Issue 23, Apr 2008

There is now only a month to go until the premier event of the year in facility management, ideaction ’08, and we’re busily gearing up to deliver our best conference yet. Not only have we secured a program of some of the best speakers and most respected practitioners in the FM industry, but we can now look forward to an appearance by Phil Ruthven at the conference gala dinner. Phil is founder and chairman of IBISWorld, an international corporation providing online business information, forecasting and strategic services. He is widely considered to be the nation’s most respected strategist and futurist on business, social and economic matters as well as a highly entertaining speaker, so we are sure to enjoy a very memorable evening.

We are also proud to be working with the Green Building Council of Australia’s Robin Mellon, who will be giving a special presentation on ‘An Introduction to Green Star for Facility Managers’ on the first day of the conference. In his current position of Acting Green Star Executive Director, Robin steers the production of all rating tools from existing office buildings to industrial property and teaches the Green Star Accredited Professional courses held around Australia. This is clearly an issue at the forefront of the facility management industry and something that all facility managers owe it to themselves to learn more about. So if you want to know the latest in Green Star rating development then this is a seminar not to be missed.

You can find full details of this seminar, as well as details of current sponsors and exhibitors and updates to the program in the ideaction section further down this edition of FMA Online.

We have even more new additions to our portfolio of member benefits which I am delighted to be able to introduce.

We have teamed up with Australian Business, a subsidiary of the NSW Business Chamber, to bring you a range of business products and services which will make the day-to-day running of your organisation simpler and more effective. If you’ve ever wondered whether your HR documentation is up-to-date with the latest changes in legislation or wanted to put together an OHS management system but could never seem to find the time, these services could be the solution you’ve been looking for. There are three suites of products available. The HR Products suite incorporates three different packages. HR Advance is an online tool enabling you to keep up to date with the latest in HR legislation and includes a comprehensive library of fully customisable HR documentation for you to tailor to the needs of your organisation. WorkplaceInfo is a web based subscription resource to keep you updated with the latest in IR news and analysis and Payroll Companion is an online resource designed to give payroll professionals access to key payroll information areas such as leave, taxation and fringe benefits as well as regular updates on payroll legislation and management requirements.

The OHS Products suite incorporates WorkplaceOHS and OHS Advance. Workplace OHS is an online resource which gives OHS professionals access to a range of tools such as policy and procedure templates and best practice and industry trends. If you need to set up or effectively maintain an OHS management system, OHS Advance can help with its library of information, instructions and advice, tools and templates and training materials.

Business Vitality is an area that all organisations should probably spend more time developing. Business Vitality Check is a product designed especially for small business enterprises by taking a step back and assessing business performance. This completely confidential online diagnostic tool analyses all areas of your business in order to provide a comprehensive report on your current status and recommendations on areas for improvement. There are also two Business Vitality Tools available, the Business Planning CD and the Marketing CD to help you take your strategic planning and company profile to the next level.

You’ll find these great tools are easy to use and full of helpful information, handy tips and time-saving devices. Click here for more information on the range of products and services and to see how your organisation can benefit.

You may remember that last month I introduced FMA eStore, another new member benefit. I hope that you have had the chance to visit the site to see the fantastic range of products available and compare the savings for yourself. If not, simply visit www.fma.com.au and click on the FMA eStore logo. If you’re a member you will need to log in to the members only area of the site using the login details which were emailed to you on 6 March 2008. If you did not receive this email please contact the FMA Australia office on (03) 8641 6666. If you are not a member of FMA Australia you can enter the site via the non-members area. Once you have entered FMA eStore you can either use the search field to search for a particular product, or you can browse the listed product categories. With nearly 70,000 products available you’re sure to find what you’re looking for!

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that FMA eStore is an ideal platform for purchasing all of your office consumables and even larger electrical items such as photocopiers and printers. Whether you manage several facilities across a wide area or one small office building, you can simplify the buying process and save yourself time and money by ordering everything you need from the one website. FMA eStore publishes spot prices for all products displayed on the site every day, ensuring that the price you see is the best possible price available from multiple suppliers. It simplifies the process by taking away the need for you to undertake supplier research and negotiation, and allows you to purchase from many suppliers in one order.

This system will be of particular benefit to facility managers and could significantly reduce your purchasing costs whilst increasing control, reporting visibility and bottom line profitability. If you’re interested in finding out more about what FMA eStore can do for your organisation then please contact the FMA Australia office on (03) 8641 6666.

Look out for some great incentives that we are offering to renewing and new members. More details will follow soon.

As I hope you can see, we are working very hard to ensure that members get the best possible service and benefits from their FMA Australia membership. If you feel that there is something specific missing from our range of member benefits or any feedback that you would like to give, we would of course be pleased to hear from you.

Until next time…

David Duncan
CEO

fmXpert is a sophisticated software program that uses leading edge database technology to manage:
property, leasing, assets, statutory and regulatory compliance risk issues and project and document management, therefore providing an integrated solution that grows with your business and your changing business objectives.

• fmXpert is designed to schedule and automate; preventative maintenance, asset checks, lease reviews and options, and your routine processes are easily created and automated to reduce risk and improve efficiency.
• fmXpert offers various trade tools such as PC, web mobile phones, PDA’s and digital pen technology which provide numerous field methodologies, to instantly capture and manage job feedback.
• fmXpert can be integrated with your other business systems, providing scalable technology.
• fmXpert has a sophisticated security system which provides restricted access to system functionality and data for various user groups such as customers, contractors, staff etc.

Features:

Asset Management
Create, maintain and track detailed information for all assets; including maintenance requirements, asset performance, condition, depreciation and work history. fmXpert’s data retrieval system provides an effective tool when negotiating your building and contents insurance and forecasting your future life-cycle replacement program.

Maintenance Scheduling
Plan your routine (preventative) maintenance once, and fmXpert will automate your periodic work order. You can also forecast your future annual maintenance cost by site, building or customer.

Job Management
fmXpert’s work flow manager allows each client to design and configure the system to match their business requirements. fmXpert provides full control of your jobs from a single screen. Colour-coding allows you to easily monitor job status so job controllers can quickly discern work-flow priority.

Service Provider Management
Effortlessly manage potential contractors' current insurances, such as workers compensation and public liability before they commence work on your sites. fmXpert monitors service provider KPIs measuring response and completion on time performance.

Essential Safety Measures
fmXpert provides pre-loaded maintenance checklists to Australian and New Zealand standards. Managing your regulatory compliance requirement has never been easier.

Project Costing
Create and manage your project from conception to completion. Track quotes, approved works and variations for internal and external work.

Key Register
Record the distribution of keys by type, lock locations and recipients.

PDA’s and Smart Pens
Mobile devices allow real-time access to data saving you time and money!
To arrange a demonstration please contact Veronica on 1800 fmXpert (1800 369 737)

Are you getting enough from your FM Software?

To arrange a demonstration please contact Veronica Malone on:

1800 fmXpert
1800 369 737

Facility Management Essentials Pty Ltd
134 Johnston Street
FITZROY VIC 3065

www.fmxpert.com.au

The Blue Mountains, New South Wales

FMA Australia NSW Branch Golf Day

On Wednesday 19 March the FMA Australia NSW Branch Annual Golf Day attracted 92 highly motivated golf enthusiasts to play at the beautiful St. Michael’s Golf Course.

