Workplace Asset Inventories

Text: Peter Bekkering

Three years ago the separate facility departments of the Custodial Institutions Service (DJI) were merged into one facility company. In order to manage the inventory properly, it had to be inventoried first.

Peter Holtrop is Facility Manager for the Judicial Institutions Service (DJI), Cluster Northwest, and Manager ESF Bureau North at the Ministry of Justice. DJI has both correctional facilities (CF) and offices in its portfolio. When Holtrop looks at the offices, he signals that DJI is still catching up in many ways. “We have desks that are not adjustable, and the flex space ratio of 0.7 is only a recent development. ”

The current organisational set-up of facility company DJI is only three years old. Before then, each CF and office had its own director and its own facility services department. Holtrop: “This meant that the office furnishings depended heavily on the director’s choices. There was no straightforward policy. ”

Structural Change

The structure changed three years ago when DJI was designated as one of the four Concern Service Providers. Together with Rijkwaterstaat, FM Haaglanden and the Tax Authorities, they are responsible for the entire facility services in central government. From that moment on, there was one facility company within DJI with seventeen clusters. Each cluster has several locations and was subsequently assigned a facility manager.

One of the problems in the new setup was that there was no overview of their furnishings at DJI. It was therefore necessary to conduct an inventory, but at the same time also look at the condition of the furnishments. Where did we have three categories: good, moderate or bad. The results are then processed in an executive report, which is created for each cluster. Holtrop: “We wanted it to be as short as possible to avoid disruptions in our organisation. A one-time observation that does not compromise on quality. It was therefore decided to do an inventory on building and storey level, instead of on room level. This consideration was an important decision in the preparation of this process and a recommendation for anyone who wants to get started. We clearly indicated at what level our information needs were and Measuremen proceded to present an accurate project planning with a complete hour estimate based on this, in order to arrive at a good balance between lead time and information density. In total, fourteen employees of Measuremen spent eight months in 2018 on the established inventory and coordination. In 2019, eleven employees measured approximately one third of the total scope during one month.

In 2019, Holtrop was asked to do the inventory management. One of the first choices Holtrop made was to not work with chip barcodes. “That is related to my experiences within DJI: we drag a lot from one department to another and often throw away what we do not like. I have therefore proposed to do the inventory at building level instead of departmental level. And to make sure we keep the front and back doors closed. “He explains the latter:” There is also a shift of inventory between buildings. To ensure that this runs smoothly, we are working together with an agency, the Bureau Inventory Management and Order Desk (BIBB). “The BIBB has two parts: Marketplace and Inventory Management. Holtrop: “I founded Marketplace because as DJI we believe that reuse or refurbishing should be more important than new purchases. Initially, finance was the main motive, but in recent years, reducing CO2 emissions and circularity have become increasingly important. It is now handled differently with old desks and other furnishings: they were previously disassembled and thrown away, now they are placed on Marketplace, whether or not after they have been refurbished. And so “the back door is closed”. If something turns out to be non-replaceable, it will be auctioned through the intervention of the tax authorities. When something is in such a bad state that it has to be thrown away, we provide proof to the Tax Authorities. With that we will receive official permission to throw something away.” All these actions are updated in the administration so that the management of inventory remains in order.

