Insights

Sustainability starts at home. This is simple but true in more ways than one. We can all make a real impact with a few simple adjustments and minimal inconvenience. Moreover, the example we set at home shapes our children’s attitude towards the planet and its finite resources. Here are some key areas where we can make a difference from inside our own residences:

Residents of Dubai, and the UAE in general, are likely to face certain maintenance issues more frequently than others. This is generally consistent with patterns seen in other countries, however there are some that are more specific to the regional climate and environment.

Outsourcing is not a new phenomenon. Companies have often relied on external staff to fulfil contracts or even entire functions. However, in the last few years, there has been a significant increase in Dubai hospitality companies, particularly hotels and resorts, outsourcing large portions of their housekeeping departments to specialist providers such as Isnaad.

Here we examine the reasons why outsourcing housekeeping staff can have a significant positive impact on the bottom line, the potential trade-off and how to mitigate this.

Within Facility Management, soft services are usually defined as services that are non-technical. Three primary soft services are cleaning, pest control and security and this is what we focus on for the purpose of this insight.

The UAE has one of the highest levels of water consumption per capita in the world (360-400 litres per day), whilst also having a dearth of readily available freshwater. Despite this, only 5% of water used in the country is treated waste water, with the primary sources instead being groundwater and desalinated seawater. However desalination is an expensive process and current reliance on groundwater is clearly unsustainable in the long-term.

The Health & Safety Initiative at Imdaad, branded STARRT (Safety Task Analysis Risk Reduction Talk), was introduced in 2018 to minimize employee accidents and incidents while working in high-risk areas. Given the complex portfolio of clients and locations that Imdaad caters to (e.g. ports, lakes, high-rise towers, etc.), employees are exposed to high-risk areas such as heights, roads, and near water works.

Preventative Maintenance

Traditionally, Facility Management companies have followed preventative maintenance programs. These allocate a time period or amount of usage to a piece of equipment. At the end of this period of time, or after the usage limit has been hit, the equipment is attended to and predefined preventative measures are undertaken. Examples might be replacing air filters and inspecting fan belts monthly.

As with other industries, technology has already greatly impacted Facility Management and how we approach it. In particular, the growth of Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) and how it has adapted to the increasing importance of the cloud and mobile have been key developments since the turn of the century.