facilities management oct nov 2015

I N C O R P O R A T I N G

ISSN 2071-9299 OCT / NOV 2015 FM No. 006

RETRACTABLE ROOFS FOR RIVETING SPORTS EXPERIENCE

WOMEN IN FM: PART III

LOW BUSINESS CONFIDENCE FUELS FM GROWTH

FUTURE UNIVERSITIES: HOW SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS OF LEARNING WILL LOOK

BOUNDARY-LESSDATA CENTRECHALLENGE

IN DEMAND – AND ON TAP!

FM Expertise

August 2014 jFM 2

Copyright & DisclaimerFacilities Management (ISSN 2071-9299) is published 12 times a year by T.E. Trade Events. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor, employees or publisher.

going on for much longer? In any event, the claim that such a small number of people could have pulled off such a massive fraud brought immediate scepticism from lawmakers and industry experts.

Could this be the latest in Germany’s green “dream’ going all wrong? Germany’s flagship green energy policy is falling to pieces according to a new report by the consultancy firm McKinsey, which says many of its goals are “no longer realistic”. The report says that Germany is so far behind its key commitment to cut CO2 emissions that it is realistically not achievable.

One of the reasons that has made the dream untenable is Germany’s increased use of brown coal, or lignite, to bridge the gap in power generation caused by its aim to phase out all nuclear power by 2022. Renewables have not been much help here. Germans are now left with the scenario of having some of the highest energy bills in Europe.

And if that all wasn’t a headache enough, along comes the VW migraine.

Time for a schnapps, methinks.

EDITOR’S COMMENT

@tex_owen

Editor Terry Owen [email protected]

Layout Alois Sajanga [email protected]

Subscription Sales & AdminPhillip Nkomo, [email protected]

Terry Owen

Shame on you, VW!

While everyone is trying to do their bit in going green and making our cities (and lives) more

sustainable, along comes Volkswagen with its emissions-test cheating scheme that turns it all upside down.

The scandal has understandably caused outrage all over the world, and while Volkswagen executives are playing pass the buck, and coming up with varia-tions on the theme of “I never knew”, car owners are wondering when their cars are going to be recalled. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one – millions of cars are going to have to be recalled. How this is going to happen and how long it’s going to take is anyone’s guess. Do people get offered courtesy cars in the meantime? I don’t think so.

The latest in the saga is that a top VW executive has blamed a handful of rogue engineers, which has incensed lawmakers even more. What would they have to gain, besides a damaged company reputation, and if anyone thinks “the top” never knew about it, they’d better think again. “This was not a corporate decision,” he said. “This was something individuals did.”

Meanwhile, the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg has been raided as investiga-tors search for clues as to what exactly has been going on. Not only that, but for exactly how long has it been going on? Is this a recent event only, or has this process been

Incorporating

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Women in FM

Claire Odgers 23Nirvani Singh 25

Is your UPStalking to you?

Boundary-lessdata centre challenge

Advertisement SalesMelinda [email protected]

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NEWS & PRODUCTS

Oct / Nov 2015 FM 4

Waterfall Corner cracks top award

Atterbury Property’s development of Waterfall Corner in Waterfall City, Gauteng, has

been named the winner of the esteemed Spectrum Award at the South African Council of Shopping Centre’s (SACSC) Annual Retail Design and Development Awards (RDDA).Waterfall Corner, owned by JSE-listed capital growth fund Attacq Limited, developed by Atterbury Property Development and designed by architect Bentel Associates International won the category for new shop-ping centres below 20 000m2 in size, before going on to take top honours as South Africa’s best retail development at the 2015 Awards.Situated on a prime retail site on the corners of Maxwell Drive, Country Lane and Woodmead Drive, the impressive 9 640m2 convenience centre opened in April last year, at the gateway to

the rapidly developing new Waterfall megacity.James Ehlers, Managing Director of Atterbury Property Developments, says: “We are thrilled Waterfall Corner has been named the best shop-ping centre development in South Africa as the recipient of the SACSC Spectrum Award for Retail Design and Development.” Ehlers explains the vision for Waterfall Corner was to create a prime neighbourhood retail centre servicing the fast-grow-ing, upper-income residential communities and commercial developments in the greater Waterfall City area. “Waterfall Corner is also ideally positioned to serve the large catchment areas of Woodmead, Kyalami and Midrand, making it easy for shoppers to pop in for their daily shopping needs.”The centre is anchored by Checkers, Woolworths and Clicks. It also features a gener-

ous piazza at its heart – a vibrant public space buzzing with activity, creating a lively family-orientated shopping, eating and relaxing destination. Added to this is a fantastic selection of hand-picked stores, restaurants and services.Ehlers describes the design of Waterfall Corner as clean, con-temporary and honest. “It uses natural materials like stone, con-crete and steel and is designed with a cool and modern colour palette.” Morné Wilken, CEO of Attacq, owner of Waterfall Corner says: “This prestigious award for Waterfall Corner highlights the superior quality of this retail property asset. Attacq will to continue grow our landmark portfolio high-quality assets, like Waterfall Corner, and deliver sustainable capital growth for our investors. We applaud the development and design teams of Waterfall Corner for crafting this award-winning asset for Attacq’s portfolio.” n

FM Breakfast at the Balalaika Hotel in Sandton‘How many FM’s does it take to change a light bulb?’Featuring some of the top names in the FM industry discussing perceptions about FM and the reality of doing the job. Ideas and insights galore.

Gallagher Convention CentreMidrand, Johannesburg

The largest FM event in Southern Africa

Not to be missed, the FM Expo brings you all that is new,

innovative and practical for the facilities manager. A great

opportunity to learn, be informed, see new products and network

with your peers.Co-located alongside the FM Expo is the SAFMA

Conference, an ideal opportunity to hear from some of the

country’s leading experts in the field. The line-up and topics

will be announced soon.

Do make sure that you diarise these dates, the events are definitely ‘not to be missed’

NEWS & PRODUCTS

Parking technology packs a punch

There are many parking technologies available but naturally you have to consider the one with the best reputation!

The factors to consider when choos-ing parking technology are:• How open is the technology

regarding communication inside the parking system network and with the external world?

• Availability of features which demonstrate the openness of the system.

• Reporting structure and its flexibility.• Technology used to ease operation

in terms of maintenance.• Maintenance plans to be imple-

mented.The Came Group, a world leader in access control, gate, door and traffic automation, has positioned itself well, technology-wise with the latest gen-eration of parking systems called PS ONE, and has recently acquired the Spanish company Parkare. Parkare is a recognised world leader in providing integrated solutions and services in the parking control indus-try, and presents itself as a service company. It is unique in that it pro-vides a solution for both on-street and off-street systems. With the synergies that will be created between Came and Parkare, the group is about to become a world leader in urban mobility solution industry. Today Came and Parkare together are able to deliver the ultim-ate web based solutions, which allow future expansions, additional revenue generating services and easy imple-mentation of maintenance plans.The most advanced solution is the PS ONE, made for maximum con-nectivity and system integration. This is important in order to save time and money during the normal working life and maintenance of the system. The software package allows the system manager to connect to the parking system from any remote location, allowing them to view the system status and check for any maintenance requirements.The Ethernet interface allows for an unlimited number of peripherals such as automatic cash registers, entry and exit units, pedestrian monitors, and staffed pay stations. The system offers many advantages and benefits when compared to trad-itional systems:

• Efficiency and control, always and anywhere. Real time management

• Licence Plate Recognition and HD images of all four sides of the vehicle.

• Multiple payment methods: Bank notes, coins, credit and debit cards, smart phone and even NFC - Near Field Communication. Customers can also pay using pre-paid vouchers via web.

• Special agreements for revenue generating solutions: discounts, vouchers, rechargeable pre-paid cards. 1D and 2D bar codes even on smart phones.

• IP audio or video intercom as default standard / GMS router can be added

• Large TFT colour display on automatic payment stations (43cm - 17”) and entry/exit units (14,5cm – 5,7”). This allows for creating and managing adver-tisements (video with sound) on behalf of the parking owner which can be sold to advertis-ers. In stand-by mode the video will use the full display. During operation the video will run on a smaller scale on the display screen. This function can be

used to generate other rev-enues from the parking system.

The parking system can be com-plemented with a very wide range of barriers. Came barriers feature a modern style aesthetics, with LED-dome shaped flashing lights, photocells integrated into the cab-inet, 24VDC motor ideal for inten-sive duty and battery back-up on most of the models. For parking and motorway applications there are robust boom-joints and break-away systems available.The product portfolio ranges from the entry level G3250 (3,25m) to the GARD12 – the biggest one in market (12m). The GARD3 barrier offers one of the quickest opening times in the market – 0.9 seconds to raise the bar of 3m.Parkare’s solutions in the off-street division can be summarised in two ranges of products:The top line is called “Elegance” which can feature both bar code and magnetic stripe (a unique solution in the world) and “Compact” which operate with barcode only.In the on-street division, the pay-and-display range is called “Tempo”.

The real strength lies in the capacity to offer integrated service with centralised and remote management with geographical information and integration with third parties. This allows offering pre-pay-ment, localisation of services, payment by phone and many more services.With over 3 000 off-street and over 2 000 on-street installa-tions and guidance systems for more than 60 000 cars, Parkare has installations world-wide. In South Africa there is already a pay-and-display system in Durban with 380 machines installed.To illustrate how Parkare is committed to service it’s necessary to mention that around 40% of the revenues come from Customer Services. End customers are using the machines to generate revenues and therefore it is very import-ant to have a partner who is able to assist with time and performances required by the business.

For further information go to www.bpt-sa.co.za n

5Oct / Nov 2015 FM

NEWS & PRODUCTS

Broll Facilities Management was awarded a 2015 PMR Golden Arrow award for Facilities

Excellence in a national survey on external facilities manage-ment companies conducted by PMR.africa. In 2014, Broll FM won a Bronze award and in 2013, the com-pany won the Gold Award. “We are honoured to receive this award and we would like to sincerely thank the PMR.africa Awards, the South African Facilities Management Association, our clients, industry peers and nominees in the com-petition,” says Rowland Gurnell, COO of Facilities Management at Broll.Broll Facilities Management is dedicated to the co-ordination of and functionality of space thus letting clients focus on their core business.Gurnell says behind the success of Broll FM, is the dedicated team that sees to all the clients’ needs and without this team, this would not have been pos-sible. FM continues to be a sought after specialist service across the continent as it allows property owners to focus on what they do best and leaving management of non-core sup-port and associated services to the property specialists, he explains. Broll FM, a division of Broll Property Group, one of Africa’s leading property services firm manages some 12 million square metres of properties within the group. The purpose of the PMR.africa Awards is to enhance excel-lence and set a benchmark in the industry and the awards are indicators of a company or division’s competencies. The awards are the culmination of a research process whereby companies and institutions are rated based on respondents’ perceptions with a strong focus

on evaluating and measuring customer service and customer satisfaction.Gurnell points out that the survey asked respondents questions such as how Broll communicated with clients, the quality of service received, staff competence and credibility among other questions. “For Broll FM to tick favourably on all boxes as per the survey, shows our clients have confidence in our service offering and ability to over deliver on what we promise. This award will encourage our teams to continue to exceed customer service while keeping abreast of FM trends locally and globally,” he says.www.broll.com n

Broll’s Golden Arrows hit bullseye!

Rowland Gurnell, Broll Facilities Management COO.

