When specifying a facilities management service there are two key phrases that should always be considered “if it looks right, it is right” and “you only get one chance to make a first impression” So why is this important? Support services such as facilities management are enabling services that most people who benefit from simply don’t see, understand or fully understand. This means that they need confidence that the service they receive is safe, legally compliant and of a high quality. So, for example with their facilities management service, if they see well-presented operatives with clean vans and well-arranged worksites delivering it, they will feel this unless events prove otherwise. Alternatively, if someone arrives looking unprofessional, and that doesn’t mean a cleaner wearing a suit and tie!, they have to prove their abilities in a way that a well presented operative wouldn’t. This approach should also be extended into all of your communications including signage, documents a

Good to have delivered another successful training course with my friends at Quadrilect. This one was on "Understanding FM Support Services Operations" The course gave an insight in what needs to happen to allow people to manage facilities in a way that delivers a great service, great value and, of course, a safe and legally compliant environment. It also helps people gain facilities management qualifications and helps me to understand what matters to a wide range of people From a personal perspective I get a real buzz from helping people progress in their careers. If anyone wants to discuss training, coaching, consulting or knowledge sharing, please get in touch

It was really rewarding yesterday to deliver some training for Quadrilect (www.quadrilect.com) yesterday where my particular area of focus was on risk and minimising it for building occupiers and their facilities managers. It is always enjoyable to meet with a range of people from different organisations and backgrounds as I often feel that I learn as much from them as they do from me - well almost! For those who have never been to one of my training sessions I always try to make them interesting, no matter how dry the subject, by using interactive tools and techniques with this particular course ending with a quiz that always gets very competitive! Sharing knowledge is great fun and positive for our industry

I have just led the successful mobilisation of one of this year’s largest facilities management contracts ( worth hundreds of millions of pounds) covering a large and diverse estate for a diverse organisation Whereas I am not going to say this has been easy or straightforward the following five steps have been key to success: 1. Great People By having the right people working with and for me, we have been able to deliver the right tasks to the right standard at the right time 2. Working with the Service Provider The Service Provider also wanted a successful mobilisation and a great platform to build on during the life of the contract therefore understanding what matters to them, their risks, issues and concerns was key. In this case the Service Provider exceeded my expectations 3. A robust specification with strong milestones I took great care to define the requirements for mobilisation and ensure they were issued in the tender so the Service Provider knew what to expect during mobilis

This post is just a bit of fun. My business is called Spingate, it’s actually named after a house and beyond that we have no idea what it means. However, when you type the name into Google (or Bing or any other search engine) you get two results: - My company (or companies) - The 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on September 7, 2013, at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, United States Could you get more different than a company based in England offering a range of class leading management consulting and property solutions (well I would say that!) and car racing? Not really. So firstly, I got there first with the name! having established my company several years before the race but as Wikipedia notes: “The race was marred by a controversial finish, after evidence surfaced that two teams were found to have manipulated the outcome of the race and Chase positions in the final ten laps. NASCAR ultimately determined that Mich

I am currently leading the mobilisation of a large facilities management contract, something that many who have carried out will know can be a really difficult and challenging process but one that is so important as it acts as a foundation for and sets the tone for the whole of the contract throughout its life The main factors in the success of a mobilisation are firstly planning and making sure that what you want in the mobilisation is as clearly specified as the maintenance of air conditioning or how you want a building cleaned but also having the right team is essential On my current project, I am very fortunate to be working with some great people with my client, my service provider and Incendium Consulting who are committed to making sure that the right service will be delivered at day one and between us we have worked closely to ensure that we all know what is needed and how we can deliver it. This makes such a difference and reduces risk significantly