 Catering and food services
Assurance Services site. Tungsten centralise the utilisation, control 3 Capital works and project management
Assurance services involves a proactive and coordination of their resources, leading to 3 Help desk /call centres
and preventative management approach to further benefits beyond integration and multi- 3 Porterage and cleaning
ensure the continuous operation of skilling. 3 Energy and waste management
infrastructure through asset protection and 3 Grounds and garden maintenance
the provision of secure, safe and healthy work Facilities Management 3 Information technology systems
environments. Facilities Management is the management 3 Reception services
In delivering assurances services of business support activities within the built 3 Mailroom services
Tungsten provide: environment. This contributes to the delivery 3 Sustainability initiatives – for example,
3 Integrated protective & emergency of strategic and operational objectives of the green rating assessments
services (security, first aid, fire, industrial business and provides a safe and efficient 3 OH&S reviews and safety management
rescue/recovery) working environment for people, which is With the suite of tailored services offered,
3 Fire systems maintenance essential to the performance off any business. Tungsten are now truly integrated service
3 Workplace health assessments Tungsten has over twenty years of solution providers, and whether this is a logical
3 Drug and Alcohol testing facilities management experience, and the progression that answers a market need, or an
3 Workplace safety and emergency training following list of services indicate the depth of innovative step that will set industry trends, I
3 Emergency planning and incident Tungsten’s service delivery capability in this suspect Tungsten, and Steve Taylor and crew
response coordination area: will remain firmly at the forefront of this
Tungsten’s approach is one of prevention, 3 Building maintenance (including plumbing exciting industry.

facilities management specialists in facilities management &

infrastructure solutions for all commercial,
infrastructure management
industrial & critical environments.
Contact us to find out more ...
assurance services
Level 1 5 100 Dorcas Street 5 South Melbourne 5 Victoria 3205
consulting services ph: 61 3 9686 4999 fx: 61 3 9686 7999 web: www.tungstengroup.com

facilityperspec ti ves • 37
 FM EVENTS

Security & Emergency

Risk Management
SIG Event
The FMA Australia NSW Branch
Security & Emergency Risk
Management Special Interest Group
held its first event in Sydney
recently, and Facility Perspectives
Sydney correspondent Marie
Giessler was on hand to file
this report. continues page 41

facilityperspec ti ves • 39
 strong
affordable
low-maintenance
contemporary

Security Solutions with Style

• Handles & easy-grip levers.
• Bolts, door viewers & hydraulic door closers.
• Alcom 5000 & 5100 Mortice Locks with
high fire rating.
• Built for strength & flexibility.
• Designed to suit both commercial
& residential applications.
• Low-maintenance Satin Stainless Steel
or Polished Stainless Steel finishes.
• Easily fitted & applied.
• Architectural finish to any installation.
• Combines easily with SCEC endorsed BiLock
cylinders to provide high security with style!

www.bilock.net
Premium affordable security solutions

17 Doyle Avenue, Unanderra NSW 2526 Australia

PO Box 479 Unanderra NSW 2526 Australia
Ph 61 (0)2 4272 4922 • Fax 61 (0)2 4272 4677
E sales@bilock.net • W www.alcom5000.com & www.bilock.net

Preparing Your Venue for APEC – Strategies for Securing
Your Business
With the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on the
horizon for the 7th September this year, and the potential threat of
terrorism and disruption to business a possible outcome for some
venue operators, the Facility Management Association of Australia NSW
Branch invited Melbourne Security Professional, Dean Marks to speak
about his security experience in relation to risk management and to
address security concerns of importance for the Sydney venue
managers over the APEC period. The event was organised by Ian Craven,
Chief Engineer for Quay West Sydney, the host venue for the event, and
was introduced by former NSW Branch Chair Janet Wilson.
Dean Marks is the Security Manager for the Grand Hyatt in
Melbourne, the principal venue for the recent G20 Summit and
secondary meeting venue for World Economic Forum 2000, and has a
background of over 25 years in the Corporate Security Industry. Dean,
along with Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police, the Attorney
General’s Department and Treasury, was responsible for developing and
implementing the highly successful crisis management strategy for all
the security operations for the Grand Hyatt during the G20 Conference,
arguably one of the nation’s most complex security management and
logistical operations for a single venue this year.
In considering events like the forthcoming APEC, Dean Mark’s
address emphasised the importance of recognizing that, due to the
safety considerations of all involved, police would most likely not be
prepared to share information about what and where events were to be
staged until the very last moment because of their need to protect
confidential and sensitive security plans. Given the likelihood of this, he
advised that venue security operators had to plan in advance how to
negotiate with police in reducing the security risks to staff, customers
and their business.
The first step in the strategy he proposed, was to meet with all
security agencies that would be operating around the event such as
State and Federal Police, the Attorney General’s department and relevant
authorities to establish and develop trust with these agency heads. This
could be achieved through the development of a thorough and
comprehensive intelligence product for the venue, and would assist in
building agency confidence in the ability, skills and confidentiality of the
Venue Management team and the underlying Security and Safety
procedures. Having earned this respect, Police Agencies will then be
more open to involving the venue team in the dissemination of relevant
information regarding pertinent areas of their security plans and how
they may be likely to affect the venue. He insisted that this level of trust
must exist in order for the venue security manager to be given the
relevant knowledge of APEC planning in relation to their venue or nearby
environs that may directly affect them.
Dean Marks urged all venue operators to immediately start the
development of a security intelligence product for their venue that
FM EVENTS
would lead into an effective crisis management program. Key venue
staff (Senior Management) from across all areas of the venue would
form the core team. Their initial and ongoing input for venue information
would be the source of data for coordinating operations up to, during
and post the event. This group of people would work together as a team,
meet frequently, discuss openly and share information. Establishing
trust between members would be an absolutely essential component of
team dynamics, as would the strict confidentiality of the content of the
discussions. To this end all parties would be potentially subjected to
stringent security checks. People working at the venue and coming to
the venue such as suppliers and contractors during the actual APEC
event would need to be identified and if possible a secure pass system
developed to assist in ready identification.
Where it was necessary to employ additional security staff, it was
important that these agencies also guarantee in writing the
qualifications, security licensing and background of the personnel
working on site. He advised that it was not uncommon for contract
security providers to sub contract the work out to other security
providers as they may not have the staff employed to perform the
function. Where this occurs, the contracted company would be required
to disclose any subcontract employees or arrangements, since each
step further removed, were less likely to be able to offer secure services
than those who used personnel that were well known to them. “You are
paying them to protect your property and staff, it is not unreasonable to
expect that they provide what they promise. You must be able to trust
the provider to do the job”. These agencies should be able to produce
public liability cover for $10 million, professional indemnity for $5
million, a valid workcover insurance certificate and a copy of their
Security Firm Licence. It would also be expected they would be willing to
sign a Service Level Agreement covering the service they will provide at
your venue and what they agree they will do under that agreement.
Mr Marks insisted that success would rely on the establishment of a
collaborative team approach, the quality of information used and the
level of trust established between venue team members and their
support groups. He outlined in detail all aspects of business that were
likely to be impacted by a security crisis. Data would be drawn from
Security, Administration, Human Resources, Public Relations,
Emergency Services, Finance, Suppliers and Contractors. This pooled
information would then be analysed and effective strategies and
operational plans developed to deal with the all contingencies that might
arise over the APEC period.
The creation of a plan where all staff members gave their input, was
a critical learning exercise that provided the opportunity to set
collaborative team processes in place in advance, to ensure the smooth
operations of the business, whatever adverse contingencies might
occur. A post event bonus was that this thinking would help for
smoother operations and better business later on.
Mr Marks said that once the APEC venues and programs are
facilityperspec ti ves • 41
FM EVENTS
announced it was important for the venue security team to identify
where their building was in relation to the event and then work out what
were the likely perceived security threats. He mentioned three main
zones of security risk:
T1: VIP – high security (police will already be doing background
checks on venues in this category). There will be a lockdown in these
zones with restricted pedestrian, parking and traffic access.
T2: Secondary Zone – these sites are on a motorcades route or
close to the VIP site
T3: Tertiary Zone – these sites are one set further out from T2
He warned operators that being outside the high security lockdown
areas was in many ways more of a risk than being inside, as the key
motives of would be protestors was to draw international media
attention to the interference they can cause to the event. In terms of
gaining media attention, the damage is reported as a success to those
wishing to cause the disruption.
He urged operators to think about how a subversive might think
about how to disrupt the event; what would it take to get media
attention; and as venue operators, what did they know of people who
were likely to be subversive? He asked them to consider where the
relationships were and what meetings might be occurring that might be
prejudicial to their organisation? Also, determine what is the venue’s
likely demographic for the event?
From an operational perspective Mr Marks advised that where
possible, all aspects of venue operational maintenance be undertaken in
advance so that there is no requirement for these to occur over the
period of the event. This included checks and services to all mechanical,
electrical and electronic equipment including backups and off site
storage for all electronic data. Contingencies should be in place should
the power grid be disrupted. An electronic copy of the venue plans and
key passwords for electronic operations should be carried with the
security manager at all times during hours of operation. Plans for egress
and access to the site should be determined for a range of
contingencies. This included emergency evacuation procedures for
bomb and fire threats. Security CCTV and scanning systems should be
deemed effective for all areas.
On a staff and supplier level, individuals that hold consistently
subversive views need to be identified and requirement to be onsite
during the APEC period reviewed.
From a legal perspective, loss to revenue from likely successful
compensation claims from dissatisfied members of the public, clients,
suppliers, other nearby businesses and/or staff who may be adversely
affected through operating the venue business need to be evaluated
and managed.
From an operational perspective:
3 Consider the likelihood that a function might not be able to be held
because of a security crisis, and that guests might be locked out or
in for an extended period.
3 There may be restricted access to the site and suppliers and staff
can’t get in.
3 Parents of young banquet staff may prevent them from going to
work because of a lockdown or fear for their safety.
3 During a lockdown, contingency measures such as transportation of
staff to the venue can be organised by staff on phone standby,
where directions are given to meet at a central destination (such as
a railway station) to be bussed into the venue all together.
Contingency planning is crucial to an effective outcome.
If the venue does experience difficulties over the APEC period and
clients can’t attend or may go elsewhere over the period, have a plan to
re establish patronage. This may include writing to them, or inviting
them to a dinner or exciting function, to welcome them back to the
venue. From a public relations perspective, a crisis media plan needs to
be developed with prepared media releases on hand to distribute to
trusted members of the press whose contact numbers are known.
Identify who will be the spokesperson to the media and let all staff
know.
In conclusion Mr Marks said “A well prepared intelligence product
will greatly enhance business continuity and assist with effective crisis
management over the APEC period and remember safety of people
before profit. Your strength and future business success lies in
fostering good relationships with the public.”
The event was lauded as a success by those who attended, and the
FMA Australia NSW Branch Security & Emergency Risk Management
Special Interest Group look forward to developing further events of
interest in the future.
About Marie Geissler and
Geissler Communications
Marie Geissler BSc, MPRIA, is director
of Geissler Communications. Her
expertise includes corporate,
community, government, media and
crisis communications, the
development of sponsorship
programs, exhibitions and the writing
of media releases, speeches, articles,
marketing materials and books.
MARIE GEISSLER Through her long association and
involvement with the art world and Craft Arts International, Marie
offers an art consultancy service to organisations, government and
business. Geissler Communications is a member of the Public
Relations Institute of Australia, the Foreign Correspondents
Association, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, The
Australian Academy of Design, The International Special Events
Association, The Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance. Tel 02
9380 5510 or email marie@geissler.com.au

Target ABGR Rating

9 ABGR + Green Star reporting
    
9 CO2 emission reports Current
9 rking + Forecasting
Benchmarking    
9 7VKNKV[DKNNXGTKſECVKQP EOY Forecast

9 Monitor Energy + Water + Gas    

9 BAS + BMS connectivity Tenants 9 Scrolling display

9 Thin client web access HVAC 9 Unlimited user access

9 gs
Scalable from small buildings 9 Energy optimisation
to the enterprise level 9 Flexible user authentication
9 Deep historical archive Lighting

For more information visit www.alerton.com.au

Melbourne ‹S ydney ‹C anberra ‹A delaide ‹P erth ‹B risbane ‹H obart

42 • facilityperspec ti ves
PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Avoid, Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle

The success of Sydney Water’s Every Drop Counts (EDC) Business Program
demonstrates why monitoring is the best place to start your water savings
success story. Wendy Hird reports.

void, reduce, reuse, recycle. While most facility managers are familiar with this water

A conservation advice, what some tend to forget is that the words are listed in order of priority,
environmental effectiveness, and costs. Best practice is achieved through first avoiding
using water by using different practices or products, then reducing it by operating more
efficiently. Thirdly, reusing water from other processes if possible, and then exploring opportunities
for recycling.
The Every Drop Counts Business Program has shown just how effective this approach can be. The
program’s 360 business customers are collectively saving more than 10.3 billion litres of water a
year. Savings are largely attributable to increased water efficiency in business processes, and
reduced wastage.
It’s easy to get enthusiastic about installing a big rainwater tank, or starting up a stormwater
reuse project. It’s not always so easy to get someone to read the water meter weekly, type the data
into a spreadsheet and put together a graph so everyone can see what’s happening to water
consumption.

