FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
ISS UK and Ireland has retained its facilities management contract with Edinburgh College, on an initial five-year basis, with the option of a possible further two-year extension.
ISS has worked with Edinburgh College since 2014, and previously with two of the college campuses before the creation of a single “Edinburgh” college in October 2012.
Under the terms of the new deal which commenced on 1 August 2022, ISS will continue to provide services across the four main campuses, plus two satellite campuses, with both hard and soft services, waste and security as well as all management services.
According to ISS a key tenet of its successful bid was its proven track record of trialling and deploying customer experience innovations, improving productivity and increasing job satisfaction.
In the last 18 months, to improve sustainability and reduce the environmental impact of cleaning activities, ISS and Edinburgh College have trialled the Lotus Pro cleaning system. The system turns ordinary tap water into the highly effective cleaning agent Stabilised Aqueous Ozone; a much safer replacement for chemical detergents.
To tackle labour shortages while improving productivity, ISS and Edinburgh College have piloted hoovering ‘cobots’ and automated floor scrubbers that work with the existing cleaning team to pick up some of the manual tasks, leaving ISS placemakers free to spend more time on detail work.
Finally, the team are about to launch an upgraded helpdesk to ensure students, faculty and visitors always enjoy the best possible service.
In addition to the support ISS provides to Edinburgh College, it also plays a key role in supporting the local community. This support ranges from supporting local events, sponsoring the College netball teams strips, employing students, providing workplace experience for students and supporting charitable events with volunteers to renewing its sponsorship of the College’s football team.
Alistair Dale, Managing Director, Education, ISS UK&I, commented: “We’re thrilled not only to have retained this contract, but expanded the services we offer, following a competitive tender process. I am pleased that, thanks to a constructive partnership between ISS and Edinburgh College, we have been able to work together to manage the disruption of the past few years, while also piloting some innovations along the way!
“For us, this is more than just a contract. Edinburgh College is a Scottish institution, and through our activities we’re proud to have the opportunity to support both the local community, and students from more than 139 countries across the globe.”
Dave Keen, Estates Service Manager, Edinburgh College, said: “Throughout our relationship with ISS, we have welcomed the continuous focus on innovation as a means to drive productivity and sustainability, and to create a better workplace for everyone.
“More importantly, we have welcomed the opportunity to work as one team and to build a relationship based on trust, transparency and a desire to do better. We are confident that, in ISS, we have the right partner to ensure we continue to provide the best possible learning environment for all our students, regardless of their course or campus!”
Developing an effective workplace experience is a balancing act.
This years annual insight report delves into the work-life balance we now face in our day-to-day lives. How the new hybrid working world sees us challenge the balance of getting these things right and what workplaces can do to support its colleagues.
Find out how your organisation can get it right by clicking here to download Balanced Workplaces, a Claremont Group Interiors Insight Report Issue 6.
