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.