44 • facilityperspec ti ves

However, as the EDC Business Program has demonstrated, regular
meter readings will probably save you more water at a lower cost than
almost any other option.
If done well, good maintenance practices are almost invisible –
because it means good water management has become embedded in
your day-to-day facility management.
Everyone loves big water saving projects involving rainwater tanks,
sewer mining or greywater diversion devices. They sound interesting,
create great staff enthusiasm, and are visual evidence that you are
taking water conservation seriously. While worthwhile, they can also
have long payback periods, throw up unexpected technical challenges,
and take a lot longer than expected to implement.
This does not mean that businesses should stop installing rainwater
tanks, or stop thinking about reuse opportunities.
Done well, they are a great way to reduce water consumption,
improve the local environment, and give you a restrictions-free source
of water. They just shouldn’t be the first things you do. When planning
water conservation projects, always keep the mantra of “Avoid, reduce,
reuse, recycle” in mind. It will help you put cost effective savings in
place and improve the usefulness of your rainwater capture or reuse
projects.
Avoid
Fixing leaking taps, toilets and urinals will give you big water
savings at minimal costs. Encourage cleaning and maintenance staff to
report leaks as soon as they appear, and make sure they know who to
report leaks to. It’s easy to ignore a leak if you don’t know who to tell.
Make sure your cooling tower contractor reports any leaks discovered
during monthly maintenance.
Put a sub-meter on important water supply lines so that regular
monitoring can reveal if leaks are occurring in any part of your building.
Cut out unnecessary and wasteful practices like hosing down
outside surfaces. Use non-water alternatives such as sweeping.
Reduce
You can dramatically cut your water bills by installing low flow
shower heads or restrictors, reduced flow basin taps and half flush
toilets. Cut the amount of water needed to flush urinals by checking
sensor operation and location.
Reuse
Once you improve water efficiency, reuse and recycling systems
can become more cost effective because you won’t waste money on
over-sized systems.
You can reuse condensate in cooling systems. Rainwater tanks
provide relatively clean water that may be used for toilet and urinal
flushing, in cooling towers, and for a range of other purposes.
Recycle
Lightly contaminated greywater collected from showers and basins
can be used for sub-surface irrigation of sporting fields or gardens. The
PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
SEVEN STEPS TO BETTER WATER MANAGEMENT
The EDC Business Program’s seven point plan for water
conservation gives you guidance on how to get the best results for
your water saving project.
1. Seek commitment and leadership from building and
facility owners
You need commitment and leadership from the building and
facility owner, and from the facility operator’s management team.
To achieve real results management must take the lead in water
conservation and set an example for their employees. You need to
encourage changes in processes and in behavior to achieve
sustainable water savings.
2. Appoint a water conservation manager
Organisations that appoint a person to manage water
conservation achieve better results than those that don’t. A person
needs to have the dedicated responsibility for water conservation
although it does not need to be their sole task.
3. Understand your systems to determine where water
is used in your facilities
Determine where and how water is used within your business.
Carry out an audit of water use, develop a water balance and
identify the opportunities for water savings.
Identify and quantify the hidden costs of water – they will
almost always be higher than your metered water charges.
Businesses pay wastewater charges, and these costs will fall if
you save water. Saving water can also cut electricity, gas, labor and
chemical treatment costs.
Big savings can be made if greater efficiency lets you
decommission equipment like surplus cooling towers.
4. Set a realistic conservation goal
It is important to have realistic conservation targets so that
everyone has an incentive to measure water savings. Sydney
Water has found that businesses that conduct a water audit can
typically identify savings targets of 20 per cent or more.
Another way of setting a target is to establish water use key
performance indicators, such as kilolitres of water used per square
meter of office space annually, or litres of water per employee. This
is also a good way of comparing water efficiency at different
facilities.
5. Develop a conservation strategy
A conservation strategy needs to use the following principles:
3 Avoid
3 Reduce
3 Reuse
3 Recycle
6. Involve your employees or tenants
Behavioral change is essential to achieve sustainable water
savings. Increase water conservation awareness through signage,
newsletters and posters.
Ask staff for their water saving suggestions, and their ideas for
overcoming obstacles to improved water efficiency. Ensure
everyone knows how to report leaks and wastage.
7. Think laterally
Some of the simplest ideas may be the most cost effective.
Water conservation is not just about large-scale technical
solutions. Small changes to operations and behavior can make a
big difference.
facilityperspec ti ves • 45
PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
costs and complexity of water treatment will depend upon the sources
and exact uses of your greywater.
Stormwater can also be collected from hard surfaces, treated and
reused. Again, the cost of such systems depends on how clean your
catchments are, and what you want to use the water for.
More complicated and costly systems recycle kitchen waste water
and sewage (sometimes called black water). These systems should
only be installed if you are committed to water reuse, are prepared to
manage the risks, and have the funds to install and maintain complex
treatment systems.
If you are keen to pursue large scale reuse and recycling projects,
it’s important to remember that improving your water efficiency first will
make subsequent projects much easier to implement.
You will have proven successes in water conservation when seeking
funding, and will reduce the technical obstacles for future projects.
For example, if you want to use rainwater for toilet flushing, but
your toilets and urinals are continually leaking, you will need to
dramatically oversize your rainwater collection system to meet the
apparent need. Cutting waste first will make it easier and cheaper to
meet the real demand with rainwater.
It’s so much easier to cut water use with better maintenance
practices than with more complex and costly reuse and recycling
options – it’s just sometimes harder to demonstrate your successes
with a publicity photo.
On the other hand, a bright graph developed from all those weeks of
meter readings, showing an unmistakeable reduction in water
consumption can be incredibly satisfying and a very effective
communication tool.
You can’t manage what you can’t measure
Monitoring your water use means more than keeping a close eye on
water bills. Even if you get monthly water bills, you can still have an
undetected leak for four weeks. To really understand what’s happening
to your water use, you need to regularly monitor it.
The most efficient way to do this is through a Building Management
System (BMS) with online monitoring. Consolidating water, electricity
and gas use into a single real-time system allows you access to current
use and historical trends at the touch of a button.
Modern continuous monitoring systems will send SMS or email
46 • facilityperspec ti ves
alerts if water use exceeds a pre-determined level – meaning you can
immediately identify and fix leaks.
If your facility doesn’t have these systems, and you don’t have the
funds to install one, don’t despair.
Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre doesn’t have an online
monitoring system, so the centre’s security guards record meter
readings four times a day. This has allowed daily tracking of water use
and identification of any base flows through the centre at night when
shops are closed.
Whatever system you use, it is vital that you regularly review your
data so you know what it’s telling you.
The importance of facility managers
Facilities managers are in a prime position to reduce water use.
They know their facilities better than anyone, and have the expert
knowledge to assess and implement technical projects.
Facility owners can achieve water savings by boosting maintenance
budgets to allow pro-active maintenance, and realising the savings that
come from preventing leaks and wastage.
Every Drop Counts
Sydney Water’s EDC Business Program works with large water using
businesses to help them get the most out of the water they buy.
Water efficiency audits undertaken by the program have identified
that on average, customers can cut water use by 30 per cent through
measures that have a payback of two years or less.
The program has produced a range of best practice guidelines and
fact sheets on a range of technical water saving subjects.
This information can help you implement better maintenance
practices, and identify more water saving opportunities.
You can find information at
www.sydneywater.com.au/SavingWater/InYourBusiness/
FactSheets.cfm
If your business is located within Sydney Water’s area of operations
and you want to find out how the EDC Business Program can save your
business money and water, email the team on
EDCBusiness@sydneywater.com.au A project officer will contact you
and discuss ways the program can work with you to save water.
WENDY HIRD IS A PROJECT OFFICER IN THE EVERY DROP
COUNTS BUSINESS PROGRAM.
About our contributor
Sydney Water is a government-owned
corporation and is Australia’s largest
water utility. It provides drinking water,
recycled water, wastewater services
and some stormwater services to
more than four million people in
Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue
Mountains.
Sydney Water’s Every Drop Counts
(EDC) business program works with
WENDY HIRD Sydney’s biggest water users to help
them cut water use and operating costs. The EDC program
promotes improved management practices and advises customers
on technical water saving issues. Today, the program has 369
customers who use water in over 1900 properties. Since 2001, the
program has saved 11,500ML of water. In 2006, the program won
the 2006 Stockholm Industry Water Award and the Eco Innovation
category of the Banksia Awards.
Wendy Hird is a project officer in the EDC program and works
closely with industrial hospitality and large government customers.
Before joining the EDC program she spent 20 years in the steel
industry as a mechanical engineer working in services supply with
an emphasis on water conservation.
INDUSTRY PROFILE

-ÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>½ÃÊ iÜÊˆÀiV̈œ˜ÊÊ
œ˜Ê̅iÊ ÕˆÌÊ
˜ÛˆÀœ˜“i˜Ì
˜ÊÓääLJÓä£ä]Ê-ÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>Ê܈Ê
}ˆÛiÊ«ÀˆœÀˆÌÞÊ̜\
UÊ ,i`ÕVˆ˜}Ê}Àii˜…œÕÃiÊ}>ÃÊi“ˆÃȜ˜ÃÊÊ
vÀœ“Ê6ˆV̜Àˆ>˜Ê…œÕÃi…œ`ÃÊ̜Ê>V…ˆiÛiÊÊ
̅iÊœÛiÀ˜“i˜Ì½ÃÊÌ>À}iÌʜvÊÀi`ÕVˆ˜}ÊÊ
œ““iÀVˆ>Ê Ո`ˆ˜}Ê
˜ÛˆÀœ˜“i˜Ì>Ê
…œÕÃi…œ`Êi“ˆÃȜ˜ÃÊLÞÊ£äÊ«iÀVi˜ÌÊÊ
"
®Ê«Àœ}À>“Ê >ÃœÊܜÀŽÊ܈̅ʜܘiÀÃÊ̜Ê
LÞÊÓä£äÆ
U ,i`ÕVˆ˜}Ê̅iÊ}Àii˜…œÕÃiÊ}>ÃÊi“ˆÃȜ˜ÃÊ
œvÊLÕȘiÃÃiÃÊ̅ÀœÕ}…œÕÌÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>ÆÊ
UÊ
V…ˆiۈ˜}Ê̅iÊœÛiÀ˜“i˜Ì½ÃÊÜ>ÃÌiÊÊ
Ài`ÕV̈œ˜]ÊÀiVÞVˆ˜}Ê>˜`ÊÀiÕÃiÊÌ>À}iÌÃÊÊ
ˆ˜ÊˆÌÃÊ-ÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞʈ˜Ê
V̈œ˜\Ê/œÜ>À`ÃÊÊ
<iÀœÊ7>ÃÌiÊ-ÌÀ>Ìi}ÞÆÊ>˜`
º7iÊ܈Ê«>À̘iÀÊ܈̅Ê
œÜ˜iÀÃÊ̜ʈ“«ÀœÛiÊ̅iÊ
ÃiV̜ÀÊÌi˜>˜ÌÃ]Ê>ÃÊÜiÊ>ÃÊ}Ài>ÌiÀʈ˜`ÕÃÌÀÞÊ
Ž˜œÜi`}iʜvÊ̅iʈ˜˜œÛ>̈ÛiÊ܏Ṏœ˜ÃÊ
«iÀvœÀ“>˜Viʜvʏ>À}iÊ
>Û>ˆ>LiÊ̜ʘiÜÊLՈ`ˆ˜}Ê`iÈ}˜°ÊÊ Vœ““iÀVˆ>ÊœvwViÊ>˜`Ê
-ˆ˜ViÊÓääÎ]Ê-ÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>½ÃÊ
ÀiÌ>ˆÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ðÊ7iÊ܈Ê
˜˜œÛ>̈œ˜Ê˜ˆÌˆ>̈ÛiÊ­
…>ÃÊ«>Þi`Ê>˜Êˆ“«œÀÌ>˜ÌÊÀœiʈ˜Ê̅iÊ
˜iÜÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ʓ>ÀŽiÌ°ÊÌʅ>ÃÊ>ÃÈÃÌi`Ê i“Li`ÊÃÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞʈ˜Ê
`iÛiœ«iÀÃÊ>˜`ÊVœ˜ÃՏÌ>˜ÌÃÊ̜Ê>««ÞÊ
ˆ˜˜œÛ>̈ÛiÊ`iÈ}˜Ê>˜`ÊÌiV…˜œœ}ˆiÃʈ˜ÊÊ
«œÀÌvœˆœ‡Üˆ`iÊ`iVˆÃˆœ˜Ê
£ÇʘiÜÊLՈ`ˆ˜}Ê«ÀœiVÌÃÊ>VÀœÃÃÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>°Ê “>Žˆ˜}Ê>˜`ÊÕ«}À>`iÊ
/…iʏiÃܘÃÊ>ÀiÊLiˆ˜}ÊÅ>Ài`Ê̅ÀœÕ}…Ê
>ÊÃiÀˆiÃʜvÊV>ÃiÊÃÌÕ`ˆiÃÊ`iÛiœ«i`ÊÌœÊ «Àœ}À>“ð»
…ˆ}…ˆ}…ÌÊ̅iÊ«ÀœiVÌʜÕÌVœ“iðÊ/…iÊ
UÊ iˆÛiÀˆ˜}ʜ˜Ê̅iÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>˜ÊÊ
"
Ê«Àœ}À>“Ê…>ÃÊ>ÃœÊÃÕ««œÀÌi`Ê
œÛiÀ˜“i˜Ì½Ãʜ̅iÀʓ>œÀÊ«œˆVÞÊÊ
Vœ““ˆÌ“i˜ÌÃʜ˜ÊVˆ“>ÌiÊV…>˜}iÊÊ
>˜`ʈ˜VÀi>Ãi`ÊÀiÜÕÀViÊivwVˆi˜VÞ°
Ո`ˆ˜}Ãʅ>ÛiÊ>ÊÈ}˜ˆwV>˜Ìʈ“«>VÌʜ˜Ê
̅iÊi˜ÛˆÀœ˜“i˜ÌÊ̅ÀœÕ}…Ê̅iÊi˜iÀ}Þ]Ê
Ü>ÌiÀÊ>˜`ʓ>ÌiÀˆ>ÃÊ̅iÞÊÕÃi]Ê>˜`ÊÜ>ÃÌiÊ
̅iÞÊ}i˜iÀ>Ìi°Ê˜Ê6ˆV̜Àˆ>Ê>œ˜i]ÊÕ«Ê̜ÊÎxÊ
«iÀVi˜ÌʜvÊ}Àii˜…œÕÃiÊ}>ÃÊi“ˆÃȜ˜ÃÊ
,-ÊÀ>̈˜}ÊÊ Ì…ÀœÕ}…ÊL>ÈVʜ«iÀ>̈œ˜>Êˆ“«ÀœÛi“i˜ÌÃÊ
>ÀiÊ}i˜iÀ>Ìi`ÊvÀœ“Êi˜iÀ}ÞÊÕÃi`ʈ˜Ê
Vœ““iÀVˆ>Ê>˜`ÊÀiÈ`i˜Ìˆ>ÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ð
/…iʘiÜÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ʓ>ÀŽiÌʈÃÊÊ
i“LÀ>Vˆ˜}ÊÃÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞ
˜ÛˆÀœ˜“i˜Ì>ÊÃÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞʅ>ÃÊLiVœ“iÊ
œ““iÀVˆ>Ê Ո`ˆ˜}ÊÊ
>Êvi>ÌÕÀiʜvʓœÃÌʓ>œÀÊVœ““iÀVˆ>Ê
LՈ`ˆ˜}Ê`iÛiœ«“i˜ÌÃʈ˜Ê6ˆV̜Àˆ>°Ê/…ˆÃÊ
ˆÃʈ˜ÊÀi뜘ÃiÊ̜ʈ˜VÀi>Ș}Ê`i“>˜`Ê
vÀœ“Ê}œÛiÀ˜“i˜ÌÊ>˜`ʏi>`ˆ˜}Ê«ÀˆÛ>ÌiÊ
ÀiÃi>ÀV…Ê̅>ÌÊ`i“œ˜ÃÌÀ>ÌiÃÊ̅iÊÊ
LÕȘiÃÃÊV>ÃiÊvœÀÊ}Àii˜ÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ð
-ÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>Ê܈ÊVœ˜Ìˆ˜ÕiÊÊ
̜ÊÀiÜ>À`ʘiÜÊLՈ`ˆ˜}Ê`iÈ}˜Ê>˜`Ê
ÃÕ««œÀÌʓ>ÀŽiÌÊÕ«Ì>ŽiʜvÊ}Àii˜ÊÊ
LՈ`ˆ˜}Ê«Àˆ˜Vˆ«iÃÊ̅ÀœÕ}…\
U ,>̈˜}Ê̜œÃ\ʜ˜}œˆ˜}ÊÃÕ««œÀÌÊvœÀÊÊ
Àii˜Ê-Ì>À]Ê
,Ê>˜`Ê

̜œÃʈ˜Ê6ˆV̜Àˆ>°
UÊ ,iÜ>À`ÊvœÀʏi>`ˆ˜}Êi`}iÊLՈ`ˆ˜}Ê
«ÀœiVÌÃ\Ê«ÀœÛˆ`ˆ˜}Êw˜>˜Vˆ>ÊÊ
Vœ˜ÌÀˆLṎœ˜ÃÊ̜ʫÀœiVÌÃÊ̅>ÌÊÊ
>V…ˆiÛiʅˆ}…ÊÀii˜Ê-Ì>ÀÊÀ>̈˜}ð
UÊ -…>Àˆ˜}ʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜\Ê«Àœ“œÌˆ˜}ÊÊ
ˆ˜˜œÛ>̈œ˜Ê>˜`ÊÌiV…˜œœ}ÞÊ̅ÀœÕ}…ÊÊ
iÛi˜ÌÃÊÃÕV…Ê>ÃÊ̅iÊiLœÕÀ˜iÊœÀՓ]ÊÊ
V>ÃiÊÃÌÕ`ˆiÃÊ>˜`Ê«ÕLˆV>̈œ˜Ã°
/…iÊV…>i˜}iʈÃÊ̜Ê}Àii˜Ê6ˆV̜Àˆ>½ÃÊ
i݈Ã̈˜}ÊVœ““iÀVˆ>ÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ÊÃ̜VŽ
™n¯ÊœvÊ̅iÊVœ““iÀVˆ>ÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ʓ>ÀŽiÌÊ
ÃÕ««ÞʈÃÊvÀœ“Êi݈Ã̈˜}ÊLՈ`ˆ˜}Ã]Ê>˜`Ê̅iÊ
i˜ÛˆÀœ˜“i˜Ì>Ê«iÀvœÀ“>˜ViʈÃʏ>}}ˆ˜}Ê
Li…ˆ˜`Ê̅iʘiÜiÀÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ðʣä‡Óä¯Ê
Ã>ۈ˜}Ãʈ˜Êi˜iÀ}ÞÊÕÃiÊV>˜ÊLiÊ>V…ˆiÛi`Ê
>˜`ÊÀiÌÀœwÌðÊ-ÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>Ê܈Ê
>ÃÈÃÌÊLՈ`ˆ˜}ʜܘiÀÃÊ>˜`Ê̅iˆÀÊv>VˆˆÌÞÊ
“>˜>}iÀÃÊ̜Ê՘`iÀÌ>ŽiÊi˜iÀ}ÞÊ>˜`ÊÜ>ÌiÀÊ
Ã>ۈ˜}ʈ˜ˆÌˆ>̈ÛiÃÊ>VÀœÃÃÊ̅iˆÀÊ«œÀÌvœˆœÊ
̅ÀœÕ}…Ê̅iÊ
1«}À>`iÊ*Àœ}À>“°Ê
œÀʓœÀiʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜Êœ˜ÊÊ
-ÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌÞÊ6ˆV̜Àˆ>ÊۈÈÌÊÊ
ÜÜÜ°ÃÕÃÌ>ˆ˜>LˆˆÌްۈV°}œÛ°>Õ
INDUSTRY PROFILE

FACILITIES MANAGER
The role of a facilities manager can be very arduous.
They have limited funds to maintain the diversity,
integrity and continued operation of the facility in their
charge.
Clearly, they must be understanding of all the
functions that keep the place operating. There is the
cleanliness, physical maintenance, lighting, air-
conditioning, grounds and resources to be kept in good
order and condition, to name a few.
In the lighting and air-conditioning field there are many
tools. Electricians, to look after the electrical and
mechanical switchboards and refrigeration mechanics to
ensure that the air-conditioning is performing efficiently at
the right temperatures.
The electrician can perform regular examinations of all
the electrical and mechanical switchboards, however they
are only likely to see around 10 to 15% of the faults. The
prudent facilities manager would engage the use of
thermography and this, if used correctly, should identify
the 85% to 90% of the unseen faults.
The manager could purchase an infrared handgun and
have their electrician regularly examine all the
switchboards. This is very time-consuming as the
handgun has to be directed at every individual terminal
and connection. Or, the wise manager could engage the
services of a professional consulting thermography
company.
Such a company is Thermoscan™ Inspection Services
Pty Ltd, started in 1980 and covering the whole of
Australia. Thermoscan™ has 10 field operators, all are
qualified electricians and most are trained at Melbourne
University to Level 1 Thermography standard. Further,
Thermoscan™ has quality assurance accreditation to
AS/NZS 9001:2000, and Queensland Government
Quality Approved Supplier status.
Following every inspection by Thermoscan™ the
manager receives a detailed report documenting all the
thermal abnormalities observed during the inspection
together with suggested repair procedures. Generally
inspections are carried out every 12 months, however
some are done every six months.
Thus to utilise the limited dollars the Facility Manager
has, it would be wise to use qualified, trained,
experienced and accredited thermographers –
Thermoscan™ Inspection Services Pty Ltd.

