Last week was our presentation week. We decided to present our findings of the Silo District as a "Are you smarter than a FM student" game show. 

All went really well and we had the class laughing! Even better than the success of our presentation was the enthusiasm and presentations from the rest of the class. Some students did an FM investigation of the Cape Town international Airport, some did a wine farm, others did the Cape Town Food Market and one group did a wine/housing/golf estate. 

It was incredibly interesting to see how all the various facilities are managed differently and how each facility comes with its unique set of issues and management structure. It was interesting to see how the FM students had made several recommendations to how the facilities could be better managed and how they could improve on their day to day operations. 

I was honestly super impressed with all the effort and professionalism of the class and wish you could have been there to witness all the presentations! Now the next stage is our in-depth Q&A session with the class and then the final exam!

Final Project Hand In

So last week we handed in our completed FM project on the V&A Silo district!

After months of work and stress it finally came to a close and we were all very proud of its result. Every participant we interviewed was happy to help and made us all feel very comfortable. I can't go through the whole report but if you are interested in reading it please send me an email and I'll forward it to you!

Here is the executive summary to give you an idea of the report:

The report investigated the application of facilities management, along with its overlapping roles in asset and property management, to an urban precinct. The urban precinct case study undertaken was of the latest addition to the V&A Waterfront, the mixed-used Silo District. 

Literature pertaining to facilities management, property management and asset management, in conjunction with related sustainability, was  examined. Under facilities management, the relevant three spheres of strategic, operational and urban facilities management were discussed.

The case study of the Silo District was undertaken through research of the district itself, the V&A Waterfront in which it is situated and the relationship it has with the surrounding area. This research was conducted by means of several site visits accompanied by a foreman and relevant professionals, a semi-structured interview with the Executive Manager of Operations for the V&A Waterfront and a semi-structured interview with two project managers on the Silo District. A qualitative approached was chosen to analyse the data retrieved from the interviews, this data is then compared with the information gained from the literature in Chapter 2.

The Silo District is currently still under construction, with only three buildings being fully complete and functional and the rest of the development due for completion by early 2017. As such, information gathered from the semi-structured interviews is split into two main sections; the management of the facilities during construction and that of the already completed portions of the precinct. 

Analysis of the data gathered on the case study corroborates information gathered in the literature review. It was found that the overlapping roles of facilities management, property management and asset management are essential in ensuring a sustainable urban precinct operates at maximum possible efficiency. When comparing the data collected via the case study with models introduced in Chapter 2, a model representing the findings of this investigation was drawn up. This model showed that the three management spheres of AM, FM and PM create a sustainable physical environment, upon which the other sustainability dimensions can be built. 

A number of recommendations are made based on these conclusions drawn. These recommendations were grouped into the categories of sustainable, FM and urban FM recommendations. The purpose of these recommendations is to provide suggestions on the FM of the case study property, the Silo District, in light of the findings of this investigation. 

Mr Colin Devenish

A few weeks ago my FM group had an interview with Mr Colin Devenish, as previously discussed he is the head of operations at the V&A Waterfront and therefore one of our interviewee's on our Silo District report.

We met up with Colin at the Waterfront head office in the Waterfront to ask him a few questions around the operations. facilities management and GBFI's that would be implemented in their under construction Silo District.

He made it very clear from the start, that even though the Silo District is in a precinct of it's own, it operation will still be controlled by the V&A operations team. Just like other areas of the Waterfront, the buildings themselves will still be owned by the V&A and simply rented to the tenants. He spoke to us about how the V&A receive power (electricity) from the council and distribute it themselves to the various buildings.

He continued to explain to us how the strategic goals of the district are directly aligned with those of the V&A and are simply to be the best. The Silo district is heavily focused on maintaing a 4-6 star GBCSA Green Rating and how the buildings will work in conjunction with each other to optimise consumption maximisation and efficiency.

It was interesting to find out that one of his major concerns is the threat of terrorism and how due to the V&A's large scale and due to local government inefficiency, the V&A often take responsibility amongst themselves to handle their own waste disposal and civil infrastructure development such as roads and street lighting.

Further discussions revealed how each member of his team take responsibility for various aspects of the project and how each team member's involvement overlaps with the overall strategic goals of the precinct.

Overall the interview was a successful and we learned a lot as a group about the facilities management responsibilities both from a strategic and operational perspective!

