Uberisation of FM

THE CLEANING SERVICES EXPERT’S VIEW
JULIAN KELLY, 
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLEANEVENT GROUP

There is no doubt that the ‘Uber effect’ has had a significant impact on the local transportation market. Since its arrival, Uber has transformed the centuries old business of transporting people and goods over relatively short distances. For the customer – the service is convenient, intuitive and relatively cheap. Its impact has affected the viability of local public transport infrastructures, delivery businesses and couriers. Even the local fish and chip shop has felt its disruptive tentacles reach into many long-established business models.

The obvious – as played out over several years in Central London – has been the running battle with the London Taxi Drivers Association. Uber’s costs per passenger mile are significantly lower than that of the traditional cabbie. The value of the skills of the ‘knowledge’ has been eroded since the introduction of the satnav 25 years ago. The almost total erosion of these once- prized skills has been vitually rendered to nothing with Uber’s market growth. The cabbies are understandably angry at the devaluation of their intense training, expertise and personal service.

Uber’s recent US flotation has seen the company’s development into a profitable business seem ever further away. The received wisdom -that Uber will only be profitable when the operation of vehicles does not involve the input of a human driver, seems highly plausible. This ties in with the scary (to many) vision of a dystopian future of robot drivers and lack of personal touch.

And so to the world of FM.

Do we value the efforts, skills and knowledge of established companies in our marketplace? Are established FM companies a shell – a low-value drain on the talents of the individuals employed by them? Can an Uber model make FM work? Are there too many moving and inter-connected parts to deliver proper end-user satisfaction in FM?

In considering these questions we might look at how the Uber model and its associated ‘big-tech’ cousins like Amazon have done in their respective market places. The much lamented demise of the high street can be directly correlated to the growth and reach of the prominent on-line retailer. The consequences of a similar overpowering tech based platform in FM would arguably further divest value in the supply chain to the vastly evolving behemoth that is the technology sector.

The experienced HVAC engineer, specialist abseiler or plumber will see a geater proporion of their market value being eroded by the ‘all powerful’ tech based platform. The platform is likely to not offer them the protection of employee rights and job security. With priorities skewed – the platform will look after the interests of the platform. In the case of take away food – does the platform really care about the working conditions of the people toiling in the kitchens? Does the imposition of an 18 per cent mark-up of a take away app offer the fast food outlet – dilligently creating the product – better opportunities to reward the person standing over the fryer? The obvious answer is no. The reality in our society and the world of FM is of a devaluing of the neccesary skills for the upkeep of the built environment. We are not Luddites but defenders of our skills, experience and customer service. We are FM professionals- and should be proud of the fact.

We are a people business. Uberisation will offer no benefit whatsoever to our people. 

THE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY’S VIEW
PAUL MASON, 
GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF CONNECTED SERVICES OPERATIONS, HONEYWELL BUILDING SOLUTIONS

Facilities management is entering a period of unparalleled change – a digital transformation that promises to unseat established practices and improve services. The last decade has seen the growth of outsourcing under the control of a sole provider, which has delivered some savings, but the industry has been slow to adopt industry 4.0; the big data revolution.

That is about to change and facilities management (FM) companies that don’t adapt risk being left behind. Put simply, the basic metrics used to cost and control services are about to be replaced by a more detailed and proactive set of tools that will add value, improve responsiveness and also reduce costs.

Buildings are becoming increasingly ‘smart’ – the Internet of Things (IoT) and next generation analytics provide levels of understanding that were previously inconceivable. It is now possible to monitor occupancy rates, energy use and individual pieces of equipment – in real time and with actionable insights.

This type of data can make predictive maintenance a reality. Being able to spot developing issues and tackle them before they become problems, rather than rely on scheduled maintenance, has clear cost-saving benefits; the old adage that prevention is always better than cure remains as pertinent as ever. For example, one of the services provided by Honeywell Forge includes information on which parts of your building are getting the heaviest traffic so you can tailor your cleaning programme to fit. Why spend time and money checking machines that are running smoothly and cleaning offices and conference rooms that aren’t being used? It’s common sense, which is increasingly being supported by the digitisation of the built environment.

Legislative maintenance will not change for obvious reasons, but for all other applications the diarised approach is dead. Agile, insightful, responsive, proactive and on-demand services are becoming the new standard, but to take full advantage of this revolution FM suppliers need to fundamentally change how they think and operate.

Investing in the latest software tools is a start but to gain the greatest advantage users need to develop a partnership approach and choose suppliers that go further than dedicated technology vendors. Extracting the maximum benefits requires joined-up thinking and an understanding of FM issues. This combination can help to fully monetise the available data by ensuring customers receive a value-added package not available from conventional FM services.

However, it’s not all about the customer experience; digitisation is also changing how FM companies are organised. By moving from diarised and structured routines to an agile and responsive approach, suppliers no longer need to retain a 24/7 workforce. Adopting an on-demand methodology is resulting in the ‘Uberisation’ of the workforce, which in turn will create an agglomerated pool of talent that can be called upon as needed. This level of flexibility will help drive down costs without compromising the quality of services.

The days of routine-led base-level services and operations are running out. FM suppliers should already be looking at how digital transformation can help them enhance their offer and become more proactive. However, it’s not too late to invest in Industry 4.0, but selecting the best supplier is the key to success.