FM Operational Performance September 2023 FRCS
Renfrewshire Council · 14 September 2023
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 14 September 2023 and its agenda
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To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 14 September 2023 Report by: Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Heading: Facilities and Property Services Operational Performance Report 1 Summary 1.1 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure brings together a range of Council services and activities, with both strategic and operational responsibilities. This report provides an operational performance update on Facilities Management (Hard and Soft Services) and Property Services delivered by Environment, Housing & Infrastructure since the last Policy Board in June 2023. 1.2 Building Services continue to operate normal day to day business and our emergency out of hours repairs as the contractor for Housing Services. The supply issue with materials has improved and only remains in a few areas where longer lead in times continue to be experienced. The service continues to manage all works. 2 Recommendations It is recommended that members of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Notes the content of this report.
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3 Operational Update 3.1 Service Reviews Renfrewshire Council previously commissioned a consultant to undertake several reviews. The latter, finalised in 2022, considered aspects across Housing Services, Building Services, Property Services, Customer Services and Procurement. Given the challenges around the global pandemic and changes to structures (including 2 new Heads of Service and a new department that joined Communities and Housing with Environment and Infrastructure) – the timing of undertaking the actions of the review had been delayed. As such, the Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure has sought further assistance over the next 6 months. As a result, Officers are working on 6 pieces of work as detailed below: • Void property management process and potential remodelling • Productivity Analysis and initial measurement process design • Business Plan framework for Building Services • Job costings - options analysis • Organisational design • Review of call handling from the Customer Contact Centre Hard FM 3.2 Unwanted Fire Alarm signals From July 2023, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service no longer respond to calls in many public buildings where there is only a single detector head activation, or no fire/smoke is detected. The caller (including the Alarm Receiving Centre) will be asked if an investigation has been carried out before the 999 call was made. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will send a full response if there are confirmed signs of a fire, whilst there will be no response if there has not been a confirmation. This is a change in process for the Council and whilst the evacuation process will not change i.e. people will leave the building, the responsible person present in the building will need to assess if there is a fire when phoning 999. Data collation remains on-going, and Officers have a clearer understanding of the technical issues required to try and mitigate any future risks. The next step is to update the keyholder information for the infrequently used sites – this will relate to both during and out with working hours. Officers continue to work closely with H&S colleagues on this matter to ensure a full record of the Renfrewshire property portfolio is maintained. It should be noted that domestic and residential properties, where there may be sleeping occupants, are not in scope for the unwanted fire alarm amendment and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will attend a 999 call as required.
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3.3 Compliance – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) The performance of contractors continues to pose a challenge for the service and the impacts are clearly demonstrated within the quarter 1 return. Overall compliance for the period is 89%, however, poor performance of one contractor has negativity impacted the results. Removing this contractor from the data would have returned 95% compliance for the month of May (instead of 85%) with a 92% adjusted score for the quarter overall. Officers have worked with Corporate Procurement to replace the contractor for these works. Continuous improvement remains a key priority moving forward, and regular contractor meetings help to reiterate performance expectations. However, these meetings are not without challenge from the contractors. Renfrewshire House (HQ) – Power down In order to facilitate essential maintenance, a ‘black start’ exercise was carried out within the Renfrewshire House Headquarters at Cotton Street on 19 and 20 August 2023. This involved numerous contractors, in house teams and service officers carrying out essential maintenance, as part of a complete power shut down for the building. This exercise allowed the service to have greater understanding of how the building would react following any potential power outage/loss. It is reassuring to note that the onsite generator became active, and power remained within the essential areas of the building; therefore overall, a wholly satisfactory and worthy exercise. 3.4 Capital/Life Cycle Projects Hard FM Support Services Officers continue to be involved in shaping the new Paisley Grammar Campus, attending meetings when requested by the design team. 3.5 Life Cycle Replacement works. 3.5.1 Completed Commissions Heating boiler replacements at - • Ralston Primary School • Douglas St Nursery • Lochfield Primary School • Gryffe High School • Mary Russell School Others St John Ogilvie Primary School – renew rough cast 3.5.2 New Commissions • Glendee Nursery – new CCTV system • Rashielea Primary – replacement CCTV system • Gallowhill MUGA – New playing surface and lighting (part funded) • Abbey House – Boiler replacement • Wallneuk records store – new roof • Douglas St Nursery – Disability Discrimination Act adaptations (toilet/access)
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3.5.3 Defibrillators have now been installed (externally) to every primary school. This vital equipment is ready and available for use to the wider public. Secondary schools (phase 2) continue to progress. Following building warrant approvals, it is anticipated the programme will be complete by November 2023. 3.6 Net Zero Strategy (for buildings) Whilst the works on Net Zero/Climate Change will be reported to other Boards (Planning and Climate Change Board/Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board), Facilities and Property Services will be essential in assisting with this work. Officers continue to engage with Property Services colleagues to embrace the challenges to achieve the Net Zero Carbon target by 2030. Experienced consultants continue to progress Net Zero pilot projects at Newmains, East Fulton and Brediland Primary schools and the reports will be due soon. Thereafter the steps taken will help shape the strategy for future Net Zero projects. Condition Surveys proposed for the whole school estate have now been awarded and are progressing well with a completion date towards the end of 2023. 3.7 Responsive Repairs The chart below shows the actual volume of the 1st quarter of 2023 (April to end June) for responsive repairs reported by tenants. These are only the repairs that Building Services attended. There are other repairs that will be issued directly to other contractors. The 1st quarter figures above show that of the total number of repairs issued for the this period is 16,340, of which, 35% are classed as emergency or next day attendance. In addition, of the total number of emergencies issued, 26% are outwith normal working hours.
