The ASSIST FM 2023 conference was held on Thursday 18th-19th May at The Hilton Hotel in Glasgow. The two day event was extremely successful and well attended by 28 Local Authority council delegates, guests, speakers, suppliers and our loyal partners. The Conference theme was ‘What’s your reality?’ looking into the future of the facilities management industry and really delving deep into the reality of what the future holds. 

Chris Ross, ASSIST FM Chair stated, ‘It was a wonderful two days to catch up with colleagues, suppliers and reflect upon the incredible achievements of Local Authority service providers in Scotland.  The conference was a real opportunity to hear from some inspirational speakers on a wide range of topics, operational matters to the wider national agenda. Our wide and varied range of suppliers this year added real innovation to the public sector, rounded off by a wonderful events reception to award those public sector heroes! 

The Conference had 55 exhibitors, 15 who are long time partners, 37 recurring suppliers and 3 brand new ones. The seminar sessions led by past Chair Keith Breasley and included talks from Brian Costello at Headstrong and Gordon McIntyre from Hospitality health talking about the importance of mental health in the workplace. We heard from Public Sector Alliance, Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Cleaning and Hygiene Suppliers Association and many more. Keynote speaker Cor Hutton wowed the room with her inspiring story and left everyone on a high! 

ASSIST FM held a competition this year which determined the menu at The Hilton Hotel conference gala dinner – Local Authority Cook of the year. The competition allowed 6 Local Authorities to compete at The Braehead Cook School in March, where Willie Pike and Bruce Sangstar judged the 6 applicants and whittled the number down to three – Best starter, main and dessert, who all competed in the final at The Hilton and the winner was announced at the evening gala dinner. The winner of the competition was Nicola Arnold from Edinburgh Council. 

The Gala Dinner included 10 National Awards. Hosted by ASSIST FM’s very own Keith Breasley: 

Outstanding Contribution to Cleaning
Sponsored by GT Cleaning
The winner was Stirling Council

Outstanding Contribution to Catering
Sponsored by CRB Cunningham
The winner was Shetland Council

Outstanding Contribution to FM Services
Sponsored by Alliance Catering Equipment & Disposables
The winner was Edinburgh City Council

Local Authority Innovation Award
Sponsored by James Scott & Sons
The winner was West Lothian

Climate Initiative Award
Sponsored by Muller Milk and Ingredients
The winner was West Lothian

Digital and Technology Award
Sponsored by Tropical Ice
The winner was West Lothian

Community Focus Award
Sponsored by McCain Foods
The winner was Argyll and Bute Council

Supplier of The Year
Sponsored by ASSIST FM
The winner was Nilfisk

Grab and Go Award
Sponsored by Brakes
The winner was East Renfrewshire Council

Local Authority Cook of the Year
Sponsored by Muller Milk and Ingredients
First Place – Nicola Arnold, Edinburgh Council
Second Place – Martyn Cuthbert, East Ayrshire Council
Third Place – Jamie Kimmett, Stirling Council

We then enjoyed a night full of fun – ABBA tribute band, Voyage followed by a DJ. Everyone danced the night away.

Here are some quotes from the attendees:
 “It was invaluable to participate in Assist FM’s conference in Glasgow last week. IFAN is very grateful indeed for all the support we received.”
Maria Marshall – Independent Food Aid Network – ASSIST FM 2023 Charity Partner

“We had such an incredible time at the ASSIST FM conference.  It was a key opportunity for us to promote our School Plates programme in Scotland and THE place to network and be informed on current issues facing local authorities in Scotland.”
ProVeg – First time supplier

For further information please contact alan@totalizemedia.co.uk or 

sarah.duff@totalizemedia.co.uk.

For the first time we have created a stand-alone website for the ASSIST FM Conference – www.assistfmconference.co.uk

Please visit it for more information about 2018’s Conference.The 18th ASSIST FM Conference takes place in Glasgow on 23-24 August 2018, with an exhibitor set up day on Wednesday 22 August. This year for our conference there is an ‘Agents of Change’ theme and we will be highlighting speakers relevant to the ‘Year of Young People’ who are our future Agents of Change!

We will also have our supplier exhibition and ASSIST FM National Awards:

ASSIST FM Scottish School Cook of The Year

BEBL School Award Winners

ASSIST FM Catering Team of The Year

ASSIST FM Cleaning Team of The Year

ASSIST FM School Crossing Patroller of The Year

ASSIST FM Janitor or Caretaker of the Year

ASSIST FM Making A Difference Award

ASSIST FM National Chair Award

Keep watching the Conference website for further details on speakers, and conference content.

