Alan Bigger

The season of fall sports is upon us. Across the nation and on our television sets, various sporting events — at all levels — are being played. High school, college and professional football events surround us, soccer events are afoot, and soon basketballs will be swishing through nets. All of these sports, and many others, have several common themes. First, these are team sports. In order to succeed, individual players must work together as a team. Second, each individual team member must aspire to be the best that he or she can be. Finally, in order to win, the players must have a clear understanding of their visions and goals. If teams do not work together, hone their skills as teams as well as individuals, and do not have a clear understanding of the end outcome, very minimal results may be achieved. However, if a team and its members work hard to achieve all of these variables, the team has a greater chance of being successful during the season. Facility vision Successful building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs) in the facilities arena have a common vision: To maintain buildings at the highest level of quality, while maintaining costs at an acceptable level. The goal is to meet this vision on a regular and consistent basis by maintaining one building or company at a time. However, the clarity and complexity surrounding this lofty goal and vision are not always recognized or appreciated. BSCs and ISPs are often challenged because it is perceived that costs are too high, quality is too low and productivity is less than effective or efficient. Building owners and operators often do not see the key element that BSCs or ISPs bring to the table — the added value element. Whether they are cleaners, maintenance repair technicians or landscaping specialists, these key players bring added value to every building that they maintain. Unique value The services that BSCs and ISPs provide bring value to the buildings. James P. Whittaker, in the September/ October 2005 issue of Facilities Manager, writes, “Have you ever managed this data to determine just how maintenance has extended the life of a facility asset and what was the return on investment of that maintenance? Facilities that have can show that extending the service life of a facility asset by 10 to 20 percent can yield significant savings.” In other words, BSCs and ISPs add value to the tangible asset that they maintain, which is the building and the building envelope. This added value significantly contributes to the bottom line — the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a building. Defining the total cost of ownership After buildings are erected, many administrators and building owners often consider it to be the “end game.” If necessary, one may choose to minimize or eliminate services in order to save money. However, the fact is that constructing a building is only the start of a journey, a journey that actually starts from the time the building is a concept in someone’s mind, until the building is built, used and then buried after it has fulfilled its useful life. According to a definitions committee convened in 2002, which included APPA, the National Association of State Facilities Administrators, the Federal Facilities Council, the International Facility Management Association, Holder Construction Company, and Infrastructure Strategies, the total cost of ownership “…includes the representation of the sum total of the present value of all direct, indirect, recurring and non-recurring costs incurred or estimated to be incurred in the design, development, production, operation, maintenance of a facility/structure/ asset over its anticipated lifespan. (Inclusive of site/utilities, new construction, deferred maintenance, preventive/ routine maintenance, renovation, compliance, capital renewal and occupancy costs.)” The bottom line is that TCO is a combination of all costs associated with a building from cradle to grave and that cleaning and maintenance operations significantly contribute to the bottom line costs of any facility. Adds up over the years An example of a factor in total cost of ownership from a BSC/ISP perspective, according to the “36th Annual M&O (Maintenance and Operating) Cost Study” published by American School & University in April 2007, is the maintenance and operating cost at the college level, which is $5.16 per square foot. This includes salaries, benefits, utilities, equipment, supplies and other elements. The bottom line is that maintaining a building, over the life of the building, will probably cost more than the initial startup costs of the building. For instance, if a building costs $16 million and it has 100,000 square feet, that building will cost $516,000 to maintain for the first year. If the building is designed to last 50 years, for example, the maintenance cost in today’s dollars would be $25,800,000. If an inflation factor were inserted into this equation, the building would cost more than double to maintain over its life than it cost to build. A real-life example is provided by the Construction Specifications Institute (2005) for a complex library project where the total cost of building the facility was just over $203 million and the total cost of ownership, over 50 years, is estimated to be over $573 million. As key team players in the total cost of building ownership, ISPs and BSCs play a vital role that directly impacts the life cycle cost of a building. Conveying the message As BSCs and ISPs seek to convey their provision of services and products to building owners, who are the “powers that be” and make decisions about types and levels of services to be provided, it is very easy to state that you can provide such-and-such a service for X or Y dollars and that you can do it better than anyone else. If one really wishes to get the attention of building owners and administrators, one must clearly demonstrate the value-added component that BSCs and ISPs offer. For instance, if you can clean a facility for $1 per square foot and the competitor states that he or she

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Alan Bigger

Director of Building Services at University of Notre Dame

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