Facilities Management Defined

Facilities Check List
Practical, step-by-step guides for the busy FM
July 2002

Facilities Management Defined

The rapid growth of facilities management has spawned debate about what facilities management is and how it differs from property management. But whether you consider the facilities manager as a caretaker, a corporate manager, or a financial strategist, facilities management has assumed an important role in corporate management for companies large and small. The building environment has become too valuable and complex an asset to ignore or neglect, and its management involves both great potential benefits and risks.

The term facilities management has been around for a long time, but its meaning has changed dramatically over the years. Facilities management once only related to the physical maintenance and operation of buildings. As these activities became more complex and expensive, facilities management incorporated skills from several traditional fields, such as business management, architecture, engineering, real estate, construction, and human resources.

BOMI Institute defines facilities management as the process of coordinating the physical workplace with the people and work of an organization. The primary function of facilities management is to plan, establish, and maintain a work environment that effectively supports the goals and objectives of the organization.

Coordination and integration across traditionally separate disciplinary lines make the professional aspects of facilities management different from related professions. A facilities manager’s coordination and integration skills are often compared to those of an orchestra conductor who makes music out of many different instruments played by various musicians with differing opinions on how best to interpret the written score. Facilities management is both a business and a profession. In practice, it involves acting in both capacities. Facilities managers need to plan ahead rather than react when attempting to cope with numerous events.

Facilities management’s current scope of functions encompasses several basic areas of management activity. The following list approximates the range of most facilities management departments in major companies. Similar lists have been published by various facilities management organizations. Not every facilities manager performs every function on this list because the mix of functions and responsibilities is unique to each company.

Building Operations and Maintenance
  • management of building systems such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing, security, and in some cases, data and telecommunications cabling
  • maintenance of building structures and interiors, furniture, and equipment
  • maintenance of grounds, landscaping, and site improvements

Real Estate
  • management of real estate assets and real estate portfoliosleasing
  • acquisition and disposition of properties
  • due diligence

Real Estate Master Plan
  • matches the company’s real estate holdings to the company’s real estate needs using the current business plan

Human and Environmental Factors
  • worker health and safety
  • workers’ compensation regulatory practices and procedures
  • emergency preparedness
  • disaster planning and recovery

Project Management
  • preparation of facilities plans
  • planning and management of projects, facilities programs, design services, construction projects, and relocation projects

Space Planning
  • represents a process that captures the supply and demand data, prepares space allocation plans, and implements the plans

Basic Management Activities
  • organization and planning of a facilities management department
  • management of facilities management personnel and outsourced personnel
  • administration and development of facilities management policies and procedures such as space standards and filing of work orders and project requests
  • management of facilities management service delivery

Finance
  • management of department finances, including operating and capital improvements budgets and accounting for costs and expenditures

Quality Assessment
  • evaluating the quality and effectiveness of facilities management services
  • benchmarking
  • management of governmental and corporate audits of facilities management services and projects
  • development of innovative improvements in facilities management services

Communication
  • oral, written and graphic communication
  • presentations of issues to all levels of management
  • development of standards, work practices and procedures
  • development and management of specialized and technical information in a management context

General Administrative Support
  • mail and reproduction services, transportation services, guest and hospitality services, food service, and others

As you can see, the functions and responsibilities of facilities operations are greater than most corporate departments. Each component, however, is an essential part of facilities management.