February 2017

42 BUILD / February 2017 , Excellence in Facilities Management As part of ABMUK, Westway Services provides a strong technical workforce with expertise inMechanical, Electrical, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Combustionmaintenance. We invited Andy Donnell, Managing Director, to tell us more. Originally established in 2000 as a specialised refrigeration and air conditioning company, the firm grew and built its service provision to include other skilled technical engineering services, becoming Westway Services in 2009 to reflect this. The company is now part of the larger ABM group, which gives it the support of an international company and allows the company to share best practice and deliver a broader range of services, and trades as ABM UK. Andy discusses the services the firm offers and how it aims to provide the very highest standard. “We offer reactive and PPM works nationally in the Retail, Commercial, Critical, Aviation, Financial and Sports and Leisure sectors. We also manage specialist subcontractors as part of our technical service provision. Our main focus is self-delivery. We believe that our customers benefit most from an integrated suite of services, delivered and/ or managed by one provider. With this in mind, our corollary focus is on building the capability and expertise of our staff through training initiatives, specialist apprenticeships, and our Learning Centre. “In order to provide them with the very highest standard of service we have made communication the mainstay of our approach to new clients and projects. We aim for absolute clarity around our client’s goals and aspirations across their business. It is through communication that we can identify and strive for a shared vision of excellence in service delivery. “In all new contracts and projects, we look for ways we can support these objectives in tandem with our own. For example, where a client wants to minimise the environmental impact of their operation, we can contribute by way of our own sustainability action plans. Where a client has made specific commitments around CSR in their supply chain, we can support them through our local employment schemes, volunteering programmes, and training.” ABM UK now works with a major grocery and retail company, providing mechanical, electrical, HVAC refrigeration and combustion maintenance to their stores and general merchandise distribution centres nationally. This partnership has grown to include specialist refrigeration in the South, along with PSSR compliance audits and roll-out installation projects. Throughout this relationship, ABM UK has worked closely with their client to build a team culture led by the retailer’s values and sustainability plan. This partnership has been critical to the development of FSI:Go, a Concept-based CAFM solution that allows front-line updates and reporting from the company’s engineers. The company is also keen to make progress in the area of sustainability, and Andy discusses the various innovations the company has implemented in order to offer the most environmentally friendly services possible. “One of our key focuses is to continue making continuous strides in sustainability. In 2015, we won a Green Apple award for the mini Materials Recovery Facilities we installed in two large retail locations, which have significantly reduced landfill waste and recovered their cost of installation through rebates alone. “As part of this focus on sustainability, we have developed award winning software that can help reduce energy consumption while spotting equipment failures before they occur. Algoram uses real-time energy consumption and building management data to calculate the risk of plant failure and working condition of any critical assets. In the long term, this can reduce gains in long term energy consumption by up to 20%. Algoram has proved popular and successful with the sites where it is in use.” Moving forward the firm has a number of exciting developments in the pipeline which Andy is keen to outline in his concluding comments. “Looking ahead, all of our developments are planned in line with our overarching aim of being the technical services provider of choice. We are working towards ILM accreditation for our training centre. This not only means that we can offer level 5 qualifications in-house, but also gives us an opportunity to further tailor our managerial training to the needs of our clients. “We are also currently in the process of expanding our highly successful Brand Ambassador programme, where we train staff at all levels to represent the values and culture of our clients in everything they do. This has achieved some great results since its first implementation and we are very excited by the possibilities it offers our staff and customers.” 1701BU05 “in order to provide the very highest standard of service we have made communication the mainstay of our approach to new clients and projects.”