What Is Facility Management All About?
The field of facility or facilities management (FM) focuses on assisting people. It guarantees the efficiency, sustainability, comfort, and functioning of the built environment, which includes the structures where we live and work as well as the infrastructure around them.
A facilities management company is a professional service provider, responsible for the overall functionality, maintenance and security of a building. They typically manage a large facility or complex. The company looks after a school, housing, office, or shopping complex, hospital or warehouse. Facility Management is all about easing out operations and boosting productivity with their complete assistance of all time-consuming daily tasks that are necessary for smooth functioning of a company or an induvial.
What Does Facility Management Includes?
Facility management service provider is in charge of people, groups, locations, and infrastructure. Roles in people and organizations include those in marketing, accounting, hospitality, human resources, information technology, and cleaning.
Facility management includes a wide range of tasks and responsibilities, these tasks may include:
- A facilities management service provider is also in charge of overseeing workplace construction, leasing, occupancy, maintenance, and furniture space and infrastructure accounts.
- Facilities managers are needed for a variety of corporate tasks, with the core objective to keep everyone under their care alive and safe.
- An effective facilities manager should function at two levels. The first is tactical, which is in charge of overseeing knowledge of space, business risk, expenses, and services. The other is operational, which monitors a corporate environment’s inhabitants’ cost effectiveness.
- Facility Management includes all sorts of mechanical, electric, and plumbing tasks to assure timely maintenance and efficient operations.
- The other major services provided range from the factory in factory model, employee transport, canteen services, and the list goes on.
- A corporate house can completely depend on a facility management company to keep the company operations running while they manage their productivity and daily tasks.
What Are the Different Types of Facility Management Services?
There are several types of facility management services that can be provided to organizations to help them manage their facilities effectively and efficiently. These services may include:
1. Hard Facilities Management (Hard FM)
The management and upkeep of tangible building components, such as finishes, structures, and equipment, are included in hard management services. Hard FM involves overseeing all of the elements that make up a company’s or infrastructure’s physical structure, including its equipment, systems, processes, people, and technology.
The hard facility management is designed with an exceptional strategy, a particular strategy, and a customised strategy management to match the exceptional needs of every customer and cover the whole spectrum of physical management services.
The whole range of physical management services are covered by the hard FM, which is tailored with a special strategy, customised, and personalised strategy management to match the distinctive needs of each client, including-
- Heating
- Lighting/electrical
- Plumbing
- Fire safety systems
- Air conditioning
- Mechanical
2. Soft Facilities Management (Soft FM)
Soft services are activities and offerings that you can customise. They frequently aren’t necessary and can be handled in a variety of different ways. The use and beneficiaries of soft services, however, are what matter most. Soft services can improve the working environment in ways that are advantageous to both people and the work they accomplish when properly implemented.
Soft services aren’t built into the structure but are used by and directly benefit employees. They are not necessary; rather, they are intended to enhance the comfort, enjoyment, or security of the workplace. Several instances include:
- Building security
- Landscaping
- Cleaning
- Catering
- Office decorating
- Office moves
Evolution Of Facility Management
Over the years, facility management has changed from individuals maintaining a small number of buildings to managers currently in charge of a sizable portfolio of facilities. In addition to overseeing capital projects, facility performance, space concerns, customer service, and amenities, today’s managers are also heavily involved in and in charge of real estate transactions and efforts at strategic planning.
Why Is Facility Management Important?
Facility management is always crucial, even though the tasks associated with the position can vary depending on the demands and company culture. Without a facilities manager, it may be challenging for your company to meet and sustain these objectives.
- Strategic planning
- Reduced expenses
- Taking Care of Daily Operations
- Implement safety and health measures
- Increases employee morale
What is The Objectives of Facility Management?
Important Facility Management Objectives and Goals –
1. Discussions with Stakeholders and Residents
Maintaining an open line of communication with stakeholders and tenants is essential when setting facility management goals to guarantee that everything is operating as smoothly as possible. To make sure that all residents are at ease and satisfied with their surroundings, create a system that makes it simple for them to put in their suggestions and thoughts.
2. Create a secure and wholesome environment
To reduce and eliminate any health concerns in your facility, it’s crucial to incorporate them in your facility management goals.
3. Recognize your deficiencies
It’s crucial for a facilities manager to be aware of any problems or shortcomings in their building. Every three to six months, you should do a routine inspection to ensure sure everything is in working order.
