Identificando ahorros en Facility Management

Identifying Savings in Facility Management

Lots of people know (though not everyone, sadly enough) that a good Facility Management model saves money to the organization. Too often we see very high saving figures and percentages and, honestly, I would like those who quote them to explain where they come from or prove them because, instead of making the discipline more attractive, they make it look like an unachievable panacea or a fairy tale. Data should be given in a very precise way to make it believable and, furthermost, they should be properly proven.

The aim of this series of reflections is exactly that: sharing the explanation of where and how those savings can be obtained (without percentages, since they cannot be applied thoughtlessly or proved) to help everyone “sell” FM in the best way: we as consultants, services providers or even Facility Managers within our organizations, so we are allowed to do more and achieve recognition growth.

The subject I want to approach in this occasion can be summed up just by saying:

“Launching an invitation to tender costs a lot of money”

Depending on the number of services that the FM department (or however the department that manages services is called) is in charge of and, of course, depending on the expiration dates of the existing contracts, every organization has periods of time where the main activity, or even the only one, is launching invitations to tender. At first sight, this can seem right and part of the usual activity of the department, but it is not and the resources needed in the process are not proportional to the benefits obtained.

Organizing an invitation to tender is not easy and organizing it right means, in many cases, adding changes and new ways of doing things, from service needs analysis to the steps to follow in the contracting process itself. Experience tells us that very few professionals want put on their shoulders the decision making processes that can bring changes. No one wants to become the target of the consequences “if something goes wrong”, so many times contracts end up being a copy-paste document where almost only the dates get changed.

Other than the barrier of change, that means ending up not having the best process or not having the best contract just because of the fear to change and innovate. Impacts on costs can be identified, relating them to the 3 levels on the bidding process itself:

(i) Organizing an invitation to tender is costly for the client that needs the service because it takes up many working hours and employee training, employees that could be doing other things, such as service compliance control or continuous improvement activities, which, for sure, gives back more to the company. In many cases other departments (Legal, Purchasing, Administration, etc.) must get involved in the process, which means that the impact of organizing an invitation to tender involves not only to the FM department, but other departments too. This resource consumption with just the aim of getting a better service is not justified and should be optimized.

The thought of “if there is something better out there” is accepted and considered, as it is part of the analysis with the internal service control process (if properly designed) in an area which should include as an advantage of a good compassion with the competence. Furthermore, in a properly designed service, the best service delivery is taken for granted from day one and it should be adapted as the organization´s needs and changes happen without losing quality. Furthermore we will need a good compliance evaluation and a continuous improvement policy (essential to FM) which makes it possible to obtain the best service delivery throughout the service contract duration.

(ii) An invitation to tender is also costly for the service provider because, though they are probably already providing a good service and meeting objectives successfully, they know from the day the contract starts that its assignment has an expiration day, after which the service provider will become again “one amongst others” aiming to keep the account. This creates a lack of trust and weaker commitment when investing to provide a better service, for sure.

Although upfront you might think this is not a cost, so not a possible saving, what it is not having the best possible service provision offer, for example being able to include extra activities which could be included in a longer term contract.

Furthermore, the costs linked to participating in an invitation to tender which service providers have to cover, added to the larger risk of losing the contract or not winning it at the first opportunity, will for sure be allocated somehow to the services given, and who pays for these costs is eventually the client. It is commonly agreed that the more contracts a service provider is awarded, the less cost it will take for them to participate in tender processes and vice versa.

(iii) Finally, this process is also costly for end-users as recipient of most of the services provided. Although some services do not affect them or cannot be perceived directly as such, like technical maintenance or life cycle control; other services do and they have a strong impact in their daily activity such as catering, transportation, reception desk or even cleaning services. Seeing or perceiving that those who provide the service change from time to time means that they may have to change the ways of working with them and / or even the people they work with. It is commonly agreed that an employee who suffers change at his workplace reduces his productivity. As mentioned before, we will not give data that cannot be applied directly so we will settle with the proven fact that a productivity decrease exists and that this affects the company’s competitiveness.

