Grapevine

26 April 2024

Welcome to this week’s Grapevine, the place to get your bitesize FM updates in one place, in a handy five-minute read.

Got a story for us? Please send news stories & press releases to: newsdesk@twinfm.com.

Pareto FM Welcomes New Apprentices at Whipsnade and London Zoo

Pareto FM, a leading facilities management company, is excited to announce the appointment of three new apprentices, with one joining the team at Whipsnade and two at London Zoo. These valuable additions highlight Pareto's dedication to nurturing talent and providing outstanding service in diverse environments.

The apprentices will embark on a comprehensive training program under the guidance of experienced professionals, gaining hands-on experience in various facets of facilities management. Through this apprenticeship, they will have the opportunity to develop essential skills and knowledge while contributing to the operational excellence of both Whipsnade and London Zoo.

"We are delighted to welcome our new apprentices to Pareto FM," said Dave Richards, CEO at Pareto FM. "Their passion for learning and dedication to excellence align perfectly with our values, and we look forward to supporting them on their journey towards becoming skilled professionals in the facilities management industry."

Pareto FM's commitment to investing in talent and providing opportunities for growth reflects our ongoing dedication to delivering innovative solutions and exceeding client expectations.

Southern Health Trust and Medirest Achieve NHS Exemplar status for National Healthcare Cleaning Standards

Southern Health Trust, in partnership with Medirest, has been awarded NHS ‘Exemplar’ status for outstanding cleaning services at four sites. The acknowledgement recognises their partnership approach to cleanliness, which has embraced the 2021 National Standards for Healthcare Cleaning, alongside using innovation, sustainability and efficacy auditing systems.

Over the past year, progress and investment has been made across the cleaning services including the introduction of a cleaning robot, which enhances repetitive cleaning procedures in open spaces. Plus, an upgraded auditing system for cleaning that aligns with the 2021 National Standards for Healthcare Cleaning and frictionless facilities management technology linked to integrated workforce management solutions. They have also implemented a new laundry system for cleaning cloths and mop heads; new iMops, which use fast brush rotations, that leave surfaces cleaner than other traditional methods and chemical free cleaning in non-clinical areas.

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust provides community health, mental health and learning disability services across Hampshire. It is one of the largest providers of such specialist services in England and the first to receive the NHS Exemplar status. Four sites within the Trust that were visited received the Exemplar status, with consistent standards and processes implemented across all its hospital sites.

The NHS Exemplar recognition acknowledges the delivery of the best-in-class service and means that the teams commit to sharing learnings and experiences to enable other Trusts to follow suit. Medirest also has Exemplar status at Royal Surrey and Barnet Hospital for cleaning, portering and catering.

Veolia Joins Forces with the London FA to Recycle the Banner from the 2022 FA Cup Final

The London FA and the UK’s leading resource management company, Veolia, have donated recycled bibs and drawstring bags, made from the 2022 FA Cup Final recycled pitch cover, to local youth football clubs in support of the London FA’s green developmental activities.

Veolia and the Football Association (FA) teamed up back in 2022 to shoot for sustainability by creating a recycled plastic banner which unveiled the pitch ready for the 2022 FA Cup Final.

Veolia collected and sorted 47,600 plastic bottles from previous events at Wembley Stadium and recycled them into PET plastic yarn. This recycled material was then spun into the 2022 FA Cup Final’s 105 metre long and 68 metre wide match day pitch cover, emblazoned with the two finalist teams’ logos.

Now in 2024, in line with The FA’s Sustainability Strategy to Save Our Resources and Veolia’s regeneration of resources strategy, the banner has been repurposed into drawstring bags and sports bibs. These were donated to participants of the London Girls Cup Final and local London grassroot teams.

In addition to supporting the London FA’s green development activities, this project also delivers carbon reductions as recycling plastic typically saves up to 70% of the emissions associated with virgin material production.

Gisela Endres, Veolia Senior Contract Manager commented:

"Supporting the 2022 FA Cup Final was just the start of the recycling journey for these plastic bottles, and it has been exciting to put sustainability first once more with this project. “We have utilised our expertise to create bibs and bags for footballers all over the country to enjoy and showcase what can be achieved when regenerating resources.

“This is just one of the innovations we are working on to proudly support The London FA, and we are excited to continue finding sustainable solutions to make our game greener."

London FA Head of Partnerships Aquila Burgess commented:

“We are delighted to be working with The FA and Veolia UK who have kindly helped to support some of our developmental activities. We look forward to seeing this in practice and hope our clubs will benefit from this support”.

19 April

EnviroLogik Optimise – Ai Energy Management, Virtual BMS Engineer

Facility managers are constantly aware of how much their buildings affect the environment. For larger building with BMS systems, these are more often left in manual mode, risking extra unnecessary running costs. A new customer recently joined EnviroLogik to implement some chiller energy monitoring and energy management in addition to their BMS. Within the first week of installation we identified that the chillers had been running manually 24/7 for the past 6-months since a repair was carried out. The extra energy cost the customer £5,000/month or £25,000 over the 6-months period.