4. Upgrading and Supporting Energy Efficiency
It’s crucial to take action to improve your facility’s energy efficiency. Examine the information on the gas, electricity, and water costs at your facility to determine what is most expensive and how you may cut down on energy waste.
What Are The Advantages Of Outsourcing Facility Management?
Every organisation has a primary goal, whether it’s making money or meeting the needs of the community. Any successful firm has a strong backbone, which is facilities management. They assist in a number of ways, including:
1. Productivity
Making ensuring the staff, workers, and residents can efficiently carry out their job obligations is the primary goal. This entails ensuring that the area is tidy, organised, and prepared for use. Additionally, it indicates that machinery, tools, and technology operate effectively when required.
2. Security & comfort
Making sure that all building inhabitants are secure and comfortable is intimately related to productivity. To reduce responsibility and risk, it is essential to ensure that the buildings and equipment are inspected to ensure they fulfil safety standards. Facilities managers also keep an eye out for measures to improve tenant comfort.
3. Scalability
Facilities management is at the forefront of assuring the success of changes as firms grow, extend capital assets, change sites, or adapt to new work environments (the introduction of a virtual work environment as one example). To provide the greatest advice on new chances, the staff must be familiar with the facilities, their inhabitants, and all of their resources.
4. Profitability
It’s important to efficiently create comfort, safety, and productivity. Any efforts to reduce needless operating costs are vital for the business’s bottom line because facilities management is frequently the largest expense due to its extensive impact across the organisation.
5. Sustainability
Facilities managers have a social obligation to encourage the use of greener practises within the company, in addition to complying with EHS (environment, health, and safety) regulations. This could entail cutting waste, improving energy effectiveness, or implementing fresh best practises. Sustainable facility management lowers the organization’s overall energy consumption expenditures while promoting a positive brand image.
Future of Facility Management
Commercial building digital transformation makes it possible for people, processes, and technology to collaborate. As a result, facilities management is evolving from an activity that is concentrated on assets or plants to one that is focused on end-user experiences and outcomes.
Leading facilities management service companies are making the most of contemporary trends and earning millions of dollars from the services they offer, according to study findings by Statista. As a result, most contemporary discussions about facilities management centre on trends that will support the future-proofing of our corporate operations. Older buildings can become energy efficient by properly implementing new infrastructure, even though the focus has recently turned to contemporary, environmentally friendly structures, boosting demand for Facility managers with knowledgeable about good environmental practises.
What Are the Functions of Facilities Manager?
The following are usually acknowledged as the four key functions of facilities manager:
- Maintenance and Improvement of Facilities
- Supporting Others
- Creating Effective Working Procedures
- Developing and Implementing a Technology Strategy to Meet the Needs of the Company
1. Maintenance and Improvement of Facilities
Although it can be a separate duty from facilities managers, property management is frequently included in that role. Real estate is pricey. It has greater significance because it is frequently the biggest investment a business makes.
It is your duty as the facilities manager to foresee new problems, deal with existing ones, and maintain the building so that individuals inside can do so safely and effectively.
2. Supporting Others
The best workers are what employers seek. The finest workers desire the best working conditions in addition to being well compensated. The morale of the larger staff of the organisation is greatly influenced by facilities managers. They design the organizational structure of offices, distributing desk space while utilizing the available space as effectively as feasible. Facilities managers frequently maintain employee directories, and emergency preparation constantly necessitates their expertise.
3. Creating Effective Work Processes
The Facilities Market is currently valued in the billions as a result of its success in generating income for businesses in all industries. Every workplace needs processes that deliver reliable results if it is to be efficient. Processes provide companies with a baseline of expectations and provide employees with clear direction.
Facilities managers can construct a variety of procedures, such as those for requesting work orders, reserving space, keeping track of customers, and establishing standards for emergency response. A facilities manager’s overall perspective involves establishing control over potentially chaotic environments. An extremely concrete illustration of this in action is the creation process.
4. Developing and Implementing a Technology Strategy to Meet the Needs of the Company
Although a future trend, smart buildings are probably being overdone right now. The majority of structures, even more recent constructions, are not sufficiently constructed to accommodate that much technology. Facilities managers still need to understand how to use technology, though, at this point.
IoT, or the Internet of Things, is constantly growing. Monitors and alarms operate on this limited bandwidth network. Facilities managers can now examine the monitors at their workplaces using apps on their smartphones or tablets.
