The Multifaceted Role of A Facility Management Company

Modern-day businesses are increasingly relying on being more efficient and smart in getting their jobs done. For this, they break down their scope of work into several parts and find the right people/outsourcing partner to monitor each of them. One such vital job role today is that of a facilities management company. 

The role of facilities management encompasses a broad spectrum of responsibilities designed to ensure the safety, functionality, and efficiency of the operations the organization is involved in. Traditionally, companies would hire in-house facility managers to manage these tasks effortlessly. Over time, they have realized the benefits of outsourcing facilities management to external entities and have been able to reap handsome rewards from this. 

Through this article, we discuss the role of a facilities management company. 

Functions of Facility Management:

Facility management has amassed massive popularity in the country in the last few years and there are several key factors amongst it. It includes globalization, access to newer technology, and a more in-depth understanding of the prevailing international facility management standards. It has also led to the development of facilities management enterprises that work in tandem with their clients instead of businesses having to handle these themselves. 

But what are the functions of a facility management company? If we zoom out, we can bifurcate the tasks into two broad categories-

• Hard Service - It is all about the physical parts of a building. This includes systems like mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and taking care of the building’s structure.
• Soft Service - It includes services that can improve how people feel in a space. It involves cleaning, security, catering, waste management, and other key services. These services are essential for a pleasant and efficient work environment.

Most organizations require a mix of hard and soft services to operate efficiently. 

Role of a Facility Management Company 

The role of a facility management organization is multifaceted and revolves around ensuring that the expectations of all the stakeholders are met. These entities act as a bridge between the organization and its physical surroundings and are responsible for developing holistic and cost-effective solutions. 

Here’s the breakdown of the role of a facility management company- 

Budgeting and Cost Control

Budgeting and cost management is one of the key roles of a facility manager. The facility management organization is expected to use resources optimally and find ways to reduce the load on the environment. For this, the facility managers have to find the right balance between hard and soft facility management without burdening the overall organizational budget. 

A lot of this depends on how well they procure. Finding the right supplier, negotiating a better price, staying in touch with them to explore various pricing options, and implementing a flexible strategy would be pivotal for facility managers to ensure that optimum budgetary and cost control strategies are in place. 

Maintenance

Businesses only succeed when they do not overlook any aspect of their operations, including premises and equipment. Facilities managers are responsible for ensuring these assets are managed properly. Their role is to create periodic maintenance schedules for all equipment. They are also expected to have a quick plan of action for tackling any unforeseen circumstances, such as electricity outages or machine breakdowns.

Although property management is separate from facilities management, it often falls under the purview of facility managers. As real estate becomes more expensive, this role becomes more significant. It requires the partnering enterprise to foresee issues, find solutions, and ensure the best maintenance in all possible situations. 

Sustainability and Support

The role of a facility management company also encompasses the need to ensure sustainability. They are expected to identify viable, sustainable processes and technologies and develop and implement practices that make the most of the identified resources. In addition, these professionals are also tasked with keeping the workforce’s morale high and in good spirits. 

Facility managers in real estate play a vital role as they help improve asset value, reduce operational risks, improve the carbon footprint, and significantly enhance the reputation. They are instrumental in the development of smart buildings. These companies have embraced new-age tech and use data to make decisions that optimize energy consumption and emissions. 

Facility managers also manage the physical condition and appearance of the property while keeping the functionality of the space as their core focus. These companies ensure a warm and hospitable environment for the users, which helps attract more clients to the organization. 

Technology Integration

Facility managers are often seen as leaders, and it’s their role to ensure that the organization is in sync with the latest technological changes. Most modern structures, like smart buildings, today accommodate a lot of technological prowess, such as IoT tech, smart CCTVs, and more. But with most people lacking enough knowledge about how to make the best use of these technological innovations, facility management companies are expected to be a bridge between these and the people involved. 

They are often the first and last to decide on technology that would be selected, installed, and leveraged in a workspace, and their role includes - 

• Use of aggregated data to deduce and optimize the buildings better
• Understanding the need for smart tech and determining their cost and ROI to the organization
• Figuring out the data collection needs of the entity and researching the tools and sensors needed for it. 

Modern facility managers have begun incorporating an integrated workplace management system (IWMS), which plays a pivotal role in data collection and analysis from all networked technologies. These systems allow managers seamless access to workplace data and enable them to make better decisions to optimize the workplace for everyone involved. 

Communication 

The role of a facility management company necessitates them to be expert communicators. These professionals handle communication throughout the facility, and that includes safety communication, announcements, maintenance notices, and process reminders. They are accountable to all the stakeholders and provide them invaluable inputs on communication channels, methods, and ways to ensure safe communication. 

Conclusion

Buildings and infrastructure function smoothly with the help of facility management companies. They help organizations achieve their goals efficiently by managing maintenance, safety, and energy management. As partners, these entities prioritize the development of smart buildings developed on the concept of optimized carbon footprint, reduced emissions, and the use of cutting-edge technology. 

In times where sustainability has become the core focus, facility managers have started recognizing the need to develop smarter and produce better outputs that not only offer more to the users but also contribute to the cause of the global fight against climate change.