Holding the award, Chris Aslett, Director: Technical at Broll Facilities Management

Broll FM Team (from left to right): Chris Aslett, Director: Technical, Janine Faustino: Sales and Key Account Manager, Christine Grobler: PA/Operations Management Administrator, Joseph Murdock: Technical Manager and John Veldon: Project Manager

Oct / Nov 2015 FM 6

ISSN 2071-9299 JUNE 2015 FM No. 002

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NEWS & PRODUCTS

Legrand’s power solu-tions ensure protection of electrical equipment and continuity of service during planned and

unexpected power outages.“These modular systems include certified low emission (CLE) cast resin transformers, busbar trunk-ings, enclosures for power switch-gear and control gear assemblies, as well as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units,” says Marc Naidoo, projects and technical co-ordinator, Legrand SA. “An important advantage of selecting Legrand components for efficient, safe and flexible power distribu-tion, is the immediate integration between the company’s busbar trunking systems, cast resin trans-formers and XL³ cabinets.“All our power solutions systems encompass the latest technol-ogy for energy efficiency, quality power supply, optimum safety and enhanced aesthetics.”Legrand’s environmentally friendly, dry type cast resin transformers, transfer electrical power between two different voltage systems at the same frequency, with low environmental impact. These HV/LV transformers offer significant savings on electricity costs and can reduce electricity consump-tion by up to 20% during off-peak activity.The absence of flammable insula-tion liquids, the use of self-extin-guishing materials exempt of toxic gas emissions, reduced noise levels and low electromagnetic emissions, ensure enhanced environmental protection in all installations.The company’s standard distri-bution transformers have rated power between 100 and 3 150 kVA, primary rated voltage up to 36 kV and secondary rated voltage up to 433 V. Special trans-formers have rated power up to 20 000 kVA, primary rated voltage up to 36 kVA and secondary rated voltage on request. Unlike oil transformers, these cast resin units, with reduced overall size dimensions, can be installed inside buildings and do not require additional building structures. This means optimum flexibility in any environment. Because no cooling fluids are necessary, maintenance

costs are minimised.For climate conditions these transformers can withstand severe conditions - E2 - environmental class, C2 - climatic class, F1-fire-behaviour class. Legrand transformers are enhanced by pre-fabricated busbar trunking systems, which provide synergy for a direct connection. These busbar trunking systems, with minimum overall dimensions, provide flexibility in all areas of an installation, including confined spaces. Aluminium or copper bus-bars and cast resin transformers are equipped with various acces-sories to provide maximum versa-tility for any type of power appli-cation, including areas which are subjected to high thermal stress and where equipment is sensitive to electromagnetic interferences. Safety is important in the design of all Legrand components. The absence of fuel masses in the company’s cast resin transformers is combined with a low fire load typical of busbars. This feature increases the intrinsic safety of a building against the propagation of a possible fire. This fire retardant range is tested for fire resistance according to DIN 4102-09 and EN 1366-3 standards. The connections of high power busbar line elements have reliable mechanical interlocks for easy installation. This design eliminates errors and prevents potential dan-gers which can occur with conven-tional systems when starting up the system.There are other critical Legrand devices for optimum protection, reliable distribution and effective service continuity in the event of a mains power failure. These include DMX³ air circuit breakers, DMX³ MCCB’s, supply inverters, isolating switches and XL³ enclosures for sites between 160 A and 6 300 A. XL³ distribution enclosures comply with every part of the standard IEC 61439 to guarantee reliability and total protection of the installation.Legrand’s UPS system also ensures continuity of service, in terms of power and back up time. Optimum sizing of power stages, the latest electronic components and thorough testing of each unit, ensure dependability and safety of the new system. High performance

Integration key to UPS systems

batteries and an efficient charging system have extended battery life by up to 50%.This UPS system encompasses three ranges – the Modular series for a reliable power supply up to 120 kVA, the Conventional series up to 10 kVA and the Line Interactive series, which is a UPS system up to 3 kVA.Legrand power solutions sys-tems are also available from the company’s national distributor and wholesaler network, which provides a comprehensive solu-tions-based service that encom-passes technical consultation and system support. n

These enclosures - for sites between 160 A and 6 300 A - provide solutions adapted to meet exact site power distribution needs in industrial, commercial and residential environments. Most importantly, these units comply with every part of the standard IEC 61439 to guarantee reliability and total protection of the installation.

High power busbars are quick and efficient to install and accommodate current and future planning of power distribution systems, to meet the high demands of modern installations and complex requirements.

The Legrand UPS system, which ensures continuity of service for installations in diverse industries, provides reliable performance in terms of power and back up time.

For further information www.legrand.co.za

Oct / Nov 2015 FM 8

NEWS & PRODUCTS

SAA lab one of the finest

Tucked away in a non-descript building in the technical area of OR Tambo Airport, is probably one of the

most accurate and highly rated calibration test laboratories in Africa, if not worldwide. South African Airways’ (SAA) Calibration Laboratory was set up in 1981, with the advent of fly-by-wire technology and the ensuing requirement to test and calibrate the myriad test tools required to keep a fleet of aircraft tested and maintained to the stringent levels aviation authorities require. With one assistant and three tech/admin staff, Dewald Vermeulen, Head of Lab Avionics (Test Equipment) runs this 24/7/365 laboratory, with the very impressive accuracy rating of 90 days. The norm for laboratories is an annual accuracy spec. The lab is kept at a constant temperature of 23°C and a 50% humidity, opti-mum conditions to run the highly accurate and sensitive equipment that the lab houses. Most have

never been and never will be switched off to protect their accuracy.Fluke’s 5522A and 5720A multi-product calibrators, Fluke’s 8508A Reference Multimeter and Fluke‘s 4950 Multi Function Transfer Standard, check and calibrate all of the test equipment – some 16 000 units per annum, that are used by the technical staff to maintain and check vari-ous electrical systems on the aircraft, such as heating, lighting, air conditioning, avionics, navi-gation, radar and many more applications. The lab also tests pressure, hydraulics, GPS, altitude, tem-perature, and always to the highest specification, as tol-erances/variances for aircraft are understandably very small. Every measurement made here, is traceable back to the lab. The lab is accredited by South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) and NLA’s (National Laboratory Association) MetCert. n

Kobus Venter, SAA lab technician, with the Fluke calibrators at SAA’s Avionics Laboratory, OR Tambo Airport.

Magnet – specialists in the supply, implementation and support of electrical equipment, indus-

trial instrumentation and automation – now distributes SLV’s range of energy efficient lighting products for commercial and domestic sectors.“The addition of SLV’s modern luminaires to Magnet’s extensive portfolio of lighting products, enhan-ces the company’s specialist lighting solutions service for residential and commercial installations,” says Brian Howarth, managing direc-tor, Magnet. “SLV’s technical and decorative lighting devices, with the latest technologies and coloured lighting effects, are available in various designs, colours, shapes and light sources, to suit individual requirements in interior and exterior applications.“An important advantage of this

prestigious brand to the local mar-ket is the massive stocking hold-ings in Germany, which makes the product available in South Africa with a two week lead time. “There are over 3 500 products in the SLV range, all with a contem-porary design and new illumination technology, to meet the trends of the constantly changing lighting market globally. 98% of this range offers energy efficient LED and retrofit solutions, of which 80% has integrated LEDs.”The SLV range encompasses lighting fixtures with elements which are individually adjustable to enhance the aesthetics and area illumination of any environment. Components include surface mounted and recessed profiles and fittings; decorative lights and lamps that can be styled person-ally with a selection of designs and colours. LED solutions and dim-

mable products with retrofit lamps, as well as devices with integrated dimmable LEDs are also available.The SLV Control system enables remote control of all connected devices in the installation, includ-ing roller shutters and lighting. magnet-distributors-slv-light-ing-products-commercial & domestic…All SLV luminaires meet stringent international quality and safety specifications.Magnet’s understanding of lighting

systems, coupled with design and installation services, in-house testing facilities and experienced lighting engineers, ensures enhanced aesthetics and optimum energy efficiency in diverse industries.Magnet supports its comprehen-sive product range with a tech-nical advisory, installation and maintenance service throughout Southern Africa. For further information www.magnetgroup.co.za n

Magnet has been appointed local distributors for SLV’s range of lighting products for commercial and domestic sectors.

9Oct / Nov 2015 FM

NEWS & PRODUCTS

The Pavilion is to get a R1,1-billion makeover, entrenching it as one of Durban’s and SA’s top super-regional shopping

centres.This was announced by Pareto Limited, the owners of The Pavilion, at the SA Council of Shopping Centres’ 19th Annual Congress, which took place at Durban’s International Convention Centre recently.Marius Muller, CEO of Pareto, comments: “We are really excited to finally reveal this fantastic development at The Pavilion, which will take the centre up to around 139 000m2 in size and entrench it as one of Durban’s and SA’s top super-regional shopping centres. This major makeover project will be the biggest investment in an expan-sion of The Pavilion since it opened two decades ago.”The development has been approved by the Pareto board and has also secured relevant municipal approvals. Muller says: “At more than a billion rand, this development is going to take The Pavilion to a whole other level. The centre is going to be transformed with great new attractions, the most spectacular of which is a glass-encased roof-top fine dining and leisure area to be called Sky@Pav. The development will also see the opening of well-known international retail stores, some of which are not currently represented in the KZN market.“Pareto is in advanced negotiations with global fashion retailers to take up space at the expanded centre. At the moment, we cannot reveal the fashion brands coming in. But, what I can say is that a new international fashion entrant into the South African market will be anchoring the new retail section and will be occupying two levels. The iconic UK-based toy retailer Hamleys is also on the cards for The Pavilion.”Another major brand and new offer-ing coming into the centre as part of the expansion is Virgin Active, which will open a 3 200m2 gym.Says Muller: “The Pavilion is one of South Africa’s leading shopping and entertainment destinations and among the top five largest malls in

Massive make-over for Pavilion

the country. This expansion is demand driven, but also aimed at making sure The Pavilion retains its position in the market by securing the major international brands coming into South Africa and expanding its offering in-line with the latest trends.”He adds: “Illustrating the signifi-cance of this latest expansion, the development will see the number of retail stores and other outlets at the centre increase from 240 currently to around 320 upon completion. The Pavilion will increase from 119,000m2 to approximately 139,000m2, making it just smaller in size to Sandton City and Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pareto’s portfolio.”

“We are undertaking this massive expansion in order to also re-position The Pavilion within its market in Durban; for its existing customer base to remain loyal; and, to attract new tenants and customers to the centre. Furthermore, the growing need for space from existing and potential tenants, both local and international, necessitates the planned reconfiguration and extension. Our announce-ment of this mega expansion comes in the wake of Pareto completing a R220-million upgrade at The Pavilion last year, which included a stunning all-new food court and expanded cinema and entertainment offering.” n

Artist’s impressions of what The Pavilion shopping centre in Durban will look like when its massive makeover and expansion is complete.

Oct / Nov 2015 FM 10

The South African Council of Shopping Centres’ (SACSC) Footprint Marketing Awards were announced at the

SACSC’s 19th Annual Congress, held recently in Durban, and the coveted top award – the Spectrum Award – was given to Cape Town’s Tyger Valley Centre.The SACSC Footprint Marketing Awards recognise exceptional shop-ping centre marketing, innovation and creative achievements, with economic success. This year, 48 awards were pre-sented in total, of which only seven were gold awards. All Gold SACSC Footprint Marketing Awards are automatically entered into the International Council of Shopping Centres’ Solal Awards. This global awards campaign is set to be judged early in 2016.Amanda Stops, SACSC CEO, says: “This year’s SACSC Footprint Marketing Award winners were again judged to a global standard

SA’s magnificent malls

Unilever scores hat-trick as top employer

NEWS & PRODUCTS

and can stand proud with top shopping campaigns worldwide. They consider each marketing campaign’s strategy and object-ives, creativity, implementation, cost-effectiveness and impact.” Tyger Valley Centre earned the coveted Spectrum Award for its “Christmas in Africa”, which saw it take refreshing proudly South African approach to its festive décor and, at the same time, empowering unskilled or unemployed women by teaching them crafting skills to sustain themselves. Tyger Valley Centre’s “Christmas in Africa” won a Gold Footprint Award in the community relations category, to qualify as a finalist for the Spectrum Award. Tyger Valley Centre is owned by Pareto Limited and MMI Holdings. Pareto also undertakes the marketing of the centre. Pareto featured strongly in the awards this year, with its ground-breaking new corpor-

ate social investment initiative, NuMiracle, also earning a gold award. The project is aimed at improving unacceptably low levels of numeracy in the country, and is undertaken by marketing company Mustard Seed Relationship Marketing at Pareto’s Pavilion Shopping Centre in Durban, and Southgate Mall and Westgate Shopping Centre in Johannesburg.V&A Waterfront in Cape Town took home the most gold Footprint Awards, clinching three gilded trophies for the marketing of The Watershed, undertaken by the V&A Waterfront’s in-house team.The marketing company to achieve the most awards over-all was Primedia Lifestyle, with an impressive 17 accolades, including two gold awards for its “Gateway and IBV Supercar Charity Parade World Record” for Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Durban and “Paris Hilton’s Closet”

for Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pretoria.Sandton City was the shopping centre to win the most awards overall, taking a remarkable six gongs in total. Marketing Concepts is the marketing company for Sandton City. n

Amanda Stops, SACSC CEO

Unilever South Africa, a leading FMCG com-pany, has been certi-fied as the number one company to work for

in South Africa by the Top Employer Institute for the third year in a row. The organisation has received the prestigious accolade for 2013/14, 2014/15 and now for 2015/16. During the same Top Employer Awards ceremony held at Gallagher Estates in Midrand, Unilever was also certified as the number one Top Employer in Africa for the second year running. Through an International HR Best Practices Survey conducted by the Top Employers Institute, Unilever South Africa surpassed the Top Employers Institute’s cri-teria, namely in: Talent Strategy; Workforce Planning; On-boarding; Learning and Development; Performance Management; Leadership Management; Career

and Succession Management; Compensation and Benefits; and Culture. “Being certified the 2015/16 Top Employer in South Africa and Africa, for three and two years respectively, further demonstrates that Unilever provides an environ-ment where our employees can thrive and achieve great things,” said an elated Antoinette Irvine, Human Resources Vice President - South and Southern Africa. “Globally, Unilever has some of the best HR practises and as an organisation we pride ourselves in providing current and prospective employees with an employee value proposition that differen-tiates us and attracts talent.”Unilever invests in its people and develops interventions that contribute to the success of the organisation. These include:• Creating optimal employee

conditions to ensure that

employees develop themselves personally and professionally.