Facility Management Checklist
The checklist elements for facilities management-
- Rooftop garages and parking lots
- Doors and widows
- Seasonal getting ready
- Electricity \Plumbing \HVAC \Equipment
- Overall energy use
- Elevators
- Security measures
- Fire apparatus
- ADA compliance
- Standards for safety
Facility Manager Roles and Responsibilities
Here is a list of responsibilities of facility manager-
- Plan and coordinate all installations, renovations, and other work (telecommunications, heating, electricity, etc.).
- Maintain equipment and supplies to meet health and safety requirements.
- Check the structure of buildings to see whether any repairs or modifications are necessary.
- Review your utility usage, and work to keep prices as low as possible.
- oversee all employees working in the facilities, including external contractors and custodial personnel.
- Controlling things like parking space distribution, trash removal, building security, etc.
- Allocate office space based on requirements
- Manage service agreements and insurance policies
- Maintain accounting and non-accounting records; conduct analysis and forecasting
Qualities Of A Good Facility Management Company
For companies with physical offices, hiring a reputable facilities management company should be essential because of the advantages it offers. However, it might be difficult to choose a property management company that excels at serving your business. So here is a list of qualities to look for in a good facility management company –
- Quality of Forefront Staff
- A Good Facilities Management Company Must be Adaptable
- Empathy – The Willingness to Put Your Organization First
- Thorough Quality Control
- Maintaining and Improving Asset Value
- Technological Creativity
Facility Management Vs. Facility Maintenance
Compared to maintenance management, facility management (FM) is more long-term, proactive, and strategic (MM). The idea of facility management encompasses more than just facility maintenance. In other words, facility management includes maintenance management as a subset or branch.
For instance, with FM, one can consider how to grow and utilise the facilities more effectively over time, whereas MM may be more focused on responding to daily breakdowns or taking daily precautions to prevent things from breaking down. With regard to how they approach these areas may differ in various ways. To put it another way, maintenance is simply maintaining what you already have operating smoothly and efficiently, whereas facility management is all about anticipating improvements and managing risks.
Facility Management Related FAQs
Q1. Why Do We Need Facility Management?
An essential component of successfully running a firm is facilities management. As a result, when you include a facilities manager in the daily operations of your company, they will be crucial to: Strategic planning gives your company a defined direction and will enable you to monitor your advancement over time.
Q2. What Does PPM Mean in Facilities Management?
PPM, often known as planned maintenance or scheduled maintenance, stands for planned preventive maintenance. PPM maintenance is routinely performed on an asset such as a piece of machinery, a piece of real estate, or a component of real estate.
Q3. Why Is Facility Management Important?
Asset management is a must for every organisation. The significance of facilities management comes from the fact that poor management can seriously hinder daily operations and have a detrimental impact on productivity. While the duties of facility managers may vary depending on the industry, one thing is always the same: facilities are any physical assets, office buildings at the site or corporation, or any mechanical or electrical utilities that could endanger workers’ health or safety.
Q4. What Is a Facility Management Company?
A facilities management company is an external firm in charge of certain facilities owned by another business. A facilities management company may be responsible for overseeing a variety of workplace structures utilised by businesses, including hotels and retail establishments.
Q5. What Is Hard Facilities Management?
Hard facilities management refers to a building’s structural components that cannot be removed. In order to safeguard the welfare and safety of both staff and customers, hard FM services are frequently mandated by legislation.
The Bottomline
A lot is required to keep an office building running well. If even one of these several components—payroll, cleaning, supplies, recycling, electrical upkeep, repairs, or furniture—is neglected, the business as a whole may crumble. Keeping track of everything is essential to maintaining a structure. Unquestionably important, facilities management works to maintain all the small details under control that might easily slip your mind, allowing your workplace to carry out everyday operations without being constrained by the details of maintenance or administration.
With the burden of facilities management taken care of by a team of experts, everything will operate smoothly. You’ll be surprised at how many more hours you’ll have each week to accomplish all your other objectives.
Top Facility Management Company In India
If you wish empower your business with boosted productivity, efficiency, sustainability and more, Supreme Facility Management is the highest ranking and highly valued facility management company in India to offer you all the benefits with the most experienced approach. We offer comprehensive integrated facilities management services to clients across the country.
Ready to take the next step in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of your facility? Fill out our enquiry form today and one of our experienced facility management professionals will be in touch to discuss your needs and how we can help.