THERMOSCAN™
INSPECTION SERVICES
Can you see the
We at Thermoscan™ have been
fault in this photo? specialising our infra red thermography
We can! (thermal photography) service since
1980, and we have become very good at
identifying and locating the many thermal
abnormalities present in a large variety of
electrical reticulation systems.
FAULT
83°C Over the years we have saved facility This particular irregularity at
managers, maintenance engineers, 324°C would have closed the
building owners and insurance companies plant for around 2 days and cost
38°C about $1,000,000 per day.
many millions of dollars in lost production
About 90% of the The problem was resolved
and replacement costs to name a few.
with the loss of 1½ hours of
“faults” we see – scheduled down time (and
cannot be seen with 1300 132 517 this is much cheaper than
unscheduled downtime) and
the naked eye. Quality Assured to AS/NZS ISO 9001:2000 a new switch.
 BUILDING UPDATE

DEREK HENDRY
Building Update
WA wide: Occupiers Liability Act 1985
Facility and property managers should make themselves aware of a
little known Act of the Western Australian State Parliament, which can
present some significant consequences for building occupiers and
landlords, should a building occupant be injured or killed whilst within a
building under the control of someone else. This Act carries with it
several far-reaching obligations for the occupier of property with regard
to the safety of persons entering a building, or part, either legally or
illegally.
Section 5 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1985 states – in part:
‘... the care which an occupier of premises is required by reason of
the occupation or control of the premises to show towards a person
entering on the premises in respect of dangers which are due to the
state of the premises or to anything done or omitted to be done on the
premises and for which the occupier is by law responsible shall, except
in so far as he is entitled to and does extend, restrict, modify or exclude
by agreement or otherwise, his obligations towards that person be such
care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that
that person will not suffer injury or damage by reason of any such
danger...’
In the absence of essential safety measures regulations in WA
legislation, this Act would be utilised by persons injured in a building.
SA wide: AS 1851-2005 – not yet accepted
The Building Policy Branch of Planning SA has issued an Advisory
Building Notice titled ‘Administration: Maintenance of Essential Safety
Provisions’. The notice makes it clear that the ‘mandatory minimum
requirements for maintenance’ for maintaining and testing of safety
installations in a building is not the new AS 1851-2005. The Notice states
‘Ongoing maintenance must be in accordance with the Schedule of
Essential Safety Provisions issued with the Building Rules consent and
the version of Minister’s Specification 76 that was in force at the time
that the application for Building Rules consent was made.’
proposal draft changes to be included in the Building Code of Australia
2008 (Volumes 1 and 2). Go to http://www.abcb.gov.au to view the
changes.
Australia wide: Auditing Essential Safety Measures
Facility managers must be aware of the competency levels of their
consultants and contractors, relative to essential safety measures
auditing. We often see managers at risk due to:
3 Professionals not knowing or just ‘paying lip service’ to mandatory
statutory requirements to be complied with by the building owner;
3 Building owners not being advised that they are exposed to
statutory fees and civil suits when an incident occurs in their
building, even with a third party signing an ‘annual maintenance
compliance statement’. Building owners need to be aware that while
they can delegate responsibility they cannot delegate the
accountability;
3 Not having a verification process that ensures all inspections,
testing and maintenance requirements are actually performed; and
3 Paying for inspections and testing routines which are not being
performed. A number of maintenance contract companies in
Australia do not have enough technicians or trades people to
perform the inspection, testing and maintenance that they are
contracted to perform. Many ‘annual maintenance compliance
statements’ are signed by a third party, even though a significant
number of tests and inspections have not occurred. This places a
number of their clients in a very vulnerable position when
something goes wrong.

NSW wide: Changes to OHS Asbestos Laws

The NSW OHS Regulations have been amended to improve the safety
of workers and the public. A Work Cover NSW license was previously
required to remove or disturb flat and corrugated fibre sheeting of
200m², and now applies to a lesser area of 50m². From 1 January 2008
the requirement applies to a lesser area of 10m². Penalties are high, so
ensure compliance is achieved.

QLD Wide: Risk Management Code

Facility managers should take note of the new Risk Management
Code of Practice 2007 commenced on 15 June 2007 in Queensland. The
Code of Practice defines and explains the five step risk management
process that persons who conduct a business or undertaking a
business are required to perform under the Queensland Workplace
Health and Safety Act 1995 and the Electrical Safety Act 2002 to ensure
all hazards in the workplace are eliminated or minimized.

Australia Wide: Draft BCA 2008

The Australian Building Codes Board has posted on its website the

facilityperspec ti ves • 49
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PROCUREMENT

Sustainability in the Procurement

of Facility Management Services
BY MIKE O’SHEA, DIRECTOR CURRIE & BROWN

The increasing focus on sustainability experienced in the property and

facilities management sectors has been brought about through a range of
impacting factors including a broader appreciation of the extended life of the
built environment, development to demolition lifecycle issues, and the
implications for our environment, quality of life and economy.
he role of sustainability in the construction and maintenance of parties, and the relationships detailed in them in the procurement of

T buildings is taking on increasing prominence as a mounting body of

statistics prove that buildings use approximately 40% of our energy,
produce around 23% of our greenhouse gases, and contribute up to
40% of our waste streams.
The Australian Green Building Council (AGBC), led by industry and
services therefore, can have a considerable bearing on general and
sustainability outcomes

Contract models
In contracting for Facility
Diagram 1

Client
supported by government, is driving the adoption of green building Management services the two
practices through market based solutions such as the Green Star Rating contract models that are
System. With over 300 Green Star registered projects across Australia, a 5 consistently used in the industry
star rating has quickly become the de-facto standard for the construction are the Head Contract and Managing Head Contract
and /or refurbishment of buildings, encompassing a range of benefits Contract models. In practice there with performance KPIs
including reduced external environmental impact, improved indoor are a whole range of hybrid
environmental quality and enhanced value. The Facilities Management contracts that exist in between.
industry in the meantime, is also examining ways of adding value to the Head Contract Model
sustainability equation. Diagram 1 illustrates a typical
Procurement and Sustainability Head Contract model where a single FM Head Contractor
The Facilities Management industry currently spends billions of dollars contract exists between the client
each year on goods and services, and their activities generate the utilisation and the Head Contractor, who
of electricity, scarce resources such as water, and office waste that goes directly engages all subcontractors.
into landfill. Managing Contract Model Subcontractors
Changing these practices to managing the procurement spend with a Diagram 2 illustrates a typical with performance KPIs
focus on sustainability therefore, could be an important tool towards the Managing Contract model where the
development of a sustainable facilities management industry, and a Client engages a Manager to
sustainable built environment. supervise the works undertaken by
Sustainability in FM the subcontractors, who are directly
Facilities Managers must undertake a range of processes in order to engaged by the Client. Subcontractors and
Specialists
incorporate sustainability into current Facilities Management practices in
areas such as: Relationships
3 Site development Types of Relationships
3 Strategic asset management In the contracting of facility management services there are two main
3 Environmental management generic types of relationships which are commonly referred to as:
3 Operation of the facilities 3 Traditional; and
3 Design guidelines 3 Alliancing.
3 Space management Traditional relationships generally require strict compliance by the
And key to the successful development and implementation of these contractor to the terms of the specification and contract, and where the
processes is the alignment of cultural and corporate objectives in supply requirements can be adequately defined, are an efficient way to deliver
chain relationships. These relationships impact on the management of services and generally have the lowest transaction costs.
environmental and social impacts and all those within the supply chain The use of alliancing on appropriate projects, for example where the
must share the same vision towards waste and energy minimisation, and services are complex and high risk, can deliver significant performance
strive for sustainability and continual improvement. improvement and savings in baseline cost.
The type and context of contract models, the expectations on the When the strategic decision to contract a service has been made as

50 • facilityperspec ti ves

Diagram 2
Client
Managing Contractor
with performance based KPIs
Subcontractors
with performance KPIs – FM Manager
Contracted to the Client
Planning, Supervision,
Auditing and approval of
payments
Subcontractors and
Specialists
part of the procurement process, the type of relationship and the best
combination of pricing structures must be chosen. For example, alliancing
with a reimbursable pricing structure and incentive payment mechanism
are well suited.
An increasing number of organisations, after considering their options,
have decided to include more flexible approaches, often involving alliancing.
Such relationships are marked by an increasing depth and breadth of
interaction. Alliancing contains a risk–reward approach generally linking
part of the contractor’s remuneration to defined and measurable
performance levels. This could be all or part of the contractor’s profit.
Over the life of a contract the most appropriate relationship format may
change. Prior to extending any contract, in depth reviews should be
undertaken to fully assess this issue and in the case of sustainability, to
ensure the alignment of cultural and organisational objectives. For example
as the contract matures, moving from a traditional to an alliance
relationship may provide benefits for both the client and the contractor.
As the most common relationship for the delivery of maintenance is
Traditional and as a number of clients are moving towards Alliancing, these
two are discussed here.
Traditional Relationships
Historically, relationships between clients and contractors have been
shaped by legal and contractual obligations. The legalistic framework within
which the parties operate has historically created distrust (for example. the
extensive checking and verifying of documents and invoices delivered by
the contractor). The relationships became ‘compliance and controls’ based.
As a consequence, there has been a tendency for adversarial cultures to
develop.
Traditional relationships are centred upon the obligations set out in the
contract documents and have tended to be ad hoc and at arm’s length, with
each party seeking maximum advantage, often at the other’s expense. In
addition, the traditional approach can be challenged by many problems such
as poor communications, lack of continuity and a tendency to seek to
achieve performance through penalties such as liquidated damages rather
than incentives. However, a traditional contract, when established properly
for appropriate services, can provide an efficient and effective outcome. If
not prepared properly then it is likely to lead to variations and extra cost to
the client.
Traditional contracts, by their name, are usually prescriptive and rely
heavily upon management by the client to achieve the desired outcomes.
Traditional contracts are ideally suited to situations where:
3 the scope can be accurately defined;
3 potential for variation during the contract period is low; and
3 the risks of failure of the service to the client are also low.
For example cleaning and air conditioning maintenance on commercial
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PROCUREMENT
buildings are mostly let on a traditional basis.
Clients who contract Facility Management services, particularly for a
complex facility or portfolio are more likely to consider entering into
Alliancing arrangements.
Alliance Relationships
Although some partnering arrangements are performance based, the
majority have just been a better way of doing business. These partnering
relationships have allowed the development of trust, a reduction in
duplication of functions, and appropriate levels of responsibility to
encourage the delivery of a better service. The alliance type of relationship
takes the key elements of partnering to the next step by having a risk–
reward sharing philosophy to encourage exceptional (breakthrough)
performance in the delivery of the services as well as an open-book
approach to all financial matters, including overheads and profit.
Alliance contracts may be more effective than other arrangements for
providing services that:
3 are difficult to define;
3 have a higher risk or have more unknowns;
3 are critical to a client’s performance;
3 need to be commenced early;
3 require innovative solutions from the contractor; and/or
3 require creative management by the client.
An alliance board or joint consultative committee is usually established
to manage the contract. The board or committee meets as required and
strives to reach unanimity in all decisions.
Following the establishment of the alliance board or joint consultative
committee an alliance management team should be appointed. This is the
working group that reports up to the alliance board. It will comprise the
most suitable resources from each of the parties and be responsible for the
overall delivery of the services. In an alliance relationship it is likely and
preferable that the client’s and contractor’s personnel are co-located to
optimise communication and teamwork.
Arrangements such as alliancing generally have higher transaction
costs than traditional contracts due to the more complex legal arrangement,
and the higher level of communication between the parties, resulting in
more meetings and workshops. This investment is normally recovered from
the benefits of an Alliancing approach, resulting in a transformational rather
than transactional outcome. However, if you are going to take this approach
you need to be satisfied that the initial investment will be worth it and that
the benefits will be delivered.
Potential Benefits of Alliance Relationships
Relationships such as alliancing are associated with a number of
potential benefits compared to the ‘traditional approach’. The key benefits
often include:
3 improved ‘Value for Money’, which can be difficult to demonstrate;
3 improved innovation and continuous improvement;
3 early contract award with a low level of scope definition;
3 more flexibility to make changes;
3 engagement of a contractor who is prepared to resolve problems and
look for better alternatives;
3 better allocation and management of risks;
3 the promotion of benchmarking; and
3 the use of effective KPIs if well structured.
Potential Risks of Alliancing Relationships
Alliance relationships can fail for several reasons, including:
3 a poor tender evaluation process, leading to acceptance of a contractor
with insufficient senior personnel or whose personnel lack appropriate
skills;
3 a lack of contractor or client commitment, leading to a process that is
not well structured and formalised;
3 a poor process that permits a dilution of contractual obligations and a
relationship that does not provide value for money;
3 a change of senior personnel or impairment by personnel not
committed to the process;
3 poorly established key performance indicators (KPIs) and risk–reward
scheme; and
facilityperspec ti ves • 51
INDUSTRY PROFILE

Like any frequently used machinery, elevators require

ongoing maintenance. Preventive maintenance keeps your
building’s equipment operating at their best, maintaining
the value of the asset. The Otis approach was to design a
systematic, output-based maintenance program enabling
safe and reliable operation through the equipment life
cycle.

Otis’ Nextgeneration™ Service is a systematic

maintenance scheduling system which proactively
schedules maintenance procedures to maximise
equipment performance, reliability and availability.
Nextgeneration service is a quality maintenance program
which focuses on:

CUSTOMISATION
A maintenance program designed to match your
building’s equipment needs, taking into account: Completed maintenance procedures are recorded and the
3 Building type; data is critically analysed allowing adjustments to the
3 Operational environment; service program. Otis’ quality approach to service delivery
is to conduct the right maintenance procedures at every
3 Usage;
visit, optimising equipment reliability and performance.
3 Technical specifications of the equipment

The local technician and customer specific requirements COMMUNICATION

are a major factor of the Nextgeneration system
customisation ensuring a tailored solution.
FLEXIBILITY
Otis’ maintenance program offers continuous
improvement through its closed-loop tracking model.
Details of the maintenance performed and equipment
performance are available on Otis’ on-line reporting tool,
e*Service. Accessible via otis.com, e*Service provides you
with up-to-date knowledge on how your building’s
equipment is performing and how well it is being
maintained by Otis.

Do you know how your lift maintenance works?

Otis Nextgeneration™ Service
A systematic closed-loop maintenance scheduling system which is tailored to the
elevator type and building demographics.

<Customised unit specific procedures

<Closed-loop process
<Continuous process improvement through self learning
<Consistent delivery of quality service

To find out more about our products, solutions and services get in
touch with us today.

