facilities management tips

Why do you need Facilities Management services?

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The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management describes facilities professionals as being: “responsible for services that enable and support business performance”. Roles cover management of a wide range of areas including health and safety, risk, business continuity, procurement, sustainability, space planning, energy, property and asset management. They typically oversee activities like catering, cleaning, building maintenance, environmental services, security and reception.”

In other words, Facilities Management (FM) is about keeping a business up and running by making the workplace efficient and functional, as well as comfortable and safe. The work of an FM operative encompasses all aspects of commercial premises such as buildings, grounds and infrastructure.

Hard and Soft FM

Facilities management is divided into hard and soft FM. Hard FM is concerned with physical aspects of the workplace, such as heating, air conditioning, plumbing, maintenance and repairs, waste management, recycling etc. Soft FM tends to be the tasks performed by team members, such as caretaker duties, concierge duties, security, grounds keeping and catering.

Some companies employ their own in-house facilities managers, others prefer to outsource their Facilities Management services to professional companies with a team of trained specialists in different areas.

The advantages of outsourcing your FM services

By outsourcing your FM services to specialist companies like Quills, you’ll get access to experts who are fully trained and experienced in their field. Many SMEs opt for our reactive services, so they will only pay for whatever service they need, when they need it. This means they are guaranteed high level workmanship, whether it’s dealing with an electrical fault, fixing a leak, or repairing a cracked sink.

Other organisations opt for a planned package of services, such as regular and seasonal grounds maintenance, planned preventative maintenance with regular inspections and servicing. We also use FM tracking software that enables you to see the upcoming work schedule, records of current work, and a detailed inventory of company assets and certifications.

 

Facilities Management Service Specialists planning the work

 

The FM services you’ll need coming out of lockdown

As the UK opens up after the current lockdown, our facilities management teams will be busy helping businesses reopen their premises securely. Unused water systems in buildings that have been empty for months will be at greater danger of a build up of the legionella bacteria, which if inhaled can develop into the deadly Legionnaires’ disease. Our FM services include legionella testing and remedial works that might be needed if samples test positive. When it comes to the structure of the building, one of the most effective ways of protecting your staff, clients and visitors is to prepare your premises with an antimicrobial surface coating. This gives enhanced protection against all viruses for at least a year, and virtually any surface can be coated, such as door handles, bannister rails, desks, tables, chairs, fabrics, gym equipment, supermarket trollies… almost anything that people are likely to touch. We can also provide deep cleaning that will not only help sanitise premises that may have lain empty for months, it will also make the place look so much nicer for returning staff.

 

hand of young woman pours clean water

facilities management winter essentials checklist

Winter Facilities Management Safety Essentials Checklist

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It’s the coldest time of the year and many locations have already experienced snow, and icy paths and roads. Even though the last couple of winters have been quite mild, you can never truly predict what will happen, so you’ve always got to be prepared.

If you’re responsible for facilities management within your building, and you’ve got people working on the premises, now is definitely the time to take steps to protect your employees, visitors and property from the hazards that the winter weather can bring.

Facilities Management removing snow and ice

Keep pathways clear

Reduce the risk of injury to your staff, clients and customers – and consequent time off sick – by keeping your car park and pavements free from ice and snow. Whether you have extensive grounds to protect, or just the pathway outside your entrance, we stock all the de-icing supplies you need including snow shovels, grit bins, de-icing spray, salt and salt spreaders and more to ensure you’re ready for whatever Jack Frost has got in store!

Alternatively, save time and hard work and outsource the job to a Facilities Management provider. Facilities Management services can include winter essential maintenance, grounds, maintenance, electrical works, pest control to name a few.

facilities management removing ice

Ice isn’t the only thing you can slip on

Wet leaves on the ground are very slippery and can become a big Health & Safety concern. Even at this time of year, there are still a lot of leaves on the ground from the autumn. Check out our gardening supplies for rakes and shovels to help you keep your pathways clear and safe.

