We’re not the Usual “Recruitment” Suspects….

As you’ve seen in the press, we’ve come up with a brand new marketing campaign. If you’ve been hiding under your desk for last couple of days and not seen it you can check it out here. Our bold marketing is trying to get across that we’re different. We’re Not the Usual Suspects. Or Not the Usual “Recruitment” Suspects. Like it?

Our new marketing campaign – Not the Usual “Recruitment” Suspects

This campaign plays on the fact that we’re different from your run of the mill Facilities Management Recruitment agency. We’re sure you’re sat there thinking “Yeah yeah, whatever. Any facilities management recruitment company can say they’re different” and let’s face it, you’re probably right. But it’s how they differ that matters. We don’t feed you a load of nonsense, nor do we disappear when things aren’t going our way.

So, what do we do that makes us so different? Well, let me tell you….

Communication

Have you ever had a conversation with your other half and you can tell they’re not really listening? Frustrating isn’t it. You feel like screaming at them “JUST LISTEN TO ME AND THEN YOU’D KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!!”. Or how about when you’re trying to contact someone and every time you call you’re told “They’re away from their desk” or “They’ll call you back”. Irritating is an understatement.

How’s this for a breakdown in communication?

Now don’t get me wrong, there are obviously going to be times when we really aren’t at our desk (people do need coffee y’know!) but believe me when I say we WILL call you back. We make sure that we’re on hand whenever you want to speak to us and we maintain that communication throughout the whole recruitment process. And unlike your significant other, we WILL listen to you (albeit not necessarily about the kids homework or the water bill that needs paying).

Integrity

We’re not the Usual “Recruitment” Suspects and here’s another reason why: integrity. We have that one thing we’re sure you’ve come to realise a lot of recruiters don’t have. Integrity is vital to everything we do. We’re sure you’ve had experiences with facilities management recruiters who don’t keep you in the loop.

“I’m telling the truth, honestly!”

You know the sort – they promise you’re a perfect fit for this fab new position they’re recruiting for, they talk to you about salary expectations and swear on their dog’s, Grandmother’s, Brother’s Wife’s grave that you’ll get an interview. It’s a dead cert! But now it’s three weeks later and you’ve heard nothing.

Well we assure you we’re not like that. From a client perspective, if we can’t fill your role we’ll tell you we can’t. What we’ve learnt from our combined experience is that honesty really is the best policy and it’s important to maintain integrity. Likewise, if we can’t find you a job, we’ll tell you and if we find a position for you, we’ll explain the role, warts and all and then ask if it’s what you really want.

Relationships

It’s a nice process getting to know someone isn’t it? Finding out all about them and what makes them tick. And if you’re getting to know someone you want them to get to know you too right? That’s how it works with us too – we like getting to know you!

It’s all about building relationships….

So tell us about yourself, your skills and attributes that make you so much better at your job than Joe Average over there.

Tell us about your business and who would be right for the role you have available. It might sound cheesy but we know that the best job fit is only possible through strong, in-depth understanding of what you need in your candidate or next job and we can only gain this understanding by building our relationships with you. Simple eh?

We’re Not the Usual “Recruitment” Suspects. We pride ourselves on our consultative approach to recruitment and it’s this that sets us apart from all the others. As you can see from our great advert in FM World (thanks design team!!) consultants Jo, Danny, Chris and Alex all cover their own specialist markets. So, if you’re looking to recruit in that area or looking for your next role, you should give one of them a call.

So, what do you reckon to this new campaign then? If you’d like to let us know what you think drop us a line at info@thefmnetwork.co.uk

Jennie Everall – Digital Marketing Executive, The FM Network

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters.