P: 1800 177 144

E: Otis.marketing@otis.com
W : w w w. o t i s .c o m

3 loss of enthusiasm and deterioration of the relationship, necessitating
the need for market testing or benchmarking to invigorate.
There can also be a perception of failure if the (sometimes
unreasonably) expected results have not been achieved.
Pricing structures
Selecting the Pricing Structure
The desired relationship is complemented and underpinned by the
pricing structure. There are basically four types of pricing structure
available: lump sum, schedule of rates, reimbursable and management fee.
Lump Sum
In this pricing structure the contractor guarantees to perform the work
or services as specified in the contract documents for a fixed price,
regardless of the actual cost. Lump sum, traditional contracts tend to
transfer risks to the contractor; alliancing contracts are based on the
sharing of risks and rewards.
An alternative to a fixed lump sum is a guaranteed maximum price
(GMP) arrangement. The client and the contractor agree on a GMP based on
the scope of services and this becomes the upper limit. The contractor is
reimbursed for actual costs up to an agreed Target Cost and there is a
sharing of savings on an agreed basis. There are usually also detailed
metrics to control factors such as quality and performance. Lump Sum is
generally appropriate for commodity or transactional contracts such as
cleaning and air conditioning maintenance.
Schedule of Rates
In this structure the contractor agrees to perform an estimated
quantity of work for an agreed unit price. This agreed unit price is multiplied
by the actual quantities to arrive at the final cost. Difficulties may arise
when unforeseen areas of work are introduced for which no appropriate
rates have been agreed, such as work in small quantities or work at heights
requiring scaffolding.
Schedules of rates are best applied where the type of work is known
and definable but the quantity is likely to change such as painting and
carpet laying.
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PROCUREMENT
Reimbursable
With a reimbursable pricing structure the client agrees to reimburse the
contractor for the cost of resources (labour, materials, equipment, third
party services, etc.) incurred in providing the services plus an agreed
percentage or amount to cover the contractor’s overheads. The profit
component can be either an agreed percentage or amount, or determined
by the performance of the contractor.
A reimbursable pricing structure tends to move the risk to the client
because the contractor is guaranteed a return on all work performed. There
are many variations including upper limits, target cost and GMPs that can
be used depending on the circumstances.
Reimbursable pricing structures may be used in first generation
contracts, particularly on industrial facilities where the exact scope of
services cannot be defined. After the first round of contracting, when
contracting for the second or third time, once the scope of services is
established, an alternative pricing structure could be adopted. This pricing
structure is useful for dayworks activities and where flexibility is required.
Management Fee
This pricing structure is a hybrid of ‘lump sum’ and ‘reimbursable’ that
places risk for service provision with the party best suited to managing that
risk. The client reimburses the contractor in two parts for the actual work
done.
One part, a fixed lump sum, is usually paid in monthly portions. It
covers all non-direct labour costs including profit, overheads, management,
supervision, site offices and telecommunications. Ideally this fixed lump
sum, including corporate, overhead and profit, is not dependent on the
quantity of work done.
In this situation there is less incentive to expend more resources than
required – in fact, the reverse applies. For example, if the contractor can
minimise its use of labour, it will expend less of this fixed management fee
on supervision and, hence, will maximise the profit component of its fixed
management fee. The risk here is that the contractor, if not managed
correctly, may reduce the fixed management portion of the service, to the
detriment of the client and the outcomes.
facilityperspec ti ves • 53
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PROCUREMENT
For the other part, work carried out under the contract is reimbursed at
the net costs to the contractor for resources such as labour, materials,
equipment and any third party services. The reimbursable costs are usually
audited by an independent party. This pricing structure tends to suit
alliancing arrangements and is generally linked to a well structured
risk/reward scheme.
Commercial models
Traditional contracts have been based on a price, usually lump sum, to
undertake a defined scope of work or services. This has worked well for
commodity type services that are not complex or critical and high risk to
the client. For more complex facilities or where the expertise of the
contractor is required then more of a risk reward structure has generally
been utilised. In traditional contracts the commercial model may have
included penalties for non conformance and ultimately termination if
performance reached unacceptable levels. In alliance type contracts the
commercial model is usually structured around the development of
performance measures that are critical to a client’s business and the
contractor’s reward being linked to performance. Typically the contractor
would place part or all of its profit at risk against achieving performance or
would receive a bonus for achieving savings or breakthrough performance.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the measures of performance,
and may include a selection of critical measures as well as other operational
measures. It is essential that the KPIs are flexible, evolve with the contract
and include lead1 as well as lag2 indicators to facilitate continuous
improvement.
KPIs should be kept simple; a few critical KPIs should be an adequate
measure of the health of the relationship and the level of service. Once the
initial critical measures are working, they can be built on and modified as
required.
KPIs should encompass and consider the following aspects:
3 levels of acceptable performance and how these are to be measured;
2%.4 !IR#ONDITIONING
WWWACTIVEAIRCOMAU
3YDNEY
7 HY 2ENT
"REAKDOWN
-AINTENANCE
"EST %QUIPMENT
5NDER #APACITY
&ASTEST 3ERVICE
3EASONAL .EEDS
! L W A Y S !V A I L A B L E
%QUIPMENT
3POT #OOLERS
&ANS  "LOWERS
0ACKAGE 5NITS
$UST  &UME %XTRACTION
#HILLERS
'ENERATORS  -ORE
   
W WWACTIVEAIRCOMAU
54 • facilityperspec ti ves
3 legislative responsibilities;
3 timing of the delivery (contingency approaches where applicable);
3 delivery methods and work method statements;
3 environmental, health, safety and rehabilitation measures;
3 any special requirements that should be formally documented,
together with any contingency measures in the event of a failure of
delivery;
3 measurement, data capture systems and reporting, and also the party
responsible for each; and
3 targets for improvement including, for example, reporting requirements,
statements on what happens if the service fails, clearly defined
termination clauses, a procedure for developing variations to the
relationship (e.g. time, cost and quality).
3 KPIs for sustainability including energy and water usage, waste
going to landfill and use of environmentally friendly materials.
Care should be taken to avoid an incentive scheme which rewards
performance that is only standard.
KPIs and targets should be aligned with the client’s business objectives
and they should not affect the service provider’s contractual obligations.
Ideally, they can be rolled up into the client’s business scorecard.
KPIs are usually the most difficult aspect of negotiation between client
and contractor because they are the ultimate measure of performance.
However, good communication is the key to expressing the aims of the
client to the contractor. Understanding each party’s position helps in
formulating good KPIs through mutual ownership
Contract term and extensions
The duration of contract may have an affect on the relationship and the
incentive for the contractor to invest and participate in sustainability. In
facility management contracts the length of the contract may also be linked
to the type of relationship. Traditional contracts are likely to be for a defined
period whereas alliance arrangement could either be ‘evergreen’ or for
6ˆÃˆÌ œÕÀ ˜iÜ 7iLÈÌit
s -ELBO
URN E s "RISB
ANE s #ANBERRA s .EWCASTLE
7HY !CTIVE

longer periods. The options are varied and may depend on the procurement
policy of the client. Traditional facility management contracts are for a set
period of three (3) or five (5) years with an option to extend for periods
ranging from 1 year, 1+1 years to a period equal to the original 3 or 5 years.
For longer term contracts, which are becoming increasingly common,
there may be less opportunity for ongoing financial or other improvements.
However, an opportunity exists to introduce positive and cooperative
behaviours between client and contractor and to create an environment that
encourages change, improvement in service level delivery and a lifecycle
approach that reduces the use of energy and water.
Longer term contracts are a significant incentive for a contractor to
strive for continuous improvement. When coupled with financial reward, the
opportunity exists for both client and contractor to assist each other to their
mutual benefit.
For such an environment to deliver real benefits, the culture of a
contractor and its personnel need to be aligned with and practise this
philosophy. Equally, a client needs to be committed to the process, be
aligned with the philosophy of the contract, and committed to paying
meaningful financial rewards to a contractor for excellent or breakthrough
performance.
The contract term and an extension strategy that is linked to
performance can provide a major incentive to encourage performance.
Conclusion
The survey undertaken by the FM Action Agenda Innovation Working
Group indicates that facility managers are concerned about Procurement
and Sustainability. Clients are coming to terms with the impact that the
running of their facilities has on the environment and surprised at the
consumption of energy and contribution to our greenhouse gasses.
Procurement in the facilities management market place is substantial
and runs into billions of dollars each year and therefore it is important that
the facilities management industry not only moves to implementing
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PROCUREMENT
sustainable procurement principles but also establishes relationships and
commercial models with contractors that encourage a focus on client
objectives such as sustainability.
Selection criteria based on price and traditional short term contracts
using a lump sum pricing structure may not provide the best sustainable
model and / or an arrangement where the contractor is innovative in the use
of materials and minimising the use of energy.
A more effective outcome is likely to be achieved where a contractor
has a contract period that allows a lifecycle approach to maintenance, and a
relationship with a client that encourages and rewards innovation. Having
the right contractor with the right skills is one thing but performance is
often expressed as ‘ability x motivation’, and the relationship, pricing
structure and contract duration can all be effectively used to provide the
motivation in achieving mutual cultural and organisational objectives.
1 Based on the Balanced Scorecard approach, a lead indicator is an indicator that impacts on
business outcomes.
2 A lag indicator is a historical indicator, such as last month’s performance report.
About Mike O’Shea, Director –
Currie & Brown
Mike O’Shea is a member of the FM
Action Agenda Innovation Working
Group and a Director of Currie & Brown,
an independent consultancy which
provides a range of facility
management and property
management consulting services. Mike
is a Chartered Surveyor and an
accredited FM AFM3
MIKE O’SHEA

Kingfisher is a leading provider of recruitment services to the Property industry. Our aim is to
add value to your business by offering long-term recruitment solutions, while providing access to
the best talent in the market place.

Our team of experienced consultants possess in-depth knowledge of the property industry, having
previously worked within the sector they now recruit for. Kingfisher provides high-level advice and
consultancy services, ensuring candidates meet your individual needs.

Kingfisher provide solutions in the following sectors:

• Operations Management • Asset Management • Project & Development Management
• Maintenance Services • Project & Development • Property & Centre Management

Contact Matthew Barnett, Level 9, 470 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000

Telephone (03) 8610 9630 Email matthew@kfpr.com.au Website www.kfpr.com.au

Specialist recruitment for the property industry

facilityperspec ti ves • 55
INDUSTRY PROFILE
Lamp Recycling –
The responsible thing to do
nergy efficient fluorescent and HID lamps
E have gained widespread usage over the
years. Their increasing popularity is due
to the fact that fluorescent lights use only
about one quarter the energy of a common
incandescent bulb and last an average of 10,000
hours compared to 750 hours. However,
fluorescent and HID lamps contain very small
quantities of Mercury and while these products
are totally safe to handle and to use, if broken,
they can pose a serious risk of exposure to this
very toxic neurotoxin.
Spent lighting products are the largest
source of Mercury contamination in our municipal
solid waste systems and this has raised concerns
over their proper disposal. Mercury is the most
toxic chemical after radioactive substances on
the EPA list.
Scientific tests carried out at municipal
landfills have shown that Mercury present in
disposed fluorescent and HID lamps is converted
by heat and bacteria into a very toxic and volatile
gas known as Methyl Mercury which is then
spread into the environment.
56 • facilityperspec ti ves
It was demonstrated that the air over these
landfills contained 30 to 50 times higher levels of
Mercury than the surrounding air. With estimates
of between 50 and 70 million Mercury containing
lamps being disposed of in Australia each year,
dumping over 13,000 metric tons of Mercury
contaminated waste into the nation’s landfills,
there is a danger that improper disposal methods
will transport Mercury from the soil to local water
sources. Lakes, rivers and the coastal oceans
have been polluted with Mercury, rendering fish
unsafe to eat.
One hundred broken fluorescent tubes
contain enough Mercury to contaminate about 4
billion litres of water above unsafe levels. Posing
serious threats to the nervous, cardiovascular and
immune systems and possibly leading to death,
contamination of our fish and water resources is
a serious threat.
The answer to Mercury contamination is the
recycling of spent lighting.
Advanced Recycling Australia Pty Ltd is the
only EPA licensed company in Australia involved
in the environmentally responsible recycling of all
3 5 8 6 7 6
INDUSTRY PROFILE
Mercury containing waste, including fluorescent
and HID lamps.
The company, with its head office based in
Victoria and branches throughout Australia and
New Zealand, operates a state of the art Swedish
recycling facility capable of recycling all lighting
waste generated in Australia.
Lamps are collected directly by the company
or via third party associated waste management
companies throughout Australia and New Zealand
using purpose built collection Stillages or special
prepaid collection boxes. Lamps are crushed and
sorted into glass, metal and phosphor powder
which contains the Mercury. The powder is then
distilled with a 99% Mercury recovery rate. The
collected material is efficiently and cost
effectively recycled and customers are provided
with a recycling certificate as evidence of
responsible and environmentally friendly recycling
of their waste.
For more information contact Advanced
Recycling Australasia Pty Ltd
fa c i l it y p e rs p e c ti v es • x
LIGHTING

The big switch –

Lighting up the future of the built
environment
BY FACILITY PERSPECTIVES’ MELANIE DRUMMOND

The Australian Government this year announced its plans to phase out the
energy-guzzling incandescent household light bulb within three years. What
can industry do to match their efforts? Facility Perspectives’ Melanie
Drummond spoke to Steve Coyne, government advisor on lighting policy
implementation and Vice President of the Illuminating Engineering Society of
Australia and New Zealand (IESANZ) about what the private sector can do to
reduce the impact of lighting infrastructure on climate change.

facilityperspec ti ves • 57
LIGHTING
Banning the bulb in Australia, and around the globe.
In a groundbreaking move to reduce Australia’s alarmingly high level of
carbon emissions, the Australian Government this year announced its plans
to phase out the energy-guzzling incandescent household light bulb within
three years. By replacing the incandescent light bulb with energy efficient
alternatives such as the compact fluorescent, domestic Australia can be
proud of reducing their average annual carbon emissions by around 800, 000
tonnes.1
The focus on reducing the world’s greenhouse gas impact on the planet
has targeted a number of areas for lighting reform within the public and
private sectors, and not without due cause. In 2002, Australia emitted a total
of 550 million tonnes of CO2, of which fossil-fuel generated electricity was the
greatest contributor.
‘Greenlight Australia’, the Ministerial Council on Energy’s strategy for
improving the efficiency of lighting in Australia from 2005–2015, states that
lighting produces almost 25 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions every
year in Australia.3
The ten-year strategy, which joins a package of implementations being
actioned under the National Framework for Energy Efficiency, outlines the
coordinated voluntary and mandatory measures that industry and
Government will embrace to reduce lighting energy consumption.
In response to the Lighting Council of Australia’s suggested emission
reduction targets, Greenlight Australia highlights the commitment of the
Australian government to reach a 20 per cent saving in annual lighting energy
consumption by the year 2015.
Australia is not the only country taking the issue of climate change
seriously. As the nation soon bids farewell to the incandescent light bulb,
countries throughout the world prepare to take similar measures. Aware that
95 per cent of the energy consumed by incandescent bulbs is emitted as
heat rather than light, lawmakers are fast becoming aware that moving to
more energy efficient bulbs will offer the status benefits gained from cutting
greenhouse gases and the added benefit of saving consumers money spent
on power.
The European Union (EU) announced in March of this year, that it plans to
cut carbon emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020. A BBC report stated the
EU4 would meet the figure by making a commitment to increase the use of
wind, solar and hydroelectric power, introducing a 10 per cent minimum
target on the use of bio-fuels in transport by 2020 and by the possible ban on
incandescent (with filaments) light bulbs in homes and offices by the end of
the decade.
Two months after Australia’s announcement to ban the bulb, the Canadian
Government declared its phasing out of bulb sales by 2012.5 The humble light
bulb gained more media attention in January of this year when Californian
Assembly member Lloyd E. Levine6 announced the ‘How many legislators
does it take to change a Light bulb Act’ that proposed the phasing out of the
incandescent bulb by 2012. Although the legislation was unsuccessful, a bill
proposed by Assembly member Jared Huffman which challenges lighting
manufacturers to meet energy efficient lighting standards has gained
extensive public support.
and will adjust settings accordingly if there is insufficient natural light
available.
The innovative Investa initiatives were part of a green fit out for the office
which has since officially been recognised as a green office, achieving a 5
star Green Star rating.
Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond spoke to Steve Coyne,
government advisor on lighting policy implementation and Vice President of
the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand (IESANZ)
about what the private sector can do to reduce the impact of lighting
infrastructure on climate change, and soon discovered that facility managers
can play a vital role in ensuring effective lighting systems are employed.
Facility Perspectives: How effective are the current Minimum Energy
Performance Standards?
SC: Minimum energy performance standards don’t just apply to lighting, they
apply to any electrical product or appliance. They tell you what minimum
performance the product must have as far as their efficiency is concerned. If
you’ve got a minimum energy performance standard in place, it means that
you’re not going to allow products into the country that use more energy then
the MEPS state. The lighting MEPS have only been in place for a few years, so
it’s likely to be another couple of years before there’s potentially a tightening
of those performance standards. What’s more likely is that first there will be
energy performance standards implemented for products which currently
have no standards.
Facility Perspectives: In 2006, the Building Code of Australia introduced
Maximum Illumination Power Density requirements. What have the
requirements meant for facility managers?
SC: The power density requirements are important to facility managers, since
facilities do have to comply, new renovations have to comply and some
refurbishments have to comply as well. I haven’t seen any reports yet
associated with the impact it has had in the industry as it is relatively new.
The one thing it does do however, is it makes people actually start to think
about the energy performance of lighting installations. Even if by chance or
by choice, the lighting systems were relatively good in a small sector of the

Industry initiatives
While the Australian government decision remains a positive step in
battling climate change, it also challenges industry to match their efforts. In
Australia, lighting currently accounts for approximately 12 per cent of
greenhouse gas emissions from households and a third of emissions2 from
the commercial sector.
In Sydney, Investa Property Group7 has been leading the way for green-
thinking companies. Last year at their new Deutsche Bank Place head office
in Sydney, Investa implemented a policy of no light switches and a plant for
every person in the office.
With not a single light switch in the office, lighting is instead controlled by
a network of occupancy detectors that sense movement and illumination at
the desk level, and adjust light levels accordingly. If the detectors don’t note
movement for 15 minute, fittings will be dimmed to the off setting. Another
unique feature of the lighting system is that if adequate sunlight is coming in
through windows, fittings will be dimmed to maintain consistent brightness

