< Previouswww.fm-middleeast.com30 July 2021 FMME Awards 2021 in association with SILVER SPONSORSCATEGORY SPONSORSSTRATEGIC SPONSOR FACILITIES & CONTRACTING PLATINUM SPONSOR Zohaib Azhar from Farnek takes home Facilities Manager of the Year award Zohaib Azhar, head of operations at Farnek Services, took home the Facilities Manager of the Year award. Azhar introduced IoT installation in a bid to reduce manpower costs and provide additional value. The pilot project was carried out at a single Aster Pharmacy and resulted in winning con- tracts for a further 22 pharmacies from the group in the Northern Emirates. From a sustainability perspective, Azhar agreed a working relationship with Wattz, the solar energy panel provider, to offer CAPEX free installation of solar panels to B2C customers. It has been a great success so far, and pilot project is in process, this will contribute to reduce GHG (Green House Gases). Azhar said: “The FM industry was among the worst-hit industries due to pandemic. Technology innovation and implementation such as the internet of things helped reduce touch points and costs. I believe the judges voted for me due to my achievements in these areas. This award is very special to me; I was highly commended last year in the young FM manager category, and this year I worked harder, especially during the peak Covid situation. I am humbled and thankful to the Farnek family that sup- ported me throughout the past year. I am hoping that the FM industry will not just recover post-Covid, but see fast growth with technology innovation.” There were two highly commended in this category. The first highly commended was Geetha Shanmugam from Ejadah. Shanmugam manages high-profile con- tracts, consistently exceeding customer expectations in staff engagement and development, innovation, training, and fi- nancial performance of the contracts. She fosters an outstanding client relationship, rapidly building trust that solidifies long term partnerships, backed by mammoth experience in managing IFM contracts for estates ranging from commercial, residen- tial, retail, healthcare, and infrastructure. The other highly commended winner was Imtiyaz Ansari from BK Gulf FM. In the last 15 years of his successful FM career in the Middle East, Ansari has passionately worked towards sustain- ability and environmental protection. He has led several key initiatives that im- proved the quality of living space while reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the properties under his portfolio. ZOHAIB AZHAR INTRODUCED IOT INSTALLATION IN A BID TO REDUCE MANPOWER COSTS AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL VALUE Zohaib Azhar, head of operations at Farnek Services.www.fm-middleeast.comJuly 2021 31 FMME Awards 2021 in association with CATEGORY SPONSORS TECHNOLOGY SPONSOR DEYAAR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT CEO CROWNED FM EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR 2021 Deyaar Facilities Management’s (Deyaar FM) chief executive officer Mohamad Abou Laban has lifted the FM Executive of the Year title at the Facilities Manage- ment Middle East Awards 2021. Mohamad Abou Laban was lauded by the jury for extending support towards his team financially and emotionally dur- ing the pandemic. In a refreshing move, Abou Laban ensured continual payments towards staff, with no terminations or salary reductions. Furthermore, Deyaar FM reported a staggering 25% growth in revenue as well as a 32% growth in staff numbers. Deyaar FM commissioned in 2020 a 5000 ft2 training facility in Al Qusais to enhance staff skills and ensure their technical development. Also, DFM has completed phase 2 of its digital transfor- mation, which has gained them 2 awards in 2019 and 2020. Under Abou Laban’s leadership, the Deyaar FM staff accommodation was up- graded and moved to Al Quoz, reflecting on a higher staff retention and satisfaction. In addition, Deyaar FM delivered four projects for Emaar under the defect liability period, and mobilised hundreds of staff during the pandemic on time for various projects. Lifting the award, Abou Laban ex- plained that his passion for the job and the team, and to deliver good services to clients, has led him to claim the title. He continued: “It’s a great achievement – not at a personal level, but a team level. I’ve won this on behalf of the team. The team has been great in supporting each other and delivering exceptional services during the pandemic and even before it. And hence, this award goes to the team and isn’t just for me. Our priorities for the coming year are aimed at continu- ing to meet financial targets, KPIs, and safety standards as well. We will also be focused on growth and aim to enter new sectors, ensuring that Deyaar FM is a well-known force in the FM world.” Deyaar FM was also recognised for the MOHAMAD ABOU LABAN WAS SELECTED BY THE JURY AMONG A CONTENDING LIST OF NINE OTHER INDUSTRY LEADERS Mohamad Abou Laban, CEO of Deyaar FM. Unsung Hero of the Category; the title was awarded to Mohammed Afzal Ali. Afzal Ali was commended for prioritising tenants’ and building safety in the event of an unfortunate fire at the Awqaf Al Majarah building in Sharjah. Highly commended in this category went to Stuart Harrison, CEO, Emrill Services. Harrison said: “Even though I am accepting this award, I do so on behalf of every employee. I’m incredibly proud of how the entire Emrill family has come together over the last twelve months to achieve some incredible things.” www.fm-middleeast.com32 July 2021 FMME Awards 2021 in association with SILVER SPONSORSCATEGORY SPONSORSSTRATEGIC SPONSOR FACILITIES & CONTRACTING PLATINUM SPONSOR Mohammed Afzal Ali from Deyaar Facilities Management wins Unsung Hero of the Year Mohammed Afzal Ali from Deyaar Facilities Man- agement won the Unsung Hero of the Year award. Recounting