Hard FM — Soft FM — Lifecycle Contracts
Hard FM
Hard FM deals with all Planned and Preventative Maintenance
The contractor has an interest in ensuring that as few deductions as possible are made for poor performance, so when setting the charge for Hard FM, generous levels of maintenance staffing are assumed in the model. This can mean that the cost to the Local Authority, and therefore schools, can be significantly greater than is needed for this service. We check the assumptions of the contractor’s cost model through a “bottom-up” benchmarking exercise, to identify where savings can be made without compromising, or even improving, existing levels of service.
Soft FM
Soft FM includes site-management, catering, cleaning and grounds maintenance
The contractor may have “over-specced” any of these in a number of ways, meaning you will be paying more than you need to for the service. A complete “bottom-up” benchmarking analysis will reveal where overcharging is occurring, and thus where money can be saved.
Lifecycle Contracts
You may well be paying too much for these!
The cost of your lifecycle contract – what you pay for when fixtures, furnishing and equipment (FF&E) are replaced – is set at the time the academy is built. Because the contractor makes an average of just under 11% on each item replaced, there is an incentive for the unit costs of each piece of FF&E to be high – the higher the cost, the more profit is generated – at your expense!
We will look at the replacement cost assumptions of FF&E in your contract, and identify ways in which these could be reduced.
Project PFI 