Facility managers are often integrated into capital projects during the commissioning or post-occupancy phases, after critical decisions affecting long-term operations have been made. Key findings from a new study highlight the importance of involving them earlier in a project’s development lifecycle, rather than limiting their ability to influence design, procurement, and construction choices.
Findings from the report, The Value of Early Facility Manager Involvement in Capital Projects, gleaned insight from in-depth interviews with 27 FM professionals across 13 countries, including Canada, and various industries, such as healthcare, education, commercial real estate, government, and corporate workplaces.
While a building’s operational and maintenance phase accounts for roughly 80 per cent of its overall lifecycle cost, there is much decision-making during the earlier stages when FM insight is generally excluded, the interviewees shared. The consequences of omitting their expertise can amount to poor maintainability, increasing costs that exceed construction expenditures, long-term operational challenges, and disappointed end-users.
Proactive input from managers brings an opportunity to shape infrastructure for efficiency and sustained performance, explained Dr. Jake Smithwick, research lead, professor at the University of North Carolina and associate at Simplar, a global procurement and organizational management consultancy. He was speaking during an event hosted by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) last week.
Uncovering the Benefits of Early FM Involvement
Facility management encompasses many facets of knowledge that can flag issues and avoid costly mistakes. Ibilola Ogundare, graduate research assistant and civil engineering student at the University of Kansas, illustrated how FMs can influence the planning phase with insights about project specifications, assessing operational feasibility, and evaluating site conditions, infrastructure constraints and integration requirements with other facilities.
“This is a phase where operational needs, staffing requirements, and long-term costs can be built into the project strategy rather than have them patched in later on,” she said. “A FM also brings a long-term perspective that other stakeholders might overlook—on how the building would be used and maintained over time. This includes input on space planning, site access, and system needs that may not have been top of mind for designers or even the owners at this early stage.”
Involvement in the procurement phase is becoming increasingly important for FMs given current economic situations and increasing workloads for vendors. “A key part of our value function as facility professionals is to identify and find expert vendors that can work inside of our organizations,” urged Smithwick. “We certainly shouldn’t minimize that because, when we do, we focus on low-bid cost. . . which leads to all sorts of other challenges.”
At this stage, FMs expressed how they can review request for proposals and guide vendor selections by evaluating specifications and contracts, which directly affects accountability and performance and helps avoid unreliable suppliers.
They also can bridge the gap between short-term project cost and long-term operational and maintenance goals. What is being purchased must be both affordable and practical; for instance, making sure that equipment is serviceable, replacement parts are accessible, and warranties cover what they need to. Proactive involvement brings a lower risk of purchasing systems that don’t integrate well with existing infrastructure or cost more to maintain.
As a project nears the design and pre-construction phase, FMs can review plans and drawings to account for real-world conditions and focus on long-term use that goes beyond aesthetics. They can advocate for standardized building systems for operational consistency and fewer maintenance issues and also impact material selection and space allocation. As Ogundare explained, FMs can identify what materials will maintain durability in local climates or how layouts will best suit future occupants.
Once construction commences, FMs can participate in change order reviews, support quality control efforts, and assist contractors by conducting periodic site visits to identify potential issues. “There have been instances where access panels were blocked or equipment was installed in a way that would make it inaccessible for servicing,” noted Ogundare.
While big decisions are often made before commissioning begins, at this stage, managers can still confirm warranty documentation, and validate if systems are performing as intended and comply with other standards.
“Based on what the interviewees said, when FMs are actively engaged in the early planning phases. . . it makes the handover process smoother,” said Ogundare. “They know the building because they have been part of the process and are better prepared to manage it from day one.”
Catching Small Errors
Real-world examples shared during the study underscore the impact of early FM involvement. In Canada, a project for an 800-seat theatre excluded FMs until its closure phase. By that time, firefighting pipes had not been properly installed during construction, so they eventually froze and burst during the winter season. The impact was up to $2 million in water damages. Acoustic installations were destroyed. This all resulted in prolonged downtime, reputational damage for the contractor, and legal disputes that have been ongoing for more than nine years.
The key takeaway from that case is that FM input from procurement to commissioning will help catch tiny errors before they escalate into multi-million dollar issues and major operational losses.
Moving Beyond Barriers
A subtle bias persists during project development that prevents FMs from being viewed as valuable contributors.
“They are seen as people who just fix things after the facility is handed over and this misconception actually limits their seat at the table,” said Ogundare. “One practical solution to overcome this barrier would be to position FM as strategic partners.”
A way forward is by involving them in project steering committees to influence decisions, be included as voting members, and sign-off on designs and procurement packages alongside architects and engineers. At this point, they can share operational case studies that highlight how design flaws have impacted maintenance and operations.
Some interviewees working primarily in universities and healthcare noted how FMs are starting to be invited to early capital planning meetings because the owners and other project stakeholders are beginning to see the long-term effects of these design errors, Ogundare relayed.
Fragmented delivery with no designated role for FMs during project development also hinders their decision-making abilities. To overcome these obstacles, embedding FM checkpoints in contracts and project processes could mean adding clauses that require FMs to review schematic design, construction documents, and commissioning reports. Pilot projects could uncover valuable outcomes, such as reduced rework and smoother handovers, to be shared with senior leadership.
Short-term budget focus is another barrier drawn from the study. “Many projects prioritize the lowest upfront cost, even if that leads to much higher operating expenses, which makes it really hard for FMs to recommend better systems or materials,” said Ogundare. “A very practical way to address this would be through life-cycle cost analysis. Demonstrating our ROI in real-dollar terms or in years is one of the strongest ways to shift mindset and help re-orientate clients and project stakeholders.”
To further help FMs actively participate in discussions with designers and builders, technical training and professional development require more investment. Many managers lack such expertise; however, they can upskill through BIM training, commissioning certificates, energy modeling, and mentorship. Past research has shown that credentialed employees have higher ratings for performance appraisals, customer satisfaction, and productivity.
Framework Brings Added Clarity
A practical tool emerging from the study is the RACI framework, an acronym for the different responsibility types within a project: responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. For FMs, this would help offer clarity about where their input is essential and define their level of involvement across the phases of a project.
In the planning stage, for example, a chart based on the framework would show that the FM is “responsible” for defining operational and maintenance requirements, should be “consulted” when it comes to accessing the budget for operations, maintenance and lifecycle cost analysis, and must be “informed” about project approval meetings so they can comment as needed.
Using this tool integrates FM expertise more effectively, reinforces their value to other stakeholders, helps teams align FM activities with project deliverables, breaking those tasks down across different phases, and supports work training. Newly hired FMs can visualize the areas where skills are lacking, while senior managers can mentor this younger generation through the responsibilities listed in the framework.
“Early decisions affect long-term cost,” Ogundare concluded. “The FM should be brought on earlier so that their input, based on experience, can help maximize the project. FMs are strategic partners and not just maintainers. They should have a seat at the table.”