Firstly, congratulations to the St Michael’s greenkeepers who did a marvellous job in preparing a world class golf course for us hackers to enjoy.

The sun was shining constantly and most of us got to see every blade of grass on the course. Fairways were perfect and the greens were hard and fast - a perfect day for golf.

We would like to thank all the sponsors for making this day possible:

• Judd Farris	Major Sponsor
• CBD Projects	Dinner Prize
• Conduit	Glove Giveaway
• Culligan Water	Longest Drive / Hole Sponsor/ Golf Giveaways
• Valorem	Hole Sponsor / Golf Balls
• Express Glass	Hole Sponsor
• Gold Key Building Services	Second Prize Sponsor
• Kinnarps of Sweden	Putting Competition
• Movers & Shakers	Drinks Cart
• Resolve FM	Hole Sponsor/ Bradman Award/ Longest Drive

The day provided all participants a great opportunity to network within our industry both on the course and at the gourmet dinner. Days like this take a lot of planning and preparation and we would especially like to thank Rachael Beggs for her tireless work behind the scene. Finally, the FMA Australia NSW Branch Committee would like to thank all the players, sponsors and supporters for making it such a memorable day.

A special congratulations to our winners Dario, Peter, Mike and Greg from the Resolve FM team for coming first, Donald and Scott from Now Career, Nigel from British American Tobacco and Warren from Tungsten for second place and Mark Matt, Dennis and Peter from the Judd Farris team for third place.

We look forward to next year.

FMA Australia NSW Branch March Luncheon

All who attended were treated to a captivating presentation regarding the changing world of maintenance and energy in pre-loved buildings. Laurie Reeves, Southern Regional Manager of Hirotec Maintenance, detailed the relative importance of the balance between environmental morality and economic reality.

Laurie believes that each building is unique and traditional maintenance approaches are the starting point but they must be challenged. He highlighted the fact that when it comes to energy management there are a lot of simple solutions that are quick and easy to achieve. For example, increasing room temperatures set points during the cooling season by one degree Celsius can provide energy savings between 10% – 20%. Reducing running times over weekends and nights can provide further savings between 5% and 10%. Laurie believes that all businesses should have a business plan/ strategy which includes maintenance and energy management.

Special thanks to Laurie for a thoroughly interesting and informative presentation.

We look forward to seeing you at our April luncheon, now to be held on Wednesday, 16 April with guest speaker John Tehan from Sodexho on “The Challenges of Providing Facilities Management Services in Remote Sites”.

Robert Iacono
FMA Australia NSW Branch Chair

NSW Branch Events

Lunch	Wednesday 16 April
ideaction ’08	Wednesday 7 – Friday 9 May
Lunch	Wednesday 14 May
Site Visit	Tuesday 27 May
Lunch	Wednesday 11 June
Site Visit	Tuesday 24 June
Lunch	Wednesday 9 July
Site Visit	Tuesday 22 July
Lunch	Wednesday 13 August
Site Visit	Tuesday 26 August
Lunch	Wednesday 10 September
Site Visit	Tuesday 23 September
Lunch	Wednesday 8 October
Site Visit	Tuesday 28 October
Lunch	Tuesday 4 November
Site Visit	Tuesday 25 November
Lunch	Wednesday 10 December

Canberra, ACT

March Event - Approaches in Planning for the New Workplace

This event, held at the AIS Marathon Room last Friday 28 March, proved to be very popular, with 50 people registered and more people having to be turned down.

Heather Jones, Director of National Property for the Australian Bureau of Statistics, started the forum with a presentation on the approach adopted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in planning their new office accommodation across Australia. Heather led a series of fitout projects for the ABS, by ensuring that the fitout focused on operational requirements that support current goals and objectives, rather than position entitlements. Whilst taking into consideration schemes which reflect the ABS culture as an established organisation, the design concepts, particularly in the State Offices, also depict concepts of local icons and cultures, following staff feedback and suggestions.

Relying on her Human Resource background, Heather and the National Property team of the ABS, provided extensive staff consultations during all of the design and construction processes, particularly as some of the changes proposed in the fitout may have caused some staff some anxieties. She ensured that the focus of the projects remained clear to the people and the organisation and she utilised the ‘bricks and mortar’ of the fitout as tools to the solution of the operational requirements.

Galia Cornish, CEO of Frontier Recruitment, continued the theme of designing office accommodation to support the needs of the operation of the organisation and the staff. Her presentation focused on Generation Y as representatives of the new generation entering the workforce, who are more expressive in stating their needs and requirements of life in general. Some of these needs include a Life and Work balance (rather than Work and Life balance), where they see work as including fun and interesting activities. An example of a workplace containing fun and interesting spaces was presented in a video clip of the Google Corporation, where ‘geeks’ work and hang out together.

How do we juggle the needs of the Baby Boomers and Gen Y at the same time? Well, Baby Boomers apparently also like to have fun and interesting activities, but were never taught to express these needs like Gen Y do. So, whilst you may think you need to go out of your way to meet Gen Y’s ‘demands’ of the workplace, you may in fact also satisfy the needs of other generations as well.

Thank you to Heather and Galia for sharing their experiences with us through their presentations. Thank you also to Peter Mollison for organising the venue and to Rebecca Petrass for contacting Heather and Galia to do this forum for the FMA Australia ACT Branch.

Upcoming Events

23 April 2008 – A visit to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Centre at Tidbinbilla.
Here is a great opportunity to visit this unique Centre from an FM perspective. The NASA Deep Space Network is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the Solar System and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The network is a facility of NASA, and is managed and operated for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

You will be able to see all the unique facilities supporting the antennas as well as the operation of the Centre and find out how these facilities are managed.

Participants will meet at 2.50pm at the Public Entrance gate of the Centre at Tidbinbilla. You should allow approximately 45 minutes to drive from Civic.

Due to the nature of the operations of the Centre, we will only be able to cater for a limited number of people on this site visit, therefore please register as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

More 2008 Events:

• Lunch time forums in May, June and August
• Forum and site visit on Basic Building Services in July
• Pitch and Putt Golf in September
• October Breakfast at Floriade
• Site visit to a new major facility in November

Some of the forum topics suggested include:

• A FM Perspective of the Public Private Partnership
• The Canberra Airport Terminal Development
• Water resources

Please go to ww.fma.com.au for more information on up coming events. If you would like to suggest topics or site visits please do not hesitate to contact Racheal Beggs on 03 8641 6666 or rb@fma.com.au

NSW Branch Events

Breakfast	Thursday 24 April
ideaction ’08	Wednesday 7 – Friday 9 May
Site Visit	Thursday 29 May
Lunch	Thursday 26 June
Lunch	Thursday 31 July
Lunch	Thursday 28 August
Breakfast	Thursday 25 September
Golf Day	Thursday 16 October
Site Visit	Thursday 27 November

 

Queensland

FMA Australia Qld Branch March Forum – Fire and Fit-out

Over 80 guests attended the March forum at Royal on the Park to hear the latest on statutory requirements affecting fit-outs and fire safety.

