Two public sector wins for consultants

Two public sector organisations have appointed consultants to help in streamlining operations.

The DETR has awarded Johnson Controls a five-year contract to provide advice on workplace strategy. Senior consultant Steve Willis says the project will cover three key areas:

• the workplace itself - to analyse building capacity and service provision, improve space utilisation and investigate new ways of working
• productivity and performance - to develop benchmarking systems and KPIs, and improve design briefing skills
• property knowledge - to improve the information systems that underpin decisions.

The DETR operates 1200 buildings accommodating 16,000 staff.
On a somewhat smaller scale, Westminster City Council has appointed Citex to manage a rationalised maintenance contractor base, looking after a range of properties.

The two-year contract involves managing 'term' contractors with the goal of improving service quality and value for money. Citex will also provide a 24-hour helpdesk operation.

Elliott Chase