58 • facilityperspec ti ves

market, now the whole of the market has to consider these issues.
Facility Perspectives: Wireless lighting systems have recently seen an
increase in popularity. What are the advantages of adopting this system into
your building?
SC: By the nature of the products, wireless systems give you more flexibility.
With other lighting plans, if you want to retrofit to have a more flexible system
you would need to get an electrician in to basically rewire the whole place to
allow for the new data/communication lines – and as you can imagine, that’s
where it becomes expensive.
Wireless systems however, allow you to circumvent that because the
receiver for the wireless system is in the light fitting, so you’re paying a bit
more for the product, but it’s cheaper than if you had to rewire the whole
space. There are also other lighting systems available where they actually run
the communication along the power lines which are going to each of the light,
those systems and wireless are slightly more expensive so it would be a case
of going through your feasibility process to determine whether there was a
value in going down that path.
Facility Perspectives: What do you consider to be the shortcomings of
existing lighting standards?
SC: It’s not so much about shortcomings; it’s more about refinement and
improvement. Like all standards, they’re developed by people within the
industry with the best available information they have at the time. Generally
they’re fairly intricate, so when reviewing those standards you need to see
how they’ve been implemented as far as best practises are concerned. You
may discover that some aspects have been unattainable so you’d need to
refine those parts to improve the overall effectiveness of the standard. In the
past ten years lighting has undergone a massive change in regards to the
technologies and products that are now available. In terms of standards it
means ascertaining whether established benchmarks need to be moved
because technologies are working much better as far as energy efficiency is
concerned.
It means now that we may be able to make some of the parameters more
stringent on quality rather than just purely an amount of light on a work
LIGHTING
plane. That’s what we’ll tend to work towards as technologies improve. It’s not
only the products we’re using that have improved; the design software for
lighting is improving all the time as well as the measurement tools for lighting.
Facility Perspectives: What movements are happening in the public sector to
improve lighting efficiency?
SC: Currently governments are looking at ways to try and replace the most
common form of lamp used in streetlights – what’s called the mercury vapour
lamp. It’s very inefficient in its ability to produce light from electricity, but it’s a
very cheap capital cost. They are expensive to run from an energy point of
view, but from a maintenance point of view they’re good because they last for
a very long time compared to other light sources. Now that people are taking
the climate change issue seriously, we’re trying to move away from just
looking at the dollar cost to finding something which has a good price but
which will also offer good greenhouse gas reductions.
Most of the indoor lamps used such as your compact fluorescents and
your fluorescent lamps are very efficient, but they’ve been designed
predominantly for environments that are indoors which rely on a fairly stable
temperature. You can’t take those lamps out into a hostile environment where
temperatures can reach 50 degrees and can get as low as -5, as they’re not
really designed to be effective in those conditions. What we need to do before
we do a bulk changeover is to make sure we see how the replacement lamps
perform in varying conditions, and gathering that information will also allow
us to be very specific when advising manufacturers.
Facility Perspectives: Are there any plans to introduce new lighting standards
in the near future?
SC: There’s nothing definitive at this stage, but there are definitely moves
underway for setting standards that will improve the energy efficiency of
lighting.
It is really only now that building owners are starting to
appreciate that it’s part of their corporate responsibility, and
that fundamentally, their shareholders are those mums and
dads out there who care about the future environment their
children will have to live in.
Facility Perspectives: How crucial is the ‘green’ issue when considering the
future of lighting?
SC: In the lighting industry there’s been movement in the last few years
towards finding energy efficient alternatives that take into account
greenhouse gases, quality of life and our future generations. In the past it
proved very difficult to push that agenda when the client-base (buildings
owners) didn’t see sustainability as being one of their main priorities, but in
the last couple of years that’s really changed with the public interest and
public perception in sustainability. It is really only now that building owners
are starting to appreciate that it’s part of their corporate responsibility, and
that fundamentally, their shareholders are those mums and dads out there
who care about the future environment their children will have to live in.
To be very commercial about it, there is marketing value in being seen to
be green. It is possible that some companies will be moving down the path of
more sustainable lighting purely from the mileage they can gain from the
exposure in being socially responsible.
Facility Perspectives: What are some of the latest strategies emerging for
lighting systems in buildings?
SC: The main thing emerging is more intelligent lighting systems. Because of
the level of sophistication of communication systems within buildings now,
we’re in a position to have lighting technologies available when and where
they’re needed. We can set light levels as required for the task that’s required
and there’s now the potential for someone at a desk to chose the light-level
they want for the task they’re undertaking. If they’re in smaller spaces you’ve
also got the ability to set the lights up so they turn off a few minutes after
they leave and then come back on as they come through. Really it’s about
moving away from just having 100 percent of the lights on at maximum level
for the whole duration of occupancy.
In many cases, lights are on for almost half the period when no-one’s
there, which is a waste of resources and a waste of the tenant’s money.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 62
facilityperspec ti ves • 59
 Is your emergency lighting
costing you?
Emergency evacuation lighting is an essential
building safety system that cannot be ignored.
Too many systems are inoperable due to poor
maintenance programmes and this is not only
a breach of building and essential services
legislation but also a failure to acknowledge
the duty of care between building owners and
building occupants.
Your Obligations
In the interest of public safety, the Australian Standard
AS/NZS2293.2 outlines your obligations in relation to
Emergency Lighting to ensure the safe evacuation of
occupants in an emergency. It is the responsibility of a
building owner to:
• Check all emergency lighting units, and conduct a
discharge test every 6 months
• Clean light emitting and reflecting surfaces of all fittings
every 12 months
• Keep a log book of maintenance information
Complying with these requirements can be very expensive
and labour intensive, especially in larger buildings where
testing requires many labour hours spent manually
inspecting every emergency light.
Stanilite® Nexus RF Emergency Lighting Management
System
The newest addition to the Stanilite® range is Nexus® RF
Emergency Lighting Management System - a wireless real-
time monitoring system that offers building owners:
• Control over their public safety obligations,
• Help managing installation, and
• Directs the maintenance of an emergency lighting
system
Stanilite® Nexus RF is ideally suited to both new
installations and refurbishment projects. No longer
constrained by the need for a dedicated cable, the new
wireless system can be easily installed in any building.
Reduce Your Maintenance Costs
One of the reasons for not maintaining emergency lighting
systems is the ongoing cost. However, through the use of an
Emergency Lighting Management System, the task of
regular testing, maintenance & reporting becomes a whole
lot easier and more economical.
The Nexus® RF management system will routinely test in
accordance with AS2293.2 and indicate only those units
which require attention. Maintenance contractors therefore
don’t waste time attending to fittings that are fully functional.
Furthermore, the system will generate the necessary log
reports to show that tests have been conducted and the
emergency lighting system is operational.
Reliability
Emergency evacuation lighting is an essential building safety
system – you need to be confident that it will work when an
emergency occurs. The Stanilite® brand has an enviable
reputation as Australia’s leading emergency lighting solutions
provider and has invested over 2 years research into this
latest Nexus®.
Flexibility
All buildings are inherently different.
Nexus® RF wireless technology copes
with building variations and the Area
Controller, which acts as the system
head end controller, eliminating the
need for a dedicated PC, allows the
user to choose the most suitable
backbone option. The system also
provides for multiple communication
options to enable remote system
interrogation.
Simplicity
Through the Graphical User Interface the operator can
simply view the system, ensure tests have run, view results
and much more. The Nexus® RF system provides a quick
and easy way to ensure the system is operational and the
maintenance standards have been met. An installing
contractor requires no special knowledge unlike other
systems he simply fits the units in the same way as a
standard emergency light.
Additional Savings with Energy Efficient Lumatec® Cold
Cathode Exits
Selected for use in a variety of facilities Stanilite Lumatec®
Cold Cathode exits have a proven track record of providing
energy and cost savings:
• 50,000 hour life – replace every 6 years
• Consumes 1/3 the power of 8W & 10W fluorescents
• Enhances building safety, Lumatec does not burn out
• Low energy requirement to operate – fewer emissions
To arrange an obligation free assessment of your
building, call Thomas & Betts on 1300 666 595
 ®

Proven Performance Reduce Landfill

Selected for use in a variety of facilities including the World’s Tallest Since Lumatec lamps only need to be replaced every 6 years
Residential Tower, Q1 on the Gold Coast, Stanilite Lumatec Cold compared to the annual replacement of conventional fluorescent
Cathode exits have a proven track record of providing energy and lamps, significantly less landfill is created in the form of used lamps.
cost savings.
Cold Cathode fluorescent tubes are used as a source of light Emergency Classification
in LCD computer screens & TVs, scanners & photocopiers. Stanilite Cold Cathode exits carry a full emergency classification hence
Cold Cathode is chosen for these applications due to its eliminating the need for an adjacent emergency luminaire. Once again,
energy efficiency, long life and quality of light. All of these this reduces costs and provides a well lit evacuation path.
characteristics also make it ideal for emergency exit signage.
Easy Maintenance
Reduce Maintenance Costs
Stanilite Lumatec Cold Cathode tubes are user replaceable
Within the 50,000 hour life of a Lumatec Cold Cathode lamp, a saving precious time and money. The Lumatec tube is enclosed in
conventional fluorescent lamp would need to be replaced more a tough outer casing allowing easy handling by contractor and end
than 6 times. Cold cathode lamped exit signs have been installed in user alike.
buildings since the year 2000 and have proven their ability to reduce
maintenance costs, even an average site will save thousands of Easy Upgrade
dollars each year.
Lumatec Quickfit Exit signs use the same slide and connect bracket
Reduce Running Costs as our conventional 10W Quickfit signs. An upgrade therefore
involves simply sliding one unit off and the new unit on.
A Lumatec Quickfit exit sign consumes as little as 1/3 the power of
competing 8W & 10W fluorescent exits. Even on a small site this
represents thousands of dollars in savings in power bills alone.

Improve Building Safety

Building safety is also enhanced as cold cathode lamps do not
burn out. The number one cause of exit sign failure is lamp burnout
of conventional tubes. Lumatec lamps on the other hand will
degrade over time but not leave occupants in the dark should an
emergency occur.
Lumatec Cold Cathode lamps are heat, moisture and dust
tolerant all of which are critical to reliability in the harsh
Australian environment. The same cannot be said of competing
technologies such as LED where lamp life is severely compromised
by adverse conditions.

Reduce Emissions
Lumatec powered exit signs reduce emissions on two fronts. The
low energy requirement to operate the sign means that fewer
emissions are created in power production. Further, the long lamp ®
life of Lumatec lamps means that less energy is consumed and
fewer emissions are created in the maintenance cycle since each – 50,000 hour life, replace every 6 years
fitting needs up to 6 times less attention than a conventionally – consumes 1/3 the power of 8W & 10W fluorescents
lamped exit sign. – heat, moisture and dust tolerant
– enhances building safety, Lumatec does not burn out

To talk about using Stanilite Lumatec Cold Cathode

technology on your next development call 1300 666 595
or visit www.tnbaust.com
All technical claims in this document are based upon technical information available at the time of publication. This information may change over time and comparisons may therefore vary

Thomas & Betts Australasia Pty Ltd ABN 62 074 810 898
Head Office & Manufacturing: 23A Nyrang Street, Lidcombe, NSW 2141
Phone: 1300 666 595 Fax: 1300 666 594 Web: www.tnbaust.com
LIGHTING
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 59
Facility Perspectives: Are people averse to implementing smarter lighting
system due to the initial capital outlay?
SC: Initial outlay is definitely an issue but they’ve got to look at it from a
number of different perspectives. If they’re looking at a return on investment
based purely on energy savings then some of the periods of return can be
quite lengthy and could extend beyond the life of the tenant’s time in the
buildings so they’ll question the value of it.
One of the areas where there’s great scope for opportunity comes from
putting in a more intelligent lighting system that meets the need of the
occupants so you can actually improve the quality of the space. If people
enjoy being there, then there is documented evidence that there is a slight
reduction in the number of sick leave days they have, so there’s simple
productivity calculations that can be made. If people are happier with their
environment and less distracted by it, they’re able to work more efficiently
which results in an increase in productivity. Again, it’s very simple for
different companies to do the sums for return on investment by putting in
their own figures for productivity increase. You only need a 1 percent
productivity increase and it makes a huge difference to the return on
investment.
Facility Perspectives: How can facility managers contribute to the
performance of lighting systems over the life of a building?
SC: I suggest that when facility managers are looking at refurbishment of their
facility, or the design of a new facility, they should really be supportive of
getting the lighting consultants involved at an early stage. The facility
manager should be participating in the lighting system design to determine
what the occupant’s lighting needs are likely to be when establishing the
flexibility of a lighting system.
Facility Managers need to be able to convey the needs of the people in
those spaces. Of all the senses, lighting is probably the one that is the most
complex in its outcome. It’s not just a matter of placing light on to the work
plane, it’s about making sure there’s no glare from any of the light sources,
and making sure there’s light on the ceiling and the walls so the space looks
voluminous and airy - all of these different issues are things that need to be
conveyed.
What also needs to be relayed are the particular needs of the occupants
such as the level of detail involved in their work and whether they’re working
on computers at their desk. For each occupancy, whether it’s going to be large
open-plan spaces or small offices or whether it’s a transient group that’s out
on the road a lot, you may need to look at different control systems to try and
turn off the lights or dim the lights when they’re not there. Some situations
will change the outcome, for example in a call centre where people are there
all day and every day, there’s probably no point installing sophisticated
systems that turn off different parts. All these factors make an impact on the
final lighting solution.
Facility Perspectives: What benefits will facility managers gain from being
involved in the consultancy process of a lighting refurbishment or fit-out?
SC: There are a number of things. If the process works well, then they should
end up with a system that is much easier to maintain. They’ll have good
maintenance schedules because they will have tried to minimise the
maintenance for their particular lighting solution. There should be significant
energy savings for them within their annual maintenance budget, they should
be able to utilise those funds toward other areas. There’ll also be a general
feeling of empathy and support from the tenants of the spaces that the FM is
doing their best to provide the most productive space for them.
Facility Perspectives: Would you say there are still a lot of spaces that are
ineffectively lit?
SC: Only 10 percent of the building stock is new buildings whereas the other
90 percent is refurbished buildings, so there are not a lot of advanced
technologies going in because they’re existing systems and it’s a bit more
costly to go in and re-wire the building.
Facility Perspectives: If facility managers can’t afford a complete retrofit,
what can they do to establish more effective lighting in their building?
SC: A lot of it involves the really simple process of just walking around and
observing the habits of the staff; because it’s really then that you’ll get an
insight into where the opportunities are, and where resources are being
62 • facilityperspec ti ves
wasted. They should probably look at the opportunities for replacing switches
for a timer switch instead, especially for rooms where people come and go
frequently and may forget to turn lights off. They may also want to change
over the system so there’s a low level light that’s always on in the space, but
which allows people coming in to bring the level of light up enough to work in.
Scheduling is a fairly simple thing. If everyone’s left the building by 8 o’clock
at night then have a timer switch that turns off the lights, but that has a
manual override for people who want to come in. There are some fairly simple
technology solutions that can give a reasonably large chunk of savings in
energy for a minimal impact on people.
Facility Perspectives: How can facility managers start finding out about new
lighting technologies available?
SC: The Illuminating Engineering Society has been around for 75 years and we
have membership levels that are only attained by achieving a certain
education in lighting. I would recommend that anyone who’s unsure about
what they should do should talk to the secretary at the IESANZ in their state
and they can help them with a number of people who might be available to
talk with them commercially.
Facility Perspectives: How have you seen lighting designs change in the last
ten years?
SC: In the past lighting has moved from being purely engineered towards
something which is about creating a quality visual space for people to be in.
It’s moving more towards the art rather than the science of the lighting, the
art being the quality and beauty of the space.
Facility Perspectives: What future lighting technologies do you see
emerging?
SC: There are a number of different of chemical processes that produce light
but at this stage the majority of them are expensive or not viable from a life
span perspective. I think in the next 5 to 10 years with the phasing out of our
incandescent globes, you’re going to see that people will start to pay a bit
more attention to the different technologies associated with lighting,
particularly in view of control options. People will be looking at other
alternatives that will provide the light more efficiently, so for less electricity.
The most common replacement in the home will be the compact
fluorescent. I think you’ll also find using the LED as a general light source will
not be that far away in the distant future now.
There will potentially be some other new light sources over the next few years
and it’s a fairly exciting time from a lighting point of view as there’s going to be
a number of options available. The last few years has really bought together
two groups, one is your traditional lighting manufacturing industry and the
second is the computing and electronics industry, which really hasn’t been a
part of lighting up until the last 10 years. You’ve now got all these electronics
people that can now seeing a new market opening up to them, and as a result
I think the flexibility of our lighting systems will become very high end.
Facility Perspectives: What makes LEDs so effective?
SC: They have electricity passing through the semi-conductor device that
produces light in a method that is becoming more efficient than most other
systems. It has all these other wonderful features about it, including the fact
that it’s very robust – you can drop it and it won’t break. It’s also a very small
package which means you can create the actual light-fitting around it to have
a much better control of light, unlike the standard light bulb which just pours
light out in all directions. Using Leeds will give people the ability to implement
different designs to make the light very directional. As far as cost, it will come
down, but it’s like any emerging technologies - they start off fairly expensive
but as demand for the product increases, the price comes down on volume. If
you think back to our compact fluorescents, when they first came out I think
we were paying about 23-24 dollars for one compact fluorescent light where
now I think you can buy them for about the 5-7 dollar mark.
Facility Perspectives: What’s on the horizon for light recycling in Australia?
SC: There’s not a great deal of recycling that is going on for lighting in
Australia, but I think that will potentially change as well. There are recycling
programmes overseas and a number of lamp manufacturers overseas have
engaged a recycling programme so you can return the waste lamps back to
them for recycling.
Facility Perspectives: Can fluorescents be recycled?
SC: Yes they can be, they can crush them up, separate the components,
 LIGHTING
recover the mercury and the phosphor and the glass and the metal ends. 2 The Greenlight Australia Strategy is available online at www.energyrating.gov.au
Facility Perspectives: Why has it taken Australia so long to catch on to 3 wikipedia definitions
recycling? 4 BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6433503.stm
SC: Probably because of the initial start-up costs to set up light recycling 5 Earth Policy Website http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2007/Update66.htm
systems. We don’t have any manufacturers of the actual light bulbs in 6 Assembly member Lloyd E. Levin press releases
Australia so it would be a case of someone looking at a business, which would http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a40/press/20070130AD40PR01.htm
be commercially viable, just to do the recycling, as opposed to it being part of 7 Green Building Council of Australia Media Releases
the social conscience of your company.
Facility Perspectives: How do you think Australia’s use of lighting in the built About our contributor:
environment compares globally? Steve Coyne is a consultant to the
SC: Globally, Australia is very savvy with embracing the newer lighting Federal, State and Local Governments
technologies. The US market has nowhere as much embraced things like on Energy Efficiency initiatives in
compact fluorescents or even fluorescents as much as Europe and Australia Lighting. He is a physicist who has
have. Europe is probably the lead on recycling and some of the sustainability specialised in photometry, lighting and
issues, but I think in light of recent statements by the Federal Government, daylighting. Now an independent
then we’ve probably taken the lead in light of enforcement of energy-efficient lighting consultant, up until recently
technologies. I think as far as recycling we’ve still got a long way to go. he had spent 18 years as a lecturer at
Facility Perspectives: What should facility managers do tomorrow in regards the Queensland University of
to the lighting of their buildings? Technology in Brisbane, Australia.
STEVE COYNE, VICE
SC: They should at least do a walk-through audit of how their lighting systems Steve still lectures casually in post
PRESIDENT OF THE
are operating in relation to the staff, because they could realise some fairly ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING graduate lighting courses he helped to
reasonable savings by some minimal cost. From a longer-term point of view, SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA AND establish in Australia and Hong Kong.
lighting should always be an important component to facility managers NEW ZEALAND He is currently the Deputy Chairman of
because lighting accounts for about 30 percent of their energy costs, so any the Australian Council of Built Environment Design Professions and
saving on the energy consumption is going to be of benefit to the the Vice President of the Illuminating Engineering Society of
organisation. Australia and New Zealand.
To have a really good quality environment to live in or work in, you need The Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand
quite a good understanding of issues of vision, of the engineering aspect and www.iesanz.org
the creative aspect needed to produce those wonderful environments we all The Australian Council of Built Environment Design Professions:
want to be in. www.bedp.asn.au
Steve Coyne: steve@lightnaturally.com.au or
1 Media release 20 February 2007, The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP lightnaturally@optusnet.com.au

