What is ‘Mothballing’ in facility management? And how does it work?

The ongoing pandemic has affected the FM sector. The facilities management industry is well prepared for change and has adapted very quickly and positively in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19.

Asset owners are now relying on effective, tactical facilities management planning and implementation to ensure compliance with constantly evolving regulations. For instance, common area facilities such as pools, gyms and pantries now have to be deep cleaned and sanitised regularly; lobby, lift and spatial traffic needs to be closely monitored and the spatial flow and movement of occupiers through facilities needs to be re-assessed to ensure social distancing protocols remain in place.

Unfortunately, within financially challenging times, facilities management budgets are often the first to be cut. This can lead to the deterioration of facilities and equipment, usually resulting in a greater cost than saving in the long term. However, facilities management at present is critical for optimising productivity within the workplace and enabling leisure and retail businesses to operate, minimising the adverse effects of the pandemic. 

Through lockdown, a new service named ‘Mothballing’ has been developed, where guidelines and procedures are defined and implemented to ensure continuity in facilities operations during periods of reduced occupation, lock down and reactivation. Through this robust process, operational adjustments are identified and implemented in a way that ensures compliance with regulatory and insurance requirements in the most cost efficient way possible.

Facilities management operatives are being up-skilled to deliver services that are now regularly required as part of the ‘new norm’. Although business continuity planning has needed to be more robust and comprehensive; lessons learnt from the current pandemic have be taken into consideration.

Health and well-being has become more of a focus for facilities management and business owners in recent years. COVID-19 has proved to be a catalyst in raising this up the agenda of executive meetings across the globe as it is now essential to re-establish and improve on pre-COVID productivity ratios.