The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club: Ace Technology for the Big Occasion

Prepared by MASS Systems for Facilities Management Journal and Reprinted with Permission

Managing the complex range of buildings services for a large organisation is challenge enough for any buildings engineer, but gearing up for two weeks each year to a world-class sporting event which is truly global in its excitement and media appeal puts an altogether different level of stress into the job.

Wimbledon's Winning Team
Buildings and Services Manager at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTCC) at Wimbledon, John Cox, has invested in an ARCHIBUS Computer Integrated Facilities Management system to provide baseline support all year round, and especially for that famous fortnight in June/July!

With an annual influx of over 400,000 visitors for The Championships, a vast range of buildings of differing ages totalling 63,000 square metres, and a year crowded with sporting events, John Cox and his team are also working with contractors and colleagues on a multi-million pound Development Plan for the Club.

The standard of the buildings services which underpin the Club's activities, like everything else at the AELTCC, is excellence at all times. The critical element which sets The Championships apart from all other tennis events is the outstanding level of service available to all concerned-from the new seats for the disabled on Court No 1, designed for easy access and the best view of play, to the elegant dressing rooms provided for the world's mightiest players.

The high standards of the Club are obvious, from the wooden boards carrying in gold letters the names of the former Club Presidents which still stand at the heart of the wood-panelled members' tennis club, to the state-of-the-art broadcast centre, opened in 1997, where modern communications-TV, radio, press and Internet-reach around the world.

"The big things are taken care of already so we work continually to improve on detail," says John Cox.

John and his team provide all services to the Club and visiting organisations, from basic portering to technical support. With their own electrical, mechanical and carpentry workshops, they also provide in-house maintenance support and control sub-contractors. John is also responsible for designing and implementing in-house buildings projects and controlling all service and utility supply contracts.

Working for the two weeks of The Championships under the spotlight of the world's press and media creates exceptional pressures on the 30-strong building services team.

"We work in the public eye," as John explains. With 297 international press desks, radio stations and 20 fully equipped TV studios broadcasting to 167 countries, that is an understatement.

"The ARCHIBUS system helps us to control the basic elements on the site and track use of assets and space," explains John Cox. "We have to be confident that all of our systems and services are right before The Championships. Every day in a big sporting event has event errors, but with a football match with three event errors, for example, there is time to put things right before the next match a few days later. Anything that fails here has to be put right when the public is in the ground or very rapidly before they come back next day."

Rain is of course the biggest problem for tennis fans and for John Cox and his colleagues, the difficult days occur when 35,000 visitors are wandering around the Club buildings waiting for the rain to stop.

John Cox carries the undoubted pressures of the AELTCC job with a confidence that comes from many years' experience in the Royal Engineers. He is also a firm believer in painstaking preparation and planning for every event. His rationale for acquiring an FM system was to provide control of the multiple aspects of the buildings, reduce waste, produce fuller records and interface more effectively with other departments which are themselves investing in new systems.

"I selected the ARCHIBUS system because of its flexibility," he explains. "I knew I wanted asset tracking and PAT testing of appliances. I also knew that I would want the Cable and Telecommunications Management module when the new media facilities are online. ARCHIBUS was the only system that included all the elements I might want and also made them available on a modular basis."

Planned preventative maintenance is increasingly part of the department's work and data is being entered on the system to enable accurate records to be kept and maintenance schedules followed. "One of the key areas for us has been compliance with SASGA and HSAWA requirements," explained John Cox.

For John himself, having the ARCHIBUS FM system has meant saving time on routine management tasks and also offers a way of re-charging effectively to other cost centres at the Club.

Provision of information on Club space and assets has been a key element in preparation of the Development Plan and the ARCHIBUS FM system is increasingly used to provide information for 'what if' planning scenarios. "Having data visually available through the system helps us with everything from planning to emergency maintenance during The Championships," explained John. "ARCHIBUS brings all the information into the system so we can access it easily, meet statutory requirements and monitor all that we are doing."

New buildings at the All England Club have their own increasingly sophisticated systems, including an intelligent fire alarm system. This, like all the safety systems at the Club, has a high priority and is linked into the ARCHIBUS system.

The Development Plan means that all services have to be maintained against a background of continuing change. The ARCHIBUS system allows John and his team to keep pace with new building and all data on buildings, equipment, and assets is accurately updated.

Space planning and furniture management have been of critical importance in ensuring that the smooth running of the Club is not interrupted unnecessarily by the creation on site of new access roads, tunnels under the famous buildings, new visitors buildings and the Broadcast Centre. "We plan ahead at every stage and the system helps me and the team manage changes around the site as they occur," John explains.

The FM system is also proving invaluable in recording for the future the AELTCC heritage- the drawings of the original buildings from the Edwardian era have all been recorded in AutoCAD which links seamlessly to ARCHIBUS.

The system also allows John and his team to interface effectively with the hundreds of security, catering and other contractors who come to the Club for The Championships and for other events during the year. "We can plan ahead so that they can work effectively and there is no disruption to the smooth running of the Club or the event," explained John.

He especially appreciates the way that the ARCHIBUS user group, organised by MASS Systems, enables users to meet and discuss their various experiences. "MASS Systems has been willing to put me in touch with other users and that gives everybody a benefit. It is useful to be able to share ideas and discuss FM issues with people from other organisations who are using the same technology," John adds. "With a key business system, it is important to have good support from the supplier. MASS Systems has always listened and responded to feedback, which is a good way of working."