Facilities Management in the midst of Coronavirus

With the rapidly evolving situation that has been brought on by COVID-19, uncertainty and disruption have become the order of the day for all industries. There is no sure way of knowing the direction businesses will take in the wake of Coronavirus. What is a given is that the onus is on Facilities Management team to assist businesses to adapt to what will come next.

The pandemic has brought to the fore, cleaning, access control, security, ventilation, space management and hygiene. All of which are part of the scope of facilities management. It is now critical that cleaning is done thoroughly and with the right chemicals. A simple wipe with a damp cloth is no longer acceptable, and quality control must be stepped up. Another example of a trade that has now changed due to the new norm would be heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), as more time and attention is focused on air quality. The symbiotic relationship of FM services with these associated trades brings in a higher involvement and complexity of carrying out what at one point were mundane tasks.

FM service providers are met with the monumental task set in two parts. Initially, there is a challenge to be met of controlling risk and the second part involves developing strategies to manage operations in the event of a possible exposure. In order to take charge of risky incidents, there must be robust compliance tracking procedures that Facilities Management plays a big role in developing and fulfilling. If risk mitigation measures do not succeed, the major failsafe that must be implemented is a temporary shutdown in the event of exposure. Following the shutdown, a deep-cleaning and disinfection sweep would be carried out. These processes require vigorous prior planning in order to have a well thought out response plan.

Despite all the bespoke changes that have taken place in the different places, the primary change that has been more or less uniform across the board is the human element of the workable response plans developed. Facilities management has a mandate of assisting to manage spaces and the people working within those spaces. Categorizing people, the work that they do and spaces that they work in is a bold first step in streamlining how exactly a facility is meant to alter its processes in order to be prepared and to be compliant to all the new policies/ regulations. A delicate balance has to be met to be able to postpone or remove non-essential work to control exposure and spending. With all these major changes to people, spaces and their workstreams, communication is paramount to keep the ship running and to ensure capacity is maintained at reasonable levels.

What we all have to maintain is the readiness for the business impact. This pandemic will not be the last and many not be the worst, but our response to future pandemics needs to be deliberate, adaptable and sustainable. Facilities Management is there to help increase resilience in the wake of the pandemic however; everyone has a hand in the battle. It is vital that the facilities management managers start operating at a more strategic than operational level.

Julian Mogotsi, Facilities Coordinator