World FM Day 2022

The theme this year for World FM Day is “Leading the sustainable future”. The discussion is set to investigate the collisions between environmental considerations, organisational goals and changing cultural norms.

Chairman of Global FM, John Carillo, stated “With a renewed importance being placed on human health and safety coupled with building sustainability and resilience, the facility manager today has been thrust in the centre of the “return to” conversation.

As the world adjusts to a “new normal”, facilities managers are navigating ever-increasing expectations. Compliance requirements and standards for excellence in areas like cleaning protocols and communications mean facilities managers are playing a game with very mobile goalposts.

This World FM Day, we’re asking, what does sustainability in FM look like?

Improving processes

It’s impossible to think about sustainability without considering process improvement.

Processes prescribe a standard set of steps to reliably accomplish a specific goal. For processes to be sustainable at scale, they must balance robustness with flexibility.

As expectations of facilities management teams continue to expand, these processes become a critical component to staying afloat.

In an ever-changing world, processes require a high degree of fluidity, and a focus on continual improvement is critical to keep up the pace.

Software for scalability

Across all areas of business, outdated processes are being replaced with software. However, while technology continues to evolve, technology itself is only one ingredient in the recipe for success.

Implementing software without the right processes in place is like giving a car to someone without a licence. Looks good, has a lot of potential, but will never really realise that potential.

To create sustainability through software, you’ll need todefine your processes, get the right training, and ensure you’ve got the right support.

To ensure your software keeps up with your needs, process improvement needs to be built into the processes themselves. As the capabilities of technology changes, and the organisation grows, processes need to evolve to meet changing needs.

Perfecting planned maintenance

As the role of the facilities manager grows, planned maintenance becomes key to allowing FM teams to reach their full potential. Through saving precious hours by reducing reliance on reactive maintenance, FM teams can shift their focus towards more value-adding activities.

This reduced reliance on reactive maintenance supports the businesses bottom line, and delivers a better experience for facility users through minimising service disruption.

Move to greener options

There’s a multitude of innovations entering the market in any given week, helping organisations to reduce their environmental footprint. We’ve come a long way from simply switching to LED’s.

Facilities management teams are driving environmental change in organisations. From reducing paper use, to engaging in the initial design phases of buildings and involvement in net-zero initiatives, facilities teams are becoming leaders in the battle to maximise functionality, while minimising environmental impact.

The next few years will see continued development in this space, with shifts towards renewable energy, sustainable textiles and a reduction in single-use items.

The rise of asset management

Continual process improvement, strategic software use, and reducing environmental impact help to drive strategic asset management.

The achievement of true sustainability in facilities management means making sure an organisation’s assets work for them. From sustainably making the move to greener technologies, to extending asset lifecycles, asset management will be cast in more starring roles in the coming years as organisations look to maximise ROI.