Geoffrey Vick, from Essential Property Services (a Hendry Group company), provided details of the facility manager’s role and responsibilities with respect to fire safety installations and key reporting requirements.

Norman Bergin, Senior Building Surveyor with Hendry Group, provided an overview of the Queensland legislative requirements in relation to fit-outs in new and existing buildings and the obligations of owners and occupiers triggered by such projects.

The FMA Australia Queensland Branch would like to thank the Hendry Group for their support of this event.

Upcoming Events

23 April - Queensland State Archives SITE VISIT
Don’t miss our April site visit to the new Queensland State Archives, a state-of-the-art archive storage and management facility.
This event will provide a behind-the-scenes tour of this newly completed facility with presentations from the project sponsor and developer. Breakfast will be provided before the tour with an opportunity to network with other guests.
Book early to make sure you don’t miss out, as numbers are strictly limited.
This event is proudly supported by Laing O’Rourke.

22 August – CORPORATE GOLF DAY
Block Friday August 22nd out in your diaries for the annual FMA Australia Queensland Branch corporate golf day.
The event will be hosted by Pacific Harbour Golf and Country Club, one of the newest and best resort courses in Queensland.
Get your teams together now as registration details will be available soon.
For sponsorship opportunities, contact Greg Tenbrink on 07 3834 2539 or Lex Dewar on 07 3027 4583.

QLD Branch Events

Site Visit	Wednesday 23 April
ideaction ’08	Wednesday 7 – Friday 9 May
Breakfast	Wednesday 21 May
Lunch	Wednesday 18 June
Site Visit	Wednesday 23 July
Golf Day	Friday 22 August
Lunch	Wednesday 24 September
Site Visit	Wednesday 22 October
Breakfast	Wednesday 12 November
Lunch	Monday 1 December

 

The Twelve Apostles, Victoria

Autumn has finally arrived and we would expect the weather to start getting cooler as we head towards winter. But will our weather be that predictable in 20 years time? According to the messages of doom and gloom coming from experts in the field, we are highly instrumental in changing our weather patterns and jeopardizing our future generations.

Climate change is, and remains, one of the most pressing challenges of our generation, and was the central focus of last month’s branch lunch.

FMA Australia VIC Branch March Lunch

Our March FMA Australia Victorian branch lunch was all about climate change and what we can do about it as facility managers. The facts and statistics put to us hit home and the problem suddenly felt very real. Obviously the only way to get action is to keep drilling the gloom and doom into people, and a very significant place to start is with the people who are in a position to make the first steps towards change – the property & facility managers.

Michael Nolan

Michael Nolan, Principal Consultant on Sustainability at Maunsell, was just the person to deliver this message of doom to us. Michael is an environmental professional with thirteen years experience managing sustainability and environmental change outcomes for business, government, community and educational institutions. He has extensive experience in strategic and applied environmental sustainability, energy, greenhouse and climate change, waste minimisation, infrastructure and behaviour change management.

It’s technical, I know, and in many people’s eyes it’s also boring, I understand. I am not a grateful receiver of statistics myself, but the fact remains that whatever we feel about this today, it is a very serious consideration for the future. Understanding that we need to look at this seriously, I did a little further research into the matter myself. Consider the following:

The present concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is almost 380 parts per million (ppm) - an increase of 36% over the pre-industrial (1750) concentration of 280 ppm. Similarly, the concentration of methane has risen 151%, nitrous oxide has risen 17% and tropospheric ozone has risen 36%.

An all too familiar site – night shot of a refinery in action

In the past 100 years, the sea level has risen 10 to 20 centimetres. A rise of between 10 and 90 centimetres is expected within the next 100 years. Anyone planning coastal property development will need to seriously consider the risk factors in doing so. Having said that, sea level rise is fairly slow to react to global warming, and will continue in the future even if emissions are decreased and global warming slows down. In 1000 years there could be rises of up to a few metres, if icecap melting is triggered. This would flood coastal areas, but over that timescale we may still be able to adapt.

An example of how our perennial ice is fast disappearing

We keep hearing about the greenhouse effect, but what exactly is it?

Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere. They absorb and re-radiate the Sun's warmth, and maintain the Earth's surface temperature at a level necessary to support life. The problem we now face is that human actions - particularly burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), agriculture and land clearing - are increasing the concentrations of the gases that trap heat. This is the enhanced greenhouse effect, which is contributing to a warming of the Earth's surface.

The amount of carbon dioxide that people add to the atmosphere may seem very small in comparison to the amounts being added and absorbed by natural processes, but it only takes a small change to upset the balance. The burning of fossil fuels by humans adds about 6.5 billion tonnes of carbon each year in the form of carbon dioxide. Land clearing, reduced soil humus and the erosion of topsoil account for one to two billion tonnes of carbon a year. So, we are upsetting the balance quite considerably today.

Shanghai disappearing into the smog

A few degrees of global warming will lead to more heat waves and fewer frosts. In Australia, the projected average warming of 0.4 to 2.0°C by the year 2030 would lead to a 10-50 per cent increase in days over 35°C in many places, and a 10-80 per cent decrease in frosts causing more erratic weather patterns.

First pictures of the flooding in Mackay

The good news is that the Australian Government is investing $3.4 billion on climate change action, including helping Australia to adapt to the impacts of climate change as well as finding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, domestically and globally through a range of international partnerships.

We need to work together – or perhaps this could be our future:

Other news:

FMA Australia VIC Branch welcomes new members

Mr	Ritchie	Appleby	Appleby International P/L
Ms	Andrew	Baillie	Cancer Council of Victoria
Mr	Mitchell	Ballantine	Goldman Sachs JBWere
Miss	Lynda	Clark	Melbourne University Student Union LTD
Mr	Paul	Cormick	McWilliam & Associates
Mr	Anthony	Danihers	Daniher Property Services
Mr	Andrew	Driscoll	ADX 2
Mr	Kevin	Forgarty	Department of Defence
Mr	Shane	Golding	Tint Design Pty Ltd
Mr	Peter	Karklins	ADX 2
Mr	Stuart	McKerral	Philips Lighting
Mrs	Silvana	Pironti	HBOS Australia
Mr	Grahame	Rigby	Sandhurst Club
Mr	Sali	Stevanja	Judd Farris Property Recruitment
Mr	Marcello	Tarulli	Fire Equipment Services
Mr	Neil	Thomson	ISS Facility Services
Ms	Marnie	Wynen	Appleby International P/L
Mr	Mauro	Puglielli	Savills Australia

Upcoming Events:

18 April – FMA Australia VIC Branch ANNUAL GOLF DAY
This year our annual golf day will be held at Albert Park golf course. With the entire course available to our members and guests, and with entertainment supplied by Challenge, this will be a very memorable and enjoyable day. This event will also be a big fund raising day for our charity, Challenge, so please be sure to join us for a fun day of networking and attempting to hit a few balls!

30 April – FMA Australia VIC Branch / Building Services SIG
New Melbourne Recital Centre and the Victorian Arts Centre - SITE VISIT AND LUNCH
Facility Managers and property practitioners will have the option of participating in a back of house tour of this world-class facility followed by the April luncheon or simply enjoying the luncheon itself, with the Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Recital Centre, Jacques de Vos Malan as guest speaker. Site visit numbers are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment. Click here for details.

