FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
FMJ visits Chelsea Harbour to discover how Q3 Services is working to deliver high-performance facilities management to this prestigious location. Madeleine Ford reports
Chelsea Harbour is a landmark destination consisting of a seamless blend of luxury living, design-led retail and commercial space spanning 16 acres along the River Thames in West London. Additionally, at its core is the renowned Design Centre, boasting over 120 showrooms, 600 international brands, and hosting five high-profile annual events including London Design Week and WOW!house. An environment as dynamic as this demands a flexible and responsive facilities management approach that is hyper focused on delivering an exceptional resident and guest experience.
BACKGROUND
When Q3 took over the contract in 2018 they set three main objectives, to help commercial clients be more productive through healthier environments, to work in a more transparent and open-book manner and to transform the working environment for Q3 employees with well-paid, long-term jobs.
Since then, they have integrated seamlessly with Chelsea Harbour’s operations by introducing a tailored solution, which was the inspiration for their recently launched standalone service called ‘FM on Demand’. This ensures that the site always remains fully functional by prioritising flexibility, expertise and responsiveness. Instead of relying heavily on external contractors like the previous FM model, Q3 has hired multi-skilled tradespeople and invested in comprehensive training programmes, resulting in an empowered team prepared to handle a wider range of challenges in-house. Not only does this save huge amounts of money that would have been spent on sourcing external people, but it has also boosted efficiency, accountability, and created a strong sense of community and pride among staff.
THE CONTRACT IN PRACTICE
The facilities management contract at Chelsea Harbour is delivered via a direct, integrated services model, led by Q3, working closely with the estate’s management team to ensure their strategy aligns with Chelsea Harbour’s wider vision.
Stuart Bellew, Chief Operating Officer at Q3 and Mark Hazelwood, Managing Director of Technical Services at Q3, explained how taking on the contract required a need for a new engineering team. Paul O’Boyle was taken on as manager to develop and train a dedicated and hard-working engineering team. This helped meet the challenge of clearing the backlog, re-energising the team and developing and changing the culture to one offering the right skill set to complement Chelsea Harbour and its requirements.
This reflects Q3’s tailored solution which ensures the site always remains fully functional, whether for its day-to-day upkeep or setting up intricate Christmas light displays and Christmas trees. For the team, the answer is always “yes”. Part of this journey was to help Chelsea Harbour incorporate events into the management process, whereas previously they were required to bring in several different contractors.
Over the years, the incorporation of the engineering and cleaning teams has expanded into actively supporting Chelsea Harbour’s marketing and events, including handling tasks such as painting, decorating and set up. This involvement has helped deliver the seamless execution of events, including London Design Week, the Twinkle Christmas event, and the standout Wow!house which encompasses an impressive 600 square metres and 22 full size spaces each uniquely designed by world-class designers.
Q3 say they work with agility in mind, allowing for fast responses to seasonal changes, events or urgent tasks. They also maintain a consistent team onsite, led by a dedicated facilities assistant who liaises daily with estate management and tenants.
Sailesh Siyani, Head of Estates Operations at Chelsea Harbour said of the relationship with Q3: “They’re happy to have dialogue, tweak the model, the contract, the cost, the apportionment.” Siyani further explained that from their side it’s all about first and last impressions and to achieve this they simply communicate the feedback to Q3, and they are happy to adjust, “there is no challenge they won’t cover, their creativity and proactive approach consistently delivers”.
