FIRST EUROPEAN FM AWARDS WINNERS

26 June 2007

European Researcher of the Year, Qi Zhou Moss (centre) with Wolfgang Brunnauer and Jelle van der Kluit

Johnson Controls and BP, and CFM Researcher win top prizes at European FM Awards in Zurich

The European facilities management community last night applauded the first people to win European FM Awards. They were presented at the Gala Dinner for the EFMC2007 conference in Zurich (26th June 2007) and organised by EuroFM, the network of more than 75 organisations in 15 European countries involved in FM practice, education and research.

These Awards highlight best practice in facilities management services delivery, education and research across Europe. Speaking at the Awards presentation, EuroFM Chairman, Jose Garcia Cuartero said: “These Awards recognise that the development of facilities management across Europe has come of age. The time is now right to recognise the excellent work that is being done delivering facilities management to organisations across Europe, to show the quality and depth of research undertaken in Europe’s universities, and to encourage the enthusiasm and skills of the young people aspiring to become the leaders in this exciting and fast growing industry sector.”

Awards were presented in three categories as follows:

European FM Student of the Year to PEGGIE ROTHE, a student at Helsinki University of Technology who has now finished her studies and recently joined the Finnish international management consultants, Poyry plc.

The judges said, “It was a very hard decision as all three finalists impressed the judges with a their high standards. However, Peggie’s personality and enthusiasm, and her thesis focusing on the usability of business parks and the methodology of usability which is contributing to a major international research project, impressed the judges the most.”

The other finalists were: Thomas Kirchweger, a student at FH Kufstein Tirol University of Applied Sciences in Austria, and Saskia Siegers, a student at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands

European FM Researcher of the Year to QI ZHOU MOSS a researcher for The Centre for Facilities Management at the University of Salford in England, whose work on FM Market Intelligence in Europe is aiming to develop a robust market research methodolgy.

The judges said: “Her research on FM Market Intelligence in Europe is central for the development facilities management, involves data from across Europe and has a clear European perspective.”

The other finalists were: Wolfgang Brunauer, a research fellow at the Kufstein University of Applied Sciences in Innsbruck and Jelle Van Der Kluit who studied at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Partners Across Borders Award to JOHNSON CONTROLS WITH BP for its comprehensive solution for consistent, high quality provision of services across 22 sites in 16 different countries. Johnson Controls provided the lead to design and create a new alliance with Wisag and Altys Sodexho to provide services across this international estate. The judges said, “By asking their three competing service delivery partners to work as one in an alliance with them to deliver a common FM service platform, BP’ s approach is an amazing achievement that has come to maturity and delivering an improved European-wide facilities service. Although the three companies operate within their own regions of Europe, the fact that they deliver the same FM service across borders means that BP has achieved a unified European delivery service within local cultures. The alliance partners compete to come up with new ideas to improve service locally, then trial it and share it across Europe.”

The other finalists in this category were Faceo with Thales and Microsoft with Business & Facilities

EuroFM is grateful to Barclays, Facilitec and GlaxoSmithKline for sponsoring these inaugural European FM Awards.

More details of the finalists and photographs are available at www.pfmmagazine.co.uk/eurofmawards