Facilities Management Tasks:
Making sure that the building is ready for the daily activities:
o Inspection of premises to check whether they have a plenty of supplies;
o Inspection of back-office rooms, cloakrooms, bathrooms, etc to check their
workability;
o Inspection of daily procedures to ensure operating capability of work
equipment;
Regular activities to make sure the building and equipment stay in working order:
o Maintenance of a regular schedule to inspect the building interior & exterior;
o Maintenance of regular technical, cleaning and repair services;
o Maintenance of exterior services: lawn care, trimming, painting, etc;
o Seasonal building preparations ([Link] the building) & emergency
preparedness;
o Maintenance of pest control routine and disinfestations;
Lighting and electricity:
o Supervision of minor fixes (making sure that burned-out light bulbs are
replaced, etc);
o Inspection of electric cables, outlets, appliances and fixtures;
o Making sure that emergency lighting fixtures are functional;
o Making sure that emergency power generator is charged and functional;
o Control energy consumption, checking power bills and implementing saving
options;
o Checking elevators and other building service equipment to be kept functional;
Cleaning, planting and welfare services (including HVAC):
o Maintaining a schedule of regular cleaning services and staff coordination;
o Inspecting whether all areas of carpeting have been properly vacuumed, etc;
o Inspecting daily sweep out, glass cleaning and other refresh activities;
o Control correct use of detergents and other cleaning chemicals;
o Inspecting toilets and sanitation equipment (maintaining industrial hygiene);
o Controlling planting schedules and floristic services;
o Ensuring that the air conditioners and ventilation function appropriately;
o Controlling indoor air quality (oxygen level, allergens, chemical agents, etc);
o Checking the heating system and maintaining proper indoor temperature;
o Supervising available vending and catering services;
Office space management, layout, and furniture placement:
o Setting up necessary business furniture: desks, chairs, cabinets, etc;
o Providing additional equipment and supply to facility users as necessary;
o Conference room management, including configuration of tables and chairs;
o Office equipment management and coordination: installations, replacements,
etc;
o Controlling renovations of office and other premises: service, restyling and
refit activities;
Contracting out maintenance, repair, refit and improvement services:
o Maintaining relationships with potential contractors that may provide the
required services;
o Identify, formulate, estimate and list the needs for repairs and other services;
o Contact contractors with specific needs, take bids and select who will supply
the services;
o Managing expenditures, supervising the work, verifying the result and final
bill;
Safety and hazards control:
o Ensuring security of facilities;
o Executing fire protection and safety procedures;
o Daily inspection of escape routes and fire exits;
o Servicing smoke and heat.......
4. Facility Management:
It refers to the integration of people, place, process and technology in a building. Facility
management companies provide specialized services to malls ranging from parking, security,
to housekeeping and cash management. Facility Management handle electro mechanical
services like and suppression and fire detection, access control, power management, water
management plumbing, Supply Chain, Marketing Research, Logistics and Design etc.
In addition to this they also offer business services like help desk management, guest
relations, and meeting room management. Few of facility management companies also
provide soft services like pest control, cleaning, and physical and security surveillance,
concierge services, and administration services. There are few other expert functions that
facility management companies are also taking up. These include conducting research for
malls to find out their requirements regarding issues such as;
(a) Site location problem
(b) What kind of mall to set up?
(c) Determining the customer patterns
(d) Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning (STP)
Under facility management various activities are classified as follows:
(i) Infrastructure Management:
It refers to the overall supervision and administration of various facilities provided to tenants,
risk management measures such as adopting essential safety measures, conducting asset
liability and environmental audits as well as imparting emergency and evacuation training.
Under infrastructure management following facilities are offered:
(i) Air conditioning,
(ii) Provision of adequate power supply,
(iii) Safety issues related of signage,
(iv) Issues related to signage, water supply, sanitation, etc
(v) Water supplying and sanitation
All the above mentioned facilities provided to the tenants within the mall, form an integral
part of mall management as these are considered the basic amenities that nay tenant would
look for in a mall.
(ii) Ambience Management:
This aspect refers to the management of the overall aesthetics and appearance of a mall.
Under ambience management, following provisions/facilities are made:
(i) Management of parks
(ii) Management of fountains,
(iii) Taking care of staircases
(iv) Overall look of lifts and escalators
(v) Music and overall look of the mall.
(iii) Traffic Management:
Traffic management basically includes managing foot traffic into the mall and parking areas.
Foot traffic management involves crowd management inside the operational area of a mall.
The flow of people is related to the design of the mall and the spatial distribution of its
tenants. Under traffic management, facilities are offered to malls pertain to the effective
managing of crowds, both within the premises and in the parking zone.
Until very recently, most Indian developers thought that mall management is merely another
name for facilities management. The realization that these two concepts are different and that
professional mall management has immense bearing on the long-term viability and success of
a mall is gradually being accepted.
The significance of traffic management is increasing rapidly and demanded by one and all
because of the simple reason that the flow of people is related to the design of the mall and
the spatial distribution of its tenants.
For example, take a case of star-shaped mall which though attractive but will have a
crowding in the centre of the mall, as everyone has to pass through the central area while
moving from one side to the other. Circular malls on the other hand, may not face such
problem of clogging as they usually tend to have better pedestrian flow and less congestion.
Therefore, utmost precaution must be taken care of while planning about the design of the
mall.
These are:
(i) Managing foot traffic
(ii) Parking management
(iii) Better pedestrian flow
(iv) Event management in and outside the malls