Facility Management is often seen only as a maintenance and repair activity. Meanwhile, the International Facility Management Association has defined it as “a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality, comfort, safety and efficiency of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.” This indicates that Facility Management goes far beyond repairs and maintenance as many have assumed but extends to ensuring business activities go as planned while guaranteeing comfort and safety, as well as contributing to the company’s bottom line. Facility Managers are saddled with the responsibility of maintenance, safety and other activities that are not core functions of the business but have a direct impact on operations and productivity.

Corporate objectives are a company’s fundamental reason for being in business, which often transcend profit and market share. Most companies describe their objectives as one that focuses on value creation for its stakeholders as well as creating a sustainable business model. These objectives are further broken down to functional objectives which relate to specific roles that are carried out daily by employees to ensure corporate objectives are met at the end of the day. In a bid to achieve these objectives, business operations take a toll on human resources particularly when several extraneous activities are receiving attention that should have been invested in core business functions, consequently slowing down productivity. 

For employees to perform their best and fully participate in crucial business activities, it is necessary for them to operate in a safe, comfortable and functional environment. Facility Management, therefore, provides balance for businesses by allowing them to clearly focus on their core business activities without the hurdle of dealing with maintenance, safety, comfort, managing operational equipment, property value and several other functions that are primary responsibilities of Facility Management professionals. With a well-articulated Facility Management policy, businesses can prevent operation downtime, save cost on repairs through preventive maintenance, and maintain high Health and Safety policy compliance; which protects, assets, environment and reputation of the business by minimizing workplace accident and its possible effects; mitigating risk with thorough risk management processes; and ensuring maximum productivity via a safe, comfortable and functional working environment. 

Another benefit worth mentioning is the exceptional quality management policy that superior Facility Management provides, using Alpha Mead Facilities as an example, one of Africa’s leading Facility Management companies with ISO 9001:2015 certification, by United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS). The ISO 9001 is a Quality Management standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with a strong customer focus alongside other principles that help ensure superior quality products and services for businesses to thrive. Companies with ISO Certification are committed to delivering quality services using global best practices in driving corporate goals.  A company like Alpha Mead Facilities has been able to remain at the top of the FM market in Nigeria, by providing customer focused quality FM services to businesses across Africa saving them huge cost.

Businesses can conveniently achieve their Corporate Objectives and save costs along the way by utilising Facility Management services in addressing other activities that are not their core business functions. Some agile companies are beginning to provide professional Facilities Management trainings to members of their Operations team, equipping them with the right knowledge on how to take on some of these technical FM functions, this also result in increased productivity amidst other benefits. 

One of the best places to receive the right Facility Management training in Nigeria, is at Alpha Mead Training Centre (AMTC), a leading Facility Management training provider. AMTC offers Facility Management training to Individuals and Corporate Organisations requesting professional Facility Management training for their staff. Visit https://alphameadtraining.com/training-programs/ to find out more. 

Missing scheduled maintenance:

In the sphere of facilities management, it is imperative that all maintenance is scheduled and properly managed in order to track facility usage. The Facilities Management industry thrives on its ability to ensure minimal to zero downtime whilst ensuring business runs smoothly without complaints.  Schedule maintenance will help prevent equipment breakdown hence optimizing cost and productivity. Maintenance can be scheduled on a computer software that sends a prompt to the inspection officer as well as the supervisor reminding them of the various inspections, another way to follow up on this is by keeping an inspection calendar and checklist.  In your operations, ensure not to miss a maintenance schedule as it could have dire consequences.

Sloppy HSE compliance:

Accidents and injuries do not happen every day, but when they occur you want to reduce the disruptions they have on the business and manpower. Workplace health and safety is about sensibly managing risks to protect workers, assets and reputation and as an FM professional, it is necessary to regularly conduct and coordinate regular effective HSE internal inspections and audits to reduce lost-time injuries. Ensuring staff and visitors comply with all safety protocols, report cases of unsafe conditions and act accordingly. Lastly, always be prepared for emergencies, they rarely occur, but be equipped well enough to manage them effectively.

Inadequate FM Trainings:

Like many other professions, FM is evolving and learning they say never stops. To remain at the peak of your career in Facilities management, frequent training is required for the Managers and Workers alike. When workers are not rigorously trained according to industry standards, they are most certain to deliver below expectations which can be very chaotic for both end users and the FM professional. Steer clear of this, by providing intensive present-day FM training for workers and professionals. Alpha Mead Training Center (AMTC) offers a variety of facilities management trainings from fundamental to advanced and professional internationally recognized FM certifications that will keep you up to date with modern FM techniques needed to succeed in the industry.  Poorly trained FM workers deliver low quality services and needless to say; these services are often dissatisfying. Deliver exceptional service to your customers by upskilling for success.