5 June – FMA Australia VIC Branch WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL LUNCH FORUM
Guest Speaker: Rob Gell – Environmental Ambassador for 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Rob is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and an Inaugural Fellow of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand. He is a coastal geomorphologist by training; he taught Environmental Science and Physical Geography at tertiary level, then for twenty-five years he presented television weather. In his professional life he works as an environmental and communications consultant and is Chairman of Access Environmental Pty Ltd. He is a published author and a photographer. Locally he is the President of Greening Australia Victoria, Chairman of the Mornington Peninsula and Westernport Biosphere Reserve Foundation Ltd. and a member of the Victorian Coastal Council.
Rob Gell is an outstanding communicator who has earned the respect of government, business, environmental groups for his approach to sustainable development.
Once again it is our intention to raise funds for Challenge at this major event.

11 July – FMA Australia VIC BRANCH LUNCH AND PANEL SESSION
Topic: “The Future of FM: The changes of the FM industry in 2020 and the challenges because of this”
Moderator: Steve Taylor - Tungsten
Panel: Carolyn Parker - Kador; Sue Pridmore – Myer; Bryon Price – AG Coombs; Mark Quinn – Rider Levett Bucknall

29 August – FMA Australia VIC BRANCH LUNCH
Topic: TBC
Speaker: Mark Brennan, Small Business Commissioner

19 September – FMA Australia VIC BRANCH LUNCH
Topic: “The changing face of the VRC and the challenges of running such a major event”
Speaker: Stephen Silk, GM of Strategic Marketing for the VRC

17 October – FMA Australia VIC BRANCH LUNCH
Topic: “The initiatives and challenges of major renovations such as the new Myer building”
Speaker: Craig Gathercole, Construction Manager for Probuild

21 November – FMA Australia VIC BRANCH LUNCH
Topic: TBC
Speaker: TBC

19 December – FMA Australia VIC BRANCH CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Details TBC

We are very much looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!

Kristiana Greenwood
FMA Australia Victorian Branch Chair

VIC Branch Events

Golf Day	Friday 18 April
Site Visit & Lunch	Wednesday 30 April
ideaction ’08	Wednesday 7 – Friday 9 May
Lunch	Thursday 5 June
Lunch	Friday 11 July
Lunch	Friday 29 August
Lunch	Friday 19 September
Lunch	Friday 17 October
Lunch	Friday 21 November
Lunch	Friday 19 December

 

Western Australia

WA Branch Events

Site Visit to the Burswood Centre Wednesday 23 April

Phil Ruthven

FMA Australia is proud to announce that at this year’s ideaction conference we will be welcoming an iconic figure within the FM industry to speak at the Gala Night dinner.

 

Phil Ruthven is the founder and Chairman of IBISWorld, an international corporation providing online business information, forecasting and strategic services. He is also a director of other companies, advisory boards and is the chairman of Open Family Australia which is the ideaction 08 charity.

Phil contributes regularly to radio, TV, newspapers, magazines and documentaries on business, economic and social issues. He continues to be one of Australia’s most frequent and prolific commentators in demand by the media, and is widely considered the nation’s most respected strategist and futurist on business, social and economic matters.

IBISWorld has earned a reputation as an astute forecasting and advisory corporation, based on its unique and comprehensive databases. Its website www.ibisworld.com is rated as one of the most sophisticated and powerful websites in the world today. Its foresight and insight into business trends is outstanding, with the most enviable record of accuracy among its peers. Their clients include over one-third of Australia’s Top 1000 corporations and government authorities and over 100 of the major US corporations. IBISWorld has become the premier provider of industry information in the US, Australia, China and other overseas business communities. It has now also produced global industry reports and plans to include online European and Japanese industry and company information in the years ahead.

Facility managers and guests can look forward to an enjoyable and insightful presentation that will complement the already considerable line-up of industry experts and leading speakers contributing to the success of the Conference.

If you have not booked for the Conference and the Gala Dinner already, don’t miss out!

Call FMA Australia on 03 8641 6666 for details.

Managing your spend – how FMA eStore can help reduce your costs

FMA eStore is the new online buying platform for FMA Australia that enables members and visitors the ability to purchase from a vast range of products at prices consistently lower than those at retails outlets. FMA Online spoke to Keith Hamilton, the Marketing Director for thinkgroup about the benefits of procuring your business essentials online.

FMA Online: Can you tell us about FMA eStore and what it offers?
KH: FMA eStore is an online buying platform containing 1500+ brands and 72,000+ products.

thinkgroup has created two buying platforms for FMA Australia (both are called FMA eStore). One is for FMA members only. This is a log-in protected private site. The other is for non-members. This site is in the public domain and is a retail site. There is no charge to access either FMA eStore.

The differences between the FMA Australia Members site and non-members site are:

The retail offering has 69,000 products versus the members section which has 72,000 products. Another distinction is if you are a non-member you can’t access office products and/or several well-known brands. Finally, non-members will find their pricing to be up to 5% more than FMA member pricing. Bottom-line, both members and non-members can purchase a broad range of products at very aggressive prices.

At thinkgroup we go back as far in the supply chain as possible, in some cases it’s to manufacturers and in some cases it’s to the distributor. A lot of online sites out there are selling distressed stock or old stock. We do not do that. We are not a clearance house or a reseller of distressed inventory. What we sell through FMA eStore are the latest name brand products as opposed to selling superseded name brand and no-name brand products.

FMA Online: What are the advantages of e-procurement?
KH: First of all we want to show that the partnership between FMA Australia and thinkgroup is there to add more value for members. For example, on a basket of goods, users are going to find that 98 out of 100 times we’re going to be in the ballpark on price and in most instances we’re going to be less than what they’ll find in the retail world.

The real power behind FMA eStore is the technology platform behind it.

How it works is that it takes disparate product tenders (currently 200,000 tenders) from multiple suppliers (currently 60 suppliers), matches the tenders (there can be 3 suppliers for any given product), de-duplicates, ranks and categorises them and publishes the winning product tender in order of price and availability. And it does this every day. In the last 12 months, for example, our system has processed more than 28 million product tenders.

This innovate product cataloguing technology was not created overnight. It has taken two and a half years, and 3 million dollars for thinkgroup to develop our vision into a world-class cataloguing system.

To summarise, the technology used by FMA eStore researches 200,000 product tenders from 60 suppliers, creates a subset of 72,000 unique products and then publishes the best price for each of those products every single day of the year. The advantage for FMA eStore users is they can use the e-procurement system to access the spot prices on a broad range of products without having to spend heaps of time researching the best deal in the market.

FMA Online: How will moving their procurement strategy to FMA eStore help facility managers reduce spending?
KH: From an individual’s perspective they’re certainly going to be getting better prices, but from a business perspective you have to look at what thinkgroup’s most powerful offering is really about – our measurement and management tools.

We’re a company that specialises in the field of procurement and our area of expertise is to provide expense management and cost reduction solutions. We do this by offering a set of software tools that help companies manage their indirect spend, which depending on the business sector, can be anywhere between 5 through to 60 percent of a company’s total spend. When we talk about indirect spend we’re including items like travel, office or corporate supplies and advertising.

