BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT 67 High Street, Saffron Walden, Essex. CB10 1AA

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1 JUNE 2006 PART II EXAMINATION EXAMINER S REPORT MODULE 1: CASE STUDY UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS ORGANISATION AND MANAGING PEOPLE INTRODUCTION This examination introduced the concept of Private Finance Initiatives but stated in the scenario that detailed knowledge of the PFI concept was not required. No problems related to PFI were noted in the answers. Although no Distinction grades were achieved, the quality of answers was generally satisfactory, though often lacking explanation in any depth, possibly reflecting the levels of Facilities Management at which the candidates are working. There was a range of approaches to the questions. As in previous papers, there were instances where the question had not been read and understood. An example of this was Q1, which asked for an Action Plan, but where some candidates did not set out the answer as such, despite four marks being available specifically for this. The marking for each question was as follows: Question % of Candidates Attempting Average Mark Highest Mark Lowest Mark The overall results were as follows: Grade % of Candidates June 2006 % of Candidates December 2005 % of Candidates June 2005 % of Candidates December 2004 Distinction 0% 6% 8% 10% Credit 25% 35% 15% 10% Pass 58% 24% 54% 60% Fail 17% 35% 23% 20% Page 1 of 14

2 CASE STUDY SCENARIO NOTE TO CANDIDATES Although this paper describes a situation using the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) as the contract basis, candidates are NOT expected to be conversant with the details of PFI contracts and no questions will be asked specifically relating to PFI. Beechshire County Council Education Authority decided three years ago that due to the poor state of the fabric of the 17 secondary and 68 primary schools throughout the county, it was essential to make significant improvements. These improvements are now to be implemented through a Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The Council has secured financial support for the Private Finance Initiative through a consortium of three major UK financial institutions. The Special Purpose Vehicle called BeechServe has been created to operate the PFI. The main contractor that has been appointed is called ScholarAid and is a consortium of organisations with construction and facilities management expertise. Under the terms of the Private Finance Initiative, day-to-day service provision and management of the properties for catering, security, cleaning, fabric and engineering maintenance and energy provision will rest with ScolarAid. Each school and its Governing Body has agreed to this, with an option for individual schools to arrange their own cleaning if they so desire. The Facilities and Assets Manager employed by ScolarAid who is responsible for this scheme is Ann Hart. She previously worked in the financial sector as a corporate estates manager and has been recruited because of her experience of property management and successful operation of Private Finance Initiatives. Ann has decided that the most appropriate and cost effective way of ensuring consistent cleaning provision within the estate is by establishing a Framework Agreement with a national cleaning contractor, which will cover all the likely cleaning requirements throughout the schools and supporting buildings. This agreement will provide different levels of cleaning to be adopted at different locations, depending upon the specific requirements of a particular school. This Framework Agreement will then be made available to all schools. As noted above, it was agreed at the outset of the Private Finance Initiative that cleaning provision would be an option for each school Governing Body to adopt or they could make their own arrangements. A sample of the output performance specification prepared by Ann Hart for the cleaning is given below. Page 2 of 14

3 HARD FLOOR TASK GROUP 1 Cleaning The Contractor shall provide a comprehensive Cleaning Service throughout the Premises, delivered in a safe and efficient manner. The Contractor shall take responsibility for maintaining all internal cleanable areas including fixtures, fittings, furniture and finishes, to minimise degradation, enhance asset life cycle and ensure the Customer s high standards and image are maintained. The Contractor is required to provide a high quality service within the scope of this specification. The standard as specified is to be evident at the start of each working day. The Contractor shall undertake all tasks normally associated with a professional cleaning contract, to ensure that the teaching areas, internal sports areas, offices, toilets, shower rooms, changing areas, kitchens, public areas, meeting and conference rooms and all other working areas, furniture and floor spaces are maintained to a high level of general cleanliness and remain presentable and fit for their intended purpose. The Contractor shall be responsible for monitoring the provision of the Services on a daily basis to ensure a high quality service is provided. The Contractor shall use reasonable endeavours and as far as is reasonably practicable, specify and use cleaning materials that are Environmentally preferable throughout the entire product cycle. The successful cleaning contractor selected by ScolarAid is Cleanwell Services. Cleanwell Services have provided a detailed methodology to demonstrate compliance with the output performance specification. A sample is provided at the end of this scenario. Ann Hart is aware from previous experience that the quality of cleaning can deteriorate over time. She is keen to ensure that this does not occur in the Beechshire schools. Having set up the Framework Agreement with Cleanwell Services, she has decided to assess its effectiveness by identifying benchmark criteria and comparing the performance of the contractor providing the Framework Agreement service with other service providers. Page 3 of 14

