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Facility, Property & Asset Management Professionals
Latest News : Middle East, Seminars and Articles
The Middle East is an impressive real estate market and I recently returned from a trip that took me to Dubai and Saudi Arabia. I will be conducting a workshop in Dubai later this year and am working on a project for a client in Saudi Arabia.
In addition to the Dubai workshop, I am delivering a Strategic Communications seminar for Property & Facility Managers at the IIDEX/Neocon show and a seminar on Performance Management at a Federated Press conference on Maintenance, both in Toronto this September.
We've had three new article published in leading FM and PM magazines in Canada and the Middle East. See further below for details.
A new article has been added to our website that should be of interest to all in-house FM and PM organizations. It identifies key strategies used by successful FM outsourcing companies that you can implement yourself.
To read it, click here » Best Practices From Outsourcing
Focus: Benchmarking
Benchmarking can be a great tool, but it must be used with care.
Accurately comparing costs between buildings is not as easy as it seems, and using averages can sometimes result in wrong decisions. You don't want to compare apples to oranges for sure, but you also don't want to compare a Golden Delicious Apple with a Macintosh Apple.
For any detailed benchmarking exercise, you need to assess each cost component and compare the subject property to the comparison properties, then make adjustments to ensure an equal comparison. The similarity of properties is important, since many factors influence costs.
Of course the most important aspect of benchmarking is understanding why you are doing it and what you will use the information for. That will dictate how your benchmarking exercise should be structured and managed for the best results.
Some people simply use benchmarking results to justify the status quo. Since raw benchmarking results can be deceptive, this is easy to accomplish. You need to understand how the results have been compiled, the sample size, the type of facilities, location, services and more to do an effective comparison.
Some time ago, I managed a 1,000,000 sq.ft. facility for Bell Canada as part of my portfolio. I participated in the BOMA benchmarking study (Experience Exchange Report) with colleagues managing two other Bell buildings in the same category. The study had a total of almost 7M sq.ft. in total. This meant that 50% of the category was represented by three office building owned and occupied by the same company. Clearly, this meant the benchmark was very narrow and probably not representative of the industry costing, particularly for commercial properties, but other owners wouldn't have known this fact. Ever since, I have looked carefully at benchmarking information before using it.
In another example, I met with a Director of Facilities a while back who was satisfied that his facility fell in the middle range of benchmarking results for his category. Unfortunately, not only was he satisfied with being average, his category of facilities wasn't known for leading the industry.
In any case, benchmarking should be a starting point, not an ending point. If you use general benchmarking like those compiled by IFMA and BOMA, they should simply point you to areas you should study in more depth and you should be careful when comparing benchmarking results to your buildings and make suitable adjustments before making any decisions.
The most effective benchmarking is between selected facilities with similar characteristics as yours where the differences are understood and are adjusted for up-front. This provides you with a real comparison. Then the next step is to understand why you are under performing in certain areas and with that knowledge, you can take action. After all, benchmarking should always lead to action, otherwise why bother.
Blogs: Recent
Sustainability takes Courage!
Courage seems to be the biggest hurdle to sustainability. That's the conclusion I made after listening to an IFMA seminar on Sustainability by Bill Gregory, Director of Sustainable Initiatives from Milliken & Company.
In the seminar, Bill presented a number of case studies. At first, they seemed impressive, with a number of initiatives and features that promoted sustainability, environmentally friendly practices and energy savings. Looking closely, however, none of the initiatives was particularly innovative. They were mostly things we already know about and are being done by various organizations.
I realized that what was spectacular about the case studies was the courage of the organizations in their forward thinking approach to their projects by spending the effort and the up-front money to implement sustainable practices on a large scale. The going-forward savings were impressive, but that's often not enough for companies to put the up-front money and effort into the initiative.
The seminar confirmed that the technology is available. It's the courage of companies who understand the importance of sustainability that will push the sustainability agenda forward.
To read all our blogs, Click Here
Articles: Recently Published
Three of our articles were recently published in Facility/Property Management magazines, including one in the Middle East. If you are interested in the text of any of these articles, please email us.
