European Conference
A Dutch Debate
Eleven years after one of the first EuroFM conferences, Richard Byatt went back to Rotterdam for this year's event. Last month's European Facility Management conference, co-hosted by the EuroFM network and the Dutch facilities management association FMN, was held at the World Trade Centre in Rotterdam, the venue for the second EuroFM event eleven years' ago.
As the then editor of PFM magazine I attended that 1992 conference, reporting on the eight plenary sessions, 50 parallel sessions, 300 delegates and busy exhibition. Despite the growth and development of both the FM profession and industry, this year's event was a more modest affair. There were no parallel sessions, with the first day split simply between plenary sessions in the main conference stream and a benchmarking seminar. The conference continued on the second day alongside a research symposium which ran onto the Saturday morning at the Hogeschool. Delegate numbers had also dwindled since those heady days, with 165 in Rotterdam, along with 40 or so students. On a show of hands only 10 recalled being in the same place 11 years before! As in 1992 they came from 15 countries, although this time the dominance of the Netherlands was not quite as strong, with delegates from the host nation accounting for 55% of the total, against 70% in 1992. A further 15% of attendees were from the UK, with Sweden and Spain providing around 10 apiece. Fewer than five people came from each of the other 11 countries. Anglo-Dutch dominance is perhaps to be expected but it's a shame the event couldn't attract a more genuinely pan-European audience. However, EuroFM chairman Lionel Prodgers is not worried by the relatively low turnout: "In the light of recent concerns over travel security and the general economic climate, we are pleased with the number of delegates. "Our measure of success has more to do with the quality of the conference content than the size of the event. In our terms, we are delighted with the results and look forward to an exciting programme in Copenhagen."
EuroFM now has around 50 organisations (including the BIFM and three IFMA chapters) as part of its network, with six corporates joining the new class of membership (see below). A new board (see below) underlines a new direction. The network will work within its resources, holding just three meetings a year, one of which will be the conference. Vienna is arranged for September, with Hungary, Copenhagen and Scotland scheduled for next year. With fewer 'official' meetings more emphasis will be placed on web-based communication.Alongside the meetings EuroFM is starting to adopt a number of projects, the first being FM standards. Perhaps reflecting Dutch preoccupations with models and process, the Rotterdam conference had a distinct management consulting flavour. There were lots of diagrams and plenty of inexorable progress along timelines to a better future. Annemarie Jorritsma, former Minister of Economic Affairs and now acting mayor of Delfzijl (a town in the extreme north-east of the Netherlands) opened the conference with some comments on the Dutch economy and in particular the mobility of labour. Jorritsma believes highly-skilled professionals in Europe are more reluctant to move than their US equivalents. One of the weakest points of the European economy is lack of innovation, she said: "The challenge is to transfer knowledge from universities to companies. When do we start patenting and stop publishing?" Facilities management is equated with cutting budgets said Professor Hans de Jonge from Delft University of Technology: "Most economic analysis of Îadded value? doesn?t look at real revenues. Both staff and Îsocietal? satisfaction should be involved in assessing success, not just client satisfaction." One of the differences between Rotterdam 1992 and 2003 is the redevelopment that has taken place arond the World Trade Centre, with a new stylish shopping complex replacing the post-war blocks. De Jonge says that as shopping becomes entertainment and major transport interchanges are redeveloped as destinations in their own right, so FM will shift outside buildings into city areas: "It won?t be long before cities profile themselves on the quality of facilities and services they offer to corporations."Delft University of Technology has set up a research institute for people and buildings which includes architects, designers and medical people. "A lot of what we say we know, we don?t know at all," said de Jonge, including the relationship between workplace innovation and productivity." Abraham de Zwart of Benchmark FM echoed de Jonge?s argument: "Currently accepted business thinking, which emphasises added value and core business, doesn?t recognise the value of FM." His simple point is that business managers pushing for cost savings must understand that any given price equates to a certain level of quality and a lowest cost approach is unlikely to add value. De Zwart says that only what he calls a 'differentiated product assortment' will allow the FM service to add value to an organisation?s core business, (which is incidentally "entirely a question of what the board at any one time says it is.")