Mr Colin Devenish (second from the left) with the Silo District Construction  site in the background

The 6 Star Rated Allan Gray Building 

The Allan Gray office building in the V&A Silo districts is the first 6 star green rated office building in South Africa. We were given the opportunity to go to see the building and were given a presentation on its various Green Building Features and Initiatives. The building is very modern, open spaced and impressive. 

The first thing we were told about was its Double Skin façade. 

The outer layer of the building consists of 2 layers of glass. The initial reason was due to the heat penetration from the sun which can be intense. The 2 layers help deflect the sunlight but the sun can still be too powerful and therefore they added a blind. The blind makes use of a sensor which looks at the warmth and strength of the sun and automatically adjusts the blinds accordingly to keep the building cool. The facade also contains vents on the top which are open to allow hot air to escape during hot days and can be closed to contain the hot air to warm the facade on cold days.

Their airconidtioning system is also unique.

In the Allan Gray Building the fresh air comes through the floor rather than from the roof. The floor is raised around 45cm and the space is used for the air duct and for power supply. This system uses less energy than a conventional unit and has the added benfit as the air coming from the floor dissipates the heats and germs in the room and goes through the roof. The system also producers fresh air which is monitored by CO2 system. This system measures the CO2 and oxygen levels in the building and increasing the fresh air supply to pump oxygen into the building which helps productivity. The more oxygen, the better the brain works and the better the productivity.

This is also done automatically though the BMS system and once CO2 levels reach 680 parts per million frsh air is pumped into building. For example while in the auditorium the more people present the more CO2 would be produced in the room and the BMS system would automatically open the vents to allow for fresh air to be pumped into the room.

The BMS system also makes sure that the temperature in the building is between 21 and 22 degress all year around. The indoor pressure in the building is also monitored to ensure that energy efficiency is not lost. There are further sensors on the roof which look at wind speed, humidity and temperature. Macro levers on roof are used to keep positive pressure on building. Higher pressure inside will maintain the hot air. Rain fall is another issue which is enhanced by the wind.

Cape Town is know for having erratic wind behavior. Therefore the wind sensor and look at wind. If all criteria is met ie wind speed, amount of rain, wind direction etc, they will close the levers to stop the driving rain. The wind can be so intense that the building has already lost 2 wind sensors so far. 

Another great initiative is their Sea Water plant which is in Basement Parking Level 1.

Cape Town is infamous for its cold ocean water and the building uses this to its advantage. The Allan Gray building actually utilises the cold water for its coolers in the air-conditioning system! To prevent corrosion the sea water is treated with a catalyst to keep corrosion away and keep chillers cool. The sea water is cooler in the summer months than it is in the winter months which is also great for the building! This sea water cooling system is also cost effective because the chillers take up most energy. The sea water pump also has a sensor where if there is no sea water the system will automatically shut down and send the FM a sms.

Th building also includes a gym and a full time dietitian. They also try and give back to the community through their recycling scene. They use the left over food waste from lunch and convert it into compost which they donate to a school in the near by informal settlements. The school then use this compost to grow mushrooms which they sell at food markets.

At the end of the day the Allan Gray building in the Silo District is a must see for any Green Building enthusiasts! Its incredible how they have incorporate the use of sea water for the air conditioning and how they give back to its surrounding areas. 

On Tuesdays the 3rd of May we went to go see the newly converted Rex Truform building. The building is well known to Capetonians with its prominent position on Victoria Road at the beginning got Woodstock. 

The original building, completed in 1948 and designed by  Andrews & Neigeman, and the later extension were all influenced by internationally renowned Architect Max Policansky who designed the Judges Clothing and Cavalla Cigarette buildings opposite and for whom Neigeman had worked for previously.

The conversion of the building into office space has achieved attention due to its innovative design and use of space. This is partly the reason why we went as a group to meet with the designer and examine how interior design has an effect on the facilities management of a building. Its main tenant is IInet and the premises is being used as a call centre. 

On arrival we were told how each level is catered for a different geographical location based on the area on which the IInet consultants were contracting with. IInet had decided to create a office/call centre in Cape Town due to our trading times and cheap labour. Therefore each floor has been designed to match the location in which the customers are calling. The building therefore has floors designed around New Zealand, Australia and Cape Town. Below is an image taken from google of the interior of the Australian floor:

As it can be seen from the image above, the wall has various 'Aussie Jargon' written on the wall. This interior design creates an environment suited to the business strategy of the company. It allows for the employees to get a feel for the people they are talking to and a background into where they live. 

