Appendix 1a: Facilities Management Guide elements of FM Soft FM

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1 Catering Responsibility for the management of on site catering often falls within the remit of the Facilities Manager. In the public sector this can range from the provision of vending or coffee bar type refreshments for staff, the operation of a staff restaurant/canteen, the provision of catering for civic and other on site functions to a full scale catering operation for the benefit of service users. The Facilities Manager will also be responsible for the supply of chilled potable water to premises. This can either be by way of mains connected coolers or by way of bottled containers. This may or may not be included within the wider catering operation. There will clearly be different catering requirements to reflect the different working environments and the operational service needs. The level of service to be delivered through the catering operation (whether that is in house or contracted) must be clearly set out in a service specification, which will need to include such issues as: The catering services to be provided Hours of operation Location of operation Accommodation and facilities to be provided (by the organisation and/or the contractor) Standards of service Performance measures Any catering operation must take account of and comply with appropriate policy and legislative requirements both those of the organisation as well as national. Appendix 1a: Catering

2 Cleaning Public sector services are wide and varied, and the types and range of buildings through which the services are delivered are even more diverse. Whilst the core business of the public sector body is the delivery of the front line service, the physical environment through which it is delivered can have a significant impact upon the experience of the customer receiving that service, and on the staff delivering the service. One such element is the level of cleanliness, which needs to be maintained at a level appropriate to the service needs. This may be at a level of routine cleaning for a standard office environment, but it must be recognised that there will be additional requirements in different environments, some of which will require specialist treatment, such as areas of the health sector. However the cleaning service is provided, it is fundamental that the output requirements are clear for each building, or for individual areas within the building. This will require a detailed specification of requirements, with clear performance targets and effective monitoring arrangements. To do this effectively, the Facilities Manager must have a clear understanding of the requirements of the organisation as a whole, its service needs and its customer needs. Many cleaning services will be delivered against defined standards which will be specific to individual rooms or areas within a building. These standards will reflect the use of the individual parts of the building and provide the opportunity for efficiency through the provision of a variable level of service. For example, secondary stairways, goods lifts, fire exits and external side entrances do not require the same standards and frequency of cleaning as say reception areas, conference rooms, passenger lifts and heavy use public areas. Further, areas such as toilets, shower rooms, changing rooms, catering areas and first aid rooms will require more specific cleaning appropriate for areas with greater hygiene issues. The specification will need to include details such as: Areas to be cleaned routinely ideally with a cleaning floor plan Standards for more in depth periodic cleaning Standards for a reactive cleaning service The requirements for cleaning of external areas (such as walkways, terraces, external waste bins etc) Standards for window cleaning (both internal and external) Standards fro washroom services, including maintaining washroom consumables Appendix 1a: Cleaning

3 Cleaning services can be provided in house, through an external contractual arrangement, or through a combination drawing on specialist services as required. Whilst cost is a key factor in determining how the services are provided, any decision around the delivery of cleaning services should be taken in the context of the wider, holistic view recognising the workplace dynamics between people, processes and the environment. Changes to the processes and practices may save money, but they need to fit with the operational and service requirements of the services being delivered in each building. Appendix 1a: Cleaning

4 Portering Despite the ongoing pressure to produce efficiencies through rationalising public sector assets, many public sector organisations still operate and provide services from multiple sites. Also, despite advancements in the use of technology, the reality is that day to day business operations still involve hard copy documentation which needs to be physically moved between or around buildings. Similarly, equipment, stationary and other materials will need to be delivered to individuals within buildings. In the interests of building security and efficiency, many organisations will have a dedicated portering service to transport items between sites and within buildings. The portering service may also include responsibility for setting up and supporting meetings and conferences, ensuring appropriate furniture layouts and equipment are provided in accordance with user requirements. It is likely that the portering service will be very much integrated with the postal service and other appropriate Facilities Management services. The service will need to be sufficiently flexible to accomplish small day to day tasks, as well as more involved tasks (such as an internal office move), and provision should also be made to provide an occasional out of hours service as required. Appendix 1a: Portering

