The Sillitoe touch

Fujitsu is checking into a cooler, greener future at the hands of David Sillitoe, director of group property - and FM is at its heart

26 March 2009

by Camilla Berens

Fujitsu is checking into a cooler, greener future at the hands of David Sillitoe, director of group property - and FM is at its heart

When you walk into Fujitsu's new London headquarters, it's hard to tell if you're entering an office or a hotel. There are no security barriers or guards - just a friendly receptionist who directs you up to the first floor. At the top of a swanky flight of glass stairs, you arrive in a crisp white lobby where the sofas are deep and comfy. Tea and coffee are provided by a friendly concierge service. Fujistu must have one of the coolest HQs in town.

This hotel vibe is the masterplan of David Sillitoe, director of group property, Fujitsu Services. The aim is to revamp the IT and communications giant's corporate image and make its UK portfolio of 65 properties more user-friendly and eco-efficient. "The overall vision", he says, "is to take FM and property management from a backwater function to one that is integrated into the business at the leading edge."

Since the project began in November 2004, Sillitoe has added several feathers to his cap. Apart from persuading Fujitsu to inject £90 million into the scheme, he is already saving the company £5 million a year in efficiencies, on target to cut waste to landfill by 70 per cent, while a national push towards the use of six new regional video-conferencing centres is set to reduce the company's travel footprint by 50 per cent over two years.

The company's HQ in London's Baker Street was one of the first buildings to be given the Sillitoe touch. The foyer has a contemporary feel. The white space has splashes of colour from abstract artworks and signature tones picked out in the furniture and carpets. It was put together by specialist fit-out firm Modus.  

First impressions last

In addition to his FM role, Sillitoe is also chairman of the company's pension fund investment committee. It was his frequent visits to the City that focused his mind on creating a better experience for Fujitsu's visitors. "The impression I got from a lot of investment banks was rather cold," he explains. "I wanted our clients to feel relaxed and welcomed. First impressions really do count and the reception sets the tone for the wholec client experience. Security is still there but we use CCTV cameras concealed under opaque domes in the ceiling."

The refurbishment has enabled Sillitoe to introduce some green touches too. Lighting sensors have been installed and personal rubbish bins have been replaced with central sorting areas. "As the waste is already segmented, it makes it easier to sort and it cuts down on our bills," he explains. "We discovered that small things like this can be done simply and with significant savings."

In terms of administration, one of the biggest changes was Sillitoe's decision to bring all FM services in-house and turn Fujitsu into what he calls an 'intelligent client.'

"Our business model is strongly customer-centric and in the past few years the company's buildings have become more integral to business delivery," he explains.

Mutual gain

The focal point of Sillitoe's work was to ensure the effective functioning of the company's service and data centres. "I took the view that if we don't own the buildings, I can't manage the risk of a malfunction," Sillitoe continues.

"I tested the marketplace and benchmarked it in terms of best practice. For us it was clear that the way forward for FM was for it to be an intelligent client rather than a passive one."

The effect has been to create a win-win situation for the company and its service providers. "One of the problems that the FM world has got is its focus on short-term contracts," Sillitoe says. "There's always pressure on costs, so the FM firm will take another 2 per cent out and the service deteriorates. For us, it isn't about screwing down costs, it's about getting the best service for the right price and building a long-term strategic relationship. So our gain is their gain."

To correspond with his intelligent client approach, Sillitoe has also introduced the 'intelligent office' into the equation. Appropriately for an IT company, part of its internal IT department has now been consolidated into the FM function. Sillitoe is responsible for cross-over services such as telephony, video-conferencing facilities and plug-and-play wireless access. This closer relationship will also help with future planning. "It means that when we refresh a building, we can update the IT backbone at the same time and prepare three to four years in advance in terms of IT needs," he adds.

As for FM, Sillitoe has created an engineering function to deal with the main bulk of site issues and a centralised FM help desk. Building performance is monitored remotely through a Building Management System. This has enabled the team to keep tighter control of energy costs. Wasteful use of heating during weekends and bank holidays has now been stopped. "We saved £2 million by doing very little other than using the systems that were already embedded in the buildings," says Sillitoe.

Outside the box

When it comes to energy costs, Fujitsu's five data centres are Sillitoe's biggest challenge. The requirement to ensure that the valuable data and hardware is kept in the right conditions and protected from external hazards, demands a state-of-the-art infrastructure.

The company's new £44 million data centre in north London claims to have nearly doubled the efficiency of previous data centres and the company says it is the first Tier 3 (fully managed creative service) energy-efficient data centre in Europe. It includes free cooling, re-use of heat extracted from the technical halls, spray humidification, variable fans and pumps and a back-up system powered by a diesel rotary UPS, which is more energy-efficient than the conventional battery-powered models.

Savings have also been made by thinking outside the box. Sillitoe explains that, traditionally, data centres are cooled to 20 degrees. However after looking into the hardware manufacturer's specifications, he discovered the temperature could be safely increase by three degrees. "Three degrees means we've saved about £1 million on electricity bills."

The first phase of Sillitoe's project has just come to an end. All the regional offices have been redesigned to mirror the reception area and administrative structure of the London HQ. An additional £10 million will now be injected into building repairs but most of the major work has been completed. "Our building stock is in pretty good condition," Sillitoe says with a smile.

To make sure that the FM function continues to adapt to staff needs, Sillitoe has set up a green team on every site. "We ask employees to look at where we can improve the site and each group is managed or chaired by one of my FMs," he says. "That way we can pick up ideas and ensure a good communication channel in terms of our corporate social responsibility to the workforce."

Driving efficiencies

Looking to the future, Sillitoe says he aims to continue improving the performance of the Fujitsu portfolio. "My vision is to have buildings that are efficient, have a nice environment, are fully compliant with all legislation and take CSR seriously," he says. "I think we're well over 50 per cent of the way there. So the challenge is making sure that we continue to build good communications and make continuous improvement. That tends to bring lower costs and very good environmental benefits to the company."

It seems that Sillitoe has put in a lot of effort in driving core efficiencies rather than simply papering over the cracks. Of course the project is not perfect. The new data centre is powered through the national grid rather than its own self-supporting system and Fujitsu's green energy comes  from nuclear power. Overall, though, Sillitoe has achieved a great deal in a comparatively short space of time. And as far as the visitor experience goes, the new HQ gets 10 out of 10.   

Camillla Berens is a freelance journalist

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Fujitsu - The facts

Total number of UK staff: 17,000
Total FM staff: 233

Key contractors:

Colliers International - real estate advisers
Eurest Services - catering (part of the Compass Group)
Forsters -  legal specialists in leases
GSH - M&E for northern UK operations
Modus Group - refurbishment and fit out
Norland Managed Services - M&E for southern UK operations
OCS Group - cleaning and waste management
Reception - in house
Shield Security - security