It’s a common misconception that Facility Managers need a seat at the C-Suite table along with the COO, CEO, CFO, CIO, and the other top executives. Quite simply you don’t. And in most organizations, you won’t. The nature of what we do as Facility Managers, while important to your organization’s success, simply won’t warrant a…
I was discussing the issues of design not working well for operations with a very experienced Facility Manager I know and he gave me a great example of how he got the Architect on-board with operational design requirements for a new Facility. You may have seen my previous posting “Architects Dream – Facility Managers…
You’ve probably heard about Big Data. That’s what your credit card company collects, Google has and even your grocery store uses. For Facilities Management, it’s best to start smaller. Many FM’s don’t even have the basic information they need to manage and make good decisions, mostly because they either don’t have an FM system or…
Facility Managers are always getting things done around their facility, whether its responding to a complaint, dealing with space issue, organizing a move, coordinating maintenance or delivering customer service. It almost feels like you are on a treadmill, moving ahead but never really getting to the end. It’s a fact of life in the Facilities…
There is nothing special about cleaning hard to reach windows with a pole system, and this looks pretty typical until you look closer. (see the full size image below) This is in the new and very beautiful Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. I transited through the airport on my way from Kuala Lumpur where…
Budgeting is a crucial task for Facility Managers. Since we manage a significant part of our organization’s costs, the budget is important to the organization both to validate the amount spent and to manage it. When I talk to Facility Managers, the annual budget process they have to go through is always a tedious, time…
Managing facilities is by its nature financially driven. The high costs of real estate, the cost of energy and maintenance and the perception that an organization’s facilities are a cost drag rather than a value to the organization are contributing factors. If you don’t have enough information and aren’t able to analyze that information, you…
Real Estate costs money, and money is the bottom line for any company. Facilities Managers who recognize this fact are in a better position to raise the profile of the Facilities department and contribute to the success of the company by accurately establishing facility related costs and positioning the information for better corporate decisions. With…
Cleaning is one of the top two services in its importance to your occupant’s satisfaction, just behind HVAC. It can also represent a significant portion of your annual facilities costs. The key to successfully procuring a Janitorial Service Provider is to understand how the business works. When selecting a janitorial service provider, the first step…