Ignoring soft skills:

In the workplace several skills are needed to get by and  as an FM professional, it is essential that you employ not only technical skills but also soft skills in delivering right. You do not want to yell at clients or coworkers because they do not take your great ideas on board, or delay making an important decision because it lacks urgency. Soft skills like proper communication, problem-solving skills, decision making ability should never be put aside by an FM professional.

In the final analysis, seek opportunities to develop yourself and your team to deliver on organisational mandate.  At Alpha Mead Facilities, our years of experience of delivering exceptional services to organisations of different sizes across the globe is a cutting-edge that our clients enjoy. Speak to us today for your facilities management needs, call 0700-25742-6323.

In professional spaces, this is also the trend as well. Accountants, Facility Managers, Designers, Software developers and different members of the skilled workforce have joined the throng of people who acquire new skills and brush up on existing ones online.

The e-learning industry itself will be worth $240 billion by the end of 2022, according to estimates by Statista. As more online course creators and educational institutions keep making learning resources available virtually, the volume of learners online has continued to skyrocket.

58% of professionals globally love the ease of access that E-learning gives.

According to the National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES), 58% of people working with one company or the other reportedly prefer to learn using e-learning platforms globally. This huge proportion shows the significant rate at which people have adopted e-learning platforms as the new wave of skilling up. The major reason why e-learning is preferred by this set is that it allows them to learn at their own pace and digest course materials from the comfort of their homes or wherever they choose. The Alpha Mead E-learning platform offers a user-friendly interface that not only makes learning easy, but fun and accessible as well.

People complete e-learning courses 60% faster than in-person courses

Because people can access e-learning courses at any time of the day, they can study at their peak periods and complete courses faster. Research by Papers Owl shows that most people digest and complete their upskilling courses 60% faster when they take it on online platforms like Udemy, Coursera, and Alpha Mead E-learning than in person.

In addition to these advantages that learning online gives, Alpha Mead E-learning take it two steps further, in a bid to give people who choose us an edge over those who do not.

One of these “additional steps” is allowing students to meet the facilitator virtually after completing a course online. Not only does this make the learning experience more exciting for the student, but it also provides an avenue to gain more insights, pose questions directly to the tutor, and foster healthy mentor-mentee relationships.

There is no doubt that practical tours improve the outcomes of teaching sessions, whether those sessions are online or in-person. Some e-learning platforms go the extra mile of providing opportunities for physical tours to their students.

E-learning platforms like Alpha Mead E-learning give students the free will to take courses at their pace from anywhere in the world. To make the learning experience richer and more fulfilling for the person on the other side of the screen, the academy also facilitates virtual meetups between students and course instructors, on successful completion of courses.

Alpha Mead E-learning tours are fun and educative – The Alpha Mead E-learning platform makes learning tours available to e-learners. All a student or prospect has to do is, to request to be a part of the next learning tour for a specific course and he/she will be notified when the next tour is open. Easy-peasy.

E-learning opens up a whole lot more possibilities for people. Platforms like Coursera, Udacity, Alpha Mead E-learning, EdX, Udemy and others make it possible to learn from smart people in the farthest parts of the world, as long as you have an internet connection.

As more people embrace this form of learning, online platforms and instructors will keep finding new ways to deliver better value to students.

Green buildings and sustainable building practices: 

A lot of companies are focusing more on engaging with facility management partners who provide sustainable equipment and solutions, which in turn will help to reduce their carbon footprint as well as help facility managers ensure that the workforce is well-conversant with positive environmental practices. This is because these partners may assist in recommending the usage of sustainable practices like banning the use of non-biodegradable materials to make buildings more eco-friendly. HVAC units, insulation strategies, motion-sensor lights with automatic turn-off are all technologies that are on the right step forward. Partnerships and collaborations with related industries will help the FM market to keep evolving. 

AI, robotics 

A lot of software providers are now committed to innovation, making room for AI and robotics in FM. It is evident that facility management businesses need to integrate with more software platforms and tech devices and equipment. The internet of things [ IoT], Artificial intelligence [AI] and smart building technologies have created new ways of working and managing end-to-end platform FM processes and workspaces. 

User experience is key 

When it comes to the FM space, a lot of organizations are already beginning to digitize their operations by operating on digital platforms. This is mainly to ensure ease of user experience. Companies are now looking at solution providers that provide an entire range of offerings like asset tracking, energy consumption monitoring, security, inventory management, HVAC, and mobile capabilities: under a single roof. This increased interaction with software for simple operations is indicative of the trend of using a system that users are comfortable with and which is universal across software sectors. 

