So, as this is a new blog at the beginning of its life, I thought I would start by explaining the industry and the layers that are encompassed in it!
The foundation of the 'Hard Services' industry are the tradespeople and contractors who do the work, who are on the 'coal face'. These contractors are usually in a nichè part of engineering or specialists in their field. If you want a GPR floor survey, fabrication of pipework, an Electrician or even water treatment contractor, these are your guys.
These specialists are employed or contracted by a larger service provider (contractor or project team), Maintenance and Engineering (M&E) companies or 'in house' (employed directly by the next level up - see below). The M&E providers are the likes of ISS, Mitie, Optimum, CBRE WPS, Integral, George Birchalls, etc. To name but a few. The M&E companies/contractors can utilize the specialists on an ongoing basis in the form of a contract or ad-hoc on different projects. The M&E provider's offerings can be split into at least two avenues. These are Maintenance Contracts and Project works. The offerings can have thresholds and can be broken down further, which I shall do at a later date. This happens in both domestic (residential and private properties) and commercial properties (office blocks, portfolios, etc).
Next comes the Managing Agents (MA) or Real Estate Management team. For the rest of the article I shall refer to these collectively as MAs. These can be companies affiliated to a larger company such as a bank, property financier or asset management company or 'in house' teams that are employed directly by the building/portfolio owners . These managing agents control the day to day workings of a property, group of properties or individual spaces/floors within a property. They manage all aspects of the contract such as engineering, cleaning, security, catering, etc. They manage the facilities of the asset (Facilities Management). They ensure all statutory requirements are met. They also make sure that the maintence regime (in the case of engineering - SFG20, CBM, etc) is being completed and that the M&E provider is delivering what is required by their contract.
The most important players in the whole industry are the owners. These can take the form of Fund Managers, personal individuals, insurance companies, the types are boundless. Basically if you can afford to own or own a large property (through finance or out right) then you are in charge.
Consultants can be used at any level of the above hierarchy for a variety of things. These include but not limited to, project management, independent auditing and advice on sustainability.
These arrangement are the standard across the whole sector although there maybe one or two anomalies from time to time. In general when talking about all aspects on the blog I shall be referencing all the key players in their engineering aspect.
If you need more information about anything discussed, you have a burning question to ask or a topic for me to tackle, then leave a comment or drop me an email.
Happy reading
D
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