A Facilities Manager’s Most Important Duty

“An ideal facility manager must have Aristotle’s logic and Solomon’s wisdom, a priest’s discretion and a gambler’s poker face, a lawyer’s shrewdness and a marketing director’s charm, a gladiator’s guts, a marathon runner’s perseverance and a sprinter’s speed, a leatherneck’s toughness and a dancer’s agility, lots of good luck and 30 hours per day.” This is a response we received to the question “What makes a good facilities manager” (source unknown) and it is apparent that the “perfect” FM needs to possess a number of important qualities in order to perform their job well. But it’s not just down to qualities that they possess. A good facilities manager must also carry out a number of duties on a daily basis.

The European Committee for Standardisation, a major provider of European Standards and technical specifications defines Facilities Management as, “the integration of processes within an organisation to maintain and develop the agreed services which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities”.  A Facilities Manager therefore, has many duties he or she must carry out in order to maintain and develop these agreed services.

Facilities Managers must prioritise their workload

With many tasks and duties delegated to them, and such a busy schedule, a facilities manager must be able to prioritise their workload.

Interested to find out what Facilities Managers think should be top of their priority list, I posted the question, “what is the single, most important duty of an FM and why” in our LinkedIn Group and had quite a few, varied responses.

Take Ownership

One member of the group posted the following: “It may not be my fault but it is my problem” meaning that FMs need to take ownership of issues in order to resolve them.

That’s mine!

Obviously enough, the FM has a duty of care and it is their responsibility to ensure their duty of care is met with regards to all statutory acts.

Health and Safety

An important duty for the FM is to deliver for the organisation. As an FM Director in our group stated, this needs to be done safely, efficiently, reliably and effectively. Of course, safety is a crucial element in facilities management.

Safety is an important element in Facilities Management

This ties in with another answer we were given; to make the built environment effective and efficient and moreover, the built environment needs to be safe, not only for employees but for people utilising the building for a particular service. Not surprisingly this duty is high on the list of priorities because if the built environment is effective, efficient and safe it enables the company to concentrate on the core business and be productive.

Similarly, another member of our LinkedIn  group explains that the number one duty to take priority in a facilities managers role is “To ensure the Health, Security and Integrity of the Business Operation is maintained at all times”. 

Be Prepared

Being prepared is something which every facilities manager must prioritise. An Engineering Services Manager in our group says that facilities managers should “Have answers to questions that haven’t been asked”. Although this is not necessarily a duty as such, it IS the facilities manager’s duty to be able to accommodate and tackle situations as and when they arise.

Be Prepared

The role of a facilities manager is varied, but with the right attitude, commitment and the ability to prioritise a high workload; it can be a very rewarding career. What do you think is the most important duty for the facilities manager?

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters.

If Carlsberg made Facilities Managers…

Sitting in a busy facilities management recruitment office behind a desk, drinking coffee and talking on the phone to potential candidates and clients, I’m well aware that this predominantly office based job is a world away from the role of Facilities Management professionals which we recruit for.  However, being a niche recruitment agency that specialise in placing people in facilities management positions, it is necessary for us as recruiters to understand the roles which we recruit for. Not only for matching a skill set on a CV but also when speaking to, and meeting with, candidates taking in to account the personality traits that constitute a good facilities manager.

This had me thinking, “What makes a good facilities manager?”. Are there certain personality traits people in facilities management positions must possess in order to be successful at their role?

Carlsberg obviously made THIS guy’s Facilities Manager!

If so, why is it necessary to possess these traits? As a starting point I posted a question in our LinkedIn group, asking people what three key things a facilities manager needs. A number of words came up in the answers: empathy, compassion, consideration, patience, flexibility knowledge, commitment, resilience and tenacity to name but a few.

But why must a facilities manager be empathetic, for example, towards people? Moreover, how do these personality traits help FMs to excel in their jobs? With these questions in mind I decided that it would be beneficial to speak to a number of people who work in the facilities management industry to ascertain what they think are the main traits essential to a good facilities manager and why these traits are necessary. 

Empathy

When I posed the question, “What makes a good Facilities Manager” in our linkedin group to a number of facilities management professionals, a word which came up a number of times was empathy.