All these above trends have been driven forward by changes brought forth by the pandemic. As these trends continue to advance, one can surely witness the emergence of newer technologies that will reshape employee experiences driven by FM trends in a different way altogether. The role of the facility manager is becoming more prominent and even beginning to shift from an operational to a strategic level, facility managers now combine an eye for innovation, expertise, strategic thinking, and continuous improvement. Change is inevitable – but these facility management trends are here to stay. 

Having a good knowledge of how to manage these facilities will help companies and families save money. Here are three different ways in which Facility Management skills will help you to reduce operating cost: 

1. Facility Management helps you make better use of space 

One of the lingering impacts of the covid-19 pandemic is the increase in the number of people who are choosing remote work over going to the office. In Nigeria, there was a 22% drop in workplace activities by August 2020. A 2012 report by GSA showed that only 35% to 50% of the workplace is actually used by employees during work hours. 

For businesses, all of these numbers point to the fact that less space is actually being utilized on a daily basis. When you consider that the company is spending money to maintain all of the space regardless, facility management knowledge becomes indispensable.  

Equipped with facility management skills, any professional, including accountants and lawyers, will be able to create effective space management strategies. This will, in turn, put spaces in the building to more profitable use and reduce the hefty long-term cost of maintaining it. 

2. Facility Management helps to save extensively on energy cost 

35% of the energy consumed by a building is usually by the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC) while lighting takes up another significant 11%. Refrigerators, Water Heaters, Freezers take 18% while electronics and other miscellaneous equipment split the remaining 38%.  

This is where Facility Management skills come in. The overall electricity bill can be brought down significantly from the lighting unit consumption. The knowledge from a Facilities Management course will teach and guide anyone in adopting energy-saving techniques like using double-glazing on windows and enhanced wall insulation. 

Not only will this energy-saving knowledge bring down the company’s energy cost in the long term, but it will also reduce its carbon emission. It will help it come up with more cost-saving measures by tracking energy use.  

3. Facility management skills improve employee productivity levels and lower staff attrition rate 

 Facilities Management knowledge can play a significant role in helping the company retain staff, increase employee productivity and support recruitments. The organization benefits more when the members of staff are able to make the workplace more inspiring and productive for themselves with the knowledge that facility management courses provide. 

People tend not to stay long in places where they are not often inspired and their productivity levels continue to drop. Replacing these staff costs time, money and manpower. This cost is greatly reduced when the staff is equipped with the knowledge to make their workplace more enjoyable and inspiring. 

The goal is not to turn lawyers, engineers and other professionals into Facility Managers. However, the individual and the company will be better off in the long term when professionals have the requisite knowledge of how to manage their facilities and get the best results from them. Here is a course that can provide the essential FM knowledge that you need.  

Olu’s Facilities Management business was booming and his smile keeps getting wider with each visit to the bank. Still, he had a pounding headache at least twice a week just from trying to locate the right information about the different properties that he was managing. Even though his business is booming, the daily processes have become more complicated as documentation is done manually.

As a business grows, higher levels of complexities start to set in especially in the areas of documentation. Top-performing facility managers must, therefore, deliberately plan to switch from the old way of keeping records on paper to a computerized system.

Why more managers are using a Computerized Maintenance Management System

The previous week, Olu had to delay in making certain decisions because two important documents containing details about some properties were nowhere to be found. Having a paper-based record system means that documents can get lost or damaged and this will eventually create a gap in the records. 

Facility Management records usually help the manager in creating and keeping track of maintenance schedules, assigning tasks to the right persons, getting the right information to the right workers at the right time. Having to peruse thick books containing this information before finding the right details is time-consuming and can be avoided entirely with a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). 

A CMMS provides a virtual framework that collects, sorts, and edits information of each facility accordingly. It makes it possible to move between the information of two or more facilities seamlessly as well as search for specific information and find it in seconds.  

Managers who work with a CMMS are more able to properly oversee the properties that they manage. As with every business activity, there are always tasks that repeat themselves week in and out, having a CMMS in place makes it possible to automate those processes and save time.

        How to switch to a Computerized Maintenance Management System

Switching to a computerized maintenance management system requires three core things: 

• the computer software; 
• the technical know-how, and
• the data to be transferred. 

After selecting the software, you need to know how to use it to capture all your important facility records. The best way to do this is to take this course on Techniques For Moving From Paper-Based Fm Records To Computerised Maintenance Management System (Cmms) by the Alpha Mead Training Center (AMTC)

The course will help you to understand the various documentation and records that are required in a facilities management business and break down the essential steps to make the switch from paper to digital. 

