FEATURE
THE FACILITIES SHOW 2018: A ROUND-UP
Playing host to some 12,000 facilities management professionals and over 280 exhibitors, acting as a platform for those in the sector to network, showcase, discuss and learn - this year’s Facilities Show had it all. Tomorrow’s FM and Magenta Associates review the event.
It is mid-afternoon on Monday 18th June. The Tomorrow’s FM team has arrived at London ExCeL to setup the stand and is given quite the shock when we walk nonchalantly into the centre. To describe the state of the 100-acre international exhibition hall as chaotic would be an understatement; the dirty floor space covered in thick polystyrene, tools left deserted in walkways and half-built stands abandoned as companies wait for their workmen to show up, contribute to the look of a place that bears more resemblance to a post-apocalyptic Mad Max landscape than a place that is to host thousands of FM professionals.
A colleague, now in her fourth year of exhibiting at the Show, clearly noticed the bewildered look on my face. “Just wait until tomorrow,” she chuckled, “you won’t believe how quickly they turn this around.”
Sure enough, the following morning the hall had transformed. The blanket of sawdust, wood clippings and plastic wrapping that enveloped the exhibition floor the previous night had disappeared, revealing a warm, orange carpet that clearly distinguished the Facilities Show from the Safety & Health Expo’s canvas of green. The Total Solutions Group, FSI, De-Ice and Kier stands circled a bar that doubled as a networking area – also providing a space for football-inclined FMs to wind down and watch the World Cup.
“While the exhibitors were diverse and sometimes impressive, the real pull for many attendees was the opportunity to learn.”
Over the course of the next three days, we spoke to a disparate array of experts from the multitude of sectors that make-up FM. It offered us an opportunity to meet with existing clients and open our arms to new ones. “This is what The Facilities Show is all about,” said Vicky Lopez, Managing Director of De-ice, “it provides the perfect atmosphere for like-minded individuals to talk about what’s important to them.”
Talking to CBRE about the changing FM landscape proved a particular highlight. After releasing their first ‘Top Trends’ report in 2017, their second report comes after a taxing 18 months for the industry. Their 2018
22 | TOMORROW’S FM
edition – ‘How society, demographics and technology are changing the world of FM’ - examines the transformations occurring throughout FM and places them in a future- thinking context.
https://www.facilitiesshow.com/top-10-fm-trends
CBRE informed us that over the course of the next few years, with the rise of the smart workplace, there would be a stronger focus on tailoring experiences to the end- user but buildings may need to be ‘built from scratch rather than retro-fit’ with all the latest technology in order to achieve this. As Matthew Eastwood, Managing Director at Project Management EMEA says in CBRE’s report: “You need to consider technology integration, wellness, specification levels and more, in order to create a truly smart building.”
Chris Edwards, Brand Director, Facilities Show commented: “I can say with certainty that this has been a truly incredible event – 2018 saw a new level of buzz on the show floor. The sentiment from visitors and exhibitors has been really positive, which is a testament to the show’s growth. The show is here to welcome thousands of FMs to network, be inspired and discover the latest smart solutions – and that’s exactly what happened over the course of three days.”
The seminars A keen focus for the show this year was wellbeing. A topic that everyone in FM is familiar with by now, debates around workplace wellbeing and what can be done to spot and support those in need has never felt more relevant. With multiple talks and panel discussions scheduled across the three days, organisations of all scales and individuals from a whole host of backgrounds came together to dissect workplace mental health, and what can be done to help support it.
Kicking off the first day with a not-so-PC bang, keynote speaker Ruby Wax delivered an hour-long presentation with energy, charisma and comedic value uncharacteristic of a typical trade show. She opened her presentation with a powerful message: “Being stressed is fundamentally different from being mentally ill. I cannot say this enough. It’s literally as different as being pregnant, or not. One in four people have it. It’s a literal disease that you can see in your brain. Being stressed, is not. Both are equally as important, but both require totally different approaches.”
Wax continued: “Trying to deal with mental ill-health at crisis point is like walking into a gym for the first time
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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