World Facilities Management Day: Serco spotlight on resilience in action

This World Facilities Management Day, Ask Serco: How do we help our people, customers, stakeholders and operations thrive in a world of change?

From supporting our Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel with Base Operations to ensuring our correctional centres run efficiently and promote inmate rehabilitation, all around the world, Serco’s facilities management (FM) professionals keep complex environments operating smoothly.

This World FM Day, the theme Resilience in Action: Thriving in a World of Change powerfully reflects the incredible dedication and innovation shown every day by Serco's FM teams, who continue to secure impressive results for our people, customers and communities – going above and beyond in times of disruption or crisis.

Today, we’re spotlighting Serco's FM team at Clarence Correctional Centre (CLA) based in NSW, Australia that regularly showcase Serco’s core values of Trust, Care, Innovation and Pride. In particular, we'd like to introduce two incredible members of the team - Alex Robison and James Brodin - whose stories follow below.

CLA at a glance:

1,700 beds maintained at Serco operated state-of-the-art CLA in NSW, Australia

195ha of land and 65ha of buildings upkept and managed by Serco’s FM team

28,000 Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) and reactive facilities management tasks regularly handled 

Facilities Management at CLA:

In the heart of New South Wales, Australia, CLA stands as a testament to resilience and adaptability. Facing unprecedented challenges since its opening during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-2020, this facility involves a complex operating environment, sitting on 195ha of land and covered in 65ha of building infrastructure. However, when Corrective Services NSW asked Serco to tackle the challenge, our FM team rose to the occasion with dedication and ingenuity. As a result of their efforts, the centre has not only survived, but thrived – and with this year’s World FM Day having the theme Resilience in Action: Thriving in a World of Change, Serco is proud to share a little of their story.

To ensure things run smoothly, Serco’s Clarence FM team of 18 are instrumental across the day-to-day operations at CLA. The team oversee every area, totalling approximately 28,000 PPM and reactive tasks, including:

• Maintenance, repairs and construction;

• Energy management, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, locksmith services and waste disposal;

• Achieving and maintaining smooth, efficient workflows;

• Ensuring a safe, secure environment is provided to staff, inmates and visitors at all times; and

• Managing the following systems: KNX lighting, Icon water, building maintenance, the MRI Evolution maintenance and asset system, and Smartek.

Grounded in Serco’s values of Trust, Care, Innovation and Pride, Serco’s FM team delivers exceptional results in the correctional centre’s highly regulated, challenging environment. They do this with a belief that resilience in their unique workplace context means supporting each other with the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing necessary to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward.

For our FM team, it isn’t about avoiding difficulties – it's about tackling challenges head on and navigating them collaboratively to meet goals together, all while maintaining a sense of purpose and keeping the needs of stakeholders front and centre.

With a focus on continuous learning and being ready for unexpected disruptions, here are just a few of the achievements the FM team at CLA have made since taking on the contract in 2020, which continue to inform future goals:

• Deeply understanding the centre's assets and asset lifecycles, and developing and enhancing facilities maintenance policies and processes, with the aim of deferring asset depreciation and meeting the highest possible maintenance standards for critical assets.

• Establishing and continuing to promote a truly warm, dynamic team culture where everyone knows that they belong and can show up as themselves every day at work.

• Creating and reinforcing strong, diverse supplier and contractor partnerships to meet the operational goals of both Serco and Corrective Services NSW.

• Prioritising innovation, scenario planning, continuous system improvements and upskilling to ensure our people and service delivery are always safe, efficient and proactive.

As we celebrate World FM Day, Serco is proud that our FM team at CLA serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of resilience, adaptability and best practice in facilities management. It is through their unwavering dedication and innovative spirit that Serco continues to be able to impact a better future for our staff, community and those in our care at CLA, making it easier to not just survive but thrive in a world of change.

Alex Robison - Asset Supervisor

The remarkable dedication and drive of Alex Robinson, newly appointed as Asset Supervisor at CLA, highlight how the world of asset management and lifecycle has transformed from a behind-the-scenes function to a strategic enabler in complex operating environments. That’s certainly the case at CLA, where Alex has made a significant impact, transitioning into his current role from a background as a trade overseer in corrections.

Personally tackling responsibilities that typically require a team of asset supervisors and managers, Alex shares that he oversees more than 130,000 assets onsite. However, with exceptional skills and a commitment to excellence, Alex is not happy just maintaining the status quo – his work speaks to his continuous drive for improvement, agility and efficiency.

In demonstration of these qualities, Alex has already revolutionised CLA's asset register and tracking systems, achieving standards never before seen at the centre. Further, despite being relatively new to his role, Alex has already successfully overseen CLA’s asset reconciliation, enhanced asset management fund allocation, and developed a comprehensive lifecycle plan for 2025. Alex’s plan sets even higher centre benchmarks, going beyond maintenance and replacement to strategising how asset longevity and performance can be optimised.

Embodying a commitment to Innovation, one of Serco’s key values, Alex is also working on a project supporting studies into Performance Monitoring and Maintenance Planning in FM, in addition to his day-to-day responsibilities. Through the project, Alex is developing innovative methods for streamlining asset data and information, with the aim of the project being to enhance lifecycle management practices at CLA. This initiative also positions Alex as a leader in the field, working at the cutting edge of asset management trends and innovation.