POOLES ROCK WINERY

FAIRFAX DIGITAL
SIGNATURE TOWERS

BENDIGO BANK HEADQUARTERS

ENGINEERS PLANNERS MANAGERS SCIENTISTS

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE – A LEADING GLOBAL PROVIDER | ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY WITH FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

The Building Science Group provides
research, assessment and design input
to innovative, “out of the ordinary” design
solutions. The group’s main focus is in
the area of ecologically sustainable design
(ESD), but is also engaged in complex
engineering system solutions.
Light Art at Meinhardt provides specialist
architectural lighting design solutions that
cater to every project. Using design flair and
the latest architectural lighting design tools,
the Light Art team is focused on achieving a
balance of aesthetics, function, energy
efficiency, maintenance and cost for the
best possible lighting design solutions.
The Asset Management Group provides
independent advisory and technical services
for the ongoing operation, management.
upgrade, refurbishment, comparison and
assessment of existing and new premises
and developments, including ABGR and
Greenstar accreditation and review.

Melbourne Sydney Brisbane Adelaide

P. 03 8676 1200 P. 02 9699 3088 P. 07 3018 5000 P. 08 8227 1544

Australia | China | Hong Kong | India | Singapore | Philippines | Malaysia | Indonesia | Thailand | Pakistan | Vietnam | United Kingdom | USA | UAE

www.meinhardtgroup.com

facilityperspec ti ves • 63
PROJECT SHOWCASE

response-group and the

management of change
BY JODY MARSHALL

According to Wikipedia: Change management is a structured approach to

change in individuals, teams, organisations and societies that enables the
transition from a current state to a desired future state.
Most organisations and individuals are familiar with the specialist “change
management consultants” from a business, cultural, acquisition, merger
and/or IT perspective, but few are familiar from an internal planning or
physically built perspective.

64 • facilityperspec ti ves
 PROJECT SHOWCASE
rganisations are becoming

O increasingly more people-centric

and employee-centric to attain,
retain and attract personnel. The
physical environment therefore needs to be
the backdrop to enable an organisation to
operate, and needs to offer a variety of
functions and experiences for its employees
as a base for an increasingly more flexible,
“work anywhere, any place” society.
Change and the management of change
within an organisation or group of
organisations appear to be most successful
when it is linked with physical change
(assuming the business case supports the
change). Not only is this change tangible
from an employee’s perspective, it is relevant
within the market place. Having stated that,
there is no point in an organisation
undertaking physical change if the people,
processes, technology and culture do not
support it, since an organisation’s reshaping
and operational capabilities need to be linked
and have full management and employee
buy-in.
Interior architects are specialist
consultants who can assist organisations
with physical change. In addition to managing
the framework for physical workplace change
in a structured manner, interior specialists
can assist in conveying an organisations
culture, branding and values through the built
environment in a visual 3 dimensional
manner.
response-group is a Sydney based
consultancy that are committed to delivering
strategic design solutions and to creating
environments that inspire people to interact,
communicate and evolve. After all, business
is all about relationships and communication.
response-group have recently completed
physical relocations and environmentally
branded workplace environments for two
organisations that were undergoing internal
organisational business change and as a
result required significant physical change.
Outlined below is an overview of these
two corporate projects:

CASE STUDY 1: ROGENSI – PLANNED

CHANGE
All images of RogenSi supplied by Marcus Clinton Photography Tel: 0411 175 631

RogenSi is a leading global consulting and

learning development firm. It specialises in
addressing leadership, sales performance
and cultural and other change initiatives. Its
work involves consulting, coaching and
training interventions for its clients.
Previously located in Frenchs Forest, over
eighty percent of RogenSi’s Sydney clients
were city based. While they did have onsite
training facilities, they were also hiring
venues in Sydney CBD to accommodate the
need for a more readily accessible venue, due
to time constraints some of their clients who
were reluctant to travel to Frenchs Forest for
tailored workshops and training. RogenSi

facilityperspec ti ves • 65
 PROJECT SHOWCASE
All images of RogenSi supplied by Marcus Linton Photography
recognised an opportunity to move closer to their client base, create a
more creative and professional environment for their consultants, and
build in-house coaching and training workshop facilities.
RogenSi invited five Sydney based interior design firms to present
their ideas, services and fee proposal for the relocation, and a cross
section of key players from RogenSi was selected internally to review
and assess the interior presentations. RogenSi were impressed with
response-group’s people focused direction and commissioned the firm
to relocate their offices to Clarence Street, Sydney.
Due to RogenSi's previous suburban location, the firm found that its
consultants were spending unwanted time travelling between their
clients and the office. They found that this travel time caused them to
miss opportunities of communicating with their fellow consultants and
their support staff, who spent most of the time in the office. The brief for
the relocation was therefore to design an environment where the
employees could be more collective and could be supported by in-house
facilities.
A series of workshops were undertaken to understand the
organisation’s, “requirements, needs and wants”. Through these
workshops and discussions which response-group helped facilitate,
three key elements were identified to achieve what was perceived to be
a balanced working environment. The elements being:
3 physical
3 cultural
3 technological
The group discussions evolved and the requirements formulated the
initial brief for the workplace environment. The basis for the brief
identified that by relocating and providing a dedicated work position for
every staff member within an open communication environment,
introducing user friendly supportive technology and having state of the
art flexible training facilities, the following benefits were presented:
3 A greater level and speed of communication between consultants,
66 • facilityperspec ti ves
which created a free flow of information regarding solutions to
clients needs, consulting and training techniques, subject matter,
client profiles and information, and creating a more collegiate feel
amongst “front-line” staff – cross functional teaming
3 A better understanding of employee needs and expectations
3 Cost containment through the utilisation of in-house facilities,
meaning less external venue hire was required
3 A marketing opportunity to refresh relationships with existing
clients through regular social events in-house
Their new office environment consists of flexible purpose-built
training rooms that open into communal spaces. The 3 training rooms
are multifunctional and can be opened into the reception area to
accommodate up to 200 people. The work environment houses
dedicated work positions, research areas and back of house library
facilities for the consultants and, printing and collating facilities for the
support staff.
The relocation has had a positive response from RogenSi personnel
and has exceeded the workplace goals originally set for both staff and
clients.
CASE STUDY 2: SAVILLS AUSTRALIA – GROWTH THROUGH
ACQUISITION
Savills Australia specialise in the provision of Commercial, Retail and
Industrial property services throughout Australia and are a part of an
international property group.
Savills Australia recently acquired a prominent project management
company to enable them to provide full life cycle property services and
project delivery. Savills Australia wanted to be able to enhance the cross
selling of services between their internal business units, since this
strategic acquisition would give them the commercial market edge of
becoming a one stop shop for their client base.
Their existing premises didn’t allow for both businesses to be
 Whether the delivery method is Construction
Management, Head Contractor or Design &
Construct, FDC capably support the process
from concept to completion
Sydney
Melbourne
Brisbane
www.fdcbuilding.com.au
concept + briefing + scope + buildability + risk management +

program + budget + approvals + delivery + certification

PROJECT SHOWCASE

housed together and a new facility provided an opportunity to go

forward. Being a property company, Savills Australia had seen first hand
the benefits of a supportive workplace for their tenanted clients, and
could see the opportunity to create a new work environment for the
company which could reflect and support their new organisational
business structure.
The project delivery team for Savills Australia had experience with
response-group’s capabilities in assisting corporations facilitate physical
change and to express their culture environmentally through projects
that they successfully delivered together.
response-group were therefore an obvious choice and were
engaged to relocate Savills Australia’s head office from Hunter Street
Sydney and their acquired project delivery team from North Sydney to a
central location of 2000sqm in the landmark AMP building in Bridge
Street. This relocation provided the opportunity to mesh two cultures
into a single unified physical environment that supported the fast
transfer of market knowledge within the property consulting and
services group.
Accommodation issues can easily become a diversion when two
cultures merge. The overall business direction, focus and physical
assets therefore needed to be linked and their new work environment
allowed the organisation to become a community. As an organisation
they recognised that the success of the Savills Australia Group of
Companies was primarily dependent on the contribution and
commitment of their people and the Sydney based relocation was the
perfect platform to provide their staff with a fabulous working
environment.
The overall project and organisational change had full management
commitment from the on-set. As the project had a short delivery period,
key stake holders were involved to expedite the decision process. The
project team consisted of the NSW managing director, the chief
operating officer, the strategic project delivery general manager and
senior project manager who together with response-group developed

68 • facilityperspec ti ves
 PROJECT SHOWCASE
the brief, the design direction, and the project delivery and collectively ABOUT RESPONSE-GROUP
were responsible for the successful outcome. This team not only Jody Marshall along with Mark Perry
developed the brief, under took staff awareness workshops, undertook (managing director) is responsible
furniture showroom visits, attended project and site meetings, and for business development for the
assisted in the relocation, they were there to celebrate their opening. response-group. Jody has a design
Savills Australia took two floors of the AMP building. The main background and has been part of the
reception floor with associated state of the art public areas, boardroom, group for 10 years, the longevity
training room, meeting rooms and servery was co-located with the testimony to the people focussed
Corporate Services Group (Accounts, IT and Marketing), while the main philosophy and approach that
working floor housed the Sales, Leasing, Industrial, Valuation and Project response-group has with its
Management Groups. The floor included dedicated meeting rooms, employees, clients and collaborates.
breakout areas and a generous staff room equipped with all of the JODY MARSHALL, SENIOR Established in 1991, response-group
DESIGNER – BUSINESS
modern conveniences including a coffee machine (all proceeds are DEVELOPMENT, RESPONSE- is a leading Sydney-based interior
donated to a charity) and a bar; the primary purpose of the café zone GROUP. architecture consultancy providing
facility being to encourage in-house gatherings and social interaction. . expertise in three distinct core disciplines:
The personnel adjacencies were a planned business decision with 3 Corporate Interior Design
the desired outcome of assisting the transfer of market knowledge 3 Workplace Culture and Change
between the individual groups enabling the business to be involved with 3 Hospitality and Retail Design
their clients through a “lifecycle” association with their property needs. response-group has built its reputation by developing long-term
The managing director wanted to convey a more whimsical fun face of relationships with clients based on a clear understanding of their
the organisation and had two older style phone booths restored and needs, and the delivery of imaginative and innovative design,
installed in the working environment for quick commercially confidential workplace management and personal service. The group prides
and more personal phone calls. itself on the collaborative approach they adopt for all projects.
Turnover of the Savills Australia Group exceeds A$71 million, a result Committed to delivering strategic design solutions and create
of being one of the fastest growing commercial agencies’ in the last environments that inspire people to interact, communicate and
decade. Indications are that Savills Australia’s Sydney business has achieve, their tailored services and involvement can be holistic,
increased from their client base, due to their ability to react quickly to from project conception to completions, or can be area specific.
various property needs, and being able to service those needs promptly Solutions are delivered to meet the clients’ parameters of
due to improved internal communication - affirming that the physical program and budget.
built environment and the strategic planning of the adjacencies allowed
Savills Australia to transition from their previous state to their desired
future state- the definition of change management.

NEW SOUTH WALES

645 King Street, (Cnr Goodsell Street), St Peters
T 1300 559 275 • F (02) 9557 3013
E sales@krost.com.au • www.krost.com.au

VICTORIA
260 City Road, South Melbourne
T 1300 559 275 • F (03) 9682 8281
E info@klein.com.au • www.klein.com.au
vast range
facilityperspec ti ves • 69
SOFTWARE CASE STUDY

Praxeo helps Mirvac

fill the fm gap
BY JON TINBERG

Mirvac is a leading ASX

listed integrated real
estate group with more
than $24.7 billion of
activities across the real
estate funds
management and
development spectrum.
As part of the stapled
entity Mirvac Group,
Mirvac Property Trust
owns more than 60
investment grade
properties including
commercial, retail,
industrial, hotels and
carparks leased to
quality tenants. Staff at Mirvac utilising their new Praxeo System by Valorem. Image supplied by Valorem.

irvac Group’s facilities management activities have Mirvac rolled out Praxeo to all its sites nationally and Praxeo has

M experienced rapid growth over the last few years. Organic

growth from their development pipeline as well as
acquisitions such as James Fielding, and most recently the
Walker Corporation assets, has increased the number of sites under
active management.
become an important pillar in Mirvac’s site management and overall IT
systems. On May 30, Praxeo was awarded the national iAward for Industrial
Applications from the Australian Information Industry Association in
recognition of its innovation.

During this same period of growth, Mirvac has been actively updating
their systems and procedures to meet the new legislative and OHS
requirements. Paper based information trails of works done, permits,
insurances and inductions were creating a flood of data from the sites that
was difficult to track, to audit and use to verify activities and compliance.
According to Mirvac’s National Engineering and Operations Manager,
Steve Butler, “When you have an increase in legal requirements and no
increase in personnel, you have to fill the gap somewhere, and you fill it
with technology.”
At the time, Valorem Systems, an Australian company that provides IT
solutions to facilities owners, facility managers, contractors and tenants,
was working on a new tool for web-based site management. As a long term
technology partner of Mirvac, Valorem had worked closely with Mirvac to
introduce Kevah, a mobility solution that has streamlined its site reporting.
Mirvac was also involved in the design of another Valorem IT solution called
Praxeo, a system designed to assist location managers meet their
obligations in regard to contractor management.
The development of Praxeo
Valorem consulted with Mirvac and other leading facility owners,
managers and contractors to determine the requirements for Praxeo.
Valorem examined the site activities, how business, operational and
compliance processes are managed, and how these activities and
outcomes are reported to owners, managers and contractors. From this
broad scope of enquiry, some key questions emerged, including:
3 Who is on the site and are they authorized to be there? Are their
company insurances up-to-date and appropriate? Has the individual
been inducted to the facilities manager and to the site?
3 What are the contractors doing? Can facilities managers track and
report on work orders from the site in real-time? Can they measure
performance and activity against service level agreements and
contracts?
3 Has the facilities manager provided appropriate data such as site
information, hot works rules, confined spaces particulars and roof
access details to contractors to work safely?

