Why is Proper Facility Management Important?
By JD Boone
We often think of facility management in terms of maintenance items (plunging toilets, changing light bulbs, fixing a squeaky door, etc.). There is that side of the job, but true facility management encompasses a much larger role in the business than just routine maintenance. It’s critical to know the difference and understand the importance of proper facility management.
Much of the time the facility manager is the point person to ensure a client’s assets maintain their value and are properly cared for. These assets might be depreciating items such as equipment, building components or infrastructure. However, assets can also be abstract and include components like employees and a company’s culture, strategy, and business plan. The focus on the later of these two asset classifications is what will distinguish a good facility management program from a great one. There is an art to caring for abstract assets; make sure your facility management program is well defined to ensure the care for your company’s most important assets.
Things will break, that is a fact. How the facility management responds to that situation says a lot about the management of the entire facility. There absolutely needs to be a level of hurried response and repair. However, in the rush to fix the problem the investigation and post-mortem steps are often overlooked or forgotten. Proper facility management includes the extended review of issues that arise to determine if the issue can be avoided or minimized in the future. Through this process there will be efficiencies gained and time and energy saved, which often translates to the bottom line.
Now that you know a little bit about the importance of a proper facility management program you may be asking yourself, how do I implement this at my company? Here are four steps to help you get started.
- Create the Program: Outline your company’s goals and what you would like to achieve through this program. Next, determine how the facility manager will help achieve these goals and what his role will be.
- Staff the Program: Review current staff to see if facility management can be handled in-house or if outsourcing is more appropriate. Some companies are able to spend the time to create a program from scratch, but others determine that it’s more cost effective to have a professional involved. There are lots of programs that will work but it’s important that you find what works best for your company.
- Support the Program: This will be a new process but you need to trust it and provide support. This includes the staff who will be in charge of managing the facility. They will need the support from upper management and a voice in discussions involving the facility.
- Engage the Program: Facility Managers are a wealth of knowledge and can contribute to your company’s strategic plans. We have found that clients who trust and engage their FMs in business decisions will experience quicker turnaround on implementation and often discover more efficient means to complete the work.
Click on this link to download A M King’s White Paper entitled “Solutions for Your Food Facility Renovation.”
