Latest news
2011
PFM Awards 2011 - Partners in Education success
This year we've proudly been one of three finalists in the PFM Awards for the Partners in Education category. In a joint submission with Essential FM, the facilities delivery function within AstraZeneca, we co-developed, launched and delivered a new FM qualification. The certificate in professional business practice (facilities management) is the first of its type in the UK, which is uniquely work-based, and resulted in our shortlisted place at the 2011 awards ceremony.
In devising the programme, we drew upon our extensive experience of working with successful, students who were already professionals working within FM in-house or for outsourced suppliers at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We made a number of adaptations, including delivering the course at AstraZeneca's Cheshire sites and devised a series of workshops.
Participants were supported by guided reading and assessed through the completion of a series of differing work-based assignments. We ensured the workshops were designed to be participative, and encompassed a range of learning styles. The students had the support of academic staff throughout, who gave guidance and supplied various resources online.
If you're interested in professional development and training for your team, please contact Paul Wyton.
Bespoke training and development - our work with Addenbrooke's hospital
We have a longstanding, successful record of delivering bespoke training and development courses for FM managers. And we're keen to hear if we can help your organisation, just as we are doing for Addenbrooke's Hospital.
In the Spring of this year we created a certificate in professional
business practice (facilities management) for Addenbrooke's Hospital,
which is part of Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation
Trust. The course addresses some very specific requirements around
developing a wider appreciation of the role of FM within the
hospital, and understanding the impacts and management of change,
and process improvement.
The hospital required us to ensure that the course delivered
not only personal development for the participants, but was also
of direct benefit to the organisation. As a result, we created
a course which combined appropriate academic assignments with
the specific needs of the employer, supported by work-based projects.
These projects have taken specific issues, and through primary
research, identified potential solutions for Addenbrooke's.
It's still early days, but evidence suggests the projects are
making a significant contribution to the hospital through an
improved understanding of the challenges and opportunities for
FM, and through process improvement which will result in reduced
costs and enhanced patient care.
If you're interested in professional development and training
for your team, please contact Paul
Wyton.
New role for Paul Wyton
Over recent times we've seen an increased demand from employers for bespoke training and development in FM. And as a direct response to that, CFMD's Paul Wyton has changed role from leading the successful undergraduate programme to creating specific training packages to meet organisational needs.
In his new role as course leader for corporate courses, Paul hopes to address the changing expectations companies and organisations have of facilities managers, and will ensure that the qualifications they hold reflect this and the economic environment we all operate in.
If you who would like to understand more about what we have to offer, or would like to comment on the changing educational environment please contact Paul Wyton.
New FM Directors' Forum launched
Our Public Sector FM Network has recently launched a new addition to the programme of workshops and our annual conference - the FM Directors' Forum. Aimed at directors and assistant directors of estates and facilities within public sector organisations, the forum is set to become a regular feature of strategic discussion and debate on emerging trends in FM.
Our inaugural meeting was held in September, the day before our annual conference. Some 20 participants (facilities directors, visiting fellows and professors, and our own staff) got together for an afternoon of high-level strategic discussion. Points for debate included
- the impact of the global financial crisis
- creating customer delight and 'wow factors'
- understanding core business needs
- educating customers and radically redesigning the facilities service delivery
During this first forum two things were clear a) FM needs to be dynamic and forward-thinking instead of reactive, and b) a project catalyst or critical friend is needed to facilitate a collaborative, cross-sector or multi-agency approach to FM. And this is exactly what our own Public Sector FM Network is working towards - facilitating a sector-wide change and supporting FM professionals in their organisational roles within this change.
If you'd like to be involved in shaping the FM agenda, then get in touch if you'd like to join the next forum. Contact us for more information or to put forward your ideas for debate.
For better or for worse, making FM relationships work
This September, we held our fifth annual Public Sector FM Network conference which tackled the pertinent topic of 'For better or for worse - making FM relationships work'. At a time of budget cuts and shortage of resources, it's a challenge for anyone to 'walk it all alone', with public sector organisations in particular being pushed to pool resources and work in partnership.