an incident, Ali was at the Awqaf Al Majarah building in Sharjah. While he was on call attend- ing his routine plumbing duties, an unfortunate fire accident occurred in a nearby apartment. He heard two children calling and shouting for help. He responded immediately, ran to them and instructed the family to stay away from the kitchen area. Using his pres- ence of mind, he ensured that the fami- ly is safely away from the fire as well as evacuating all the tenants on that floor. He selflessly and heroically rushed into the location of the fire (the kitchen), disconnected the LPG and power, and then he got the fire extinguisher and applied it all over the burning kitchen before the fire continued its outbreak and extended to catastrophic levels. He was successful in containing the fire and ensured the safety of the tenants. The father and mother of the chil- dren, the tenants and the Civil Defence commended Ali on his bravery and they all have spoken highly of him and Deyaar FM. The highly commended winner in this category was David Oluwabusayo from Bk Gulf Facilities Management. His nomination is based not only on his invaluable contributions to the team and organisation during his tenure as a member of the team at BK Gulf FM, but more specifically as one of our frontline leaders during the height of the first wave of the Covid pandemic outbreak. Since joining BK Gulf FM as Security Officer in 2015, David has been recognised as a potential leader by clients, fellow employees and manage- ment alike, through his unwavering dedication to the task at hand and his willingness, without any hesitation, to go above and beyond expectation in any given situation. THE HIGHLY COMMENDED WINNER IN THIS CATEGORY WAS DAVID OLUWABUSAYO FROM BK GULF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Mohammed Afzal Ali from Deyaar FM.www.fm-middleeast.comJuly 2021 33 FMME Awards 2021 in association with CATEGORY SPONSORS TECHNOLOGY SPONSOR EJADAH WINS OVERALL FM COMPANY OF THE YEAR FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A ROW Ejadah won the Overall FM Company of the Year award for the second time in a row. Ejadah has become consis- tent and responsible in being excellent adding to its credentials as being one of the top FM companies in the region. During the pandemic, it was vital that a series of initiatives be taken from the management of this firm without going to the extreme measures of laying off employees. The senior management at Ejadah decided to implement a salary re- duction of the management team to adapt to the rapidly changing market whilst safeguarding the salaries of its team. Tarek Nizameddin, senior executive director at Ejadah, said: “It was a very tough competition. The names on the shortlist were scary. It had all the big players. We are very happy to win the award for the second year for Overall FM Company of the Year.” “I consider all the other participants as winners, but there is only one that can be the best,” he said proudly with a smile. On the future of Ejadah, Nizameddin said: “We have expansion plans. We are planning on offereing new services, en- tering new markets, and implementing new technology and innovation that will cater to the requirements of our clients and offer them state-of-the-art facilities management and security services.” The highly commended award went to Emrill, which won last year as well. Em- rill was lauded by the judges as a firm that has been on the pandemic’s front lines, allocating specialist teams and equipment to the UAE Government’s National Ster- ilisation Campaign by providing uninter- rupted services through its experienced leadership team and robust COVID-19 response plan. However, unlike many of its competitors, the company realised the anxious response their staff had during such unprecedented times, and developed an inventive online training resource to help staff transition into the so-called THE HIGHLY COMMENDED AWARD WENT TO EMRILL, WHICH ALSO WON LAST YEAR Tarek Nizameddin, senior executive director at Ejadah. “new norms” of working, whilst paying particular attention to the mental health and well-being of all their employees. Stuart Harrison, CEO, Emrill said: “We’re absolutely delighted to receive the award for Overall FM Company of the Year. Emrill is committed to rais- ing regional FM standards, developing our talented people and redefining service delivery and the client experi- ence through continuous improvement, technology and innovation.” FMME Awards 2021 in association with www.fm-middleeast.com34 July 2021 FMME AWARDS 2021 GALLERY FMME Awards 2021 in association with www.fm-middleeast.comJuly 2021 35 Creating living experiences. Inspire Life.FMME Awards 2021 in association with www.fm-middleeast.com36 July 2021 FMME AWARDS 2021 GALLERY FMME Awards 2021 in association with www.fm-middleeast.comJuly 2021 37 www.khansahebfm.ae HEALTHCARE | DEFENCE | EDUCATION | RETAIL | BUSINESS & INDUSTRY | RESIDENTIAL | GOVERNMENT Disinfection Services Integrated Facilities Services Energy Management MEP Maintenance Waste Management Cleaning Pest Control Landscaping Specialist Maintenance Reception & Concierge BRANDVIEW www.fm-middleeast.com38 July 2021 EMIRATES NATIONAL FACILITIES MANAGEMENT’S FORAY INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR A COUPLE OF YEARS BACK HAS BROUGHT THIS NINE-YEAR-OLD FM FIRM INTO THE LIMELIGHT Emirates National Facilities Management (EnFM) was known earlier in this region as Emirates Facilities Management (EFM). It was established in 2012 with the vision to be recognised as one of the reputed FM companies in the UAE, especially as a total facilities management (TFM) service partner of federal and local government sectors. EnFM was formed through a 50/50 partnership between two renowned market leaders in their respective fields: Emirates Transport (a corporation