Future first

Bill Heath: Who wouldn't want to be involved in some of the world's greatest construction projects?

Bill Heath, managing director of Mace Macro International, looks back on six years of operations in the UAE, the buzz of mega project involvement, and what the next year has in store for FM professionals

fmME: How does Mace Macro International operate?

Bill Heath: Mace Macro International (Macro) is part of the Mace Group, provider of professional management solutions for the construction and property industry.

I formed Macro in 2002 with a couple of colleagues who I’d worked with previously to provide facilities management services, initially to support clients in the United Kingdom.

We have since grown and now operate across Europe, the USA, Canada and in the Middle East, employing 500 professionals.

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fmME: When and why did Macro set-up operations in the UAE?

BH: Macro’s operations in the UAE date back to 2003 when it was engaged to provide FM strategic advice to the Jumeirah Beach Development, a Dubai Properties project. Occupying 22 million square feet of prime beach front consisting of 40 high rise towers, the development included residential and hotel accommodation as well as significant retail, entertainment and leisure facilities.

Our role entailed reviewing the design as it developed operationally, and we were additionally required to assess the initial service charge model for the development, something which was new at the time in Dubai. Ultimately, our work led to the creation of IDAMA, the FM arm of Dubai Properties.

As for why we’re here? As we won other consultancy projects we recognised Macro could not grow significantly without a permanent presence in the UAE.

Plus, the market challenges are fantastic. Projects of significant size, scale and diversity were, and still are, a challenge too hard to resist for us. The region has tremendous ambition and we want to help shape that.

fmME: How does the FM business model differ in the Middle East and what is Macro’s regional USP?

BH: The FM business model does not really differ that greatly in the Middle East. It is probably at a stage where the UK was some five to 10 years ago, but it is rapidly catching up as one would expect with the pace of development. There is a difference though across the GCC, with some countries being more advanced than others in terms of thinking about FM and the benefits it can bring. One further difference is that the role of FM in Dubai and Abu Dhabi tends to cover community environments much more, with a mix of residential, commercial and leisure facilities to look after.

Plus, a major challenge in managing and maintaining projects in the Middle East is ensuring service charges are both appropriately assessed and controlled transparently.

Macro operates independently from direct service provision, allowing us to ensure services are performance driven and within agreed cost parameters. Identifying service partners who are able to work to exacting standards and are willing to learn is the key to our success.

Macro’s USP is the approach of providing independent FM management, consultancy, and service delivery