So what we have here is a system that allows you to funnel all your indirect spend data into one database and then use the software tools to cut, slice and dice that information.

Fact-based industry research is telling us that every new dollar bought under management can yield significant cost savings, in fact up to 20 percent. Those are the advantages from a business perspective. So the message we want everyone to understand is that if you can’t measure it then you can’t manage it. Our initial launch strategy is simple. First, we want to get FMA eStore users to get familiar with the platform. We want them to play around and experience the system. Then our next step is to market the value of the measurement and management tools to these users.

FMA Online: What are the measurement and management tools on offer when purchasing through the FMA eStore?
KH: Every purchase is recorded as data and becomes part of the customer’s transaction profiles. What we have is a transaction analysis tool which enables the classification of each area of spending - for example spending in the areas of each department. A customer could look to their transaction record to see what the IT department spent last month compared to this month and so on. There are various tools that revolve around the catalogue. You can also setup workflow controls, so you can set up various hierarchies and approval processes. You can set up business rules which means a person from a particular department may only be able to log an order which will then be sent to a supervisor to be submitted.

FMA Online: How many people can you have within a department accessing FMA the e-store to make or submit orders?
KH: A subscription includes 10 user licences. This means 10 people can use the buying platform. Any more than that and you are charged per person based on a downward sliding scale, so the more people there are the less costs it per user.

The advantage of being a FMA Australia member is they receive a 25 percent discount off subscription costs. By the way, this subscription fee is only applicable if an FMA Australia member wishes to gain access to thinkgroup’s measurement and management tools.

FMA Online: What products do you have available that would be relevant for a facility manager’s procurement requirements?
KH: We have six tier-one classifications. Basically anything you might want to buy for the office from computers, printing, and electronics to lifestyle products like air conditioners, freezers and dishwashers. We also have lighting, cleaning supplies and even food and beverages – alcoholic and non alcoholic.

FMA Online: What’s the turnaround for delivery?
KH: If they order before 11am they’ll get delivery the next day, that’s anywhere across the country. We have offerings where they can pay an express fee and get it the same day. What we do like to clarify for customers is that a client can have multiple deliveries for one order. For example if an order has multiple line items then it may be delivered in multiple parts by different suppliers, which re-iterates that we really are approaching the suppliers themselves for the best possible price available.

For more information visit FMA eStore

Robin Mellon

In addition to the conference program, we are pleased to announce that Robin Mellon from the Green Building Council of Australia will be giving a special presentation on ‘An Introduction to Green Star for Facility Managers’. The presentation will take place at 3.30pm on Wednesday 7 May at the Conrad Jupiters Hotel, Broadbeach Island, Gold Coast, allowing you to attend a site visit if you wish and return in time for the presentation. Click here for more information and a registration form.

FMA Australia members are eligible for 20% off selected NATSPEC reference documents ordered before 30 April 2008. These publications are designed to assist you with all the information you need to effectively manage your obligations.

Click here for more details and an order form.

Cities take steps to reduce their eco-footprint

The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign is an international initiative that assists and encourages municipal cities to adopt policies and implement quantifiable measures that reduce their local greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and enhance urban livability and sustainability.

Currently, more than 800 local governments worldwide and 230 nationally participate in the CCP campaign, integrating climate change mitigation into their decision-making processes.

The campaign is based on an innovative performance framework structured around five key milestones that local governments commit to undertake.

The five milestones are:

1. Conduct a baseline emissions inventory and forecast.
   Based on energy consumption and waste generation, the city calculates greenhouse gas emissions for a base year (e.g. 2000) and for a forecast year (e.g. 2015). The inventory and forecast then provide a benchmark against which the city can measure its progress.
2. Adopt an emissions reduction target for the forecast year.
   The city establishes an emission reduction target. The purpose of the target is to both foster political will and to create a framework to guide the planning process and the implementation of reduction measures.
3. Develop a Local Action Plan.
   Through a multi-stakeholder process, the city develops a Local Action Plan that describes the policies and measures that the local government will undertake to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve its emissions reduction target. Most plans include a timeline, a description of financing mechanisms, and an assignment of responsibility to departments and staff. In addition to direct greenhouse gas reduction measures, most plans also incorporate public awareness and education efforts.
4. Implement policies and measures.
   The city implements the policies and measures contained in their Local Action Plan. Typical policies and measures implemented by CCP participants include energy efficiency improvements to municipal buildings and water treatment facilities, streetlight retrofits, public transit improvements, installation of renewable power applications, and methane recovery from waste management.
5. Monitor and verify results.
   Monitoring and verifying progress on the implementation of measures to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions is an ongoing process. Monitoring begins once measures are implemented and continues for the life of the measures, providing important feedback that can be used to improve the measures over time.

The five milestone methodology that underlies the CCP program provides local governments with a simple, standardized, internationally compliant means of

• calculating their greenhouse gas emissions,
• establishing targets to lower emissions,
• reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
• monitoring, measuring and reporting performance.

The methodology itself provides a flexible framework that can accommodate varying levels of analysis, effort, and availability of data. This element makes the CCP model both unique and innovative as it is highly transposable and adaptable to individual local government requirements and resources. It is precisely the breadth and flexibility of this program to meet the needs of local governments in different hemispheres, whether metropolitan or rural, in either developed or developing countries, that has made it so successful in a worldwide context

The CCP model allows local governments to understand how municipal decisions affect energy use and how these decisions can be used to mitigate global climate change while improving the quality of life within communities.

Some of the benefits of participation in the CCP program include financial savings in reduced utility and fuel costs to the local government, households, and businesses; improved local air quality, contributing to the general health and well being of the community; economic development through the creation of new local jobs and investment in local, greenhouse friendly energy products and services.

CCP is based on the premise that most of us respond positively to proof of change and as such, is driving local action and behaviour change at a grass roots level. Results from the program so far indicate that measuring cumulative actions at the local level is a powerful motivator for national change.

In the 2006-07 financial year, 2600 actions reported by 178 participating councils reduced carbon emissions by almost 3.7 million tonnes and delivered monetary savings of at least $7 million for councils and $11 million for communities due to reduced energy consumption. The program has also achieved reduced water use, air pollution and traffic congestion; and improved community health and fitness. Since the inception of the program in 1997, it is estimated that the CCP initiative has saved approximately 13.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and generated savings of over $70 million dollars.

Much of this has been achieved through simple and cost-effective actions such as turning off equipment after hours, improving lighting efficiency, buying accredited renewable electricity, providing paper recycling, and downsizing to smaller-engine fleet vehicles.

Wayne Wescott, CEO of the Oceania Secretariat of International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) I—Local Governments for Sustainability says that measurement is a key factor in the program’s success.

“When you realise that this is equivalent to taking more than three million cars off the road
or powering almost one million Australian households for one year, you can appreciate the
power and potential of local action,” he said.

“Having the 'numbers' is a powerful agent of culture change and provides evidence that aggregating many small actions can lead to big greenhouse savings” said Mr. Wescott.

