When you look around major cities, you see
big buildings, huge sporting and entertainment arenas, hospitals, shoppings malls, schools, you name it.
And whether it's for business or pleasure, there is a whole system of processes in place
to make sure that these places run.
Now, who's in charge of over seeing all this?
Enter, the facilities manager.
Now I've got my PPE on, so let's go see what's involved.
A facilities manager organises and coordinates the management of a building,
on both a strategic and operational level.
They create and sustain safe, productive environments for the staff, tenants, and clientèle alike.
Today, I'm meeting Mark from WesTrac to find out what's involved.
- G'day Mark. - G'day Jesse
G'day mate, look I want to know what it's like to be a facilities manager.
Well that's me. Let's go for a walk and look at the facilities.
Beauty.
Wow, it's kind of like the Death Star.
Yes it is a bit.
Well Jesse, welcome to WesTrac's
parts distribution centre warehouse.
I believe you have some questions.
Absolutely, so what operations are you responsible for, what exactly do you do?
Okay, what I do is I am responsible for coordinating contractors on and off site.
We coordinate all of the work that's required to keep this facility running,
including air conditioning, power. So basically, everything you see out there,
we have a part in keeping running, or actually maintaining.
That seems like a pretty complicated job, can you take me through just a typical day?
Typically, I would arrive fairly early in the morning, I would go through the current work,
and then I would look at that and see what needs to be done
and who is the best people to do that, and then I'd arrange for them to come in, and that would include
raising the financial and purchasing information for them to do the work. and who is the best people to do that, and then I'd arrange arrange for them to come in, and that would include
raising the financial and purchasing information for them to do the work.
Once they're in, I checks all their safeties and then set them to work.
Cool, now an easy one, what's the best part of the job?
Best part of the job is that I have this magic key
that gets me into everywhere! (Laughing)
- The man with the key. - Yep.
And the other side that I really like about it is that, it is really diverse technologies, putting them all together
to make a system that actually produces an end product for the company. And the other side that I really like about it is that, it is a really diverse technologies, putting them all together
to make a system that actually produces an end product for the company.
Now, as you said, there's a lot happening here. What is the most challenging part of the job?
Most challenging part would be a little bit seasonal.
Obviously when it rains we have roof leaks, so a lot of call about that.
When summer comes along, we get a lot of problems with air conditioning not starting and all that sort of thing,
so the challenging part is dealing with with volume of work that comes in during those times, and generally throughout the year.
Okay, so let's say that I want to be a facilities manager, what's one piece of advice you would give me?
I would say to get involved in an organisation,
or position yourself in a place where you're exposed to buildings, structures and building systems.
Even if it's a lesser role, off to the side and get an understanding for all the systems that they deal with,
and work yourself into the main role of facility manager.
- Alright now, it's time for the Edge. Are you ready? - Yep! Okay, let's do it.
Okay, so first up, what characteristics does someone need to be a facilities manager?
You need to have determination, you need to have a good understanding of systems,
you need to have good time management skills, also interpersonal skills
because you're dealing with contractors and clients all the time.
Okay, now list from school to now, how does someone get to where you are?
I started on a non-typical path. Okay, now list from school to now, how does someone get to where you are?
I started on a non-typical path.
If you were going these days, there are diploma courses and certificate courses,
as well as some degree courses though universities, TAFE and various other avenues to come through.
And lastly, if you could do one thing differently, but still end up where you are,
what would that be?
I would start earlier, you don't understand what you enjoy about a job until you're actually in the job.
Now that I've been doing this for some years, I realise I could've been doing this much earlier than I have been.
- Awesome, well thanks so much for the chat today. - No worries, Jesse.
- I want t have a drive of this buggie, can I have a go? - Absolutely, let's go for it!
Ah, ripper!
- Macca's drive through? - Absolutely.
Let's go! (both)