Our Special Guest on week 6 of The Property Show on Inspiration 92.3FM was Mr Femi Akintunde, Chief Executive & Managing Director at Alpha Mead Facilities & Management Services Ltd and the theme of the show was Facilities Management in Nigeria.
Click here to listen to a studio record of the show or continue reading for a quick summary.
Defining Facilities Management…
Most people are familiar with the limited scope of its function around maintenance activities of building systems. When properly done, facilities management does make a property comfortable, safe and secured for its users. In all respects, it’s involved with the infrastructure and facilities that are part of the building (ranging from the internal components to the building fabric). Also, facilities management manages the interface of the people that are using the building with respect to the building itself. The combination of all these is what makes the profession of facilities management.
Services Covered by Facilities Management…
Essentially, facilities management has to do with making the property functional for its occupants to live, work or play. Facilities management covers the management of building systems – electrical, plumbing, cleaning, landscaping, the lifts, fabric of the building such as the ceiling, walls, floor and roofing system. The components of the building must remain as designed and function as expected. For this to happen, proper maintenance must be undertaken to renew these components on a continuous basis to ensure they function just as they did when the property was built.
Skills, Qualifications & Expertise of a Facilities Manager…
The components of building services have changed over the years, becoming more sophisticated and complex. This is because people want more services and systems. Thus you require more skills to handle the management of facilities. Typically, a team of facilities managers will include surveyors, engineers – civil, mechanical, electrical. Despite the importance of technical skills, expertise and knowledge there are other skills that are key to the performance of the duties of a facilities manager. Special skills in communication and psychology are important for facilities managers because of the interface with human beings. Also, experience in change management, customer relationship and management skills, health and safety expertise are other skills that set facilities management professionals apart. These skills come into play when making decisions like the type of flooring to be used in a part of a building to reduce falling, the protection of electrical wiring, management of waste etc. The advantage of engaging a facilities manager with the appropriate mix of quantification and expertise is that an expert will use and deploy less resources and effort to achieve effective results thereby resulting in a building operating more effectively, functional, cost effective and ultimately happy customers.
Role of Facilities Management in Real Estate Investment (Purchases, Acquisitions and Construction)…
Real estate investors occasionally purchase properties which are already built. When buying an already constructed building, you may have not been part of the design and construction process. A facilities manager can be engaged to undertake a Condition Assessment (technical due diligence) of the building. This enables the property buyer to be aware of the working condition of the property and identify faults that need to be repaired or replaced. This enables the property buyer to identify the costs he will incur after purchasing the property and this can be used by the buyer to negotiate a lower purchase price with the owner of the property.
On the other hand, when building a property, it is recommended that a facilities manager is part of the consultancy team to advice on the factors to consider to make the building more maintainable during its period of use. This is achieved through a maintainability and operability review and it has the effect of maximising the useful life of the property. Real estate involves a lot of capital investment and it important that resources are used appropriately thereby reducing the cost of operation after the construction.
The purpose of service charge…
During the lifespan of a property, various works need to be carried out to prevent failure. Service charge is paid by an occupant of a property to keep the building functional. To arrive at an appropriate service charge, a facilities manager will consider preventive and corrective components of maintenance. The preventive maintenance, as the name suggests, includes various maintenance works that can be predicted and planned for. For instance, this covers the cost of cleaning a property. Corrective maintenance on the other hand involves sudden failures that are unforeseen and cannot be planned for. They will occur independently of how well you planned and executed preventive maintenance. Thus, a facilities manager will ensure that the service charge is set to accommodate unforeseen facility failures. Excellent facilities management responds quickly to correct failures and by making adequate provision for funds, a facilities manager will have succeeded in reducing discomfort experience by users of the property.
Ultimately, a facilities manager has to balance the longterm needs of the landlord and that of the occupants that wants to enjoy the services today.
Service charge covers cost of service being rendered for the immediate use of the property by occupants. It is not meant to cover the cost of upgrades, enhancements and improvement to the building as these are longterm costs which are a responsibility of the property owner and It is advisable that landlords set aside 10% of rent to cover such needs.
About Femi Akintunde
Engr. Femi Akintunde is the MD/CEO of Alpha Mead Facilities and Mgt. Services Ltd, a company that was established in 2006 and within the first five years in operation has become a leading Facility Mgt. company in Nigeria under Femi’s leadership
His scope of expertise includes; Industrial plants Maintenance and Productivity Mgt., Facilities & Infrastructure Mgt., Engineering & Project Mgt., Human Resources, Oil & Gas Process Engineering. Femi is a well respected industry professional with strong entrepreneurial drive and passion for excellence.
Femi graduated with a B.Sc. Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Ibadan in 1988 and later proceeded to have a Masters degree in Engineering Mgt. (Petroleum Engineering Option) from University of Port Harcourt in 1999.
About The Property Show
The Property Show is a weekly real estate radio show with www.privateproperty.com.ng which airs live every Tuesday at 5PM on Inspiration 92.3FM and is hosted by popular OAP Ms. Wana Udobang (Ms. Wana Wana).
The Property Show comprises a 15-minutes interview with a Special Guest that will enlighten listeners on selected real estate topics and issues. Also, there is a 15-minutes phone in segment that enables listeners of the show make enquiries and receive expert advice from a pool of real estate experts and professionals.
Join us again next week for another interesting show.
