ESPO TELLS FMS Facility managers still have enough time to get ready for the winter gritting season if they quickly organise salt supplies and spreading equipment, said ESPO, the UK’s largest public sector buying organisation.
In view of big variations in the winter weather in recent years, ESPO said that buyers need to ensure they have adequate salt supplies - and a network of storage bins - to ensure they keep sites, pathways and access roads open.
ordered fresh salt supplies once the bad weather set in, leaving many delivery vehicles themselves stranded in snow and unable to make deliveries to customers.
For campuses, car parking, paths and landscaping needs, buying organisations such as ESPO offer buyers brown or white rock salt from leading suppliers in 25kg bags, through product catalogues.
FMs, site managers and buyers can ensure they have effective salt spreading operations by providing smaller storage bins through their amenity or parkland area. Buying organisations offer simple options such as hard-wearing 8 and 16 x 25kg-bag capacity salt bins through their catalogues.
steps and pathways, to larger, more rugged units. Buyers should check suppliers’ delivery times when ordering, as spreader units are generally made to order.
Amenity organisations can also benefit from free UK delivery and no minimum order requirements offered by big buying organisations such as ESPO.
The onset of cold weather and an increased chance of ice and snow is something facilities managers across the UK should be prepared for every year. Yet research carried out by BIFM and winter maintenance expert GRITIT, suggests that more than 30% of facilities managers are still caught out in the winter months as they fail to plan effectively.
suggests a single degree drop in the minimum average temperature costs the UK economy £2.5billion.
Whilst prevention is better than cure when it comes to dealing with maintenance issues, many facilities managers do not use the data they hold to their advantage.
Access to historic and up-to-date information about an entire estate, in an integrated format, can prove invaluable to facilities managers – particularly those looking after multiple sites. Not only does this enable trends to be spotted from year-to-year and across different types of properties, which can inform effective prevention planning, it also helps to identify cost savings.
property and asset can help to identify the cause and deliver cost savings by preventing the same issue arising across multiple properties before it is too late.
The improved use of data can also help to address issues such as increased energy consumption. It is not unexpected for energy bills to increase dramatically during the winter months, yet without access to comparative figures many facilities managers are unable to identify poorly performing properties. The ability to compare energy bills helps to identify properties that are performing badly and address the issue to deliver cost savings.
Facilities managers can also use technology to enhance their operations by equipping security guards with mobile-enabled hazard and fault reporting devices.
The main opportunity lies in the prevention of problems, which if managed effectively, will enable management teams to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and, most importantly, keep their business up and running as offices are able to remain open.