Experiences of Facility Management Cancel The title field is required!

1. Nicolas Davies

   

   0 posts
   
   5/24/2013 3:05 AM

   Dear All We work here in Middle East and have one bug bear to contend with called Facility Management ( FM).
   
   They are auditors paid for by the client to come and inspect the golf course , sometimes on a daily basis, yes daily .
   
   This company performs audits based on our own daily self tests , which are something like 50 checks on and around the golf course daily . This then forms part of our payment mechanism.
   
   The question I have is : What experience if any has anybody else had with this style of Facility management system working above them?
   
   Our main issue is the contract documentation is badly worded and that the FM company has no subject matter experts ,so their understandings and expectations are often far from my ideas of 30 plus years running golf facilities in many parts of the world.
   
   Any shared experiences about championship standards !!!!!!!!!!!!
   
   Does anyone have set of standards relating to Championships course standards , that doesn't include "No weeds" period .
   Championship standards are courses that can be set up for a Championships , not whether you have some dry areas on south facing bunkers , or some leaves in the base of hedges.
   
   Any comments shared gratefully receivied
   
   Rgs Nic

   
   
   
   
2. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   5/24/2013 10:05 AM

   Tell them to stop paying the Facility Management company and then you could afford some extra herbicides to get all of those weeds? Sorry can't help you with you question though.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
3. Nicolas Davies

   

   0 posts
   
   5/25/2013 7:05 AM

   Melvin thanks for reply .
   
   Yes its complicated contract we are the specialist sub contractor , so have our main contractor as immediate boss , then auditing Facility management team and then the client as the recreation division and the over them the Clients various VPs who all have their own opinions.
   
   material requests can take up to nine ten months , and then a substituted quality comes .
   
   I wasn't sure if any other guys worked with FM as the company we have is an American based company quite wide spread throughout the middle east . Money for old rotten rope if you ask me . Twice three times a year independent survey by accredited turf Agronomist is more than sufficient in my book.
   
   Rgs Nic

   
   
   
   
4. Michael Posey

   

   0 posts
   
   5/25/2013 3:05 PM

   Nic... I'm sorry I don't have any advice, but this post will surely benefit your fellow Superintendents. I think I am going to print it out and hang it on my wall. When I get a complaint about something petty that gets to me, I will just drive back to the office and read it! I don't even know where to begin. First, the whole reason they hire a Superintendent is to go around the course daily and do the hundreds of ingrained checks we do either conscientiously or sub-conscientiously. If they are going to have a third party do it, they could just have a foreman and a spray tech and have Floratine send the spray tech a program. I agree that an independent audit a couple times a year to make sure that your agronomic practices are not doing any long term harm to their golf course is a smart business practice for them, but more than that is overkill. Short of salting the earth, someone can't do something in 6 months that can't be remedied. I guess my only suggestion would be to ask the owner if you, the owner, and the third party can meet and have a written agronomic plans in which any agronomic jargon is well defined. I know the USGA Green section has a glossary of Agronomic terms for green committees. Email Henry DeLozier, at Global Golf Adivsors http://www.globalgolfadvisors.com/meet-the-team/henry-b-delozier-principal/, he teaches "The Business of Golf" class at GIS. His knowledge comes from having seen it all in our business. He is always willing to answer a question and has an example Agronomic plan he will email you to get started. The problem with "Championship conditions" is that they aren't even agreed upon between the USGA, PGA, Augusta National, and the R&A. Imagine the USGA setting up Augusta National for the US Open, you probably wouldn't recognize the course! Only your owners and you can sit down and agree on all these standards and somehow it has to be relayed to the third party. If you can't get them all on the same page, freshen up the resume and try to get out of Dodge. Best of luck to you and please keep us updated. If you do find a successful solution, it will be a great benefit for us to here how you were able to correct this. MP

   
   
   
   
5. Keith Pegg

   

   0 posts
   
   5/25/2013 5:05 PM

   Sounds a lot like working for the US Gov. we have inspectors every day or most days, Some for just a look and some with lots of check lists. Just part of the job. Often conflicting information from each other and we get back little reports on changes they want us to make again often conflicting from one to the next. I just file most of it and keep going. Last week I walked out on one inspector and told him, I did not have time for this. He left and wrote a report and made nice comments on our facility. Of course they have to find something wrong also, we call it "J" justifying their existence.
   
   Keith
   US Army Japan

   
   
   
   
6. Nicolas Davies

   

   0 posts
   
   5/31/2013 10:05 AM

   Guys thank for your inputs .
   
   we are only the Sub contractor , or Subject matter experts , but three guys above fight backwards and forwards , over championship meaning so all good fun .
   
   TX's Nic