What is Facility Management?

The need to reduce costs, streamline processes and increase the availability of facilities has led company managers to consider Facility Management a value-added activity.

You’ve certainly heard of Facility Management, but it’s not always easy to understand exactly what it means and what this term refers to.

The focus of Facility Management is a sustained and balanced management of facilities, ensuring proper functioning, good operating conditions, safety, and customer satisfaction.

In this sense, the maintenance of infrastructures is the responsibility of the facility manager. This role encompasses both the organization and maintenance of spaces, and the management of daily tasks.

Consequently, it becomes essential to have well prepared professionals, with solid knowledge, in order to increase the efficiency of resource use, building and facility performance, support top management and improve the results of the organization.

What is the relationship between Facility Management operations and Maintenance?

Thanks to the large number of assets to maintain in a building or infrastructure, maintenance undoubtedly plays a key role in managing these spaces. Mainly, because maintenance ensures that all the assets of an infrastructure remain well-maintained and functional over time. In addition, operations and maintenance almost always work hand in hand, with the goal of providing a safe and productive environment.

During daily FM operations, the maintenance team addresses unexpected issues, such as, fixing a gas leak or replacing a broken machine. Ideally, FM managers will be warned about these maintenance needs through a maintenance request system.

Infrastructure management considers not only daily maintenance needs, but also long-term ones. Following good maintenance practices, AVAC, electrical, plumbing, and security systems are monitored through regular preventive maintenance plans. Similarly, repairs can be anticipated based on predictive maintenance, although this type of maintenance is only possible in larger organizations.

From the same point of view, maintenance inspections are essential for FM operations. Through inspections, FM managers ensure that the workplace meets regulatory requirements, thus contributing to the safety of spaces and people.

Taking into account everything about building and infrastructure maintenance, it is obvious that there is great difficulty in tracking maintenance activities by hand. As a result, organizations are increasingly implementing maintenance management systems (CMMS) to monitor the tasks of internal teams and maintenance service providers.

Manage your facilities with the intelligent software Valuekeep

Maintenance management software is a great ally for all industries that perform building and infrastructure maintenance, such as factories, hospitals, public organizations, among others. Find out how you can benefit from the use of the intelligent maintenance software Valuekeep when managing your buildings.