Social Responsibility of Facility Management - Essay Example

FACILITY MANAGEMENT al Affiliation) “Facilities Management is a more powerful concept than day-to-day operationsalone. It takes a strategic view of the workplace and considers people and their environment, ultimately influencing workplace productivity through facilities design and management.” This paper will provide a critical review of the role, duties and responsibilities of a facility manager. Additionally, the paper will also analyse the functions and requirements of facilities management and the strategic characteristics of the profession, in respect to the current studies in the discipline. Introduction The majority of real estate embodies significant investment for organizations and has to support and accommodate a variety of undertakings, often allowing for competing needs. In those undertakings is the tenant or owner organisation’s main business, therefore, a suitable environment ought to be fashioned in buildings, which could not have been intended for the reasons that they are currently used. However, no matter just how well dedicated a company might be upon its core dealings; it should not neglect its supporting services – the non-core business. Therefore, facilities management sets the non-core business activities at the provision of the main business in a manner as to safeguard a company’s capital investment within real estate as well as aids to convert a cost item to one of the added –value (Edwards 2011). Organizations may have by now considered the discrepancy amid their main business and non-fundamental business (for instance, security, HVAC cleaning and maintenance) as role of the initiative to provide and achieve superlative value and client satisfaction. Meanwhile, running costs make up a significant portion of yearly expenditure, after payroll, there is always pressure to search for savings within non-fundamental business areas. Reducing operating budgets might be a smart, or financially convenient, short-term measure yet may not nurture the business’s long-term development (FTAG 2009). As the overseeing of a company involves intricate, co-ordinated activities and processes, it is essential to adopt an integrated outlook. A piecemeal methodology to reducing costs is improbable of generating the necessitated savings and may damage the business’s ability to provide the most suitable services. In order for facility management to present maximum backing to fundamental business undertakings, the company must then recognise that quality and cost are inseparably connected. Facilities management is the ideal setting for the business’s primary operations, taking an assimilated outlook of the company infrastructure, as well as expending this to provide customer satisfaction and unsurpassed value via support for as well as improvement of the main business. Therefore, facilities management could be described as an activity, which will strategically provide responsive and effective services, enable changes through use of space in the future, sweat the resources, for instance, render them extremely cost effective, and enhance the company’s image and culture (Park 2010). Facilities management, therefore, is an interdisciplinary area requiring proficiency in business, environmental management, interior design and construction. The roles, duties and responsibilities of a facilities manager are wide-ranging and moulded by not merely the nature of structure being handled, but the kind of business they house. Facility managers, for example, in hospitals may have an active functioning responsibility in infection prevention whereas facilities managers within a factory may be more immersed in safety and productivity. Facility management ensures the wellbeing of people and the environment though the management of facilities. All the duties and responsibilities of facility managers operate towards delivery of a better working environment that is free of harm and conducive for every occupant in an organization (Barret 2009). The facility management requirements like general housekeeping design requirements form an effective basis for managers to execute their roles, duties and responsibilities towards provision of a business environment, which is favourable in enhancing productivity. Workforces tend to be effective in their output production when they feel safe within their workspace environment. A facility manager may handle a single building, a university campus or a hospice. Facility managers may also manage a variety of buildings throughout the country. Whereas there are numerous businesses a facility manager could be hired in, several key roles, duties and responsibilities remain alike (Payne 2011). A facility manager has the duty of an interior designer. Facility managers are habitually charged with the duty of housekeeping and selection of paint, carpet, office furniture and decor. They are required to pick out items, which are artistically pleasing, cost efficient, ergonomic as well as facilitate work. Facility managers, therefore, must have at best superficial information of the process flow of a corporation’s business such that design essentials enhance instead of impeding productivity. Workflow, traffic patterns and the degree of utilisations are facets of interior design, which ought to be reflected for excellent facility management(Shah 2008). The facility manager is bestowed with the duty environmental management. During the winter, for instance, facility managers must guarantee that snow is gotten rid of and that walkways are salted to avoid accidents. During the summer, facility managers are accountable for maintaining the building’s cool temperatures. Facilities managers, therefore, should comprehend basic HVAC codes for best building operation. Facility managers may be charged with the duty of reprocessing manufacturing by-products in addition to being accountable for waste elimination. In facilities, which use unsafe chemicals, facilities managers must comply with and enforce OSHA and EPA guidelines (Wiggins 2009). The facility manager is charged with the duty of maintenance and construction. Building preservation and maintenance is a crucial facet of facilities management not simply to deliver a productive and safe work atmosphere, but correspondingly to sustain the quality of corporeal assets possessed by a business (Cotts 2010).Efficient facility managers fathom electrical wiring, straightforward plumbing as well as have understanding with larger ventures, for example, roofing. Facility managers may also be summoned to oversee and coordinate larger construction ventures, for instance, constructing an addition. Facilities managers have a duty of space management within an organization. The corporation or organization resolves who to employ, however, a facilities manager obtains a workspace. Varying on the business, the manager may assign the inhabitant to living stations, an office, a clinical, laboratory space. He or She has the responsibility of scheduling space allocation requirements, moving current occupants or eradicating unwanted occupants (Martin 2008). The facility manager has the duty to sustain a healthy, clean working atmosphere. Intrinsically, he or she makes guarantees