• Offering employees flexible and agile working patterns.

• Employees enjoy international careers.

• Mentorship programmes. • A highly regarded graduate

recruitment programme. • Driving the gender and racial bal-

ance agenda across the business. • Offering a world class leadership

development curriculum.“The world is changing and organi-sations have to work even harder to attract the best talent that will help execute organisational strategy and create the right kind of culture. This will not only differentiate a company from its competitors but will take it forward as well. Furthermore, being a purpose-driven organisation that wants to make sustainable living commonplace and create a bright future for all makes Unilever a great company to work for,” says Irvine. n

11Oct / Nov 2015 FM

RETRACTABLE ROOFS

SPORTS FACILITIES

Stadia roofs are complex structures which require significant architectural and engineering effort. Many modern stadium roofs are retractable because this creates maximum flexibility; however retractable roofs present their own set of unique challenges. In this article, Professor Kourosh Kayvani – Global Sports Leader, Aurecon, explores the successful design of these roofs in order to maximise both fan experience and all-important return on investment.

FOR RIVETING SPORTS EXPERIENCE

Perth Arena exterior, in the evening


In the past, many popular, multi-purpose stadia roofs were domed. Today, retractable roofs – the next-generation of roofing systems – are convertible and can be opened up to let the sun shine

in on good weather days, and closed during bad weather. This provides flexibility in creating the level of required level of weather protection while maintaining optimum play conditions, fan experience, and conditions for natural grass to grow.

“Retractable roofs require clever design because they need to be able to move hundreds of thousands of kilograms of steel, glass, cladding and ceiling material, and mechanical and electrical services in a matter of minutes. Very few retractable roof stadiums are alike, and each one has their own support, traction and control systems that enable the roofing panels to safely and reliably fold back, retract or slide off the top of each other in order to expose the area they cover,” says Kayvani.

Building a solid business case for a retractable roof is key. Clients and developers need to carefully weigh in on the legacy of a stadium – in other words, what will the stadium be used for after a prestigious event has passed?

Retractable roofs ensure that a stadium can be used for purposes besides sporting events, such as concerts, exhibitions and shows. This flexibility in stadium usage helps build a business case for investing in a retractable roof.

Another advantage is ensuring that games, events and exhibitions aren’t cancelled on account of bad weather. “Fans and supporters don’t attend events if they know they are going to get wet. Thanks to retractable roofs, events can

proceed as planned regardless of the weather conditions.

The fan experience and the environ-

ment in which

fans

“Retractable roofs require clever design because they need to be able to move hundreds of thousands of kilograms of steel, glass, cladding and ceiling material, and mechanical and electrical services in a matter of minutes.

Perth Arena Stadium daytime

13Oct / Nov 2015 FM

experience sporting events is far better when it involves a retractable roof. This is part of the financial business case for choosing a retract-able roof,” says Kayvani.

He adds: “Many of the popular domed stadiums that were built during the 1960s and 1970s required artificial turf as the enclosed structures wouldn’t allow adequate sunshine for natural grass to grow. Retractable roofs have been a game changer as they create a better environment for natural grass in the open conditions. In projects like Wembley Stadium in London retractable roof panels open over stands on three sides facilitating grass growth as well as improving the quality of outside broadcasting due to elimination of large shadows cast on the playing field. These are other facets of the business case that compels sports stadium developers to invest in retractable roofs.”

In many instances, a stadium roof makes sound business sense for developers, but these roofs are also a double edged sword. In large stadia, where they are mainly used for both sporting and non-sporting events, roofs protect the spectators from environmental effects such as sun, rain and wind. “But while the roof provides shelter and a comfortable environment for spectators, it creates a large shadow effect that can impact, for instance, in a football ground, turf and grass growth. This creates a catch-22 for the owners and operators because protecting spectators from harsh environmental effects essentially hinders the air and sunlight that needs to get to the grass in order to ensure its growth and longev-ity,” explain Kayvani.

Overcoming these to arrive at an effective, efficient and dynamic retractable roof solution requires considerable input from architects, engineers, owners and operators. Just some of the solutions Aurecon offers developers include the following:

• Translucent roofs Adding translucency to a retractable roof provides a level of lighting to the grass that can facilitate growth. However, while the roof sheeting and panels can be translucent, the effect is limited due to the fact that a structure still needs to be created to carry the roofing. Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand, is the world’s only permanently covered sta-dium with a natural turf playing field. It was officially opened in August 2011 in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Aurecon engineers and modellers teamed up with turf experts the stadium architect and undertook rigorous studies using a test rig over a two year period to understand the effects of ETFE on grass growth under contrasting seasonal conditions in order to ensure the pitch would be of the high standard required for international sporting events.

• Retracting roofs to expose grass to sunlight

Another possible solution to facilitating a healthy pitch is to retract the roof over the stands when the weather is good. As men-tioned, Wembley Stadium, for example, has retractable roof panels that open over stands on three sides exposing the grass to sunlight when needed.

Aurecon undertook the structural engin-eering of the arch and the roof, which required the use of advanced structural engineering to achieve the 315m span arch and elegant proportioned roof structures design. With the north side covered by the fixed roof, seven independently driven roof panels move in a parallel motion to the south to open over the eastern, western and southern stands. This provides an almost shadow-free playing field.

• Supplementing natural light with grow lights

All-weather arenas provide an ideal solution because they can be used for entertainment purposes when they are fully closed. The acoustics are good and the necessary degree of shelter is provided for people attending the event. In this case, the retract-able roofs create the flexibility that most developers need in terms of providing shelter.

A striking example of a fully retractable roof structure is Melbourne’s 55 000 seat

Fans and supporters don’t

attend events if they know they

are going to get wet. Thanks

to retractable roofs, events can

proceed as planned regardless

of the weather conditions.

“

Teda Soccer Stadium

It has been heralded with widespread praise for its great atmosphere and functionality. This was a visionary project. Throughout the entire planning stages of the stadium, the client (Carisbrook Charitable Stadium Trust) and the project team ensured that the turf remained at the forefront of the design in this ‘whole sta-dium’ solution. The stadium was built around the turf rather than the other way round. The key challenge for the design team was growing strong, healthy turf under a fixed roof made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).

SPORTS FACILITIES


Etihad Stadium. The natural turf is kept in a healthy condition through the large opening of the roof, but there are portions of the grass that remain shaded when the roof is open. As part of the turf management process, localised “grow lights” are used to supplement the daylight.

While stadium design is often driven by a short-term need to set the stage for a specific event such as the Olympics, the sustainable legacy of the structure needs to be considered. Future proofing a stadium means thinking ahead about the upkeep that stadiums require and how the investment can be maximised for future events.

Careful planning and out-of-the-box thinking helps architects and engineers design beyond prestige events, meet client’s requirements and simultaneously create a structure that will maximise the stadium’s usage in the future. For example, designing a base structure that can accommodate a future retractable roof would be a lot more economical than strengthening the stadium structure to be able to carry the loads of a retractable roof. Adding more area or changing or strengthening the roof to accommodate heavier wind loads at a later stage can be very costly, so the primary structure needs to be designed to handle potential future needs.

“Aurecon advises clients to consider their holistic future needs and design for the necessary provisions to accommodate future needs in the base structure. The effect on fixed roof cladding, waterproofing issues, access, safety and future wind load capacity all need to be accounted for during the initial design. Finding the right solution in terms of lightweight roofing design that can handle

heavy wind loads as well as accommodate future expansion requires careful analysis and collaboration between the clients, architects and engineers,” states Kourosh.

Constructability is another key consider-ation because stadiums need to be built safely, economically and in the least time possible. Any temporary construction to the stadium or supporting construction of the roof will create a level of disruption and risk. In order to minimise the risk involved, the sequence of construction needs to be planned and the temporary works that are chosen need to be carefully considered in order to ensure that they are safe and eco-nomical.

To achieve a ‘prop-free’, fast and safe method of construction for Perth Arena project, the roof, inclusive of all fixed and movable steelwork, and all the cladding and services where constructed fully at the ground level and winched in position in one quick 2-hour operation. Approximately 2500 tonnes (2500000 kg) of fully clad and ser-viced steel roof, larger than the size of a full soccer pitch, was lifted 23m in height.

The knowledge of constructability issues is critical in design of long-span roofs of all types. The roof of the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Terminus in Hong Kong, for example is very complex. The terminus is a major cross boundary transport multi-plat-form project that includes a train station, rail link and below ground terminal, which serves as a gateway to Hong Kong.

Aurecon was tasked with the erection analysis and geometry control of the steel roof structure for the development and the team of consultants had to ensure the roof steelwork was not over-stressed during erection. In

Wembley Stadium, UK

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order to achieve this, both the curved roof struc-ture and the inclined columns had to be tempor-arily supported during the various stages of roof construction. However, the temporary works needed to be removed as soon as feasible to allow other construction activities to proceed. This required a very detailed analysis and design of the construction sequence.

“Partnering with an experienced consultant is key to ensuring a future proofed, world-class stadium,” says Kourosh. “Everything from fan comfort, technology and fan engagement, tight construction deadlines, budget constraints and summiting the rooftop challenge can be addressed when you’re working with teams who have dealt with these challenges in the past.” n

Cliff Hocking has had a diverse and thrilling FM career. In fact, he was “doing” FM even before it was known as such! Terry Owen meets one of the industry’s great guys!

FM ALL THE BETTER

FM PROFILE

FOR HOCKING’S HISTORY


FM ALL THE BETTER

“Back at Montecasino,

on New Year’s Eve 2000

we had 32 000 people

packed into the place.

Because it was going to be

the first real major event

with a full house we told

our staff it was ‘all hands

on deck’ and a long,

gruelling night. It proved

trying, but exhilarating at the

same time, and great learning

curve for all involved.

Cliff Hocking is the kind of man you would gladly pledge millions to if he were running for a campaign. Solid, reliable, dependable and visionary.

Attributes you don’t find in busloads, or min-vans for that matter. In other words, he’s the kind of guy that you’d want around for advice when the bananas hit the fan.

One of the most recognisable figures in the FM industry, Hocking would probably scoff at the above description of himself and deride it as “fanciful”. That’s because he’s a no-nonsense kind of person not in the habit of blowing his own trumpet, or even considering such a “preposterous” idea.

But the fact is, it’s true and virtually anyone in the industry would attest to that fact. FM has been all the better for people like him.

Actually, he got involved with FM before there was such a discipline or industry known as that. Going back to around 1977, he was working for the Cape Town City Council, in the Organisation and Work Study Department.