fully owned by the UAE federal government) and Etisalat Facilities Management (a subsidiary of Emirates Telecommunication Corporation). Mohammad Abdul Karim Khamis, general manager of EnFM, says that after a certain period, when EnFM broke the AED100m revenue barrier, the board members broadened the company’s vision and directed the firm to venture into private sector. Leading a team of 2,550+ staff, the firm caters to 80+ trusted clients in a challenging environment. EFM slowly started to rebrand the organisation name to “Emirates National Facilities Management” and the vision elevated the company to a fully integrated facilities management company. Khamis says: “We have a clear mission statement: We enable all our clients to concentrate on their core business whilst we manage their non- core activities in the background.” At the moment, the firm caters more to the private sector as the INTO THE LIMELIGHT Eng. Mohammad Abdul Karim Khamis, general manager of EnFM.BRANDVIEW www.fm-middleeast.comJuly 2021 39 the tenant/end-user needs to service either owned or leased apartments, villas, townhouses and bungalows.” CHALLENGES So what some of the biggest challenges that the facilities management market is facing in this region? To which Khamis has a one-word reply: “costs”. He explains: “This market need to be more mature when it comes to understanding costs. The budget allocation of facilities management comes at the very end, which should not be the case. Maintaining iconic projects comes at a cost and that needs to be understood by the market.” Experts have been emphasising for quite a long time in this region to include FM specialists in every project at the design stage, says Khamis. FM experts would understand the challenges that arise after a building handover in respect to maintenance costs. He says: “A few buildings and their complex designs have become challenging to access for FM services and this makes the maintenance cost very expensive in the end. “In reality, there are very few developers who understand FM maintenance. Maintaining building assets will extend the lifecycle of the building. On the other hand, some owners/developers save maintenance costs by reducing the service frequency and this puts the lifecycle of their valuable assets in danger, strategy has changed over the past two years. Talking a bit about the wide range of contracts the firm has undertaken, Khamis says: “EnFM is managing around AED185m worth of business comprising long-term as well as short-term projects across the UAE. Our project portfolio includes many industries, and covers TFM services. We have been honoured recently with winning the country’s diplomatic academy contract, which features a brand new building and is located in the middle of the embassy district in Abu Dhabi.” The firm’s technical experts who are specialised in Testing & Commissioning and Project Management are at the site and closely working with the O&M contractors & consultants to take over the building on behalf of the client. Khamis adds: “Under the directives of the executive management led by me, EnFM has focused more towards private sectors to strengthen its business revenue as well as to increase the client base across the UAE. In a short period, we have managed to grab a few opportunities in mixed-use residential/commercial properties in both Dubai & Abu Dhabi region. “In addition, we plan to introduce the B2C (Business to Commercial & Retails) to our core business line. This plan will be announced shortly and will feature a competitive price range to cover Dubai initially. Our service charges for the B2C business will come in standard packages covering various services for Annual Maintenance Service & On-call services. This hassle-free maintenance package will attract which will cost them more in the long run.” BEING DIFFERENT What makes EnFM different is the fact that the firm has very strong support from the shareholders in terms of process procedure, expert people, logistics, IT infrastructure, and standardisation in policies and procedures. Also, EnFM has handpicked a few higher calibre and knowledgeable FM staff of diverse nationalities who understand different client requirements. In addition, EnFM boasts a solid business continuity policy. Giving an example, Khamis says: “During the Covid pandemic, almost every FM company and its staff were exposed and faced a lot of challenges. But we at EnFM, having the privilege of working with government healthcare projects, already worked closely with frontline staff addressing their day to day activities. In addition, we had an additional fleet deployed from our parent company which helped maintain social distancing while transporting staff to healthcare centres. “Moreover, in order to support the business operations when the UAE government announced a lockdown, our staff was able to access the company’s data while working from home. Our customer service mobile app tracked critical data which helped support human resources, operations, procurement, business, and financial functions. Our business continuation plan helped deliver services at 750+ locations across the UAE. It was possible because that we are in the safe hands and support of a strong background in logistics & IT infrastructure environments which are imperative support services in tackling the pandemic.” On the future of FM, Khamis concludes: “We are expecting a flourishing future for FM companies within the market, but only for those companies that are performing the right processes and implementing the right technology.” WE ARE EXPECTING A FLOURISHING FUTURE FOR FM COMPANIES WITHIN THE MARKET, BUT ONLY FOR THOSE COMPANIES THAT ARE PERFORMING THE RIGHT PROCESSES AND IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY. Emirates National Facilities Management ﻖﻓاﺮﻤﻟا ةراد ﺔﻴﻨﻃﻮﻟا تارﺎﻣاNext >