Understanding and Managing Building Services

Overview

This thoroughly practical two-day programme is the ideal course for FM teams who need to develop their understanding of building services in order to ensure:

• Optimal satisfaction of organisational requirements
• Efficient and cost-effective maintenance and operation of building services
• Professional standards of procurement from, and management of, specialist consultants and contractors

Training objectives

To provide a fundamental understanding of building services in the context of:

• The working environment
• The success of the core business
• The health and safety of the occupants
• Operating cost and environmental impact
• The optimisation of cost and value
• Strategies for continuous improvement

Course outlines

Building services fundamentals

• The function of services in commercial buildings and their importance to the core business
• Electrical services
• Lighting
• Heating
• Ventilation and air conditioning
• Lifts
• Water
• Understanding IT and communication systems

The provision of comfort and safety

• Statutory requirements
• Health and safety legislation
• Control of contractors
• Risk assessment
• Fire precautions
• Legionella, sick building and other risks
• Business requirements
• Understanding user requirements
• Matching systems to business needs

Getting the design right

• What the FM needs to know about design and its procurement
• Successful space planning
• Relationship between services, space planning and design
• Getting the brief right
• Supplier selection and management

Operation and maintenance

• Input and output specifications
• Resource options
• Contracts principal elements
• Tendering key steps
• Selection criteria
• Operational criteria
• Maintenance trends
• Performance-based service provision
• Input and output specifications
• KPIs and thresholds
• Risk containment
• Value-add opportunities
• Performance contract strategy

Contingency planning

• Being ready for the unexpected
• Identifying and reducing risk
• Internal risks
• External risks
• Identifying threats at your site
• Managing risk
• Protective systems
• Occupier obligations
• Fire management
• Testing

Commissioning services systems

• Physical commissioning
• Common problems
• Typical costs
• Commissioning stages
• Continuous commissioning
• Energy efficiency and the scope for environmental improvement

Satisfying the occupants

• Obtaining and responding to feedback
• When to get feedback
• Why
• How
• What to do with it
• Practical exercises

Air time

• Sharing experience and addressing specific issues of interest to participants
• Course review