'Shared services' was the buzzword of the day - but we asked what it meant in practice. This is a new field of working for many organisations, but there are examples of good practice, frameworks and initiatives that prove it's not impossible.
Two keynote speakers from very different backgrounds set the scene. Martin Pickard, known as the 'FM guru', who was involved in developing the new British Standard BS 11000 on partnership working, and Julia Middleton, founder of Common Purpose, an company which brings together leaders within cities and regions to promote partnerships and systemic thinking. Both were strong personalities with a vision, capturing the audience attention.
The day also included case studies, a panel discussion with experts in the field, and parallel workshop sessions providing more in-depth information on how various organisations manage the journey to better relationships. There was no doubt that this requires vision, commitment, leadership, long-term thinking, and resources, but examples such as our own business school working with TSK, Higher York's pooling of resources, or the 50 year relationship between the John Lewis Partnership and Emprise show that amazing successes can be achieved.
The day was well attended by nearly 100 delegates, and attracted sponsors Carillion, EC Harris, Derbyshire County Council, Europa FM and TSK. The programme of events generated lively discussions, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Details about next year's conference will be released in the New Year, but in the meantime you can view the presentations from this year on our website.
Our FM networks just got better!
Given the wide ranging changes within public sector and the impact of ever tightening financial constraints, we have taken the step to revamp and reinvent our long-standing FM networks, some of which have been running successfully for nearly two decades. Under the new banner of the Public Sector FM Network, we've brought our separate sectors into one.
Fides Matzdorf, our FM network manager, has been co-ordinating the re-launch and commented, 'health, higher education, schools, and local and central government are not the only public agencies that have to look after property portfolios, work spaces and customer services - other areas of the public sector do the same, from police authorities to fire services, ambulance services to prisons. And whilst each have their own specific needs and issues, there is much common ground.'
Fides added, 'our new network provides a space and a framework for all interested organisations to share knowledge and resources enabling people to do more with less, whilst retaining the sector-specific knowledge and connections. We believe there are great benefits from bringing people together in this way and there are a whole range of similar challenges and solutions to address. Feedback from our recent workshop shows that we are on the right track, but we're always looking to improve our offering and continually tailor it exactly to our members' needs.'
You can find out more through our website - see how your organisation can benefit from membership, view our new annual programme for 2011/12, and either re-new your existing package or join us for the first time.
If you have a specific enquiry, please e-mail fm.net@shu.ac.uk.
Estates and space - the dawn of a new space age
Our first network workshop this year was successfully held at The Source, Meadowhall in May, with an attendance of around 50 members.
The theme of the day was 'estates and space' and we brought together a range of inspiring speakers from both the public and private sectors. Delegates on the day came from our core public sector areas of government, health and higher education. Tim Davidson-Hague, director of CFMD, kick started proceedings with a talk about the tough times ahead due to the current economic circumstances, and how it's creating massive challenges for facilities and property professionals.
In many areas the public sector is having to grapple with tightening or even serious reductions in funds, and so collaboration and shared services are likely to move up the agenda. Through our public sector focused network, we aim to bring together organisations through our specialist expertise, providing both practical as well as informative support.
Our first workshop offered a case study on the Total Place Initiative (now subsumed under the Big Society idea), as well as ways of reviewing estate portfolios and examples of revamping existing buildings to match different ways of working.
We also held a series of 'open space' discussions on key topics requested by delegates, including • one public estate - further examples of shared services and Pathfinder projects • HE space charging and efficiencies • what will be the workplace in 2020 - where will technology and society take us? • development of agile working policies - implementation and associated cultural change. Two further speaker sessions focused on the Premises Assurance Model in the NHS and the effective use of condition surveys, plus we ensured there was ample time for informal networking.
