International. On September 28 and 29, CIFMers 2016 took place, the International Congress of Facility Managers, which, in its third edition in Spain, has already become a reference for professionals in the sector. The event, organized by CIFMERS GLOBAL; it was held at the Goya Theater in Madrid and was attended by more than 400 people.
In these two days, Madrid was the focus of the Facility Managers, who had the opportunity to share knowledge about the discipline through different activities.
20 speakers and 5 moderators occupied the stage table to present their experiences in the world of Facility Management and Real Estate.
The first block of the congress focused on the Spanish sphere and was moderated by Vicente Redondo, president of the Spanish chapter of IFMA (International Facility Management Association). In this block, Eduardo Ranz, from Dentix, spoke about the integration of Purchasing in the relationship with suppliers and FM. For his part, Borja Fernández, from Iberdrola, presented the process he led to implement a Global FM model. Finally, José Luis Casero, from ARHOE (Association for the Rationalization of Schedules in Spain), spoke about the relationship between schedules, conciliation and productivity, the latter topic, which was the subject of most of the questions raised by the attendees in question time.
After the first block, it was the turn of the technical presentations, where service providers presented success stories that they have developed in the market. Martín López Sampedro, Commercial Director of Ofita, presented the study "More tan One", which collects data on the use of workspaces and a vision of the office 3.0. Rosa Esteba, from IBM, and Luis Morejón, from CBRE, shared their experience as partners in a contract of more than 25 years of collaboration and growth. Jordi Cochs, IFS General Director of ISS, told us about people as the center of FM services. Finally, Beatriz Martín and Jorge Merino, students of the Master in FM and RE of the UPM, presented the results of the study carried out for their promotion on the integration of Skills and Services of Facility Management in companies.
The first day ended with a cocktail where attendees had the opportunity to meet in a relaxed way and in which Ron van der Weerd, then Chairman of EuroFM, addressed a few words to all the Facility Management professionals present to encourage them to continue developing and making the profession visible.
The talk by Pekka Matvejeff, current Chairman of EuroFM since September 30, opened the second day of the congress. Matvejeff shared his life dedicated to Facility Management and made the audience reflect on the personal skills that will be needed in 2020. Subsequently, the first day block began with a panel composed only of women and moderated by Lorena García Espada, Director of International Operations at FMHOUSE. Gemma González, from Konnectare, spoke about the organizations of the XXI century and Marta Sevilla, Workplace Manager of Xerox, presented the adaptation of her company's workspaces to the challenges of today and the tasks of the future. Julie Kortens, Chair of BIFM, delved into the relationships between customers and suppliers in the world of Facility Management and encouraged attendees to go beyond a contract and create a true partner relationship.
The second block was developed around the idea of "Kwoledge-Knowledge" and was moderated by Duncan Waddell, Chairman of Global FM. Mike Viskovich, from Keysight Technologies, explained the path he had to travel to support from the FM department the creation of a new company in record time. James Monighan, from SmartThings, presented the audience with possible future scenarios that will require significant adaptability. David Martinez, Director of CIFMERS GLOBAL, spoke of the need to put people at the center of FM model design.
After a dynamic meal served by Roncalli, the Special Employment Center of the Juan XXIII Foundation, began the third block of the day, this time focused on the concept "Innovation-Innovation" and moderated by Susanna Caravatti-Felchlin, Head of FM, Planning & Construction at the University Hospital of Zurich. Richard Keanne and Liam Roe, from Cummings, presented the Environmental Champions project that they are carrying out, involving the entire workforce in achieving the company's sustainability objectives. Matthias Rudolph, from the ABK stuttgart, presented his project>Spacesharing<, which seeks to make use of underused spaces in buildings to achieve effects at the urban level.
The presentations ended with the block dedicated to "Inspiration-Inspiration" moderated by Ron van der Weerd. Peter Baumann of SAP explained how participatory workspace design can be carried out efficiently. Bas van Rijn told what it's like to be the Facility Manager of a building like The Edge, where even coffee makers and paper dispensers are connected. Finally, Edward Ehlers, manager of linkedIn's largest FM group (FMP), invited attendees to forget the concept "Business is business" and change it to "business is personal" when it comes to connecting in a real way with colleagues in the profession.
The Congress, once again, was formed as a space for debate and exchange of experiences and knowledge among professionals in the sector. This enthusiasm to strengthen the Facility Management sector will also be the one that will lead next year the EFMC (European Facility Management Conference), the annual conference promoted by EuroFM and IFMA, which will be organized by CIFMERS GLOBAL and will take place on April 26 and 27 in Madrid.
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