Welcome to the fifth and final report, on a topic that is related to our work, that is associated with the theme of World FM Day 2020.
Compliance = efficiency, safety and environmentally responsible
Compliance is a legal requirement in many areas of facilities management and when organisations such as PTSG deliver specialist compliance services for their customers, the benefits go far beyond simply satisfying regulatory standards.
A large proportion of PTSG’s work includes compliance in the four market sectors in which we operate: Access & Safety, Electrical Services, High-Level Cleaning and Reparations and Fire Solutions. This means we have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the many and varied issues involved with protecting people, property and places.
We ensure organisations adhere to the latest regulations so their buildings operate at optimal efficiency, from the intrinsic electrical wiring to fire suppression systems to access systems for safe and efficient building maintenance – a multitude of other systems and equipment in between. We also offer legislative and technical support in addition to specialist services and equipment, helping to ensure strict compliance in all areas.
Compliance in action: PTSG’s partnership with Engie
PTSG has a long history of partnering with other organisations, working collaboratively to supply one or more specialist service and ensure full compliance. We have created long-standing relationships with well-known high street brands including Marks & Spencer and Jaguar Land Rover as well as large first-tier providers of services to the construction and FM sectors such as Skanska, Mitie and Engie. This has resulted in a number of PFM Partnership Awards, including two wins in 2018 for Partners in Corporate (Private Sector) and Achievement in Facilities Technology (for our proprietary software system Clarity) – underlining our success in partnering.
PTSG’s partnership with Engie goes back to 2014, when we united with the global energy and services group and the operators of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham to establish a unique collaborative culture for the delivery of routine fixed wire testing throughout the site.
Following a rigorous, competitive process, PTSG was awarded the entirety of the electrical works to carry out planned and reactive fixed wire testing. The project included:
- testing in 17 individual areas from car parks through to critical care departments;
- the comprehensive electrical testing of around 15,000 electrical circuits in compliance with BS7631; and
- the deployment of testing teams ranging from one to nine engineers (with a minimum requirement of two in mental health facilities on the site).
Our specialists had to identify innovative ways of testing the infrastructure, which is conventionally completed using a range of live and dead load testing. In areas of the hospital administering critical care, dead load testing was not an option without substantial and unthinkable consequences and the PTSG and Engie teams worked with the stakeholder group to identify, plan and undertake compliant live load testing of infrastructure as an alternative.
At the time, Terry Venables, head of FM at Engie, summarised the partnership as: “a team which has developed a strategy in accordance with the ultimate client and its customers. The relationship is seamless in delivering the works in a difficult, controlled and busy environment. I am incredibly proud of its work and would like to thank PTSG for its meticulous planning, in-depth understanding and quality of delivery.”
Subsequent projects in which PTSG has partnered with Engie are:
- The Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, covering St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, as well as Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital. PTSG provided a wide range of specialist services including fixed-wire testing, lightning protection services, portable appliance testing and fall arrest testing to ensure the safety of all site users, whether these be staff, patients or maintenance teams.
- Liverpool Central Library, where PTSG supplied specialist access maintenance work on site in March 2018.
- Emergency services sites in Wales, including fixed wire testing (valid for five years to comply with regulations) and emergency light testing (required every 12 months) at two hospitals and a police stations.
- Newcastle Council – a major 40-year contract. Beginning in 2018, PTSG will continue to carry out a range of specialist services to ensure all sites comply with regulations.