Empathy – Putting yourself into someone else’s shoes

The Oxford Dictionary defines empathy as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another” but why is this important to facilities management roles?

Tom Trudgill, Facilities Manager with Brookfield Multiplex Services believes that Facilities Managers must possess empathy as it comes from knowing what others require because you need the same things or have required in the past. He says, “This enables you to be able to talk on the same level. We all need air, heat and light, if someone doesn’t have either one or all of them one can empathise!”. It teaches the Facilities Manager to step out of his own shoes and put himself in someone else’s. Something which sounds obvious but isn’t.

On the contrary, I spoke to an experienced Head of Facilities Management, let’s call her Fay Licity, who didn’t think empathy was the correct word for the kind of quality an FM must possess. “Empathy is a very emotional word; it’s too soft a word in terms of facilities management. Perhaps if you’re in a HR based role then empathy might be required but not in FM”. She went on to explain that empathy doesn’t quite fit because and suggested that a word that could be used instead might be “understanding”. An understanding of the client and your team dynamic is something that might fit the description of a top facilities manager far better than empathy.

Flexibility

It’s apparent that Facilities Management isn’t simply about the upkeep and daily operation of properties; it’s not only about managing the facilities but also about managing everyone else integral to the running of a property – the staff, the client and the inhabitants.

Facilities Managers must be flexible. Though perhaps not in this way

Certainly, from the off it is apparent that the role of a Facilities Manager is a very challenging one. It is often said that no two days are the same so flexibility is a key trait essential to performing the role well. Tom states, “The FM needs to be flexible in their approach to those who use the facility by way of being able to adapt to any situation and provide the solution, flexible to the client and his/her managers.

Consideration

If you’re looking for your next role in Facilities Management (in which case you should look here!) then you need to consider the requirements of the role you’re interested in. For example, Tom Trudgill explains that the FM needs to be “considerate in the requirements of H&S, DDA requirements, staff needs, heating lighting and ventilation to individuals as well as the group needs”. What’s more, Facilities Managers need to be considerate in others needs within the portfolio they manage.

Humour

According to Fay, one final quality that a good Facilities Manager must posess is humour. “Humour is a good release of tension within the facilities team.

FMs must have a sense of humour. We wonder what’s on his screen!

In a high pressure environment it not only lightens the mood but is also good for team building and motivating people”. Something which might be of extremely high importance for the FM.

How about you – what do you think are the key traits that a good facilities manager comprises?

By Jennie Everall, Digital Marketing Executive – The FM Network

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters.

Weathering the Storm

I opened the curtains this morning and peered out of my bedroom window to see a fine blanket of snow in the back garden.

The UK was hotter than The Sahara last week!

Nothing unusual in January and February in the UK but it’s now the beginning of April and last week our small island saw temperatures that were apparently hotter than the Sahara Desert!

These days when I look out the window and see snow first thing in the morning all I can think is “urgh”. Snow inevitably means long queues of traffic crawling along our busiest roads, slippy pavements and freezing, wet feet by the time I get to work at 9am.

This is what a snow day means to me these days....

But If you’re anything like me you will remember a time when seeing snow meant running downstairs to find your Mum anxiously listening to the radio for announcements of school closures and getting excited by the prospect of missing school in favour of a day sledging in the park, building snowmen and throwing snowballs at other children lucky enough to have the day off.

....and this is what snow days used to mean to me!

Being in a hot and sticky office one week and bundling up in coats, gloves and scarves the next is, unsurprisingly, not a new concept for us. We live in a country that defies logic in terms of the weather and more often than not, seasonal discrepancies occur. Sometimes it’s not so much April showers but April snowstorms.

That said, while I’ve been looking out into the gloom today I caught hold of a conversation in my office about the rising temperatures and decided to do a little investigating. I found out that the UK Met Office’s Hadley Centre carried out an independent study which reached the conclusion world average land temperatures have risen by almost 1 degree Celsius over the second half of the 20th century. So, although temperatures may be up and down they are gradually climbing over the years.

