New guidance developed by RICS and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) seeks to highlight how critical facility management is to how every organization or property occupier functions successfully as a real estate investment.
The “Strategic Facility Management Framework” was launched in Dubai recently during the annual IFMA-RICS World Workplace Forum – Middle East. The framework, authored by Dave Wilson, FRICS, IFMA Fellow for the IFMA-RICS collaboration, sets out a more holistic approach to FM by providing strategic best practices for facility managers and practitioners around the world.
“As organizations seek to innovate, adapt and refresh how they work, the demand for facility management services is growing globally and rapidly,” said Sean Tompkins, RICS CEO, in a press release. “FM services are driven not only by the changing nature of the economic environment or organizational imperatives, but also by the rapid progress in technology, social aspirations, the environment and the political landscape. The new IFMA/RICS framework puts facility management at the heart of organizational objectives and creates a strategic approach that will enable facilities professionals to deliver their expertise globally to a consistent standard.”
Since FM is about more than managing property assets, it is imperative to achieving maximum value from workplace and environmental benefits that improve productivity and protect employees and consumers.
The framework was developed by RICS and IFMA in partnership, with extensive global consultation among FM practitioners and industry leaders. It is also crucially aligned to existing standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ensuring that the framework conforms to ISO consistent definitions and global best practices.
“The ability to achieve a competitive advantage through strategic FM has driven the industry’s rapid evolution in recent decades,” said Tony Keane, IFMA president and CEO. “The global FM community has coalesced as a result of unprecedented access to information, benchmarks and global standards, such as the new FM Management Systems Standard launched by ISO this week. As the engine of this community, the IFMA-RICS collaboration exists to provide the tools that allow FM professionals to lead strategic decision making.”
There are strong connections between FM and corporate real estate, in addition to asset management, especially as it relates to property acquisition and disposal in both a strategic and operational sense. This framework sets out some of the key aspects of how and where facility managers can play a more valuable role in the corporate real estate decision-making process.
The landmark collaboration between IFMA and RICS is working to advance the global FM community by offering the most comprehensive catalogue of professional development and credentialing.