Whilst we started the day with the view that property is illiquid and inflexible, our speakers demonstrated that it is not only the property but, more often, also people who are inflexible. Faced with the very real challenges ahead, the public sector simply can't afford to work alone and hold on to concepts such as 'my office' and 'my building' - concepts that are history for many private sector companies.
Throughout the day, it was demonstrated that services should be delivered from the most suitable location to meet customer needs - and this does not even have to be from a building that belongs to the organisation a person works for. If a service is better delivered from a partner organisation's building, then this is the best building for an individual to be based.
The current state of flux represents a great opportunity for resources to be released by different organisations coming together, sharing estates and backroom functions. FM needs to be in the driving seat of this change, but we will all need new skills and attitudes to achieve this.
Could our work with AstraZeneca work for you?
May 2011 saw the culmination of a new course that we've been delivering with Essentials FM at AstraZeneca. The certificate in professional business practice (facilities management) is a bespoke course that we developed for AstraZeneca and their suppliers, aiming to meet specific management development needs, whilst also allowing delegates to gain academic accreditation. The programme was delivered through an intensive work-based curriculum and assessment process, and was run onsite in Cheshire.
We're currently developing bespoke education programmes specific to developing delivery needs for a range of public and private sector organisations. And we'd love to hear from you if this is something you think we can do for your organisation - please contact Paul Wyton or Melanie Bull for further information.
The AstraZeneca cohort of students included a number of FM managers from various functions within the company, as well as their contacts from outsource suppliers Sodexo, Veolia and Boultings, and Loughborough University. The mix of backgrounds and perspectives created a great opportunity for developing discussions from both client and contract managers.
Central to the assessment was a group work-based project, and six groups presented their problem, their approach to understanding that problem and potential solutions to their project mentors, managers and fellow students. The feedback has been very good, commenting on the quality, but most importantly, its direct relevance to business impact. Projects included
- the role lean management can play in a service organisation
- understanding customer perception of FM services
- how do we measure our service delivery in a way that is meaningful to the customer?
- how is customer service demand captured and the communication route back to FM?
- 'I Work' - has the vision become a reality?
- how will FM enhance the Loughborough University reputation by supporting the Olympic preparation for 2012?
We welcome the return of Jill Fortune
We're pleased to announce that Jill Fortune has returned as principal lecturer with responsibility for the academic leadership of the CFMD team. Jill has been with Sheffield Hallam since 1998 and was previously the course leader for both the undergraduate and postgraduate facilities management programme areas. As a result of her work developing these courses, in 2007 she was voted as one of the top 20 most influential women in facilities management, in an initiative launched by FM World and sponsored by Michael Page.
Between 2008 and early 2011 Jill has worked with colleagues in Sheffield Hallam's department of built environment, where she was course leader for the undergraduate and postgraduate real estate programmes.
Jill's applied research and consultancy has been in the field of strategic space planning and property management. She has also engaged in research which reflects her passion for developing meaningful career pathways for property and facilities management, and supporting learners and practitioners to form a reflective approach to their professional development.
Although these are challenging times for FM Jill is excited to be rejoining a team of dynamic, enthusiastic FM experts who strive to provide their clients with the latest thinking and developments in FM.
Network member 50 per cent discount for OPN productivity workshop
The Office Productivity Network aims to help managers to improve staff productivity through better layout and use of the office environment, and they're offering all our Public Sector FM Network members a 50 per cent discount on their next workshop.
Download further information from the OPN about their next workshop (Word 184KB).
The network's core thesis is that the impact of the office environment on business performance and staff output is poorly understood, both across industry sectors and internationally. The OPN has been around for 12 years, with a membership consisting of private as well as public sector organisations.
It seeks to facilitate the exchange of information between practitioners and researchers, identifying and disseminating best practice and campaigning for the greater appreciation of the importance of office environments to business productivity. It does so by organising on-site workshops that include site visits to award-winning or innovative office buildings.
For more information and details on how to become a member contact the OPN chairman, Paul Bartlett at paulbartlett@sbssol.co.uk or phone 01379 678 899.
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