How do you ensure that everything – from the heating to the canteen – runs smoothly in a global company? Mark Marburger is responsible for Facility Services at Fresenius and provides technical and infrastructural support for the company’s various locations. What unforeseen challenges can throw a spanner in the works during his day? Find out in this interview.
My official job title is “Manager of Facility Service Management”. I look after the services relating to the company’s infrastructure. My department is part of the Real Estate Management division, along with Technology and Workplace Management. It spans from managing external service providers to maintenance, repairs and fault reports. Then there are responsibilities like cleaning, the postal service, the canteens, waste management, looking after plants, winter service and lots more besides. We coordinate all of these tasks and ensure that everything functions in a reliable fashion. We also monitor performance and consumption.
I tend to begin my day by checking messages to see if something isn’t working properly – the classic problem! This could be heating, lighting, toilets, a coffee machine, etc. I work closely with our service providers – they are in charge of maintaining and servicing the equipment, as well as sending out technicians to resolve any issues on site. In the case of larger repair works, we carry out a tendering process and choose the best supplier. We conduct conventional monitoring and reporting. So we monitor whether the agreed response times are adhered to and whether the services provided are done correctly. We also keep an eye on energy efficiency and track the use of utilities like electricity, heating, water and air conditioning. We are constantly trying to optimize our consumption so we can save energy and, of course, money.
The people making up our team are all very different but we all have our own specialist area of expertise. Our tasks barely overlap at all, so we are constantly drawing on the knowledge and expertise of others. We complement each other really well. It is also essential, of course, that we are all team players and are able to communicate openly. Sometimes you need to just say “I’m not familiar with that” or “this isn’t my area of expertise” and ask other people for help. We work on most projects as a team.
I love the unpredictability of my job – it makes it really interesting. No two days are the same. Sometimes I’m optimizing heating systems, sometimes I’m conducting sustainability reports or dealing with spontaneous technical issues. I enjoy working to overcome these different challenges and I am always thinking about the well-being of the people who work here. After all, the core business cannot run properly without a functioning infrastructure. I also enjoy the personal contact – both with my colleagues and with our local service providers. Even though I can do lots of tasks remotely, I like to be present on site. After all, the main thing is to make people feel good. When our colleagues see and recognize that we are working on resolving issues, these are the moments that make my job worthwhile.
We need to and want to pay closer attention to sustainability than was the case a few years ago. With the canteen, for example, we have the policy to only source regional produce and to focus more on healthier options. We are also really focused on producing less waste and improving recycling. Or to do with consumption: our various tracking systems mean that we can identify if heating is running on full blast on days when it is not necessary, for example.
I trained as an estate agent and then studied Real Estate Economics. I spent the last ten years working in asset management on the property ownership side. Interestingly, Fresenius was one of my tenants here in Bad Homburg. When my former company was sold, I saw it as an opportunity to make a change and to bring my expertise to the tenant side. I saw the job ad by chance and decided to apply.
As someone who has previously worked in small companies, I really appreciate the range of benefits you get at Fresenius. The excellent canteen, flexible working hours, great atmosphere in the coffee bars and market places all create a real feel-good factor. These additional perks have become increasingly important. You get a lot of benefits that can’t be valued in monetary terms but that make the working day enjoyable.
I find it really satisfying when we are able to ensure that the technical infrastructure functions properly and runs smoothly thanks to our forward-looking planning and coordination. Colleagues often take it for granted but a lot of work goes into achieving this behind the scenes. I am especially pleased when optimizations like intelligent control of heating systems mean that we don’t just cut costs but are also contributing to our sustainability goals.
Thank you for the interview Mark!