The idea of a menu of options was picked up by Leon Paul de Rouw of Contain Organisatie Advies. Proposing 'demand-oriented' FM, de Rouw suggests structuring the FM department around customers, with a 'front' and 'back' office and a Îproduct? catalogue for internal customers, backed by a service level agreement with general management. The first morning of the conference was devoted to FM developments in healthcare. Jochem Abel provided an overview of work being done by the Optimierung und Analyse von Prozessen in KrankenhŠusern (Optimisation and Analysis of Processes in Hospitals OPIK) project. This research, led by the University of Karlsruhe working with the Fachvereinigung Krankenhaustechnik (Association of Hospital Engineering FKT), was specifically put together with hospital and industry partners. Having identified that FM had a much larger potential for savings than say energy management, the researchers gather a large amount of data on processes such as repair of medical equipment. Abel showed how a detailed analysis of the steps involved in maintenance, including crucially information exchange with clinicians, can highlight best practice. As in other European countries the Dutch have a high and rising life expectancy. By 2040 a quarter of the population will be over 65, in Germany it will be one third and in Italy, half. As lifestyles and expectations change so care of the elderly must adapt said Mark-Erik Nota. Older people will increasingly be well-educated, with more money and wanting to stay in their own homes as long as possible. More individual perhaps but no less vulnerable. He put forward a concept of different types of accommodation - from individual houses, through sheltered homes to institutions, all linked to a service desk. Residents could choose a mix of 'delivered' and 'collected' services, spending a personal budget. Nota believes major economies of scale will help to bring down the cost of meals and homecare. The experience of pilot projects suggests older people are quite comfortable with the service-desk idea and there has been a relatively high take-up of access by computer.Louise Smith and Daryl May, from Sheffield Hallam's Facilities Management Graduate Centre, have been looking at the role of the 'ward housekeeper' in the NHS.The work is being done within FMGC's NHS Research Forum, effectively a 'learning club' involving 50 NHS Trusts who are pioneering change. Through observation and interview they reached a number of recommendations on recruitment, training and integration with other staff. "Housekeeping can reduce the nursing workload at a time when nurses are difficult to recruit," they said. However, their work exposed the paradox of an unskilled, low-paid job with unsociable hours actually delivering real benefits for patients in unexpected ways. The contrast between the slightly 'academic' Dutch and German take on FM and the more market-driven approach of the UK was apparent in presentations by Mowlem Aqumen's John Cannon and Graham Matthews of EC Harris. "Commercial models and payment mechanisms are becoming more sophisticated," said Cannon, "and the division between corporate real estate and service delivery is starting to blur." Clients need to think very carefully about the suppliers with whom they are now forming strategic relationships. "Customers are seeking 'that something extra' and suppliers are having to be very creative with clients that have wrung the last out of their cost base." Matthews went even further: "In many cases outsourcing and FM are not creating shareholder value and clients fail to appreciate the impact of property and facilities services on typical business drivers." These include reducing risk in the core business; improving service and support for customers; and better project delivery. "This lack of focus is compounded by the fact that many businesses - even some large multinationals - seldom have property and facilities representation at board or even senior management level, which results in lack of ownership and strategic planning, and a lost opportunity to add value."
Research
The research symposium attracted a variety of academic papers from across Europe, presented around three themes: 'What is the impact of quality workplace on business success?'; 'Modelling relationships in the FM production chain'; and 'FM organisational issues'. A welcome new feature of the conference was the participation of students, in particular through a 'poster competition'. Almost 30 entries came from colleges and universities across Europe with the winning poster coming from the University of Applied Science in Switzerland. Vasicek and Grupp presented ideas for involving employees in office waste collection. Next year's EuroFM conference is being held in Copenhagen (12th 14th May) in conjunction with the Danish Facilities Management Association (DFM) and the organisers were already busily promoting the event and pre-registering delegates in Rotterdam. At its Members meeting after the conference EuroFM announced a completely new board for the organisation. In addition to the established network groups for research, practice and education, EuroFM has created a new corporate associate class of membership. The new appointments underline the changes implemented under Prodgers' chairmanship since June 2000. He remains chairman until the end of this year, with Hans Braat of the Netherlands continuing as treasurer/secretary. Prof. Bev Nutt (UK) chairs the research network; Olav Saeboe (Norway) chairs practice and Suvi Nenonen (Finland) chairs education.Jose Garcia Cuartero from Spain is to chair the corporate associates group. Announcing the appointments, Lionel Prodgers said: "I am delighted to welcome the newly elected board members, who will bring a fresh and dynamic leadership to the work of the Network Groups and the many initiatives under way. "EuroFM is unique in its composition and in the way that it connects so many active parties in the European facilities management sector. EuroFM depends on the voluntary commitment of individuals, with the support of their organisations, and I am sure that the combined experience of the new Board members will bring considerable strength to EuroFM and its work."
