To a large extent, the saying ‘It takes a village to raise a baby’ holds true for UAE-based smart and green facilities management (FM) company Farnek.

The baby in this case is the ‘Expo 2020 Dubai’ and the village - the newly opened Farnek Village of course! Farnek is responsible for the hard and soft FM services for the entire ‘Opportunity District’, in addition to FM contracts for eight national pavilions, worth AED 16.7 million at Expo 2020. One of the key reasons for that success is the Farnek Village, which is the company’s new staff accommodation centre, just ten minutes’ drive from the Expo site. Coming from the school of thought where - seeing is believing, one couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity of an exclusive site tour by the ‘A-team’ of Farnek. And the place doesn’t disappoint. It is a true reflection of the values that the 40-year-old company has always believed in. The facility certainly raises the bar for intelligent buildings and little wonder when you see the pride in the eyes of Markus Oberlin, the CEO of Farnek Services, & the passion that drives the entire team.

The 100,000 square feet facility (basement, G +5), comes with a smart & sustainable design. A striking factor is that it employs the latest smart technology and has adapted key practices that ensure the facility is the most energy, water, and waste-efficient accommodation centre of its kind. With this in mind, they aim to reduce consumption by at least 20 percent compared with a more conventional staff accommodation facility.

Some of the other design highlights include solar panels on the roof of the building covering 150 square meters, which will meet all hot water requirements. Over 4,000 LED lights are installed throughout, supplying 90% of the total amount of lighting required.

The facility’s 800 rooms are managed by a bespoke software solution, so that new employees can be welcomed 24/7 at a dedicated reception lobby, sign in, and be shown to their rooms within minutes. Other features include a prayer room, medical clinic, functional restaurant and dining room, library, recreational room, a full-fledged gym that comes with a personal trainer, and an indoor cricket and basketball court.

Ensuring that staff are well-connected, there is also the availability of free Wi-fi throughout the complex. And not to forget the 240sqm rooftop vertical garden and the food waste composting system. And the personalized training rooms. Every nook-and-corner is given a purpose and detailing is everything at this unique facility!

The plan for Farnek Village was conceived nearly four years ago when Farnek purchased the land in Dubai South. “We wanted to build a facility that will embrace our vision towards employee welfare. Labour camps aren’t usually given much importance but we at Farnek believed that a happy employee will lead to happy customers, and result in happy shareholders,” smiles Markus.Having envisioned Dubai hosting the Expo 2020, Markus felt that the Village would prove to be an added benefit to cater for the event. And he was right! Today, the long-term vision has enabled Farnek to successfully secure numerous contracts at the Expo site.

The sustainable approach

For decades now, Farnek has been practicing exactly what they preach, especially when it comes to sustainability. A term that is so often used now, was a concept rarely explored by many in the industry back in the day. Ask Markus, how Farnek’s approach towards sustainability has changed over the years? He says, “It hasn’t changed at all. We have always and will continue to work towards a sustainable future. Why? Because it is a necessity.”

“If we as companies cannot operate in an eco-friendly manner, how can the country as a whole achieve its sustainability goals?” he ponders. Markus goes on to add that it is not just within Farnek, but they also encourage their customers and suppliers to become more sustainable.

“We want to be a company that not only is sustainable but can impact others to follow suit as well. That’s why we associate with suppliers, who follow our vision in this regard,” adds Markus.

The ‘nerve-centre'

If you are not impressed already, a visit to the HITEK Solution 4.0, in operation, will certainly strike a chord. This is a 24/7 command and control room, known as the nerve centre. This room allows Farnek to take advantage of the increased bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and enhanced security, to connect assets from multiple sites so that they can be centrally monitored and managed. Inter-connecting all the other innovations by Farnek, this solution rolls out connected and transformative applications of technology.

This not only uplifts the face of FM digitalization but also offers enhanced efficiency. “This is achieved through the concept of a digitally connected workforce and customers, to its in-house stream of technically advanced and cost-effective solutions, utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies, amongst others,” says Javeria Aijaz, senior director- technology and innovations at Farnek, Beyond operational efficiencies and sustainability, Farnek’s HITEK solution 4.0 saves its customers significant amounts of money. The company has estimated that it can save up to 17% in manpower costs after traditional FM operational management has been transferred to HITEK’s smart management.

