FM Report 181 - Tuesday 26th September 2006

26 September 2006

The latest FM news directed to your desktop

National contract for DWP office support
Haden Building Management (HBML) has been selected by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to provide a comprehensive range of office support services and vehicle fleet management nationwide. The 7-year contract, worth approximately £320m, starts on 1 March 2007. HBML has been working with the DWP since 1995 and has been responsible for its FM services for southern England since 1999.
www.balfourbeatty.com

Maintenance workers alerted to asbestos dangers
Maintenance workers including plumbers, carpenters and builders are being urged by the HSE to be more aware of the dangers of working with asbestos through its 'Don't take the gamble' campaign. There are around 1.8m maintenance workers in GB and they account for more than one quarter of the 3,500 asbestos-related cancer deaths each year. More than half a million non-domestic premises and houses still contain some form of the material. The campaign encourages maintenance workers to ask if asbestos is present before starting work, check that the work does not require a licence, wear a mask, vacuum up any dust and not drill or cut into asbestos with power tools. It also reminds 'dutyholders' of their obligations under asbestos law to manage the risk from any asbestos in the building, make and keep a record of its location and condition and tell people who may work on the building that asbestos is present.
www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos

Burden of regulation top FM's concerns
An increasing burden of regulation and the threat of litigation for non-conformity to these regulations are the top two concerns of 250 FMs surveyed by Facilities Recruitment Limited. FRL says there is little recognition of the personal risk they run - only 4% had any form of personal professional indemnity.
Mg@facilitiesrecruit.co.uk

TV tracks PFI school project
A series of TV programmes charting the progress of Hadley Learning Community (HLC) has been broadcast this month on digital and satellite television. The series, Future School, is a fly-on-the-wall view into the creation of the PFI school which opened to its first students this month. HLC is a single building comprising a primary school for 420 pupils, a secondary school for 1,200, a school for 150 children with severe and profound learning difficulties, a 50-place early education and childcare facility, a sports and leisure centre and an arts centre. The facilities are also available for community use. The first programmes follow the school's principal, PFI construction and FM partner, Interserve, and the Borough of Telford & Wrekin through the development of an extended PFI school.
www.interserveplc.co.uk

Pathway Card enhancements
The Pathway Card, the skills passport for the cleaning industry, is being enhanced and its bureaucracy reduced. Now any company can become a verifier simply by demonstrating its commitment to training, and the basic Pathway Card will have unlimited skills updates. However, the cost of a Pathway Card, which has been subsidised by Asset Skills, BICSc and CSSA to keep the price down to £6, will rise from 1 January 2007, to £10 per card.
www.ssda.org.uk

Olympic integrated information service
The London 2012 Organising Committee is seeking to integrate all internal 'back office' information systems and services required to stage the Olympic Games. These include costs and revenues, facility requirements, human resource requirements and plans. The system will be the foundation for planning across all key functional areas and operations including finance, transport and venues to sport, press operations and spectator services. The pre-qualification questionnaire gives details of the tender process.
www.london2012.org

Steelcase links up with Green-Works
Steelcase, has formed a partnership in the UK with the charity, Green-Works, which provides redundant office furniture for re-use by schools, charities and community organisations. Steelcase is endorsing the charity's take-back initiatives which sees old furniture removed from offices and re-distributed, by promoting this service to its customers across the UK.
www.steelcase.com/uk

Government launches Energy Technologies Institute
The DTI has published its prospectus for its Energy Technologies Institute which will see the Government committing £500m to the Institute over the next decade with matching funding invited from the private sector. The Institute will generate a step change in R&D towards secure, reliable and affordable low carbon energy technologies.
www.dti.gov.uk

Daily waste collection for offices
Cresswell Office Services has formed a partnership with First Mile, collectors of recycled materials and rubbish, to provide a pick up and disposal service. Cresswell has also signed up to the Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code and is also a licensed waste carrier authorized to dispose of hazardous waste.
www.cresswellservices.co.uk

Degrees of success
As students return to universities across the country, Sodexho has announced that its business within the sector is now worth £6.4m a year. TheUnity, its food for universities, has been installed at a number of sites including the University of Bradford, Dartington College of Arts, Devon, University of Bedfordshire, Polhill campus, Holborn College, University of Nottingham's Sutton Bonnington campus and Broadgate Park private residential campus. Additionally, its full FM services contract for the Avery Hill halls at the University of Greenwich has been extended for a further 20 years, and its full FM contract at Hackney Community College has been retained.
www.sodexho-uk.com

Robertson FM goes solo in BSF project
Robertson FM has been appointed preferred bidder by the Aura consortium of Robertson Capital Projects, Sir Robert McAlpine and Parsons Brinckerhoff, to provide FM services in the £200m Newcastle Building Schools for the Future project. This is the first private finance deal that Robertson FM has won in its own right, and as MD Steve Barron explained, "Our ambition is now to grow FM as a stand-alone business, clear to seek new business independent from what other Robertson companies are doing."
www.robertsonfm.co.uk

Surgical 'hubs' to be built and operated
Clinicenta has been appointed preferred bidder for the development, construction and operation of two new surgical hubs and eight assessment and diagnostic centres in South East and South West London. A 50:50 JV between Carillion and Lodestone Patient Care, Clinicenta will deliver clinical services such as ear, nose and throat, general surgery, ophthalmology, urology, trauma and orthopaedics from April 2008. Clinicenta will be working with Primary Care Trusts and 11 NHS Trusts. The principal facility under the contract is a new surgical centre at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup, together with other refurbished facilities across South and West London.
www.carillionplc.com

Support for Olympic cyclists
Panasonic has been selected as the official AV equipment supplier to the Great Britain Cycling Team for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Riders and support staff to race all over the world and Panasonic's support will be vital in providing team communications and to monitor and improve performance.
Claire.eaton-whitfield@eu.panasonic.com

To train or not to train? ..... that is our question
Time and money spent on training and development activities are often regarded as a cost not an investment in future business success. In association with PFM, Beverley Thompson of Humanics is reviewing training and development in FM in a major survey conducted among PFM and FM Report readers. Does the FM industry recognise the potentially positive impact that training and development can have on business performance? Is FM providing real training and development opportunities to make it an attractive industry to work in? Is there enough focus on leadership and management development? Help us find out by completing the online survey ... and win an iPoD Nano. The results will be published in the October issue of PFM magazine.
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