An interview with Christian Gmyrek (Business Unit Manager, Facility Management):
What exactly does Facility Management at Ganter entail and to whom is it offered?
The Ganter Group is active in the business fields of retail, commercial and residential. In all three – that is, for commercial customers, customers from the public sector and private customers – we not only build but also operate buildings upon request. We also offer facility management services for properties whose construction or interior fit-out we were not involved with. In particular, this means: We advise on and take on assignments concerning the property, perform maintenance works on technical facilities and inspect and service buildings. This also includes the maintenance of green areas, cleaning services or janitorial services and, of course, we advise our customers even in the area of energy management.
What is the advantage of handing over facility management to Ganter?
An example: A person has installed technical systems in his store or office, for example air conditioners, fire alarms, automatic doors, security lighting, fire extinguishers, and much more. As the operator of the equipment and as an employer, he or she must now observe a number of regulations. To name but two, workplace directives and the Retail Premises Directive come to mind. Depending on the federal state in question and technical installation itself, various maintenance tasks and tests must be carried out on a regular basis. And this is where the advantage comes into play: Ganter is familiar not only with the technical installations, but also knows all the ordinances and regulations. We keep an eye on all of these for the customer, who can then concentrate fully on their day-to-day business. The technical installations are maintained, tested and legally documented.
In buildings in whose construction or development we were in any case already involved, we ensure perfect knowledge transfer from the outset. In this way, all the essential information on the building and the installed equipment is passed to us directly by the construction planners and managers. From this moment on, we manage all the important data and documentation, inspection intervals, maintenance records, plans and operating instructions for our clients. We even keep a store of the most important spare parts. We are thus able to ensure that systems run as trouble-free as possible, and that should a repair be necessary, everything is immediately at hand. This saves time and money.
When a client needs to notify Ganter of a fault or a supplementary order, the reporting portal is available for this purpose. There, all concerns can be easily entered online; these then reach us immediately and without a burdensome telephone conversation. The customer can also track the status changes of his message and see in good time when a workman announces himself. The received messages are evaluated by us, so that we can create up-to-date statistics and possibly draw conclusions for future measures and facilities concerning the nature and frequency of the fault and any subsequent maintenance costs. Such professional facility management is not only worthwhile for commercial or public building operators; we also advise private clients in the choice of their ideal equipment. In doing so, we get an overview of the later management costs during the construction phase. Furthermore, sensible maintenance, care and maintenance of a property after completion of construction prevents unpleasant surprises and unexpected costs. Professional facility management therefore helps to retain the value of a property even for private persons.
Would it not be cheaper for the client to take of the facility management for themselves?
No. For the customer, it would mean that the time taken up by the operation of their building would regularly impinge on the day-to-day business or that staff would have to be made available. And even the private property owner would have to go to the trouble of learning the ropes. Because irregular and careless facility management carries considerable risks. Anyone who misses maintenance intervals, recognizes any hazards to life and limb (due to errors in the electrical installation, heating fault, CO, etc.) at too late a stage and it is not uncommon for them to lose their warranty. Also, a property that is not maintained swiftly loses value. Our goal, therefore, is to work “in the background” for the clients so that they can concentrate on their core business. To this end, we provide tailor-made solutions that make sense and remain financially viable.
Who works in Ganter Facility Management?
Our team includes master electricians and building engineers from Germany, Great Britain and Italy. We are all “old hands” in the field of facility management and have supported numerous and very different clients, from small and medium- sized enterprises to large industrial companies or retailers. An employee in facility management must be able to quickly identify customer requirements, concerns or needs and develop solutions or proposals sensibly and with understanding. This is often a very small-scale matter, but one which is very important for our clients.
How does a co-operation with Ganter Facility Management get started?
We often take on properties in whose construction, development or interior fit-out Ganter had already been involved. We already know such properties like the backs of our hands and the facility management was part of the overall offer. However, we also take on buildings which are already in operation. In this case, we use personal conversations to work out which services the client wants or whether weaknesses exist in the area of operator responsibility. Based on this information, we then create an individual offer. Because an “All Inclusive” offer is not necessarily the right thing, and we are interested in long-term contracts and a trusting collaboration with our clients.
Christian Gmyrek comes from the Esslingen area near Stuttgart. He is a qualified carpenter and certified building engineer. In his career he has been, among other things, employed as a technical director and as an authorised representative in a building technology company. At Ganter, Christian Gmyrek has headed up the Facility Management Teams in Germany and Italy since 2017.
