Serco and the Belgian Ministry of Defence are celebrating the second anniversary of an integrated Facilities Management (IFM) outsourcing contract at the Heverlee and Meerdaal military bases.
The contract was the first the Belgian Ministry of Defence has entered into to outsource full management of installations at a military base to a private company.
Since the outsourcing operations started two years ago, not only has the Belgian army been able to release 60 soldiers from non-military tasks so they could concentrate on their core mission, but the outsourcing to Serco has considerably improved the daily lives of soldiers at the two bases.
Serco has been providing an integrated range of eleven FM services on the Heverlee and Meerdaal military bases including the maintenance of buildings and infrastructure facilities, accommodation, pest control, winter services, landscaping, cleaning and restoration under an agreement that includes:
All of these tasks are being successfully co-ordinated through a one-stop help desk and the introduction of innovative catering and ‘Topdesk’ apps for smartphones.
Since the start of the contract more than 30 new jobs have been created locally, bringing economic benefits to the local communities.
Commenting on the anniversary, Miguel Delacroix, General Manager of Serco Belgian subsidiary, says: "Two years later, we are proud to say we make a difference: 60 soldiers can focus on their core missions again; daily visits at the canteen have tripled; the digitalisation of our monitoring and maintenance services are a success and energy management as well as hygiene and security have greatly improved."
"The soldiers themselves seem very satisfied with the quality of services provided by Serco, and we are pleased with this collaboration and feel Serco colleagues constantly seek to improve services and find solutions", explains a member of the Belgian Special Forces.
Lieutenant-Colonel Christoph Berlaimont, Directorate General Material Resources, who has overseen the implementation of the project, adds: "Thanks to this partnership we are now able to focus more on our core mission.
Outsourcing non-military services made us achieve in a few months what would have taken several years for us to set up.
In brief: more services, less concern, with a greater satisfaction from soldiers."
