Facilities managers of all types of properties must deal with critical health and safety issues.
This applies to commercial, residential and retail properties.
Various responsibilities are integral to the FM role, including:
These responsibilities are interconnected and interdependent with health and safety as core concerns.
For example, general maintenance of the building should help keep the asset safe and prevent accidents or injuries from occurring.
Also, keeping a watchful eye on health and safety is a part of general property management, helping ensure that leaseholders and tenants are satisfied. This has implications for the landlord attracting business and being able to justify charging rents at competitive rates.
Health and Safety Risk Assessments
Conducting health and safety risk assessments is a core part of the FM’s role.
These assessments should include the top health and safety challenges of facilities management:
Facilities managers must carry out fire safety inspections to meet government regulations. This requires that they identify potential fire hazards and risk areas and act to remove or reduce them.
The safety of electrical systems and devices is vital in both residential and commercial settings. This requires a regular and thorough risk assessment.
Building owners or landlords must manage asbestos and inspect buildings for which they have responsibility for any traces of it. A broad range of materials containing asbestos was used in construction up until 1999. Asbestos can be in ceiling tiles, insulation and other parts of a building’s fabric.
Legionella poses another potential health hazard. This bacteria can cause legionnaire’s disease and it grows in water tanks and systems. People can contract the disease from breathing in water droplets from air conditioning systems and plumbing. This is why regular inspection of water tanks and legionella risk assessments are a fundamental part of the FM’s role.
The biggest causes of fatal injuries are falls from high places. Accidents can happen when employees or other service providers are working at height, such as doing maintenance when up a ladder. The FM must assess risks connected with working at height.
In some locations, there is a risk of exposure to dangerous substances. Various cleaning materials, disinfectants, air fresheners and paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These can emit gases that are harmful if inhaled.
Older buildings may still contain lead pipework, which again can be potentially harmful if it gets into water supplies. Cooking and heating products can produce carbon monoxide. At high concentrations, this is harmful and can be lethal.
The FM must conduct careful risk assessments of such substances.
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Data standardisation refers to using consistent methods for collecting data, although this is a very basic and somewhat generic description of what it truly is. If we delve in deeper, data standardisation is the process used for transforming data to fit a constrained and predefined set of values – ultimately, relying on uniformity to improve efficiencies.
Data standardisation refers to using consistent methods for collecting data, although this is a very basic and somewhat generic description of what it truly is. If we delve in deeper, data standardisation is the process used for transforming data to fit a constrained and predefined set of values – ultimately, relying on uniformity to improve efficiencies.
The previous year was a roller coaster for the commercial property sector, with both landlords and tenants facing unique challenges. It looks like 2023 is also going to be a challenging year for landlords – with the higher increased rates and Section 21 changes, for instance – and for tenants as well, who are finding it to keep up with rental demands owing to the inflation and the current cost-of-living crisis.
When an economic shock or recession hits, all properties are impacted. However, commercial properties must bear most of the brunt because a lower demand in the building, sale, and letting of commercial properties means that businesses cannot function as effectively and contribute to the economy as they normally would.
There’s no escaping technology and the impact it has had on our lives, making everything from ordering something online to power up our home appliances from several miles away really easy. Technology has also fundamentally changed how landlords and letting agencies, for example, buy, manage, and operate spaces – making lives easier for tech-savvy homeowners and demanding tenants alike.
The public at large believes that housing inspections should be in the hands of local councils – at least, according to this survey. Conducted by the APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) reported that 59% of the public are in favour of Building Inspections by local councils, while 23.4% support private inspections.
In 2021, UK commercial properties contributed on average, 20% of carbon emissions, according to a report published by the Committee on Climate Change. Furthermore, in larger cities, including London, commercial buildings were responsible for more than 70% of the city’s emissions on a whole.
The UK happens to be the most influential property technology or ‘PropTech’ hub in the world, despite Brexit-related problems and uncertainty. As well as the global pandemic, which hit the UK just as hard as some of the worst-hit countries.
The commercial property sector has an important role to play in the UK economy, not only in terms of a direct and indirect output generator, but also in terms of helping retailers, financial services and other businesses boost production.
Technology can transform facilities management (FM), helping you save on costs and drive efficiencies. For many businesses and organisations, their three main expenses are: Employees, Technology, Facilities. However, in the rush to recruit talent and keep up with new technology, organisations can end up overlooking their facilities.
