Making building repairs and maintenance more efficient

Allan Whyte, Head of Property and Facilities Management explains: “There are currently a number of different arrangements in place to undertake works and in 2015 it was agreed we’d procure the services of an overarching hard facilities management contractor. This will make the council’s management of these services much more efficient.”

FES FM Ltd had been appointed as the successful bidder for the Council’s Hard FM contract with an estimated value of £12million per annum. They will begin work on 1 April 2017.

FES FM Ltd will be the council’s partner for the next five years, with an opportunity for a two-year extension. They will undertake all day-to-day repairs, statutory compliance including boiler servicing and the replacement of things like windows or wiring. The contract extends to all council properties and elements of building maintenance in social housing and sheltered housing, and the benefit is costs are limited to a fixed annual price paid monthly.

FES FM Ltd will now operate the repairs and maintenance Service Desk from their office in Westhill. The new number from 1 April to report any non-housing repairs and maintenance will be 0800 954 3576 and will be operated 24/7. Housing repairs are still to be reported through the council’s Contact Centre on 03456 08 12 03.

Existing facilities maintenance staff will be moving across to FES. Briefing sessions are currently being rolled out to services, and flyers and handbooks are being distributed to various building users over the next couple of weeks. 

Allan Whyte adds: “Aberdeenshire is the first local authority in Scotland to adopt the single provider approach. Our jointly agreed values with the new contractor focus on customer service, quality, safety, honesty, partnership and continuous improvement. I’m confident this will achieve many benefits for service users.”

For any general enquiries regarding building maintenance and repairs, please email hardfm@aberdeenshire.gov.uk