Business View Oceania | April 2021

25 26 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA APRIL 2021 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA APRIL 2021 and residential facilities management – we’ve seen a significant increase in Australia in the number of people living in multi-unit residential dwellings, whether high-rise apartments or a campus-style arrangement. The other area we’ll be focussing on is compliance, which our members feel is a valuable resource to invest in.” BVO: How does FMA address environmental sustainability? Burt: “We’ve been working closely with the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. The Department funded a research project that we adapted into a Good Practice industry changing? Burt: “Over the last two years, we’ve seen the industry become more buoyant. According to global reports, in Australia, we have one of the highest levels of outsourced services provision in the Asia-Pacific region. So we’re going to see continued growth in the Australian marketplace. That said, the dynamic in our industry is changing to one that is more predictive instead of reactive, due to the rising expectations of users. It’s about delivering better value and targeting resources for a much better outcome through the use of technology.” FAC I L I TY MANAGEMENT ASSOC I AT ION OF AUSTRAL I A Guide on Energy Management; this was released just before Christmas. We’ll roll that out in other formats as well, including some training. It’s a focus area that continues to evolve with things like on-site generation, solar PV, and a whole range of other technologies that assist in changing the business case for various applications to reduce or alter the way we use energy. Energy management and demand management is an area with the potential to deliver, at very low cost, positive outcomes for individual companies and the economy as a whole.” BVO: Looking to the future, how do you see the Burt: “We host an annual technology summit for FM professionals, which continues to generate strong demand. Given the rapid rate of technological change and its impact on the industry, the summit always features something new on the agenda for people to learn. About five years ago, we embarked on a “Future FM” series of National Summits – we’re now doing four summits a year. The summits are a one-day interactive session that offers members detailed information on a particular issue – usually areas that continue to evolve in a way that requires knowledge to be continuously kept up to date. This year we’ll focus on technology, contractor management and maintenance management,