housekeeping obligations are done such as air conditioning, toilets flush and garbage is removed. One of facility manager duties comprises preventive maintenance. Within a larger company, he or she operates with the personnel accountable for performing things, for instance, replacing air conditioner sifts. Within a smaller company, he or she may replace the filters as well as repair the toilets herself or himself (Mann 2010). An added duty for a facility manager includes scheduling for organizational development. If the enterprise requires a new facility, the facilities manager operates with the building management team and architect to plan and build it. He or she embodies the inhabitants, and their requests, and communicates these facts to the builders and designers. In prevailing structures, new inhabitants may require their space refurbished. The facilities manager discusses the contract stipulations and price with the outworker (Barrett & Baldry 2006). He or she also affords the outworker with admittance to the space as well as guarantees that the outworker does not trouble existing occupants. He or she examines the revamp as well as signs off upon the completed task. It is the responsibility of a facility supervisor to negotiate indentures and manage dealings with contractors who revamp the building or buildings, which he or she manages. Contingent on the nature of building this may comprise the cleaning team, vending machine providers, janitorial contractor, HVAC repair and maintenance technicians, and plumbers (Hoesli 2009). Habitually, when a minor or small issue arises with the building, like a blocked drain or toilet he or she may handle the issue himself or herself to save the fee of contracting a professional. She or he will work as a basis of contact for tenants or personnel when a maintenance issue arises or request which is needed. The facility manager is charged with the duty of safety management. In some companies, the facility manager also works as a safety officer. He or she operates with government representatives to ensure the building as well as occupants adhere to federal and state guidelines. These guidelines cover building protocols, food protocols and fire canon. He or she arranges and oversees fire drills and check-ups. In an investigation structure, this could comprise bio-safety and chemical safety compliance(Haynes 2011). Another duty for a facility manager is security management. Facility supervisors control access. He or she has the duty of allocating keys or electric access even biometrics and swipe card. Some federal organizations require facility supervisors attain a security authorisation. They supervise the putting in of security structures. Facility managers work with law enforcement agency on lockdowns as well as in other emergency state of affairs. The facilities supervisor is accountable for scheduling, leading, as well as budgeting for main projects, together with new construction, remodels and major upkeeps to existing buildings. He or she is accountable for finding contractors and vendors to offer projects, then acquiring the best as well as most economical pricing, procuring all licenses and permits from state agencies and local municipality, following the outworker through the task and helping with any matters, and doing a follow up once the task is done. This may institute the need to develop close relations with local contractors and building officials, and keeping up with the latest facts concerning the relevant state laws and legislation) (Banfield 2008). One of the major responsibilities for facility manager, which often results to the task requiring no less than 40 hours for every week and regular off-peak work periods is the accountability to reply to and handle all emergencies. Emergencies may comprise of an alarm going up at night, clearing car parks and icing the entrances during a snowstorm. Habitually, a facility supervisor must respond to emergencies during extreme weather, natural catastrophes or once an offense has been executed. To implement the roles undertaken by facility managers, facility management requires general housekeeping design requirements, inventory design requirements, trash management and facility design requirements, stowage design requirements, and long-term mission and atmosphere design requirements (Baldry 2008. Managing facilities effectively and efficiently necessitates that a strong strategy is established within the framework of the organization’s business design, and accommodation and space stratagem. These should encompass development of calculated objectives, plus a design for the facility management, with appropriate reference to the general business design and accommodation approach in which it may be contained. If building structures as well as other facilities are not handled well, they can start to impact on a company’s performance. On the contrary, facilities and buildings have the prospective to improve performance by underwriting towards the delivery of the ideal work as well as business atmosphere. There exist no universal tactics to facilities management. Each company has its needs. Recognising those needs is the answer to effective facility management gauged through provision of best value. Additionally, once determined the facility management approach must be a keystone of a company’s accommodation stratagem, not aide to it (Atkin & Brooks 2009). Conclusively, facility management has a social responsibility; it has developed into a resilient driver of the economy as well as ascertained its responsibility as an integrator of individuals, place and practices. The field of facilities management as well as the position of facility supervisors especially are advancing to the degree that many supervisors have to be: operational and strategic-tactical (Booty 2009). Facility managers inform the clients concerning the potential outcome of their verdicts on space provision, cost, services and business threat. The duty of a facility supervisor is to guarantee regulatory and corporate compliance and the proper running of all facets of a facility to form an ideal, safe and a cost efficient atmosphere for the inhabitants to function. This is achieved through the various duties and responsibilities of a facility manager, which include safety management, security management and environment management (Alexander 2010). Word count (2000) References Alexander, Keith 2010, Facilities Management: Theory and Practice, Routledge. Atkin, Brian & Brooks Adrian 2009, Total Facilities Management, John Wiley & Sons. Baldry, David 2008, A Guide to Facilities Management, Mass MIT-Press, Cambridge. Banfield, Anthony 2008, Stapletons Real Estate Management Practice. Barrett, P & Baldry, D 2006, Facilities Management: Towards Best Practice, Blackwell Science, Oxford. Barrett, Peter 2009, Facilities Management, Oxford, Blackwell Science, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. Booty, Frank 2009, Facilities Management Handbook, Wiley-Blackwell. Cotts, David G 2010, The Facility Management Handbook, Routledge. Edwards, Victoria 2011, Corporate Property Management Aligning Real Estate with Business Strategy, Wiley-Blackwell. 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