FM and MEP go hand in hand

Natasha Gangaramani, Al Fara'a Group director.

We speak to Al Fara’a Group director Natasha Gangaramani about its new FM division and the important role it plays.

Part of the reasoning was to allow a greater input into the design stage of a project. Traditionally FM is only taken into account at handover, but significant cost-savings and efficiencies can be effected if its synergies are harnessed early enough.

“We realised that a bit of forward thinking would alleviate a lot of the problems encountered at a later stage in terms of MEP maintenance. For example, what impact would it have on the elevators breaking down if we spent a little extra at the beginning?”

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FEATURED COMMENT OUTSOURCING THE FM FUNCTION IS JUST BASED ON THE COST CENTER CONCEPT ; THIS APPEARS TO BE A SHORTSIGHTED SCHOOL OF THOUG   2 Comments Read more comments »

Gangaramani comments that the construction side of the group is linked intimately with the FM side, as it is part of the contractor’s remit to provide a year’s maintenance upon completion of a project. “This does not mean services, but actual MEP maintenance, such as all the electro-mechanical equipment and elevators, for example.

“We have become so good at this from a contractor’s perspective that our experts are able to sniff out potential problems in advance. They can look at a specification and intuitively know what sort of issues to anticipate. They will then explain the situation to the client and enquire if they are willing to undertake the associated risks, or try and prevent them with upfront planning.”

Commenting on the decision to launch the new FM division at such a difficult time, when the global economic crisis has had a significant impact on the construction industry in Dubai, Gangaramani says: “I think any time is good, as long as there is a gap in the market. The gap we see is FM engaging with a project right from the design stage, together with the ongoing servicing and maintenance post-handover.

“If you have planned it correctly right from the design stage, then maintaining it when it is ready will not be a problem, as this has effectively been programmed into the design. So I believe that this is where our strength lies. Regardless of the market conditions, we are going to be delivering projects, as well as having developers approaching us and wanting to work with us due to our particular skills set.”

In terms of the cost-effectiveness of outsourcing versus having your own in-house FM division, Gangaramani says that “cleaning, security and pest control are the easy part.
 

But you cannot outsource the sort of expertise we have accumulated over the last three decades. We have grown, and it now comes naturally to us.

Such an integrated approach is different from simply outsourcing the FM for a tower that is ready to be handed over.

I agree that outsourcing is necessary wherever specialised skills or expertise may be required, but in general FM represents an intangible value that cannot be quantified through outsourcing.