Facilities management in the Middle East has evidenced significant development over the last eight years, due to the massive growth being seen in the construction of new high-end commercial and residential buildings along with the need to maintain increasingly ageing, existing facilities already built in the region.
These trends have necessitated an increased focus on academic backgrounds and further training and development in the workplace. Today, FM input is largely limited to, and is reliant upon, that provided by designers and engineers at the outset. Their core expertise is different and cannot compensate for the specific and comprehensive experience and growing expertise of qualified FM industry professionals.
The main barrier that is preventing investors from engaging FM expertise at the concept or detailed design stages in the Middle East is a fundamental lack of awareness of the potential financial and operational impact of failing to engage, or actually neglecting FM expertise in the early stages of the project lifecycle. Ill-judged upfront capital investment decisions can seriously compromise the payback period and return on investment associated with limited, informed decision-making.
Critically, the key driver is the investor’s objective in terms of holding or selling the real estate asset over any defined period. Any investor planning for the long term retention of an asset would unquestionably make a different investment decision and development plan if proper consultation was sought at an early stage.
Shorter term investment horizons that do not engage FM expertise would simply transfer any problems to a future beneficial owner, admittedly at their risk in terms of any due diligence in the sale and purchase process.
Nevertheless, even in this scenario, a failure to consult or neglect could adversely affect the original investor’s/developer’s future business interests because reputation could influence market appetite for any future development projects.
There is the additional potential of repeated cost of procurement arising from such design modification and re-works.
Typical examples that will increase lifecycle cost of facilities as well as negatively impacting upon beneficial use by future occupants, include facade design of buildings where operational practicalities constrain cleaning activities increasing the cleaning costs and lighting design, which may necessitate specialist, expensive high access maintenance equipment that can only be used outside of conventional operating hours when buildings are in active use.
In order to achieve sustainable, safe, smart and effective design that will positively affect the entire lifecycle of the asset, satisfying all stakeholders’ needs effectively, I have just one final message to the property developers, investors and landlords in the Middle East: make sure you pay for FM expertise during the design stage(s) of project development to avoid future shocks of unplanned expenditure over the full lifecycle of your investment.