4 Sample of detailed methodology HARD FLOOR TASK GROUP Remove Debris Pick up litter which cannot/should not be removed by suction cleaning. This could include paper towels, tissues, empty drinks cans, apple cores and similar items. 1.2 Mop Sweep Remove dust and litter from all hard floor surfaces including floor edges and corners using dust control mops which are either of the impregnated yarn type, anti-static type or are part of a disposable system. 1.3 Suction Clean Remove dry dust and soil using dry suction equipment complying with three-stage filtration. This process includes floor edges and corners. Check filters and replace as per manufacturer s instructions. 1.4 Damp Mop Remove soil and dirt from hard floors using a cotton or mixed fibre mop and appropriate cleaning agent in solution with hand hot water. Mop water should be changed at least once per 15 minutes and at the commencement of a different location type. 1.5 Spot Mop As part of the check cleaning process, remove spots, spillage or ingrained dirt from hard floors using the same method as for damp mopping.nb. All spots and spillages of a hazardous nature must be removed immediately. Hazardous can mean spillage likely to cause accidents to staff, pupils or visitors, through falling or spillage. 1.6 Spray Clean Carry out after first mop sweeping or suction cleaning. Then, using a prepared liquid solution in a hand-spray, spray an appropriate amount onto the hard floor. Using a high-speed polisher with an appropriate pad, pass the machine over the hard floor until the surface is clean, dry, dust free and an acceptable finish is achieved, taking care to avoid wandering cables. Solution should be discarded on completion of task. 1.7 Buff/Burnish Carry out after routine damp mopping or scrub/re-dress. Pass machine over floor from side to side, at the same time ensuring minimum overlap of pad or brush attachment on each pass. 1.8 Scrub Remove floor soil, ingrained dirt and scuff marks using a mechanical scrubbing machine, an appropriate pad/brush and appropriate cleaning agent in solution with hand hot water. Rinse and dry hard floors, using a wet pick-up where suitable, or mop dry the floor surface. 1.9 Suction Dry Indicates the use of mechanical wet-pick-up equipment complying with three-stage filtration to remove water/slurry from floor after scrubbing. Page 4 of 14

5 1.10 Hand Sweeping The removal of dust, dirt, litter from floor/ground surfaces using appropriate brush. This process is only for specific areas e.g. outside entrances/garden patios. REQUIRED OUTCOME MEASURES The floor is free of dust, grit, litter, chewing gum, marks and spots, water or other liquids. The floor is free of polish or other build-up at the edges and corners or in traffic lanes. The floor is free of spots, scuffs or scratches on traffic lanes, around furniture and at pivot points. Inaccessible areas (edges, corners and around furniture) are free of dust, grit, and spots. Polished or buffed floors are of a uniform lustre. Appropriate signage and precautions are taken regarding pedestrian safety on newly cleaned or wet floors. Page 5 of 14

6 QUESTION 1 Ann Hart would like the take-up for the cleaning contract option, through the Framework Agreement, to be as large as possible. Prepare an ACTION PLAN including four different means of communication e.g. a letter, which she can use to generate interest and buy-in by the schools to the Framework Agreement. JUSTIFY the choice and effectiveness of each means of communication at different stages of the plan and LIST the type of content each would contain. 16 marks 4 marks for format of Action Plan SYLLABUS REFERENCE: 1.3; 1.4.2; EXAMINER S COMMENTS This question achieved the highest overall marks. Good answers contained clearly laid out stages with explanations, timescales and responsibilities. As mentioned in the Introduction, some candidates failed to set out their answer as an Action Plan. Justification for the Action Plan headings was not understood by all candidates. What was required was the reason for selecting each method of communication in the particular stage of the Action Plan, showing the advantages and disadvantages. Listing the content of each method of communication required a brief itemised list e.g. for a letter this would be addressee, heading showing subject of the letter, introduction and purpose, main detail, follow up activities, points of reference for the reader for further information. Some candidates went into detailed examples for each communication method which failed to gain additional marks. This question required an awareness of dealing with a very wide client base (17 secondary and 68 primary schools each with separate head teachers, support staff and governing bodies). The Action Plan components could have included for example: a) An awareness campaign explaining the concept of a central cleaning contract, possibly with a letter to each school and using other means of communication such as Education newsletters, conferences and other opportunities for getting across the message. b) A presentation for use at conferences and school visits setting out reasons for the new cleaning regime, advantages for users, disadvantages of existing methods, likely cost savings, significant reduction in management of cleaning personnel, higher cleaning standards c) A detailed letter to each school explaining the benefits of the proposed cleaning regime with costs, how the change from existing arrangements would take place, the monitoring regime and review process and how specific requirements for each school would be identified Page 6 of 14

