It is estimated that by 2024 the global Facility Management market will grow by about 6% per year, reaching a value of almost 2 trillion dollars, of which 50% will be outsourced.
Still, many do not acknowledge its value, so let us attempt to clarify the situation.
According to the IFMA (International Facility Management Association), Facility Management is "the business discipline that coordinates the physical work space with human resources and the company's own operations". Its main task is to “integrate the principles of business and financial management, architecture along with behavioural and engineering sciences”.
Therefore, it is an actual resource management activity that - by means of tools such as design, planning and the provision of support services to the various corporate departments - is concerned with increasing the effectiveness of the organisation, making it capable of adapting to typical market changes.
Explained in this way, Facility Management appears to be an easy business to understand, but there are still many misconceptions surrounding this world. Let's take a look at the most common ones together and set the record straight.
Facility Management only deals with maintenance of workplaces
False. Facility Management is not just about managing the physical spaces in which a company's employees carry out their work. It is not just about structural maintenance. The real goal is to make buildings robust and safe, but also optimal for productivity and operations.
Hence, it is a matter of managing work spaces to make them as safe, functional and comfortable as possible, so that workers can carry out their activities in optimal conditions as well as in well-structured environments that are not harmful to their psychological and physical health.
Our Facility Management services include several solutions, depending on whether the Client is a large company, a business centre, public administration, small and medium-sized enterprise, or the services sector. Find out more
Facility Management is only useful when faced with emergency situations
False. Facility Management aims to avoid having to deal with emergencies due to poor maintenance of buildings where work takes place. One of the key aspects of this type of management is precisely to pay the utmost attention to routine maintenance, especially if it is required by law.
Facility management does not directly concern company employees
False. Facility Management interventions support employees in performing many of their tasks. The best known and most widespread concern the management of services that are or may be present in workplaces, such as the canteen, laundry, post office, archives, reception, cleaning or green maintenance services, fleet management and waste management.
Today, it is increasingly important to provide comfortable spaces for employees, customers and anyone spending time in a facility.
Facility Management, therefore, has a direct impact on the quality and efficiency standard of workplaces, which takes the form of workspace design, organisation of internal logistics and distribution of furniture systems.
Facility Management costs too much and only a few companies can afford it
False. The typical costs incurred by companies to maintain their buildings are offset through smart Facility Management, which leads to considerable cost savings in the long term.
In fact, through the activities implemented by the Facility Manager and his staff, the company is able to focus its resources more effectively on its objectives, thus optimising its market presence and aligning with market trends.
In order to optimise Facility Management costs, outsourcing is gaining ground worldwide, with an estimated growth rate of 6% per year.
Our consultants are skilled in identifying and addressing the weak points of your corporate structures.
Facility Management only serves to maintain the high performance of an asset
False. Proper resource management not only ensures high property performance but also increases its value. Properly and regularly maintained buildings and installations will last longer and maintain efficient standards.
With FEAMS®, the digital platform we have created and patented to optimise and rationalise our staff's interventions and your property's energy consumption, you can schedule the best time for repairs, preventive maintenance or the replacement of plants or components, thus reducing downtime and increasing productivity with a consequent higher return on investment.
Furthermore, real estate in line with ESG criteria and LEED certification are rewarded by the market, which nowadays recognises sustainability not only as an ethical choice, but as a decisive element in guiding investment choices.
Facility Management involves activities that, by their essence, are only necessary for large companies
False. The scope of Facility Management is so broad that it encompasses situations typical of large, medium-sized, and small companies. In order to be productive and efficient, all these businesses need suitable, qualified and safe workplaces, and some key aspects cannot be ignored just because it is a small firm. We can consider, for example, the maintenance and upgrading of electrical, heating or air conditioning, ventilation or air treatment systems. Or all the various requirements concerning access control within the company, security systems and those relating to the installation of CCTV cameras or the preparation of structures required by fire regulations.
We at the Fervo Group have long-standing consolidated experience in Facility Management services.
Contact us. We’ll help you identify the most sustainable and innovative solutions for your workplace.
Once all indications have been given as to what is best to do to improve the company’s structural efficiency, Facility Management is no longer needed
False. The planning of ordinary services and the management of possible emergencies are only the first step in managing resources. A second part of the work involves the analysis of the results obtained. The evaluation carried out on any deviations that may have arisen between what was assumed and what was actually achieved, between the costs budgeted and those incurred, is particularly important in this second phase. The services offered are analysed for any waste or criticalities, to avoid repeating errors in the future.
To be truly efficient, Facility Management must be in-house
False. If it is true that a Facility Management activity carried out from within the company makes it possible to identify first-hand the areas that require intervention in order to optimise production, it is also true that outsourcing certain services can be even more advantageous.
External consultants have a very broad view of the specific situation due to their experience and similar aspects already dealt with in other situations, and they are not subjected to internal influences.
According to research conducted by the American company McKinsey, the propensity for outsourcing exceeded 50% of the global Facility Management market in Europe, the Middle East and North America by 2021. Covid 19 has certainly pushed, and continues to push, towards outsourcing activities, for example those related to the decontamination of premises that require the use of specific measures implemented by specialised personnel not always present in the company.
The choice to outsource Facility Management can respond to the need to focus the company's attention on production aspects alone, thus freeing up resources and entrusting process optimisation aspects to people do it continuously in their profession.
While Fervo Group consultants take care of all Facility Management services dedicated to your workplace and the people present in it, you can fully focus on your core business. Consider this hypothesis!
Facility Management could be simplified by using dedicated software, but it is not worth it because it is too expensive and complicated to use
False. The benefits - economic and otherwise - of managing workplaces in such a way as to make them more serene and safer for employees significantly outweigh the expenses involved.
As far as the difficulty of using software is concerned, this is a problem that can be solved by relying on experts in the field, who not only provide the tool but also ensure assistance in its correct use. The “seller”, especially when it is a reliable consultancy firm, thus becomes a genuine strategic partner who is ready to support the customer at all times.
At the Fervo Group, we also support companies with our FEAMS® digital platform, with which we ensure the optimal operation of offices and buildings. Click here if you want to learn more about our 4.0 service offering.
