CBNME caught up with Michael Nicholas, General Manager, Tafawuq Facilities Management earlier this year to discuss about their approach to sustainable FM and how technology plays a role in it. This interview was part of a wider feature conducted in February 2020 magazine of CBNME, which can be found here.
Sustainability is firmly on the business agenda around the world as seen during this month’s WEF gathering of political and business leaders in Davos, and the efficiency of buildings has naturally come under the spotlight. As technology becomes increasingly popular, facilities management (FM) companies are making use of the technology to achieve sustainability.
Climate adaption, energy efficiency, sustainable development and green growth are societal challenges for which the FM industry can collectively devise and develop solutions and make positive contributions to communities. The concept of Sustainable Facilities Management has developed and the need to balance the three strands of sustainable development – social, economic and environmental – has become apparent.
Leading figures within the FM profession have identified the need for both change and practical sustainability goals; with facility managers at the forefront of organizational behavioral change and in a position to influence the behavior of individuals working in business, government departments and public services within the facilities they are responsible for.
The use of smart technology in FM can help achieve sustainability. By integrating smart technology into retail premises, offices and residential communities, operational efficiency can be optimized as building automation is able to carry out more and more checks and adjustments without the need for human interference.
At Tafawuq, we place great importance on sustainable operations as key component of our 5 year strategic plan. We constantly monitor our operations to identify where our work negatively impacts the environment, and work on solutions to those problems. Since 2014 we took the first step by implementing an Integrated Management System (IMS) that comprises ISO 9001 Quality Management System, ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System – all of which are international standards while all EHS operations conducted by Tafawuq Facility Management align with the Abu Dhabi Environmental Health and Safety Management (AD EHSMS) Regulatory Framework, and Dubai Municipality Technical Guidelines.
The IMS Forces us to regularly evaluate our environmental impacts, ensure proper precautions are taken on site, track our environmental data, and ensure we are aligned to federal and local regulations on the environment.
Technology has also improved our sustainability track record. Since we introduced our maintenance mobility tool Tafawuq GO in Q1 2019, our maintenance teams have reduced the use of paper by 100% on most sites, as the end to end maintenance recording process is now paperless.
Tafawuq teams work with their clients to monitor and proactively reduce utility consumption on the assets that the company maintains, as energy generation is one of the most significant sources of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. These initiatives have resulted in millions of dirhams being saved during 2019 across our project portfolio and Tafawuq is proud to have taken part.
As we look forward to 2020, a number of new initiatives will be launched to help us strive further on the road to sustainability. Remote utility meter monitoring, energy performance dashboards, IOT sensors will all allow Tafawuq to enhance the efficiency of the assets it maintains, ultimately leading to lower energy consumption which helps the environment.