Managing Your Portfolio - Quarter 2, Volume 3, Facilities Management Magazine, GCC edition (Dubai, UAE)
With the explosive development in the Middle East and Dubai in particular, there is a need to source management companies who can manage your portfolio and maintain your reputation at high profile properties. This article outlines the approach you need to take when selecting a company to manage your commercial, residential or corporate portfolio or facility. The principles in the articles apply to sourcing management companies anywhere in the world. Find out about the magazine by going to their website at: http://www.fmmagazine.net/
Bridging Core Business - Stay Back Team is Continuity Component of Outsourcing -March 2008, Canadian Property Management Magazine
While Outsourcing is a business strategy used by some organizations, they frequently neglect a key area to ensure success. The Stay Back Team bridges your core business with the new service provider, providing strategic direction, managing performance and linking the services to the company requirements. This article outlines the importance of the Stay Back Team and the skillsets required for success.
Find out how to subscribe to CPM by going to their website at: www.canadianpropertymanagement.ca
Beware the Integration Trap
April 2008, Canadian Facility Management & Design magazine.
This article warns of the dangers of rushing into integration of systems without understanding why you are integrating and what decisions you expect to make using the integrated information. It provides practical questions to ask and things to watch out for. Find out how to subscribe to CFM&D by sending an email to: cfm@sympatico.ca
On-Line Articles: Over 24 full length on-line articles are available for you to read. They cover Customer Service, Performance Management, Facility & Property Management and Outsourcing. Click here for access to all our articles.
Publlished Articles: To get the text of any published articles not on our website, please email us. To see a complete listing of previously published articles and our speaking credits, click here
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About Strategic Advisor
We provide consulting, training and advisory services internationally for Facility, Asset and Property Management. We help you get results, reduce costs and improve your team's effectiveness.
Services include:
- Facility & Property Mgmt. Assessments
- Strategic planning
- Organizational Design / Improvement
- Performance Management
- Chargeback Implementation
- Business Cases
- Managing Transitions
- Contract Docs / Contract Management
- Policies & Procedures Development
- Outsourcing / Contracting Support
- Training & Education
- Surveys
Visit: Strategic Advisor
Download: Brochure
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Middle East: Dubai Workshop
We are delivering a 3 day Workshop titled "Strategic Facilities Performance Management & KPI's" In Dubai this November. The workshop provides strategic approaches to leveraging performance from your staff, systems and suppliers in addition to leading edge approaches to getting performance using KPI's.
We will send you a bulletin with details when available.
Toronto: Seminars
Experience a mini version of our workshops with the seminar "Strategic Communications" at the Toronto IIDEX/Neocon show in September, 2008. This seminar teaches FM and PM professionals how to get better results with their communications.
Check the IIDEX/Neocon website for updated information.
We are bringing our "Performance Management" seminar to the 7th annual "Reinventing Maintenance" conference by Federated Press in September. For more information, download the Conference Brochure. Our seminar is being held during Session 4.
Updated: Outsourcing
We have added a new brochure outlining our Outsourcing Support services. Regardless of what stage you are in, from decision making to implementation, we can help your initiative succeed with industry experience you don't have in-house.
» Outsourcing Support
Future: White Papers
New White Papers on conducting a Health Check on your operations and all about Outsourcing will be available soon. They provide you with a roadmap to succeed at these important initiatives.
Upcoming: Articles
The following articles are scheduled for publication in magazines later in 2008:
» Talking to your CFO --- Canadian Facility Management & Design
» Managing Performance in Critical Facilities --- Building Operating Management magazine.
» Reducing long-term ownership costs at the design/construction phase --- Summit Magazine
Participate: Surveys & Polls
Add your opinion and information by visiting SurveyFM and participate in our Facility and Property Management based Surveys and Polls at:
www.surveyfm.com
Next Issue: Performance
To many, performance management simply means measuring KPI's or Balanced Scorecards.
Measures are necessary, but they must be supported by a performance management framework that uses the information and other processes to manage performance instead of simply measuring it.
Our next issue will focus on performance.
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Feedback: Let us Know!
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If you have a question, comment or suggestion, please send me an email.
Sincerely,
Michel Theriault
Principal,
Strategic Advisor |
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