19 September 2007
Lionel Prodgers, who last week announced that he is leaving Integrated fm, the firm he joined in January when it acquired Prodgers' firm Ark e-management, is to set up a new venture called agent4FM.
The organisation, which Prodgers said is "distinctly not another consultancy" marks a return to core FM for Prodgers who has spent several years involved in the technology side of the sector.
agent4FM is aimed at organisations that wish to achieve better standards of service and greater efficiency in their facilities operations and is setting out to bridge the gap between aspiration for and realisation of better performance in facilities management through the introduction of improved systems.
The firm will offer independent resources and advice to organisations seeking to improve their quality and performance of services. The company will focus on calibrating business processes to achieve ultimate efficiency in managing assets, resources and knowledge, and has devised a '5 Star Performance Improvement Plan' for both FM providers and internal FM teams to follow as a continuous improvement programme.
As he said last week, Prodgers will continue to work in collaboration with Integrated fm on key client projects, but agent4FM will also focus on establishing a broader network of resources and skills to undertake a number of programmes designed specifically for FM practice, including:
Workshops
Systems solutions
Supply chain management
Risk management
Process improvement
Auditing and due diligence
Benchmarking
"I am looking forward to further promoting and advancing through agent4FM the valuable contribution that good FM practice makes to all enterprises," Prodgers said. "In practical terms, every organisation needs to reappraise its support operations in the light of new possibilities brought about by technology and communications development and its impact on the workplace."
Prodgers is one of the industry's founding fathers. He joined the BIFM in 1993 and was appointed deputy chairman in 1995 and chairman in 1997. He relinquished that role in 2000 and became chairman of EuroFM. In January last year he became a member of the Ifma board. He was awarded an honorary fellowship of the BIFM in 2003 for his "outstanding contribution to the FM industry".
In 1985 Prodgers founded what is regarded as the one of the first specialist facilities management companies in the UK - Facilities and Property Management Plc. The firm was acquired by Chesterton in 1994 and Prodgers was appointed managing director of the enlarged Facilities and Property Management division and to the UK board. In 1996 Chesterton made two major acquisitions - British Gas FM division and Workplace Management (ICL's FM provider). Prodgers was appointed managing director of the renamed Workplace Management division. He left Chesterton in 1999 to create Ark e-management, a company specialising in process and information management, which he sold to Integrated fm in January.