What is facilities management?

What is facilities management? It is a field that encompasses several disciplines, working to offer comfort, functionality, efficiency, and safety in an established environment. These environments come in the form of infrastructure, buildings and grounds, and real estate.

What Do Facility Managers Do?

The person behind facilities management is called a facilities manager. He or she may also be known in other names and titles and may come from different backgrounds and career paths. The primary responsibility of a facilities manager is to ensure that the systems of an environment work in harmony with one another. Their role is vital since they prioritise the safety, comfort, sustainability, and productivity of the core and places where people work and spend most of their time.

What skill sets do facility managers have?

Facilities managers need to be efficient in the following competencies:

· Real estate

· Human factors and occupancy

· Maintenance and operations

· Sustainability

· Communication

· Risk management

· Technology management and facility information

· Quality and performance

· Strategy and leadership

· Business and finance

· Project management

Why Is a Facility Manager So Important?

A facilities manager contributes to the overall success of an organisation when they perform well in their responsibilities. These include maintaining the most valuable and often the most significant assets of an organisation, such as buildings, property, equipment, and other systems that reinforce productivity, personnel, inventory, and other essentials for operation.

What are the types of facility management?

There are different types of facility management. This includes the following:

· Property and real estate management

The functions of facilities management happen at the macro level. An organisation assesses the importance of its operations and overhead, even realigning its stakeholders. In these scenarios, facility managers provide a better understanding of the cost involved. The key to success as an organisation opts to expand or consolidate its business is seeking the help of a professional who is equipped with set skills in managing essential job requirements.

· Employee health and safety, satisfaction and wellness

A dependable facilities manager will work towards improving the condition of the workplace or buildings, creating an environment that promotes comfort and productivity among the users of such facilities. Doing so ensures having employees engaged, productive, motivated, and fulfilled in their department obligations.

· Customers Services

The role of facilities managers also encompasses services for customers, aiming to provide innovative environmental solutions to different related systems in companies. An example of an organisation that offers this level of service is The Busters Group.

This includes the following:

• Exterior Cleaning

Bespoke and flexible service agreements will allow organisations to have better control over their exterior cleaning solutions. These exterior cleaning services are provided to residential and commercial properties, thus offering assistance to healthcare facilities and local housing authorities.

• Grounds Maintenance

Strategic grounds maintenance services are ideal for organisations of different sizes. The services included underground maintenance range from basic weed spraying to tree management on larger scales.

• Hygiene Services

Businesses attain their goals in providing a hygienic and safe environment for their employees, visitors, and clients. An environmentally friendly workplace is made available.

• Pest Control

Pest control measures are essential in ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in dealing with pest concerns. Professional services are laid out to prevent further pest infestation, providing decontamination and removal of pests to deal with an existing problem.

• Transportation

Under facilities management, the transportation sector is responsible for a wide range of services for the employees, including the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the number of company vehicles. It also provides guidelines for the safety in the operation of these vehicles, among others.

How to Find the Perfect Facilities Manager

The fundamental role of a facilities manager in a workplace continues to evolve at a swift pace. However, you may wonder - how can you find the perfect facilities manager?

Do they have a good level of communication?

In the old days, facility management is a task that is usually done in the basement of a company. In these modern times, however, things have become different. To establish and improve the culture of a thriving company, a dependable facility manager needs to have a good level of communication. This means that a manager should be capable of expressing concerns and solutions in the most effective way possible, showing empathy and understanding to the people who benefit from a property's facilities. Since any change in a building or workplace may cause resistance, a good facility manager knows how to translate different strategies in the workplace into something very tangible for the affected employees.

Good at solving problems?

Good facility managers view facilities management and strategy in performing business operations as one. He or she should connect the KPI of facilities management to the KPI of the business, understanding how the technology behind facility management can effectively deliver high business value and service that goes beyond everyday maintenance and governance of a site. A facility manager does not easily panic when faced with problems. Instead, he or she sees those problems as an opportunity to create strategic solutions.

Are they people-focused?

Since facilities management is a people business, a dependable facilities manager is people-focused, considering the overall benefits that can be provided, which will allow the people using the property to focus on their tasks and responsibilities with efficiency.

Rather than simply focusing on managing the infrastructure, one of the many tasks of a facilities manager is to ensure that building maintenance is given priority to ensure the organisation's safety and security.

Have a look at our article on why you should hire a facilities management company

Why is FM More Relevant Than Ever?

The facilities management industry continues to grow at a swift pace. The roles of a facilities manager continue to widen out, covering more skill sets and responsibilities. The teams and budgets are also becoming bigger within the built environment. The people and processes involved in the built environment become more integral to the methods in which modern society conducts business.

The core business that is handled by facilities management does not just cover the facilities and the built environment but also other data involving the organisation and the workplace as a whole. The following are among the trends which are rooted deeply and influenced by facilities management:

· Automation and data monitoring of buildings

· The introduction of the "Internet of Things."

· Continuous evolution of IT infrastructure

· Evolving data models in real estate processes

· Environmental impact and sustainability

· Employees engagement service

· Health and safety in the built environment

What is the facility management industry doing to keep pace?

As facilities management continues to evolve, the methods also continue to improve to offer assistance and benefits to the next generations using the expertise and skills that will help push the industry in the right direction. Among the initiatives that are currently being taken to ensure the bright future of facilities management is the following:

· ISO - ISO 41000 Facilities Management Standard

· Bureau of Labor Statistics – 2018 Standard Occupational

Classification Code

· IFMA Foundation - Accredited Degree Programs – Graduate and Undergraduate

Why Facilities Use Computer-Aided Tools

Computer-aided tools allow facilities managers to use the right tools to plan and monitor assets and data, schedule repair and data maintenance tasks, track work orders, and meet international compliance requirements. The use of these software and data tools in facilities management offers benefits, such as determining the costs involved, the condition and quality of current equipment service, and the overall performance of vendors.

What is soft facilities management?

Soft facilities management refers to the types of services that make the workplace an environment where security is given priority. The thing that makes soft FM different from hard FM is that it does not directly relate to a physical aspect of a company or building. Soft FM services cover the organisation place and process within the built. Dealing with soft services and management also involves the following:

· Odor removal

· Waste management

· Cleaning solutions

What is hard facilities management?

Hard management FM serves the built environment to provide support and security processes to the people. It also aims to improve the productivity of the employees by monitoring the physical properties of an organisation. These aspects are usually permanent and cannot be removed. Hard FM also involves huge projects requiring facilities management within the organisation to support its core business without problems. Hard FM services in buildings usually cover:

· Airconditioning systems

· HVAC systems

· Electrical and lighting

· Wastewater and plumbing