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Posted November 30, 1999
Planning for the future of property with limited
information 
The one question that most companies would like to have answered now is
- how will e-commerce affect our business over the next two years?
Most
companies fail to respond to e-mail enquiries
New research says customer relationships are suffering because
a remarkable number of companies simply don't respond to e-mail.
HSE plans to investigate call centres
Hard on the heels of BT's labour problems and new reports of high stress
and high staff turnover, the Health and Safety Executive has announced
its intention to take a close look at call centres.
Posted November 29, 1999
Call Centres - we lead the world, but staff
are not happy
New research shows that while Europe leads the world in call centre IT,
staff turnover is running at 23%.
E-commerce
Bill passes hurdle in the UK
"The UK will be the best environment world-wide in which to trade
electronically"
Multi-application smart cards face too many
hurdles
Within five years, there will be almost 300M smart cards in use across
Europe...
Posted November 26, 1999
Company news: Holzmann to be saved at last
minute
Holzmann, the German construction company with FM interests, is to be
saved from insolvency through a last minute intervention from the German
chancellor.
Outsourcing:
how to make the honeymoon last
A new white paper from business consultancy, Compass Management,
claims to point the way to getting the best from outsourcing
The most wired city in the world? Stockholm
of course!
A recent survey from Scarborough Research shows that Stockholm is now
the most wired city in the world, ahead of both the US and the rest of
Europe.
Posted November 25, 1999
Y2K litigation fails to take off
Contrary to some expectations, the volume of Y2K litigation is on a downward
trend.
New
technology, new business idea
The Industrial Bank of Korea has found a novel way to join the
queues of companies and individuals seeking to make money out of the internet.
Sharpening up local authorities
The Government has been raising the pressure on local authorities in advance
of the launch of its Best Value scheme early next year.
Posted November 24, 1999
Senior executives rapidly overcoming technophobia
The belief that IT is part of someone else's job seems to be fading away
at top business levels.
Doing
it on the Tube
As part of an upgrade of London Underground's communications systems,
travellers are to be offered the option of using mobiles on Tube platforms.
HSE gets ready to play the heavy
Stung, perhaps, by recent criticism of its effectiveness, the Health &
Safety Executive is planning to name and shame companies and individuals
convicted of offences.
Lloyds TSB to outsource? 
Lloyds TSB downplayed stories in last week's property press that it was
preparing to outsource its property in a PRIME type deal.
Posted November 23, 1999
KPMG launches outsourcing support service
Calling it "Fast Track Outsourcing", KPMG has launched a new service aimed
at companies who feel they could use some extra help in finding the best
way through.
OFGEM
gets tough
The utilities regulator Ofgem has welcomed the Queen's Speech proposals
that would see its powers extended.
More news from the frontiers of technology
New research has found that internet use is growing faster than expected.
The fifth in a series of annual surveys shows that usage has doubled in
ten months.
Posted November 22, 1999
Market trends played out on a European pitch
Vodaphone's battle to take over the German group Mannesmann highlights
some of the trends shaping the European facilities market.
Y2K
- more mixed messages
The US Department of Commerce is so confident in the general level
of Y2K preparedness across the country that it has issued a report proclaiming
the millennium changeover will have no effect on the US economy.
PFI privatisation process moves ahead
The Treasury's plan to transform its PFI taskforce into a private sector
operator, currently being called Partnerships UK, is shaping up.
Posted November 19, 1999
Queen's Speech highlights commitment to e-commerce
-
but take up varies so far
Through the medium of the Queen's Speech Wednesday the Government set
out its commitment to seeing the UK lead the way in the development of
e-commerce.
Companies
taking longer to pay their bills
One year after the introduction of right-to-interest legislation
designed to speed up payment of bills, companies are taking even longer
to settle, reports business information company Experian.
Industry update: new contract, top awards
Coflex has been selected to provide a broad range of facilities
services, subject to final agreement of the contract, for Lloyd's of London.
