Utility costs are usually the largest single expense component for facilities. Preliminary reports from the 2006 Facility Managers Roundtable show energy costs are the same from 2006. In both years our participants are reporting a median cost of $2.22 / Gross Square Foot. However, the median cost per KWH rose from $0.060 to $0.064 / KWH… about a 7.5% increase throughout the US. Said another way…
Facility Managers are Treading Water With Respect to Energy Costs
Facility Managers can have significant impacts on their operating costs by understanding how they are performing relative to others and what opportunities exist to reduce or control utility costs. The information you need to benchmark is the:
- Cost of utilities: electric, gas, water, sewer, steam, etc.
- Utility consumption rates
- Facility areas normalized by types of space since there are significant differences in utility consumption based on the function.
Step 1 — Utility Benchmarking Definitions…
Utility Costs:
| B1. Annual cost of electricity including any penalties/credits imposed by your utility company. ($000). | |
| B2. Annual cost of water ($000). | |
| B3. Annual sewer costs ($000). | |
| B4. Annual cost of fuels such as: natural gas, propane, fuel oil etc. ($000) | |
| B5. Other utility costs such as purchased steam or fuel oil. ($000) |
Consumption:
| B1. Annual cost of electricity including any penalties/credits imposed by your utility company. ($000). | |
| B2. Annual cost of water ($000). | |
| B3. Annual sewer costs ($000). | |
| B4. Annual cost of fuels such as: natural gas, propane, fuel oil etc. ($000) | |
| B5. Other utility costs such as purchased steam or fuel oil. ($000) |
Step 2—Analyze the responses
The first step is to analyze how Facility Managers typically contract for custodial services. The chart below shows that Frequency Standards are the most frequently used method to define service levels along with Customer Supplied Specifications.
Then look at how frequently your contactor performs any of the custodial tasks that are in their scope of services. The chart below shows most organizations dust their offices once per week. The next most common frequency rate is five times per week which is a significant jump in service levels and costs.
Step 3—Using This Information
You should review your frequency rates with a peer group to determine what levels of service others are using. A good comparison would also involve site visits to organizations that have implemented the service level frequencies you are considering. This allows you to report to the users that the service levels are reasonable and consistent with their expectations of cleanliness.
Metrics from the Facility Managers Round Table (FMRT)
In 2005 there were 92 unique sites in the FMRT with a median size of about 1,400,000 million square feet. See the chart below to see how the group looked by industry type.
Space Metrics
- Space Utilization 430 Gross Square Feet per Occupant
- Cost Metrics
- Utilities $2.17 / GSF
- Custodial $1.33 / Cleanable SF
- Maintenance $1.69 / GSF
- Parking and Paving $1529 / Acre
- Groundskeeping $3405 / Acre
- MAIL $0.73 / GSF
- Mail Services $0.22 / GSF
- Environmental Health and Safety $0.35 / GSF
- Fixed Costs (Includes: Building, Leasehold Improvements, Furniture/Equipment) $ 3.71 / GSF
Move / Churn Cost Metrics
- Box Move Costs $317 / Person Moved
Customer Satisfaction
- Satisfaction With Overall Facilities Services 3.80 on a 1 to 5 scale