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Total number of repairs Financial Year Quarter 16,340 2023/24 Quarter 1 The requests for repairs follow seasonal trends and the first quarter in each year have recorded a similar number of issued repairs. As detailed previously, work continues to better understand classification of emergency repairs and 24 hour/next day repairs to assess what jobs can be planned in diaries to allow the workforce to be allocated appropriately. 3.8 Domestic Gas Servicing From the 1st Quarter (1 April to 30 June 2023), the domestic gas servicing and repairs team carried out 3,083 gas services. Total number of repairs Financial Year Quarter 2,952 2022/23 Quarter 1 3,533 2022/23 Quarter 2 2,379 2022/23 Quarter 3 3,780 2022/23 Quarter 4 Total number of repairs Financial Year Quarter 3,083 2023/24 Quarter 1 The figures in quarter one of the last two years have risen slightly with around 4.4% more gas servicing completed in the first quarter of 2023/24. This is due to the rolling programme of servicing moving slightly forward each year as all annual servicing must be completed within 365 days. 3.9 Voids Building Services continue to work closely with our colleagues in Housing Services to maximise the number of houses that are returned to the letting pool. Houses are prioritised based on the current needs of those requiring housing. Weekly operational meetings take place to prioritise houses and review progress. Building Services has continued to return at least the number of void houses received weekly. There is currently a backlog of houses with Housing Services due to issues with utilities, asbestos and rot works which must be carried out prior to any repair works being undertaken. The volume of void houses returned by Building Services in the 1st quarter of 2023/24 (April to June) is shown below. Total number of repairs Financial Year Quarter 16,482 2022/23 Quarter 1 17,282 2022/23 Quarter 2 21,413 2022/23 Quarter 3 22,121 2022/23 Quarter 4
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Financial Year Quarter Total number of completed voids *Inclusive Gas Central Heating (GCH) install *Inclusive Asbestos Removal (ASB RE) Preliminary Works 2022/23 Quarter 1 183 25 27 176 2022/23 Quarter 2 199 38 22 138 2022/23 Quarter 3 144 19 20 126 2022/23 Quarter 4 208 19 3 210 Financial Year Quarter Total number of completed voids *Inclusive Gas Central Heating (GCH) install *Inclusive Asbestos Removal (ASB RE) Preliminary Works 2023/24 Quarter 1 245 26 13 141 3.10 Electrical Testing programme As part of the on-going electrical compliance requirement of Landlords, Building Services, and other external contractors, have been working in partnership with Housing colleagues to carry out the statutory 5-year check of electrics within every tenanted household across Renfrewshire (approx. 12,200 houses). On behalf of Housing, Building Services have fully electrically tested 4,006 houses since the start of the programme in 2021. Building Services complete the electrical testing based on the number of appointments booked in by the tenants via the letter process carried out by Housing. The number of letters issued to tenants has been reduced resulting in fewer appointments being made. 3.11 Streetlighting Quarter 4 2022/23 - the Street Lighting Team attended 98.97% of all reported dark lamps within the 7-day timescale and, in addition, attended 150 emergencies of which 13 were out-of-hours. Quarter 1 2023/24 - the Street Lighting Team have performed well with 100% of all reported dark lamps attended within the 7-day timescale. In addition, they attended 91 emergencies of which 23 were out-of-hours. Financial Year Quarter Number of electrical tests competed 2022/23 Quarter 1 639 2022/23 Quarter 2 280 2022/23 Quarter 3 42 2022/23 Quarter 4 187 Financial Year Quarter Number of electrical tests competed 2023/24 Quarter 1 77
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Collaborative working has been progressing well across Environment, Housing & Infrastructure partnering with Procurement to tender for a streetlighting contractor to assist with replacement of columns/loops. Work continues on the appointment. With the strategy now completed and issued to market, the intention is to bring the contract award to this policy board in November with a contract start date of December 2023. As of 1 September 2023, Streetlighting has moved to Climate, Public Protection and Roads Service within the Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Department. This will allow the streetlighting design team and the Roads team to work more closely with the Streetlighting Maintenance team. Future updates on Streetlighting will be reported to the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy board. 3.12 Apprentices 3.12.1 Building Services are pleased to announce that 4 new apprentices have taken up placement and have started college for their respective trades. 3.12.2 We are extremely pleased to report that one of our second-year apprentice electricians, Callum Rae, won the West of Scotland apprentice of the year heat and will be progressing to the national final. 3.13 Energy Management The Energy Management Team now report through the Head of Climate, Public Protection and Roads. Updated Scheme of Delegated Functions mean Energy Management will now be reported to the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board. 4 Soft FM (Facilities Management) Alongside Hard FM and as detailed in Section 3.2, Soft FM has been working closely with Health and Safety to agree the process to be followed in the event of an Unwanted Fire Alarm signal in all premises where Soft FM has a presence. A toolbox talk has been developed which outlines the actions to be undertaken when investigating a fire alarm activation and is currently being delivered to all Senior Facilities Operatives and Caretakers. Corporate Health and Safety have issued a Managers Briefing to staff to ensure everyone is aware of the process. Soft FM has also agreed to provide training to Head Teachers and Head of Centres (ELCCs) on how to interpret and reset the fire panel, training took place over the 2 in- service days at the start of the new school term in August. 4.1 Capital Works 4.1.1 The tender award for the £876,000 Scottish Government Capital funding has been completed. This will be invested in improvements of kitchen facilities in Barsail Primary, Erskine, Bushes Primary, Glenburn, and Mossvale/St James Campus, Paisley. Completion of the improvements will be by the end of 2023.
