Several facilities management tasks are responsible for the expansion and development of numerous firms. These actions guarantee that businesses remain operational, that crucial procedures are established and upheld, and that employees are always working in the best conditions possible.
The definition and scope of application of facilities management can be reduced down to the organisation of people, places, and processes within a building environment, with the overarching objective of fostering an environment that is most welcoming for employees and increases overall business productivity and efficiency.
What are the functions of facilities management?
- Maintaining & optimising facilities
- Streamline processes
- Support employees
- Efficiently manage projects
- Integrate new technology
1. Maintaining & Optimising Facilities
Ensuring that these facilities are always in top shape is the primary purpose of facilities management.
This will include everything from normal maintenance and reactive repairs throughout the facilities to frequent cleaning and beautification of the workplace to give the finest possible atmosphere for personnel, residents, customers, and more.
This requires precise and current classifications of all the facilities’ diverse assets. It becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of when they need to be serviced or replaced without a dependable facilities management system to gather and store this information, preventing organisations from taking advantage of preventive maintenance.
Additionally, Facility Managers will be in charge of comprehending a property’s layout and how to make the most of the space. This is crucial for maximising how the building is used to control costs and prevent some areas from becoming overly busy.
Additionally, finding and keeping partnerships with important vendors is necessary for the maintenance and upgrading of facilities, as is long-term planning for the growth of the company.
Effective facilities maintenance helps to ensure that:
- The frequency of maintenance on assets reduces breakdowns and lengthens their life cycles.
- To safeguard health and safety and maintain a pleasant environment, any spills, blockages, and similar occurrences can be reported right away.
- Asset inefficiencies are swiftly detected and addressed in order to minimise the cost drain that might result.
2. Establishing & Streamlining Processes
Facility Management assists everyone involved have more effective and predictable days by incorporating processes into the everyday working environment. This Facility Management feature is designed to bring order to a potentially chaotic work environment and to communicate to employees what is expected of them in various scenarios.
Facilities management experts may implement and sustain the following procedures at work:
- Work requests
- Employee sign-in/sign-out timing of work
- Employee task management
- Meeting room reservations
- Guests/visitors check-in
- Stock management
- Mailing procedures
FM assists in enhancing productivity and predictability for all parties involved by incorporating processes into a daily working environment. The goals of this Facility Management role are to establish expectations for employees regarding what is expected of them in various circumstances and to bring order to what could otherwise be a chaotic work environment.
3. Supporting People
To create a welcoming workplace for all employees is a facilities manager’s primary function and responsibility. People are happier, form stronger ties with their employers, and are often more productive when they are at ease while working.
In contrast, a bad work environment will irritate staff, hinder their performance, and may even make it more difficult for you to hire and keep staff over the long run.
A growing number of Facility Managers are aware of this obligation and are searching for creative ways to distinguish their work environment while also enhancing the corporate culture. It aims to enhance the entire “customer experience,” from the moment an employee enters the building in the morning to the moment they leave at night.
Facility Management services should aim to empower staff members and assist them in taking charge of their own daily goals in addition to making them happy. This can entail a simplified system for employees to log their daily tasks or a system for everyone to use to report any problems to the FM team.
Facilities managers will regularly examine the workplace for any possibilities to improve the environment for staff, visitors, customers, and more, and they will also provide critical strategic data to company executives. Maintaining worker welfare and satisfaction is a crucial obligation for any Facility Management practitioner, from organising desk and seating layouts to efficient climate control systems and water management across the building.
4. Managing Projects
A crucial task for Facility Manager to manage is overseeing finances and making sure deliverables are completed by deadlines. Facility Management specialists will be in charge of making sure that projects, whether one-off, short-term, or long-term, stay within budget and that each work is accomplished and recorded.
Monitoring the work of the contractors and subcontractors hired to support the project from start to finish is another important part of project management. For effective cost management, it is crucial that these groups are present, have the required licenses and certificates, and are keeping precise time records.
This helps Facility Management professionals fulfil responsibilities such as:
- Providing contractors with all the details they require to perform their duties successfully
- Keeping a contractor database up-to-date and well-administered
- Ensuring that security and safety protocols are consistently met
- Receiving product updates and verifying that completed tasks have been signed off
5. Integrating Technology
The incorporation of technology inside the organization and how it is incorporated into existing infrastructures is the final facility management function.
This has grown in significance as a component of an Facility Management professional’s responsibilities in recent years, especially with the development of IWMS products that have the power to affect all facilities management goals. While implementing new technology is normally the duty of IT, Facility Managers frequently have the last say in the technology’s choice and application.
The growing integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) into routine facility processes serves as a contemporary illustration of this. The Internet of Things (IoT) gives devices wireless network connectivity, enabling them to communicate and exchange data in unprecedented ways.
The workplace can be substantially improved and employees’ lives can be made more comfortable with the use of devices that communicate over a worldwide network, such as those that automatically monitor changes in water temperature or make climate control adjustments in real-time.
Core Functions Of Facilities Management and Why To Implement ?
- Understand technology such as this and how it operates in the workplace
- Assess the costs required and whether this aligns with the benefits that the company will gain in return
- Embrace the potential for change rather than overlook opportunities for innovation
As the role of technology in Facility Management becomes increasingly paramount in this digital age, harnessing this technology has become a central function for the facilities management industry worldwide.
We hope this article has helped you gain a better grasp of the core functions of facilities management and how they all contribute to maintaining facilities and providing employees with the most comfortable working environments possible.
