What are the core functions of Facilities Management?

Facilities management is an essential part of any business. From HVAC and refrigeration to building maintenance and procurement.  But what exactly does facilities management do? And how does it contribute to your organisation’s success? Keep reading to find out more…

Maintaining & optimising facilities

Maintaining & optimising facilities ensures that all buildings, equipment, and IT systems are safe, compliant, and in good working order. It involves managing energy usage and waste disposal processes so that they’re economically and environmentally sustainable.

Effective facilities management is about ensuring that assets are serviced on a frequent basis, minimising the occurrence of breakdowns, and extending their lifecycles. This means assets function at their optimal levels, maximising their longevity and efficiency. Any spills, blockages, and similar incidents are immediately reported, prioritised, and responded to in order to protect health and safety and present a welcoming environment; any inefficiencies with assets are quickly identified and responded to, in order to reduce any drain on costs this would cause.

Planning for future growth by identifying potential site development opportunities that may be needed. 

Establishing & streamlining processes

Establishing processes is a crucial function of facilities management. A process is a series of steps that must be completed in order to achieve an end goal. By establishing these processes, you can ensure that work is being done efficiently and effectively by your team members.

Managing processes: Once you’ve established your facility’s internal procedures, it becomes necessary to manage them and this includes monitoring their progress on a regular basis so that any issues can be resolved before they become major problems.

By introducing processes into a day-to-day working environment, FMs help make days more efficient and predictable for everyone involved. It is also the responsibility of FM professionals to adapt and evolve processes in-line with the changing nature of the business or workplace environment.

Supporting people

The core role and responsibility of a facilities manager is to create an accommodating work environment for all employees. Ensuring that they are comfortable while they work, and happy, will create stronger bonds to a company and employees will be more productive. 

Providing people with a safe and secure environment and ensuring that they have the appropriate training and development opportunities is so important.

The role of facilities management is to provide these services, as well as ensure there is an effective approach for managing health, safety, welfare, and environmental issues within the workplace.

Managing projects

A facilities management professional is responsible for overseeing the delivery of completed projects, within budget and on time. As the project manager, your role is to manage the entire job from beginning to end. This includes reviewing the project plan and making sure it’s complete and accurate, staffing sub-contractors or outsource companies where necessary, managing budgets and timelines, and ensuring that deliverables are achieved as agreed upon by all parties involved in the project.