70 • facilityperspec ti ves

3 Can the facilities manager stream-line the communications process?
(Activity on a site is often 24/7, but the site manager is there 8 to 9
hours, necessitating a 24 hour communications solution.)
3 How can activity on-site be organized & managed where there is no on-
site manager?
3 How can insurances and inductions be constantly monitored and
managed?
3 Can facilities managers be consistent in managing and verifying visitor
inductions?
3 How can the details of site activity, including the tracking of keys,
equipment, licenses and training schedules be automated?
Valorem also looked in detail at current practices such as the sign-in
books, communication books, visitor passes and a range of paper based
forms that were completed on sites, and from these investigations Praxeo
was developed.
Through the consultation, beta solution testing and the final
development, Valorem recognized that the modern practice of facilities
management was one of partnership; a sharing of responsibility and action
between the contractors and the managers and owners. The
communication and reporting of activities on sites is of mutual concern to
all parties.
Jon Tinberg, Managing Director of Valorem noted, “the advancement of
reporting of site activities to real-time reporting, live measures of activity,
and universal, remote access, is the most revolutionary step in Facilities
Management since the personal computer. By creating a hub of shared
information we have freed managers and contractors from the mundane
level of activity management while at the same time enhancing and
improving outcomes across all aspects of this activity.”
Praxeo achieves this vision from a web-based platform that uses
security profiles to allow access to managers and contractors, and linking
them to their sites through a touch-screen system installed on each site.
These touch-screens – or Praxeo Terminals – are installed on site at the
How much money can you save the business today?
Sydney Office Melbourne Office Brisbane Office
Suite 1503c Level 15 Suite 4 Level 10 Level 24
33 Bligh Street 55 Swanston Street 10 Eagle Street
Sydney NSW 2000 Melbourne VIC 3000 Brisbane QLD 4000
Australia Australia Australia
t +61 2 9222 1144 t +61 3 9662 3144 t +61 7 3503 9270
f +61 2 8915 1322 f +61 3 9445 9227 f +61 7 3503 9269
archibus@asc-a.com | www.asc-a.com | +61 2 8323 4333
SOFTWARE CASE STUDY
Praxeo, an innovative web-based solution from
Valorem Systems, won the coveted national iAward for
industrial applications in May 2007.
Praxeo delivers:
3 Consistent visitor inductions
3 Compliance – insurances, inductions, OHS site rules
3 Communications, 24 x 7
3 Remote “control” of sites
3 Real-time reports, available remotely
3 SLA /SLC monitoring
3 Reports on work order completions
3 Integration with other systems
3 Shared access for contractors and tenants
security office, loading dock or reception area where contractors
traditionally arrive and sign-in. Now contractors arrive and check in at the
Praxeo Terminal, where:
3 Praxeo checks their contractor company insurances and the individual
inductions, immediately and in real-time.
3 Once logged on, Praxeo displays welcome messages and any
individual messages from the site manager to the contractor.
3 The contractors can then select the work they are to perform – the
service contract or work orders.
3 Praxeo then displays site rules – specific safety instructions related to
the contractors work.
3 Lastly, Praxeo logs requests for keys or equipment.
The log-off sequence follows a like structure with similar features,
including the ability to close out work orders, note the return of keys or
equipment, and send messages about specific issues, work orders, or site
conditions and hazards.
“The power within Praxeo is the fact that it is a web-based, user driven
system” stated Mr Tinberg. “Companies up-load their own messages in
Technology consulting firm, Gartner, has estimated that organisations using
Total Infrastructure and Facilities Management Software can reduce their overall
costs by up to 20% annually - this is what ARCHIBUS can do for your business.
At ARCHIBUS Solution Centers - Australia, we understand that every dollar saved
by minimising your overheads is a dollar put toward maximising your bottom line
- and that every day you delay is costing you money.
ARCHIBUS has specialist modules that include:
• Move Management
• Room Reservations
• Project Management
• Condition Assessment
• Space and Furniture Management
• Equipment Management and Maintenance
• Real Property and Lease Management
• Environmental Sustainability Assessment
The #1 Solution for Total
Infrastructure and Facilities
Management in the World...
Over 3 Million users
managing 1.6 Billion
square metres prove it daily!
facilityperspec ti ves • 71
SOFTWARE CASE STUDY
video, audio or text and can send them out to all sites, individual sites, or
contractor groups. Within two minutes of creating a message, it has been
downloaded to all the Praxeo Terminals.”
For the site managers, the web-based structure of Praxeo allows them
to remotely monitor all of their sites from any PC that has an internet
connection. They log-on to the Praxeo Administrative portal, and can run a
range of reports in real-time. Through the security structure within Praxeo,
owners and contractors have access to the same information on service
contractor performance, and contractors can pull reports off for payroll and
other requirements.
“Praxeo has the ability to link back-office work order / maintenance
management systems, help desk functions, and financial management
systems in a live way to the sites and the people on those sites,” stated Mr
Tinberg.

Mirvac national roll-out

Mirvac saw the potential of Praxeo, and committed to a national roll-out
across their portfolio. This roll-out commenced in September 2006, and by
the end of February, Valorem had installed Praxeo Terminals in over 60
buildings across Australia and trained the site managers in their use.
The simplicity of the touch-screen interface of the Praxeo Terminals
means that the contractors and users require minimal training in their use.
Simply put – they touch the screen and follow the prompts.
The benefits of Praxeo for Mirvac have been immediate and far
reaching:
Enhanced Safety: The safety of contractors and visitors has been
enhanced. From any internet connection, Mirvac managers send either
global messages to all contractors visiting all properties or specific
messages targeted to only certain buildings, contractor groups or
individuals. Praxeo maintains a log of messages sent, received, read and
acknowledged, as part of the compliance audit trail.
Systems Integration: Praxeo has become the control mechanism that
links all of Mirvac’s business monitoring systems. Valorem has established
a two way data flow, allowing Praxeo to link Mirvac sites to their critical
back-office IT systems. With data entered only once and outstanding issues
highlighted automatically, Mirvac’s level of efficiency has been immediately
increased.
Said Mirvac’s National Engineering and Operations Manager, Steve
Butler, “While many systems profess to be open and flexible, the true test
is in the ability of a system to provide and collect of data from external
sources and other systems. Valorem has allowed us to work with them to
share Praxeo’s data backwards and forwards. That’s very important when
you’re trying to build a package of systems.”
Contractor Empowerment: Through Praxeo, contractors are
empowered to take responsibility for their own administration. Contractors
supply insurance data and other vital statistics once, and they are obliged
to keep it updated when changes occur. If an item is outstanding or
incomplete, Praxeo will not grant the contractor company or their staff site
access. Previously, contractors would have provided paper based copies of
certificates of insurance to all their sites. Now, with Praxeo the ability to do
this once and have the information shared globally across all sites is of
great benefit.
Using Praxeo, contract companies now automatically provide Mirvac
proof that their service level agreements and contracts are met, as Praxeo
automatically tracks the number of contractors and the hours spent on
site.
Improved Efficiency: Praxeo reduces the substantial administrative
time that Mirvac staff used in meeting all its legislative requirements,
allowing Mirvac staff to focus on their core business of managing
properties. Sifting through papers to stay on top of statutory and
administrative compliance issues has been replaced by Praxeo
automatically providing and collecting information.
Even the basic site management task of checking communication
books and checking on site activity has been eleviated by Praxeo. Logging
on to the internet, a site manager can check on all of their sites in real time,
looking at current activity, recent events, and checking individual

72 • facilityperspec ti ves

messages to and from contractors.
Praxeo allows data to be managed so the Mirvac team can be more
effective, dealing only with exceptions.
Future plans
In time, Mirvac plans to install the Praxeo system in all their assets.
According to Chris Luscombe, General Manager – Mirvac Real Estate
Services, “Anywhere we are responsible for visitors, maintenance or
contractor control, or where there are branch offices, we plan to install
Praxeo terminals.”
Said Mr Luscombe, “we had the opportunity to take a period of
exclusivity with Valorem, however, Mirvac believes there are greater
benefits to Mirvac and the facilities management business if we learn from
each other. We want to see our peers use Praxeo because the business we
are involved in can only be better if more people manage their risk more
effectively. We believe the whole industry should investigate the system
and the benefits that it offers.”
Launched into the industry in May at the Facility Management
Association of Australia ideaction 2007 Conference, Valorem has already
attracted keen interest amongst other facility managers, contractor groups
and owners, and looks forward to a busy year of installing Praxeo Terminals
here and overseas.
ABOUT MIRVAC
Mirvac is a leading ASX listed integrated real estate group with more
than $24.7 billion of activities across the real estate funds management
and development spectrum. Established in 1972, Mirvac has more than 30
years of experience in the property industry.
Mirvac’s Funds Management division manages approximately $12.3
billion of activities under management; $4 billion through Mirvac Property
Trust, and $8.3 billion on behalf of more than 40,000 institutional and retail
investors in three key areas: real estate equity – listed and unlisted funds
SOFTWARE CASE STUDY
and mandates, real estate debt – debt funds and infrastructure – listed
and unlisted funds and mandates.
Mirvac Property Trust, part of the stapled entity Mirvac Group, owns
more than 60 investment grade properties including commercial, retail,
industrial, hotels and carparks leased to quality tenants.
ABOUT VALOREM
Valorem Systems Australia provides specialised software to the
facilities management industry. The company’s products are of two types:
mobile documentation solutions for use on PDAs (called Kevah) and a
facilities access management system (Praxeo). Both products have sold
strongly and Valorem counts the leading listed property groups, and many
contractor companies as clients. For more information on Praxeo or Kevah
– contact Valorem on 1300 665 818 or www.valoremsystems.com
About Our Contributor
Jon Tinberg founded Valorem with two
other partners in 2002. Valorem grew
out of Jon’s previous business which
was providing registered training to
cleaning contractors. Originally from
the USA, Jon’s previous business
interests also include training,
consulting, business services and
financial trading. Jon is a member of
the FMA, PCA, AICD. With a hands-on
JON TINDBERG approach, Jon works closely with all of
Valorem’s clients across the spectrum of Facilities Management,
including owners, managers, contractors and agents representing
tenants. The holistic perspective is the foundation of Valorem’s
vision – Building Links with People through technology, uniting the
stakeholders in the Facilities Management arena.

We’re always looking at better

ways to service our clients and
we’re also looking at better ways
to help the environment. To see
the whole picture, have a look at:
theglassisgreener.com.au

1300 666 234

RPBROWN 1184

ALL DAY ALL NIGHT ALL OVER AUSTRALIA

facilityperspec ti ves • 73
FM PEOPLE
Introducing the Young Facility
Manager of the Year 2007 –
Michael Russo
BY FACILITY PERSPECTIVES’ MELANIE DRUMMOND
For Investa Property Group’s Michael Russo, the 2007 Ideaction Gala Dinner was
not just about the glitz, glamour and great food. The 29-year-old also took home
the award for FMA Australia & Tungsten’s Young Facility Manager of the Year, an
honour bestowed upon a young FM who has shown outstanding achievement in his
or her work throughout the past year. Facility Perspectives’ Melanie Drummond
discovered some of the more salient aspects of a career path typified by many in
facilities management, and found out exactly what it is that makes this man the
Young Facility Manager of 2007.
ichael Russo is young, focused and positive about the industry he
M loves. As a facilities manager with Investa Property Group’s
Queensland Office, the 29-year-old looks after 4 properties and
manages a much-valued team of 6 people.
A fitter and turner by trade, Michael started working in Facilities
Management while he was on his Overseas Exchange in the UK. His first job
was with an outsourced building and services maintenance company which
gave Michael the opportunity to assist with the management of three British
Council properties.
On returning to Australia he worked in air-conditioning maintenance
before moving to Investa Property Group three years ago. With the support
and training offered by Investa, Michael has moved from property supervisor
to OH & S and Environmental Facilities Co-ordinator before finally being
promoted to his current role as Facilities Manager.
In 2005, Michael completed a Diploma in Facilities Management through
the Property Council of Australia and is currently studying part-time to
complete his Certificate in Business Management. It’s clear all the training has
paid off as it’s more than evident that Michael takes his challenging new role
completely in stride.
One of his responsibilities as Facilities Manager requires him to oversee a
number of facilities-based capital expenditure projects worth around $1.8
million and if that doesn’t seem like enough to keep a young FM on his toes -
he’s also required to co-ordinate OH & S, assist with asset management and
look after the environmental footprint of his buildings.
“Involved in my role is the responsibility for identifying new
environmentally efficient technology in the industry, trialling it and building
business cases around it. The business cases look into the viability of rolling
the technology out to local ventures and if successful, then out to the whole
Investa portfolio,” said Michael.
His investigation into all opportunities surrounding water, waste and
energy has led to the implementation of a detailed sub-water metering
package throughout Investa’s Queensland portfolio. “With Investa being a
leader in water management, we’ve already installed a number of water saving
technologies in our buildings. We’re now taking that to the next step and really
drilling down to where water is being used. We’ve implemented a number of
sub-water meters throughout our Queensland buildings which we then link
74 • facilityperspec ti ves
back to our central monitoring system.
This can then monitor our water usage on a half-hourly basis throughout
all the buildings which enables us to get a very good snapshot of where our
water usage is going and whether we have any leakages. That’s been in place
for a couple of months and has allowed us to make some valuable savings by
identifying leakages early. We’re also still looking at a few projects we could
undertake around cooling towers,” Michael said.
To keep on top of what’s happening with the latest environmental
developments in the industry; Michael’s secret is to maintain solid working
relationships with all of his contractors and consultants. Michael maintains
that “If you’ve got a good relationship with those people and you meet with
them regularly, then you’ll be able to brainstorm with them when new
technology comes out. From there it’s just a matter of grabbing on to the new
innovations, researching them and running a trial as soon as you can.”
The constant media and public attention on the built environment’s
impact on global warming will ensure sustainability remains a major part of
any facility manager’s role in the future. It’s a challenge Michael welcomes.
Michael put it succinctly when he said “There are a lot of older buildings in
Australia that I think pose a challenge for facilities managers all throughout
Australia – how do we get the maximum amount of efficiency out of existing
stock?. Building energy efficient new buildings is a no-brainer these days but
the real challenge is to get a one-star performing building up to a four star
performing building and that ultimately comes down to how well the facilities
manager and team can do their jobs.”
As well as exploring new innovations that may help Michael maximise the
performance of his buildings, he also faces the weekly challenges which are
common to all facilities managers.
“In a normal week, probably the main challenge I find is dealing with
tenants and contractor services in the building, ensuring the building is
always compliant and services are being provided by each of our individual
contractors. My job also requires me to manage our operational expenditure
and capital works expenditure on a weekly basis,” he said.
Michael relies on his well-trained staff and good organisational abilities to
make sure the buildings are running at optimum efficiency every week. “It’s
really important to have well-trained staff in each property that are able to run
the building on site. I definitely believe the saying, ‘you’re only as good as
 FM PEOPLE
you’re team’ because if you put time into your team then you’ll definitely reap
the benefits.
You’ve also got to be able to schedule your work correctly – that’s the key
to handling any stress that might develop. You’ve got to have the ability to look
at what your workload is and when things do come in you may need to do a re-
juggle fairly quickly. It’s essential to always be looking forward”, he said.
Michael agrees that good communication skills are also vital in the make-
up of a successful facilities manager: “You can’t deliver a message unless you
communicate it correctly. I would hope my team would say that I’m a good
communicator and a good team player. I aim to be accommodating and ready
to offer my assistance and time whenever they have questions or concerns.
It’s important to me to give my team full assistance so they can achieve what
they have to everyday.”
Despite the hectic nature of being a facilities manager, Michael says it’s
the variety of the role which adds the spice to his life. “Every day is different -
no two days are same. That’s what keeps the job exciting; there are lots of
different things happening all the time which is great. You never come in to
find you’re doing the same thing you were yesterday. I also really enjoy
working with a team, setting goals and getting results – that’s one of the best
things. There’s a lot of job satisfaction in being a facilities manager.”
Despite the many benefits of choosing Facilities Management as a career
path, Michael still feels the industry needs to keep encouraging young people
to take up the profession.
“I don’t think enough people are really even aware of Facilities
Management as an industry yet. We need to keep getting young people into
the industry and I think the way we can continue doing that is by having a
very good training platform. We need to show students that it is a great
industry to get into straight from school.”
In the little free time Michael has, he also serves on the committee for the
Property Council of Australia, which provides him with valuable insight into
what the property industry is doing as a whole - it’s a choice he recommends
to other young facility managers.
“I think young facility managers coming into the industry need to be out
there and getting involved, and joining a committee is a great idea - anything
that might help you fully understand just how big this industry is and how
many variables there are.”
Michael hopes bringing young blood into the FM industry will bring the
new ideas needed to advance the industry forward to the next level. “As a
group I think facilities managers are already to starting to move forward, we’re
not just here to patch up buildings anymore. We’re here to look at improving
our buildings, improving water usage and improving energy usage – we’re here
to look at long-term solutions. I think the environmental issues are causing the
industry to change very rapidly, and that makes it a very exciting time to be a
facilities manager.”