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Officers continue to liaise with the Scottish Government and associated groups e.g. the Association of Service Solutions in Scotland (ASSIST) with regards to on-going capital and revenue funding and will seek to obtain funding to improve school facilities wherever possible. 4.1.2 At a previous Board, a request was made to assess how much the expansion of the Universal Free School Meals to Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils would cost. The revenue cost for the expansion (food and staff costs) in Renfrewshire would be approximately £2m based on the local financial return. As detailed above, the capital costs for any expansion are still being discussed with the Scottish Government as they would fund these works. Some upgrade works have already been planned for as part of the initial tranche of capital funding. As noted at the previous board, the Scottish Government continues to review the expansion and has paused this at the current time. 4.2 School Meals 4.2.1 Soft FM successfully launched a new 3-weekly school meal menu on 19 June 2023 in non-PPP Primary Schools. Early feedback has been positive. The new menu was delivered to Early Learning and Childcare premises throughout the school summer term break. A new 3-weekly meal menu has been launched in non-PPP Secondary Schools on 21 August 2023. 4.3 Deposit Return Scheme The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has been deferred to October 2025 at the earliest. There is currently a review of exemption criteria being carried out by the Scottish Government. ASSIST has been participating in the Scottish Government’s participation group to shape the requirements for educational establishments to comply with the DRS. Officers will continue to monitor updates from the Scottish Government to assess how this will be implemented and the direct impact on Renfrewshire Council educational establishments and the Atrium. At the last meeting of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board, Officers were asked to advise on the costs incurred as part of the Deposit Return Scheme. Following checks, it can be confirmed that there were no capital costs established for the scheme with the only costs incurred being staff time. The staff time was to attend meetings and review consultations, however, as this is part of normal meetings (agenda items) and part of the Officers role, the time spent on this cannot be quantified. 4.4 PPP Schools Officers continue to work with the Renfrewshire Schools Partnership and AMEY on monitoring the PPP contract across the PPP portfolio. Work is also being undertaken with regards to an energy efficiency pilot at Gleniffer HS which aligns with Net Zero targets and reducing carbon emissions across the estate.
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5 Property Services Property Services is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy commissioned by Facilities Management or Council Departments to deliver projects. An update of some of the work currently being undertaken is detailed below. The Members are asked to note that whilst an operational update is provided below, the progress of major projects will be reported through the relevant policy board. 5.1 Dargavel PS Modular Buildings Officers worked with the appointed contractor to erect and fully fit out the 3 modular units to meet the new school term opening. All paperwork is in place and modular units handed over to the school for use. 5.2 West Primary School Rewire The works being undertaken on the re-wire of West Primary school is now complete apart from minor snagging work with handover planned for September 2023. 5.3 Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete used in roof, floor, cladding and wall construction in the UK from the mid-1950s to the 1990’s. Following evidence of it failing over recent years, work has been undertaken by Facilities and Property Services to review the wider estate. Initial desktop investigation and visual/physical inspection of the school estate has found no RAAC to be present in the construction of schools or early years education establishments. These results have been passed to the Scottish Government who had requested this information from all 32 local authorities. Work to undertake similar assessments remains ongoing across the wider Council estate including public buildings and Council housing. This will take the same risk- based approach with regards to a desk top survey, visits to properties and intrusive inspections where required. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Any financial elements referenced in this report will be progressed through the Council’s financial & budget planning process. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community/Council Planning – the report details a range of activities which reflect local community and council planning themes. 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology - None
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7. Equality & Human Rights – The recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – Advice and guidance is being given to protect the health and safety of employees and service users when carrying out priority services for the Council in line with government and health guidance. 9. Procurement – As noted within the report. 10. Risk – None 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Change – As detailed within the report, work is being undertaken to assess property to understand works required for Net Zero. List of Background Papers – None Author: Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Email: gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk