The prime focus of my role is to manage the facilities in terms of the general fabric of the school, such as caretaking, cleaning and looking after the groundsmen. I am also involved in the development of building use and space management and have sole control of the provision of planned maintenance and capital programmes. Add onto that health and safety management for the whole school and the development of the school in terms of lettings and functions, and that just about sums it up.
Describe your typical day?
Organised pandemonium.
What did you do before you took up your current position?
I spent 12 years working for a large housing association where I dealt with service charges and service contracts. The housing association allowed me to develop my career by allowing me to explore facilities management, and in return I helped them develop their facilities management structure.
What did you qualify in?
I started in 1991 by passing the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) maintenance management diploma and joined the CIOB as associate. After a couple of years break I took and passed my Member 1 (the CIOB's former exam for associates). Unfortunately, I was too slow off the mark in undertaking Member 2 and the CIOB changed the examination structure. In 1999 I passed the CIOB DMX qualification and gained full corporate membership of the body.
What is the toughest part of your job?
Finding the right balance in terms of fitting all that needs to be done into the day's tight schedule, while still allowing myself a bit of thinking time. One of the greatest constraints in the school environment is scheduling the work to coincide with school holidays (no I don't get the same holidays as the teachers); this can be a major problem with large-scale capital works. The second and most difficult task is creating the right climate for a full health and safety management system to work effectively. With 800 pupils running around health and safety can be a nightmare.
What do you like about your current role?
All of it! From dealing with the staff to large-scale refurbishments. I do get a great deal of satisfaction from getting to the end of the year and seeing the fruits of my labour all completed and within budget.
Source
The Facilities Business
