No regulations for facilities management industry

Facilities management companies have had to rely on international best practices for the growing industry, as legislations for their operations are not locally standardised.

Facilities Manager UT Properties, Aba Asante-Koranchie, told the B&FT that: “The industry is a young one as compared to well-defined professions such as the legal, pharmaceutical and medical ones. As such, there are not many seasoned professionals.

“Additionally, legislation and industry regulations are not locally standardised, therefore some players within the facilities management industry do not operate with the needed professionalism. A full-scale facilities management service requires some level of financing and trained skills for managing modern facilities within the infrastructure.”

The need for facilities management services has become even greater as the number of commercial office buildings and high-end residential facilities increase in Accra and other major regional capitals across the country.

The Airport City enclave in Accra is now home to many high-rise building that are real architectural beauties. These new buildings in the Airport City enclave, as well as many other high-rise commercial buildings and residential properties in the country, require competent facilities management companies to handle them and ensure their longevity.

Local facilities management companies now boast multinational companies as clients. However, the lack of locally standardised legislation might undermine growth of the industry and breed charlatans.

“This is a very positive outlook. It is an opportunity that allows for skills development and deployment particularly for professionals within the built environment or industry. These include Architects, Land Economists, Estate Managers, Engineers as well as our Artisans. It is also positive as it shows that there is a concerted effort by Ghanaians to be a part of a growing global industry,” Mrs. Asante-Koranchie said.

Today the facilities management sector is recognised by all major players within the business world as being vital to survival. The major benefit from controlling facilities internally is the added degree of control afforded to the organisation in question.

However, this is offset by limits imposed by budgetary restraints and the often difficult juggling of personnel resources. Companies now prefer outsourcing FM services in order to focus on their core business and allow professionals to handle their facilities.

One of the areas that has seen most change in how facilities management operates involves the actual services which are provided. In days gone by, most of the attention would be focused on providing ‘hard’ services such as maintenance of buildings or repair of office equipment. Today those services have expanded greatly to also incorporate the provision of ‘soft services’.

This type of service could be said to include the provision of personnel to run reception areas or manage internal post-room services. The modern-day facilities manager now has to be competent in all service areas, both operational and strategic.

“We at UT Properties are members of professional associations which certify our service standards. We are trained in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and therefore have both local and international expertise experience. We are also currently pursuing ISO certification for Health and Safety. This indicates the globally acceptable standards an indigenous firm aspires to for assuring clients of technical competencies,” Mrs. Asante-Koranchie said.