Cleanco’s Jamal Lootah on compliance, continuity and the new rules of facilities management
Group CEO Jamal Abdulla Lootah on why clients now expect near-zero downtime, why Dubai’s new building safety law is reshaping the sector, and how facilities management has moved from a back-office function to a boardroom priority.
13 May, 2026
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The shift has been particularly visible in the UAE. Dubai Law No 3 of 2026 has introduced a new building safety framework that places stricter expectations on inspections, system performance and documented accountability across the lifecycle of an asset.
Healthcare facilities are under heightened scrutiny on hygiene protocols and medical waste handling. Airports, government infrastructure and large mixed-use developments are demanding continuous coverage, predictive maintenance and AI-enabled visibility that were not part of the conversation a few years ago.
Few companies sit closer to this transition than Cleanco, one of the region’s largest integrated facilities management groups.
Group CEO Jamal Abdulla Lootah speaks to Gulf Business about how client expectations have evolved, where organisations are still falling short, and what genuinely effective FM partnerships look like in an environment where safety, traceability and service continuity have moved firmly to centre stage.
How have recent regional developments raised the bar for business continuity in FM, and what pressures are clients facing today that they weren’t facing a few years ago?
Business continuity is no longer something that sits in a document or operates as a back-office function. It has to be fully operational, visible, and continuously tested in real time. Clients are expected to maintain near-zero downtime, ensure occupant safety, respond rapidly to incidents, and demonstrate compliance in a way that is fully auditable.
The pressure is sharpest in healthcare facilities, aviation environments, government infrastructure and large mixed-use developments — sectors where service continuity directly impacts safety and user confidence. Healthcare clients are pushing harder on infection prevention, ICU hygiene standards, and compliant medical waste handling.
Airports and high-traffic public environments are demanding continuous cleaning coverage and rapid deployment during peak periods. Government and mixed-use clients are focused on inspection readiness, contingency manpower, spare equipment availability, and stronger vendor accountability.
In the past, organisations primarily viewed FM through the lens of service delivery and cost efficiency. Those still matter, but the scope has expanded. Clients now expect continuity, safety, technical reliability, hygiene assurance and emergency preparedness built into day-to-day operations, along with stronger accountability across the supply chain. There is also far greater demand for AI-enabled monitoring, predictive maintenance, smart building systems and real-time reporting, because continuity now depends on visibility, speed of response, and data-backed decisions.
The most significant shift, though, is the expectation of proactive risk management. FM has evolved from maintaining physical assets to protecting business operations, brand reputation and long-term resilience.
Dubai Law No. 3 of 2026 introduces a new building safety framework. What practical changes will FM leaders and building operators need to prepare for?
The legislation signals a clear shift toward a more structured and accountable approach across the lifecycle of an asset. For FM leaders, the biggest practical change is the need to be consistently inspection ready — maintaining accurate records on maintenance history, system performance, corrective actions, and the actual performance of critical systems. There is far less room now for reactive maintenance, undocumented modifications or fragmented data.
Teams will need stronger visibility across all critical systems, including HVAC, electrical, fire and life safety, water, and vertical transport, supported by clear reporting and disciplined follow-through on defects. Accountability is also sharper: while legal responsibility may rest on asset owners, FM teams will increasingly be measured on how effectively they ensure compliance, maintain system reliability, and respond to issues in a timely manner.
The organisations that succeed will be those that treat compliance as a continued operational discipline, not a one-time requirement.
Proactive maintenance is increasingly seen as a continuity essential rather than a budget line. Where are organisations still falling short, and how can FM partners help close those gaps?
Three gaps recur. First, a continued reliance on reactive maintenance, intervening only when something visibly fails. Second, a lack of clear understanding of asset conditions and criticality across facilities. And third, maintenance records and performance data that are too fragmented to support informed decisions. The result is a gap between what leadership believes is under control and what is actually happening on the ground.
Proactive maintenance is not just about increasing service frequency. It is about knowing which assets are critical to continuity, how they are performing, and when intervention is needed to prevent disruption.
Facilities management partners can close those gaps through asset criticality mapping, robust preventive and condition-based maintenance strategies, faster escalation of risks, and clearer reporting. The real value does not lie in fewer breakdowns but in the confidence that operations can continue safely and consistently under pressure.
Healthcare facilities operate under tighter readiness expectations. What should hospitals prioritise to strengthen hygiene, waste handling, and operational resilience without disrupting daily care?
The fundamentals come first: hygiene protocols that are consistent, measurable and tailored to healthcare environments, along with disciplined waste segregation and safe handling that minimise cross-contamination risk. But operational resilience also depends on the reliability of critical support systems around ventilation, water, power, and emergency response — and on strong coordination between clinical and non-clinical teams.
