Commercial and Industrial Property

Smart FM Guides Business Decisions

THEN

Established in 2000, Afroteq Advisory (Afroteq) has steadily grown in the professional consulting and facilities environment, developing the technical capabilities and  industry expertise to bring value and informed decision making to South African businesses. In 2009 Afroteq merged with FM Solutions, forming the Afroteq FM  Solutions brand and trading as Arcus Facilities Management (Pty) Ltd.

Andre Michau – one of the founders of Afroteq and currently the Executive Manager – explains: “Prior to 2009, Afroteq’s business focussed on soft and technical service management, project management, space design and improving management competencies . That included training client’s staff alongside its strategic decision-making facilities management capabilities. The marriage of the two companies brought together the technical facilities management and capabilities of FM Solutions with the management modelling approach of Afroteq. It enabled the management and execution of facilities management through the life-cycle process, by leveraging the highly technical skills and experience within FM Solutions .” Commenting on its initial service offering, Michau said : “Afroteq specialised in office space planning and design, staff training in facilities management and everything in between that assists a client with any requirement in the facilities or built environment.”

NOW

Trading as a subsidiary company of AFMS Group (Pty) Ltd, formerly known as Arcus Facilities Management Services (Pty) Ltd, Afroteq Advisory (Afroteq) has bolstered the depth of its consulting services.

Michau comments: “We have a proven track record across all the major property, development and construction sectors , providing seamless services that are based on our clients’ specific requirements. Where additional resources, capacity or expertise are required, we naturally assume the role of project manager. Importantly, our services are transferable to any sector .”

As a Level 3 BBBEE contributor and a Qualifying Small Enterprise, Afroteq offers the following services nationally:

• Professional Services Engineering, Project Management and Quantity Surveying
• Strategic Advisory Services – Assisting business to make informed Facilities Management decisions
• Facilities Projects – Independent Facilities Projects aimed at optimising facilities operations
• Space Planning and Design – An analytical and structured approach to Planning, Design and Implementation
• Training – Seta Accredited Training Academy which comprises of 7 short practical FM courses and 1 full FM General Management qualification

Given the Global and more importantly, South African economic climate, companies are looking for ways to minimise expenses while remaining efficient and uncompromising on quality. However, how well a facility supports employees has everything to do with productivity levels and agility of space. As a result, Afroteq is seeing a great need for its advisory and training services to assist key business decision makers in making smart and effective decisions.

He concludes: “Our main focus has been to change the perception and raise awareness of facilities management. Companies often underestimate this non-core, yet strategic element affecting their core business. Whether the executive team may be discussing future investments, restructuring or budget cuts, FM data could have interesting data to establish whether these projects should be funded or not.

“What we have found is that facilities management is most often the second biggest cost item on any company’s income statement, second only to salaries . This makes it a crucial part of business success to manage well. As an organisation we service and provide Facilities Management direction for business and provide effective tools to enable and guide those organisations in bringing the necessary maturity to their in-house FM operations.

Our Academy has been instrumental in upskilling employees that are moved into FM Departments by default and often do not have the necessary knowledge and finesse to operate at the level that they should.

“Afroteq is out there to help consider every aspect of facilities management within business, from a pressing immediate need through to the long-term FM design of a company’s growth plan.”