Mobilising the BNP Paribas City Portfolio

How do you deliver a smooth, disruption-free start when 21 commercial buildings change maintenance provider at once? 

Gratte Brothers | Building Services Maintenance mobilised 21 BNP Paribas Real Estate buildings across London, welcoming 14 experienced colleagues via TUPE. 

The challenge was to keep services running smoothly, while integrating people, processes and systems into Gratte Brothers’ operating model. We needed day one to feel organised, compliant and not rushed. To achieve this, we planned each step carefully from pre-mobilisation through to post mobilisation, with clear documentation, live digital access and early assurance work helping to remove problems before the first day had even begun. 

We anchored the work in two phases: pre-mobilisation to ready people, systems, and asset registers, and post-mobilisation to deepen assurance and embed a “one team” culture. Ahead of going live, we prioritised PPM planners aligned with statutory asset maintenance  , client compliance ecosystem access and updates, and IT provisioning so that engineers arrived to a familiar, well-equipped environment. 

Immediately after going live, we accelerated asset validation and condition reporting across all mobile and resident sites, while pre-prepared logbook roll-out and CAFM structures established clear visibility of tasks, compliance and performance. Recognising the scale of the contract, a Mobilisation Manager  was appointed for six months. In addition.  senior engineers were embedded for the first four months to mentor teams, stabilise communication, and uphold standards. Governance from the Mobilisation Manager ensured weekly site presence during ramp up, clear escalation, and consistent reporting to leadership and client stakeholders.  

“A mobilisation of this scale requires strong governance and clear structure. By investing early in documentation, systems, and on-site support, we were able to protect service continuity and strengthen compliance. 

Communication at all levels was critical. To support this, we implemented a soft-landing approach, whereby our supervisors, who are engineers themselves, were present on site to guide and support the engineering teams. They explained key procedures, reinforced expectations, and helped drive communication from the ground up.” 

Tristan Goddard 
Operations Director, Gratte Brothers | Building Services Maintenance 

We brought the strategy to life by delivering the work in two phases: pre-mobilisation and post-mobilisation assurance.  

1. Pre-mobilisation: Getting People, Systems and Sites Ready 

Before the contract began, we focused on building strong foundations. We completed and uploaded the PPM planners and aligned them to statutory compliance assets. We also secured compliance ecosystem access so that the team could check and update plans in real time. Engineers also received their IT equipment (PC’s, laptops, phones) so they could start working smoothly from the first hour.  

Alongside this, we created the Master Logbook and specialist subcontractor logbooks for fire, water and other systems. These gave each site a single organised place for statutory records and daily reference.  

“It felt well organised. A lot of documents had already been set up, ready for us to make site specific, which helped massively. Also, the site folders and PC had been delivered to sites on the first and second day of the contract.” 

Miguel Decaires
Account Manager, Gratte Brothers | Building Services Maintenance 

On day one, our CAFM system, Job Logic, was fully live with planned tasks, SLAs and reactive workflows visible to engineers and supervisors. Mobile supervisors were present across key locations to help teams, solve issues quickly and build confidence in the new systems.  

“Having the PC and folders on site, and the support of the [existing] Mobile Supervisors , was priceless… this support for us as a team, the site engineers and mobile supervisors was extremely well received by all.” 

Miguel Decaires
Account Manager, Gratte Brothers | Building Services Maintenance
 

2.Post-Mobilisation: validating the Estate and Embedding Standards 

After going live, we worked systematically across the estate to validate assets and document their condition. Mobile engineer sites typically required up to two days for familiarisation and validation, two more for condition reporting, and one for compiling findings. Across the portfolio, the longest full cycle forecast was around 70 days. 

Resident sites followed the same structure but with deeper surveys, taking up to 28 days in total.  

During this phase, we also rolled out IT and logbook setups across all buildings and produced the Site Supervisor Handbooks, complete with SOP’s and EOP’s, for all 21 buildings. Health and Safety was central throughout. In the lead-up to go-live, Gratte Brothers’ Health Safety and Wellbeing Advisor aligned risk assessments, checked statutory controls and ensured every site began with clear responsibilities and a single source of truth in its logbooks. 

“Throughout mobilisation, we prioritised ensuring clear risk assessments and appropriate compliance measures were in place before works began. This enabled our new engineers to start with confidence and establish a consistent standard from the outset.” 

Marion Costello
Health Safety, and Wellbeing Advisor, Gratte Brothers | Group  

The Portfolio had a smooth and controlled start. Engineers were ready from day one, working with fully set-up PC’s, live CAFM access, and organised logbooks. 

Rolling out the PPM planners early, along with quick asset checks and condition reporting, gave managers and client stakeholders a clear view of risks, backlog and priorities.  

As governance strengthened, weekly site visits reduced to monthly. Standardised handbooks and documentation provided consistency across sites, and training helped close knowledge gaps, especially around logbooks, PPM / CAFM use and site and task specific risk assessments. 

Overall, this led toenhanced operational visibility, stronger compliance thus enabling the team to work confidently and effectively from the very start.