New Record Fine for Breaches of Asbestos Regulations
Reach Environmental Ltd were found not to have lived up to their 'green'
name when they breached two asbestos regulations at the former Wills Tobacco
Factory in Bristol earlier this year.
Posted November 18, 1999
Another new idea from BT and Microsoft
The BT/Microsoft union is beginning to look like a true romance. The team
has announced another pilot scheme intended to make life easier for employees
working away from the office.
What's
the price of an empty desk?
Regus calculates that the average cost of maintaining a workstation
is about £46 a day. This takes into account all servicing plus the cost
of floorspace.
Meeting rooms may be a waste of space
A survey of over 500 UK businesses suggests that meeting rooms may be
an over-rated feature of the workplace.
Don't Overlook Data Protection
The government has announced that the Data Protection Act 1998 is on course
to come into force on 1 March 2000. Whilst the subject matter can appear
somewhat dry, there are implications for building and facilities managers.
Posted November 17, 1999
IDRC 'discovery forums' to be launched in
London
The corporate real estate executives group IDRC will kick off its latest
knowledge-building initiative in London this week.
Call
for barrier-free e-commerce
This is not a simple issue. The EC Directive on e-commerce is languishing
in its discussion phase, and the government's proposed e-commerce bill
was recently the subject of sharp criticism.
HSE seeks views on employee involvement
Under fire from critics for its performance on broader issues, the HSE
soldiers on with its concern for health & safety in the workplace.
Posted November 16, 1999
End of the tenants' market?
Final quarter projections from the RICS point to continued strong demand
for office space, especially in London, and consequently a likely rise
in rents.
Two
more banks bow to the inevitability of change
Barclays is expected to close about 200 branches next year in a
concerted effort to cut costs and shift emphasis to new business opportunities.
Coutts finds another way to cut costs
Private bank Coutts & Co has cut by 90% the amount of energy it uses in
its air conditioning systems, achieving a savings of £70,000pa.
Posted November 15, 1999
Call centre issues get serious for BT
Staff at 37 BT call centres, complaining of excessive pressure and stress,
have voted to strike on November 22nd.
Web-enabled
FM service systems on offer
Software developer Cognition Solutions has launched a facilities
management service provider system that can be accessed via the internet.
Industry Update: new contract, new flexibility
Cable & Wireless has awarded a new facilities services contract, starting
this month, to Workplace Management.
Posted November 12, 1999
BP Amoco and PricewaterhouseCoopers forge
largest outsourcing deal
BP Amoco and PricewaterhouseCoopers have signed a ten-year contract, valued
at over $1bn - said to be the largest ever business process outsourcing
agreement.
BT
offers more support for flexible workers
BT has joined up with Microsoft to develop a pilot project that
will offer an online alternative to purchasing the Office applications
suite.
Blinded by the hype 3: Gartner warns on speed
of change
Business technology experts Gartner Group have come to the conclusion
that moving too quickly in the take up of new systems is just as dangerous
as moving too slowly.
Posted November 11, 1999
Office costs rise ahead of inflation
The average cost of running an office building in the UK rose by 4% last
year, against an inflation figure of 2.8% for the same period.
From
green to Brown - Government backs away from
pro-environment taxes
In his pre-Budget report, Chancellor Gordon Brown has modified
his stance on green issues, accepting that the cost burden falling on
industry was too high.
New factors in the location decision
The DETR has spotted the fact that when complementary businesses are clustered
together, this can be good for all of them.
Posted November 10, 1999
New estimates for e-commerce growth
Forrester Research, the well-regarded market specialist, says that as
Y2K projects wind down, spending on internet technologies will rise dramatically.
Industry
news: new focus, new project, new service
Trigon says it plans to focus increasingly on its mainstream
workplace management business, where growth has been strong in the past
few months.
