Development and implementation of holistic facilities management concepts

Abstract

In the authors’ experience, many companies still run somewhat immature facilities management (FM) operations, built on ad-hoc premises, with no holistic view. Deploying a holistic FM concept not only gives the organisation the opportunity to save more money, but also helps to shift the focus from cost and quality to cover proactivity and innovation in addition. In this way, FM can become a strategic asset and even a competitive advantage. Deploying a holistic FM concept will help to show the breadth and depth of the importance of FM within the organisation, and can contribute to moving FM up to a strategic level. The authors’ model of a holistic FM concept consists of five elements: FM strategy and goals, governance model, internal cooperation and communication, service delivery, and performance and cost management. When setting a new course for FM operations, the authors believe it is important to make sure as many parts as possible are thought of and melded together. By reviewing and using these five elements one can go a long way.