In time, The Marketplace has delivered the desired result. Holtrop: “That we can now map this out is only possible because we conducted an inventory at first.” He then zoomed in on the results: “In 2019, we saved 517,702 kilos of CO2 thanks to Marketplace, 12,800 resources were moved to new locations inside and outside DJI and 133 desks were refurbished and installed within DJI. In addition, a net saving has also been realised. And in fact, the picture of CO2 savings is even better than expected: we only calculated this over a limited scope: office chair, conference chair, sitting desk, sitting desk, conference table and sliding door cabinets. Those furnishings make up about half of the total. Holtrop has now mapped the inventory using observations from Measuremen and has drawn up an integral replacement plan for the next three years. “The starting point is that we will replace everything that is of moderate or bad quality over the next three years. Then we made an order list and plan.. Due to the large size – 60 locations – phasing is necessary. The BIBB facilitates this by keeping track of the internal movements of furnishings. In addition, the BIBB takes care of restocking the inventory. We first look at what we have left, afterwards BIBB orders what we still need. That way we also “closed the front door”, everything comes in via the BIBB. ” As a result the BIBB knows, in addition to the number of furnishings that go out of the locations, which furnishings also arrive at the locations. Because of this all changes in inventory numbers are tracked. This gives the BIBB an up-to-date insight into the exact numbers and locations of the inventory. Now that it is in order via BIBB, Holtrop wants to conduct an additional observation together with Measuremen. “With such an observation, we want to check whether everything is still in order. Then we want to take the next step in 2021: how do we safeguard this? From an administration standpoint we can do this by means of an inventory. And when observing, we want to replace a complete survey with a representative sample. Instead we would be doing test samples instead of a full survey. That is also much more practical, because in the end we are talking at 60 locations with almost 300,000 items. ”

Logistic Challenges

Replacing furniture in a CF presents a number of specific logistical challenges, says Holtrop: “You are dealing with a high-security system and many closed doors. In addition, there are often no lifts and only stairs. And you need the cooperation of a prisoner to replace the furniture in his cell because ultimately the cell is “his” room. The latter is done through the local facility manager and the department heads. Because of this breach of personal space, we decided to conduct the inventory of the inhabited sections on a sample basis: in a series of ten similar cells, three cells were observed and the number of elements to be enumerated was then extrapolated. ”

Furthermore, anyone entering the gate of a CF must have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This also applies to all Measuremen employees who carried out the observations- the basic theorem in 2018 and the inventories in stages thereafter. There are, incidentally, strictly guarded departments where there is no observing because nobody is allowed to go there. Not even external staff. Because of the exclusion, there is a small deviation from the total, perhaps one percent. However, these are percentages that are also acceptable to an accountant. They also show that no matter how well you organise the system, you will never have 100 percent attendance. ”

Lessons Learned

According to Holtrop, one of the lessons learned is the importance of early planning. “The 2019 census took place in the summer period due to the availability of employees, mostly students, and the holiday peak of your own staff. This means that you run the risk of counting, with minimal security from your own staff. That sometimes turned out to be a stress factor in terms of planning. ”

Another lesson learned emerged from the observations. “For example, we had a series of 80 comparable beds, all of which were purchased at the same time. A third of them turned out to be in bad shape. Instead of just replacing that part, we decided to replace all the beds in that series. That choice has an advantage. You can then say: they have now been replaced and that will no longer be necessary for the next twenty years. ”

When the phased observations are over and all the mediocre and poor furniture has been replaced in the next three years, Holtrop eventually wants to fashion a Multi-Year Maintenance Plan (MJOP) for the 60 locations.

Measuremen

Mike Kaandorp supervised the project as a project manager by “recounting the inventory” on behalf of Measuremen: “At Measuremen we were able to carry out the project at DJI on behalf of and together with Twynstra Gudde. At the end of 2017, Measuremen was one of the few parties that dared to venture into such a large project without there being a number of standard guidelines for carrying out the inventory. These guidelines and agreements were agreed upon during the project meetings. The project was led by a project group led by Twynstra Gudde with people from both DJI and Measuremen. This combination meant that we have communicated a lot and have successfully completed the project. In advance, I indicated to the employees of Measuremen that we would send them to places to work where they normally do not come and will likely not come again in the future: the CFs, for example. This is to emphasize once again that this is a special project. The fact that you, as an employee, take stock of all places in a CF, gives you an idea of what is “going on behind the walls” at this branch of the national government.

Also special about this project was that Measuremen had never carried out such a large project before: the number of locations, elements, and the lead time were a special and educational experience. “Really the exception compared to our regular building inventories. Our standard inventory tool has also been adapted specifically for this project, which means that we are now able to execute projects of this size faster, better, and even more professionally. ”

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Workplace Asset Inventory – DJI