At the start of 2020, Fairview Facilities Management (FFM) took over the full range of facilities management services at a large manufacturing factory site in East London. We talked to FFM Managing Director Ben McCauley and client’s Procurement Manager, to find out more.
“Our two sites in East London, are vast and operate 24/7, so the challenges presented for facilities management are complex and challenging,” says the client’s Procurement Manager. “We started working with FFM in February 2018 during the early stages of a business tender, created to seek a replacement for our incumbent facilities provider which was consistently failing in many important areas. We were looking for a dedicated company to provide a partnership and to drive through improvements through quality and performance which would support our business.”
“Our contract went live in February 2020,” says FFM Managing Director Ben McCauley. “We were on site for three months prior to mobilising the contract, sitting with the client and the current incumbent to gain as much knowledge of the site and contract requirements as we could, before starting.
“The transition from the previous facilities management services provider was key in FFM’s ability to deliver the projected savings. In fact, having estimated 10% savings in the first year, we actually delivered close to 15%. Understanding the full and detailed processes of each of the services provided, ensured a smooth transition on go-live day.
“The biggest challenge was gathering all the information required from the previous incumbent and also the suppliers, as we were novating many of the contracts over. We wanted to ensure that we had all the information to do this. As the previous company had poor management of site information, it was very difficult to extract accurate data and requirements to ensure that everything in the contract was covered, but also achievable and realistic. The previous supplier’s communications both internally with the client and externally with suppliers had been poor, with a lack of transparency and no data to enable service levels to be evaluated or challenged.
“For three months before go-live, my senior staff members Venesa, Karl and I attended the site at least three to four times a week to help mobilise the new contract. We met with all the staff and each supplier and negotiated new and better terms. We identified several saving opportunities in the time we were on site, which allowed us to implement them once the contract went live.”
A seamless transition
“Throughout the various discussions with FFM’s Senior Management Team, it was clear the presentation was delivered by both sales and operational experts and tailored in detail to our needs,” says the client’s Procurement Manager. “The team took each of the service lines and analysed them in a logical way, which provided us with very clear ideas in respect of improvement and savings.
“The handover was seamless, from awarding the contract to full completion, and the communication was excellent throughout with regular updates that helped us plan for the transition.”
FFM delivers a wide range of services at the factory sites, including: cleaning – both regular scheduled cleaning for a wide range of areas, plus dedicated Covid-19 sanitisation teams; and waste management – from the provision of bins to recycling and commercial waste disposal. FFM also delivers catering, including vending both drinks and snacks plus workwear; stationery; and post room services. In addition, FFM provides handypersons, who maintain the basic day to day duties of checking site lights, power, and any ad hoc duties as required.
“The cleaning of the site has remained an issue for years,” says the Procurement Manager. “The FFM team proved that they were the best-fit company throughout our discussions, firstly by walking us through their unique model and clearly explaining each step of the process.
“FFM is continually working to improve the quality of services while looking at reducing costs. These ideas have been communicated very clearly within our business and we have benefitted significantly. Through regular internal business and departmental meetings, the improvements in the cleaning have been successfully acknowledged, and we are now able to use this as a success story across the business globally.”
Measurable improvements in SLAs
“FFM has improved service levels and brought major efficiencies to the site, compared to the previous service provider, resulting in cost savings of nearly 15% year on year,” says Ben McCauley. “This has enabled us to pass on the London Living Wage to all staff at no cost.
“Introducing the innovative FFM Smart FM tech platform has enabled us to measure and build on successes, aiming to deliver most efficiencies and potentially even more savings.”
“We have spent time effortlessly navigating FFM’s smart FM Solution which provides all of the reporting and information we require to analyse the facility’s overall performance,” says the client’s Procurement Manager. “We have successfully engaged in this software and are currently looking into an additional opportunity with real time SLAs. There have also been internal discussions regarding other opportunities around energy and space management which have kindly been presented by the FFM team.
“Having worked with FFM for 18 months, we have constantly challenged for improvements to the service. This has led to changes in the working environment improving staff wellbeing. A good example is the change of vending machines which are managed locally, improving uptime and availability, as well as reducing fixed costs by 32% since February 2021. I have also personally noticed a significant drop in complaints regarding the cleaning which, was a commitment made in the early stages.”