| PB uses a number of procedures and techniques that bring significant benefit to a number of our clients in the UK who have large property portfolios. These clients include the Office of Government Commerce, Sussex Police Authority, local authority housing departments, London Transport Property and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Some of the ways in which clients benefit from our services are perhaps best demonstrated using the example of the MCA term commission.
This commission includes management of term maintenance contractors and design and management of new build and refurbishment facilities. The commission was originally for a period of three years and covered only one third of MCA’s estate. Following one extension of the contract and one successful re-tender, PB now manages the whole of MCA’s estate, which includes approximately 230 owned or leased properties over England and Wales (Figure 1).
MCA is known by its employees as “the real 4th emergency service,” throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Because the extent of the MCA estate and, therefore, the scope of our contract are so large, the property management changes we propose have a considerable impact on how well the estate can support MCA’s core operations. As an example, the refurbishment of the Marine Rescue Sub-Centre in Portland, Dorset (Figure 2 on the following page) provided staff with welfare and working facilities that made marine monitoring equipment easier to use and more effective. The refurbishment had to take place in a “live” environment and the continuity of service MCA provides could not be compromised. This meant that strict procedures needed to be identified and followed by the contractor.
Figure 1 : This portion of the map of the Martine and Coastguard agency (MCA) facilities gives an indication of their extent and density mostly along the cosat of England and Wales. |
Figure 2: Portland Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre |
Figure 3: Highcliffe Training centre, Christchurch Dorset. |
Key Services Provided to MCA
Status of the Estate. One of our key initial tasks was to establish the status of the estate by undertaking a condition survey. For each property, we composed a cost-estimated schedule of works and priority ratings to indicate the urgency of the works. For example, repairing or replacing a loose cast iron gutter over a pedestrian walkway was given a somewhat high priority because if not tended to, the gutter would have led to further disrepair and presented a hazard to health and safety.
When the schedule and ratings are amalgamated to an overview of the entire estate, MCA is able to organise its budget for the following year and plan a considered programme of repair and refurbishment, known as a forward maintenance register. Although the budget is rarely sufficient to fund the entire schedule of works, the benefits to having such a schedule are significant for MCA. For example, replacing the roof of a building housing a control room proves to be advantageous compared to the cost of continuous ad-hoc repairs, particularly when costs associated with the disruption to service are taken into account.
Programme of Refurbishment. Our building surveyors in the Godalming office have implemented a programme of refurbishment throughout MCA’s estate that includes:
• Electrical upgrades of small auxiliary buildings
• Full refurbishments of operational rescue and coordination centres in Dover, Kent that are open 24-7
• Provision of new buildings to house new training facilities in Christchurch, Dorset (Figure 3)
• New hangars in Portland, Dorset to house special search and rescue helicopters
• Full refurbishment of MCA’s headquarters in Southampton.
24-Hour Helpdesk. To support the 24-7 operational requirements of MCA, we instituted a 24-hour helpdesk through which all building-related issues are reported to our project team. As an example, MCA’s operational staff was able to report loss of winter-time heating in crucial operations rooms, and we were able to instruct maintenance contractors to carry out any necessary work within agreed time limits, thus causing least disruption to MCA’s services.
Effective Use of Buildings. We have undertaken several tasks aimed at improving the way the building stock serves MCA’s needs, such as providing:
• Pre-lease surveys to identify suitable new accommodations for facilities and employees with preference for low-maintenance, low life-cycle costs where possible
• Advice regarding lease terms and provision of a “one-stop shop” to serve all of MCA’s needs
• Set-up and management of mechanical and electrical maintenance contracts for all regular cyclical maintenance and emergency call-out work.
Team Approach
A large factor in the success of our ongoing relationships with MCA and other clients with large property portfolios has been our integrated team approach. Our professionals from different disciplines work together to ensure that the client’s buildings support its services. They are continuously reviewing building stock to determine how services or building uses can be improved and enhanced, and work closely with MCA to manage their multiple-property portfolio effectively. |