“I got seconded to a project team which was working on what was going to be the Civic Centre, and we were charged with the internal fit-outs and operational issues within the Civic Centre building. It was somewhat of a major undertaking as people from

some 20 buildings scattered around Cape Town were going to be moving into this facility. Remember, too, that this was long before anyone thought of things like lifecycle costings!

“So we got involved in space planning, where the printing depot was going to be and all sorts of FM activities long before it was known as FM – such as the planning of canteens and first aid rooms.”

He paints a vivid picture of space plan-ning in those days, which was vastly different to how things are managed today – huge drawings of each module of each floor were stuck onto a magnetic board. Little cut-outs of all the furniture and equipment were placed on the drawings, photographs were taken and sent to department heads for approval.

“Then, as is today, there was a big move towards open-plan offices and there was major resistance from people moving from offices into this environment. So, I guess in that respect, things haven’t changed all that much, although today it’s far more wide-spread and mind-sets are changing more rapidly than in that era.”

The project team also managed the physical relocation of staff from all over the city into the one building, a nightmarish logis-tical exercise!

“The saving grace for us was that the whole Civic Centre had been kitted out with new furniture, so at least we never had to move that. It all came together eventually – that was a kind of baptism of fire, but one that made me more determined than ever to carry on doing whatever I was doing!”

As an aside, Hocking, who had left the Cape Town City Council in 1980, happened to be on a business trip to Cape Town (he was then based in Johannesburg) in 1996, and he decided for old time’s sake to go and have a look at the Civic Centre.

“I walked into the floor that I had worked on and nothing had changed at all. The layout was exactly the same. It was quite surreal – but at least it proved that what we had done had stood the test of time!”

The year when FM in Hocking’s life actually became FM was 1995. He had been appointed admin director for a medical aid business during 1993. Shortly after being on board there was a merger between that organisation and what was then the biggest medical aid business.

“I had read all about the FM trends that were taking place around the world and I saw an opportunity of creating an FM Department at Medscheme. We duly started that and I ran that in-house for many years.

Photo collage: Montecasino – a big highlight and challenge in Cliff Hocking’scareer.

17Oct / Nov 2015 FM

Prior to my taking charge of FM, any services that were related to the discipline were spread widely across the whole organisation. It was like when I worked for Toyota (1984-1988), cleaning was handled by the HR department, security reported to warehousing. I was the Admin Manager there and activities like printing and messengers reported into me.

“I knew that they all should fall into one department, hence my creation of the FM Department at Medscheme. Everything that used to fall into different divisions was now handled by the FM team, including procure-ment. Without being even really conscious of it, I created a help desk there in the form of my wonderfully efficient secretary, who handled all the FM queries.”

It was around this time that the outsourced FM scenario became a big player in South Africa.

The Department of Public Works was seriously considering outsourcing a number of FM activities.

“It got me thinking what the state of our government stock would have been like had the department actually gone this route. Jobs would have been absorbed into FM so it wouldn’t have meant any job losses, which I think was the major concern.”

A lot was happening in the industry at the time with players coming into the market like Drake and Scull, Turner and Townsend, who already had a presence here but were now offering FM, Fergusons FM, who procured a joint deal with R&MB and Johnson Controls launched themselves here on the back of their international IBM contract.

“The first major bid that went out was Standard Bank head office in Simmonds Street. All interested players had to do presentations – already the world of FM was buzzing! Shortly afterwards, the bid for Sanlam head office in Cape Town was opened. So all that was the start of the outsourcing scenario in South Africa.”

While Hocking was at Drake & Scull, the company was awarded the Montecasino bid, and what followed proved to be an exciting time and a milestone in his FM legacy.

“It was my responsibility to implement the contract there which meant I went on site about five months before it opened. We had our management team in place about six weeks before the complex opened and a month before it opened we had our full quota of maintenance and operational people on board to give them a month to get to know the site thoroughly. A totally new FM operation in a high-profile, huge lei-sure setting was quite unique, and this really was a thrilling time for me.

“One of the side-shows of the operation was a trip to Las Vegas for me with a brief to look closely at all the behind-the-scenes stuff at casinos to see how they operated. What an eye-opener that proved to be! Jet-lag proved to be in my favour, as I would wake up at 3am and then go and take in the FM action when it wasn’t so hectic.

“Back at Montecasino, on New Year’s Eve 2000 we had 32 000 people packed into the place. Because it was going to be the first real major event with a full house we told our staff it was ‘all hands on deck’ and a long, gruelling night. It proved trying, but exhilarating at the same time, and great learning curve for all involved.”

He tells me some of the things that fell under the FM ambit was the casino informa-tion desk, the crèche, casino staff uniforms and a laundry contract. Because of it being a 24-hour operation there was an 8-house shift plan in operation and a staff comple-ment of some 40 people.

After his stint at Montecasino, he joined the Basil Read Group and virtually started the FM operation on the back of the Nedbank contract for the company’s new head office in Rivonia Road in Sandton.

“You know, I tell people regularly that one of the beauties about being involved in FM is the fact when you arrive in the morning, you never know what your day is going to be like or what it will bring.

He smiles when he recalled a “first” of a different kind here.

“The first person that managed to get stuck in a lift in the Nedbank building happened to be Christo Liebenberg, then Chairman of Nedbank! He was with his wife and had attended a function there and were on their way home. I was made very quickly aware of the situation. Luckily we had excellent SLAs with the service providers and they moved like lightning to resolve the situation!”

Hocking has moved around quite swiftly. In 1999 there was an opportunity in Malaysia for a company then known as the Sunway Group who was looking at FM in a multi-disciplined environment, almost like a Sun City-type operation. He spent a couple of weeks there consulting on that operation. In 2002 the FM subsidiary of huge French conglomerate Bouyges needed someone in Hong Kong to assist in some high-level maintenance planning for a mass rail transport system – and that was another highlight in his experience.

There was another interesting scenario around 2003 with the large outsourcing com-pany TFMC (now known as Bidvest FM).

“The company had been awarded the Telkom outsourcing contract some three years prior to me joining, and it was the big-gest FM contract in the company at the time. TFMC had an arrangement with Telkom that it wouldn’t go into the marketplace for the first three years of the contract. That time was up, so the principal reason for me going on board there was that they wanted someone with knowledge of the ‘outside’ telecommunications world, so I looked after the FM side of that contract. The Telkom contract was huge – there will never be another FM contract of the same magnitude. That was challenging in its own right!”

At TFMC he was moved into the busi-ness development sector, and subsequently became involved in PPPs for the first time.

“The company was involved in one of the

FM PROFILE


first PPPs in the country, which was the DTI head office, so that became invalu-able operational exposure, and then on the business development and market-ing side, I was getting involved in bids. For me it was a crash course in PPPs and I took that opportunity to learn as much as I possibly could about it.”

He started his own company – Wilconox – five years ago, and he says that one of the advantages of being a small consulting outfit is that decisions can be made on projects that you really want to get involved with.

“My PPP experience has come in handy, as I have been involved in a PPP exercise in Kenya for student accommodation at a university and also a healthcare PPP project in Lesotho. Both were feasibility studies and were exciting for me to be involved in. The diversification is what I find interesting in what I’m doing now. Actually, when I think of from where I started to where I am now is like chalk and cheese. It’s such a giant leap, which proves the diversification within the FM sector.”

Hocking reminisces about his past in FM with a simultaneous stoic and soft glimmer in the eyes. His past has made the man that he is, one to be greatly admired in FM.

“You know, I tell people regularly that one of the beauties about being involved in FM is the fact when you arrive in the morning, you never know what your day is going to be like or what it will bring. People also ask me what is the basic requirement to be an effective FM? I think it’s the ability to think on your feet and the ability to jug-gle a number of balls at the same time. You must have the ability to be totally honest with people. Don’t try and be

a “good news guy” when there’s a problem. Obviously no C-suite person wants bad news, but you’ve got to tell it like it is and you can stop the problem from escalating.

“Buildings and other infra-structures are fantastic things until you put people in them. You have to be able to deal with people in various departments and at various levels. What other managerial role in a corporate environment would give you the opportunity to deal with a range of issues that need interaction with CEOs and CFOs and then cleaners and drivers? This, though, takes a very definitive kind of personality, and not avail-able in abundance.

“There’s also a school of thought that says in order to be a good FM you have to come from a technical background. I don’t agree at all. You need to know the inputs and outputs – in other words, have some knowledge of what’s happening and what it’s meant to produce. What happens in-between is someone else’s expertise.”

What anyone thinking of mak-ing FM a career should do, in fact, is spend some time with this man. If there’s also something that comes through quite clearly is that at the same time as being a clever business person, there’s a nurturing soul there that would bring out the best in anyone.

And that could only spell good news for the industry – as history has shown! n

“There’s also a school of thought

that says in order to be a good

FM you have to come from

a technical background.

I don’t agree at all. You need

to know the inputs and outputs

– in other words, have some

knowledge of what’s happening

and what it’s meant to produce.

What happens in-between

is someone else’s expertise.

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OUTSOURCING

Business confidence in South Africa is at a 22-year low.

There’s no way that you can wrap that any other way to try and make it sound better. In

fact, it’s probably going to get worse, so doom and gloom is the order of the day.

But wait! There’s a big positive here, and that’s for FM, and its busy making its mark felt in every corner of the industry.

In fact, the low confidence issue is actually fuelling the growth in the outsourcing industry.

There are currently more Request for Proposals (RFPs) to FM companies than ever before – and oddly enough, this is fuelled by low business confidence in South Africa. Terry Owen reports.

LOW BUSINESS CONFIDENCE

FUELS FM GROWTH


FUELS FM GROWTH

(RFPs) from companies seeking outsourcing FM than ever before. Outsourced companies are having to pick and choose what they feel would fit better with their strategy.

I certainly have never heard of this situa-tion before, and neither has Paul.

“Companies need to concentrate on their core business. Outsourced teams take care of the rest, freeing up time and capacities for the CEOs. Obviously the scenario is not for everyone and the whole in-house/outsource saga rages on, and is a very sensitive issue in certain circles, but what I am saying that has proven to be the way to go for most companies – otherwise why would we have the glut of RFPs that we are seeing at present?”

He says it is most definitely not an easy time for business because each business is trying to drive efficiencies with an eagle eye on the bottom line.

“Company heads have to run buildings and factories but they are saying how can we do it better and far cheaper. From that point of view, there are definitely a lot of busi-nesses looking to outsource FM. The fact that these company heads are putting out so many RFPs means they are quickly warming to the fact that what they need to focus on is the core business, and left the rest to other professionals.”

M’Crystal says that there a lot of different issues coming to play.

“More and more companies are battling to find the skills to take care of FM. I always say there’s pros and cons for both out-sourced and in-house models. What is hap-pening, though, because of the lack of skills available, the outsourced companies are abler to attract the top skilled people more often because people are starting to change their way of working.

“You may find a person in his 40s who decides he wants to move to another area of the country for some reason. Outsourced companies are winning and losing contracts all over the country all the time, and there would be ample opportunity for this person to move to wherever, without him having to leave the company. He can stay with the company and get transferred to another contract.

“When someone is in-house, however, it can be a long and winding road until a pro-motion or vacancy somewhere else occurs. In an outsourced company, people are mov-ing around all the time.”

He says it’s starting to become a life choice of who an individual would like to work for. From a benefits and salary issue it’s “much of a muchness”, so the issue comes

The message that is coming out loud and clear is this – let company owners concen-trate on their core business even more so in times like these and let the outsourced FM company ensure that your building and other management issues are not costing you money! How can I control my cost / improve my cost in this economic climate?

Paul M’Crystal, Gauteng Regional Head of Facilities Management, Corporate Real Estate Solutions at Barclays Africa, and Chairman of SAFMA says that probably for the first time ever there are more Request for Proposals

“The message that is coming out

loud and clear is this –

let company owners concentrate

on their core business even

more so in times like these and

let the outsourced FM company

ensure that your building and

other management issues are

not costing you money!

21Oct / Nov 2015 FM

down to a work/life balance, and the scope for this in an outsourced company is tremendous. The outsourced company can offer the skilled person all sorts of different options to satisfy the new way of working, and by so doing is attracting the skilled people.

