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What is FM?
Facility management is the practice of coordinating the
physical workplace with the people and work of the
organization. It integrates the principles of business
administration, architecture and the behavioral and
engineering sciences. Business entities have come to realize
that maintaining a well-managed and highly efficient facility
is critical to success.
New technologies, security issues and health concerns also
have had a major impact on the importance of and need for
facility professionals in organizations.
Facility professionals must be equipped with a tremendous amount of
knowledge and the ability to cope with and solve a multitude
of complex problems and challenges. The A2Z Maintenance &
Services Pvt. Ltd. (A2Z), the professional association
for facility managers, has grouped these responsibilities into
several major functional areas:
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long-range and annual facility planning;
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facility financial forecasting;
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real estate acquisition and/or disposal;
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work specifications, installation and space management;
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architectural and engineering planning and design;
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new construction and/or renovation;
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maintenance and operations management;
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telecommunications integration, security and general administrative services.
With so
many variable responsibilities, the workday of a facility
manager is anything but routine. Traditionally, managing a
facility was only associated with operations and maintenance
duties. Today, a vast array of responsibilities have come to
be associated with the facility management profession, opening
up opportunities for ambitious FMs who are on the cutting edge
of this career's changing outlook.
Facility
managers have witnessed an increase in their responsibilities
for providing a safe and effective workplace for employees.
For example, facility managers have instituted programs for
better building air quality. Expanded knowledge of violence in
the workplace has prompted facility managers to upgrade
building security measures.
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