If you have grounds to look after, then this is the right time of the year to cut back plants and trees. It’ll help keep debris off the pavements which can be a hazard, as well as looking a lot neater. If you’re already ‘snowed under’ with tasks to do, you may be interested to find out more about grounds maintenance services.

 

grounds maintenance services

Lighting

Even though the mornings are starting to get lighter, the nights are still drawing in meaning people typically finish work whilst it’s dark. So external lighting is crucial. When your staff are leaving work on dark winter evenings, they need to stay safe and be able to see where they’re going when leaving the premises, especially when there’s likely to be ice on the pathways.

Having sufficient lighting inside your building is also important and employees may find it useful to have desk lamps too for those winter evenings.

winter facilities management employees help

Be seen, be warm

If you have staff who work outdoors, then you need to provide them with protective clothing. Visibility on dark afternoons and evenings is an essential safety precaution, so kit them out with hi vis clothing to prevent accidents from happening.

Sometimes it’s necessary to ask staff members to work outdoors when they’re not expecting it and they may not have come prepared, so it’s nice to have warm clothes they can borrow to protect them from the cold, as well as spare hi vis jackets and waistcoats.

Here are our Top 10 winter essential recommendations:

  1. De-Icer Trigger Spray
  2. 110 Litre Grit Box
  3. Snow Shovel
  4. 25kg Salt Bag
  5. 22kg Mobile Salt Spreader
  6. Foldable Snow Shovel
  7. Winter Car Park Kit
  8. Handheld Salt Shaker & 2 bags of salt
  9. Grit Bin & Salt Kit
  10. Portable Expanding Sandbags

AeraMax Pro for Dental Surgeries

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AeraMax® Pro 2 Air Purifier - Wall Mount

AeraMax® Pro 2 Air Purifier – Wall Mount

Air Quality

Air quality has always been a concern for dental surgeries, but during the pandemic it is a vital element in helping surgeries to open and operate safely. Ventilating treatment rooms through opening the windows can be effective, but in the winter months is not a practical or a pleasant option. Many surgeries get around this by installing air purifiers like the AeraMax Pro, which has the advantage of being fitted with High Efficiency Particulate Air or HEPA filters as they are more commonly known. The air purifier can be seamlessly integrated into the workplace and is key for rooms with no windows where it is not recommended to carry out applications which require the use of aerosol equipment.

Government guidelines are clear that ventilation reduces the possibility of aerosol transmission: “increasing the occupancy of a space increases the probability of airborne transmission by four-fold. Exposure risk may be further increased if distances between people are reduced to <2m.” Unsurprisingly, the recommendation is: “Ventilation should be integral to the COVID-19 risk mitigation strategy for all multi-occupant public buildings and workplaces.”

Dental surgeries are particularly at risk because, in addition to proximity, out of necessity, the procedures use high velocity air and water streams that create aerosol droplets leading to an even higher risk of respiratory transmission.

Post procedures that generate aerosols, the government has recommended that dental surgeries have a downtime of between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the amount of ventilation there is which affects how many air changes there are per hour (ACH). This will clearly have an impact on the number of patients a dental practice is able to treat and can cause a frustrating backlog of patients needing an appointment.

Air purifiers

Government guidance into COVID-19 infection prevention and control suggests that: “Recirculating air cleaning devices with HEPA filter systems or UV-C are likely to be effective,” concluding that the: “addition of recirculating air cleaning devices could enhance the effective air change rate. Devices should be correctly sized and the impacts on the room air flows considered. The effectiveness of air cleaning devices will depend on the flow rate of the device, the efficiency of air cleaning and the size of the room.”

AeraMax® Pro 3 Air Purifier - Wall Mount

AeraMax® Pro 3 Air Purifier – Wall Mount

HEPA filters are recommended because they can remove 99.97% of air pollutants, which includes germs, bacteria, allergens, pollen and mould. The AeraMax Pro range uses extra thick filters in a four-stage filtration process that includes an antimicrobial layer to trap bacteria and take it out of circulation.

