International. In recent decades, Facility Management has become a global profession as companies such as Sodexo, Compass Group, Aramark, ISS/A/S and CBRE have established operations in several countries.
In addition, the profession is changing as technologies such as the Internet of Things transform construction asset management.
This has been accompanied by challenges as different practices, terminology and understanding of FM concepts became evident in different countries.
Now, however, a new set of international standards is transforming FM practice around the world. Known as the ISO 41000 – Standards in the Facilities Management series, these bring together a common understanding of terminology and best practice operations.
This raises questions about what the standards do and contain, why they are needed, and how they will help transform FM practice. Regarding the answers, Nicholas Burt, managing director of the Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA), gave his main concepts in this regard.
Four standards have been adopted so far.
First, ISO 41011 establishes common terms and definitions across the industry. This, Burt says, allows for consistency around terms used on different continents.
When an Australian facilities management company deals with a global customer, for example, the standard will allow them to use the same terminology that that customer is used to elsewhere. It will also enable Australia's FM companies and professionals to speak in uniform language with prospective clients and employers in multiple locations internationally.
ISO 41012 then sets out a process that client organizations and service providers/delivery agents can follow to deliver optimal results when establishing a contract or service agreement. Such an agreement could be between the customer and an external service provider.
Alternatively, you can cover deals at source. The latter could occur when, for example, a bank or financial institution maintains a company or an internal facilities management arm within the organization as a whole. In such a case, the standard guides how the FM part of the organization should connect with the broader entity.
The third standard (ISO 41013) sets out the scope of facilities management services. Initially programmed to be incorporated into the vocabulary standard, it was moved to its own standard as ISO rules would not allow scope content to be set within a vocabulary standard. This standard is relatively short.
Finally, there is the management systems standard (ISO 41001). This is presented as a general standard to guide how facilities management should operate. It covers the context of facilities management, the establishment of fm strategy, and the preparation of FM policies and plans.
It also analyzes the context of the core business strategy and how this is enabled through FM's leadership, planning, support, and performance evaluation. It does this through a quality management process known as the plan-do-verify-act cycle. This involves recognizing opportunities and planning for change; testing the proposed change through a small-scale study; verify, review and analyze the results; and finally, acting on a more complete scale.
While the standards are not mandatory, Burt says understanding and applying them will be critical for those who wish to promote themselves as FM professionals. In the coming years, he says the FMAs will establish an accreditation regime through which organizations will need to demonstrate that they have the systems in place to meet the standards and that their people have the skill and experience needed to facilitate this.
He says the standards will offer several benefits.
First, it will drive greater coherence in FM language and practice across countries. This will help both people working internationally and facilities management companies operating across borders.
Beyond that, you will set minimum requirements and expectations for FM practice. This will help raise not only the level of practice and performance across the industry, but also the profile of the sector within the market.
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