EnviroLogik Optimise was developed to prevent this happening. The EnviroLogik Optimise system detects where the anomalies are automatically and makes automatic adjustments to optimise comfort and energy efficiency.

The Artificial intelligence (AI) platform always detects unusual anomalies for you. It doesn't take holidays. It also enables you to take into account local weather and degree days.

Once created, the dashboards are updated automatically, as new data arrives and is processed by the platform, so that you don’t have to run through that spreadsheet every time you need a new report.

The EnviroLogik Optimise Energy Management Service is designed for any building of any type, size or use and is not dependant on any technology for it to work. Whether you have a BMS, IOT, meter only or basic control system, EnviroLogik Optimise can help you save energy.

Sodexo’s Ian Gribben Recognised by Enactus with ‘Outstanding Contribution of a Coach Award’

The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and Sodexo UK & Ireland are delighted to announce that Ian Gribben, Account Director, Universities at Sodexo, has been awarded the title of ‘Enactus Outstanding Contribution of a Coach’ in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the Chance for Change initiative.

This award highlights Ian's profound commitment to making a positive social impact through his role as lead charity champion between Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation and Enactus UK & Ireland.

Enactus UK and Ireland is a social action charity that works with academics and business leaders to support over 4,000 students each year to use business and innovation to create a more sustainable world for us all.

Stop Hunger’s partnership with Enactus UK and Ireland began in 2019 and has received £37,000 of funding to date. The collaboration focuses on empowering students delivering innovative projects to support the most vulnerable in our communities.

Charlie Lea, Head of Partnerships and Engagement at Enactus UK & Ireland, said: “The Outstanding Contribution of a Coach Award was established to honour volunteers who support their team, champion Enactus within their organisation, embody the Enactus values, and of course support the entire Enactus UK & Ireland programme and mission.

“Ian has shown an unmatched level of dedication. He demonstrates profound care and passion for the students and beneficiaries, and the cause itself. Despite his extraordinary efforts, he remains incredibly humble. His outstanding contribution cannot be overstated, as he truly embodies the transformative impact our volunteers and partner organisations can make.”

Major Sustainability Drive Sees Thousands of Trees Planted as Part of VIVO Defence’s Rebuild of RNAS Culdrose's Perimeter Fence

Around 6,500 new trees have been planted at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose as part of a major project led by facilities management firm VIVO Defence Services and the MOD to rebuild the nine-mile perimeter fence at the base.

Planting at the Cornish air station began this year with 3,000 trees on the edge of the sports field used by RNAS Culdrose Football Club.

Another 1,500 trees have been planted to the north of the airfield while an extra 2,000 have now gone alongside the main road beside the workshops and aircraft hangars known as W-Site.

It is part the project currently underway at the Helston air station to replace the nine miles of perimeter fence. This started earlier this year and is due to be finished in the Autumn.

The trees are all single shoots – known as whips in the forestry business – and of native species. While it is not expected, due to natural wastage, that all the trees will reach maturity, enough will grow to screen the base and provide wildlife habitats.

A mixture of tree types has been planted and species include the wild service tree, hornbeam, hazel, birch, grey alder, field maple, rowan, tilia cordata, bird cherry, sea buckthorn and wild pear.

The project is a collaboration between the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Navy Command Infrastructure, VIVO Defence Services Ltd and the RNAS Culdrose Infrastructure Team. The tree planting has been undertaken by Gareth Jones Grounds Maintenance.

Captain Stuart Irwin, the commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose, said: “Culdrose sits on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty and it is only right that we take all steps we can to be sympathetic to this beautiful part of Cornwall.

“Whilst this project is primarily to provide the security required of a military base, playing our part in addressing sustainability and climate change is key to all of our security in the long term. When we were discussing the project to replace the air station’s fence, I made it clear that I wanted to plant as many trees as possible. I have to commend the team, as they have completely excelled in that regard.”

Michael Lintott-Danks, DIO Regional Head Forester, added: “We’re really pleased with the progress of this significant replanting project. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to reconsider where the new trees should be planted as well as the mix of species.

“We chose native trees based on their likelihood to survive and thrive in this location, and planted a variety of species to ensure resilience against pests and diseases.”

Jerry Moloney, VIVO Defence Services Managing Director, said: “Replacing and rebuilding a nine-mile security fence at a military base as strategically important as RNAS Culdrose is a mammoth and important task, and I am pleased that sustainability and the environment are very much at the heart of this project.

“It is great to see that, along with our MoD and supply chain partners, we have already fulfilled on our commitment to plant 6,500 new trees part-way into this build to provide new natural habitats and a screen for the base.”

Additional work has also started to improve the area at W-Site, including wooden fencing to screen a caravan parking area. Plans are also in place to install one of the decommissioned Hawk jets on public display beside the roundabout to St Keverne and The Lizard.