All Blog Posts (125)

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I thought an unusual word that is troubling me would get readers attention! Simply put, a pain in the neck, radiating down my right hand side. Probably boney growth or bulging disc pinching a nerve in the spine. But this week it seems to be clearing up. Only last week, I was seriously thinking this may require surgery and mean time off work of about five weeks. But in total control of pain right now, and I await the results of my X-rays etc tomorrow. It looks like it is nearly better, and…

This month Business Cost Consultants (BCC) released their brand new and first ever Facebook page. As one of the UK’s leading independent energy consultancy firms we are offering a new way for clients, prospective clients or other interested parties to stay up to date with company…

Over 4000 military personnel have received redundancy notices since the armed forces cuts were announced at the beginning of this year.  The MOD intends to cut 29,000 military and 25,000 civilian posts by 2015 in order to plug the £38 million h*** in the defence budget. Surely the extent of these numbers represents an incredible opportunity for the FM industry?  Given the now infamous drafting of personnel to support an FM Service Provider to deliver the security at the Olympic and…

Over 4000 military personnel have received redundancy notices since the armed forces cuts were announced at the beginning of this year.  The MOD intends to cut 29,000 military and 25,000 civilian posts by 2015 in order to plug the £38 million h*** in the defence budget. Surely the extent of these numbers represents an incredible opportunity for the FM industry?  Given the now infamous drafting of personnel to support an FM Service Provider to deliver the security at the Olympic and…

All gently placed projects come to a head at the same time. It wasn't planned that way, albeit everything was planned. Congratulations are due since re-adopting the old priority graph. Time management just means you know what can wait until tomorrow. Problem is tomorrow is just around the corner. Thank the stars Friday afternoon seems to have those stable moments when re-addressing priorities, and producing a clean sheet and smiles ready for Monday.

The two Olympic…

Today is “THANK A TEACHER DAY” (who knew?!) and it got me thinking that the vast majority of us have had a teacher or a mentor that has had a significant and formative effect on our lives.  Mine was a pipe smoking, moustached Mr Stanley Crowther who pushed me academically and I attribute of lot of my success today to the belief that he had in me.  Everybody needs a helping hand or to be shown the right path at some point in their life and career and it inspired me to write a few words about…

I was very pleased to be invited to sit on a panel debate at The Facilities Show at the NEC last week.  The topic we were debating was “The Demographic Time bomb in FM”.

As always the audience was enthusiastic and participatory and there were some really interesting issues that we discussed that I thought I would share with those of you that weren’t able to attend.

Generally it was agreed that there is potentially a huge problem with an ageing workforce but of course this isn’t…

Due to the unstable global economic situation, small to large corporations are developing clever ways to optimise their production processes and services to cut overheads. They are however failing to give energy…

We all know that never are two days the same, and that we perform as the Jack of all trades, under one banner of FM Professionals. Somehow we specialise in every subject, and master each one admirably. The size of an organisation doesn't seem to give any reprieve per say. Maybe in the larger platform we can be tied a little to hard or soft services, or purely category and procurement management. I find though, being in a small organisation, there is less FM, and more multi-skill duties under…

Many different types of business use natural gas on heating or on industrial processes. For instance, schools, hotels and manufacturers will use gas and potentially have high gas bills.

Given the current economic climate and the pressures faced by organisations today, business gas costs, as well as other utility…

The energy regulator Ofgem are currently conducting a review of third party brokers who act as agents on behalf of certain suppliers and earn through commission added on to the customer’s price (often undisclosed to the customer).

As independent consultants, we at BCC welcome this long-awaited initiative, and…

The theme for most of us appears to be 'flexibility' in this current fortnight. Today, I'd like to blog some of my thoughts after a fortnight of appraisal, end of year accounts, Energy Summit & FMP Event, and the projects and innovation buzzing at this present time. A light-hearted amble through the thoughts of an ageing ambitious FM, still with 20+ years to give in the working world.

I'm looking to the future, a 2015 premises move. Inspired by the 'soft landings'…

Most facilities managers responsible for multiple sites or a large energy supply will use an energy broker or consultant, and with budgets having just been renewed, it is at this time that many…

As energy consultants, we often get asked - what is the difference between an energy broker and an energy consultant?

We explain to our…

Is it fair that if a property becomes void and the previous tenant has run up utility bills, but can’t be tracked, that the landlord becomes responsible?

Yes, between lets when a property is empty, the landlord is responsible for the utility costs, but of course…

Historically, a lot of our clients have generally purchased their energy requirements in fixed-period contracts over one or two years.

However, there are alternative product options available now that businesses should consider.

Flexible purchasing enables direct access to the wholesale market…