Case study: Berkeley Services' operations at Burj Khalifa
Berkeley Services has been at the helm of maintaining the soft services at the Burj Khalifa, we take a sneak peek into its operations
According to 2013 figures, 1.87 million visitors set foot at the world’s tallest tower — the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Hence maintenance, whether soft or hard services, is a critical operation. Nothing but the best is expected from the different FM service providers on site.
Berkeley Services, which was adjudged the Cleaning Company of the Year at the 2018 FM ME Awards, won the contract to maintain Burj Khalifa’s soft services for a third successful time in 2016.
Joseph Clerison, soft services manager, Berkeley Services shed light on the operations. “[The contract is defined by] stringent Service Level Agreements [SLAs] and KPIs as it’s a unique tower. The client expects exceptional services from us,” he says.
Clerison adds that the staff is strictly monitored along with their behaviour and attitude. “We represent the image of Burj Khalifa to the public and several of our staff in this project face the customer and stakeholder. Under these circumstances we have to ensure that all our staff are subject to training on behaviour, attitude and grooming,” he notes.
Revealing more about the importance of staff involvement and staff retention, Clerison says that Berkeley has managed to retain 100% of its supervisors and managers, who have been working on the project from the outset. Over the years, Berkeley has also added a few key personnel to ensure it maintains its KPI scores.
The firm also introduced an on-site BICSc assessor, while a dedicated HSE officer has minimised incidents and accidents. “The implementation of a reward and recognition program, skill enhancement, reliever pool and staff team-building outings managed to reduce attrition rates and increase attendance. These elements have contributed to motivated staff who have delivered an increased rate of productivity,” Clerison reveals.
The team was also able to achieve “near-zero escalation of incidents and complaints” to higher management by empowering its leaders to address issues at the root level.
Berkeley has been delivering its services at the Burj Khalifa since 2010, and technology has been a key element in the company’s success with the implementation of an effective CAFM system among other combined efforts. The CAFM system is “100% accurate” with all work orders, reactive or Planed Preventive Maintenance (PPM), being generated through the system.
“This means work orders are monitored on timely reaction and completion. Priority levels and service delivery time frames are assigned to every job generated from the system. We are proud to say that we have been consistently achieving 100% time lines against all work orders,” says a satisfied Clerison.
He attributes the sucess of the contract due to various aspects such as flexibility in approach, innovations in process and products, constant trainings, understanding client requirements, cost reduction, involvement of senior management and zero LTI throughout the contract period.
He says: “We have been successful because of our ability to meet key challenges with viable solutions, and the outcome is substantiated by our successful service delivery against the contract deliverables. Improvements in systems and process to reduce man hours required to maintain the project and thereby reducing cost have also gone a long way.”
Clerison cites an example where the operations team replaced traditional mopping system used on site at main entrances, which considerably reduced man hours and enhanced the professional image exhibited to the public.
Speaking about Berkeley’s inventory planning Clerison says stock planning was based on historical data, constant monitoring of washrooms, maintaining buffer stocks and updating the client.
Berkeley had to also concentrate on reducing equipment downtime and reduce maintenance cost. The introduction of a dedicated technician, equipment PPM plans, binding maintenance contracts with suppliers to include replacement machines during breakdowns helped to consistently achieve the target.The FM company also uses a green range of chemicals and consumables (80% of these are Green seal or Ecolabel certified).
Finally Clerison is confident of the company’s relationship to continue with its client. “We work with our client as business partners and we are proud to say that there is mutual understanding amongst us in ensuring that the property is maintained as per ‘world class standard’. We do not foresee any reason for this partnership to disintegrate and are confident of continuing our relationship for a long time,” he concludes.