ASSIST CONFERENCE 2013 – TALKING HEADS29-30 August – Caledonian University, GlasgowThis years ASSIST conference, sponsored by Muller Wiseman, will be held in Glasgow for the third year running. The venue for the Conference and Exhibition is Glasgow Caledonian University. The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Talking Heads’.Conference Delegates will be coming from councils all over Scotland from Highland and Moray in the north to the Scottish Borders in the south, and will include the decision makers for purchasing FM related products. As Bill Kennedy, National Chair of ASSIST states, ‘Our theme for the Conference this year is ‘Talking Heads’ – one of the key objectives for ASSIST is to generate discussion and information-sharing between councils – we are not in competition with each other and we need to share best practice and lessons learned. That’s what the launch of our Scottish School Meals site has been all about. It is really important for each authority to look at ways it can improve its service, even when budgets are being cut. Marketing is an important part of that mix.’This year ASSIST has great mix of speakers including Rory Mair, Chief Executive Officer, COSLA, David Mories from The Glasgow 2014, Commonwealth Games organisation, Elsie Downham of The Soil Association, Colin Mair, Chief Executive Officer of The Improvement Service, Marie-Claire James of The Federation of Chefs Scotland, and James Anthony. Each of our speakers will give their own individual takes on what the delegates can do to develop their business. We purposely invited key influencers from government and local authorities this year to give us their take on the future of Facilities management within Scottish local authorities. Bill goes on to say, ‘ASSIST as an organisation was established to create and present a shared voice on all matters relating to Facilities Management throughout Scotland’s 32 local authorities. The organisation is even more important today than ever. As it is a difficult year for council finances we have frozen our delegate fee at £95, thanks in part to sponsorship from Muller Wiseman, and our exhibitors. We work closely with all our suppliers and our exhibition this year will have 46 stands. All will be exhibiting products that fit our members specifications, and some have created products specifically for our market.’The format for the conference will remain as in past years with the supplier exhibition taking place on Day One.

Exhibitors this year include:

BRAKES, UNICO, PREMIER, CRB, MULLER, CALYPSO, BATLEYS, GREEN GOURMET, QUORN3663, CATERINGFALCON, MCCAIN, FOOD PARTNERS, ARROW SUPPLIES, COOLDELIGHT, MULLER WISEMAN, HARFIELD, NRS, NISBETS, DIVERSEY, THERMOBOX, SPACERIGHT, PARENT PAY, FDH, AGBARR, UK FOODHALL, COOK SCHOOL, FIFE CREAMMERY, GT CLEANING, SECRET SAUSAGES, SCOMAC, HOBART, SOIL ASSOCIATION, ER MOFFAT, UNILEVER, CONTRACT FURNITURE SPECIALISTS, IDEAL, BUNZL CHS, BUNZL CATERING SUPPLIES, DR OETKER, PASTA KING, ROLLOVER, MAKRO, KARCHER, ETI,CARING INT, NESTLE

Bill Kennedy is keen that ASSIST continues to address important issues for all its members. ‘This year we will be launching a major Commonwealth Promotion as well as highlighting updates to our website, running a third Scottish School Cook of The Year promotion, and introducing a new ASSIST Awards scheme for Scotland.There will be three awards at this year’s conference:

ASSIST Chair Award – last year’s winner was Craig Stevenson of Braehead Foods, for services to industry and continued support of ASSIST.

ASSIST Scottish School Cook of The Year – last year won by Norrie Scott of Tayside Contracts.

ASSIST Best Stand – last year won by Green Gourmet. The ASSIST website is www.assistfm.comThe School meals site is at www.scottishschoolmeals.co.ukIf you wish to contact ASSIST please email: info@assistfm.com or call Alan Cunningham for more information on 07768 584517.

ASSIST’s 15th annual Conference was roundly received as the best conference ever.

Bill Kennedy, passing on the National Chair position to Alistair McIntyre of the Scottish Borders stated, ‘I’m proud of our services and also I’m proud of what ASSIST has achieved over the last 15 years. In the last three years under my tenure we have seen the launch of our consumer facing website, www.scottishschoolmeals.co.uk. We have put on some great promotions such as ‘The Culinary Games’, ‘Scottish School Meals Week‘ and this year’s ‘Year of Food and Drink’ promotion with Education Scotland and The Scottish Food and Drink Federation. ASSIST is more important today than ever. ASSIST is the national voice for our services, and we have become a real conduit between government agencies and local authorities.’