In addition, the AeraMax has laser sensors which monitor the air quality, as well as sensors that not only detect when people are in the room but also how many people there are, using this information to automatically adjust its efficiency and increase ACH. As soon as anyone is in the room, the device adjusts the speed of the fans to improve circulation, and when the room is empty, it will go into sleep mode to save energy.

AeraMax® Pro 4 Air Purifier - Wall Mount

AeraMax® Pro 4 Air Purifier – Wall Mount

In cleaning particles from the air, purifiers have the additional advantage of reducing colds and flu, as well as the symptoms of sick building syndrome, all of which can potentially result in reduced productivity and staff absenteeism.

If opening windows is an impractical way of ventilating your dental surgery, opticians or healthcare practice, either because of the cold or proximity to a busy road, create a cleaner, safer, less noisy working environment by installing air purifiers.

For more information, to shop the Aeramax Pro range or receive a free quote, please click here. You can also get in touch at hello@quillsuk.co.uk or via live chat.

aeramax air purifier for corporate industry

Air Purifier – AeraMax Pro

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An AeraMax Pro with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters can remove 99.97% of air pollutants which includes germs, bacteria, viruses, allergens, pollen and mould.

On average, we spend 90% of our time indoors within shared spaces like the workplace, schools, healthcare environments and many other public places. Even before the outbreak of Coronavirus, the quality of the air indoors was a worry for many, and with good reason – indoor air is estimated to be around five times more polluted than outdoor air. This makes it imperative for companies to improve the air quality in order to protect the health of employees, teachers, students and visitors; especially in buildings with air conditioning and sealed windows.

Why AeraMax Pro Air Purifier?

We understand the need to use face masks during the pandemic to help block particles and quite frankly, the more layers the better! The AeraMax Pro has a four-stage filtration process which includes a carbon layer to capture and neutralise odours, and an antimicrobial layer that traps bacteria and fungi, therefore taking them out of circulation.

The Pro has extra thick filters, making it suitable for commercial environments. Intelligent sensors detect when and how many people are in the room and will adjust its efficiency accordingly. High grade laser sensors monitor the air quality as it enters and leaves the purifier.

When people are in the room, each unit will automatically adjust fan speeds to control the air quality. When the room is unoccupied, units will go into sleep mod

Air purifiers and COVID-19

The Coronavirus is an airborne virus transmitted on small particles which are inhaled, enabling it to spread. Researchers have discovered that it can linger in the atmosphere for up to three hours after emission. Government guidance focuses on the importance of ventilation in the fight against the coronavirus: “Ventilation should be integral to the COVID-19 risk mitigation strategy for all multi occupant public buildings and workplaces”. Recommending that companies: “take appropriate actions to improve ventilation and deal with health and comfort related consequences such as providing adequate heating.” In the winter months, it is clearly impractical to expect staff to work with the windows wide open which is why an air purifier like the AeraMax Pro is such a useful weapon in the fight against infection. However, it must be used alongside other hygiene measures such as social distancing, hand washing, antimicrobial surface coatings, protective sneeze screens etc.

Sick building syndrome

Inadequate ventilation may also lead to what is known as ‘sick building syndrome’ – a generic term which covers discomfort and the feeling of being unwell. People report symptoms such as throat irritation, nausea, headaches, mental fatigue, and dry skin. One of the possible causes, according to the HSE, is “air pollution including airborne organic matter”. An air purifier can help reduce the symptoms of sick building syndrome.

Aeramax pro air purifier in hospital

ROI

By improving the air quality of your business premises, you can improve productivity at the same time as reducing absenteeism. This has made the AeraMax Pro popular with organisations such as schools, healthcare facilities, dentists, vets, laboratories, as well as offices, shops, theme parks and gyms.