What Does That Mean?
First, we need to explain. The government is large and has a wide variety of facilities management needs. According the General Services Administration website, “GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, offering billions of dollars worth of products, services, and facilities that federal agencies need to serve the public.” Facilities management is one of these. While they have several mechanisms for this, one of them known as the GSA 03FAC Multiple Award Schedule has over 1800 vendors that various government offices can choose from. Based on total sales, LB&B reached the number 2 spot on this list in 2012, and is now celebrating it’s 5th year as the number one supplier of Facilities Management services on this list.
Our place as first of the 1800 is a source of pride for our team. It gives us a chance to recognize our people for a job well done. It also encourages us to stay focused on the needs of our customers. It guarantees we will continue to expand our expertise to meet those needs. It ensures we will continue to hire the best people we can, train them well, and empower them to make good decisions.
Hard Work and Team Work
I asked Rick Franz, Executive Senior VP here at LB&B about what he thinks keeps us at the top of this list. “Our team works hard. They go above and beyond wherever possible to make sure the facilities we manage are always welcoming to the clients and public, and support a healthy work environment.” I asked him if the same is true for our commercial clients.
“Absolutely. It used to be that most of our clients were government,” he said. “In the last few years however, we’ve been working with more commercial clients with large headquarters, or special buildings like commercial spaces, museums, arts venues and universities. They appreciate the breadth of services and the quality of our customer communications. They also appreciate the expertise we built up serving the public sector – especially around security and “green” buildings,” he responded.
LB&B’s government facilities management clients include a wide variety of agencies. We’re doing everything from diagnosing boiler issues at the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), to ensuring the public and employees alike are well served at the United States National Archives.
Every month we get positive feedback from our government clients. Here are a couple of recent emails about the good work of our facilities management teams.
“I wanted to take a moment to thank … the whole team (and subcontractors) who worked tirelessly on the boiler situation at CMS [Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services]. It is truly in times of need that the expertise and ingenuity of your team shine through. We appreciate all the time and effort and are extremely grateful that we have such dedicated partners operating the facility with us. Thank you! “
—Claire (Bonner) Richardson, Baltimore Field Office Manager, GSA-Region 3, Property Management Division
“The three Nursing Mother’s Rooms that were just finished look and function wonderfully. This is a perfect example of how LB&B works with NARA to develop a plan that not only satisfies the customer, but also saves taxpayer money. Please thank all of your people that were involved for a job well done. “
—Don Overfelt, Chief Facilities and Property Branch, National Archives & Records Administration
Looking Forward
We’ve been doing this for over 20 years. We’ve had the honor to support our government and our troops. Knowing that we have earned this top spot year after year, energizes us. We make a promise to our employees and our clients that we will continue to learn and grow as our clients’ needs do. We will continue to commit ourselves to great customer communications and service. We look forward to earning the confidence of all of our clients – pubic and private – again next year.