Case study 1: Afroteq saves internationally renowned company R8 million

“In 2001, Afroteq was approached by large international company to bring them in line with their global delivery standard.” says Maja Macdougall, Managing Director of Afroteq. “We analysed the company’s existing facilities management functions to determine what had made them so ineffective before outsourcing and found that it was a case of a lack of in-house skill and strategic planning, there were no benchmarks in place and there was a lack of management controls and systems amongst other things.”

Macdougall advises that by spending time in pertinent areas of the business, evaluating all processes within each region and department and conducting a needs analysis, the following needs were identified:

• Measured service delivery
• Measured Cost efficiency (and cost savings)
• Strategic Facilities Management
  
  

To minimize their risk, our client chose to only contract out the facilities management and retain control of individual service contracts. This simply means that the facilities management company would appoint contractors on behalf of the client, align these services to the core business strategy and manage the service delivery through the contract life cycle. This differs in that traditionally large organizations would outsource facilities management in its entirety.

A helpdesk system was designed specific to the clients needs and 2 resources replaced a team of 26 staff and all services were outsourced.

Our client’s management of people through a change event such as outsourcing was exemplary and resulted in a smooth transition from a DIY approach to a professional procurement approach that enabled us to assist them in saving R2.2 million within the first 10 months and R8 million over the full period of our contract.”

“Our solid track record of adding value to our clients and meeting their needs and our strong and positive growth plan, coupled with our drive to remain consistently innovative and our commitment to never offering immeasurable promises makes Afroteq the smart choice in facilities management,” concludes Macdougall.

Back to top

Case Study 2: Afroteq moves Government towards the future

An organisations building is often their most valuable asset and so needs to be maintained in top condition. Additionally, it is the place where that organisation carries out its core, money-making activities so staff needs to be housed in a work-environment that nurtures productivity and success.

According to Maja Macdougall, Managing Director of Afroteq, an innovative facilities management company, successful organisations become successful and remain that way because they focus on their core business activities. Yet, every business has non-core activities that need to be managed – anything from simple tasks such as ensuring there is sufficient stationery to last the month to complicated ones such as redesigning the layout of offices and workspaces.

“In the case of 90 Plein Street, the Department of Public Works realised after a spatial needs analysis exercise Afroteq compiled, the necessity of relocating Parliament staff into the first 8 floors as well as upgrading these outdated, 30+ year old offices that no longer complied with building regulations. In this light, Afroteq were appointed in September 2003 as project managers in a joint venture with Makwakwa Associates Architects to redesign and refurbish the offices on the first five floors as well as the basement, lower ground and upper ground floors.”

Marlene Ash, the project manager on 90 Plein Street says that included in their mandate from the Department of Public Works was the wish for the offices to be made entirely open plan and therefore allow for more employees to be accommodated in the available space.

“Afroteq conducted a full assessment of the building and found that, other than consisting entirely of brick enclosed office spaces that prevented natural light from penetrating the building interior, the mechanical, electrical and safety support features were in very poor condition and the buildings infrastructure did not support modern work environment factors such as IT.”

According to Ash, the previous tenants had poorly maintained the building and things such as back up generators were non-existent and fire extinguishers had to be fully replaced. In addition the entire electrical distribution board had to be upgraded and a sprinkler system with smoke detectors was installed.

“The eight lifts in 90 Plein Street also had to be completely refurbished with a fully computerized system with automatic safety features and brail as well as verbal buttons for the visually impaired. We also installed disabled toilet facilities on each floor and upgraded all the existing bathroom and toilet facilities.”

“The IT room has specialized air conditioning units that pump out carbon dioxide in the event of an electrical fire. A canteen and modern kitchen were also created in the building as well as pause areas on each floor where staff can go to relax during tea and coffee breaks.”

“Additionally,” says Ash, “centralised meetings rooms were established on each floor around the lift area for easy access and these have been placed on a computerised booking system – ensuring effective use of this space at all times. A framework was also established for a public education area where tour groups etc. could be housed for presentations.”

Afroteq also implemented two new entrances to 90 Plein Street. One from the Parliamentary precinct, and the other off Plein Street, with a disabled ramp and a full security check point. Each floor now also has a security barrier that visitors must pass once they have stepped off the lift. From there, there is a second security point controlling access into the general offices.

Macdougall explains some of the challenges and constraints that the Afroteq team met with during the Plein Street refurbishment.

“It was a major undertaking that was placed under a fair amount of fast tracking due to client necessity. In addition we faced several restrictions when it came to the historical status of the Marks Building situated next door. To address these we placed fire extinguishing sprinklers on the outside of the first eight stories of 90 Plein Street to protect the Marks Building in the event of a fire.”

“Additionally, the building remained occupied at the time of refurbishment and so we worked from the basement up, attempting as little disrupting of people’s work environments. We met with several logistical problems implementing the tight access control and strict security measures required in the Parliamentary precinct during construction.”

“We also encountered the inevitable resistance to the proposed change from staff working in the building and so embarked on a full education program whereby we highlighted exactly what was going to take place and allowed people to take the plans away to study further before either objecting or approving them,” says Macdougall.

The final hurdle faced by the Afroteq team was moving the staff from various other Parliament precinct spaces into their refurbished workspaces. “Approximately 400 existing staff, with all their corresponding computers, printers and telephones, were relocated in the space of one weekend in order for business to continue as usual on the Monday morning. Efficient relocation was done through a specially designed coding system. We also had to make allowances for the expected 15% growth in staff anticipated in the next five years.”

According to Macdougall, Afroteq did not just attempt to fulfill their mandate but also to take the Plein Street refurbishment a step further by implementing several steps that are in-line with the global move towards green building. “By removing all the internal brick walls that were separating the offices we let in more natural light, thereby reducing the amount of artificial lighting needed. We also eliminated the need for many small air conditioning units that used up vast amounts of energy. Another step taken was the use of biodegradable carpeting throughout.”

“The final result of the redesign and refurbishment at 90 Plein Street is a lively and invigorating environment in which to work, learn and educate – designed to encourage communication and break down barriers with all work spaces being fully flexible and adaptable. It embodies the vision of being ‘a Parliament for the people’,” concludes Macdougall.

Back to top

Print this page