Access Hire Insights: Four Key Trends in Facility Management For 2023

Facilities management is an essential part of the UK economy. Not only does it employ 10% of the country’s workforce¹, and is projected to be worth £52 billion by 2026². But in a post-pandemic world, the industry faces a series of new challenges.

What are the priorities, problems and opportunities the industry faces? And how can Access Hire’s market-leading fleet of vehicle mounted access platforms help?

Here are four key trends in facility management to expect in 2023:

Four facility management trends in 2022

1. Sustainability goals

Every industry is under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and pivot to more environmentally sound processes. But given that buildings are responsible for 42% of the UK’s energy usage³, it’s fair to say facilities managers should be particularly concerned about their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scores. 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that direct building CO2 emissions must decrease by 50% in order to reach net-zero by 2050. This would require buildings to cut emissions roughly 6% per year until 2030. As tenants and owners realise just how steep this task is, they will expect more dramatic action from facilities managers.

How can they do it?

From installing energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems to retrofitting buildings with more sustainable materials, there are a wide range of solutions for facilities managers to consider. Many of these will even help reduce costs: switching to renewables can save 10%, while buildings that have shifted to eco-friendly processes have maintenance costs 20% lower than average

ESG calculations are increasingly complex, with many now including ‘tier three’ suppliers – which means your entire supply chain must be as green as possible. That means the strategic equipment you use – such as vehicle mounted access platforms – need to be as energy efficient as possible.

More than anything though, facilities managers will need to ensure their efforts are measurable. Not only will this help them demonstrate their sustainability efforts and market their facilities – it will create a vital benchmark for future efforts to be measured against.

2. More data than ever

A key part of measuring ESG scores is data – and that will be a defining factor for facility managers in the coming year. While many have already begun to invest in technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), the opportunity to improve buildings using data-driven decision making and automated maintenance are still huge. 

This will not simply be about introducing new technology – it will be about properly utilising it. Research suggests that 95.5% of all data captured goes unused in the engineering and construction industries. Facility managers that are able to make greater use of their data will see massive improvements in the efficiency of buildings.

5.2 Ton 14.5M Van Mounted Access Platform Roof Maintenance

3. Predictive maintenance

The clearest efficiency gains companies see will be achieved through predictive maintenance. This involves using data to know when equipment needs to be tended to – rather than waiting for an issue to arise before acting. While it has been a growing trend amongst facility managers, we expect 2023 to see predictive maintenance become the norm. 

Companies that effectively implement it will be able to respond faster to problems, reduce costs and increase their buildings’ sustainability. According to Delliote, this ultimately increases productivity by 25%, reduces breakdowns by 70% and lowers maintenance costs by 25%.

Having the right partners in place – so that key equipment such as vehicle mounted access platforms can be accessed as soon as they are needed – will be a key part of this. Predictive maintenance is only effective if work can actually be undertaken quickly.

 

4. Managing costs

From staffing shortages and supply chain issues to ever-growing inflation, costs are a major concern for facility managers. The pressure to provide exceptional experience for facility users exacerbates this issue, as investment in clearer, greener buildings is expected at the exact moment when budgets are stretched the most.

Managing costs will come down to two factors. The first is strategy: facility managers will have to find workarounds and opportunities to trim the fat. This might involve reconsidering the contracts they use for staff and equipment. In many cases, there may be savings to be made – or more budget efficient options they could switch to.

The second is the choice of partners. Whether it’s the vehicle mounted access platforms used to perform maintenance or the temping agency used to provide labour, facility managers need to be confident that they can trust their partners.

How Access Hire helps

Access Hire is a key strategic partner to the facility management industry, providing access to the UK’s largest fleet of vehicle mounted access platforms. Every vehicle features inclusive service and 24/7/365  support from our expert team – to ensure you can undertake the work you need, as soon as you need to.

1.https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/knowledge/research/research-reports/big-data-a-new-revolution-in-the-uk-fm-sector-rics.pdf
2.https://facilitiesmanagementforum.co.uk/briefing/uk-fm-market-to-hit-52bn-in-2026/
3.https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/knowledge/research/research-reports/big-data-a-new-revolution-in-the-uk-fm-sector-rics.pdf
4.https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34572/GSR_ES.pdf
5.https://smartway2.com/blog/sustainable-facilities-management/
6.https://blog.infraspeak.com/benefits-of-sustainable-facility-management/
7.https://www.i-fm.net/documents/files/i-FM_TO23execsummary.pdf
8.https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/de/Documents/deloitte-analytics/Deloitte_Predictive-Maintenance_PositionPaper.pdf

Challenges: Improving & standardising Welfare facilities to enhance Wellbeing

Article created by Supply Chain Sustainability School

Employee wellbeing is paramount on construction sites, with mental health and burnout an important consideration. 1 in 4 UK employees report having a physical health condition and £12.8M is lost annually due to stress alone. So it is relatively little surprise that 64% of construction workers want their employers to provide more support. Similarly, in terms of gender equality, construction has a long way to go: just 13% of construction workers are female and only 1% work onsite.

It is easy to underestimate the extent to which wellbeing and mental health initiatives can impact a project’s bottom line. Traditional and older facilities are often poorly maintained or lacking the space and comfort to allow workers to take a proper breather onsite, contributing to the lack of support many feel at work.

Over two-thirds of construction projects run over budget by more than 10%, and larger projects routinely take 20% longer than anticipated. These factors have resulted in productivity in construction growing by less than 1% annually for the last two decades. To remedy this, projects must look for gains in productivity and efficiency wherever they can find them – including from a diverse and motivated workforce.

Impact: Modern Welfare facilities improve site teams & project results

Staff wellbeing and inclusion has become a real priority for the construction sector and the introduction of modern, environmentally efficient mobile welfare units on site has been paramount in order to allow staff somewhere to rest and take a break, indoors and away from the bustle of the site. Larger, better designed, modern welfare units create a more positive, more inclusive and safer environment for workers on site.

Simple factors like building team morale and ensuring onsite comfort can have a dramatic impact on the kind of workplace culture that emerges. And that can be heavily influenced by things as simple as the welfare you hire. Choosing the right mobile welfare units can greatly improve the attitudes you find onsite, putting an emphasis on wellbeing and changing how employees feel about their work. Welfare Hire ECO welfare units feature water flush WCs and hot water washbasins, separate fully equipped offices and drying & changing rooms, as well as extra-large canteens. There’s enough space for up to 14 workers (dependent on model selected), accommodating diverse teams with consideration to aspects such as separate changing and WC facilities. This enables teams to spend time together in a comfortable space. The large, dynamic design and layout helps provide market-leading welfare, hygiene and break facilities.

Kelling Group Onsite Mental Health Blog

Value gained: Improved employee productivity, retention & morale > 500% ROI

At Welfare Hire, providing the most modern and innovative welfare with unique features and specifications is a key objective. These may seem like relatively small factors, but the combined improvements to employee experience can be massive. And this in turn creates ripple effects, leading to improvements in productivity, employee retention and overall staff morale accruing over time. Organisations with greater gender equality are 15% more likely to earn more than competitors and are 6 times more likely to innovate. As we discovered, projects that emphasise employee experience and wellbeing result in 21% higher profitability. In fact, every £1 spent on wellbeing produces an incredible 500% return!

How Telecommunications Projects Benefit From Leasing Access Vehicles

With the government’s pledge to make gigabit-broadband available to 99% of the UK by 2030¹, the telecommunications industry is among the fastest growing sectors in the country . But how can they ensure projects are completed on time, at a high quality – without breaking their budget?

The answer is by leasing their key strategic equipment, like vehicle mounted access platforms. Not only does it enable better budgeting – it helps improve your overall output. 

Here are three ways leasing vehicle mounted access platforms benefits telecommunications projects:

1. Avoid waste

Buying strategic equipment outright is often seen as the best way to grow: you own the vehicle and don’t have to pay for it on your next project. But this overlooks two facts.

First, not every project requires the same equipment. This means many companies end up shackled with expensive equipment they often don’t use – and therefore may not end up being worth the initial investment.

More importantly, though, your vehicle quickly racks up mileage. At the end of a long project, companies often find themselves left with an old and unreliable vehicle which they cannot afford to replace.

2. Access better quality equipment

Buying vehicle mounted access platforms outright is very expensive. This incentivises companies to opt for cheaper models – or workaround alternatives that make working on a project more difficult.

Rather than landing yourself with a sub-par vehicle mounted access platform – or forcing your team to do ladder work – leasing allows you to use the best, most innovative VMAPs on the market. Not only does this improve your output – it boosts team morale.

3. Reduce the barrier to entry

Some companies simply cannot afford to take on telecoms projects – however lucrative they might be – because strategic equipment is too expensive and the maintenance costs involved can rack up a large bill. Leasing helps them reduce the costs through fully inclusive maintenance and creating a low, fixed cost payment schedule that works with their limited budget.

As a result, the barrier to entry is considerably lower. Companies can work on larger projects than they otherwise might be able to, and benefit from the rapid growth of telecoms projects over the coming years.

Vehicle Mounted Access Platform Safety

How Access Hire helps

Telecoms projects tend to have fixed lengths, and each contractor and company will have their own specific requirements. Access Hire works with every customer to tailor contracts that suit their needs and ensure they get a leasing contract that works for them.

Every lease features all-inclusive service and maintenance, to boost your uptime and keep your project running. So you never have to worry about technical problems, and can focus on hitting your deadlines.