So, should we not launch tender processes? Of course not, we should organize them (that is how some of us earn a living), but with well-defined needs, with more flexible models, with longer duration contracts that can allow service providers to get more involved in the services and invest in them. Adding scopes partially proposed by service providers as the experts they are, with control elements and variable income payments that value compliance and adaptation to changing needs, etc. If we do this in this way we can, for sure, at least duplicate the period of time between every invitation to tender and use our resources for something more productive.

So, to sum up, let’s organize better invitations to tender and we will all save time and money.

> Photo by: 401(K) 2012 http://bit.ly/1yhif1d

share on your social networks

Do you want more information about what we do in Consultancy, Training and Research en Facility Management?

Hola, ¿cómo
podemos ayudarte?

Rellena el siguiente formulario y te enviaremos el reglamento interno y código ético:

Hello, ¿how
can we help you?

Participate in the Observatorio FM

You can choose between these 3 options to participate:





How to participate?

Collaborating with the Observatorio FM is a personal and voluntary decision, and there is no contractual obligation or economic retribution for it.

Any interested person can apply to participate as a leader of a new project, or apply as a collaborator in an existing one.

A technical committee will evaluate the subject matter of the proposed projects and the applications of the participants, deciding which ones are carried out and by whom.

Each person decides how much they want to dedicate, depending on their availability or type of project. The aim is for it to be an altruistic activity and not an additional workload.

What does it consist of?

To promote and publish studies that help professionals in the sector and to help others understand our profession and discipline.

The results and deliverables are shared openly, always acknowledging the contributions of all authors and contributors.

The Observatorio FM’s activity will respect the objectivity, ethics, rigour and good practices that govern our Research area.

Contributors have access to the best collaborative tools, sectoral information and contacts, as well as the assistance of expert consultants and researchers at international level.

Research

FM Observatory

FM Observatory is a platform which develops and disseminates Facility Management information. It’s accessible to all those who’d genuinely like to participate. Ethical use and objectivity are essential, and all results must be shared. You decide how long you devote to it and what you want to achieve.

You can participate as:

We will provide:

All contributions will be given credit in completed projects.

Research

Projects

We are part of the European research group and we work in international teams to develop different types of initiatives:

We also work for service providers who require support with decisions linked to:

Research

Standardisation

As accredited experts in the drafting processes of European and International standards on Asset and Facility Management, we are the perfect partner to assist you with:

FMHOUSE is the only Spanish-speaking consulting firm that participates in these processes.

Research

Publications

At FMHOUSE we think that progress made in Facility Management should be shared, so we strive to produce and publish the following material:

The “FM Observatory” is open, should you like to contribute with a publication.

Consultancy

Workplace

Our view of spaces or workplaces from a Facility Management perspective leads to a better understanding of such a need as a service, as it is essential to apply the same logic and methodology.

Generally we offer:

We apply our knowledge and experience to offices, learning spaces, shopping centres and the industrial environment.

Consultancy

Benchmarking

In order to make the right decisions, clear accurate market data as well as facts about the organisation itself is essential. In the Facility Management environment, this is even more critical due to the impact it has on business.

Examples of benchmarks:

These services are requested mainly by end users, but also by service providers.

Consultancy

Customer Experience

Facility Management’s overarching goal is customer satisfaction, whether they are internal or external. Understanding their feelings and needs is the key to offering a good service.

Our support is based on:

We strive to understand and get to know our clients’ customers, in all sectors and types of businesses.

Consultancy

Digital Transformation

The Facility Management world is experiencing a major transition to digital environments. We help our clients understand how it impacts them and assist them throughout the change.

Our areas of support are:

We operate as independent advisers, not as brand vendors.

We advise end-users and service providers.

Consultancy

Service Design

All kinds of companies need to define or improve the way in which it structures supporting activities provided by Facility Management.

Our main products are:

Our proposals are structured according to individual requirements.

We help end customers and also service providers.

In FMHOUSE, we use third party cookies to improve our services. If you continue with navigation, we will consider that you accept our terms of use y nuestra privacy policy y de cookies