Likewise, the job market is different from one week to the next, however, on the whole it has really picked up when compared to the last few years. In 2010 The FM Network had an increase of 5% when compared to vacancies taken on in 2009.

The percentage of vacancies we take on is rising year on year. Good news for The FM market!

Already this year we are 42% up on vacancies taken on when compared to this time last year and this number is set to climb steadily.

Like the UK, recruitment and the Facilities Management industry have seen their fair share of stormy weather. But just like temperatures the industry itself is set to rise and weather the storm.

By Jennie Everall, Digital Marketing Executive – The FM Network

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters.

Give up giving up…

So what have you given up for lent then? Chocolate perhaps? Maybe cigarettes or alcohol? Things that could be considered bad for you right? Your guilty pleasures. Whatever you may have given up for lent, it’s bound to be a bit of a struggle. I mean, forty days and nights is rather a long time isn’t it!

If you're given up cake for lent, you're probably not going to like looking at this!

Me, I haven’t given anything up for lent. The way I see it, if you enjoy something then why would you want to give it up? If you really think you should give something up, then there’s no time like the present, don’t wait for a certain time of year to come round. Why not make a change right now?

The phrase giving up could be considered quite negative. Think of it like this: If you give up on your career aspirations then you’ll just come to regret it later on. Take me for example, 5 years out of university and I’ve started doing a diploma with work. It’s not easy, especially after not studying for half a decade. There are times when I can’t be bothered to do anything. It’s been a long day at work and I just want to go home, have my dinner, curl up with the latest Jodi Picoult book and give up on the 5000 word essay I have to write. But let’s face it, sometimes we all have to do things we don’t particularly want to do. So, here’s the phrase on my lips at the moment: don’t give up.

....the phrase on my lips

We all know that sticking at something and not giving up requires motivation and sometimes it’s hard to motivate ourselves. Whether that’s going to the gym after a long day at work or starting a new project at work. Many of us find ourselves in motivational slumps after a time and we have to work to get out of them. There are certain steps you can follow to keep yourselves motivated. Surround yourself with motivated people, don’t procrastinate, and track your progress. When we see ourselves achieving something we will no doubt want to continue in the same vein, we don’t WANT to give up.

Here’s what you shouldn’t give up: you shouldn’t give up on your dreams and aspirations. You shouldn’t give up looking for that fantastic new role. If you believe what you read in the papers then you’ll believe that some companies are scaling back recruitment plans due to a global “economic turmoil”. At The FM Network we beg to differ. There are some fantastic positions out there waiting for you! You just need to get proactive in finding them. Here’s that phrase again: Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid to go after what you want.

So, how about taking the term “giving up” and make it into a positive. For example, say you’re at a company and you feel stale in your role, there’s no career progression and you don’t feel like you’re valued. Well why not give up on that company and find somewhere else? Don’t give up on your career aspirations!

Reach for your dreams!

The job market stagnates when people become afraid to move companies. Why should you be afraid? Your dream job could be out there waiting for you.

So, for those of you who’ve given up something for lent, be it red wine, chocolate pudding or biscuits, I wish you good luck. And here’s that phrase for you one more time: don’t give up.

By Jennie Everall
Digital Marketing Executive – The FM Network

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters.

The Importanence of Poofreading

Do you know that website, http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/? Well, for those of you who have not been privy to the site, it’s a site which showcases people’s unfortunate autocorrections on text messages sent on the iPhone. These can be pretty funny at times.

An example of an Autocorrect gone wrong!

Like the one where a young gentleman describes his mother as a “very nice lay” (he meant lady, thankfully, but autocorrect changed it). Or the one where a lady called Amanda says she’s about to “hop on a bison” (she meant bus). The reason I mention this is because it’s easy to send things without first checking whether or not you’ve made a mistake. Thankfully, in texts to your friends and family it’s not such a bad thing but in professional documents, such as CVs this is not the case.

