They are the uniformed people sometimes seen, but rarely heard, walking round shopping centres. Customers rarely notice them. Retailers prefer not to see them, because their appearance often signals a problem.
But without these low-profile men and women, multi-million-pound malls wouldn’t – and couldn’t – function.
Who are they? The facilities management (FM) team: the people responsible for such tasks as changing light bulbs, providing security and overseeing all aspects of health and safety. They also control the building’s management system, which includes air conditioning, heating, and water treatment. They keep the centre’s staff and customers safe from trip hazards and remove Legionella and bacteria in the air. Oh, and they also keep the toilets in tip-top condition.
Think you’ll take more notice of these people now?
Given FM’s importance, EG canvassed the industry for opinions on when FM should be included in the design of centres, and on how much landlords, agents and retailers really know about what they do.
THE AGENCY: Helen Woollven, head of Savills’ management set-up team
In our experience, landlords, developers and architects do not include facilities management companies in the design of shopping centres. Why not? Developers do understand that thinking about how a centre will ultimately be managed starts long before practical completion. There is a reliance on the skills and experience of the developers’ set-up and operations teams, who can advise on the scheme’s design at the early stages.
This means that the design is influenced by a detailed knowledge of the developers’ and landlords’ operating framework. Many institutional developers/landlords have tried the total FM model and moved back to separated hard and soft service lines. Why? Not many FM companies are truly jacks of all trades. Landlords are particularly wary of the mark-up on subcontracted costs and there is often a bias towards one service or another. Landlords do not see savings in overheads from a combined FM service model.
FM companies tend to be introduced six to 12 months before scheme launch, depending on the scale of the scheme, following a detailed tender process.
Any building specification changes introduced in these final stages become a large expense over and above the ?main contract if it is outside of the original requirements.
THE DEVELOPER/LANDLORD: ?Keith Whitmore, Westfield’s head of design and construction
The importance of FM is fundamental: the value driven at all stages of a development through effective design and construction must continue into the operational phase.
Other factors that rely on the strength of FM include the huge logistical effort involved in getting large amounts of products into shops and then to the large numbers of consumers. For instance, Westfield Stratford City can expect to receive more than 40m visitors a year, so you can imagine the scale of the organisation involved.
There’s a lot of pressure on us from retailers to deliver a seamless, faultless service. In Westfield London, you have ?40 designer brands in The Village and in the wider mall 94% of shops are ranked in the top five performing stores for ?sales density. These stores are at the forefront of technology and design, so we work to ensure the facilities match those high standards.
Landlords’ experience of their properties evolves over time and so the understanding of FM needs also evolves. At Westfield, our in-house experience as operators as well as designers and constructors places us in a great position to not only understand the FM needs, but to deliver them as well.
THE INDUSTRY BODY: Johnny Dunford, RICS’ global commercial property director
Property management is one of any scheme’s biggest expenditures and a strategic FM plan can ensure facilities are managed within the scheme’s development objectives to maximise value and cut costs. FM is therefore integral to any well-run scheme.
FM needs to be included in the entire life-cycle of a property, from design and build through to occupation. Because facilities managers work within the building, they are best equipped to advise on practical solutions to maximise operational efficiencies.
The inclusion of FM professionals from the first stages of a development is extremely important and is supported by the Government Soft Landing initiative, as well as by the RICS. A key element of GSL policy is post-occupancy evaluation, including feedback from facilities and estates managers and design and construction teams. This feedback will ensure that issues arising at the operation stage are picked up and addressed in future projects, thereby ensuring that FM knowledge is built into the design process.
The biggest mistake that can be made is not consulting facilities managers at an early stage of a scheme’s design. However, it is still better to get them involved at a later stage than not at all.
Retailers should have an input into the management of facilities to ensure it suits their needs and those of their customers. However, many are unaware of the added value and optimum performance that FM can deliver. They therefore miss out on the benefits that a relationship with FM staff can bring.