5 Postal services The management of postal and mail room services often falls within the remit of the Facilities Manager. Effective postal services will ensure there is a streamlined service such that all incoming mail and deliveries are managed consistently. This will include mail deliveries from all third party mail providers including courier services. Similarly, all outgoing mail will be managed consistently, whether by standard mail services, or by other third party services. Specific procedures will need to be adhered to for special deliveries such as incoming tender submissions, and the receipt of cheques or cash. Such deliveries will have to be logged and their delivery to named recipients monitored to ensure full audit trails can be provided as required. Mail and deliveries will generally be received centrally on behalf of all service departments within a building. Dependant on the requirements of the organisation, these deliveries will need to be sorted and may require physical delivery to each service, to named individuals or they may be scanned centrally and delivered electronically. The successful management of such an operation will require full integration with all other relevant services (such as porterage and reception) to ensure a streamlined and efficient postal service to building users. Appendix 1a: Postal services

6 Room management / booking Most public sector bodies occupy buildings, within which there are rooms designated for meetings, both informal and formal. These can range from formal Council chambers and large committee rooms, to small one or two person meeting rooms for one to one interviews or private work. The focus on improving utilisation levels in public buildings in recent years has highlighted the need to manage these rooms more effectively to not only maximise their time in use, but to ensure they are appropriately matched to the needs of each meeting. Many organisations have now designated a number of such meeting rooms throughout buildings as corporate facilities (even though they may be located within a part of the building occupied by a single service department). As such, their management often fall to the Facilities Manager, who has responsibility for room bookings as well as optimising the use of the space. This may be co ordinated through the FM team, or it could be facilitated through an electronic booking and confirmation system managed by the FM team. The room management system needs to be closely integrated with other Facilities Management functions such as catering/hospitality and porterage to ensure the appropriate furniture and equipment is provided to suit individual meeting requirements. The Facilities Manager would also be responsible for monitoring and reporting on trends and utilisation of the rooms, as part of the over role to ensure the building is being used to maximum effect. Appendix 1a: Room management/booking

7 Security Security is an area of public sector buildings service provision that has grown in recent years in response to the terrorist threat. Today, many public sector buildings are protected by closed circuit television (CCTV) systems and a 24 hour manned security service. The role of the corporate Facilities Manager may include the day to day management of security risks and threats to the corporate assets and estate. The breath of security threats likely to be confronted could range from global terrorism to localised conventional crime, with a whole host of other issues in between. The Facilities Manager needs to have a clear understanding of all potential threats and the organisation s vulnerabilities, and carry out some form of risk and threat assessment in order to determine its security approach. Once this is understood, a programme and approach can be formulated recognising the strategic approach and policy implementation, defining procedures to reflect the technical and resource availability, and establishing effective links and working practices with the emergency services. Most organisations have some system of access control, both into and within its buildings. These can vary in their degree of sophistication, and very much need to reflect the level of risk and the requirements of each organisation, in order to ensure a cost effective solution. All security systems need to be routinely checked and regularly maintained, not only to ascertain that the mechanical parts are operational, but to ensure that the human interface is effective. Access control that is dependent on electronic systems need to be risk assessed and have well developed and reliable contingency plans in the event of failure. Administrative systems must also be effective and robust. Whether technical, organisational or administrative, the more sophisticated or complex the system, the more likely it is to be problematic in its operation. Appropriate systems need to be in place for all foreseeable eventualities. It must be foreseen that, although their detail will be unknown, potential risks need to be identified. The operation of a manned guarding service will need to reflect the needs of the organisation to prevent inappropriate movement of people and materials into, out of and around a site. This is the core of such a service and these requirements will need to be clearly set out in the service specification, including input and output essentials, and contract management arrangements. Security services are commonly provided by in house security teams. Other public sector organisations employ external security staff and services under contract. Appendix 1a: Security