7 d) A visit to each location, having identified who are the key personnel to meet and who has the decision-making responsibility, in order to address issues, note concerns and, as far as possible, resolve them, interrogate those not wishing to participate in the Framework Agreement to identify reasons, encourage buy-in to the new arrangement and seek participation Marks were awarded for suitable components of the Action Plan, amount of detailed explanation for each and initiative shown in the different means used to promote the Framework Agreement. Page 7 of 14

8 QUESTION 2 a) EXPLAIN the term benchmarking. 6 marks SYLLABUS REFERENCE: 1.6.2; EXAMINER S COMMENTS This should be a term well understood by candidates for this exam. Most were able to provide a reasonable explanation but several failed to include the important element of identifying who performs better and why. Benchmarking is a method of improving performance in a systematic and logical way by measuring and comparing your performance against others and then using lessons learned from the best to make targeted improvements. It involves answering the questions: "Who performs better?" "Why are they better?" "What actions do we need to take in order to improve our performance?" Whilst benchmarking has been used occasionally in the construction industry for many years, the recent surge of interest has been encouraged by the publication of sets of national Key Performance Indicators that allow companies to measure their performance simply and to set targets based on national performance data. b) DISCUSS: (i) WHAT ASPECTS of the school cleaning service could be benchmarked and HOW the benchmark data could be used. 7 marks (ii) WHAT FACTORS Ann Hart needs to take into consideration when deciding which organisations to consult in a benchmarking exercise. 7 marks SYLLABUS REFERENCE: 1.6.2; EXAMINER S COMMENTS Aspects that could be benchmarked could have included the initial quoted price and actual cost (with both related to some form of normalization such as cost per unit floor area), actual attendance, assessed performance, materials usage, cleaning time per square meter, provision of training, extent of supervision. Most candidates were able to give examples. However some answers listed criteria Page 8 of 14

9 which the examiner considered to be inappropriate such as cleaning staff feedback, transport issues, accuracy of invoicing and attendance at performance review meetings. Better answers recognised the need to make allowance for geographical differences in costs, different requirements at different locations and the period when the benchmark data was obtained in relation to when the benchmark comparison was carried out. Benchmarking criteria can be obtained from user groups, contractors associations, national benchmark data providers and possibly within this particular situation other divisions within the service provision consortium. Page 9 of 14

10 QUESTION 3 The scenario states that the Private Finance Initiative cleaning provision would be an option for each school Governing Body to adopt, or alternatively they could make their own arrangements. The Framework Agreement provides for different levels of cleaning at different locations, dependent upon the specific requirements of each particular school. DISCUSS whether the approach of using a Framework Agreement is the most appropriate solution in this situation. 20 marks SYLLABUS REFERENCE: 1.2; 6.3.1; 6.5 EXAMINER S COMMENTS The question addressed the section of the syllabus relating to how organisations make decisions. In this instance the client consists of a very wide group, many of whom will be individual decision makers. Good answers appreciated the wide potential range of clients at the different schools and the need to provide a range of services from which each could determine their own requirements. Good answers also recognised that each school had the option not to be part of the process and that there was, therefore, a need to present the proposal in a way which demonstrated it was in the best interests of each school to participate. However, this question produced the lowest average mark. The quality of the discussion varied considerably with some candidates showing little understanding of the Framework Agreement concept. The advantage of a Framework Agreement is that it allows each school to opt in or out of various types of cleaning. Each school will have its own criteria. By their nature, schools are centres for providing education and cleaning may not rate high on the agenda at least until it is not provided satisfactorily. The Framework Agreement should help to ensure there is consistent provision across all schools opting into it. Answers were expected to demonstrate awareness of the different clients, an understanding of how a Framework Agreement could function, the need for flexibility to meet different needs and the possibility that some clients would wish to continue their own arrangement. Page 10 of 14

