FACILITIES MANAGEMENT JOURNAL JOBS
FM CAREERS - CAREER LADDER / COMPLIANCE
Name: Pierce McAllorum
Current role:
EMEA Engineering and
Sustainability Manager
Lives: Dublin, Ireland
FMJ chats to a facilities
professional about how they got
into the sector and takes a look at
their career path. This month we
talk to Pierce McAllorum, EMEA
Engineering and Sustainability
Manager at JLL.
What was you first job in the FM
sector?
In the client-based FM sector it was with JLL
in April 2017 and I haven’t looked back since.
Prior to this, and due to the downturn, I had
to rethink my options as a constructionbased
electrician and ended up as a
technician in a well-regarded hotel.
What made you choose FM as a
career?
As I progressed within the hospitality sector, I
started to seek more FM knowledge through
part-time FM courses. I then began to gain a
real understanding and love of the industry
and knew that this was where my future lay.
How did you progress through the
profession to your current role?
It has to be the diversification of the role and
the continuous development of people and
process. The sector is fluid and I am always
excited as FM becomes engaged in more
business aspects from planned maintenance
and space to strategy and CSR, our roles are
always changing and increasing in depth
allowing us to expand our experience and
making us a key driver moving forward for
business.
What personal qualities do you think
are most needed for a successful career in
FM?
I started o… as a multi-skilled technician in a
five-star hotel. Through excellent guidance
from my facilities manager, I decided the next
step was to self-improve and gain managerial
experience in a smaller hotel. This provided
a great learning experience for me in areas
such as finance. Where previously finance
wouldn’t have been a major issue, it was
now a massive challenge. I started to learn
ways to improve asset e… iciency and used
energy saving methods to counter this while
remaining statutory compliant and improving
guest reviews. Following this I decided to
move back into five-star hotels, this time
as an FM. It was here where I used the
methods learned to win awards for energy
management and made major contributions
to the hotel’s finance. I was then contacted by
JLL for the role I’m currently in with Linkedin.
Do you have any qualifications or
training in FM and related areas such as
health and safety? And how have you
benefited from them?
I have a Level 5 IWFM diploma, Engineering
Operations Diploma and a Level 3 CIEH
in Health and Safety. I believe all these
qualifications have helped me to be prepared
for the fast-paced and unpredictable
environment that FM brings while being still
able to deliver the best service to clients and
stakeholders.
What is your greatest contribution to
the FM sector, or your current role?
I feel my biggest contributions to my current
role would be the complete roll-out of a
newly-created asset management system
across all 10 EMEA sites. There was little
handover, so all data was gathered by hand
and a management system created. The
system included tagging, asset list creating,
new logbooks, new SOPs/EOPs and the
training and upskilling of the team to manage
onsite. Another would be to help close out
of snagging/defects of the new 190,000sq ”
€85m EMEA HQ in Dublin.
What’s changed most since you
started in FM?
While my time in FM has been relatively short,
I believe technology is constantly changing.
From smart phone apps to CMMS systems,
the way we work is being made simpler and
easier to manage thanks to technology.
What personal qualities do you think
are most needed for a successful career in
FM?
A strong work ethic and ability to predict
risk. Although that sounds quite negative,
the ability to foresee where there could be
potential issues has helped me a great deal in
managing sites.
If you could do one thing di erently in
your career in FM, what would it be?
Get into it sooner! Really though I don’t think
I’d do too much di… erently, all mistakes or
hardships I faced along the way made me the
person I am today.
What would make the biggest
di erence to the FM sector?
I feel the opinion of the sector is changing
however I still feel that sometimes it’s still
seen as a cost rather than an investment.
This opinion is changing but very slowly, I
feel more awareness and training to owners/
CEOs in regards to the positive financial gain
from having a happy and healthy workplace
would help investment in facilities and
workplace more.
What advice would you give to young
people coming into the profession now?
Embrace technology early, it will be the future
of this sector. Be patient, learn your cra” and
management style first before becoming a
manager. Work hard but try keep a healthy
balance between personal and working life.
You’ll be a better manager and person for it.
COMPLIANCE
DESIGNING FOR HAZARDOUS
ENVIRONMENTS
Paul Mannion, Project Engineer at engineering
solutions provider Boulting, explains the
considerations that should be made when designing for
builds in hazardous environments.
The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmosphere
Regulations 2002 (DSEAR), defines a hazardous area as
“any place in which an explosive atmosphere may occur in
quantities such as to require special precautions to protect
the safety of workers”.
It’s vital that precautions are taken when constructing,
installing and using apparatus in areas that are defined as
hazardous.
Hazardous areas are classified under six zones. Three
zones associated with gas are classified under Zone 0 and
are areas where an explosive gas atmosphere is present.
Zone 1 is an area where an explosive gas atmosphere is
likely to occur in normal operation. While Zone 2 covers
areas where an explosive gas atmosphere is not likely
to occur in normal operation. The other three zones
are associated with dusts, which are either flying and
explosive, conductive or non-conductive.
Any facility that processes, uses or manufactures
materials that may give rise to a flammable atmosphere,
such as gas, mist, liquid and small fibres (dusts), may have
a potentially explosive atmosphere. The equipment used
needs to be weighted so that there is no chance of creating
explosions. Equipment should be designed in such a way
that it is stringently safe and includes current limiting
devices to stop sparks.
Before equipment can be used in any hazardous
area, it must undergo rigorous checks and testing by a
registered ATEX test house. ATEX is the name given to
two European directives that aid in controlling explosive
atmospheres. The first, Directive 99/92/EC (ATEX 137)
assess the minimum requirements for improving health
and safety protection for workers in potentially explosive
environments. Directive 94/9/EC (ATEX 95) looks at the laws
concerning equipment and protective systems intended for
use in potentially explosive environments.
When constructing a new facility or working in an existing
environment, it’s important that the installation of new
components is done using the most e… icient techniques to
reduce the risk of incidents. Modularisation is a technique
which sees equipment or parts of a facility built o… site
and installed later, taking the risk out of working on a
hazardous site. Modular builds reduce site disturbance,
minimise waste, are more cost e… ective and allow for
greater design flexibility.
Finally, while ATEX testing is vital to identify and resolve
potential risks at the start of a project, it’s important that
inspections continue on a regular basis throughout
the equipment’s lifespan.
58 APRIL 2019