Ashish Sharma

The biggest challenges in terms of building maintenance, according to Sharma, is the large variation of building material at the time of construction that could lead to poor maintenance in the longer run. The shortage of facility managers with appropriate technical know-how is another common issue. British Airways has a platform of all the senior members of the fraternity, where aspiring facility managers are invited to create an in-house training centre to help reduce the skill gap.

Sharma adapted energy efficient operations at the workplace, including operating energy consuming equipment efficiently to optimise energy costs, which translates into increased capital value. The company minimised the electricity consumption and achieved 42% savings by replacing traditional CFLs with LED lights in the entire building.

At British Airways, an effective strategy is always preceded by an analysis with the aim to establish the perfect understanding of the present situation of the company’s real estate, organisational needs, policies and objectives. Once facts and information have been assembled from the analysis, a well-structured approach for interpretation is consequently adopted. The developed operational plans move into the stage of implementation, the process of which includes milestones and performance measurement, programmes and risk analysis. Finally, feedback alerts the manager to any area in which improvement is required. This helps enhance performance and increases the efficiency within the workplace.