“In-house employers will lose that skill, because the skill wants to move on and can’t and so becomes frustrated. The problem with the smaller-to-medium sized companies is trying to capture the flow of skilled people that are available – and in demand! I tell company heads that you can’t run your business efficiently if you’re concentrating on utility bills or space or how to make your building more sustain-able and energy-efficient. They’re asking how do you do the things that you guys do on a daily basis as well as putting asset registers together or utilising space more efficiently. I’m saying that’s where you need an outsourced FM team, and it’s not so much about cost-saving as it is about improving efficiencies.

“There are all sorts of things many company heads don’t think about because they’re concentrating on the core busi-ness. What’s the first activity that gets cut in a business in down times? It’s mainten-ance! What’s going to happen three years down the line is that equipment is going to have to be replaced because it hasn’t been maintained.”

So we an anomalous situation at present, driven more voraciously by the lack of confidence, in which outsourced companies are able to choose which RFP is going to work best for them. It can also mean a trying time devising an RFP that you may have to guess will work in the future and will be compatible with others within the company.

“Because the companies we know are growing and moving into Africa, you may have an RFP from a medium to large sized company in South Africa and at the same time you have three RFPs in Africa. You’re busy juggling all the RFPs and they’re working for you, despite all the vagaries of exchange rates, cultures, and the like, the point that you have to be asking yourself is do you now concentrate on one big one in South Africa or focus on your African portfolio?

“You’ve got to work on what the stra-tegic value is of staying in South Africa – these are all starting to play into the RFP. Competition among players is also becoming tougher – and there are some really big players out there – Bidvest FM,

Tsebo, Servest. There has to be some kinds of differentiation and mix of offerings. So the market is pressurised while becom-ing dynamically different at the same time. I also see this as the industry maturing, growing pains, big companies consolidat-ing, like with the recent KTH Servest deal, and what these companies are now doing is offering one-stop shops.”

He says that company heads who need to tie in with outsourced companies need to know what is happening in their busi-nesses non-core wise, so the outsourced people can be properly briefed, while they themselves are able to offer their pearls of wisdom which have been gained mainly by trial and error over a long period of time.

“I think even the consultants are busier than usual now because say a medium-sized company decides he needs FM and won’t know how to put a contract together for this, here is where the consultants help.”

He says that naturally the growth in FM is excellent, but he has also seen some instances where companies are thinking of pulling FM bank in-house, mainly as a cost-saver.

“I must warn these people that the research they conducted when they were looking to outsource must be conducted with the same kind of vigour when thinking of bringing FM back in. There are many companies who have seen how expertly the FM teams operate in an outsourced regime, and they feel that they could do the same. They believe it will be cheaper because they don’t have to pay a manage-ment fee. What they seem to forget is that the skillset that was embodied within the outsourced team has now gone and even if a lone in-house FM person is left, he or she will not be able to encapsulate all that was there, and specialists will have to be hired at great cost. I fail to see where any kind of saving is here.

“The point is, don’t try and do it on the cheap. You need the skillset to free you to concentrate on your business, and pay attention to the fact that there so many RFPs around. There’s a very good reason for that! FM skills are needed – and it’s a scenario that’s been played out across the world. Take note, chose wisely and you’ll be on your way to success.” n

• What do you think about the outsourced or in-house situation? Each has pros and cons and has to fit the strategy of a company. Email the editor, [email protected], and let’s hear your views.

Paul M’Crystal, Gauteng Regional Head of Facilities Management, Corporate Real Estate Solutions at Barclays Africa, and Chairman of SAFMA

“The point is, don’t try and

do it on the cheap. You need

the skillset to free you to

concentrate on your business,

and pay attention to the

fact that there so many RFPs

around. There’s a very good

reason for that! FM skills are

needed – and it’s a scenario

that’s been played out across

the world. Take note,

chose wisely and you’ll be

on your way to success.

OUTSOURCING


WOMEN IN FM

Who’s who in the FM industry in South Africa? It’s time that we got to learn who our peers are and what makes them tick.This is Part 3 of “Women in FM”, which makes for great reading, highlighting a few of the movers and shakers in FM.We’ll be looking at other sector groups in the future – and you’ll come to know

WOMEN IN FM

what a diverse and fascinating range of people make up this exciting industry we’re in!


CLAIRE ODGERS

“I often say FM is the new IT

where companies are begin-

ning to realise that our skills

and expertise can seriously

contribute to the bottom line in

a very real way, and for this

reason we are being consid-

ered in a very different light to

5 and definitely 10 years ago.

Tell me a little about yourself, a brief overview…where you come from etc.I am a mother of 2 boys (24 and 20) and have been married for 25 years.

I qualified as a teacher and taught for 3 years. I then moved into the restaurant industry for 10 years where after I joined the corporate environment in 2001.

What is your job title? Regional Head of Facilities Management for Africa at Standard Chartered Bank.

Did you go straight into an FM position, or were you first appointed in another division? I joined the corporate environment in an FM position as Supervisor for the Receptionists.

Are you involved in “Operations FM” (daily maintenance, management) or “Strategic FM”, handling more boardroom involvement, strategic planning and so on? Strategic FM.

Are you in-house (with the core company) or with an outsourced company? In-house with Standard Chartered.

Paint a typical day in the life of your job.I have only been in this role for a week now so it is a little too soon to tell but I am foreseeing a great deal of travel to establish current ser-vice levels and scope of services offered in the African countries, and then aligning these with the Standard Chartered global standard where possible. Much travelling and many teleconferen-ces along with drawing up of documentation to establish a standard of FM delivery on Africa that is both relevant and sustainable. I am to be seen as the SME/CoE for FM in Africa.

Are you part of a team, or are you leader of a team? I am both a member of the Africa CRES team as well as have dotted line reports in country.

Are you recognised by management as being an integral and vital member of the business? I do feel valued and appreciated as an integral part of the organisation. I often say FM is the new IT where companies are beginning to realise that our skills and expertise can seriously con-

tribute to the bottom line in a very real way, and for this reason we are being considered in a very different light to 5 and definitely 10 years ago.

Do you attend FM courses, and have they helped in your function? Which in par-ticular would you say has been the most beneficial? Are you encouraged to attend courses, seminars and conferences? I believe that the FM practitioner should con-tinuously attend course that are varied and not just within the FM environment. Nowadays FM can extend from hard and soft services to Environmental Management, Workplace Management and Projects I have completed an FM course, one-year SAPOA short course on Property Management and am registered for the MCR (Masters of Corporate Real Estate) with CoreNet. I also believe FM practitioners should join associations which will progress the FM agenda. SAFMA is a great organisation of com-mon-minded individuals who wish to further the FM agenda in South Africa. Attending seminars and conferences will also increase exposure to FM colleagues who are always happy to share.

Do you make it your business to have knowledge about the functioning of the business – HR, IT, and so on? Absolutely! The first teams I make it my busi-ness to engage with HR, Finance, Sourcing, IT etc in a very positive way – we can’t manage our business effectively without any of these partners.

Do you find that your gender has been a boon or an impediment to your progress in the FM industry? Neither – I believe it is up to the individual to perform and be measured on delivery. What is becoming evident is that women are being sought out for Senior FM roles, as I was for my current role, as we are considered to have an edge on delivering the ‘softer’ services within a corporate environment. While I believe this is a very simplistic view of the value women bring to FM, let’s capitalise on this. :) Following on from that, do you believe that there is any kind of stigmatisation with regards to women in the industry? Not at all – FM used to have the stigma of being the service delivered by ex-PA’s, failed finance managers, or even the friendly handyman – this is gender agnostic.

25Oct / Nov 2015 FM

WOMEN IN FM

What is your ambition? Lead a CRES team in a large corporation.What would you say were the defining moments of your career so far? Defining moment 1 – When I was promoted from Hospitality Manager to Head of FM at EY after only one year. The COO demonstrated faith in me, and with his support I delivered as promised.Defining moment 2 – Accepting the offer to work at (then) Absa Capital (now Absa CIB). Effectively this was a sideways move from a compensation perspective but I identified the potential both within Absa Capital and the larger Absa environment. This paid off tremen-dously as I worked my way up the ladder to Principal in two short years, finishing off there managing 1,2 million m2 of real estate.

Do you believe it takes a certain kind of personality to fit into the FM industry? Yes I do believe this. “No” can never be part of your vocabulary, even if what the client is ask-ing for is impossible, we have to find a reason-able and appropriate solution for the request. Also we have to be able to accept and work positively with criticism – being defensive is not an answer in our industry.

Would you recommend this career to others? Of course – there is never a dull moment and the only constant is change in this profession. It would be nice to see a generation of young-sters who aspire to FM rather than how we ‘fell’ into the role.

Personally…..What are your core values? Integrity, Service Excellence, Honesty, Respect.

What is your view on leadership? I believe that the only true indication of a leader is the number of followers – and people will only follow leaders who they can respect and admire and learn from.

Is ethics important in leadership? Yes.

Are you a ‘born leader’? How would you define your attitude as a business leader? I don’t know if anyone is a ‘born’ leader. I am able to adapt how I operate and manage people as a situation requires. I believe in being very clear about expectations of my team, along with timing on delivery and scope of delivery. This clears up any confusion and the team is well aware of the above. I also ensure

that deliverables are realistic, but at the same time non-delivery is not tolerated. I would rather be made aware of slippage of goals than being caught unawares when some-thing is not delivered. I also leave my team to ‘manage their own business’ and never get caught up in their detail – they know they can call on me as they need.

What makes you good at what you do? Being service driven and delivering on expecta-tions – it’s not brain surgery to succeed in FM, just to ensure that you delivery on what you have committed to.

How do you ensure self-development? How do you manage this process? I am responsible for my own development. All three of the corporates I have worked for have happily sponsored my development but it is up to me to find what I need and to ask the corporate to sponsor it. No one is going to do this for me, and no one else understands what I need to develop.

How do you inspire colleagues and employees? Not sure – maybe you should ask them.... if I have to answer I often hear it is the example I set as well as my work ethic.

How do you measure success?On output.

What message would you like to give to others thinking of joining the industry?Join it and surround yourself with like-minded colleagues to encourage and inspire you.

How do you handle failure? What did you learn from it? I learn from every failure. I am happy to take one on the chin but ensure that the very next thing I do is articulate what I have learned in order for the event never to happen again.

Who is you role model generally, and in the industry? Generally – my brother and brother-in-law. Both of them are CEO’s and I often reflect how they would react/respond when I am faced with challenging situations. In the industry – Wendy Cuthbert who was Barclays Global head of FM and now Head of CRES for Barclays Africa Group.

What legacy would you like to leave behind? A great team when I leave a company who I have supported to the position to manage without me.

What is your vision for the industry? These are exciting times and I look forward to professionalising FM in Africa – raising the bar higher than even our first world counterparts. We are better at this industry than we think!

What makes you happy? My family and succeeding personally in anything I do. n


NIRVANI SINGH

Tell me a little about yourself, a brief overview…where you come from etc.I am currently a principal consultant with over 20 years of experience

in FM. I have consulted and worked in various sectors which include but not limited to tele-communications, media, retail and public. I was born in Newcastle KZN where I spent most of my childhood and schooling years. I am cur-rently pursuing my DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) at GIBS and have a consulting company called TeamFM which affords me the flexibility to still be part of the industry while studying.

What are your qualifications?BSc (Quantity Surveying) at UCT, MBA at University of Stellenbosch, Accredited Facilities Professional. Currently studying for a DBA (Doctorate in Business Administration) at GIBS

What is your job title?Principal Consultant

Did you go straight into an FM position, or were you first appointed in another division?When I joined the FM industry in 1995, it was virtually unheard of. I had resigned my previous position as a project manager for a construction company and took a year of maternity leave. So after a year, I was eager to get back into the work environment. I was offered a position at the City of Cape Town as a Professional Officer responsible for their Central Maintenance Services Unit. This unit was responsible for assisting other departments with maintenance issues. FM in South Africa is still under-represented hence not many people are attracted to this industry. However, I believe with SAFMA FM accreditation this will now change and it would become as recognised as Engineering, Quantity Surveying and other professional careers. FM is, however, a recognised profession especially in the first world countries.

