ISS leads UBS to attain ISO 55001 accreditation

UBS strives to be the best in its class, it is driven into this ethos; the ISO 55001 accreditation benchmarks UBS as the best in what it does.
UBS has an integrated facilities management contract with ISS and the organisations worked in partnership to achieve the accreditation. 

The collaboration ensured that recommendations made by the manufacturers are aligned to essential technical requirements which in turn minimise down-time and ultimately ensure the best quality and value for money for UBS.

The ISO 55001 Journey

The roadmap to gaining ISO 55001 accreditation involves a stringent journey. ISS gained sponsorship from UBS and drafted an initial outline plan in September 2017. In December 2017 a gap analysis was completed by an independent auditor and from this gap analysis, an action and responsibility plan was produced. After filling in the gaps, the ISS team initiated stage one of the two stage process. Stage one is a formal assessment of the documentation and filing systems and also provides a check for compliant readiness for the final stage two audit.

The feedback from the stage one audit highlighted some major signposting and procedures, with observations which needed resolution before the second stage. The site and central teams worked together diligently and collaboratively to complete these areas.

Stage two in September 2018 was more focused and another audit took place. Following an intense two days, success ensued and on 20th September the ISO 55001 certificate was awarded. 

Summing up the positive news of the ISO 55001 accreditation, Jason Clark, Executive Director and Regional Head of Property Management at UBS, commented: “I am pleased to advise that the IFM team has attained accreditation to the international standard ISO 55001. ISO 55001 is a quality management framework for managing assets within the context of an organisation, specifically for engineering asset management at UBS 5 Broadgate.” 

He continued, “We set the objective of achieving the ISO 55001 standard in 2016. This accreditation is recognition of our integrated and collaborative approach to facilities management and the partnership between UBS, ISS and other service partners.”

Wayne Tanner, Executive Director, Global Lead of Integrated Facilities Management at UBS added: “This is a huge accomplishment and industry leading differentiator for UBS in the UK. Congratulations to everyone involved in the IFM/MCF¹ teams. This is wonderful news and hard-earnt recognition.”

Martin Harvey, Director of Engineering & Asset Management at ISS, commented, “The real benefit of the accreditation is that there is now a complete and comprehensive asset management policy, and associated delivery practises which enables the Operational Team to manage and maintain the physical assets of our client UBS. Delivery of detailed CAFM¹ systems and planned frequency-based maintenance is seen as the ill-informed approach to maintenance in the 21st century. From a people point of view, the standard focuses on people, their competencies and training, and also looks at succession planning. And most importantly, UBS knows that they have a capable and competent service partner running their buildings and operating in the most efficient way.”

The accreditation attained by UBS – led by ISS – distinguishes ISS from other FM providers as ISS is itself ISO 9001 accredited in its own right for Quality Management and was the first FM service provider to achieve this distinction. This gives ISS a firm foundation for continual improvement of a customer-focused service ethos.

With the ISS investment in latest cutting-edge technology, the structured management of the asset data enables ISS to commence its intellectual management of systems and services, reducing risk and increasing performance by optimising maintenance, improving value, and ultimately improving user experience. The standards enable ISS to now drive this showcase into the business to deliver improved benchmarking and consistent delivery, improving standards and client value.


¹Computer-aided facility management (CAFM)