FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has awarded Mitie Defence Limited a £256 million contract to provide key services for the UK Armed Forces serving in Cyprus.
The deal will see Mitie providing maintenance work, repairs, servicing, and hard facilities management across every part of the MoD estate in Cyprus, from RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi and Dhekelia to Ayios Nikolias, Troodos, Bloodhound Camp and Radio Sonde.
The contract is for an initial period of seven years, which will come into force in the autumn and will include Cypriot companies within the supply chain.
It is the second contract to come into service under DIO’s new Overseas Prime Contracts (OPC) programme, following a contract which came into service in Gibraltar in November 2022. Further facilities management contracts will follow in other locations including Germany, the Falkland Islands and Ascension Island.
The new contracts have been developed taking into account recommendations for improvements to the current arrangements and will mean a better service for military personnel based overseas. They seek to provide better value for money and quicker repairs, reducing bureaucracy and unnecessary processes to keep the estate operational.
Greater alignment to current industry standards will mean increased collaboration between DIO and its suppliers and allow for services to be better tailored to the requirements of specific sites. A new, integrated software system will enable information to be shared more effectively.
The contracts have been designed to promote more efficient processes and the quicker delivery of high volume, lower value works, ensuring increased value for money. Performance targets will encourage a high standard of repairs and reduce the need for repeat visits.
DIO’s Chief Operating Officer David Brewer said: “DIO is committed to supporting people across the Armed Forces who depend on us to provide facilities and essential services which allow them to work safely and securely.
“This important milestone follows years of hard work to design a contract that builds on the successes of existing hard facilities management arrangements while adding additional services and improvements to improve the quality of life for our Armed Forces in Cyprus.”
Brian Talbot, Managing Director, Central Government & Defence, Mitie said: “Having supported the UK Armed Forces in Cyprus for over 15 years, we’re very proud that this relationship will continue with the award of the Overseas Prime Contract. We look forward to implementing a transformational asset management system which will underpin the new enhanced asset maintenance standard for the DIO estate. We’ll also be upgrading key facilities to meet the changing requirements of British military personnel working across Cyprus.”
The next OPC contract to be awarded will be for hard facilities management in Germany and wider Europe next month, with the Cyprus Soft Facilities Management contract award anticipated summer 2023 and the final contract to be the South Atlantic Islands in summer 2024.
With the current economic crisis resulting in higher prices and more of a squeeze on resources, FMs need to ensure that they have robust building and maintenance services in place to control costs and reduce the need for emergency repairs. When it comes to drainage and plumbing there are also the challenges of dealing with extreme weather, from droughts to flooding, the need to meet stringent regulations and to avoid causing environmental damage.
UK drainage specialist, Metro Rod, has launched a survey which explores the main areas of interest for FMs in maintaining drainage and plumbing, including how they currently assess their supply chains to ensure they’re working with partners that meet the highest possible standards and provide value for money.
The results will be published online so that you can see how you compare to others within the sector.
The survey should take just 5-10 minutes of your time, and as a thank you, you will be entered into a prize draw, where one lucky winner will be picked at random to receive a £100 Amazon voucher.
To take part click here.