We all make mistakes, it’s human nature. I certainly have in the past. Just the other day I was scanning through a blog I wrote about how to get over the post holiday blues when I had to stop and laugh quietly to myself. By no stretch of the imagination could drinking “red wind” be considered a good idea. Red wine, maybe. Red wind, not so much. Correcting my mistake I was reminded of a time in the not too distant past when I worked for a different company. Typing an email to a client I added an extra C before the U in the word discount (think about it). Thank goodness for spell-check I thought to myself, deleting the unfortunate typo and hitting send.

Uh oh! Someone should have checked their spelling!

Typos are easily made and as recruiters in the Facilities Management industry we’ve seen our fair share of really bad/hilarious ones. One poor chap who had obviously failed to check through his CV before he sent it to us explained that he was on a “£30,000 basic salary plus p*nis”. We assume he meant pension, however, we don’t think our clients would have seen the funny side.

Likewise, there was the fella who addressed the cover letter of his CV “Dear Sir or Madman”. Well sure, there are a few characters in our office but we’re pretty certain this candidate wasn’t trying to insult the same people who would send his CV to potential employers.

Oh dear!

Luckily most people are savvy enough to check CVs or job applications for spelling and grammatical errors. However, occasionally typos fall through the net. Accuracy is the key when it comes to your CV. Employers and recruiters WILL check your CV for spelling mistakes and if you can’t spell (and certainly, even if you can) it’s probably prudent to get someone else to proofread it for you. A fresh pair of eyes will usually pick up mistakes which you’ve missed.

After scouring the internet for advice, I found a brilliant trick for proof reading CVs and that is to read your CV from the bottom up. Believe it or not this actually works. I’ve just read this blog from the bottom up and came across two mistakes I hadn’t picked up when reading it from top to bottom. In short, this helps you concentrate on individual words rather than sentences as a whole, thus picking up mistakes if they are made. Genius eh?

Read your CV the wrong way round

Another idea is to read your CV aloud so you’re able to hear how it sounds and if anything is incorrect. This works for grammatical mistakes and if things don’t read very well. For example, I’m in the habit of going “that crazy”. This is a phrase my manager coined, meaning I add the word “that” in a sentence when it’s not needed. When reading aloud a paragraph from a blog I’d written that contained 5 “that’s”, I was able to hear where she was coming from. I shall refrain from going “that crazy” in the future.

The bottom line is this: Always proofread CVs and online applications before you send them anywhere. Do not rely on spell checking systems. Get someone else to read through it. Then check it again. And again. No harm will come from checking and re-checking a CV but requesting a CV back from a recruiter or potential employer to “amend it” (i.e. delete that spelling mistake you made) looks bad.  

And let’s face it, no one wants to send out a professional document with discoc*nt on it.

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters.

Facilities Management: An Unknown Industry?

Working for a recruitment company that specialises in Facilities Management recruitment, I’m no longer surprised when people ask me, “So, what is Facilities Management”. I even struggle to define Facilities Management myself.

What is FM?

With this in mind I decided to test one of my colleagues. “Alex, in your own words, what IS Facilities Management?”. His reply? “Well….errrm. I’ll get back to you”.

Facilities Manager Clive Douthwaite defines it as, “So much done by so many seen by so few!”. Similarly, Steve Davies uses  an analogy to define it, “The spine of an organisation. From top floor to ground level, servicing every organ (department) and supporting the core”. But do the general public know this? Have enough people heard of FM? Does FM have the profile it deserves in the wider market place? And does the FM function in a company have enough exposure at board level?

These are interesting question and ones which have been discussed since the beginning.

When posting these questions on LinkedIn I discovered a lot of people believe that not many people know exactly what FM is or struggle to define it.  For example, Ellie Hurst, Marketing Manager at Advent IM thinks that, “People in general are rather confused about what FM is and probably don’t realise the scope of knowledge and expertise required to really deliver the value into a business that great FM can” Furthermore, Tim Clapham, Marketing Manager at Planon Software explains that a lot of people see FM as an “an industry that fixes things that break”.