Speakers at the Conference were, Gavin Stevenson, CEO Dumfries & Galloway Council, Pete Ritchie, Director, Nourish Scotland, Fergus Chambers, Past National Chair ASSIST FM, Cyrus Todiwala, Chef Patron of Cafe Spice Namaste, Myles Bremner, Director, School Food Plan, Lesley Kirkwood, HNI, Rachel McAdams, NHS Scotland and Gary Ennis, of NS Design, Gavin Stevenson spoke about his vision for Dumfries & Galloway Council and the move to creating an enterprising focussed Department. Pete Ritchie, discussed the work of Nourish Scotland and paid particular credence to what was going on in Denmark. Fergus Chambers, walked us through the last 15 years with a personal and enjoyable take on past Conferences and initiatives. Cyrus gave an inspirational talk about using Scottish produce, and showed us why he has won many sustainable awards for his championing of British farmers. He also gave us a whirlwind talk about the cuisine of India – just don’t call it a curry anymore!

Myles Bremner, began day 2 with a discussion of the initiatives taking place in England and Wales, whilst Lesley Kirkwood shared information on the BEBL project, the importance of partnership working together and gave us an indication of what was happening with the forthcoming education Scotland showcase event at the SECC. Rachel McAdams discussed the evaluation of the impact of free school meals in the Primary 1-Primary 3 group. To finish the conference, Gary Ennis gave an interesting talk about the dangers of social media and pointed out how much more strict we are in Scotland over seemingly innocent tweets and posts. The Awards were given out at the Gala Dinner on the Thursday evening. Awards went to:

Best stand award – Love Joes

ASSIST Catering Team of The Year 2015, sponsored by UK Foodhall, was the team from the West End Campus, Dundee

The ASSIST Cleaning Team of The Year 2015, sponsored by Arrow Supplies, was Valley Primary School, Fife

The ASSIST CROSSING PATROLLER of The Year 2015 was Pearl Rendall of Aberdeen City Council.

The ASSIST Scottish School Cook of The Year was Helen Roebuck of Stirling Council

There were two National Chair awards for 2015 given to David Cochrane of HIT Scotland and Alan Cunningham of Totalize Media. This year’s exhibition was a great success with 52 exhibitors and a record number of delegates (188), and many suppliers have already asked to have stands reserved for next year!

Alistair McIntyre, the new national Chair of the organisation, summed up the conference thanking the superb speakers as well as the partner suppliers, and Conference sponsor Muller-Wiseman, for all their support. He laid out his plans for the next three years and stated. ‘One thing is for certain is that as an industry we have got many excellent dedicated staff who want to do their best for their local authority. And really that’s what ASSIST as an organisation wants too – we want to help our members – to give them information, and a sounding block to air their challenges, to give them opportunities to highlight their skill sets, and to shout about the successes that many of our organisations deliver. I hope and I am sure that the good work that ASSIST has done over the last 15 years will carry on for many years to come.’.

ASSIST Conference 25th/26th August 2016

Glasgow City Hotel and Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow

The annual conference will be held in Glasgow for a sixth year. The ASSIST Conference has become the premier Conference for FM suppliers within the Scottish Local authorities. The theme for the conference is ‘Innovation’ in keeping with the fact that it is The Scottish Government’s Year of Innovation. The format will remain as last year’s conference – with the supplier exhibition taking place on Day One from 12 noon to 4pm (in the Glasgow City Hotel Ballroom). The delegate sessions on Day One will take place in the Robert Burns Suite in the same hotel, whilst the delegate sessions on Day Two will be in the Grand Central Hotel. (The Glasgow City Hotel is situated at the following address – Cambridge Street Glasgow G2 3HN – website address; www.thehotelcollection.co.uk/hotels/glasgow-city-hotel We do hope that you will be able to join us at the ASSIST Conference 2016.

If you wish to attend as a delegate or as an exhibitor please contact alanc@totalizemedia.co.uk

The 18th Annual ASSIST FM Conference took place in the Hilton Glasgow on the 23rd and 24th August 2018 and it was the biggest conference yet with more delegates and suppliers attending than ever before.We kicked off our delegate seminars on Thursday morning with an opening address from ASSIST FM’s chair, Keith Breasley, welcoming delegates from all over Scotland to the conference. Our Keynote speaker Cleland Sneddon, CEO of Argyll & Bute Council who presented his vision for Argyll & Bute, how young people are at the heart of the council’s outcomes and what Argyll & Bute are doing to support young people to become agents for change. He also touched on national strategies, the role of Facilities Management and challenges for Facilities Management going forward.

