Facilities Management

Frontmatter

1. Origins and Objectives

Abstract

Anybody picking up a building or property journal could be excused for thinking that facilities management is a new profession, such is the increasing prominence that it is attracting in the technical press. The many and varied functions performed are not new, but the trend towards creating an all-embracing professional who harnesses these complementary functions together into a cohesive approach to workspace management is. The role of the facilities manager is recognised as something more pro-active than that of the traditional estates manager.

Alan Park

2. Space Planning

Abstract

Facilities management is all about collecting and interpreting data on diverse facets of property use. Computer databases are the ideal vehicles in which to log, store and manipulate data; almost unlimited information can be measured and entered en masse. Simple databases operate very satisfactorily as stand-alone software, where a limited range of services are monitored. The strength of such information storage is its capacity for expansion and the diversity of subject. This strength is a time bomb that sooner or later destroys the effectiveness of a database as an FM tool; it becomes large and requires greater and greater operator familiarity with its structure in order to interrogate successfully.

Alan Park

3. Space Planning Data in Cost Control

Abstract

This activity is the cornerstone of facilities management, creating a management tool that uses the data available from the space planning exercises and converting it into a financial control procedure. The creation of the space planning data described in chapter 2 serves a primary function; it arranges the physical occupation of the building into the best compromise, but the cost of providing workspace so arranged is the final adjudicator.

Alan Park

4. Maintenance and Feedback

Abstract

Much has been written in the past about the virtues of preventive maintenance, but to be truly effective the system needs to collect and interpret performance data. We are concerned here with all aspects of the property fabric, including external works, infrastructure and equipment. Even the most robust structure will fall into decay if neglected long enough; the aim here is to establish the compromise between repair, replacement and servicing (usually cost factors in management’s perception) and useful function.

Alan Park

5. Operational Services

Abstract

Up to this point we have covered the activities of how an organisation fits into a building through the space planning and costing exercises. We have also considered the maintenance of the building fabric and its service installations. We have not considered those services within the facilities manager’s remit that support the core tasks of the business.

Alan Park

6. Assets

Abstract

Traditionally assets have been logged to inventories that are used as the basis for depreciation calculations, capital allowance assessments and a basic list of the tangible assets of the business. The problem with inventories is that they need considerable effort to create and, unless regularly reviewed, degrade in accuracy through the passage of time. Even computer-generated, database-type inventories are inconvenient.

Alan Park

7. Life Cycle Costing

Abstract

In an ideal situation everything in a building falls apart the day after the user has left for the last time and the building is about to be demolished or at least to be substantially refurbished. In common with all ideals the goal is not achievable and we then strive to get ever closer to the perfect solution. This is compromise and the best means of measuring relative success is through cost, a common thread that runs through all aspects of facilities management.

Alan Park

8. Systems and Software

Abstract

This chapter looks at the practical selection and use of computer systems in facilities management, setting out guidelines on how to select the most appropriate package for a particular application.

Alan Park

9. Worked Examples

Abstract

This chapter contains some examples of analyses carried out on equipment replacement, outsourcing of services and departmental space budgeting. While the facilities manager will not necessarily be an expert in energy management, fleet operation or space planning, he will be expected to identify and carry out preliminary appraisals on areas of inefficiency that would benefit from a detailed review.

Alan Park

10. Services

Abstract

In the context of property, services means heat, light, power to most people and with some thought would also include communications like telephones. This chapter will consider all of these from a facilities management point of view, plus other less obvious installations.

Alan Park

11. Allied Activities

Abstract

As part of the constant effort to improve the use of buildings, it is worthwhile to take account of a whole range of peripheral activities. Quality Assurance schemes have been in existence for many years but are now gaining widespread recognition as a powerful management tool. The available range of expert advice on procurement methods for building works, together with the use of external consultants, often present the facilities manager with a bewildering choice. The optimum point at which to commission a project manager to assume the day-today control of capital works can be difficult to recognise and can be disastrous if overlooked.

Alan Park

12. Health and Safety

Abstract

Health and Safety has been the responsibility of owners and occupiers of buildings for a very long time, but now the regulations are becoming increasingly onerous with both corporate and personal penalties for breach of the regulations reaching significant proportions. It is often thought that individuals in the workplace are largely responsible for their own safety but the defence of liability of the individual for their actions is far from conclusive; there is a responsibility on the employer to take adequate measures to prevent accidents and injury The logic behind Health and Safety legislation is to prevent accidents and so the prime responsibility lies with those who create the risk or allow it to continue.

Alan Park

13. The Property Portfolio

Abstract

Any organisation’s property portfolio is created by acquisition. The components of the estate may be:

• Purchased new or second-hand.
• Developed from scratch.
• Extensions of the existing premises.
• Acquired as a direct result of the acquisition of another company.

Alan Park

14. Case Studies

Abstract

This chapter contains a selection of case studies, based on issues encountered by the author, that help to demonstrate the degreee of awareness expected from a facilities manager. It demonstrates the need for facilities managers to anticipate problems to be avoided as part of the preliminary planning process. In all the following case studies the facilities manager’s involvement commenced early in the process and allowed good management practice of team problem solving, and in each example the facilities manager became the overall coordinator of the project. This is single point of contact management, which engenders ownership of the project and converts potential problems and delays into challenges that are overcome through the teamwork approach.

Alan Park

Backmatter