About our winner:

Michael Russo has actively been involved in the Facilities
Management industry for over 6 years, growing a career as an
apprentice mechanical fitter and machinist progressing then to the
corporate commercial market as QLD Facilities Manager for Investa
Property Group. Russo worked in the international property market
in 2002 in London UK managing 3 properties. In 2005 he completed
his Property Council Facilities Management Diploma with distinction
and his currently completing a Certificate IV in Business
Management. He also sits on the Property Council of Australia
Stainable Development & Management Committee for Queensland.
In 2006 Michael won the Investa Property Group Peter J Carney
Award for the “pursuit of excellence and intellectual rigor to be
applied to everything we do or contemplate”. Investa Property Group
is a fully integrated property investment and development
organisation. As the largest listed owner of commercial property on
the ASX, with assets under management of over $6.7 billion, Investa
operates in six of Australia’s eight capital cities, with offices in four
states. The Group is responsible for 58 office, retail and industrial
properties, representing a net lettable area of over 1,220,000m2
and an annual rent roll of approximately $520 million.

facilityperspec ti ves • 75
Leda-Vannaclip is Australia’s
leading manufacturer and PERIMETER SECURITY SOLUTIONS
specialist in Perimeter Security
and Vehicular Access Control. Whether you are
concerned about OH&S issues, illegal entry or
combating terrorist attacks, Leda-Vannaclip has
the product and solutions.

 Automatic Gates  Security Bollards

 ATM Protection  Tyre Spikes
 Boom Gates  Road Blockers
 Turnstiles  Concrete Barriers
 Fencing  Bicycle Parking
 Parking Space Protectors

Contact us for a
comprehensive catalogue
– a must for any
facilities manager’s library.

w w w. l - v. c o m . a u
e l v s a l e s @ l - v. c o m . a u
t 1300 780 450
Offices in NSW, Vic , Qld & SA.
Distributors in all other states and territories.
 FM PUBLICATIONS

FM’s Pandemic Role

BY STEPHEN BALLESTY – IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN FMA AUSTRALIA; DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FM ACTION AGENDA; MANAGING
DIRECTOR ADVISORY, RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL

IFMA Foundation’s Pandemic Preparedness Manual is an essential ‘how-to-

guide’ for any industry in our global economy. The new Manual is just another
example of the crucial contribution that Facilities Management (FM) has make,
not only to a “... productive and sustainable Built Environment ...’”, but in
support of business and community well being.

facilityperspec ti ves • 77
FM PUBLICATIONS
pandemic is an epidemic, or an outbreak of an infectious disease, that
A spreads across a large region, for example a continent, or even
worldwide, affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the
population.
Seasonal influenza (or flu) epidemics may stricken millions, but fatalities
are typically confined to a relatively small numbers of the elderly, very young
children, and people with weaken immune systems. That’s not the case during
the worst pandemics, when new viral strains can infect the general population
on a global scale
We all have a vested interest in mitigating the impact of a pandemic, and
FM has a role to play.
Influenza pandemics have struck about three times every century since
the 1500’s, or roughly every 25–40 years. The most infamous pandemic flu of
the 20th century, was that of 1918–1919. It is estimated up to 200 million
were infected, and over 50 million people died in less than a year. What made
the 1918 outbreak so different from seasonal flu epidemics was that it killed
primarily young people, a significant proportion of the mortality rate including
those aged 20–45. By comparison the most recent pandemic, in 1968, was
relatively mild.
Today, in addition to an indeterminate death toll, a similar influenza
pandemic could conservatively lead to workplace absenteeism of 25 to 50
percent of employees for up to four months. This could potentially lead to
supply chain disruptions and the possible closure of commercial and retail
facilities, causing significant economic losses.
The IFMA Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to expanding
knowledge of the Built Environment in a changing world, has released a new
seminal guideline to assist organisations plan for, control and respond to these
concerns. The Pandemic Preparedness Manual, which was funded by the IFMA
Foundation and prepared by Environmental & Occupational Risk Management
Inc., is now available as a free-of-charge download on the IFMA Foundation’s
website, www.ifmafoundation.org
The IFMA Foundation’s Manual is intended to assist businesses and
communities remain vigilant against these threats and be better prepared
should a pandemic occur, covering;
3 Avian flu and pandemic influenza basics
3 Pandemic impact, pre-planning and response checklists
3 FM measures for influenza control and mitigation
3 Business continuity planning guidance, templates and samples
The risk of a pandemic outbreak has not subsided in recent years. Indeed,
earlier this year, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr.
Margaret Chan, stated that ‘we shouldn’t let our guard down when it comes to
pandemic threats’. In recent memory we have seen the impact of the threat of
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), avian influenza (H5N1) and other
infectious outbreaks.
The avian influenza, or bird flu, is naturally occurring in bird populations
and has spread to humans working in close contact with infected birds. While
humans have been infected, currently it is not known to have become
transmissible from human-to-human. Tips on avoiding bird flu infection:
3 Avoid close contact with people who are already sick
3 Be aware that surfaces may have the virus on them
3 Stay home when you are sick
3 Cover the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
3 Frequently wash hands with soap or alcohol-based cleaner
3 Avoid touching the eyes, mouth or nose
The Manual advises employers on steps they can take to help control the
flu beginning with employee training on awareness and prevention measures.
Employers are encouraged to make supplies such as tissues, hand soap and
sanitary wipes available, and to be vigilant in sanitising commonly touched
surfaces.
To further deal with these issues, the Manual suggests that FM
professionals perform pre-planning and develop business continuity plans.
Pre-planning involves establishing internal and external communication
protocols, reviewing corporate policies on pay, time off, visitor restrictions,
travel restrictions and medical clearance. Triggers for building closure,
mandatory absences and other preventative measures also should be put into
place.
78 • facilityperspec ti ves
Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is an interdisciplinary peer mentoring
methodology used to create and validate a practiced logistical plan to enable
an organisation to recover and partially or completely restore interrupted
critical function(s) within a predetermined time after a disaster or extended
disruption. Disasters may be natural or human-made, regardless though
without proper risk mitigation measures a disaster will cause disruptions that
have serve financial and social consequences. It is worth noting that business
interruption insurance does not cover everything which can cause an
interruption to your business. A successful BCP should:
3 Avoid developing a plan for multiple groups – the plan will become too
cumbersome and will not enable users to quickly find information. Keep
each plan targeted to those that will use it.
3 Limit plans to critical functions. Avoid the temptation to add less critical
functions; doing this obscures the most vital information and detracts
from top priorities.
3 Strive for simplicity. Assume that individuals in key roles are competent
and don’t need instructions on how to perform tasks.
In simple terms BCP should be able to deal with how an organisation
prepares for future incidents that disrupt normal operations and supply
chains. Incidents can be they local; building fires or power failures, regional;
earthquakes or floods, or national / international; terrorism or pandemic
diseases. A current Risk Assessment will be required, to establish the
likelihood and consequences of an event, with particular focus on site
specifics, pandemic risk factors and options. Further your BCP will typically
involve a Business Impact Analysis (BIA), here the Facility Managers could be
expected to scope and provide analysis on critical functions, vital records,
primary and alternate sites, internal and external service dependencies,
customer / stakeholder priorities and recovery planning.
In the end it’s all about planning and implementing a return to ‘business
as usual’, which in most organisations will ultimately fall to the FM department
or provider.
However, BCP may also form part of an organisational learning culture
helping reduce operational risks associated with poor information
management controls. This process may be integrated with facility
performance improvement, information security measures and corporate risk
management practices.
BCP methodology is scalable for an organisation of any size and
complexity. Even though the methodology has roots in regulated industries,
any type of organisation may create a BCP manual, and arguably some form of
BCP is good business for every organisation concerned with its longevity.
Compelling evidence for the case for BCP can be found in USA disaster survival
statistics. Fires have been blamed for the permanent closure of up to 44% of
the business affected. Specifically in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing,
150 businesses out of 350 affected failed to survive the event. Conversely, the
firms affected in 2001 by the September 11 attacks on the same site with well-
developed and tested BCP manuals were back in business within days.
A BCP manual for a small organisation may be simply a printed manual
stored safely away from the primary work location, containing the names,
addresses, and phone numbers for crisis management staff, general staff
members, clients, and vendors along with the location of the offsite data
backup storage media, copies of insurance contracts, and other critical
materials necessary for organisational survival. At its most complex, a BCP
manual may outline a secondary work site, technical requirements and
readiness, regulatory reporting requirements, work recovery measures, the
means to reestablish physical records, the means to establish a new supply
chain, or the means to establish new production centers. Firms should ensure
that their BCP manual is current, realistic and easy to use during a crisis. As
such, BCP sits along side crisis management and disaster recovery planning
and is a part of an organisation’s overall risk management procedures.
The development of a BCP manual can have five main phases:
3 Analysis
3 Solution design
3 Implementation
3 Testing and organisation acceptance
3 Maintenance.
The above list is not exhaustive. There are a number of other
 FM PUBLICATIONS

Urban Maintenance Systems is a

specialist provider of Facilities and
Infrastructure Maintenance Services
to Private and Government sectors
throughout Australia.
UMS Facilities Services specialises
in the following:
considerations that could be included in your own plan / manual; Functional • Essential service compliance management
priorities, Roles and Responsibilities, Identification of top risks and mitigating • Programmed & reactive building maintenance
strategies, and consideration of resource reallocation e.g. skills matrix for • Building condition auditing & life cycle costing
larger organisations. Business Impact Analyses and Risk Assessments are • Trade services – carpentry, plumbing, electrical,
valid only to the extent that they represent actual FM operations and priorities. painting, gutter cleaning, mechanical plant
Many now argue the influenza pandemic clock is ticking and it is only a maintenance
matter of time before another pandemic is launched upon an unprepared • Capital improvement works planning & delivery
world. Certainly it would appear the world is long overdue for such an
• 24 /7 emergency response contact centre
occurrence, and currently avian flu virus seems to have established a
permanent niche among tens of millions of wild and domesticated birds • Modern/functional information management
system
throughout Asia. Should this virus changes and spread to infect more hosts,
and as resistance grows to existing antiviral drugs, some argue it is only a Urban Maintenance Systems
matter of time before the virus transforms into a deadly new human infection. 352 Ferntree Gully Road Notting Hill VIC 3168
Regardless of the implications for human health and wellbeing which may Phone: (03) 9265 5811 Fax: (03) 9265 5899
confront the world, should a new pandemic human flu occur there will be a Email: info@ums.com.au Web: www.ums.com.au
significant role for FM in meeting such challenges and restoring / maintaining PROVIDING SERVICES NATIONALLY
‘business as usual’. Enduring Partnerships Driven by Service Excellence

About our contributor:

Stephen Ballesty, is FMA Australia's
Immediate Past Chairman and their
2007 Member of the Year, Deputy
Chairman FM Action Agenda and MD
Advisory of Rider Levett Bucknall
(www.rlb.com).Commencing 1st July,
he is also now the first Australian
appointed to the global Board of
Trustees for the IFMA Foundation
www.ifmafoundation.org. The IFMA
STEPHEN BALLESTY Foundation is a separate non profit
entity to the International Facility Management Association, which
was formed in 1990 to promote and support scholarships,
educational and research opportunities for the advancement of
Facility Management worldwide. Should you require further details
or wish to support FM research, education or scholarships please
contact stephen.ballesty@au.rlb.com. The National Action Plan for
Human Influenza Pandemic outlines how Commonwealth, state,
territory and local governments will work together to protect
Australia against the threat of an influenza pandemic and support
the Australian community should one occur. Useful references
detailing Australian government pandemic response principles
include:
www.dpmc.gov.au/publications/pandemic/index.cfm
www.health.gov.au/pandemic
www.industry.gov.au/pandemicbusinesscontinuity

facilityperspec ti ves • 79
FACILITY PERSPECTIVES
SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
The Shredder Test –
your guide to writing
a winning proposal
roposals and tender responses are a
P fact of life. Most Facility Management
professionals will, at some point, be
asked to contribute to proposals to
win new contracts or retain an important
client. These requests are rarely welcomed,
coming with the expectation that the task will
be tacked on top of an already-pressured
workload.
Given this, it’s somewhat surprising that
there isn’t more help available to prospective
suppliers, many of whom are drowning under
mountains of increasingly complex tender
requests that they simply can’t afford not to
respond to.
Enter Melbourne proposal strategist
Robyn Haydon and her new book The Shredder
Test: the Australian guide to writing winning
proposals.
“Professional procurement practices like
competitive tendering have raised the bar
higher and higher for suppliers, but proposal
writing rarely rates a mention in their skills
development programs,” she says. “As a result,
staff learn only through trial and error, despite
the fact that mistakes can cost millions.”
In her work with companies of all sizes, in
industries as diverse as manufacturing and
multimedia, Haydon has discovered common
mistakes that cost suppliers business.
One of the biggest mistakes, she says, is
failing to get the best input from subject
matter experts, whose technical expertise,
industry and customer knowledge is essential
to landing new customers and retaining
existing ones.
“Everyone in a company shares
responsibility for making a sale and subject
matter experts have an important role to play;
Be one of the first 3 readers to take out a subscription to
‘Facility Perspectives’ and receive a free copy of Robyn
Haydon’s book, “The Shredder Test”.
Simply logon to our website www.facilityperspectives.com.au and complete
the subscription form.
80 • facilityperspec ti ves
one that should be recognised and
rewarded,” she says.
Haydon’s gift is an ability to distil
what most make complex into a series
of simple, low-tech tools and techniques
that are easy to master and apply
immediately. She will be touring the
country during September and October
for the FMA, imparting this knowledge
in a series of half-day workshops on
Persuasive Tender and Proposal
Writing.
Her book The Shredder Test is
written for and about the Australian
business environment. Its style is
informal and readable, it uses
interesting case study examples,
and it includes a number of very good, small-
scale methodologies to aid thinking and
information preparation. It also explains
Haydon’s philosophy on the subject of writing
proposals, which is that:
3 Many people hate the thought of sitting ROBYN HAYDON is
down to write a proposal, although they presenting a series of
half-day workshops on
find it easy to explain their ideas in person;
Persuasive Tender and
3 Writing a proposal is just like having a
Proposal Writing for FMA
conversation with a buyer, except it’s done members during
in writing, rather than face to face; and September and October.
3 Writing a successful proposal is mostly
about thinking and preparation, and 3 Sydney – 18 October
3 Brisbane – 13 September
wordsmithing is far less important to the
3 Adelaide – 20 September
final result than many people imagine. 3 Canberra – 11 October
Like any skill, proposal writing can be 3 Perth – 29 November
learned. And with the size of the prize 3 Melbourne – 25 October
numbering in the millions – or even the For bookings contact Stacey Vassiliadis at
hundreds of millions – of dollars for your FMA Australia on 03 8641 6610. For
organisation, career-minded facility stockists of The Shredder Test, go to
management professionals will do well to www.winningwords.com.au.
make the investment.
Make your recruitment simple.
Spend some time with us.
Hays Facilities Management has been servicing Australia for more than a decade and with a dedicated team of
professionals we take an honest and efficient approach to establishing your best course of action and offer advice
on taking the next strategic step. So make it simple, spend some time with us.
We specialise in:
• Facilities Managers • Facilities Coordinators
• Maintenance Managers • Building Managers
• Project Managers • Service Managers
• Soft Service Managers • Maintenance Electricians
• Refrigeration Mechanics • Security Technicians
• Fire Technicians
Contact us for more details

Hays Facilities Management locations:

Adelaide 08 8212 5242 cp.adelaide@hays.com.au

Brisbane 07 3243 3002 fm.brisbane@hays.com.au
Canberra 02 6230 5142 fm.canberra@hays.com.au
Hobart 03 6234 9554 fm.hobart@hays.com.au
Perth 08 9486 9553 fm.perth@hays.com.au
Melbourne 03 8616 8400 fm.queenstreet@hays.com.au
Sydney 02 9249 2222 fm.sydney@hays.com.au

Specilist Recruitment hays.com.au

You manage
the business.
We’ll manage
everything else.

Big commercial and industrial sites often bring their own unique problems. One way to overcome many of these issues
is by outsourcing your non-core operations from asset maintenance to facilities management. Spotless are the leaders in
managed services. We support many of Australia’s largest companies by creating safe and effective work environments
designed to get the very best from your people. The result is more efficient, more flexible service delivery every time.
Spotless, will allow you to focus on your core business with confidence.

Spotless. Our people make the world work

www.spotless.com