Michel is Principal of FM Insight Consulting Ltd. In addition to consulting, he writes, presents and teaches FM.
As a facility manager, you can do things to help your organization entice and retain talented employees. Don’t wait for HR to approach you about this, take the initiative to recommend these perks and demonstrate your value to the organization you work for. Of course you should make sure they are efficient and cost-effective like…
CMMS is a maintenance management system that keeps a computerized database of an organization’s planned and corrective maintenance information associated to facility equipment. It is used to generate, schedule and prioritize work orders for the maintenance staff, allowing them to perform periodic preventative activities. This allows facility managers to effectively execute their asset management strategy.…
As a Facility Manager, you should take an interest in the entire work envirionment, not just the physical space. You can implement or recommend perks or benefits that all employees can enjoy. And for your own staff and employees, you can to motivate them with benefits and perks that cost little or nothing. Perks in…
First, it is important to understand what resiliency means. According to Merriam-Webster, it is “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change” Since the facilities we manage provide space for the occupants to conduct their business, we must consider resiliency from their perspective, not just from a building perspective. This is…
Many Facility Managers are focused on reacting to and solving problems, not being strategic. It can be fun and rewarding as well as supporting our organization in the short term. That was my approach in the beginning of my career – the belief that I was being paid to do things. Over time and particularly…
To get results, you need to get attention and approval for your initiatives from the decision makers at your company such as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). To do this, you need to see facilities the way your chief financial officer and the finance department do. Since facilities cost money and money is the bottom…
Facility Managers do a lot of things and sometimes those things get in the way of what they should be doing. They get re-directed by the latest trends and concepts and neglect to focus on the fundamental things that drive results and improve what we do. Instead of spending so much effort always responding immediately…
I recently held a Program Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting for the Certificate in Facility Management at Ryerson University for which I am the Academic Coordinator. It is a continuing education program for people in the Facility Management industry to develop and upgrade their skills. The PAC was formed for a program review to identify changes…
The role of a Facility Manager has been transforming yet it still has a long way to go. As an important yet somewhat invisible function of most organizations, the Facility Manager has a significant impact on their organization’s success and financial results. Yet often, the role of the Facilities Manager is seen as being just…