Defining the Need for a new Standard for the UK Property and Facilities Management Sector

Facilities Management is undeniably a success story, an industry that has grown substantially in both scale and professionalism in the UK and around the world over the past 20 years or so. Its roots lie in part in property management but, though it continues to be closely linked to that discipline, it has established its own clear business role and value. Despite that fact, however – and despite the existence of BS EN 15221-1 Facility Management: Terms and Definitions – FM remains a large, very diverse and often difficult to define area of activity.

The question of definition also shapes estimates of the size of the marketplace. Most recent studies put the value of the UK market well above £100bn per annum, perhaps as high as £175bn. This represents a vast number of players, all with a legitimate claim to being involved in the same industry. It encompasses specialists in individual service areas – for example, building engineering, catering, cleaning, security – as well as 'bundled' or multi-service providers, pure management specialists and consultants. In terms of business size, firms range from the very large corporates to small niche operators. Overall, it is clear from industry data that the majority of service providers fall into the SME category.

Facilities Management has grown up rapidly in the UK, driven by customer need and market opportunity, as well as by changing business conditions and the regulatory landscape. Service providers' diverse starting points and subsequent interpretation of needs and solutions has resulted in a marketplace that can be deeply confusing to buyers. It often appears fragmented and lacking in focus and guidance. Many suppliers continue to operate within their own traditional silos, taking little or no more than a reactive stance to client needs and largely ignoring opportunities for cross-industry cooperation and development. There is now a substantial need to break down these silos, foster continued evolution and help the industry to move on to 'next generation' FM.

One of the clearest and most influential themes right across the industry over recent years has been the increasing pressure to demonstrate compliance with a raft of statutory obligations and relevant Standards. The climate has changed substantially in this area, with compliance obligations seen as increasingly onerous and posing significant risks in terms of cost (both human and financial) and reputation to any business that fails to meet the obligation.

Many client organisations now insist on accreditation to various recognised Standards. Many of the larger FM operators, those who have the financial and human resources to lead robust compliance strategies both in-house and through their supply chains, are fully prepared to meet this requirement. However, many smaller players misguidedly see accreditation as complex, costly and burdensome (both initially and on an ongoing basis) and frequently only implement these Standards if they can see no other solution. An alternative solution adopted by many as a way of 'getting round' the accreditation requirement is to deploy their own quality manuals and processes or environmental and health and safety procedures in the hopes that this will see them through the prequalification stage.

Some providers will opt for low-cost consultants or accreditation bodies who may not, in the event, offer robust services or fully recognised qualifications.

The three main Standards that are in most common use in Facilities Management are ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and ISO 18001 (Occupational Health & Safety). These are bridged to a certain extent by the PAS 99 integrated management system which has been successfully implemented into a number of property environments, including shopping centres. However, this is still perceived by many FM operators to include quite a number of requirements or stringencies that are not necessarily relevant to the job at hand. PAS 99 is still often viewed by FM providers as too big and unfriendly.

Consequently, there is a pressing need for a single, streamlined, simple, cost-efficient, fully harmonised Standard that is intelligible, as far as possible, to every component of the supply and service chain (and as applicable to SMEs as to big corporates). This would be beneficially extended into a limited number of complementary areas, such as business continuity. Fundamentally, it needs to be seen as relevant and FM-friendly (ideally, developed by FMs for FMs). It must recognise the practical and commercial realities of delivering facilities managers' day-to-day business activities without creating a bureaucratic burden and without excessive cost, particularly at this time of economic constraints. FM is a small-margin business and anything that is seen as an unnecessary erosion of profit will be resisted.

Such a Standard would be welcomed as a practical innovation bringing real benefits to business, as a way of managing significant risk in a cost and time-efficient manner and as a way to show the wider business community that the Facilities Management industry can self-govern without the need for either carrot or stick.

A new, cut down and FM-specific 'PAS 99 Mk II' is being created by complyNC and i-FM, in close consultation with representatives of all major stakeholders (including institutes and professional groups and higher education establishments). Critically, the initiative will ensure meaningful representation and contribution from key service providers at corporate and SME levels, as well as the various service delivery levels including managers, service desk operators, blue collar operatives and so on.

Notes to editors:
complyNC Ltd is a new and exciting property and facilities management technology business, headed by Mark Purnell and Colin Payne, with operational efficiency and compliance at the heart of its culture. These two award-winning FM and software entrepreneurs have worked together very closely for a number of years and have a track record of success in partnering with prestigious property owners and managers to develop new technologies to optimise the efficiency of compliance and the delivery of their FM services. complyNC is a member of the BSi’s select Associate Consultancy Programme (ACP).

i-FM is the leading web-based news and market intelligence service for the UK facilities management industry. Over its 10-year history i-FM has consistently championed the role of technology within FM and, specifically, the use of the internet as a platform for both communication and service delivery to support the continued development of this key business discipline.

For more information, contact:

Mark Purnell

e : mark.purnell@complync.com
m : 07533 904225

Colin Payne

e : colin.payne@complync.com
m : 07969 887395