It was interesting to see that the floors were very open and spacious which is not typical of a call centre. The design had been adapted to incorporate larger more open communal areas and meeting rooms rather than private areas. This was due to the nature of the company being one where privacy is not very important. 

It was interesting to see how the design incorporates communal dining and relaxing areas. In the one section of the buildings there is a place where there are pool tables, punching bags and table tennis tables where the employees can go and let off some steam. There are also large screen on display which show team progress and daily activity to motivate productivity. 

Overall the outing to Rex Truform was really interesting. It showed how the interior design compliments the facilities management of the building. The utilisation of space and design is a great way to promote worker productivity! 

On the 19th of April we went to see the Facilities Management Side of the Waterfront Wharf which is the Shopping Centre District of the V&A Waterfront.

On arrival we met near the shore where the ocean means the breakers. Here is where Mr Devenish begun to discuss the Board Walk which allows visitors to safely view the ocean. He began by explaining that the board walk was not always an attraction and was mainly put in place to prevent visitors from dangerously exploring the ocean by walking over the sharp rocks. A photo of the board walk can be seen below:

The board walk itself is made from indigenous trees collected from storms and natural occurrences and is about 4 years old. This fits in with the V&A's green agenda. This indigenous wood is also used as it ages well especially due to its location in a harsh environment right next to the ocean. Colin says that in times of large swell the ocean may even come over the breakers!

Next Colin took us though the centre and into the 'heart' of the shopping centre through its back doors. It was strange seeing a bit of the management operations side of the centre for the first time. Its incredible what goes into managing such a large successful space! In the picture below we can see the   class walking through the back rooms to see the operational side of the centre.

The first room we went into was where they manage the electricity distribution to each of the tenants. In the picture below you can see one of the 2 transformers. How it works is the V&A buy power in bulk from the city, transfer the power into a usable voltage and current and distribute the power to the individual tenants where they receive a monthly electricity bill.

As a legal requirement, the transformers are check for maintenance once a year. If you can see in the above picture there is a chemical catalyst which changes colour when there is water present in the transformer. When there is water, the transformer needs to be checked and repaired. You can also see the Distribution Boards on the left hand side of the picture. These boards also have the legal requirement of a yearly maintenance check. We were then taken to see the generator room. The photo below shows 2 out of the total of 11 generators!

The generators were installed to combat Load Shedding and came at a price of around R27.7 million! The generators are used to provide power during times of Load Shedding but are not used to power the air conditioning. The block boxes below the generators are their fuel tanks and can store around 1000l of diesel which allows for around 8 hours of running time. Three generators provide power to around a third of the centre. The generator room has a fire escape as a safety precaution. They have also insulated the generators exhausts and allow for cool air to run into the room to keep the generators cool (just like any engine). Maintenance is down every week on the generators to ensure that they are in working order.

The image above is a section of the air-conditioning room. Inside this room is quite cool but the outside of the room is really hot. The AC contributes around 14% of the waterfronts monthly operations costs. On a month during the summer season they could spend as much as 2-3 million Rand on AC alone. This works out to around a total of R20 million a month operations costs for the centre alone! The V&A have a dedicated electrical team and strive towards a turnaround time of 24hrs in case any lights etc need to be replaced. The tenants themselves do not have complete control over their fixtures and the facilities management team put restrictions on what lighting they can use.



The above pictures show some of the waste management side of the centre. On the left is a recycling bin which is aimed at promoting the shoppers to recycle. Colin explained that initially they were hard to implement but when the management team explained the importance of recycling to the staff and tenants it began to make a difference! The photo on the right is the centres waste management centre. It is from here where waste is sorted and sent off to either the landfills or to a recycling plant. Colin explained how the waste is collected several times a day and how the staff who work with the waste are given injections to prevent them from getting any sorts of diseases.

To conclude the tour we were then taken into the security rooms located outside of the centre. Unfortunately we were told that photos were not allowed to be taken :/. The security room was like something out of a CSI movie and was filled with monitors, alarms and security guards. It was awesome to see how they have camera almost everywhere in the centre and can track a person from their time of arriving up until they leave the centre and get into their cars. The quality of the cameras is so good that you can zoom in to see a persons eye colour!