Remember that one of the requirements for switching to a CMMS is to know the software to use. The course will show you the best options for a facilities management business and take you through how to use them. 

Every industry is embracing new ways that produce better results using technology and the Facilities Management industry is not different. Taking a course on how to switch to a CMMS can mean the difference between a proactive facilities manager and a reactive one. Make the switch today

What is inevitable is that FM is changing and will continue to change as the dynamics of Real Estate for living, working, and playing change.

To therefore continue to be relevant in this space and position for the opportunities for growth and development, professionals must upskill in tandem with time.

Wherever you are on the development ladder in FM, here are three training programs that can position you for a successful FM career.

1. Certified Facility Manager Credential

The Certified Facility Manager (CFM) credential sets the industry standard for ensuring the knowledge and abilities of practicing facility managers are enhanced. It is a competency-based certification that highlights your experience as a Facility Management professional and endorses you as a consultant with demonstrated industry expertise.  On completion of the course, a digital badge is also given which can be displayed on digital media platforms like LinkedIn.

Due to the new normal, sustainability and smart buildings are fast becoming a way of life for government, businesses, and communities, the CFM adopts a mix of learning in contemporary environmental standards and core FM operations to position FM professionals for a pipeline of projects that are replacing building construction as we know it.

Besides the rapid growth that the CFM presents for FM professionals, it is projected that an average increase of $6,000 CFM professional gets within the first year of their certification will increase significantly as the demands for the skills this training teaches continue to grow.

2. Facility Management Professional Certificate Program

The Facility Management Professional (FMP) Certificate Program offered by IFMA is a knowledge-based credential for Facility Management professionals seeking to increase their core knowledge of Facility Management related topics deemed most critical by employers.

IFMA reports that earning the FMP credential is a great way to improve your knowledge, enhance your skills, and gain immediate credibility with your employers, clients, and peers.

Beyond the new skills and competencies that the FMP program offers its participants, the credential expands the career growth opportunities for the participants. FM professionals with the FMP credentials have limitless opportunities to practice in developed climes of the world where IFMA is recognized as a leading training association for the development and globalization of FM standards, some of these countries include the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

3. Sustainability Facility Professional Certificate Program

Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP) certificate program by IFMA is an assessment-based certificate program delivering a specialty credential in sustainability. It’s also an opportunity for FMs with an interest in efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and sustainable practices. On completion, you will develop and gain recognition for your expertise in sustainable FM practices while maximizing your organization’s efficiencies and streamlining operations to add to the bottom-line.

What are the trends that have emerged since the new normal? How have they impacted FM as a profession and as a business support function? What can FM professionals learn and how can FM companies take advantage of the new way of life this health crisis presented?

1. Flexible Working

According to a remote work report by Review, 52% of global employees work remotely once a week and 68% do so at least once per month. Flexible working is now an upcoming trend that was necessitated by the pandemic and it has become a fixture in the workplace environment. And while the pandemic has its advantages and disadvantages, it has forced an evolution of FM functions like Space Management and Maintenance. There has been a twist to how they are done especially with more people working from home.

Space management has now progressed from the management of the company’s space inventory to space optimization i.e. ensuring that every space in the workplace is adding its own value.

With fewer people in the workplace, there is now excess space that is not commanding value but still needs to be managed, this in turn affects the bottom line of the company. It is now up to the Facility Manager to advise the organization on how well to optimize the space to gain value for the company, companies that can afford it can rent out spaces that are not in use.

People working from home will also mean assets and pieces of equipment like printers and light fittings that involve human interaction will be used less thus reducing the frequency of reactive maintenance. While this doesn’t mean preventive maintenance is stopped or reduced, the reduction in reactive maintenance saves costs for the company

2. Growing interest in safer environments

Due to the global pandemic that has claimed the lives of over one million people all over the world, the need for increased hygiene in the workplace – cleaning and disinfection within and outside the workplace cannot be overemphasized. Regular sanitation procedures and cleaning frequencies may not suffice for commonly used surfaces like door handles, taps, elevator buttons or staircase railings in areas such as restrooms and meeting rooms.

Based on this, FMs must advise the organization/client on the importance of creating business continuity plans especially in aspects of Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), being able to develop and implement such plan will allow for a smooth running of the business, pandemic or not.

FMs can also take advantage of automated maintenance systems to manage and pre-schedule tasks using real-time data.

3. Social Distancing

The pandemic has mandated that FMs find new ways to manage occupants and visitors of a building such that social distancing is enforced, this is a great opportunity for FMs to migrate from paper-based visitor management to the use of automated visitor management systems.

