Facilities Management Top Trends
The role of Facilities management has been taken up throughout the design, construction and operation of a built environment, with a function to provide feedback of knowledge on effective management of the facility. Today’s pressures on reducing facility cost often challenges the ability to maintain facilities to the same level of efficiency and environmental stewardship intended in the design, construction, and delivery phase. Within facilities management there are a few industry trends that are the focus to moving forward. Facilities management has a high focus on cost savings and productivity improvements. The industry itself needs to evolve, it is traditionally overlooked and that needs to change in order to make buildings more efficient and to make employees work environment easier. The most relevant trends of today in this industry are possible to help with moving towards the future. These trends include outsourcing FM, integrated value and related services, workplace strategy, IoT evolution, Environmental sustainability, and data-driven decision making. If facilities managers focus on these trends the future would become much brighter for this industry. In order to provide safe, efficient workplaces, facility managers have to consider how a facility is designed and how it is expected to perform over its life cycle. Saving the tax payers money is the biggest and most efficient trend that facilities mangers inducted to this day each building has been doing the necessary upgrades to become greener.
As Facilities managers you have cost efficient mindset you have to learn to do more with less to accomplish objectives with reduced capital expenditures. The best way to save on work getting done within the building is by using outside contractors which will cut overall expenses within the facilities. Adjusting existing spaces will suit the needs of the organization and is cost-effective to the managers. As a manager you have to employ temporary staff at times to assist in-house staff with unplanned work. Have to ensure that the facilities are at full capacity all the time during operations. There is a triple bottom line that comes with sustainability practices they are lower operating cost, sustainable green practices, and excellent customer service. The way to ensure your building is always efficient doing regular inspections and performing maintenance on equipment can go a long way in the longevity of the building.
In the need to save money as a facility manager you want your building to be environmentally stable. Design workplaces that are energy efficient while also minimizing the impact on the environment. Being environmentally stable has become a mainstream feat as of today everyone wants a part of it and to upgrade their buildings. Sustainability in facilities management is about making decisions that will reduce business’s negative impact on the environment. Facilities managers are to conserve energy through energy audits and perform related improvement programs. Managers should track energy inefficiencies and should consider newer and better upgrades and installations for less costly energy emissions. Implementing sustainability measures enable it to fully understand the true commercial, social and environmental impact it has on the building. Reducing emissions also reduces costs and in turn has a positive effect on the commercial and environmental bottom line. These huge savings exist in owning and operating high-performance green buildings.
The big downsides of buildings becoming sustainable are having older buildings that weren’t designed with sustainability in mind. There are also owners who aren’t willing or able to scrape their existing buildings or take on any major capital expense for the sake of the environment. Budgets are also a downside because large-scale gutting and renovations of multiple buildings and systems become harder to justify with older facilities. These owners who don’t become sustainable are having a hard time developing their competencies in order to face demands, challenges, and opportunities of sustainable practices and development. Another main challenge to sustainability would be people because they don’t have the proper understanding of the building and what needs to happen for them to receive a better understanding. On one hand, energy losses contribute to waste and increase our ecological footprint. On the other hand, they raise the costs of companies for heating and cooling buildings. Physical and financial restraints have become a barrier to the implementation of sustainability because of lack of tools, trainings, and knowledge.
The quick answer to these downsides is to take an existing buildings improvements one step at a time and to work on the education of the facility manager in the ways of sustainability. Gaining visibility into a facilities’ performance is key to understanding current sustainability status of the buildings. Implementing these updates of sustainability not only improves your facilities but also boosts efficiency and lowers costs. Using eco-friendly cleaning products reduces the amount of toxic chemicals the facilities releases into the environment and lessens exposure for everyone in and around the facilities. Performing preventative maintenance on older pieces of equipment keeps their energy usage down over time. Additionally, preventative maintenance helps extend equipment lifespans, reducing the material usage in replacement pieces. Recycling is a key way to improve sustainability it conserves finite resources. Making recycling a priority in facilities requires planning, as there are regulations around recycling different types of materials. Managers should employ green focused contractors when facilities need repairs and maintenance, utilizing contractors who use clean products and energy efficient tools. Finally, make sure the contractors you hire are experienced with the types of low energy equipment and other assets the facilities have.
Facilities managers who operate their buildings sustainably tend to have healthier, more productive environment, with better tenant and worker attraction or retention and less absences. The positive results that come with the triple bottom line of enhanced economic, environmental, and societal benefits make sustainability a sound corporate governance practice with facilities management that has far reaching consequences. Sustainability is one of the most important industry trends within facilities management it has its ups and downs but these practices are being implanted each and every day for future. The trend has become very important in this field of facilities management because it focuses on cost efficiency and conservation of energy. Training is essential when it comes to any of this to keep facilities manager appraised and up-to-date on all matters of sustainability. Going forward tracking emerging trends and investing in the right organizational capabilities will be well positioned to reduce costs and increase the impact of facility mangers spending. This trend has become a thing for the future and should be implemented throughout all buildings in order to pave the way for future businesses and in a much greener world. I believe it to be increasingly necessary for facilities to recognize the importance of sustainability and its application in every aspect of facilities management, water, and energy management. Ultimately, facilities industry is very much about people, and sustainable changes in behavior. Making a building last longer is the most sustainable thing to do for the future.
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Sourav Das Adhikari is a knowledge expert
Six Emerging Trends in Facilities Management Sourcing About the author(s) https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/six-emerging-trends-in-facilities-management-sourcing