FOCUS TOTAL FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
DEAL OR
NO DEAL
28 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020
Total facilities management (TFM), where a
service provider takes responsibility for the
delivery and management of all FM services, has
been called into question with warnings that
bundling a mix of services into one large service
contract could result in a race to the bottom as
suppliers vie to win tenders which fail to meet a
high level of service.
Yet according to the latest AMA Facilities
Management Outsourcing Market Report 2018-
2022 (see References, note 1), TFM continues to
appeal to clients as a way to consolidate supply
chains and reduce costs. In fact, the report found
that new areas such as energy and workspace
management are becoming an increasingly
common component of many bundled TFM
contracts.
The report predicts the greater use of FM
providers in a more integrated way, linking
FM service provision with company objectives
more closely. But as i-FM’s FM Audit report
2019(2) revealed, there is some confusion in the
marketplace over exactly what TFM means, and a
number of contracts that might have been given
that label at one time are o en now put into the
category of ‘integrated’.
The Integrator is a service delivery model
developed by KBR. Mark Sutcli e, MD of
The Integrator, comments: “As the global
outsourcing market develops, it is also growing
in sophistication and moving from traditional
activities into idea generation and innovation.
While TFM has distinctive benefits, especially in
larger organisations requiring a host of services,
its downsides cannot be ignored. As such, it is
crucial for an organisation to understand where it
is appropriate to use a TFM contract and what the
alternatives are.
“TFM, if managed well, o ers significant benefits
which can leverage an organisation above its
competitors. Simplifying the outsourcing process
allows an organisation to focus on its core business
with the additional benefit of saving money in
most cases. Businesses looking to streamline,
expand, or focus resources on core developments
and innovations can gain significantly through
such a contract. A single service contract also
helps to standardise compliance and culture.
Management information is simplified by cutting
down on bureaucracy.
“However, TFM contracts can leave an
organisation severely lacking in intelligent client
function. Being wholly dependent on a single
organisation for all supporting services increases
risk. Despite a contract with a single organisation,
there is no guarantee that the contractor will
actually carry out all of the services promised. A
number of TFM providers subcontract aspects of
their product out to other companies. As such,
there is no direct control over which organisations
provide services. A TFM contract, which may have
begun as a cost-cutting exercise, may lead instead
to lack of oversight and compliance.
“They also preclude highly specialised providers,
o en in the form of SMEs, able to work closely with
TFM has had mixed reviews in recent years, but it remains a staple
part of the FM mix. We bring together an FM integrator, single
service supplier, specialist contractor and TFM provider to argue
for and against the TFM model