Cleland Sneddon, CEO of Argyll & Bute Council

Last month saw the annual ASSIST FM Conference come to Glasgow in its 19th year with the theme of ‘Watchers on the Wall’ tying together the TV phenomenon, Game of Thrones, and the role that ASSIST FM plays in watching over its services and protecting them in difficult conditions.

On day one, Dr Jeremy Leach presented to a packed out seminar on his Nudge Theory which looks at ‘how to nudge people using behavioural sciences’ and how to apply this to the FM sector. Jeanette Orrey MBE followed, delving into her impressive career from dinner lady to the founder of Food for Life and becoming a commissioner on Food and Poverty with the Fabian Society in 2015. Dr Colin Espie, Professor of Sleep Medicine from the University of Oxford presented on ‘What is Sleep and Why Does it Matter?’, providing an insightful look into the importance of sleep and the workplace. The seminars then concluded with an emotional and inspirational session from Nigel Owens MBE, the Welsh international Rugby Referee who truly captivated the audience.

The feedback from delegates was fantastic and Sue Nield of Highland Council said that “I especially enjoyed the speakers this year, the messages they shared are especially important due to the ever-challenging climates ahead.”

After the seminar, delegates were invited to attend the biggest ASSIST FM Conference Exhibition to date, with more suppliers in attendance than ever before, including a number of organisations new to the event such as Nespresso Professional and The Scottish Salmon Company. ASSIST FM also continued with their fantastic initiative backed by Hobart UK and Brakes Scotland to get the exhibitors to donate any unconsumed stock to a local food bank, combating food waste as well as supporting a local cause.

Jason McKeon from Unilever Food Solutions described the Conference as a “Great opportunity to chat with Local Authorities, Buyers, Industry leaders and decision-makers over 2 days” and “the best in class industry event for FM in the UK by a mile.”

Day two saw an update for Local Authorities from Education Scotland delivered by Shirley Beattie which sparked great discussion from the delegates in attendance. Paul Fletcher and Kevin Onanu from Achieve More Scotland spoke about their work to tackle poverty and ‘enable the life chances and health and wellbeing of young people and families at risk’. Catherine Agnew, Chief Inspector for Children at the Care Inspectorate discussed the role of the Care Inspectorate and the upcoming partnership that will be developed between the Care Inspectorate and Local Authority FM services. Gary Ennis of NS Design provided a compelling crash course in getting the most out of Social Media and the importance of developing your online presence. Most notably though was the presentation from Dr John McKendrick of Glasgow Caledonian University where he shared the research findings that himself and a team of students have been working on for ASSIST FM on issues pertaining to School Meals Provision in Scotland. The research will be published by Glasgow Caledonian University and ASSIST FM in the coming months.

The ASSIST FM Conference 2019 was a fantastic and informative event that has become unsurpassable for the Facilities Management sector in Scotland.

Delegates and suppliers alike heralded the 2005 A.S.S.I.S.T. Conference as a great success. The conference began with an interesting and challenging talk from Paul O’Brien, CEO of APSE. This was followed by an excellent Supplier Exhibition. Winner of the Best Stand competition went to Jan Harding at Creative Interiors.In the afternoon of the first day there were three workshops hosted by Des Murray of APSE, Ken Campbell, Vice Chair of A.S.S.I.S.T., and Gordon Gray of Glasgow City Council. Day One of the conference came to a close with a superb talk by World Athletic Champion, Steve Cram.

Day Two started with the launch of the RHM Healthier School Meals Competition and was followed by two extremely interesting talks from Caroline Gardner, Deputy Auditor General and Controller of Audit, Audit Scotland and Scott Haldane, Director of Finance, National Services Scotland (NHS). Later in the morning a presentation by Les Dalrymple, Deputy Chief Executive of East Renfrewshire Council opened a lively debate on Modernising Employment and Equal Pay.

The Chairperson’s Award for Services to the Industry was presented to Lynne Howe of Tayside Contracts, who recently won the title UK School Cook of the Year. Another highlight of the conference was the launch of the A.S.S.I.S.T. Research Project, copies of which were available to all delegates. Please fill in our contact form to request a copy of the report.