11 QUESTION 4 Ann Hart is anxious that the cleaning provision will not deteriorate over time. a) Briefly EXPLAIN the term continuous improvement. 4 marks SYLLABUS REFERENCE: 1.6.1; EXAMINER S COMMENTS Continuous improvement is the process of formally looking at how the FM service provision is being delivered, collecting the resulting information, analysing it, determining what action to take and implementing it. All participants should be actively involved in identifying where and how improvements can be made without putting themselves in a position of blame. The term continuous improvement was generally understood and explained, but there was some lack of appreciation that it needs to be carried out in the context of a formal ongoing process aimed at identifying where and how improvements can be made within a no blame culture. b) IDENTIFY and DESCRIBE four continuous improvement techniques that could be applied within the context of the scenario to ensure the standard of cleaning provision is continually improving. 16 marks SYLLABUS REFERENCE: 1.6.1; EXAMINER S COMMENTS Many techniques were identified. These included: Questionnaires and surveys of the building users and school facilities management officer to obtain feedback on performance delivery and possible areas for improvement Independent performance reviews from commissioned third parties to provide objective assessments of areas where improvements could be made and to identify areas where the service delivery is going well so that it could be replicated elsewhere Questionnaires to the service provider operatives to gain factual comment on how and where improvements could be made, both to make their work situation better and to improve working efficiency Discussion between the service provider and client through regular, scheduled meetings, specifically in relation to aspects such as performance achieved, quality of staff available, levels of training, problems with service provision, changing client requirements and expectations, recommendations from service provider. Some answers such as monitoring performance and reaction times, rewards for productivity, and Page 11 of 14

12 setting Service Level Agreements were not considered to be part of continuous improvement. Page 12 of 14

13 QUESTION 5 The scenario provides an example of an output performance specification (prepared by Ann Hart) and a methodology (supplied by Cleanwell Services). DESCRIBE how each of these documents should be used during the course of the contract to manage and monitor supplier performance. 20 marks SYLLABUS REFERENCE: 6.4 EXAMINER S COMMENTS This question also scored a low average mark. Although there were some good examples, demonstrating an understanding of the difference between an output specification and a methodology, there were also worrying examples of answers where this was plainly not understood. Use of these documents to manage and monitor supplier performance was also not always understood. Some candidates assumed that Ann Hart would be using both documents to undertake close monitoring and supervision of the service provider: in practice it is likely that the detailed implementation of the methodology would be the part of the role of the contractor. The detailed methodology provided by Cleanwell Services addresses the detail of how individual tasks will be undertaken. Performance monitoring at this level may be more appropriate at contractor supervision level, since it will involve the day-to-day inspection of cleaning quality against the methodology. This level of information will also be required for training of cleaning operatives to ensure good understanding of the tasks they are required to perform. This should be the source of performance criteria for the contractor to assess whether the service is being delivered satisfactorily (i.e. to the stated methodology) by adequately trained operatives and to a consistent standard across all properties and could provide the basis of discussion regarding continuous improvement. The output specification defines the requirements of Ann Hart as the client representative and would be used by her to assess whether the required criteria had been achieved at the different locations covered by the Agreement. The output performance specification provides the overall requirements and expectations of the client in broad terms, identifying where cleaning is required (internal cleanable areas including fixtures, fittings, furniture and finishes). It also states the contractor is required to provide a high quality service with the standard evident at the start of each working day. It notes that environmentally preferable cleaning materials are to be used. This provides the starting point for establishing monitoring criteria, which need to be both achievable and measurable and reflect the service required by the client. Page 13 of 14

14 Marks were awarded to candidates on the basis of understanding the differences between the two types of document and identifying how and by whom they will be used in relation to performance monitoring. Better answers noted that over the period of the contract there are likely to be changes such as client requirements and the technology of service provision which may have an effect on either or both of the documents. Page 14 of 14