Javeria points out that the sustainable approach towards the various technological solutions brings more transparency into the system. “Via the various solutions, we are now able to receive accurate and detailed information in real time. This enables the team to be proactive and connected at all times. This is, therefore, a sustainable process that is much leaner, direct, and doesn’t waste resources,” she explains. Green Cleaning

For the past two years, hygiene (or the cleaning industry) has been in the spotlight. And Farnek conforms with the most stringent industry standards and is compliant with international best practices. And it’s not just about them walking the talk here, in fact, Farnek has the appropriate accreditations to support their claim as well.

Indeed, Farnek was awarded GBAC STARTM accreditation given by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA, the global cleaning industry trade association. Farnek has established a cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention program that minimises risks associated with infectious agents like the novel Coronavirus. Through this experience Farnek can quickly address biological threats and real-time crises at our facility in Dubai and with this knowledge, we can support our customers to recover from such events. Other cleaning standards do not cover this level of detail.” Julian Khalil, Senior Director – Security & Soft Services says.

Furthermore, Farnek was re-accredited for the second time with ISSA’s Cleaning Industry Management Standard Green Building (CIMS GB), with honours. It met various criteria with a focus on sustainable cleaning practices, including the implementation of green cleaning policies, resource conservation plans, environmental impact analysis of its operating procedures and enhanced staff training programs for green cleaning. The benefit for the client is not only a strong and audited green cleaning regime but they automatically secure points under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings; Operations and Maintenance (LEED EB: O&M) Green Building Rating System. 

“Often companies claim they are ‘green’ but what does that truly mean? That’s when we pursued CIMS GB to support our claims. It proves that we comply with highest international sustainability standards such as LEED EB: O&M,“ Julian adds.

“These accreditations illustrate that Farnek employs the proper protocols to combat biohazardous and infectious diseases in its own space as well as demonstrate the company’s leadership and commitment to sustainability through its accredited green cleaning regime within the Industry. Additionally, through its experience in completing these accreditation processes, Farnek is uniquely prepared to assist its customers as they pursue a green and germ-free facility,” Julian says.

There is also a lot of importance given staff training, which is not limited to just one room, it covers an entire floor, converted to imitate a variety of generic customer facilities, (medical, hospitality, office) with different features and an array of diverse floor and wall coverings.

Hospitality

Farnek has been supporting the UAE’s hospitality sector for over 40 years, in which time it has amassed an extensive portfolio of hotel contracts, which include five-star brands such as Marriott, Sheraton, Sofitel, and Rotana. So, was a natural progression for Farnek to develop their own hospitality division into an all-embracing hotel management company. Having bagged many contracts which includes the Expo Village, where Farnek is responsible for managing the reservations, concierge, front office services and housekeeping, for the 2,273 apartments.

Walter Knight, Director of Hospitality, Farnek, comments, “We don’t want to be just a manpower supplier. That is not what we are. With our hotel management license, we approach hotel developers, investors, owners, and management companies directly with a full suite of services including consultancy, management, outsourcing, and manpower services.”

Walter explains that with the kind of training that they provide for the hospitality division at the Farnek Village, they are confident to deliver high-quality service. “Once the hotel has shared their SoPs we will train our staff according to their standards before we deploy them at the property. This practice instills a sense of confidence in the client and their customers, safeguarding their brand values,” he says.

Following the same vision of being a sustainable service provider, Walter says that he can witness the change happening right now in the hospitality industry. “Globally, there is a lot of importance given to hotels that are taking the sustainability route. Websites like Booking.com are giving preference to sustainably active hotels. This puts Farnek at an advantage as we have great plans for the future of our hotel management company,” says Walter.

A real game-changer in the business is the in-house developed hospitality App “Flexi-Guest”. This has received glowing reviews from multinational guests in the Expo Village. The App reduces the time-consuming check-in/out process and allows greater flexibility for the guest, including booking excursions, Food & Beverage, and a neat feature where guests can even offset their carbon emissions, ensuring that their visit was carbon neutral. “This is a quality-backed, value-led proposition, which benefits owners as well as guests,” says Walter.

Future Plans

Farnek Village has caught the attention of many in the industry. And it certainly sends a message to the market loud and clear - Farnek is in a rapid growth phase and they are determined to continue doing just that. One can only wait and wonder what they have in store next!