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Another important impact has been the focus on the
management of air quality in the workplace. The Building
Engineering Services Association (BESA) has been urging
facilities managers to review their ventilation strategies
to minimise the risk of Coronavirus transmission in their
buildings and the World Health Organisation (WHO)
recently highlighted the risk of virus transmission inside
poorly ventilated spaces. The adequate supply of outside
(or at least uncontaminated) air is crucial and I think
facilities management professionals will be increasingly
called upon to measure and manage indoor air flow and
quality.
To roughly paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumours of
the death of the o ice “have been greatly exaggerated”.
However the lockdown has shattered the myth that
people can’t be productive when working from home
and I suspect that there will an increasing move to more
flexible working patterns and workplaces. In a recent
survey conducted by the Institute of Directors, 74 per cent
of company directors expected to sustain an increased
volume of working from home (WFH) once the current
crisis abates. Facilities management professionals will
need to embrace and adapt to these new ways of working
and to meet the ever changing demands put upon them
and their premises.
The role of business continuity planning has also been
crucial throughout the pandemic and I strongly suspect
it’s importance and how e ectively it can be implemented
will be frequently tested in the months and perhaps,
years to come. The e ects of the Coronavirus will be with
us well into next year at the very earliest and could such a
pandemic happen again? Professor Matthew Baylis from
the University of Liverpool recently told BBC News, "We
dodged five bullets but the sixth got us. And this is not
the last pandemic we are going to face, so we need to be
looking more closely at wildlife disease." Thus business
continuity planning, investment in IT infrastructure and
resilience and flexibility in workspace provision will
impact future facilities management services.
Finally, the Coronavirus pandemic has greatly
increased the profile and importance of the facilities
management team within organisations, as they have
been asked to develop closure, mothballing, COVID-
19-secure reoccupancy and then in many instances,
reclosure strategies for their workplaces. However, the
facilities management profession has inevitably been
hit with significant redundancies over recent weeks as
organisations have looked to slash overhead expenditure
and it may take a very long time for the facilities
management industry to bounce-back to where we were
in 2019.
FM PROVIDER’S VIEW
DANIEL DICKSON,
CEO UK & IRELAND, ATALIAN SERVEST
Business flexibility and agility have been vital during 2020.
From responding to government announcements or client
requests with just a few hours’ notice we’ve had to be
ready. Ready to communicate to our own teams, ready
to respond to our clients and ready with expert guidance
and service, even in the eye of the storm.
As a global
business we have
been in a very
fortunate position to
be able to learn from
our counterparts,
especially in
Asia and Europe,
who experienced
the onset of the
pandemic a little
before the UK. On
almost a daily basis
I’ve spoken to our
global teams to share best practice and ideas. We’ve all
learnt from each other and helped each other through.
At a time where we’ve been so physically distant, we’ve
come closer together. Bonds have been strengthened and
collaboration has been better than ever. This is something
that will only improve as we move forwards into new
territory.
In March, we launched a new division, Atalian Servest
Hygiene, at the speed of light. It just shows what’s
possible with the right internal structure and industry
partnerships. This new division o ers fogging, disinfecting
services and fever screening and did so from the first few
weeks of lockdown. We were the first to market among FM
companies with new fever screening technology and this
is testament to our solid business partnerships.
We have invested a lot in cloud infrastructure over the
years so the transition to working from home in the blink
of an eye was a simple one with no disruption to business
activity or client service. Technology is a key pillar of our
business strategy and the pandemic has confirmed this
will continue with force.
I am so proud of our entire workforce that has enabled
us to take on the challenge of this global pandemic
together. Our frontline workers are the real bones of
our business and without them and their dedication we
couldn’t have tackled the pandemic in quite the same
way. We will continue to invest in our people and our
culture to build the best future for our workforce and
business. Our ONE innovation challenge, designed to
uncover hidden talent and encourage entrepreneurial
spirit, is just one example of our commitment to
collaboration and championing unity and progression.
As much as 2020 has certainly presented challenges it
has also been a positive period of transformation in so
many ways. The profile of the FM sector has been raised
significantly due to COVID-19 and it speaks volumes that
many of our frontline workers have key workers status.
People now finally recognise the value FM brings. It’s
a shame it has taken a global pandemic for this to be
realised but I think this marks the end of critical services
being over-looked. I look forward to building on this in
2021 and beyond.
FM CLINIC
Connecting
people,
property and
data for peak
performance
Concept Evolution
CAFM / IWMS
FSI GO
Mobile Workforce apps
Concept Advantage
Workplace apps
30YEARS
in 2020
Daniel Dickson
ADVICE & OPINION
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