An industry that fixes things that break?

Does the industry itself struggle to define itself? If so, will others be able to? Moreover, why would an industry be unable to define itself? Is it a result of conflicting viewpoints regarding the definition of FM or is it a lack of consultation between associates to agree?

Perhaps, as Naveed Khan suggests, it’s just the case that FM is named differently in different organisations, such as building support services or maintenance. But are these names necessarily correct for the industry or necessarily the names that FM deserves?

Is it the case that the FM Industry simply has an inability to effectively market itself? What’s more, why should it effectively market itself? It is even necessary for people to know or even to care what it is?

Ellie Hurst believes that in many ways FM is an unsung hero. She states, “Perhaps there’s a need for Facilities Managers to blow their own trumpet a bit more, or at least let the business world know they have a trumpet!”.

Should Facilities Managers blow their own trumpet?

However, will this change? Furthermore, as Paul Phillips, Head of Customer Sales and Service at Elementus states, is there, “a real job of work to be done in order to raise awareness and understanding of the contribution FM makes to the success of any organisation”?

So, how do FM professionals raise the industry profile? If not enough people have heard of FM then how could this be changed?

Tim Clapham thinks that “FM professionals need to get better at communicating the strategic value they can add to an organisation”. But how do they get better as this? Is it a case, as he suggests, of  FM professionals acting as, “Internal consultants who advise their Directors on the best use of the resources/space that are available”?

So, is Facilities Management an unknown industry? Maybe, as Ellie Hurst suggests, a push towards professional status or maybe even chartered status will help to raise the FM profile. However, in the meantime it might be down to FM professionals to spread the word, to promote their industry and how it benefits different organisations. Afterall, as Paul Philips states, “Those of us who support FM will be very happy to help and promote the profession we all depend on for our livelihood”.

For those who were wondering, my colleague Alex did get back to me. “Facilities Management is an industry that goes relatively unnoticed unless something goes wrong! You don’t notice that the office is clean every morning, but you do when it isn’t.

FM - The spine of an organisation?

You don’t notice when the air conditioning works just fine, but you do when it doesn’t. FM is an industry that most people only hear of if there are problems to deal with. If the industry didn’t exist nothing would function as we know it. Facilities Management – The back bone of business”.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know!

 

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters.

Do UPS batteries need air-conditioning?

When it comes to large stationary batteries for UPS duty the classic facility solution is to position them in the segregated UPS plant room and air-condition the whole place.  When energy was cheap and battery life was unpredictable that was the way.

Brrrr!

The UPS itself (we are talking static) never needed temperature control as they were (and are) rated for full load at 0°C to 35 or 40°C, depending upon type.  They are however packed with sensitive electronics and have cooling fans that drag a high quantity of air through the cabinet.  City-centre air quality is totally unsuitable for direct UPS cooling as the crud collects inside the UPS and smothers the electronics with carbon-rich particulates.  So air-con was the best solution, not for temperature but for cleanliness.

For the battery it is the other way around.  Cleaning is part of the routine maintenance (as dust is attracted to the plastic jars) and outside air is more than a suitable cooling medium but why the predilection for air-conditioning?  Well that story is rooted in the very late 80s when VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) took over from ‘real’ Lead Acid, Planté.  The VRLA mono-blocks were sold as ‘Sealed’, more compact, ‘maintenance-free’ and at a very much lower cost.   However the early versions proved to be anything but maintenance-free and their fate was sealed when most were stuffed into poorly ventilated and hot ‘broom-cupboards’.  The problem was that the failure mechanism of VRLA was dominated by internal corrosion and drying out.  Despite being called ‘sealed’ they were in truth ‘vented’ and gassed when re-charged, losing water in the process and that failure mechanism was accelerated by elevated temperature.

Probably a slightly bigger battery than this!

