An Aligned Approach - Noel Clancy, CEO Shepherd FM

"Certainly the temptation to exploit the market place is a strong one, especially when some of the suicidal bidding is coming from the major brands. But we have been there before and certainly know where that philosophy all too often ends."

"So what are the alternatives? Well we are witnessing a growing number of clients who are beginning to understand the benefit of engaging a service partner who processes all the required components at a very early stage. By early stage, I mean at concept stage where key financial and business case models are being established.

By engaging an experienced player at this stage, one who is considering how to maximise the asset worth and core business output, you can ensure that the key focus is not solely on the individual packages but on the development as a whole.

In a world where the run costs far outweighs the build value, it would seem the logical thing to do but unfortunately the market place is still tuned into a silo mentality where the sum of short term decisions amount to more than the total of a partnered approach.

In the same way that a 4 year parliamentary term encourages respective governments to avoid addressing key issues head on, the built environment sector can be charged on the same account. It is all too often about the here and now with back firing consequences time and time again.

The focus from professional teams is all too often on squeezing the individual components when an aligned whole life cycle approach would gain an enhanced longer term return for their clients.

So what can we do to start addressing this issue? Well, we can engage experienced building solution teams, who collaborate with their interweaving counterparts at the very outset, when their ideas can still add something meaniful to the concept and scope, prior to a shovel striking the ground.

We can also look to engage businesses or consortiums that can offer true end to end solutions, where a turnkey approach can save the client valuable ‘concept to operate’ time, whilst eradicating duplicated overhead and risk pots. If you procure this way, your Facilities Management provider has nowhere to hide and you will radically reduce your FM running costs whilst also improving your energy saving performance. 

I say true end to end offering, as the market is full of conceptual turnkeys, which are nothing more than misaligned silos with a sleek wrapper. If there is one good thing to come of this down turn, it will be the market place exploiting these wrappers for being exactly that, whilst allowing true property experts to show their value in their client’s hour of need."
 

Photograph: Directors of The Shepherd Group Built Environment Division. Left to right: Mark Dinnes (Shepherd Aligned), Richard Vining (Shepherd Construction), Mark Perkins (Divisional Chief Executive), Peter Lewis (SES) and Noel Clancy (Shepherd FM).

 

 

 

 

 

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