20 July 2017
JEDDAH – Despite the facility management sector shaping a large industry with thousands of cleaning and maintenance companies in the region, there remains to be a lack of standard practice.

“In the GCC countries, government regulations are very basic in terms of hygiene and maintenance quality and there is no certification for standardization across sectors,” says Abdul Ghaffar Ansari, chief strategy officer and COO at the Middle East Consultancy Association (MECA), which has conducted extensive research in the region.

"This leads to ineffective cost for institutions in addition to health risks to the public," he explains.

Cleanliness is crucial in quality-driven sectors particularly aviation, education and healthcare sectors, according to MECA, which works closely with providers in reducing inefficient resource use and providing green and sustainable engineering projects, certifications and regulatory compliance consulting.

Cleaning in schools is done in an outdated manner, where janitors still use mere dustpans.

Hospitals also lack efficiency in cleaning and maintenance, Ansari says. “A significant amount of patients acquire infections during their stay in hospital, sometimes leading to death,” he said.

Other public places with large spaces are being cleaned with an excess amount of chemicals without measuring the quantity beforehand.

“This is not cost-effective and takes time to clean,” he adds. “Organizations are paying for the cleaning service but are not actually getting the full service.”

Airports and airplanes are the worst places that carry germs due to the large number of visitors from different parts of the world interacting, says Ansari. “Diseases, like the Ebola virus for example, scare away travelers and reduce the amount of flyers. As a result, revenue is affected.”

The facility management market in Saudi Arabia was valued at SR74.41 billion in 2016, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.92 percent in value terms to reach SR148 billion by 2022.

© The Saudi Gazette 2017