Digestives taste better with chocolate milk
- official
Catering is often a big component of FM, and the newsdesk is pleased to
provide the following information, which should help facilities managers
to deliver a better service.
Posted November 9, 1999
It's Architecture Week
Some might say it is typical of architects to create a week that is ten
days long. But, on the other hand, building in two weekends does increase
the opportunities to take advantage of what's on offer.
DTI
and ICL team up to think about the future
The DTI has announced a collaborative venture with IT services
company ICL to create an 'envisioning centre' at DTI HQ in London. Set
to open in the spring, its purpose is to stimulate innovative thinking
in both industry and government.
HSE continues under fire
With safety still very much in the headlines and the cost of work-related
ill health rising, the Health and Safety Executive has been pushed on
to the defensive.
Posted November 8, 1999
PFM announces winners in 6th annual Partnership
Awards
Winners of the 1999 Premises & Facilities Management Partnership Awards
were announced to an invited audience of 400 in London on Wednesday night.
SI
CBX wades into corporate PFI debate
As talk about the potential benefits of removing property from
the company balance sheet goes on - with little sign of anyone actually
doing it yet - at least one interested party is content to wait.
Industry update: contract wins
Citex Asia has teamed up with Vigers to land a multi-million pound
contract for FM services at Cable & Wireless Hong Kong Telecom.
Posted November 5, 1999
Ford to move supply chain to e-business
In the US, Ford has teamed up with Oracle Corporation to form a joint
venture aimed at streamlining the car company's $80 bn annual purchasing
operation.
Orange
tests out its vision for the future
Mobile phone company Orange, which has recently been proclaiming
that the future is wireless, has established a testbed in Birmingham.
Blinded by the hype? (Chapter 2)
From America, where at least some things tend to happen first, comes unexpected
news.
Posted November 4, 1999
New source of advice on FM contracts
Asset Information, publishers of Facilities Management Legal Update, have
produced what they say is the first comprehensive guide to drafting and
reviewing FM contracts.
Pressure
group accuses HSE of failures
The Centre for Corporate Accountability claims the Health & Safety
Executive is failing to investigate 90% of the major injuries involving
corporate bodies even though these have been reported.
Business news: traditional industries suffer
while the more
agile prosper
At a time when many of the old stalwarts of the British economy only seem
to be generating bad news, other companies - not necessarily younger or
in white-hot business sectors - are moving fast to develop fresh opportunities.
Posted November 3, 1999
Green responsibilities pushed to the front
again
Environment ministers from 173 countries are meeting in Bonn for another
round of talks on global warming.
Catching
the meaning behind the buzzwords
E-business is not about technology, says Ernst & Young. It's about
business operations and how they are designed and managed to achieve the
greatest commercial benefit.
AMEC wins Halfords HQ refurbishment
AMEC continues to build on its partnering relationship with Boots, the
latest project involving refurbishment of a four-storey HQ building in
Redditch for Halfords, a part of the Boots Group.
Posted November 2, 1999
Tough talk at CBI Conference
Delegates to the CBI's annual conference have been warned that most company
directors don't understand technology or the emerging knowledge economy.
Serviced
offices find their niche as the flexible answer
The RICS has published the findings of recent research into both
the supply and demand sides of the serviced office equation.
Government gears up bug plans
Leader of the House of Commons Margaret Beckett has announced the government's
plans to help make sure the millennium period is bug-free.
Posted November 1, 1999
Mixed view of the future from telecoms providers
The biggest telecoms companies look set to continue dominating the European
marketplace, though senior executives in those companies express mixed
views about the shape of the services they will be providing.
Blinded
by the hype?
In the same week that Dow Jones announced that high tech companies,
in the form of Microsoft and Intel, are to be included in its highly regarded
performance figures, The Economist has drawn together new information
suggesting that technology may be an over-rated business area.
New light on office pains
New research funded by the Health and Safety Executive has confirmed that
upper limb disorders are a common occurrence amongst office staff...