“It’s also easier to justify investing scarce resources if we can measure the amount of energy we are using as well as the amount of greenhouse gases we are reducing.”

Mr. Wescott believes that while Australia’s ratification of the Kyoto protocol and setting of long-term reduction targets is very welcome news, what Australia does in the short term is of equal importance.

“I am a realist,’ Mr Wescott said. ‘It is going to take time to change our existing energy infrastructure and consumption patterns while moving to new renewable technologies and emissions trading schemes. Australia, indeed the world, needs a strategy for the interim.

“Australian councils have the runs on the board and when we see the cumulative effect of actions at the community level we then realise the global potential of Cities for Climate Protection to influence behaviour change and build local capacity to reduce our emissions,” he added.

“That is why ICLEI will be advocating for the local government sector to be included in any post-Kyoto agreement.”

The Australian Cities for Climate Protection program is delivered by ICLEI Oceania in collaboration with the Australian Government through the Australian Greenhouse Office. There are 230 participating councils, representing 83 per cent of the Australian population. The full report includes the contributions of 178 councils from all Australian States and Territories, and can be found on: www.iclei.org/ccp-au

Reducing your eco-footprint: How HVAC modifications can reduce energy costs and outputs

Case Study - Manningham City Council

Manningham City Council, 12km east of Melbourne, is one of the 230 Australian local government bodies currently participating in the CCP program.

As a means of meeting the 60% carbon emission reduction target by 2050 (based on a 1990 baseline) as set by the Victorian state government, the council has introduced a number of measures to combat its energy usage via its own Climate & Energy Action Plan.

The plan’s main purpose is to address climate change, peak oil, rising energy costs, resource taxes, security and the future impacts of a carbon-constrained economy in ways that are relevant to the Manningham community and the delivery of council services and assets.

One of the key areas of carbon and energy savings to date for the council has been in the area of heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems of its municipal buildings.

Ian Waters, Manager of Civic Buildings at Manningham City Council, says that improving HVAC within the council’s 30 year old main chambers has proven to be a challenge due to the buildings’ site and design.

“To get a real picture of this particular building, you’ve got to imagine a black steel building on the second highest point in Melbourne. That’s a crucial component of the difficulties we’ve been faced with,” he says.

“Back in 1992 we had an electricity consumption of $113,000 and $25,000 for gas. However, with the assistance of the then State Electricity Commission (SEC) we were able to implement significant energy and cost savings by fitting variable speed drives to air handling units and converting constant air boxes to variable air boxes,” he added.

“At the time, the capital cost of that work was around $104,000 and was delivering annual savings of approximately $40,000.”

Two other significant HVAC adaptations since then have also assisted the council to deliver energy savings.

In 2001, a centrifugal and reciprocating chiller were replaced with a three compressor pre-chiller and in 2004, when faced with installation of a new boiler for space heating the Civic Offices, council staff seized the opportunity to choose a 75% more efficient boiler for space heating, and separate smaller units for water heating. This resulted in 49% cost savings and 53% energy savings.

Also in 2004, the council introduced smart meters located throughout the Civic Offices which made it possible to monitor energy and gas use down to 30 minute intervals. Weekly reports summarise the performance of the building’s HVAC systems relative to the previous week and previous year which assists the building’s managers identify opportunities for fine-tuning.

Looking forward, the council is introducing a new ‘eco-tracker” system: an electronic energy consumption device that makes kilowatt hour metre checks on the building’s mechanical plant boards. The system also allows for automated HVAC operations, including a function which controls the on-off mechanism for heating and cooling office meeting and event spaces that are only periodically used.

“This gives us an opportunity to only run air-conditioning systems where and when they are needed. So, if a meeting space is booked from seven o’clock to midnight, the HVAC system can be pre-programmed to only run in that space over that period of time,” says Waters.

Taken collectively, installation of smart metering technologies at Manningham’s municipal offices has enabled energy savings of up to 30% during summer peak demand periods and reduced the council’s electricity and gas costs by as much as 10%.

The council has also implemented an ongoing program to educate building users to be more conscious of their energy consumption.

“Energy savings can be achieved through the simplest of measures,” says Waters. “For example, we are working to educate staff that an empty room doesn’t need a light.”

Other key areas that have contributed to Manningham’s energy-saving success include the purchasing of accredited GreenPower, carbon off-sets and a shift in contract practices which reward the design of energy efficient buildings that require minimum heating, ventilation and air-conditioning.

For more information on Manningham City Council’s eco-footprint, see the council’s 2006-07 Annual Report by visiting: http://annualreport.manningham.vic.gov.au/leading-council/eco-footprints.htm

With or without rain this winter, Australia will be green all over as a number of national green expo’s open around the country to showcase, inform, educate, display and sell all the latest products and innovations for sustainable, carbon-free living. Here is just a selection of some on offer:

World Environment Day Expo
Darwin, June 1, 2008

The Environment Centre Northern Territory, the peak non-government environment body in Australia’s top end, is holding a World Environment Day Expo in Darwin on June 1.

Celebrate the unique environment of the Northern Territory while discovering the inspiring environmental work being carried out across the Territory through an array of information stalls, displays, workshops and forums. There will be something for the whole family with plenty of food, drink and music on offer along with specially planned environmental activities for children.

www.ecnt.org

Going Green Expo
Melbourne, June 5 to 8, 2008

Designed to Inspire an Environmentally Responsible Approach to Sustainability for Work & Living

Going Green Expo 2008 is an exciting new event at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from 5-8 June that will showcase an extensive range of environmentally responsible and sustainable solutions for business and consumers across all industries and markets. Going Green Expo will serve to convert the new mainstream desire to make a difference into consumer and business action, by demonstrating how ‘going green’ has become easier than ever before with modern technology and the latest developments that don’t cost the earth.

The accompanying Going Green Business Conference will be held on the Thursday and the Friday to provide expert advice and information to business and major corporations on how they can adopt the latest initiatives and technology to help green their workplace and work practices to reduce their environmental impact. Leading international speakers will team with local experts to provide information streams and a solution based comprehensive educational program.

Facility Managers will find energy-efficient and new environmentally friendly ideas for commercial building applications and see examples of leading edge sustainable projects and retro-fit building solutions together with the latest recycling programs, packaging & products; green office & IT products; even new green solar air-conditioning for your office and the green plumber to install it; you’ll find all of this and more on show for four days in Melbourne from 5-8 June 2008.

To find out more visit
www.goinggreenexpo.com.au

 

Eco Expo Australia
Sydney, August 22 to 24, 2008

Touted as Australia’s largest environment expo, Eco Expo at Sydney’s Olympic Park, features an extensive display of sustainable living products and services for the home, garden, business and lifestyle conscious.

The expo will showcase sustainable lifestyle choices including solutions for sustainability and energy efficiency in both home and office environments, and will feature seminars, presentations, an interactive school series and prizes.

www.ecoexpoaustralia.com.au

The Productivity Challenge

Lorraine Pirihi has been coaching managers and small business owners on how to improve their productivity (and have a life), for over 12 years. FMA Online spoke to Lorraine about the key challenges managers face.