Some companies have implemented the hot desk method for their employees and this can lead to a need for office restructuring in order to accommodate these changes, while this is necessary to stick to social distancing guidelines, it also creates an issue especially with the increase in online meetings – employees in open offices that are not partitioned will more often than not experience interference from other colleagues during meetings. In this case, FMs can begin to introduce movable partitions in the office and according to Office Output Professionals, partitions can increase work productivity by 32%.

The new courses are; Space Consolidation, Transitioning & Planning Post Covid-19 and Techniques for Moving from Paper-based FM records to Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS). 

“These courses were created to help Facility Management professionals adapt to the emerging trends in the Facility Management industry because of the Covid-19 pandemic”, said Idowu Somoye, AMTC’s Training Centre Manager.

He noted: “it was imperative that we introduce new courses to what we offered, especially because of the times we are in. Facility Management professionals are operating by a different set of rules now, most people are now working from home, and more people are relying on technology to get work done. All these means that there will be an increase in energy and water consumption as opposed to how it was pre-pandemic”.

“The change also presents a great opportunity for professionals in the built industry to demonstrate the added value they offer in bringing together the space, culture and technology aspects of workplace”.

The courses will bridge gaps such as inadequate space optimization in the workplace and the absence of virtual management system for FMs in the industry especially with the increased use of technology due to the pandemic.

“The new training courses are very important to FMs and HR and FM leaders alike because as the trends and changes are coming, they need to be ready to address these issues. The highlights of the courses – understanding CMMS and Setting up the workplace using global standards will be relevant to FMs so they can continue to ensure functionality, comfort, safety and efficiency of the workplace”.

AMTC is the training arm of Africa’s leading Facilities Management Company – Alpha Mead Facilities – a Global Training Affiliate of the International Facility Management Association’s (IFMA) in Africa and the recognized training centre for the Institute of Workplace & Facilities Management (IWFM) in Nigeria.

Click here to learn more about the courses.

The past few months have seen the gradual reopening of most economies, and by extension the workplaces, amidst very strict safety and health protocol.

The return to the workplace is interestingly throwing a new shade of challenge at Facilities Management. Therefore, it behooves FM professionals to be aware of these new realities and work with the appropriate stakeholders to ensure that people’s experiences in the workplaces are optimal and business results are also not adversely impacted.

For example, a YouGov poll, commissioned by the Institute of Workplace Facility & Management (IWFM) on workplace recovery reveals that as lockdown measures begin to ease, many UK office workers are concerned about going back to the office.

The poll shows that 59% of UK workers are worried about being able to maintain social distancing, and nearly half – 44% are concerned about hygiene and cleaning standards in the office. Although the poll was conducted in the UK, the Nigerian experience is not likely to be different with many already raising serious concerns.

This reality clearly puts a challenge on the table of the FM professionals to physically and emotionally allay the fears of these office workers in ways that productivity is enhanced because people are assured that the FM is taking care of health risks associated with the workplaces.

At another level, the poll also revealed that over a third (34%) of the surveyed population are concerned about getting used to a corporate office culture again after the lockdown.

This is not unusual particularly with most professionals having to work from home and take care of domestic issues such as children, aged parents, etc. This period presents more to the FM than the physical management of building facilities. It seeks that FM explore its business support function role deeply, provide space management support to business functions such as HR to create the right workplace environment that is welcoming to people and a working system that takes cognizance of employees’ domestic responsibilities.

On the other hand, the poll reveals: “41% also reports having an inappropriate working environment at home. Only a quarter (24%) benefit from a separate home office, with two-thirds (64%) resorting to make-shift workstations at dining room tables, sofas and beds. “

“Half of the respondents (50%) report that they find it difficult to stay motivated and focused when working from home, and 44% facing challenges with distractions in the home. Those working from sofas and armchairs are taking a productivity hit – with 18% reporting a lack of motivation and over a quarter (25%) working fewer hours per day than they did in the office.”

“Working from home is blurring lines between work and personal life. 38% find it hard to switch off at the end of the day and a 25% feel pressure to respond to emails after working hours. 62% miss a clear separation between work and home life, and 40% miss a clear structure to the day.”

Although, these quoted stats may differ from location to location, and speak to office workers’ experience while working from home, the FM professionals must not lose sight of the nuanced issues and prepare accordingly to address these issues with the physical building management, the process automation, and working with business stakeholders to ensure that people policies respond to the challenges thrown up by the stats.

Click here to read on some of the trends and challenges facing Facility Management as workplace activities return.