AFM:Building Trust

Not a backend, but engineering services are the backbone of all facilities, be it commercial, hospitality, healthcare, IT or manufacturing. Services like water management, HVAC maintenance, smart metering are the essential parameters for retaining production without any downtime. With decades of experience in engineering services, Absotherm Facility Management Pvt Ltd provides tailored, integrated, specialised and specific solutions such as WMS, EMS, MEP and PPM. These solutions depicts operational excellence in electro-mechanical operations & maintenance and technical expertise of preventive & predictive maintenance. The technological advantages of OMMS system implementation and signature web based monitoring system adds to the service quality.

With experienced technocrats, AFM has made a comprehensive approach to fit into all facility-specific needs preferably called TFM solutions through a single Point contact. This helps achieve clear communication for consistent implementation and accountability to the clients. As part of OCS Group, AFM has amalgamated the global best practices and local expertise while delivering engineering solutions with value added services in various industry segments. Promising uninterrupted 24×7 days operations, the company covers a total floor space of over 45msqft across India. Pradeep Menon, Managing Director, AFM says, “AMF’s strength lies in the derived model that works uniquely and manages the co-relation of Systems-Process-Manpower. Besides Facility Management Services and Retail Services, AMF is also involved in Project Management Consultancy, Safety & Energy Audits and Non Conventional Energy Solutions. We are working on many creative projects for corporates like Mahindra & Mahindra, Ginger Hotels, The Taj Group and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) to name a few. In the front line, AFM is already a leader and with proper process and systems in place we are a force to reckon with.”

[box type=”shadow” ]Mixing the right proportion of manpower and technology, the idea is broader – getting workforce from rural population and making them socially aware of the technical skills and hence the entire society. – Pradeep Menon[/box]

Advantage Absotherm

The integration of TFM in hard services provides an edge to the service provider while catering to multi-locational clients. Elaborating on the AFM advantages Manoj Parekh COO-AFM says, “Be it engineering services, asset management, utility management, housekeeping, janitorial services or security, we have integrated these multi-disciplinary services into a single window interface to have clear communication with clients.”

“We work with our customers as partners and not as contractors or customers. With a skilled workforce led by a dedicated and competent management team, we keep abreast with the latest advancements in software and implement the tools best suited for our processes. Currently, we are in the process of implementing a complete solution for the healthcare industry. This is for the easy management of patient care,” says Pradeep.

Besides managing the process effectively & efficiently, creating a complete successful model is essential. “Only after working and operating the clients’ equipment for about three-nine months, we can actually derive a cost effective model. Talking about the advantage, I can firmly say that AFM is 25-30% more effective in terms of quality and cost,” avers Arvinder Chawla, Director-BD.

Training

“We hire only skilled staff such as ITI holder or technicians, especially for engineering services. Further training is organised in our offices and on-site. Getting through the real equipment in real-time is what gives them the best exposure and knowledge about the equipment and about PPM. Apart from the periodic training we do monitor their performances to further improve it. We also organise innovative programmes such as “Go Green” in partnership with clients that help both the clients’ and our employees understand how not to waste and how efficiency can be optimised.

[box type=”shadow” ]Today, when we get a contract, it is actually the client company’s trust upon us. The ‘trust’ that we have retained for the last two decades keeps us focussed in achieving the optimum and efficient service delivery. – Manoj Parekh[/box]

Elaborating on the same, Pradeep says, “OCS has a training centre that provides technical training. We have support from the Government too, which gives subsidies for setting up training facilities and giving technical training to rural folk. Besides this, our experts carry out on-the-job training in a normal working situation, using the actual tools and equipment, documents or materials that trainees will use when fully trained. On-the-job training has a general reputation as most effective for vocational work. Off-the-job training takes place away from normal work situations. It has the advantage that it allows people to get away from work and concentrate more thoroughly on the training itself. This type of training has proven more effective in inculcating concepts and ideas. Currently we are providing training for security and housekeeping related services. Technical and software training will take some time.”

[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]Services offered • Consultancy – Project Management and Designing
• Property Services
• Hard Services – Electro-mechanical– HT, LT Distribution, DG and Power Backup Equipment’s, HVAC High side & Low side, Heating System, Fire Fighting & Detection System, Plumbing & Sanitation, Elevators & Escalators, Building Management & Automation System, Energy Management, Water & Sewerage Management System.
• Environment & Compliance Services – Waste Management, Recycling Services, Sustainability Management, Confidential Waste, Pest Control, PAT Testing, Fixed Wire Testing, Workplace Compliance, Health and Safety Services.
• Security Services – Manned Guarding, Alarm Systems, Remote Monitoring, CCTV, Access Control.
• Horticulture Services – Grounds Maintenance, Landscape Design, Arboriculture, Plant Displays.
• Support Services – Reception, Mailroom, Meeting Room Support, Print Management, First Aid and Defibrillators, Document Management, Helpdesk Management.
• Catering Services [/box]

Quality and Sustainability

When it comes to measuring costs in service delivery, cost comes first and savings comes later. Maintenance in this sense essentially means expense. Operators/owners only see how to get money ‘in’ and not ‘out’. Hence, plenty of competitiveness is required to undertake the operational job. A lot of planning is required in terms of manpower and how it can be optimised to the most cost effective model.

To count a few are:

• Conducting a thorough inventory of equipment and establishing a database for the maintenance management system
• Assessing the required skills & training needs
• Deriving the most optimised EMS
• Monitoring, mining, analysing and consolidating the data to identify the areas which needs improvements
• Addressing asset management, process man
agement, vendor management, inventory management and other utilities to enrich the sustainability.

Once signed the SLA based on the evaluated model, monitoring performance outcome is a vital part of the PPM management program. This helps in rectifying the bug if any reported. “This is how we meet the zero shut-down condition of CISCO and other companies. We use Key performance indicators (KPIs) to meet our performance management objectives and the requirements & expectations of our clients,” says Manoj.

Arvinder: “Currently, we are providing TFM to The Hub, Andheri and Nesco (exhibition centre) and many other sites including residential sites such as DB Reality. Our core expertise is MEP services – maintaining shop-floor equipment. We have maximum number of five star properties: hotels, hospitals, malls, then comes IT/ITES; we also have clients with multi-location services. In aviation sector too, we are working with GMR and GVK at Mumbai and Delhi airports.

“The quality and clients’ trust can be verified with the fact that AFM has not dropped a single client for the past seven years. Mixing the right proportion of manpower and technology, the idea is broader – getting workforce from rural population and making them socially aware of the technical skills and hence the entire society,” concludes Pradeep.