Lorraine: I work with business owners and managers who are in a lot of pain, working long hours but struggling to achieve their objectives. They are very busy being busy, but they never have the time to look at the bigger picture and see how they could do things better. They are working, but often they are working and not getting anywhere really fast.

Managers need the right team around them because they can’t do everything themselves. Unfortunately a lot of managers are untrained. They are good at what they do but they never learn the skills of managing people and how to delegate effectively.

The headaches and challenges of the business are often the people problems, and they occur because the manager or business owner just doesn’t invest the time and effort into looking after that area of the business because they are too busy fighting their own fires.

I’m a productivity specialist, so I show managers and business owners how to free up their time first, and then we look at what they want to achieve, working through that step by step, bit by bit.

You cannot achieve your goals if you do not have the time. You have got to be able to free up your time.

When you are working all the time, you have no energy for anything, and you are only working at a fraction of your true potential. If you continue to work to the exclusion of everything else something wears down, and that ‘something’ is you. You can’t get much done when you are not feeling on top of your game.

Productivity has a massive effect on what you do and how you manage your business.
So much does not happen in a business or organisation because of the lack of productivity of the people at the top and it affects the people issues and the profitability of the organisation.

FMA Online: A lot of facility managers are caught in the typical Boardroom paradigm of trying to do more with less in the way of resources, because maintaining buildings is seen primarily as a cost rather than a function necessary to maximise the return on the asset. What would you say to facility managers in this situation?

Lorraine: Sometimes you have to learn to say no. You have to recognise what your key role and function is. You may have a Board to answer to, but they may not understand what you actually do, and so the challenge is to convey the consequences of their decision, and to argue for the resources that are needed to perform your function.

FMA Online: A lot of the argument for resources would revolve around communicating the benefits of cost optimisation rather than cost reduction. How much of your training involves communication as an effective tool?

Lorraine: A lot of the training involves developing the mindset and communicating your objectives. It is quite interesting how much time people waste if they do not communicate effectively. Apart from communication through emails, phone and faxing, there is also the question of identifying and dealing with the different personality types and styles in business, such as the person who just wants the bottom line without knowing the detail, and being able to ensure that they are actually listening.

The idea of being organised, productive and getting more done starts with you, and it is a skill that has to be learned. For most people time management means having A, B and C priority lists. Let me tell you it is about way more than this. It’s about you; why you are so busy, and learning how you use your time more effectively, and doing what you do best.

Being a successful manager requires many skills. It is not enough to be technically proficient at doing your job.

As soon as you become a manager, your key role is to manage people. This is a skill that needs to be learned and continually developed…and if you are prepared to invest time and money into being an effective manager you will enjoy the benefits of your efforts.

Leadership comes from the top down. According to a survey in 2003 by SEEK, the online job search company, 60% of employees said ‘the quality of management’ was what they hated most about their jobs.

FMA Australia is keen to offer programs that can assist your day to day business. To see if this is a feasible option we have designed a quick questionnaire. Please take two minutes to answer the four questions on the link provided, which will only be available until the 11 April. Please click here to participate.

For more information on the topic, go to www.office-organiser.com.au/blog

Each month new members join FMA Australia, bringing with them a wealth of experience and knowledge of the FM industry. FMA Online provides a personal glimpse into some of the responsibilities faced by facility managers and the reasons they decided to join FMA Australia.

This month, FMA Online’s Bianca Frost spoke to Monique Ridley, ANZ Facilities Manager at Microsoft Pty Ltd Australia at North Ryde in Sydney.

FMA Online: When and why did you join FMA Australia?
I have listened to a lot of FMA Australia conversations and dialogues and have known about the association for many years and had always intended to join, particularly for the purposes of networking and idea sharing, and this year I finally did.

FMA Online: What is your background in facilities management?
I originally started in engineering and it’s been an organic growth through the discipline from the project related side – fit-out and construction, for example – which eventually led me into the FM role that I’m in now.

FMA Online: What does your role involve?
I am employed by Microsoft to manage ANZ’s facilities and real estate portfolio, so it’s actually a dual role that not only encompasses the day-to-day facility management of ANZ buildings, but also the strategic development of our asset portfolio.

FMA Online: What do you like most about your work?
I’ve always worked for IT organisations, but what I really like about facility management is that no two days are ever the same.

FMA Online: What kind of challenges do you face in a working week?
They vary every week, but spreading myself across numerous locations is a constant challenge.

FMA Online: Can you tell us something about the company you work for?
The public perception of Microsoft is of a global heavyweight, but in Australia, we are very in touch with what’s happening locally – both here and in New Zealand. Obviously our head office is in the US, but we are in no way America-centric in terms of our local operations.

FMA Online: Has your company implemented any sustainability initiatives?
We are very, very keen on achieving a sustainable future. We have an Environmental Director who’s driving three key initiatives at the moment. One of them is workplace initiatives, another one is greener travel and the third one is green IT, which is key for us because of the amount of software and IT related products that we sell.

Personally, I am heavily involved with a number of workplace initiatives that ranges from recycling through to the consumption of bottled water in our premises.

FMA Online: What do you think would improve or assist the facility management industry in Australia?
I think, perhaps, more understanding of the nature of FM roles. When people ask you what you do, and you say facilities management, they generally reply with “what’s that?”. It is still a very evolutionary career and people do not necessarily understand what the value-add is, or what the tasks are, in relation to FM, so clarity in the marketplace of what the role entails, and the importance of that within an organisation, are areas that I can see would benefit the industry as a whole.

FMA Online: What changes would you like to see occur in the facilities management industry?
The fact that we’ve really got some good educational opportunities for people interested in facility management is a start, but I think that offering could be quite a lot broader. I’m an MBA student, but that has nothing really to do with issues such as sustainability, but I think dedicated courses in FM will be critical to the continued development of FM as a serious, professional discipline.

FMA Online: What issues do you think your business will be dealing with in the next five years?
I suppose, hand-in-hand with growth, it’s just about maintaining a sustainable business. We’re based in North Ryde and that causes problems with public transport for us. We want to be environmentally conscious, but when you’re in a suburb with very little access to public transport, it becomes almost preclusive of trying to do anything about it. So, those kinds of challenges around sustainability are going to be big ones for us.

FMA Online: Have you attended any professional development courses put on by FMA Australia?
No, but I have signed up for the ideaction conference in May, and am always interested in finding out more about sustainability issues.

FMA Online: What would you like to see FMA Australia do for its members?
I would like to have a network of people that I could touch base with to talk about things like green commuting and how we can work as one rather than as competitors in the marketplace with regards to our common problems. In North Ryde, it would be fantastic to have a little working party that could talk to the local government and the STA, to work on things like getting much better car pooling agreements, for instance. Achieving small, localised working parties to work together on local issues, would be a great step forward.

Each month new members join FMA Australia, bringing with them a wealth of experience and knowledge of the FM industry. FMA Online provides a personal glimpse of some of the responsibilities faced by facility managers and the reasons they decided to join.

This month, FMA Online’s Bianca Frost spoke to Mauro Puglielli, National Director Facilities Management at Savills Australia in Melbourne.

FMA Online: When and why did you join FMA Australia?
MP: I joined FMA Australia in early 2008. The reason I joined was because of the growing number of people joining the association and the overall calibre and quality of presentation and professional development opportunities that were available through the FMA Australia network.