Are you involved in “Operations FM” (daily maintenance, management) or “Strategic FM”, handling more boardroom involvement, strategic planning and so on?Have extensive experience in operational and strategic FM – over 20 years FM experience

Are you in-house (with the core company) or with an outsourced company?Used to be in-house but now doing consulting

Are you part of a team, or are you leader of a team?Senior Facilities Manager

Are you recognised by management as being an integral and vital member of the business?FM has a long road ahead to get recognition and move from the “boiler room to the boardroom.” Very few organisations recognise the true worth of FM and the importance of the value add at a strategic level.

Do you attend FM courses, and have they helped in your function? Which in particular would you say has been the most beneficial? Are you encouraged to attend courses, seminars and conferences?I do give courses on Strategic FM. I do believe that a more formal course structure in line with the approved accreditation is needed. This would give FM more credibility and encourage people to proactively consider this as a career path.

Do you make it your business to have a knowledge about the functioning of the business – HR, IT, and so on?Understanding the business and the operations and needs of each department is critical to deliver an exceptional FM service offering which is what is needed.

If you are part of an outsourced operation, does your company adhere strictly to SLAs, or has there been misunderstandings on both sides? How were they resolved?This in my opinion is a failure in FM service delivery. The outsourced relationship is not clearly defined and the expectations of the organisation employing the outsourced partner is unrealistic. Companies are quick to outsource FM to get rid of perceived problems or to cut costs. SLAs look good on paper but impractical to implement.Outsourced partners tend to over-promise and under-deliver. They try to implement generic sys-tems and solutions from first world countries with minor modifications which can be disastrous as South Africa is not operating at that level.

“This in my opinion is a

failure in FM service delivery.

The outsourced relationship

is not clearly defined and

the expectations of the

organisation employing

the outsourced partner

is unrealistic.

Companies are quick

to outsource FM to get rid

of perceived problems or

to cut costs. SLAs look good

on paper but impractical

to implement.

27Oct / Nov 2015 FM

Do you find that your gender has been a boon or an impediment to your prog-ress in the FM industry?No.

Following on from that, do you believe that there is any kind of stigmatisation with regards to women in the industry?I have not had any negative experience.

What is your ambition?I believe that I have reached a level in my career where I can use my knowledge to add value to organisations with FM departments in distress hence my move into consulting. I would also like to offer more FM training courses that are aligned with the approved accreditations to advance FM.

What would you say were the defining moments of your career so far?Having the realisation that I have the know-ledge to give back to FM by consulting and hence forming my own company.

Do you believe it takes a certain kind of personality to fit into the FM industry?Yes, strong, calm under pressure, making dif-ficult decisions and standing by it, good moral compass – this industry is open to bribes. I have been offered a fully paid trip to Malaysia for my family which I declined. My response to these offers was always – what I really need is a 25 hour day.

Would you recommend this career to others?Yes, especially with the accreditations, it can become a lucrative and fulfilling career. There will always be building, hence always FM.

Personally…..What are your core values?Honesty, uncompromising ethical values

What is your view on leadership?I subscribe to servant leadership principles such as but not limited to:• Valuing diverse opinions.• Cultivating a culture of trust.• Developing other leader.• Helping people with life issues.• Thinking long-term.• Acting with humility.

Is ethics important in leadership?Ethics is essential.

What are the key competencies to being a successful team player?Having a single team goal, respect for team members, focus on “we” not “I”

What makes you good at what you do?The nature and passion for my work motivates me.

How do you ensure self-development? How do you manage this process?I love research and investigating new trends. Self-development is my responsibility and not my organisation’s.

How do you inspire colleagues and employees?Treating everyone with respect and operating on the principle of honesty.

How do you measure success?Satisfied clients, achieving tasks and goals that I set out to do.

As an ancillary support to the core business, do you go above and beyond your role to ensure corporate competi-tiveness?The FM team needs to go beyond their core services and operate at a strategic level to offer a cost-effective yet comprehensive sup-port service.

What message would you like to give to others thinking of joining the industry?Go for it – every day is a new learning experi-ence and it’s anything but routine.

How do you handle failure? What did you learn from it?To fail is human. Learn from it and move on.

Who is you role model generally, and in the industry?FM Industry: John Samuel and Leslie Bergh – They have amazing insight into FM solutions and understand this industry at all levels.

What is your vision for the industry?FM becoming a fully-fledged and recognised profession where people can study to become a professional in their own right.

What makes you happy?Living a balanced life, following my dream and having the time to be with my family. n

“I believe that I have reached

a level in my career where

I can use my knowledge to

add value to organisations

with FM departments in

distress hence my move into

consulting. I would also like

to offer more FM training

courses that are aligned with

the approved accreditations

to advance FM.

WOMEN IN FM


0861 372 653 | enquiry. [email protected] | www.zipsa.co.za

TECHNOLOGY

As computer technology has become more advanced, it has also become more sensitive to fluctuations in the voltage and sup-ply of electricity. On-going power

issues continue to be a major cause of computer and server downtime, and can have long-term repercussions on the reliability of equipment and the availability and integrity of data.

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) has thus become an essential component of any end-to-end technology or computing solution. As a critical component of these systems, it is essential to ensure the UPS is optimally main-tained, operational and ready to take over or bridge power supply at all times.

There are many components of a UPS that need to be looked after to deliver effective functionality. However, without some form of monitoring, this becomes a challenging task, and organisations often only detect problems after the fact, when it is too late. Ensuring your UPS is able to effectively communicate its status at

IS YOUR UPS TALKING TO YOU?

all times, both on location and remotely, is critical to ensuring that power supply truly does remain uninterrupted through outages and load shedding.

The current power challenges in South Africa have highlighted the need for a UPS backup solu-tion – something which in the past has typically been a grudge purchase conducted only after a disastrous event such as data loss. Many organi-sations now see this equipment as critical, and a standard part of equipment.

However, what the majority of enterprises fail to realise is that without the ability to communi-cate with the UPS to determine its status, there are many things that can go wrong. If the UPS cannot communicate effectively with connected equipment, it will be unable to perform one of its primary functions, namely the ability to ensure a graceful shutdown of equipment when mains power supply is unavailable. While many UPS solutions provide battery backup power, this runs only for a limited time, and before battery life is depleted the UPS should ensure that equipment is shut down safely.

By Marco Da Silva


IS YOUR UPS TALKING TO YOU?

Further to this, the ability to proactively monitor and maintain a UPS is essential for optimum functionality and ensuring the UPS is operating at maximum efficiency. The UPS is a critical piece of equipment, but itself is also technology that includes a number of components that may potentially fail if they are not managed and maintained effectively.

Simple preventative maintenance should be performed regularly, however, without the ability to communicate with the UPS it is difficult to test and monitor functionality. If a UPS is in fault mode or at risk of failing, and organisations are unaware of this, they may be left in a tight spot should the power fails and the UPS fails to start up and perform its primary function.

Organisations today require simple yet advanced ways of monitoring the status of the UPS and all of its components. This can easily be achieved with the addition of a basic, web-based Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) card, which delivers a simple and easy to operate mon-itoring interface.

The SNMP card allows businesses to connect into their UPS solution to view the UPS and its various components and functions from anywhere in the world via a static IP address. This in turn allows for proactive monitoring and maintenance and the swift resolution of problems. The

solution provides a web interface as well as email communications and added on SMS functionality, so that alerts can be sent out if any components mail fail or any customised thresholds are met.

Utilising this type of SNMP card, organi-sations can remotely monitor the status of their UPS, including voltage, current, bypass, utility power and more, and can take advantage of web-based network mon-itoring. In addition, utilising IP-based power software, organisations can also leverage centralised monitoring, unified management and graceful shutdown of equipment.

Alerts can be sent out via a number of channels including SMS and email with warnings for configured alerts such as power failure, low voltage battery, UPS fault alarm, input power, output power and more. These problems can then be dealt with, to ensure functionality remains optimal. The solution also delivers a variety of reports to ensure that maintenance can be schedule timeously.

Having a reliable, powerful web-based interface solution that is integrated with the multi-network communication protocols can enable comprehensive easy-to-understand remote monitoring and management of UPS systems. This allows organisations to pro-actively prevent downtime on their UPS and ensure this critical backup tool is available whenever it is required. n

Marco Da Silva is Managing Director of Power Solutions, The Jasco Group

“Having a reliable, powerful

web-based interface solution that

is integrated with the multi-network

communication protocols can enable

comprehensive easy-to-understand

remote monitoring and management

of UPS systems.

31Oct / Nov 2015 FM

BOUNDARY-LESS DATA CENTRE CHALLENGE

Removing the traditional bound-aries of both technology and IT service models has become key to competitive differentiation and agility, and one important area

of this lies within the data centre. The data centre, as the hub of business service delivery, is key to leveraging the potential of a world unfettered by geography. The Boundary-less Data centre (BLDC) has become an indis-pensable tool to provide the foundation of the boundary-less digital business journey.

Seven steps towards a BLDCMigrating from a traditional datacentre service hub to a Boundary-less service hub requires a clear roadmap to guide direction and out-comes.

This process can be summed up into seven recommended steps: 1. Define business outcomes – it is essential

to firstly understand what needs to be achieved from a business and IT perspec-tive, whether the goal is to reduce cost, improve robustness and scalability of infra-structure, enhanced flexibility and resiliency, or any other goal. Measurable metrics and success criteria for each outcome should also be delivered.

2. Understand the environment – organisa-tions should assess their current datacentre assets and systems and identify any gaps that exist. An inventory list of assets should be built, and interdependencies between processes, systems and contracts must be mapped to create an understanding of workloads, capacity, usage and perform-ance. This is essential for insight into where modernisation opportunities exist, where assets may need replacing, and where investment in infrastructure is required.

Technology without boundaries has revolutionised the way people work, play and do business, as organisations and their customers have dispersed across the world, unhindered by actual physical location. From cloud services and web-scale IT to the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, advanced analytics and smart machines, boundaries between technologies have been broken down, creating vast new opportunities for business.

3. Prepare for transformation – when embarking on the BLDC journey a workload-centric approach is essential. It is necessary to forecast and assess supply and demand for the workload today and in future, and define business parameters such as regulatory and compliance requirements, data criticality, and integration with the core business processes. Scalability and security requirements must also be defined. From this, a blueprint for extending services within and beyond trad-itional data centres into external cloud can be developed and a return on investment analy-sis conducted.

4. Create central command and control – man-aging and monitoring a BLDC requires cen-tralised control, which also ensures a holistic means of provisioning the service catalogue, and creates the required chargeback mech-anisms for various business units. It also creates identity and access control for end users for the services they require, in addition to providing reports and analytics for the ser-vices they consume.

5. Migrate workloads – utilising appropriate migration tools, workloads need to be re-allo-cated and redistributed as required to reach the target state. It is important to focus on automation and standardisation of workloads. The key during this step is safe and secure migration without disruption. To reduce the risk of service outages, it is recommended to use certified reference architectures and proven migration processes.

6. Operate and manage – once the BLDC is up and running it is essential to ensure that it continues to be driven by innovation and appropriate guidance. Opting for a BLDC as a managed service can help organisations to ensure this is achieved, maintaining and providing operational insight and critical input

for capacity planning, efficiencies and risk management. Operational IT processes, monitoring and service management also need to be tweaked to fit in with the model, and organisations need to move from trad-itional IT Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to business Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that are based on the required out-comes.

7. Re-evaluate success criteria – businesses are constantly changing, and models and processes must therefore keep pace. If success criteria and metrics change, the BLDC must be able to deliver according to these new requirements in order to remain relevant.

The above seven-step process towards a BLDC is supported and enabled by the fol-lowing transformational solution components. These include: assessment and target place-ments; a workload-centric approach; refer-ence architecture; software-define datacentre and programmable infrastructure; migration processes; a cloud management portal or cloud service brokerage; and security. The BLDC has the best chance of success when it is based on reference architectures and cloud blueprints that are tried and tested.

Working with manufacturers and service provider partners who validate and support the BLDC architecture is essential to suc-cess. Utilising the right process assets and tools and partnering with an expert provider can help organisations to develop replicable workload-centric, software-defined and hyper resilient solutions, which ultimately means agility and flexibility in a boundary-less world.

Milind Halapeth is general manager and global head, Cloud and Datacentre Practice, Global Infrastructure Services (GIS), Wipro Ltd.

