Bridging the Gap between Construction and Operations

Matthew Smith, Associate Head of the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, explains how FM firms can streamline operations before ground is ever broken on a project.

Upon handover, facility managers are often at the receiving ends of occupants’ grievances and system failures. But why is that so?

This is because once a building is conceptualised and constructed, it is often handed over to the facilities team without sufficient testing, training, operating procedures and maintenance manuals that are required to manage a large, complex network of interdependent systems.

The ground reality is that most FM operators are kept at bay during the design and construction phases and are eventually introduced to the project only during the time of handover.

The incomplete building is then passed on to the facilities team with multiple contractors scrambling to wind up the project, tie up loose ends, finish moving furniture and boxes, and settle tenants in.

In such a scenario, FM operators could potentially mismanage many critical priorities – such as slotting in the equipment information into their monitoring and maintenance management system, programming maintenance schedule, recording operating procedures, and drawing up service agreements – that prove to be disruptive in the future.

Although we see a steady integration of FM professionals at the early stages of a construction project, there is more potential to ensure that the FM team is fully capable and ready to efficiently run and maintain the facility in the long-term.

Here we discuss how and why FM consultants can help bridge the gap between construction and FM operations with a smooth and problem-free handover.

Integrate early

The ideal first step is to bring in FM consultants and operators to the table right from the onset so they can add value with their expertise and factor in FM needs.