Facility mgt key to cost saving centre — ESV. Madubuko

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

An Estate Surveyor and valuer, ESV Okechukwu Madubuko, said facility management is a key to cost saving centre.
He said facility management has a multi-disciplinary approach of integrating peoples process and technology in the management of a building environment.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday, ESV. Madubuko explained that “our offices, homes, places of worship and playgrounds are all facilities.
This has to do with management of their day to day activities to ensure optimal utilization as well as extended longevity becomes the responsibility of an Estate Surveyor and Valuer”.
The surveyor described cost savers
as a process of engaging an Estate Surveyor and Valuer from the onset.
“Experience has shown that involving the services of an Estate Surveyor and Valuer at the inception of planning and design stage of any Facility has brought so many gains in reducing and saving cost either in immediate or long term. While the architect wants to create a work of art, the structural engineer is interested in ensuring that the structure stands, the utmost end result of all their efforts is now handed over to an Estate Surveyor and Valuer to manage.
“Since this is his responsibility, he knows the challenges and when involved from the onset, he guides all the other professionals to ensure that day to day management of the facility is cost effective.
“The Estate Surveyor and Valuer can advice on design based on experience. He or she can advice on:
Safety features
HVACS(Heating, ventilation, and cooling system)
Road types and ground outlook
Landscaping etc.
“Also, when the facility is up and standing, the Estate Surveyor and Valuer has to put in place an effective maintenance schedule/policy. It is worthy of note that, reliance should be focused on:
Scheduled Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance and Symptomatic maintenance.
All these are designed to be cost saving as they prevent repairs and attendant costs. They also prevent replacement cost occasioned by run to fault or failed maintenance.”
Speaking further, he said space management can be defined as a practice where an organization manages its physical space inventory. “These activities include tracking, control, supervision and utilization planning of the space available. It must be noted that office space planning is an essential aspect of space management, to ensure maximum results with optimal utilization of available resources.
When a company can effectively utilize the space available to it for its operation, huge costs can be saved.”
He said an Estate Surveyor and Valuer makes work more efficient and the business continuity.
“An Estate Surveyor and Valuer in doing his or her job allows all others to concentrate on their core area of competence . This definitely translates to saved man hours, efficiency and business continuity”.
He also added that enchanted energy saving is a fundamental way to cut down cost is by boasting energy efficiency.
“Not only does the approach benefit the environment, but reducing carbon emissions can overtime lead t no o significant savings without any noticeable drop in performance”.
An Estate Surveyor and Valuer can reduce cost by recommending and implementing energy saving bulbs, double glazing on windows and enhanced wall insulators within the facility.
“By introducing measures to consistently monitor and track energy usage, an Estate Surveyor and Valuer can harness that data to make definitive cost saving measures.These can then enhance asset longevity and allow them to perform more efficiently”,he said