Overall it was a great experience to see the facilities management side of the Waterfront Shopping Centre. I can personally say that I will ever see the centre in quite the same way!

Today Colin Devenish came to speak to us. Colin is the Executive Manager of Operations at the V&A Waterfront.

Colin was initially with Old mutual properties and has been at the V&A for around 8 years.

He says the three biggest worries he has about the business are:

• Water scarcity. No water can't flush the toilets, current water tariffs they pay 450 000 extra a month because of the new tariff and have to recover it from tenants. 
• Electricity, load shedding only not at moment due to slower productivity. 
• Terrorism, they know how to deal with robbers but cannot deal with people like suicide bombers. Has a huge impact on tourism. Had a bomb scare last week, dropped off a parcel and security saw them drop a parcel and they though ti was a bomb. Therefore they have a high level of alert. Had to get bomb squad in. 
• Lastly long term issue is Skill and people. how do you build a business without the correct skills. There are many empty jobs and unfilled positions. People quite often leave. Another is Political risk but it comes and goes. 

What makes a great place? Waterfront has location mountain, sea and port, but Colin believes its all about the SOUL of the area. He believes that the authenticity of the place makes it unique. That is why he believes in making the space work together and consistently changing to keep it interesting. Therefore focusing on the 'feel' of the place.

Thats why he now believes that Security and cleaning relates more to comfort. He believes in making an environment where people feel comfortable enough to spend time. 'Increasing quality of life is about connecting with one another'. Colin tries to make 'connections with the locals'. Their vision is to be the best Waterfront in the world and by incorporating Mixed use must also include Multiple use. Ie adverts on buildings, gyms in parks, outdoor cinemas,

The following outlines many of the Waterfronts Districts, their unique attributes and how the are managed.

Marina Facilities

• Dry dock synchro lift for ship repairs
• Facilities for docking of various types of vessels
• ISPS compliant can dock international vessels
• Super and luxury yachts

The Waterfront operates 24/7, 365 days a year and so much of the maintenance is done at night. Therefore they pay a premium as its usually overtime work. He adds that the surrounding areas such as the Cape Grace, Robin Island and CTICC all have an effect on the operations of the Waterfront. Ie the stadium having an event causing huge traffic issues. Need to manage the different events.

Hotels at the Waterfront

• Secure environment
• Easy access
• close to conference facilities
• Guests need to feel safe walking around to and from dinner etc

Parking and traffic are also huge issues.

• No of pay stations, no of entry and exits
• bay monitoring
• multiple tariffs of common tariffs?
• No more letting of bays the tariffs are flexible.
• securing the vehicles

Place Making
Doing small things or adding small attractions to try and slow people down. The power of 10. Making places destinations.

Eventa and promotion

• Painting the clock tower during work cup
• There are approximately 200 outdoor events that take place annually at the waterfront and 150 indoor.
• Challenges:
• Increased security, cleaning, parking
• traffic management
• external events, Stadiums

Accessibility

• Getting people in and out
• Granger Bay is most under-utilised path into waterfront. 
• Try and redirect people to entrances less taken.
• From a disabled person, they get a guy in a wheel chair to do a full assessment every 2 years or so.

Linkages between precincts.

• Getting from precinct to precinct.
• during world cup they made routes from town to the stadium.
• Must be a pleasant experience walking around. 
• Opening the bridges to get experience of shipping
• bicycle routes
• signage

Safety and Security

• Armed response units for precinct
• CCTV system
• Central Control room
• Tenant response system (basically a panic button)
• Traffic control unit
• Pro-active as well as re-active approach.
• On-site paramedics
• Disaster management Plan and Training

Wate management

• central waste handling facility for wet waste and recycled material
• Tariffs are charged based on how much they recycle.
• Incentivise people to recycle and to use dry waste

Technical

• Maintenance of buildings as well as infrastructure
• specialist electrical, mechanical and civiel, structural teams versus 'general' facilities managers

Utilities Management

• Focus on consumption and recovery
• Direct metering and biking as far as possible
• Services include: Electricity, Water, Sewage and waste/Refuse collection
• Monthly and ad hoc billing.
• Metering is very important. 

Sustainability

• Use the sea wear to cool the air for air-conditioning. 

