European Conference
FACILITY MANAGEMENT 2002
Madrid 10-12 April 2002 - European FMs united
Facilities management professionals from all over Europe gathered in Madrid for the Euro FM conference Is FM ready for Europe?, from the 10-12 April 2002. While the rain was busy falling in the Spanish capital, ideas were being exchanged and the varying levels of FM development across the continent discussed.
Concurrent with the seminars, the first professional Spanish FM exhibition was held nearby, Expo FM. The 35-exhibitor strong show was organised by the Spanish FM association, SEFM, and event organiser Grupo Planner. Consultancy and services company Profectus took the opportunity to launch its Spanish company during the first day of the exhibition, under the leadership of Spanish-born David Martinez, who has spent the last six years in the UK.
Other exhibitors included Axima FM (formerly Sulzer Infra), Iberdrola Ingenieria Consultoria, software companies MRO, Peregrine, and distributors of the Archibus CAFM system, DBAssociates, whose Spanish sister company is the youngest within the organisation, and Facilitec, the newly launched FM consultancy and management services division of Grupo Cador.
The native SEFM, which has 150 members in Spain, also co-organised the Euro FM event, a trend which is likely to continue with the Dutch FM association at the Euro FM event in Rotterdam next year and in Copenhagen in 2004 with Danish DFM. Chairman of SEFM, Jose Luis Garcia Cuartero, delivered the welcome to delegates on the first day together with Euro FM chairman Lionel Prodgers.
While Cuartero introduced the attendees to Madrid, with promises of good food and weather Ð the first of which was demonstrated at the conference dinner at a castle on the outskirts of the city (the latter statement was never verified!) Prodgers presented Euro FM and its goals together with existing European FM research.
What followed was an exciting seminar schedule with European speakers sharing their countriesÕ experiences in the management and life cycle of facilities, research, education and training, costs, communication and technology.
ItÕs fair to say that the host country, Spain, is one of the less developed in FM term in Europe although itÕs rapidly growing, which has been reflected in the recent formation of IFMA Spain, the second association to be created following SEFM in 1998. IFMA has 50 members so far, but hopes to increase it to at least 100 by the end of the year. President Francisco Vazquez said the association differs from SEFM in that it is aimed at professionals who have international needs.
Vazquez, who is the co-founder of 3G Office, a consultancy supporting FMs, says FM is being promoted in Spain, emphasising the reduction in costs outsourcing brings. Companies are already following the sale-and-leaseback trend he says, with large telecoms and banks selling their properties to release capital.
Cuartero acknowledges that there are no companies that are capable of both buying a property and providing services to the occupants, such as Land Securities Trillium in the UK. ÒBut the UK is light-years ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to FM,Ó he says. Followed by the Netherlands, where FM has also taken off on a large scale. According to Ronald Wilmes, managing director of Prisma in Holland, the trend is to outsource everything to one provider who can offer a total service, but he claims there are few providers who can offer that capability.
In the Scandinavian countries, FM is also growing. In Norway it has yet to be recognised as a profession, but in Sweden and Denmark the concept is more familiar. Many attendees claimed this region is the most developed within FM in Europe after the UK and the Netherlands.
Promotion of FM
For many country representatives, the promotion of FM seems to be an important issue. To grow, they need to create more awareness in their respective countries. What is FM? What are the advantages? How can it help my company reduce costs? are some of the questions companies are faced with.
The subject was raised by the chairman elect of BIFM, Stan Mitchell, who recently formed KeyFM together with ex-Select Facilities Services director David Hogg. He highlighted the importance of marketing facilities management and claimed that FMs, together with academics and professional bodies, should ensure that the FMs role is communicated properly. ÒThe sales and marketing hat isnÕt often worn by FMs, but it should be for the professionalism of FM, for FMsÕ career and status, and also for staff as well as the recognition and reward,Ó he said.
Architect Javier Garcia Montesinos, from Spanish company Iberdrola Ingenieria Consultoria, demonstrated the problem of undervaluing FM in his presentation. ÒAs an architect, I just worry about handing over the building, not how to maintain it,Ó he said. He therefore urged FMs to establish criteria for their needs in order that they are fulfilled during the construction process.
