Facilities Managers - new environmental guardians

TAC Satchwell help deliver energy savings of 12% and cost savings of GBP55,000 in just 18 months.

The role of facilities management has grown rapidly over the last 20 years from a largely unrecognised area of business in the 1980s into a multi billion pound industry.

However, according to Richard Strode at BMS specialists TAC Satchwell, it is not just the value of the industry that has changed.

The responsibilities held by facilities managers are evolving too.

"The scope of work undertaken by today's facilities managers is remarkably variable and some estimates put the industry's value as high as GBP180 billion in the UK alone (CFM 2004)".

"Gone are the days when the FM role was restricted to property management and maintenance".

"Increasingly, facilities managers are expected to carry the world on their shoulders - they have become the new guardians of the environment".

"The Climate Change Levy, the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, Part L regulations and Building Log Books are all ensuring that energy is increasingly on the corporate agenda".

"Not only to save costs, but in a drive to be "Greener" and more environmentally responsible".

"A facilities manager is now expected to carefully balance the needs of employees for a safe and comfortable environment and those of the employer to reduce energy costs and enhance the bottom line, with those of the Government to reduce carbon emissions".

"However, the industry cannot expect facilities managers to go it alone".

"Instead, it needs to provide them with the tools necessary to have a chance of meeting their energy conservations targets".

"The most effective way of doing this is through user-friendly technologies such that can efficiently and economically control, check and analyse building operations to help manage and minimise energy usage".

"Developments, such as TAC's Xenta 555, which enables secure access to MicroNet and Satchnet networks via a web browser, and the Andover Continuum Wireless Solution give facilities managers the opportunity to save the planet remotely".

"This ability to access a building's data, around the clock from anywhere in the world, makes fine-tuning that energy management just that little bit easier - especially for managers of multiple sites".

"Energy management consultancy can further point the industry in the right direction as showcased at Millennium Point in Birmingham where TAC Satchwell helped the team deliver energy savings of 12% and cost savings of GBP55,000 in just 18 months".

"As hotter summers and colder winters becoming the norm and the office environment becomes a key factor in employee retention, reducing a carbon footprint is an increasingly difficult balance to achieve".

"However, with facilities managers at the helm, armed with the backing and technology they require, it should be a battle we win.".

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