TECHNOLOGY

By Milind Halapeth


SECURITY

Green FM


At AIRAH’s The Future of HVAC 2015 Conference which was held in Melbourne recently Aurecon Development Leader: Property, Jeffrey Robinson,

discussed the future of sustainable uni-versity buildings and how these trends are impacting the type and form of new and refurbished university buildings.

“We are starting to see new ways in which these buildings are providing efficient and comfortable environments for the build-ing occupants using a combination of good passive design, mixed mode heating and cooling, together with local occupant con-trol,” says Robinson.

Learning methods continue to evolve, which also impacts on how these buildings

HOW SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS OF LEARNING WILL LOOK

FUTURE UNIVERSITIES:

Universities are creating dramatically different ways of teaching and interacting with their students. Students and staff want buildings that facilitate communication and collaboration, are healthy and comfortable to occupy, while minimising any negative impacts on the environment. There is also a real interest in better understanding how these buildings are performing, and learning what works and what does not, using embedded sensors and real time monitoring.

The Box Hill Institute building – Integrated technology hub.

FUTURE UNIVERSITIES:

35Oct / Nov 2015 FM

are designed. With the new teaching meth-ods that universities are adopting, there is a greater emphasis on collaborative learning and less on traditional ‘chalk and talk’ lec-tures. There is also far more interest from students and staff on how well their univer-sity performs from a sustainability perspec-tive. In the United Kingdom and America, students can assess the sustainability of the universities they are considering attending, using publications such as The People & Planet University League in the UK and The Princeton Review’s Guide to 353 Green Colleges in the USA.

“Many leading universities in Australia and overseas have policies that their new and refurbished buildings shall achieve minimum sustainability standards such as

Green Star and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) stan-dards. Several Universities in Australia are following the example of Perth’s Curtin University by seeking to have their whole campus rated using the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star Communities rating. There is also a real interest in better understanding how these buildings are performing,” says Robinson.

According to Robinson, consulting engineers and built environment pro-fessionals continue to find new ways in which these buildings provide com-fortable, sustainable environments. Some of the examples he cited during his presentation include the University of Melbourne School of Design (MSD) and the Box Hill Institute’s Integrated Technology Hub (ITH).

“Leading universities can see the multiple benefits they can derive from constructing their new and refurbished buildings as sustainable buildings, includ-ing operating savings, improved learning outcomes and the positive publicity which will help them attract students and research funding,” says Robinson.

“Universities are starting to use their buildings of learning to teach their built environment, design and construction students how to design and construct buildings which provide comfortable environments for the building occupants. This is an important trend that will help guide the design of sustainable university buildings in the future,” he says.

MSD is an excellent contemporary example of a Living, Learning Building. The state-of-the-art academic facility was designed by John Wardle Architects (Melbourne) in collaboration with NADAAA (Boston). Aurecon acted as Project Manager in 2009 for the AUD129 million project and also contributed geo-technical, building services, façade and land surveying expertise from concept through to completion.

The building designers worked closely with the University to incorporate sensors (energy, water, CO2, humidity, temper-ature and flux) throughout the building. The information that the sensors record through the building management sys-tem is displayed on screens in the lobby to provide real-time information on the amount of energy and water the building is using.

“The building was designed to con-nect to its users and the real-time display

of this information shows the building occupants how they are using the building and how it is performing. The entire design and construction process has been carefully documented and recorded, and members of the design team have given lectures to students of the Architecture, Planning and Construction schools, as well as the wider construction and property com-munities,” said Robinson.

The MSD building has been awarded a 6-Star Green Star Design - Education Design v1 rating by the Green Building Council of Australia and is the first education facility to be awarded the maximum 10 Green Star innovation credits.

Aurecon worked alongside the architect, Spowers, to create a func-tional, sustainable and comfortable learning environment for the Box Hill Institute’s ITH. The new building is a purpose-designed technical skills edu-cation facility that can accommodate up to 800 people and consists of a 4-level development with a usable floor area of 5 500m2.

“Many of the students attending the ITH are learning about the design, construction and maintenance of air-conditioning systems, and this building was designed to demonstrate both good passive design and energy and water efficient air-conditioning systems. Four different types of HVAC systems were provided to service the building and allow the students to understand how much space is required to install and maintain these systems, as well as demonstrating how the different systems operate,” said Robinson.

Not only do university buildings continue to evolve to be greener and more energy efficient, but the build-ing design also assists the institute to showcase best practice building services, sustainability design and operation.

“University buildings of the future will be increasingly conscious of energy and water consumption, waste and indoor environment quality. They will also use these initiatives to teach future architects, designers, engineers and planners how buildings function, why it’s important and how the future generation of built environment pro-fessionals can continue to improve on lessons learned,” says Robinson. n

Green FM News

Counsellor Ruby Mathang, MMC Economic Development of the City of Joburg has announced the winners in The Green City Startup, a R5-million competition aimed at

unearthing creative green entrepreneurs whose ideas could help boost Johannesburg’s green culture.

This initiative of the Green Challenge Fund, was developed by The City of Johannesburg, in partnership with the University of Johannesburg and Resolution Circle. Resolution Circle is the University of Johannesburg’s technology com-mercialisation company and incubator.

The challenge began nine months ago when the City sought ideas that could change the

MEET CITY OF JOBURG’S NEW GREEN ENTREPRENEURS

world and accelerate innovation in the city. Eighty six proposals were reduced to eight. Each of the eight finalists received R250 000 to build a prototype of their idea and were offered in-depth technical support to improve their ideas and help them present their pitches. These finalists presented their prototypes and business to a panel of judges including an independent team of entrepre-neurs and technical experts earlier this month.

Paseka Lesolang from WHC won R1-million for his Leak-Less Valve which pre-vents up to 70% of the water loss in the case of a toilet leak.

Sean Moolman from PowerOptimal was awarded R500 000 for his PowerOptimal

power demand management technology which helps reduce peak power demand by 30% to 50%, with very little impact on activ-ities. For commercial customers this can mean a 20% saving on their electricity bill.

Gabriel Ally from GezaJozi won R300 000 for the Recycle e-Trike – a 500w electric-ally-assisted tricycle. It is designed to double the output of trolley recyclers and improve their safety on the road. It can transport 150kg of recyclable waste over a distance of 50km.

Yolandi Schoeman from Baoberry has an AqueouSphere floating treatment wetland that can help address the City of Johannesburg’s water and sanitation challenges due to urbani-sation. For this she won R300 000.

All the winners: Gabriel Ally from GezaJozi, Paseka Lesolang from WHC, Yolandi Schoeman from Baoberry and Sean Moolman from PowerOptimal


MEET CITY OF JOBURG’S NEW GREEN ENTREPRENEURS

Cllr Mathang explained, “The develop-ment of a green economy is one of the City of Johannesburg’s core strategic objectives. This is aligned with the National Development Plan, which calls for mutual benefits between sustain-able development and low carbon, increasing employment and reducing inequality. It is also aligned with the provincial strategy, which states ‘we will make the transition towards clean, innovative, resource efficient, low carbon tech-nologies and infrastructure’.”

It also addresses the City’s Integrated Development Plan, which emphasises job cre-ation and income generation through waste recycling, energy diversification, green re-fleeting for the city’s fleet, public and private transport

vehicles and the city becoming a leader in innovation in the green economy.

Says Ravi Naidoo, Executive Director: Economic Development, “We were looking for ideas that were immediately scalable and entries were open to start-ups, SMEs and part-nerships in the areas of energy, waste, water, transport or buildings. Due to the success of this initiative, we will run it again in 2016.

“The Green City Startup competition has been a vivid demonstration of what a “triple helix” – a partnership of government, aca-demia, and business — can achieve. We want to expand the size of the programme, by inviting the private sector to join us in build-ing the innovation system in Johannesburg.

The city has provided the seed funding, and we have created partnerships with world-class expertise, in our judges and our technical partners. This provides an effective platform to find and support some of the best entrepreneurial talent in Johannesburg.

“In addition, we have established a Research and Innovation Chair in the Green Economy at the University of Johannesburg. A world class researcher has been recruited to take up the chair, and a cohort of strong post-graduate students and researchers is being formed, with further support from the city.” n

“The challenge began nine months ago when the

City sought ideas that could change the world and

accelerate innovation in the city. Eighty six propos-

als were reduced to eight. Each of the eight finalists

received R250 000 to build a prototype of their idea.

G Johan Theron and Sean Moolman from PowerOptimal

H Gabriel Ally on his Recyle e-TrikeB Winners Sean Moolman of Power Optimal and Paseka Lesolang from WHC

D Million rand cheque Paseka Lesolang from WHC J Acting mayor of CoJ Ruby Mathang

37Oct / Nov 2015 FM

Green FM News

SMART GRIDS - UNLOCKING THE POWER OF GREEN ENERGY

South Africa remains heavily reliant on traditional sources of power generation – with green energy sources contributing just a fraction of the coun-

try’s total power output. However, with immense solar and wind resources at our disposal, SA is ideal for the adoption of renewable energy.

From a power perspective, the past decade has been characterised by a utility that has struggled to keep up with rapidly escalating consumer demand, as millions of new households have started consuming power from the national grid. Developing new coal-fired or nuclear sources – which also causes irreparable damage to our environment – is simply not keeping pace with demand.

However, for green energy in South Africa to move from pipe-dream to reality, the most fundamental starting point is the introduction of smart grid and smart metering platforms. Smart grids have the capabilities to accurately measure and bill, and to connect household solar or wind generation that can feed power back to the grid. At T-Systems, we advocate the concept of ‘The Internet of Energy’: a vision where the national grid becomes a central hub, where millions of households produce small amounts of green energy and trade it efficiently and instantaneously using smart grid technology.

As power supply becomes decen-tralised, regions become micro-grids, exchanging electricity where it is needed. In fact, we use the analogy of the internet itself. In the early days of the internet, all individuals were simply passive consumers of online content and services. But over the past decade or so, we’ve have started producing increasing levels of content our-selves (“the social media revolution”).

Now, we have the opportunity to stimulate the same trend in the Internet

of Energy, and transform every household or office into a ‘personal power plant’ that generates its own green electricity. Imagine opening up an app on your cellphone, and transmitting stored energy to other users, just as easily as we share digital content by uploading it to the Internet.

We also believe South African consumers are increasingly ready to seriously adopt renewable energy – for a number of reasons:• Environmental consciousness and con-

cerns.• Avoiding the massive annual price hikes

we’re currently enduring.• The opportunity to start making money by

selling power back to the utility.• Avoiding load-shedding.• For use in extremely remote areas where

electricity is not available. With the introduction of a smart grid eco-system, the national power utility is able to benefit from a cost-effective and clean power supply, sourced from millions of households. This is a far better alternative to the multi-year, massive capex investments associated with traditional power plants.

In this way, the utility evolves from being a simple producer and distributor of elec-tricity, to a broader energy service provider. While maintaining their core business of pro-ducing power, the utility can also guide con-sumers on their path to generating their own electricity, and manage the central grid over which all of the transactions take place.

So, what needs to happen for this to become a reality?

Currently, we find ourselves in a state where there are insufficient incentives to move to clean energy. Implementing solar technology within the household costs in the tens or the hundreds of thousands of rand – which is out of reach for most consumers.

So firstly, the costs of solar panels, bat-teries and the related equipment needs to drop, and the technology needs to continue

improving (to better consume and store the power). Added to this, more incentive programmes need to be introduced, to help stimulate the trend towards clean energy. The possible introduction of a CO2 emis-sions tax at a household level may further inspire the migration to renewables.

When all of these dynamics converge, we will reach a tipping point: as more households embrace renewables, the econ-omies of scale will start driving down prices even more rapidly. The Internet of Energy promises to redefine the way energy is pro-duced, stored, distributed and consumed. It requires a coming-together of the energy and the IT sectors, to bring to life the excit-ing vision – where consumers start becom-ing producers and sellers of green energy. n

Martin Vergunst, is business solutions executive at T-Systems South Africa

By Martin Vergunst


SMART GRIDS - UNLOCKING THE POWER OF GREEN ENERGY S

witched-on facility managers and others tasked with the performance of infrastructure assets realise that sustainable energy efficiency is no longer a nice to have, but an essential element of a company’s long-term feasibility and credibility. Not only does progressing to sustainable solar energy result

in reduced electricity bills, it also leads to a lifetime of low maintenance costs.