The benefits of a strategic FM plan over the benefits of cost-cutting at FM’s expense are not fully understood. However, the FM sector must take some of the blame for this.
Until now, the industry has largely failed to put forward a coherent and consistent business case for the importance of strategic FM and to act accordingly. RICS is addressing this by developing, in partnership with other FM bodies, a strategic facilities management guidance note.
I foresee building information modelling being used more widely as the government moves towards a requirement to include it in all construction and refurbishment ?projects by 2016.
THE AGENCY: Lisa Riva, GVA’s senior director and national head of property management consultancy
We feel it is important to consider the overall property management role, including the specific FM role.
The FM role is key to delivering the landlords’ vision and business plan for a scheme and, in many cases, their wider portfolio. So, whether it is a plot of land to be developed or an existing scheme, it is essential to consider the FM role at the earliest stage.
The most common FM-related mistakes in deciding a scheme’s design include insufficient consideration of:
•the compliance and risk management aspects of a scheme, including access control and security presence;
•the long-term running of the scheme from a practical perspective;
•the scheme at the early stages of a development or when an existing scheme is taken on;
•the facilities offered to suppliers and FM teams;
l the building materials used, which affect maintenance and cost; and
•the retailer mix affecting the use of the shopping centre, type of customer and trading hours.
THE ARCHITECT: Neil Taylor, partner, FaulknerBrowns
The facilities management team should form an integral part of the design from its inception. Its input needs to start at a strategic level in the early stages of the design process and grow into a highly detailed FM strategy that is an indigenous part of the design. This ensures that running costs are driven down and income is driven up.
But quite often the FM input is added as a “bolt-on” at the end of the design process. This produces a lot of unhappy and frustrated designers, clients and retail tenants when they realise that good ideas on the facility’s operation are not able to be accommodated at a late stage.
A successful FM strategy enables retailers to punch significantly above their weight. By grouping different retailers and jointly marketing them, any single retailer’s impact is magnified through the aggregation of the offer. For example, from a landlord’s perspective, Hammerson, which recently completed Monument Mall in Newcastle, has made FM an integral part of the design process from inception to opening.
However, most architects seem to find FM an interference in the design process rather than an essential part of it.
THE CONSULTANCY: Nigel Herbert, Turner & Townsend’s director of assets and facilities consulting
FM is crucial to building design. Although it was once seen as an afterthought, it is now being considered early in the design process. The best designs demonstrate how both hard and soft FM services are to be delivered.
A classic mistake in a scheme’s design is seeking FM input too late, or indeed not at all. To give an example, a few years ago I was visiting a prestigious new building designed by an award-winning architect, and while being shown around, I noticed four garden sheds at the rear of the building.
When I enquired about them, it transpired that no allowance had been made for any storage associated with FM equipment or materials. So when the building was being handed over, the FM team had to acquire these sheds rapidly from a well-known DIY superstore to provide storage space.
Retailers tend to be more directly interested in the customer experience, which of course can be strongly affected by FM. Shoppers are easily put off by an outlet that is too cold or too hot, or looks unkempt and dirty. Yet FM has not been high on the agenda for retailers, and is seen instead as a necessary evil. Many retailers have chosen to focus on minimising cost.
Landlords’ primary focus is on letting space. So in a strong economic climate with plenty of demand, many will see FM as less important, as long as minimum standards are being met and the tenants are happy. My opinion is that landlords have often taken a largely reactive approach to FM.
In an economic downturn, when it becomes more difficult to let space and revenues fall, there can be a tendency for landlords to cut costs by reducing the standards of cleaning and maintenance. But this can provoke a downward spiral as the property deteriorates and becomes less attractive, reducing footfall and, ultimately, driving customers elsewhere and tenants to look for space in another mall.
Architects have a tendency to be more interested in aesthetics than support functions. There is often a direct correlation between how prolific and successful a firm of architects is and how little the company considers the benefits of well-delivered FM services.
However, FMs need to take some blame for this – they have not been as proactive as they could have been in fighting their corner.
noella.piokivlehan@estatesgazette.com