The battery manufacturers fell back onto an old theorem – that of Arrhenius.  This theorem, when transposed for battery installations, stated that a battery designed for X years at 20°C would have a halving of life for each 10°K above that temperature.  So that a 10 year ‘Design Life’ battery would reduce to 5 years at 30°C or 2.5 years at 40°C.  Then the ‘actual’ Service Life would be something lower than the Design Life, usually about 80%.  The knee-jerk reaction to this was that any battery which had suffered a temperature excursion above 25°C was deemed ‘un-warrantable’.

So where are we today?  Well energy isn’t cheap and it’s getting more expensive every year, yet we cling to the traditional solution of air-conditioning.  What should we be doing?  Save money but not compromise reliability!

Separate the UPS from the battery room, simple as separating an egg!

We should try to separate the UPS room from the battery room.  If the air quality permits (with a reasonable level of filtration that will not absorb too much fan power) then ventilate the UPS using outside air and use all of the 0-35°C capability of the UPS.

For the battery we need to go back to basics and determine what temperature control really is required.  The Arrhenius theorem (it’s more of a rule-of-thumb than a theorem) is a good model to describe corrosion versus temperature but it should be immediately obvious that the elevated temperature it is based on is ‘continuous’ not intermittent.  If we use an RMS method (Root Mean Square) to calculate the average temperature we will immediately see that even a temperature as high as 33°C (the UK high) experienced for 50 hours per year (out of 8760 hours) make no appreciable difference to the average.  In fact if we consider the UK average temperature is around 10°C then it should be obvious that outside air will suffice for cooling and (the essential) ventilation.  The battery room needs to be kept at around 20-25°C – less will extend the life but reduce the capacity, more will reduce the life but increase the capacity.  A pair of (redundant) VSD extract fans, thermostatically controlled, can be used to control the room temperature.  The battery thermal mass is high and very little heat is generated in float operation.  Even in recharge mode the fans need only be rated (at full speed) to transfer about 5kW of heat per 250kW of battery.  The battery OEM will provide the full data set.

So the answer to our question is ‘no, batteries do not need air-conditioning’.

Blog written by Dr. Datacentre
AKA Dr Ian Bitterlin – Ian is the Chief Technology Officer at ARK Continutity

Why everyone should know about the ICO

Firstly, thank you very much to the FM Network for inviting me to guest blog for them.

When I started working on this, I thought to myself, “I’ll get this started then pop it on my data stick and take it with me to finish tonight”. Have any readers ever done that? Of course you have. You’re probably doing it now. The trouble is that some people, who really shouldn’t do it, are. If the information you were about to pop onto your data stick is security marked, it’s called a data breach.

Let me explain, there is a watchdog that deals with data breaches, it is called the ICO (Information Commissioners Office). Forgive me if I am telling you something you already know, but awareness amongst the general public is not as high as it might be. People don’t realise that this is the watchdog they can complain to if they think their personal data security has been compromised: credit card, bank details, medical records, salary etc. The ICO can then investigate and issue a fine of up to £50,000 for serious data breaches.

I started thinking through the implications for the public at large if there is a lack understanding or awareness of the ICO’s function. This was what I really wanted to talk about. I found an article on the register.co.uk. This was the headline, “ICO: NHS data security breaches are just ‘plain daft’. As bad as gossiping about patients down the pub, says watchdog”.

When you start to look at the kind of incidents Jonathan Bamford, head of strategic liaison at the Information Commissioner’s Office, is talking about and not just the NHS ones either, your data stick,  CD and other portable devices, start to look a little more worrying. In one incident for instance, a USB stick was lost, containing the medical details of 800 people in Surrey. According to a report on SC Magazine’s website, East Surrey Hospital had transferred patient information, such as details of operations, names and dates of birth, to an unencrypted data stick. That stick was apparently lost in September 2010 and never recovered, and the patients concerned were not informed.

