facilities management in 2012

7/31/2019 Facilities Management in 2012

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/facilities-management-in-2012 1/4

TRENDS IN FMText: Niek Steenhuis Photography: Aa oogenoorn

A new year brings new perspectives. We asked two Facility Management

experts about trends in the feld. >>

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

IN 2012

▲ Leo van de Pieterman (l)

Gerard de Bruijn



10 TRENDS IN FM

We have agreed to meet at a restaurant a

stone’s throw from the exposition halls in

’s-Hertogenbosch, which is where the Dutch

Facilities Expo is organized every year. Leo

van de Pieterman and Gerard de Bruijn have

over fty years of Facilities Management

experience between them. Van de Piederman

has worked as a service and support manager

for KLM and Sodexo, while De Bruijn is the man

behind Humanagement. Renske van der Heide,

a product manager at TOPdesk, asked them

about Facilities Management trends and their

predictions for 2012.

▲ F.l.t.r.: Leo van de Pieterm

Gerard de Bruijn, Renske

der Heide



TRENDS IN FM

Facilities ethics

RH What do you think are the most

interesting themes in FM at the moment?

dH Facilities ethics, for a start .

Humanagement will be researching this

theme in 2012. How do we treat our

colleagues and business relations? What

should we do when the cleaners are

treated like dirt? What should you do whenconfronted with integrity issues?

RH What can facility managers to do

encourage ethical behaviour?

dH I believe that you should know what

your organization stands for, and that facility

managers should set the right example. You

need to translate ethics into responsible

actions. Being a good commissioning party

is one of the most important aspects, as it

makes sure that external customers are also

good employers.

RH Ethics is certainly an important theme,

also in outsourcing. In my experience, you can

achieve much more when both parties give

each other the space they need. The customer

will express his needs – which are not the

same as his expectations – and the provider

can give feedback on how these needs can be

met, preferably right from the start .

RH You can’t really ask questions like ‘Have

you cleaned three times yet this week?’ Wh

kind of agreements do you make?

RH The exact number of times that

the ofce has been cleaned is no longer

important. The real question is: has the

cleaning resulted in the desired effects?

You can then determine what the desired

effects are.

The New World of Work

RH The New World of Work is also an

important theme.

dH Exactly. Work relations are changing:

there are more and more possibilities to

work at home and during the commute, an

virtual meetings are also becoming more

commonplace. People are starting to use th

ofce as a kind of pigeon coop.

RH If people work at home or on locatio

facility managers are not really able to cont

how they set up their work space. How can

you inuence this?

dH You shouldn’t.

RH You simply cannot control work

environments in the New World of Work.

People use their laptops to work in

restaurants and cafés, while others prefer t

work at home. If we are lucky, they will

eo Ran e ieterman has been active in Facilities Management for over thirty years,

working rst for KLM and then moving to Sodexo in 2007. He is also a member of a

number of Dutch organizations for Facilities Management professionals.

erar e druijn is the CEO of Humanagement, an agency for interim project

management for facilities. Humanagement pushes the eld’s boundaries, focusing on

topics such as IT integration, Business Continuity Management and facilities ethics.

enske Ran er eie works as a product manager for TOPdesk. She is particularly

interested in Facilities Management, and is chairman of the Young Professionals group in

the Dutch Facilities Management organization FMN.

YOU NEED TOTRANSLATEETHICS INTORESPONSIBLEACTIONS

Gerard de Bruijn



have a study or ofce at home that complies

with health and safety regulations to some

extent. But you don’t want to know how manypeople work at the kitchen table because they

nd that more enjoyable.

dH I do hope that we can move away from

strict regulations in this area: more initiatives

such as Bring Your Own Device, for instance,

instead of pinning the situation down with

rules and regulations. Although, even if people

can work wherever and whenever they want,

I’m not sure that they will make use of this

freedom; a large group will still feel the need

to collaborate with colleagues and will prefer

to do this at the ofce.

Sustainability

dH We haven’t discussed sustainability yet!

It has developed into more than just a hobby

for back-to-nature enthusiasts. I’m seeing

lots of great developments. Sustainability

is actually on many organizations’ agendas,

rather than just being pushed by individuals,

which has resulted in tangible changes. For

instance, there are more energy-efcient

company cars now. Facility suppliers want

to set themselves apart with an eco-friendly

image and are acting accordingly.

RH Sustainability is more than just a trend,

though. Much like improving services, it has

become a part of operational management.

There is still room for improvement, of course,

but we’re ready for it: we have the technology,

we know what can be improved and how to

do it – it’s time to get started! Present your

customers with investments that will payfor themselves, such as healthier food. That

will up productivity by increasing feelings

of wellbeing among your staff, and also cut

down on absenteeism. It’s an investment, b

it pays for itself in the long run.

The future

RH What are your predictions for 2012?

RH I think we will start seeing the

consequences of the New World of Work. I,

one, cannot wait to see the results.

dH I hope we can nally cast off the yoke

of the economic crisis – that things won’t b

too sober and sombre, and that we can offe

services with passion, pride and pleasure.

After all, that’s what facilities management

all about.

BESIDES ETHICS, THENEW WORLD OFWORK IS ALSO ANIMPORTANT THEME

Leo van de Pieterman

TRENDS IN FM

facilities management in 2012

Documents