Choosing a facilities management and fire safety contractor starts with understanding what your building needs. A routine maintenance visit, a fire door programme and a wider refurbishment can involve very different skills, access arrangements and records.
For an occupied London property, there is another question to answer: how will the work fit around the people using the building? A good proposal should deal with that from the outset, rather than leaving it to the team on site.
Start with the problem you need to solve
Bring together the reports and records behind your enquiry. This might be a fire risk assessment action, recurring equipment faults, an incomplete maintenance history or a planned change to the building.
Separate immediate concerns from longer-term improvements. Explain which areas remain occupied, who manages access and whether several contractors are already involved. You do not need to arrive with a fully designed solution, but a clear brief makes quotations more useful.
If the issue concerns the building's fire-resisting fabric, our guide to passive fire protection surveys explains how to agree a survey scope.
Ask who is responsible for each stage
Find out who will carry out the survey, specify any remedial work, manage delivery and review completion evidence. If specialist subcontractors are involved, ask how their work will be coordinated and checked.
Request evidence of relevant experience, competence, insurance and any certification applicable to the work being proposed. Check what that evidence actually covers. A company's credentials for one activity do not automatically describe its capability in another.
For a combined FM contract, agree where the maintenance team's responsibility ends and where specialist advice or delivery begins.
How will the contractor work around occupants?
Ask for a practical access plan. Depending on the site, that might need to address reception procedures, deliveries, permits, restricted areas, noise, shutdown windows and communication with tenants or residents.
Discuss what happens when access is refused or a visit cannot proceed. Repeated failed visits create delays and costs that a clearer booking process may avoid.
The proposal should also explain how changes are handled. If a survey uncovers additional work, you need a route for reviewing the evidence, agreeing a price and approving the next step.
Look beyond the initial quote
Two quotations are only comparable when their scope is comparable. Check whether each includes surveys, access equipment, making good, documentation and any follow-up visits. Ask what is excluded and what assumptions could change the cost.
For ongoing support, agree the reporting format, escalation contacts and response arrangements. Response times should be stated in the service agreement, particularly where you need support outside normal working hours.
Our article on planned preventative maintenance explains how scheduled work fits into the wider upkeep of a building.
What should happen at handover?
Agree the evidence you expect before work starts. Depending on the work, that may include asset records, photographs, installation details, applicable certificates and outstanding actions.
Ask how your team will receive and store those records. The information needs to remain useful after the project contact has moved on and the next maintenance visit is due.
How can Oracle FM help?
Oracle FM, formerly Oracle Managed Services, is based at 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE, and delivers services across London and the wider UK.
Our services bring together facilities management, maintenance and project delivery. Our fire prevention work covers passive protection, active systems and remedials, with programmes planned around occupied buildings.
To discuss your property, call 0203 137 9467 or contact the Oracle team. Share the site location, the work you have in mind and any existing reports, and we can help clarify the next step.