According to Mitchell, the corporateÕs rather misleading view of FM, can be rectified by companies having a clear strategy, doing the research, having the data and presenting it using appropriate language, while looking for opportunities and managing them.
Francisco VazquesÕ promotional idea to emphasise the cost reductions involved in outsourcing, wouldnÕt be advisable if youÕre to believe Alexander Redlein, assistant professor at Interuniversitat Institute fur Technologie Management in Vienna. He says that, at least in the German speaking countries, FM strategies are too focused on cost. ÒIt shouldnÕt just be a cost factor,Ó he said. ÒFMs need to sell to the customer as well as the customerÕs employees and clients.Ó
However, according to Edward Baldwin, partner of EC Harris, costs are vital in determining best value. ÒBest value is achieved over the whole life of an asset,Ó he said. Since 10-20% of total spending is capital cost and 80-90% occupational cost, Baldwin said the choice of location is important as well as the estimated maintenance costs: ÒWhole life cost management is ÔcriticalÕ in evaluating alternative locations.Ó He also mentioned other WLC benefits to clients, such as greater long-term certainty and the ability to ensure appropriate interaction between design, cost and facilities management.
Bernard Drion, general manager of DBAssociates, offered another perspective on cost: ÒIf the Government does something wrong, people will say ÔitÕs my tax moneyÕ. ItÕs the same with FM.Ó According to Drion, there are certain restrictions within FM, also highlighted by other speakers: FMs are mostly approached if something is wrong, not to receive thanks for solving a problem.
ItÕs important to make people aware of FM and to explain the benefits of outsourcing. Drion showed a perfect, obvious example of an outsourcer that most people would be able to relate to: ÒThe king of outsourcing is Swedish furniture store IKEAÓ, he said, since its customers transport and put their furniture together themselves. ÒIf they were to outsource anymore, they would have to sell trees!Ó On a slightly more serious note he said that FMs should be aware of how they are perceived by others and should concentrate on employee development.
Co-operating with the customerÕs employees is also of vital importance, as Richard Lennartz, principal management consultant of PWC Consulting, showed in a case study. Featuring a Dutch energy provider employing 10,000 staff in 20 countries, he explained that the customerÕs staff also need to be involved in the occupation process. In his speech on system dynamics, he demonstrated that through workshops with the employees, in which a system dynamics expert was involved collecting essential data, a final model of business accommodation was established. ÒStart simple and be more complex at the end of the process,Ó was his advice. This could go for promoting FM as well.
Educational developments
Some countries in Europe have yet to develop FM courses. In Scandinavia, Norwegian students have to seek out qualifications in Denmark or Sweden. In Spain there are no FM undergraduate degrees, but three postgraduate courses and an e-learning programme will be launched later this year. In the UK and the Netherlands there are a number of qualifications to choose from, at varying levels.
In Austria, at the Danube UniversitŠt Krems, courses are based on human learning behaviour, where every student functions as an Ôindividually structured network of knowledge chainsÕ. ÒKnowledge is good, but skills are better since skills are applied knowledge,Ó said Stephan Barasits, the rather eccentric assistant professor at the university, which offers a postgraduate course in FM. He argues that FM studies are different to other courses and should not be classified into disciplines and subtasks. ÒProblems should be treated in an holistic and integral way around basic key themes,Ó he said.
Whether the BIFM will take his comments into consideration when creating a European qualification remains to be seen. The British FM association will pilot a course in the Netherlands, Denmark and Spain in the near future, which hopefully will see a new trend, where FMs can move between different countries and cultures and still retain a high standard.
Valerie Everitt, director of professional development at the BIFM, said there are still a few challenges ahead and to move forward a clear vision is needed as well as EC funding. ÒThe underlying objectives for the qualification should however be clarity, simplicity, transparency and flexibility to be recognised across the region,Ó she said. Exams would be in each countryÕs mother tongue.
FinallyÉ
Overall, the conference was a success, offering European FMs the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss best practice. It was a step towards a more united FM community, in which an increasing number of European partnerships and educational programmes are likely to emerge in future. And as Stephan Barasits said: ÒNetworking brings a powerful multiplication of human knowledge for each member of the network.Ó