While explaining to the class the difference between mixed use and multiple use, he showed us the below video. Click and the link and enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uiaYwJkW4Q

Watch the above video to find out more about our upcoming research and case study on the V&A Silo District!

So on Tuesday this week we went as a class to the Portside building in town to get an insight into the Facilities Management that went into running such a large building.

The building itself is architecturally beautiful and towers over many of the buildings around it. The building has around 30 floors and is jointly owned by Old Mutual and RMB. Each of the halts have their own entrances and separate lift systems. The building has around 3.3 bays for ever 100m square of space.

Portside is a 5 Star Green Rated building.


When we first arrived we were shows the 'waste room' where they sort out all of the refuse of the building into different sections of recycling. This room is sorted once a day.

We were then shoed the BMS system which basically controls all the Aircon in the building. It was really interesting to find out that not only do they allow for a certain amount of fresh natural air to be flow through the building but also that the Aircons themselves can only be activated if their sensors pick up movement in the area.

We were then taken to the Diesel Storage room which hold a 23000l diesel tank which can be seen in the image below.

This diesel tank pumps up diesel to the four 1250 KVA generators which are located on the 7th floor of the building. Off one tank alone the generators could power the building for up to 2 days but the tank can also be refilled without having to turn the generators off. Here is a picture of one of the generators. Its the biggest generator I've ever seen!

We were then taken to see how the building utilises the rain water and re-uses water form the sinks to be reused in the toilets. It was really interesting to see how they tried to utilise as much as they could to prevent wastage. It was also interesting to find out that in the case of a fire this water is not used as it simply just isn't enough. You can see the waste water storage tanks in the image below:

After being shown more of the ins and outs of how the building runs we were taken to see an empty office on the 15th floor. This is where most of the students were most excited about and it kind of sparked some inspiration in us to start a business (well it did for me at least).

When the tour was coming to an end, I remembered that whenever I drive past the building, I always see people cleaning the outside glass. I asked the Facilities Manger how often they get the glass cleaned and to my surprise they actually employ glass cleaners full time! He says that it cost them around R80k a month just to clean  the glass and that they have over 300 different ropes for cleaning!
This got me thinking that even though the glass is great for allowing in natural light and reducing the need for artificial lighting, how much were they actually saving?

At the end it was all very interesting and great fun. Thanks to Dave and the guys at Portside for giving us the opportunity!

So we had our first meeting with Kathy (our lecturer and supervisor) today and it went really well!

As a group we have decided to take a look at the FM processors and strategies in an Urban Precinct. So an urban precinct is (in a nut shell) an area which is controlled or managed by a certain overseeing body, think Century City, its like an area within an area. This means that an urban precinct will have its own governance of a sort.

As a group we wanted to focus on Woodstock at first but after a discussion with Kathy we agreed that focussing on the Silo district of the V&A waterfront would be more interesting. Our assignment will look at the 5 dimensions of sustainability which are Physical, Social, Economic, Ecological and Political.

For those of you who don't know the Silo district it is a Precinct which is being developed at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront area near the N2 highway. It is being developed by V&A, Growthpoint and the Government Employee Pension Fund (managed by the Public Investment Corporation). There will be four new developments in the area introducing over 35,000m2 of mixed use sustainable developments at a cost of over R2.5 billion and to be honest it looks epic!

They plan to develop residential apartments, commercial office and even a Virgin Active. If you know Century City they're basically trying to create a similar space with all the infrastructure and amenities you would want to find in a precinct. What's great about developments like this, is not only does it create beautiful sustainable space, but it allows for job creation and ultimately an increase in GDP.

Here are some photos I found online.
Check how epic it looks!

So what is Facilities Management?

Facilities Management is also know as Corporate Real Estate and Buildings Management

'Facilities Management is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place and technology' - IFMA

So basically what this means is that Facilities Management is a profession that focusses and ensuring that a building runs to the best of its capabilities while taking into regard the building itself, the people that use the building and the functionality of the building.

Welcome :)

Let's get this thing started!

Just a quick background...

Hi guys my name is Adam Brews :)

I'm a 23 year old Property Studies Honours student at the University of Cape Town.

This year we have been given the assignment to make a blog for a course knows as Advanced Poperty Studies B which is basically Facilities Management.

For those of you who are unsure what Facilities Management is, DONT WORRY! Neither do I :p

But join me on my journey and I'm sure that within no time we'll be experts in the field.

So let the journey begin!!