Everyone's a winner

Sarah Blackman, deputy editor.

I had a thought last month; what if there was no facilities management? Unfortunately for me, that thought was provoked by rather painful and itchy bed-bug bites on my arms and legs.

Despite my best efforts – cleaning my sheets, vacuuming everything in site and flipping the mattress – nothing got rid of the little mites. It took me two days of attempted extermination to realise I had to call the professionals in, in the form of pest control.

And thank goodness I did; I’m now bug-free and no longer have to gas myself with repellent before retiring for the evening.

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Prior to this unlucky situation, my water heater leaked and almost flooded my apartment. Once again I tried, and failed to resolve the situation, which resulted in soaking wet clothes and the need to change before work. The experts, however, were there to help me in my hour of need – they stopped the water-leak and the heater was replaced within a couple of days.

For myself and so many others, FM is a necessity; it protects us and our belongings from intruders, keeps our environment clean and it sustains our buildings. And, that’s why companies in the field have been commended for their work at the FmME Awards 2010.

This month we can reveal the names of the companies and individuals who walked away with a gong and why they deserved to do so. The full list of victors, nominees and judges’ comments can be found in our special feature entitled Three Cheers.

But, FM services aren’t perfect and they can always improve, which has lead to new technologies and solutions being developed to meet client and consumer needs. Strategies also need to be discussed among industry figureheads to make sure the sector is heading in the right direction.

In light of this, there were two exhibitions held in Dubai last month - the 5th annual FM Expo and the Middle East Waste Summit 2010 – and we have covered all the highlights from these events.