In practice, that means enhanced cleaning protocols for ICU and isolation rooms following discharge, structured hygiene processes in operation theatres, rapid-response cleaning for emergency departments during peak volumes, compliant handling of hazardous and medical waste, controlled laundry workflows, and preventive pest control. This applies across general hospitals, day surgery centres, outpatient clinics, specialised medical centres, diagnostic laboratories, rehabilitation centres, long-term care facilities and medical research facilities.
The challenge is strengthening all of this without disrupting daily care. The most effective approach is to integrate readiness into everyday operations rather than treating it as a separate compliance process — through clear SOPs, routine audits, well-trained frontline teams, and defined escalation protocols that align with healthcare workflows. A strong business continuity management approach ensures essential services, including hygiene and regulated waste operations, continue effectively during disruptions. In healthcare, resilience is not only about responding to incidents but preventing disruption before it impacts patient care.
Medical waste management is under heightened scrutiny. What are the key risks you see in the market, and how can providers improve safety, traceability, and compliance end to end?
Risks appear where operational discipline breaks down — at segregation, temporary storage, internal handling, collection, transport or final treatment. Incorrect segregation of hazardous waste, delays in internal collection, incomplete documentation, sub-standard temporary storage, or a lack of full visibility from generation to disposal can each compromise safety, compliance and public health.
End-to-end traceability is the central improvement area. Medical waste should never become invisible once it leaves the point of generation. Providers need strong chain-of-custody processes, secure containment, compliant transport, and fully auditable documentation at every stage in compliance with Polisaty requirements. In our own operations, all medical waste collection vehicles are fitted with GPS systems installed by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and waste is tracked from cradle to grave through the EAD Polisaty e-manifestation system.
There is also a cultural dimension. Even with the right systems in place, gaps in training or process discipline create risk. Providers need to reinforce performance through regular training, strict adherence to SOPs, clear handover protocols, continuous assessment, and transparent reporting. Because medical waste is a high-risk stream, operations must also meet stringent regulatory requirements — including refrigerated transport where required, and adherence to environmental emissions standards.
Ultimately, credibility in this market comes from demonstrating that medical waste is handled safely, correctly and verifiably from start to finish.
Strategic FM partnerships are becoming more important for both real estate and healthcare. What makes a partnership genuinely effective?
Shared accountability rather than transactional service delivery. The strongest partnerships are those where both sides are aligned on safety, uptime, compliance, user experience and continuity under pressure. That requires more than a standard SLA: it needs clear governance, transparency, and the ability to respond quickly when risks emerge. It also demands sector-specific expertise, because healthcare, residential and commercial environments each carry very different operational needs.
Effective partnerships are supported by defined governance structures, shared KPIs linked to uptime, hygiene compliance and response times, regular performance reviews, and clear escalation procedures. This creates a more transparent communication framework and helps ensure continuity and compliance are managed proactively rather than reactively.
A good partnership should simplify operations for the client. When services are fragmented, accountability becomes unclear. In well-structured collaborations, responsibilities are defined, issues are identified earlier, and corrective actions happen faster. Today, clients are not just looking for a vendor. They are looking for a trusted partner who can consistently safeguard operations and standards every day.
Across your own operations, which service lines are seeing the biggest shift in demand, and what investments is Cleanco prioritising to stay ahead?
The strongest demand shift is in service lines where compliance, safety and operational continuity intersect — integrated FM and technical maintenance, preventive maintenance programmes, specialised healthcare cleaning, compliance-driven waste management, and specialist cleaning in high-traffic or high-risk environments. Clients are pushing harder on asset reliability, reduced downtime, infection prevention, safety compliance, and measurable performance outcomes. The healthcare sector is leading this shift, as regulatory and client KPIs become more stringent and reinforce the need for traceability, audit readiness and operational discipline.
In response, our approach has become more integrated and performance-focused. We are placing greater emphasis on service coordination, report clarity, workforce readiness, and sector-specific discipline — moving clients away from fragmented service models toward a unified approach where continuity, compliance and accountability are managed together.
On investment, the focus is on strengthening the foundations that make facilities safer, more visible and resilient over time: equipment upgrades, structured inspection reporting, and quality assurance frameworks that improve service consistency and reduce reactive disruption. Our use of publicly referenced treatment infrastructure, such as the EU-compliant Rotary Kiln Incinerator, also contributes to safe and compliant waste treatment.
Digital visibility is the other major priority. As compliance requirements increase, clients need clear insight into performance, maintenance status and issue resolution — not only in FM service delivery but also in areas like environmental reporting and carbon footprint visibility. Innovation for us is not about adding new technology for its own sake. It is about using it to improve accountability, enable faster intervention and support better decision-making. At the same time, resilience still depends heavily on people and processes, which is why we continue to invest in training, HSE culture, standardisation and strong service governance.
In today’s environment, the companies that stay ahead will be those that combine operational discipline with smarter visibility and a long-term, continuity-focused approach.
