Facility Management is an integrated building management system of an organization which supports and improves the efficiency and effectiveness of its core business through the integration of people, space, processes and technology.
The history of Facility Management begins in the US in the 1950s and comes from the US office environment, aiming to increase productivity in business management and maintenance.
With the establishment of the Facility Management Institute in the 1970s, science began to focus on facility management. This was followed by the establishment of the National Facility Management Association (NFMA), which in 1982 was renamed to the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). A little later in the middle of the same decade, Facility Management appears in Europe and promises to improve quality and economy on what is not related to the customer’s core business. The gradual introduction of FM in companies is taking place with science, and businesses opening up a field of activity that is initially oriented towards the classical branches of technology, infrastructure and commercial building management.
With an orientation of creating a common understanding of the terms, in recent years process responsibility, service promotion and quality management have determined the thinking and actions in FM. At the same time, the facilities and their management have become more demanding in sectors such as supporting basic business processes, increasing the efficiency of the company’s employments, safeguarding the safety and health of workers, maintaining structural and technical materials, adhering to legal procedures, increasing utilization and reducing the cost of use.
Facility Management aims to maintain and increase in the long term the assets of companies in the form of buildings and various types of facilities. With the economic and targeted use of resources, the cost of building and service maintenance is reduced throughout the life cycle. FM creates transparency in the peripheral parts of a company and lightens administration and employees in secondary processes. By optimizing workplace design, FM ensures greater employee well-being, indirectly increasing productivity, contributing significantly to the success of the company.
By integrating specific functions into an FM process, the facility manager is able to direct and control this complex service. The manager forms a clear borderline of operation with the main activity of a business. By that way the customer can evaluate the success of FM based on the results. A collaborative, synergistic approach facilitates the smooth operation of often closely related FM support procedures with the customer’s basic procedures.
Recognizing all this, a joint pursuit of a culture based on defined values, contributes to the long-term success of the company that operates Facility Management Services.