FMJ.CO.UK FACILITIES MANAGEMENT - COVID-19 FOCUS
MAY 2020 31
We are already
responding at pace to a range
of requests from across
government and clients and
working in collaboration with our
competitors to meet the new
challenges this pandemic
has created.”
moment. For those of us in FM this provides
a fantastic opportunity to help our clients
create working environments that reflect
these needs. Collaboration and social
interaction will become more important as
the heart of the workplace moving forward.”
SAFE AND SECURE
When people do re-enter the workplace,
what will remain a key issue for FMs is
maintaining high standards of cleanliness
and infection control to make sure the
workforce stays as safe as possible.
Says Bentley: “Keeping
employees safe has always
been a priority and a key
part of our procedures;
through extensive
QHSE training and
the use of PPE
where required.
This is now ever
more important,
while clean
washrooms; hand
sanitisers; regular
anti-viral/bacterial
cleaning will become
the new normal.”
Whether ways of working
will change is also a matter of
conjecture. Hausmanis believes that
some organisations may consider a return
to cubicle-based work environments as they
look to support a form of social distancing
within the o ice. By contrast, Mawson argues
that as long as the environment in which you
are operating is clean and safe, agile working
remains an option.
He suggests: “You could operate di erent
regimes around hot desking. Some might
come in and have a desk for a day, and
as long as the desk and space around it is
cleaned at least a couple of times a day,
why would you worry about where you sit?
Another organisation might o er a space in
the morning, with someone else utilising it in
the a ernoon.”
In whatever way a workplace is managed,
as Grimmel of Sodexo explains: “The
importance of preventative disinfection
cleaning will become very important.
Visible thorough regular cleaning of touch
points, along with improved personal
hygiene arrangements will be essential in all
workplaces going forward.”
And behaviours around cleanliness is
allied to this, says Rowland. “Basic infection
control measures, particularly personal
hygiene will be at the forefront. We have
been sharing the government’s latest advice
with our teams and are emphasising the
need for these to be followed.”
POST VIRAL WORLD
Aside from the dealing with the pandemic,
another huge challenge for FM will be the
length of time it takes the economy to
recover from the lockdown restrictions that
have had to be imposed to fight COVID-19,
particularly in areas where business has
completely stopped due to the restrictions.
According to the IMF, the outlook is “dire”,
with the expectation that global economic
activity will decline on a scale not seen since
the Great Depression.
The FM sector, which has already struggled
with cost over value in FM service contracts
will have to respond to a global
economic crisis like no other. Says
Hausmanis: “We’ve long held
that when contracts are
awarded on a lowest cost
basis and margins are
inevitably squeezed, the
result is an industry built
on sand.
“In bad economic
weather – when the
unexpected happens
– there is no room for
manoeuvre; the Carillion
episode is a standard-bearer
for the dangers. But these
things take time to change. In the
present situation, unprecedented
levels of government support may be
the di erence maker, particularly for the
contractors on the front line.”
Bentley agrees that low margins are one
of the worst enemies for FM sustainability,
which only adds to the financial strain.
He warns: “Some FM companies may not
survive. Those that maintain the support
of their financial backers should emerge
stronger; with greater appreciation from
clients for the essential services we provide;
and with consequently higher margins.”
On the client side, Mawson believes that
those with the greatest challenge will have
too many legacy costs. He reckons that for
FMs as headcounts go down, revenues will
go down, so companies will want to take
costs out. “The challenge for FM will be how
to help the organisation downsize but also
enable it to upsize quite quickly a erwards.”
On a more positive note, Rowland believes
that: “This pandemic is an opportunity for
FM companies and strategic suppliers to
government to demonstrate that they can
respond and provide good, e ective and
innovative services – and add real value to
the communities in which we operate.
“We are already responding at pace to a
range of requests from across government
and clients and working in collaboration with
our competitors to meet the new challenges
this pandemic has created.”
Looking to the longer term, facilities
professionals can use this experience to
make a big di erence in the future by
devising says Hausmanis: “A property or
workplace user strategy that can integrate
a number of factors, including the future
demands of a (likely) smaller o ice footprint,
the impacts of businesses rationalising and
refocusing service requirements, changing
expectations of the physical workplace
as somewhere to bring people together
di erently than before, and so on.
“A major opportunity here is to use this
rethinking to achieve sustainability goals,
which remain despite the distraction
of COVID-19. But where workplace and
facilities managers manage a physical
environment, they will have to understand
the fundamental building systems that will
allow them to realise their strategic goals.”
Events have moved so quickly we’re still
processing the impact the pandemic is
having on the FM sector and wider society.
What is clear, however, and all the FM
thought leaders we consulted for this article
agree, is that the facilities management
sector has and will play a key role in helping
us get through the next few months.