What is facility management?
The Facility Management Association of Australia defines facility management as: 'A business practice that optimises people, process, assets and the work environment to support delivery of the organisation's business objectives.'
Facilities are all the materials necessary for an organisation to operate that are not part of the products and services being produced. Thus facilities include property, buildings, utility equipment, interior fit-outs, office furniture, communication devices, etc. So, facility management encompasses multiple activities to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.
What are the benefits of facility management training?
Facility management training helps you gain key competencies so you can deliver more value to your organisation. Improved facility management reduces costs and increases efficiency. Upgrading your skills and knowledge also makes you more valuable in the employment marketplace.
Whether you're looking to enhance your knowledge in specific areas, such as risk management or ecologically sustainable development, or are working towards professional accreditation, fmedge offers the training you need.
How did the term 'facility management' evolve?
The majority of the activities embodied in facility management have been practiced for many decades under different and disparate labels. Facility management as a distinct business discipline treating these activities holistically started to emerge in the United States in the early 1980s. The International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) was formed in the United States in 1982. Facility management quickly spread to the UK, Europe and Australia.
What is a facility manager?
Facility managers coordinate the strategic and operational management of facilities in public and private sector organisations. They range from those making very high-level decisions at board level within an organisation, contributing to strategic planning, to those involved with the day-to-day management and operations of facilities.
Facility managers are most often key decision-makers in the areas of the provision of corporate workplaces across all property sectors, communications, utilities, building and property maintenance and other workplace services. They often control the capital and/or maintenance spending in these areas and are responsible for the delivery of performance outcomes.
I'm not a facility manager - can I still benefit from training?
There are a large number of professionals whose jobs include facility management tasks, but do not call themselves 'facility managers'. For example: architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, interior designers, value managers, office managers, etc. These individuals can benefit from facility management training in competencies that are essential to their work roles.
What are some common facility management tasks?
Common facility management tasks include:
- Recycling and waste management
- Managing a help desk
- Workspace planning
- Procuring staff supplies
- Managing an organisation's property portfolio
- Business continuity planning
- Managing cleaning and maintenance
- Organising an office fit-out
- Risk management
- Ecologically sustainable development
- Project management
- Developing budgets
- Facilitating communications
- Managing workplace relations
- Change management
How big is the facility management industry?
Facility management is one of Australia's fastest growing and diversifying industries. With an estimated annual turnover of AUD$60 billion, it's now one of Australia's major business sectors. The annual national investment of the facility management industry contributes approximately 4% to GDP and there are more than 400,000 people working in facility management service industries in Australia.
Facility management is a global growth industry. This growth is being driven through the need for better public and private sector business financial performance, the application of new technologies and complex organisational needs.
