With the impact of COVID is being felt across the industries, one sector that is seeing demand due to the critical nature of its work during the COVID is facilities management (FM).

 

The UAE’s leading facilities management company Khidmah said they have been witnessing a steady rise in demand for professional sanitisation and disinfection services coming from commercial entities and residential units since 2020.

 

“Our services as FM consultants became one of the integral parts of the fight against the virus,” said Abdellatif Sfaxi, Chief Executive Officer at Khidmah. 

 

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Abdellatif Sfaxi, Chief Executive Officer at Khidmah

While FM services have always been crucial for the life and maintenance of properties, they became more critical in combating COVID-19, be it sanitisation and disinfection of public and commercial spaces or maintenance of homes. 

 

He said gone are the days when FM was described as a handyman and cleaning service. “People are now looking for a higher level of maintenance and asset lifecycle management, which has enabled the FM sector to expand the scope of services and provide clients with integrated services such as MEP, cleaning, maintenance, hospitality services among others.” 

 

Currently, Khidmah sees multiple opportunities in the market with many significant size projects coming to fruition, coupled with changing workplace culture, consumer behaviour and choices post covid-19.

 

“There is also a strong demand for FM services from different sized clients and industries, which is a vital sign of the sector’s evolution,” said Sfaxi, adding that they are determined to “stay ahead of the curve through acquisitions and organic growth.”

 

“We are also looking at technology as a great enabler and differentiator for Khidmah,” said the Khidmah CEO, which currently has over 80 facilities under management.

 

While engaging FM services early on a project is considered to be beneficial, the practice is yet to pick up pace in the region. Sfaxi points out that FM companies can offer their knowledge and technical expertise during the planning, designing, and pre-construction stage.

 

“FM's role is often overlooked at early property design and development stages. Our data shows that only 20-25 per cent of projects involve FM companies during the design and construction phase,” he said. 

 

COVID measures  

 

As the Covid-19 began to impose a new reality on the world, Sfaxi said businesses have had to think outside of the box and adopt new strategies and techniques that can help them and their customers navigate the challenges of the situation and stay safe.

 

With disinfection and sanitisation becoming one of the tools to fight the pandemic, Khidmah said its staff took the frontline. “We had to activate our crisis protocols to protect our staff, our customers, our managed communities and minimise any disruption to service,” says the Khidmah CEO, who has over 3,000 employees. 

 

He said they followed all guidance provided by the local and international authorities, including remote working where possible. For that, all its back-office staff had to work from home, including its call centre agents who operate a 24-hour customer service line.

 

“We proactively put together and still utilise an Emergency Response Team to meet the increasing demand for cleaning, sanitisation, and disinfection and respond immediately to people's needs.” 

 

Given the nature of its work, the company had to intensify its preventive measures to ensure its employees' safety and well-being, which included providing personal protective equipment (PPE) and hand sanitisers to staff engaged in sanitisation and disinfection works. In addition, the company conducted daily staff health check-ups and disinfection and sanitisation of its technical staff's accommodation and buses. 

 

“We regularly brief our staff on good hygiene and sanitisation in line with the British Institute of Cleaning Science’s (BICSc) Infection Control Awareness program at the Khidmah Training Centre. We have also trained our technical team to use sanitisation and disinfection products effectively and safely in line with all hygiene guidance provided by the UAE’s authorities and World Health Organisation (WHO),” revealed Sfaxi. 

 

Innovative & sustainable solutions 

 

In an effort to make its services technologically advanced and sustainable, Khidmah has adopted measures like designated recycling bins for plastic disposals, reducing plastic use, including biodegradable plastic in soft services and among others. “We have also launched measures including recycling initiatives and processes, reusing Dry Liners, and using biodegradable items such as paper bags, wooden cutlery, muslin pouches, glass bottles, and canvas bags,” said Sfaxi.

 

He revealed that adopting the right technology has enabled the company to drive efficiencies across the board and meet its clients' changing requirements and budgets.  

 

“We have launched 'FM Connect’, an application designed to further enhance the company's service delivery by optimising task allocation to technicians in real-time. More importantly, the application provides timely services to our clients, enhanced our employees' skillsets, and boosted operational efficiency,” he explained. 

 

Additionally, to cope with the current environment, the company has launched several collaborative tools including PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) in record time to ensure the collaboration between key teams and customers continues to happen effectively. “The devices ensure that critical tasks are carried out without any hindrance due to this situation.”

 

Evolving health and safety scenario  

 

The global pandemic prompted the industry to adopt new standards and technologies to contain the virus and mitigate the risk of it spreading. 

 

Sfaxi noted out that the FM industry was quick to adapt to the unprecedented change and followed all local and international regulations and protocols. But he also acknowledged that the sector’s existing HSQE, cleaning schedule/SOP, HVAC/Filtration systems need to be upgraded to ensure the industry’s ability to counter threats like Covid-19.

 

But as public health guidelines and policies continue to evolve amid COVID waves, what considerations FM companies like Khidmah are making while drafting contracts? 

 

For contracts that include Integrated FM, Sfaxi saud they follow ISO standards to keep buildings clean, free of dust, and use approved cleaning agents for different types of cleaning needs. “Indoor air quality is maintained by controlling fresh airflow and cleaning and replacing filters when applicable.”

 

“We think the new normal could help the industry learn from the COVID experience and may be utilised to include new HVAC regulations in the design and build stage, and upgrade existing systems to meet the new indoor air quality requirements, and help maintain public health,” he added.

 

Expansion strategy 

 

During the next five years, Khidmah intends to grow its business and capabilities organically and through acquisitions in the UAE and the region, including Saudi Arabia which, Sfaxi emphasised, forms an integral part of their expansion plan.

 

In line with the Saudi Economic Vision 2030m Giga projects such as Riyadh Metro, Neom, Red Sea, Qiddiya offer huge potential, he said. 

 

“These Giga projects are not just one-off buildings, but rather assets that will be there for ages and for many generations to experience and hence require a specialised, sophisticated FM provider to help manage and prolong the assets' lifecycle,” he explained. 

 

Sfaxi said Khidmah is now stepping to the next phase of its evolution. “We aim to become a more resilient and diversified business recognised for service delivery excellence and creating unique customer experiences,” while continuing to invest in people, enhancing customer experience, managing risks and maximising shareholder returns.

 

(Reporting by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

 

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