A further spin-off is that a roof-mounted solar installation provides highly visible demonstration of a company’s commitment to sustainability. Such social proof can help shape a company’s brand story, bolster its reputation and add value to the building.

A case in point is the project underway at Cape Town’s landmark V&A Waterfront, at which Sustainable Power Solutions™ (SPS) is install-ing solar PV plants on eight rooftops of the key buildings, as part of the iconic property’s sustainability strategy to switch to sustainable energy.

SPS was awarded the tender as Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company. The successful EPC chose SolarWorld Africa as the Photovoltaic Module Supplier.

SPS is one of the market-leading commercial sector EPC companies in Southern Africa, with projects in all South African provinces, in Namibia, and as far as Saint Helena Island. Total installed power capacity to date is over 5,5 MWpeak. A further 2,3 MWpeak is under construction and will go online before year-end.

The ground breaking project spanning more than 7 500 m2 of roof space will produce an estimated 1 640 000 kWh (units of clean energy) and reduce the V&A’s carbon emissions by 1 610 tonnes per year. This system will produce on average 4 495 kWh daily - enough energy to supply one day’s worth of electricity to 310 average-sized households.

MD of SPS, Axel Scholle: “It is a privilege to be a part of this flagship project. We pride ourselves on our focus on quality components and I am most satisfied that our professional team of engineers is on track to deliver this project on time and within budget, particularly as we are working on a live site and are rolling out projects in parallel.

It takes some doing to deliver work in compliance with their ISO 9001:2008 certification, without disrupting Africa’s most-visited destination.

The V&A Waterfront’s Executive Manager of Operations, Colin Devenish said, “We are committed to ensuring our environmental and sustainability measures and initiatives are at the forefront of all our business practices. We believe that this project enables us to deliver world-class standards that can be measured against responsible business practices.”

Through this ambitious project – as with their other 5.5 MWpeak installations – Sustainable Power Solutions™ has endeavoured to deliver an asset that will produce consistent and predictable monthly bottom-line savings as well meeting environmental objectives.

Through careful planning, customer focused design, sensible engineering and astute procurement, the SPS team is proving once again that the correct choice of end-to-end (turnkey) EPC can indeed help turn a facility around - from being an endlessly draining cost centre into an environmentally responsible, low-maintenance value-generator. n

SOLAR ENERGY CAN GENERATE BRAND VALUE

Tel: +27 (0)21 851 [email protected] www.powersolutions.co.za

While the cost of electricity from the utility provider continuesto climb, the price of solar alternatives has dropped dramatically.

Now, more than ever, it makes perfect sense to offset yourcompany's electricity bill through the installation of a solarenergy plant at your premises - either roof or ground mounted.

Solar means clean, sustainable energy. A long-term, low-maintenance, eco-responsible solution. A visible demonstrationof your company's green credentials. And a saving you'll seeon your electricity bill month after month.

Contact us for info, arrange a visit by an engineer or view ourlatest work (including the iconic 1093.8 kWp V&A Waterfrontproject under construction) on powersolutions.co.za.

Sustainable Power Solutions (Pty) Ltd specialises in the Engineering design,Procurement and Construction (EPC) of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants for commercialand industrial companies. The leading South African PV EPC, with a 5 MW proventrack record throughout SA and in Namibia for commercial, predominantly roof-top,

grid-connected systems since 2010, and with 2.3 MW under construction.

Led by a professional engineer. ECSA registered. SANAS accredited. BBBEE Level 3contributor. Member of SAPVIA and GBCSA. CIDB Level 5 EP rating.

ISO 9001:2008 certified

500 kWp solarPV plant at Bayside

Mall, Tableview.Produces 2 100 kWh

daily, enough to supply 150average households

every day.

WITH ELECTRICITY COSTSGOING THROUGH THE ROOF,

IT PAYS TO HAVESUSTAINABLE POWER SOLUTIONS™

ON TOP OF IT.

39Oct / Nov 2015 FM

Green FM News

The SA Paint Manufacturing Association (SAPMA) has advised the SA Department of Health that the government’s failure to prosecute paint

manufacturers with hazardous levels of lead in their paint products was not only hampering SAPMA’s quest for the total elimination of lead in paints, but would also severely embarrass South Africa if plans to stage a global ‘anti-lead-in-paint’ conference here in 2018 came to fruition.

SAPMA was recently advised by the International Paint and Printing Ink Council (IPPIC) that it was strongly con-sidering holding its 2018 conference – at which lead in paint would be a major topic – in South Africa. The interest in staging the top level conference here was inspired by IPPIC’s admiration for SAPMA’s pioneering anti-lead campaign in Africa. IPPIC, in fact, presented a paper on SAPMA’s African success at a Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paints (GAELIP) meeting, organised by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), in India late last year.

IPPIC - a Washington-based global NGO that has consultative status with UNEP - had approached SAPMA (which is a member of IPPIC) for a full report of its South African anti-lead campaign to showcase progress being made for this cause on the African continent.

In the paper, prepared for IPPIC by SAPMA Executive Director, Deryck Spence, SAPMA stated that the SA coat-ings industry had over many years been maligned and accused by the SA gov-ernment of being the major contributor to the lead poisoning of children as a result of high levels of lead pigments being used in the manufacture of enamel paints in South Africa.

The UN Forum was told that SAPMA had taken a leading role in voluntar-ily eliminating soluble lead in the early 1970s, in line with British and European standards, as well the establishment of the legislation under the auspices of the Hazardous Substance Act which was

WARNING TO GOVT ON PAINT APATHY

promulgated in 2009. SAPMA has also con-tinuously proclaimed that companies still using lead pigments in the production of enamel paints, should be prosecuted under the terms of local legislation. But the pleas to the SA Department of Health had fallen on deaf ears, he stated in his paper.

“SAPMA has also participated jointly with the SA Department of Health in numerous awareness campaigns regarding lead in paint, but feel strongly that perpetrators will continue offending because lead pigments are cheaper than alternatives, unless they are prosecuted - which the S.A. government has so far failed to do,” SAPMA stated in the paper presented to GAELIP.

Deryck Spence a few weeks ago met with Ramsook Loykisoonial, the SA Department of Health Director General, in Pretoria and pointed out that SAPMA was now committed to totally freeing the coatings industry of lead in paint. This decision was reached because of the con-fusion in different legislation regarding Lead in Paint as far as “industrial” and “solved-based” paints was concerned. “All the major mem-bers of the paint industry therefore decided to simply discontinue the use of lead pigments in all paints manufactured in South Africa. But we will not be able to achieve this momentous breakthrough if the legislation prohibiting the use of lead in paint is not government-mon-itored and regulated through prosecution of offenders,” Spence told the DOH Director General.

“More importantly, if the proposed major conference - at which the elimination of lead in paint in South Africa is highlighted as a major national achievement - is to take place in an environment where lead is still prevalent in paint products, it would be highly embarrass-ing, not only for SAPMA but also the govern-ment.

“SAPMA therefore urged the Department of Health - which is apparently experiencing diffi-culty in carrying out sampling studies of paint in retail outlets - to urgently introduce a total ban on lead in paint, and to even more import-antly immediately start prosecuting offending manufacturers so that South Africa could put its house in order before the proposed 2018 conference is held in South Africa,” Spence added. n

Deryck Spence, executive director of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association


Architecture is the frame in which people experience themselves, their lives and relationships, making this discipline’s role of uplift-

ing society and building cultures more vital than ever before in South Africa. ArchitectureZA 2015 (AZA2015) proudly hosted by the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA), took place at The Sheds@1Fox in Johannesburg recently and brought students, entrepreneurs, international and national thought lead-ers together to share ideas, collaborate and debate on the future of our cities.

Over 1 000 passionate attendees collaborated at South Africa’s design event of the year, to discuss the astro-nomical responsibility of the industry – social conscious design. The conference and festival took place in the heart of Johannesburg where architecture and design have played an instrumental part in sustainably shaping the city to what it is today – a place where people can live, work and play.

Daniel van der Merwe, President of the Gauteng Institute for Architecture (GIfA), architect at PPC and AZA2015 Chair spoke about Johannesburg and how the city has been transformed: “There are a lot of old buildings that have been transformed in new spaces to aid in social responsibility. Urbanisation is happening and as we start living closer and closer to each other we need to redefine our concept of ‘space’ to support future generations’ needs.”

The conference welcomed inter-national speakers including Alfredo Brillembourg, co-founder of Urban-Think Tank (U-TT) in Caracas, Venezuela and economist, Arturo Brillembourg. The brothers spoke about their South African project, Empower Shack and the gap between a shack and low income hous-ing. The Empower Shack project, in

collaboration with Ikhayalami, seeks to upgrade informal settlements with a unique double story shack design.

Peter Kidger, Director of Marketing at Corobrik took attendees through the contribution of clay bricks to healthy, energy efficient and sus-tainable built environments. He also spoke about clay bricks’ limitless flexibility in design to create inspiring form, rich in colour and texture, with great functionality.

Another riveting speaker was Daniel Silke, political analyst and futur-ist. He emphasised that the issue of carbon growth is very important and that cities have to address it, espe-cially emerging cities. Silke stated that he believes that smaller units of living will be the future city for some parts of the world, as well as buildings that go vertical. He mentioned that collab-oration in spaces will also be a trend in urban areas. Silke ended off by highlighting the seven core attributes of cities, namely streets; water; sani-tation; policing; efficient administration and; issues of equity and sustaina-bility.

AZA2015 was a plethora of activ-ities with the screening of architectural documentary ‘The Competition’ and engaging Johannesburg tours.

“It is vital that architects and designers convene to discuss the future of our cities,” said Van der Merwe. “This year’s AZA conference did just that, bringing key role players together to discuss best practices and share ideas on steps that need to be taken for socially equipped spaces.”

AZA2015 was hosted by the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA), co-hosted by City of Johannesburg and sponsored by PPC and Corobrik. For more information on AZA2015, visit http://architectureza.org/ n

Daniel van der Merwe, President of the Gauteng Institute for Architecture

ArchitectureZA – Think-tank on sustainable cities

41Oct / Nov 2015 FM

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MELROSE ARCH AHEAD IN ECOMOBILITY T

his month (October) the City of Johannesburg is hosting the second EcoMobility World Festival, but EcoMobility is far from a new phe-nomenon in the city. In fact, the city

broke new ground in EcoMobility over a decade ago with the development of Melrose Arch.

As the globe turns its attention on the city’s EcoMobility initiatives, certain streets of the Sandton CBD – known as the richest square mile in Africa – will be dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists, while other streets will give preference to people walking, cycling and using public trans-port.

The EcoMobility World Festival is an inter-national event attended by mayors from major cities, transport decision-makers, thought leaders and innovators. The first Festival, organised in partnership with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, was held in Suwon, South Korea in 2013.

As Johannesburg gets involved in the month-long festival, intended to provide the public with an urban ecomobile experience, Melrose Arch is participating as a park-and-ride venue into Sandton, providing 200 dedicated parking bays for commuters using the Gautrain and Gautrain buses. However, at the same time,

it will showcase its own vibrant, modern and pedestrian friendly environment.

Melrose Arch is part of the Amdec Group portfolio. Amdec is a privately-owned property development and investment busi-ness recognised as South Africa’s leading developer of New Urban lifestyles.

Josef Quraishi, head of sustainability and green building for Amdec says that while the World Eco-Mobility Festival will most certainly catapult the topic of transport in major cities into popular debate, the success of such initiatives can be much more effective, and easier to implement, when urban design and planning for a pedestrian friendly environment is a forethought, rather than an afterthought. This is an advantage that Melrose Arch knows well.

“The mixed-use precinct has, from its inception, encouraged the ability for shop-pers, diners, tourists, visitors, employees and employers to capitalise on a more sustain-able way to experience life. Upon arrival at Melrose Arch, it is clear that EcoMobility is at its very heart. The designers of Melrose Arch embraced the ethos of New Urbanism and, with that thinking, the car takes second place to that of pedestrian,” explains Quraishi. n


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