What is Facility Management? Part 2

Basically, facility management is the efficient coordination of all the activities related to keeping physical spaces and infrastructures operational, from single buildings to complex campuses used for offices, retail, healthcare, education, manufacturing, recreation, shopping mall, commercial building, government and a host of other revenue-generating businesses.

Keeping a facility operational includes making sure the environment – from parking lot to top floor suites – is safe by meeting relevant regulatory mandates, consistently well-maintained, and most notably, organized in a way that promotes productivity and the well-being of all users.

Therefore to break it down further, facility management generally is divided into two categories: hard services and soft services.

Hard Services

Hard services are related to physical structures, the parts that can’t easily be removed. They are usually required by law to ensure the health and safety of workers or occupants:

§  Building maintenance

§  Maintenance of HVAC systems

§  Energy and water management

§  Elevators and escalators

§  Lighting

§  Fire safety

§  Plumbing and drainage

Soft Services

Soft services are related to keeping the workplace more comfortable and secure. Some services are not absolutely necessary and can be added or removed when needs change:

§  Housekeeping and custodial services

§  Security

§  Parking lots

§  Pest control

§  Waste disposal

§  Recycling

§  Furniture and equipment

§  Information systems

§  Document management

§  Mail management

§  Space management

§  Grounds maintenance and landscaping

Many smaller organizations may still manage their facilities internally, but the number that outsource to facilities management companies continues to grow. Businesses of all sizes are depending on outsourced FM to handle functions that go beyond the above lists of hard and soft services as the main results; efficiency, safety and cost saving.