Case Study

Elementus and CB Richard Ellis

For a leading real estate and property services organisation, ensuring the management of water safety and hygiene standards is a crucial consideration in choosing a risk assessment partner.

CB Richard Ellis is the world’s leading commercial real estate advisor, with over 300 offices in more than 50 countries. It employs around 2,000 people in the UK and its services encompass a wide range of activities, including property and asset management, building consultancy, landlord and tenant services, development, facilities management and planning. The firm places a key emphasis on fulfilling its duty of care, loyalty and good faith to its clients and business partners, so a key objective for its asset management divisions is to provide a safe and healthy working environment for tenants across its varied investment portfolio covering the whole of the United Kingdom.

The impact of the COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations that emerged during the mid-eighties created a specialised challenge to business and building management. Although COSHH covers the handling of potentially dangerous chemicals — it also covers elements such as water safety & hygiene, for instance regarding the prevention of legionella bacteria, which could apply to any commercial or office building. Recognising its moral and legal obligations, in 1989 CB Richard Ellis instructed Elementus to support it in addressing this crucial building management issue. The relationship has flourished, so much so that today the two organisations continue to work together.

Explains Alison McDonald Senior Director for the South Central Team, CB Richard Ellis: “I value the trusted relationship that CBRE and Elementus enjoy and have done for a number of years. It is hugely important to me, as a Director of one of the largest business units in Asset Management, that I can be confident that with the work that our Director of HSE and Elementus do that we have the correct procedures and processes where air and water hygiene issues are concerned.” She adds: “The independent testing procedures and reports produced by Elementus give comfort not only to CBRE as managing agents that the buildings are enjoying the correct environment but there is added protection for both the tenants and the landlords that the information produced can be relied upon at all times. Management of our risk is hugely important to me and CBRE”.

“Elementus have provided London Bridge City with a Water Management System which is comprehensive, easy to understand and user friendly. The quarterly visits and subsequent reports provide confidence in the day-today management of water hygiene on an estate with a diversity of water installations from cooling towers to water features in busy public spaces. The consultant will spend two to three days at the estate on each visit and this has enabled a good working relationship to be developed with the M & E contractor’s personnel. The visit reports are provided electronically as soon as they are complete, enabling us to action any recommendations promptly. Any elevated counts are reported to us promptly with recommendations for immediate action to be taken. The consultant also returns to present the reports face to face and the M & E contractor is free to attend in the event that they have any queries or require further advice. Elementus also provide us with Air Quality and Comfort Reports that enable us to demonstrate to our tenants that the environment in which their personnel are working in meets the required standards, and that the M & E contractor is fulfilling their obligations under the terms of their agreement. In conclusion Elementus have become an invaluable resource in the management of the property”. Says Paul Jackson, Centre Manager, London Bridge City.

Crucially, Elementus present the findings of each report face to face. As Allison Connick, Director of Safety and Environment comments, “Elementus regularly attends meetings with enforcement officers present and has provided expert input in support of CB Richard Ellis staff and buildings management practices”. However, although this high level of care is desirable, the sheer number of site visits being made each month and the subsequent report presentations did consume a significant amount of administrative and management time for each company - so a further solution was required.

New Programme

Working in partnership, a long-term programme was jointly established to streamline site visits and increase process consistency. Using a risk based approach, properties within the defined portfolio were categorised in accordance with agreed measurement criteria. Elementus subsequently undertook legionella risk assessments for each property that proved a key factor for success. The risk assessments provided managers at CB Richard Ellis with a risk profile and other vital information regarding the status of each of their properties. Those reports provided a clear action plan for any remedial actions needed to either eliminate the risk of contamination from legionella bacteria, or reduce the risk using sound management practice. Joan Rotheram, Director in Retail Asset Management commented “It is a comfort to know that when we need assistance or advice on complicated water management systems, that may be operating within our shopping centre schemes, that we have available to us through our Director of HSE and Elementus a truly great working partnership and one that truly does help and assist our site management teams”.

The result is a comprehensive water management approach that could be utilised across CB Richard Ellis’ property portfolio. This joint initiative proved so successful that by 2003, all of the properties supported by Elementus were able to clearly demonstrate legal compliance and management control for legionella. By 2004, through further planning and communication, management information originating from the Elementus support role was successfully integrated into CB Richards Ellis’ own electronic health and safety management system. This has provided validated data transfer between each company.

By 2008, some 200 properties are now covered by the work undertaken by Elementus — Allison Connick says “With our ever increasing portfolio of properties it is important that we know that all our properties have the appropriate risk assessments for water systems and the necessary water treatment regimes in place — as with all property management organisations we have new properties coming into management all the time — I am confident that when we instruct Elementus that they will quickly identify the areas for improvement and ensure that our water management systems are promptly installed and operating at our new properties. This gives me and our HSE Risk Management Board comfort that we are not at risk”.

Competitive advantage

By positioning workplace health and safety activities alongside core business activities, CB Richard Ellis has not only gained competitive advantage, but has clearly demonstrated leadership in its field with a commitment to providing a comfortable and safe working environment for its tenants. This achievement was recognised when in partnership with Elementus, CB Richard Ellis won the prestigious ‘Partners with People’ award at the 2005 pfm Awards. Since winning that award further improvements have been made regarding reporting and monitoring compliance against actions identified with quarterly reporting of outstanding actions (3 months and over) which enables Allison to chase and ensure that these items are closed out.

Additionally since achieving the pfm Award, Elementus has continued to expand with CB Richard Ellis. The scope of solutions offered has grown, and now Elementus is the approved supplier to CB Richard Ellis for DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) Access Audits.

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