FMA Online: What is your background in facilities management?
MP: My background is in mechanical engineering and I also hold a graduate diploma in building services engineering.

My main area of expertise is in building services that pertain to commercial high rise buildings. I specialise in mechanical systems such as air-conditioning, visual information systems, security systems, fire systems, hydraulic systems, and so forth – the entire gamut of systems that you would normally find in a large commercial or retail building.

FMA Online: What does your role involve?
MP: I am currently the National Director for Facilities Management at Savills based in Melbourne. My role looks at a sustainability and environment, compliance and risk management across our Australian portfolio.

FMA Online: What do you like most about your work?
MP: My role has changed dramatically over the last couple of years and continues to change and that’s probably both one of the greatest challenges and the greatest rewards of my role – it’s just never the same. You could leave now and come back in a year's time and you can be guaranteed that things would’ve changed and that thinking would’ve shifted. Facilities management is unpredictable, but the challenges it provides are great.

FMA Online: What kind of challenges do you face in a working week?
MP: It varies from one week to the next, so, for example, you could be dealing with anything from compliance issues one week to environmental ones the next.

FMA Online: Can you describe some of the changes that you’ve seen in the industry?
MP: Some of the greatest changes that we’ve had are changes in compliance requirements.

There have been regulatory changes in relations to essential safety measures compliance. There have also been great changes in Legionella compliance and testing regimes. They’re probably the two greatest changes to our industry, but there are also other compliance issues that have significantly impacted on how we operate. Take, for example, new fire safety legislation; there’s been a new fire code – the AS1850-1-2005 – that has brought about huge changes in the way that we maintain fire systems throughout our buildings.

FMA Online: Can you tell us something about the company you work for?
MP: Savills is a global, publicly listed property solutions company with over 180 offices and associates worldwide, with ten offices servicing the Australian market.

We specialise in various property divisions and procurement services including corporate real estate services, project management, sales, leasing, marketing, evaluations, accounting, tenant representation in addition to facility management. It’s a very broad range of services that we provide.

FMA Online: Has your company implemented any sustainability initiatives?
MP: At Savills, we are currently working on a number of sustainability projects.

As a member of the Green Building Council of Australia, Savills have both embraced and actively promoted the Earth Hour initiative. However, not only did we turn off our lights on the 29th of March, but we intend to take a lot of those basic good house-keeping and energy savings principles and adopt them in our day-to-day business operations.

We have a great relationship with Earth Hour and are currently in the process of putting together a team of people from each state office to complete the Green Building Council’s Property Professionals training course. From this, we hope that information about sustainable business practice will be disseminated throughout our offices.

Savills are working hard to reassure our clients and our staff that we’re serious about the environment and sustainability. An important part of our strategy is to ensure that our own internal people are educated about sustainability and we see training as a key step in ensuring that we are moving towards a more energy efficient future.

FMA Online: What do you think would improve facilities management in Australia?
MP: I think we are starting to see a much more professional approach to facility management in this country. Some time ago, I think many people were dabbling in what they believed to be facility management but it was not, in my opinion, true facility management. The market is now demanding a higher degree of reporting and corporate social responsibility, so you are starting to see the more professional organisations incorporating transparency and accountability as a necessary requirement for their survival.

FMA Online: What issues do you think your business will be dealing with in the next five years?
MP: Without a doubt, the issues that every industry – not just facility management – will be facing in the next five to ten years, is global warming and the environment.

FMA Online: Have you attended any professional development courses put on by FMA Australia?
MP: I attended the last FMA Australia Victorian Branch lunch last week and I found that both interesting and useful. The high standards of the presentations particularly impressed me.

FMA Online: What would you like to see FMA Australia do for its members?
MP: I think they just need to continue what they’re currently doing. I think it is fantastic what the association is doing for the members. To be able to explore information on the FMA Australia website and quickly be able to retrieve information has been valuable to me. The networking opportunities are also invaluable.

Belinda Ralph, Executive Assistant, FMA Australia National Office

Over recent months, a number of new staff members have joined FMA Australia. This month we caught up with Belinda Ralph, Executive Assistant to the CEO of FMA Australia, to find out more about her very important, behind-the-scenes role.

I’m the Executive Assistant to David Duncan, CEO of FMA Australia and have been working here since August last year.

The main things that I am in charge of are David’s diary, which includes his travel and personal business administration. I am also responsible for a range of document creation – papers, agendas, minutes and so on – for the Board of Directors. I also perform similar tasks for the FM Action Agenda and the branch chairs committee, for example.

Immediately prior to coming to FMA Australia, I was working for another member association in a marketing and administration role. I originally studied sports administration and business management and worked on sporting events for a number of years.

In some ways, it’s quite a leap from sports administration to facilities management. I knew a lot about sporting facility management, but didn’t know much about the facilities management industry as such. However, from an administration point-of-view, it isn’t that different working in one member organisation as compared to another.

I really enjoy working with the team here at FMA Australia. There’re ten of us here now, and there’s high morale amongst the team. Some days there is more pressure than on other days, but we all tend to pull together really well as a team. Everybody is dedicated to their job, but there is a fun atmosphere here that is professional at the same time.

The greatest challenges in my role centre on prioritising all the different projects that come across my desk. I have to figure out what is most urgent. It’s important to have solid organisational, communication and time management skills in this role.

I really enjoy overcoming the particular challenges that face me in my role. There are many different aspects involved in my role and I am still really learning about the scope of the FM industry, but the challenges are what I really like about my job.

There are a lot of things and people that have made an impression on me since coming to FMA Australia. In particular, David, our CEO, is really hard working. He enjoys what he is doing and seems to have endless energy and ideas and is continually working for the benefit of the association and its’ members, which I find really inspiring. The board members are also very knowledgeable people, dedicated to the development of the industry and are very generous in the giving of their time.

In my own time, I go to the gym. I also really love food and eating out at restaurants.

On Saturday 19 April the Daily Telegraph’s Career One lift-out is publishing a special report about careers in Facilities Management. FMA Australia will be contributing editorial to the feature and advertisers can take advantage of their special rates by clicking here to download their media kit and contact details.

How to Handle Difficult, Demanding and Negative People - Without Becoming Drained. Six pack CD set only AUD$149 incl. GST

Michael Licenblat

Does dealing with negative or unreliable people make you frustrated? Do you know how to take control of, and resolve, a situation with an upset client or customer? Do you sometimes find it hard to switch off from a situation at work?

The success with which you manage people and deal with customers is greatly influenced by your ability to effectively resolve emotionally charged issues, without becoming worked up.

In this six pack CD audio series, Michael Licenblat, Resilience Expert, will teach you the essential skill sets required to:
• be able to protect yourself from draining people,
• resolve conflicts, tensions and disagreements quickly,
• control your own emotions and
• effectively deal with emotionally charged people, without becoming drained.

The CD program will draw on a resilient communication model, pressure patterns, body pressure zones and pressure profiles, so that you can quickly learn how to respond to different people during situations of confrontation, client conflict or customer complaint.
To order your six pack CD set, please print and complete the order form and fax to (03) 9579 0864.