In August, an unencrypted USB stick, which contained housing association tenant details, was left in a pub. Leicester City Council has admitted to losing the USB stick that contained details on around 4,000 people. The data included medical details for elderly and vulnerable people. The sick also contained 2,000 ‘keysafe’ codes that are used to open boxes that are attached to an outside wall of people’s homes, these boxes contain a key to the front door.

These incidents are the tip of the data breach iceberg and let’s not forget all the other means of breaching data: printed materials, CDs (don’t get me started on them), other portable devices.

We all trust our personal, sensitive, valuable information to be handled responsibly by organisations who really should know how to do it. As a consumer, credit card holder, employee and NHS patient myself, I want to think that my details are not currently sat in the back of a taxi on its way to Wandsworth. As an interested member of society I want to know who is responsible for the safe-keeping of my data and if they don’t keep it secure then I want to know to whom I should direct my most strident complaint.

My data stick is in my desk drawer now. It can do no harm from there…

Ellie Hurst performs the Marketing function for Advent IM – Independent Holistic Security Consultants. Blogger of the Advent IM security blogs:

www.adventim.wordpress.com general blog
www.adventimforarchitects.wordpress.com design and architecture
www.adventimforuklegal.wordpress.com legal profession
www.adventimforgambling.wordpress.com gambling industry

www.advent-IM.co.uk

@Advent_IM

and occasional guest blogger!

CV Blunders!

We all know that it’s probably not the best idea to have the email address pornstardelight@hotmail.com on our CV.  Not only does it look unprofessional but it would also beg the question of what exactly your extracurricular activities might be. It doesn’t seem that they’re “Cycling and going to the gym” as your CV states.  However, CV blunders are not always as obvious as this. Many a CV land on our desk that for some reason or another don’t quite cut the mustard.

We're certainly hoping this is a CV blunder!

Take fancy fonts and colourful CVs for example. Although you might think it’s aesthetically pleasing, there really is no need for different colours, fonts or italics throughout a CV. It makes the CV hard to read and, being quite frank, it looks like a child playing about on a word document. Stick to one font, one colour; this is much more pleasing to the eye! 

Beware the Grammar Nazi!

Another common mistake that people make when creating their CV is to lay it out in chronological order. This is a big faux pas. CVs should read in reverse chronological order; who wants to read about your time at The Red Lion when you were a university student twenty six years ago? Make sure you list your most recent position first on your CV and limit your career history to your most relevant positions for the role you’re applying to. Again, employees in the FM market aren’t particularly interested in reading about your time stacking shelves at WH Smith so there really is no need to add roles like these to your CV.

Spelling and grammar play an important part of every professional, good quality CV. If you don’t know how to use a semi-colon correctly, don’t use it! Be sure to spell check your CV before you send it off to potential employees or recruiters and proof read it for typos that the spell checker on your PC won’t pick up. For example, make sure you have used the words “too” and “to” correctly.

Photos of yourself on CVs? No. Just….no.

If we see a CV where your strengths and achievements are unclear we would consider this a “bad” CV. Make sure you don’t detail your job role and achievements in one long paragraph. Aside from failing to read very well, it is easier for a potential employer to see your achievements bullet pointed and set out clearly, distinct from the actual job role. Moreover, this is what a CV is all about: selling yourself with your achievements! Be aware though, your CV shouldn’t be too long. Let’s face it, who’s going to sit and read a ten page CV? Detail your achievements succinctly and try and limit your CV to two pages. Anything else you feel relevant to the position you’re applying for can be voiced in an interview.

Employers despair of unclear CVs...though probably not to this extent!

Switching from first to third person is a definite no-no. At The FM Network we would suggest you stick to first person. It reads better and being your CV, it’s obviously about YOU! There’s no need to talk about yourself in third person, “John’s played an integral part in the project…” It just sounds a bit silly.

Finally, those of you who put “Curriculum Vitae” at the top of your CV…come on, we know what it is! We’re not stupid!

The FM Network are one of the UK’s leading Facilities Management and Building Services recruiters www.thefmnetwork.co.uk