Facilitate in focus

News

What we’ve reported on

OCS acquiring EMCOR is no small matter, marking as it does a particular phase in the cycle of outsourcing business evolution. What does this mean for the smaller players in the market? We’ve spoken to a number of interested parties.

You’ll hopefully have noted our reporting on the recent IWFM Impact Awards, where we’ve looked at the common traits arising from the various related category winners.

In other work we’ve covered the huge impending digital overhaul of public sector workplaces; spoken to each of the 2025 Deborah Rowland Scholarship recipients; reported the rise in use of robotics in the facilities sector; and laid out a range of wellbeing-oriented initiatives.

What we’re working on

We’re developing a feature looking at the upcoming ten year anniversary of building information modelling being declared mandatory for government buildings. How has commissioning evolved since, and how much more involved has facilities management become?

We’re also looking at the effect of health-related government projects on the way in which the work of WFM professionals can be involved. Effectively, the value of insight from day to day delivery on advanced workplace planning, above and beyond the quest for net zero.

On a lighter note, we’re minded to document the various obscure and entertaining ways in which WFM professionals have interacted with famous folk over the years. Sure, the nature of the role means that you’re more typically obliged to go under the radar - but when a celebrity rocks up, how have WFMs responded?

If you read one Facilitate piece…

Just the one? Particularly difficult with our new November/December 2025 print edition. We’ve got the character profile of new IWFM non-executive director Daniel May; we’ve got a deep-dive assessment of the £49 billion public sector maintenance backlog; and we’re also looking to a potentially wider role for the WFM professional by talking to those who have taken on a site master planning brief for their organisation.

Where we could use your help

How has working with building information models affected your work? How has your organisation gone about ensuring remote workers are compliant with health and safety legislation? If you’ve been involved and can tell us about your experience, we’d love to hear from you. We're also looking for people who have had to lend themselves to other organisation departments in an emergency. Are you an FM who once had to run the shop floor? Teach a class? Take over the tannoy? Examples of FMs going above and beyond outside of facilities service delivery is what we're interested in.

(Also, that time when you had to book a room for Taylor Swift? Yep, any celebrity interactions gratefully received. )

Drop us a line at [email protected].