ASSOCIATION NEWS
BUILDING A GLOBALLY TRUSTED FM PROFESSION
Previously known at the RICS Strategic Facility Management Conference, this
flagship event of the IFMA-RICS collaboration will bring together leaders of FM
and their clients to discuss approaches to building the reputation in the FM
profession both in the UK and across the world.
Despite the global value of outsourced property management services
estimated to reach US$1tn by 2025, challenging market conditions persist,
with a general decline in public trust endangering confidence in the promise
of FM services.
The current age is characterised by declining levels of confidence in
previously trusted institutions. Across the fields of politics, media, finance
and business, public attitudes seem to have turned hostile, therefore we must
consider the social and professional implications of this development and
explore the causes and remedies for this widespread decline in trust.
What is the role of the profession’s senior leadership in creating conditions
conducive to sustained success? How is the “gig economy” changing the
nature of employer-employee relationships in the sector? Do new and
emerging technologies such as blockchain hold the key to building trust
in the industry? These are all important questions set to be addressed and
debated at this year’s conference.
The full-day event will also o er an update on the RICS Procurement of
Facility Management professional statement which provides information and
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (IOSH)
NATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CONFERENCE
8 MAY 2019
guidance on various crucial factors throughout the procurement process,
including activities and key decisions during planning, procurement and
post-procurement.
Outsourcing has become a particular target of negative press attention
in recent years, not least due to the employment law issues it raises. The
conference will therefore also detail key aspects that FMs should be aware
of, focusing on the ongoing case of Cordant and the University of London,
where 75 outsourced workers have raised a legal challenge to gain the same
favourable employment terms as directly employed sta .
Margot Slattery, Country President – Ireland and NI at Sodexo; Ross Abbate,
Group Managing Director of Mace Macro; Karl Redmond, Blockchain Lead
for NHS Digital and Derrick Tate, Director – Facilities Management Strategy
& Transformation Lead, PwC will form part of the line up set to take on these
topics. A round table of senior leaders will also discuss the challenge of
remaining relevant in a constantly changing real estate market.
Find out more and book your place for the RICS Integrated Property
Services Conference at rics.org/propertyservices
The health and safety impacts of remote and
agile working, along with modern technology
will be a major focus at the annual National
Safety and Health Conference says Glynn
Gibson, Vice-Chair of IOSH’s Public Services
Group
For a large proportion of employees, being
fixed to one place of work is a thing of the past as
modern technology enables remote working to
become increasingly possible. It is estimated that
by next year, half of workers in the UK will be doing
their jobs remotely.
Whether it is working at home or working while
on the move, businesses are seeing the benefits of
investing in di erent forms of mobile technology.
These benefits include increased
productivity and profitability. However, have these
businesses considered some of the health and
safety impacts of using this technology on workers
and the knock-on impacts on the organisation?
For example, there are possible health issues
with the use of mobile display screen equipment
(DSE) such as laptops, tablets and smart phones.
Are organisations able to ensure that their
employees are not risking musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs) because of their posture while
using their laptop at home or on a train?
Checking DSE in the o ice is very manageable
and something huge numbers of organisations
have got a firm grip of. But it is certainly much
more of a challenge to prevent such issues when
you have a workforce scattered across huge
numbers of locations.
The use of mobile technology also means that
employees are never far away from their work
devices, which brings about other risks. Are they
checking emails during non-work hours or even
while on holiday, for example?
This brings about the risk of stress and fatigue
which can additionally create safety issues.
Essentially such employees’ down-time is being
eradicated either because they feel pressure to
check emails at the weekend or they simply wish
to do it to make their own lives easier on a
Monday morning.
The aforementioned are very real issues facing
businesses which have flexible working policies
and make use of mobile technology. MSDs and
stress cause high levels of absence which can have
severe repercussions for businesses.
These will be among the topics discussed at
IOSH’s National Safety and Health Conference,
the annual event organised by four IOSH groups –
Public Services, Education, Health and Social Care
and Environmental and Waste Management – now
in its 44th year.
At the event, experts will focus on how these risks
can be managed.
Other topics will include safety, security and
wellbeing for lone workers – including how
front-line of public services workers are exposed
to violence and aggression – and the latest legal
guidance.
We will explore what tools and mechanisms are
available, and how we can develop our systems to
ensure their health and safety, whether working in
an o ice or outdoors.
The IOSH National Safety and Health Conference
will be held at the Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria in
She ield, from 8.30am to 5pm on Thursday 13
June. For more details, or to book your place,
visit bit.ly/2RFgi0n
NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
The RICS Integrated Property Services Conference takes place in London on 1 July.
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