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Farnek CEO highlights potential multi-million dollar savings through efficient energy, water and waste management practices at Green Hospital Symposium
Highlighting the need for sustainable FM solutions within hospitals and other healthcare facilities, was the focus of a presentation by Markus Oberlin, CEO of multi-award winning UAE-based Farnek, at the Green Hospital Symposium, organised and hosted by the Saudi German Hospital in Dubai.
"Essentially hospitals are buildings that have been designed to provide healthcare facilities and services. However, the buildings operate like any other, especially in terms of facilities management, albeit with specialist health and safety, cleaning and waste management," said Oberlin.
In general hospitals need to be cleaned according to four major risk bands, which would cover very high to low risk areas, for example - intensive care, general ward, rehabilitation and administration respectively.
Energy savings in hospitals can be made through the reduction in carbon emissions - in many cases electricity bills can be slashed by 15% with the implementation and monitoring of A/C modules, therefore becoming more cost efficient.
"Put that into cold hard cash - following a survey we conducted after the last DEWA tariff increase, a city hotel in Dubai of around 35,000m2 today, would have an annual electricity bill of well over AED 5.2 million. Therefore, energy savings alone could be worth as much as AED 750,000 per annum," commented Oberlin.
Another vital area is medical waste. Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in Dubai produce about six tonnes of medical waste every day, or 120 tonnes per month. Research by Johns Hopkins Medicine highlighted the multi-million dollar savings, hospitals can make by incorporating sustainable practices such as reducing waste.
The UAE's waste management initiatives have been grabbing the headlines in recent years. Dubai for example has set a target of zero landfill waste by 2030, which is challenging, especially when you consider that in 2013 Dubai sent 2.6 million tonnes of waste to landfill of which an estimated 15-25% was medical-related waste such as glass and laboratory equipment.
Dubai Municipality is also contemplating increasing its landfill fees, currently it charges AED 10 per truckload of waste - by comparison Abu Dhabi already charges AED 225 per tonne, adding even more expense to inefficient waste management operations. Moreover, due to the HSE issues surrounding medical waste, hospitals can be fined as much as AED 200,000 for failing to handle and segregate their waste prior to collection.
By outsourcing waste management, hospitals in the UAE can let expert facility managers take on the responsibility for optimising waste segregation and promoting a reduce, reuse and recycle philosophy to ultimately cut down the overall amount of waste generated, as well as ensuring hazardous waste is treated responsibly.
"Our operational audit team, highlight the areas where improvements can be made to essentially reduce the volume of waste generated that would ordinarily go to landfill. We also offer advice on responsible disposing and how to segregate waste efficiently, maximising the amount of cash rebates available from the companies that pick-up and dispose of waste," added Oberlin.
As part of the company's BICSc (British Institute of Cleaning Science) certified cleaning services, waste management is included as an integral part of the program, further enhancing Farnek's sustainable proposition.
In recognition of its sustainability efforts, Farnek has been the proud recipient of the renowned Facilities Management Middle East Awards 'Green FM Company of the Year' in 2012, 2014 and once again in 2015.
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About Farnek
Established in the UAE since 1980, Dubai-based Farnek Services LLC/Farnek Middle East LLC is an international full service property management company.
With a skilled workforce of more than 3,500 employees, Farnek has now added offices in the Northern Emirates, to its existing offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, to deliver professional FM services for over 2,500 properties to high quality, world-renowned organisations such as Dubai Airport, Emirates Airlines, Abu Dhabi Airport, Etihad Airways, Dubai Mall and Dubai's latest high profile mixed-use community, City Walk.
In 2010, following a successful tender bid, Farnek received the ultimate trade reference - the maintenance contract for the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa. This paved the way for Farnek to confirm its position as the leading FM company in the UAE, which was capped with Farnek being awarded the 2015 Facilities Management Middle East 'Overall FM Company of the Year' award.
Being an innovative and technology-led company, Farnek was one of the first FM companies to offer an online maintenance platform and in conjunction with Hitches & Glitches, (part of the Farnek group since 2014) it has also signed an agreement with Gadgitech, a UAE distributor of smart home products. Besides a potential retail collaboration, Farnek aims to become a market leader in the fledgling smart home installation and maintenance sector.
Farnek is also a leader in sustainability and has exclusivity agreements with international organisations such as Green Globe and myclimate. In 2007 Farnek was presented with the prestigious Emirates Energy award for producing the Middle East's first hotel energy consumption benchmark survey and shortly afterwards launched the Middle East's first carbon neutral transport. Farnek has also been accredited by the Dubai Regulatory Supervisory Bureau as an approved energy auditor.
In recognition of its sustainability efforts, Farnek has been the proud recipient of the renowned Facilities Management Middle East Awards 'Green FM Company of the Year' in 2012, 2014 and once again in 2015. Farnek has also been recognised for its tireless efforts in CSR and as such was rewarded with 'CSR Initiative of the Year' at the 2015 awards ceremony.
Media contact
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +9714 365 2711
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E-mail: james@smc-pr.com
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© Press Release 2016
