What is Facilities Management?

Facilities management is considered by many to be a new business discipline. It can be quite different in every organisation and so can be hard to define.  It is about the effective management of the space and the services required by that business and its staff to stay in business and remain competitive.   FM can encompass property management, fabric maintenance, cleaning, reception, security, health and safety compliance, building services, information technology, landscaping or grounds maintenance, car parking, catering, procurement, risk management, insurance - in fact Facilities Managers (FMs) are now asked to manage a vast range of activities in support of the core business.

In businesses that trade through the space itself, FMs can make an real direct contribution to the bottom line, for example retail shopping centres, hotels, conference suites and educational/training facilities. For all organisations effective facilities management can add real value to the productivity of an organisation, the well being of its employees and the impression to the customers and other stakeholders. 

Jane has undertaken research projects for a variety of organisations. These have included

an overview of the Facilities Management Industry to enable a new catering company to better understand it’s customers;

a review of FM strategy in a large blue chip organisation;

a review of the UK and the USA facilities management qualification programmes;

development of the new Level 3 ILM Qualification in Facilities Management;

development of new BIFM VRQ level 4, 5 and 6 Qualifications in Facilites Management

a strategic review of facilites and estates operations at a leading public school in north London.   

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