What is facility management? It’s a question more businesses are asking as they look for ways to create efficient, safe, and productive work environments. Facility management (FM) refers to the professional discipline that ensures the functionality, comfort, safety, and sustainability of buildings, grounds, infrastructure, and real estate by integrating people, processes, and technology.

In today’s fast-paced and tech-driven world, facility management has evolved from simple maintenance tasks to a strategic role that directly impacts business performance. Whether it’s managing energy efficiency in a corporate office, maintaining health standards in a hospital, or coordinating cleaning services in a retail mall, FM plays a crucial behind-the-scenes role.

As workplaces become smarter and more focused on sustainability, the need for skilled facility managers has never been more critical. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know—from the types of facility management and key responsibilities of a facility manager to the core skills and best practices shaping the industry today.

What is Facility Management?

Facility management is a multidisciplinary field that focuses on the efficient and effective delivery of support services for the organizations it serves. It encompasses everything that keeps a building or facility running smoothly—from daily maintenance and safety protocols to space planning, asset management, and sustainability practices.

At its core, facility management ensures that the built environment supports the people, processes, and objectives of an organization. This includes managing both the physical assets (like HVAC systems, lighting, and plumbing) and soft services (like cleaning, security, and catering).

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) defines facility management 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.”

Key Components of Facility Management:

1. Operations and Maintenance – Ensuring all systems (e.g., electrical, plumbing, HVAC) are functioning properly.
2. Space and Workplace Management – Planning and optimizing the use of space to support productivity.
3. Sustainability and Energy Management – Reducing energy consumption and managing environmental impact.
4. Health and Safety – Complying with regulations and ensuring the safety of occupants.
5. Technology Integration – Using software like CAFM or IWMS to automate, monitor, and analyze facilities data.

Why is Facility Management Important?

1. It improves operational efficiency.
2. It enhances the comfort and well-being of employees and visitors.
3. It reduces costs by preventing breakdowns and extending asset life.
4. It supports sustainability and compliance initiatives.
5. It plays a vital role in business continuity and risk management.

In short, facility management is the invisible engine that powers workplaces, helping organizations operate smoothly, responsibly, and competitively in a complex world.

Facility Management Training

Competent facility management can make a huge difference in the value an organization will derive from its facilities. A number of techniques and processes have been developed over the years to effectively manage both office and residential facilities. This course adequately addresses these and gives persons saddled with this responsibility the requisite knowledge and skills to adequately deliver results.

Training Benefits

• Identify the essential strategic functions of the facility manager’s role
• Step up to the increasing expectations of facility users
• Determine best facility management practices to comply with municipal code and best practices
• Update negotiating and contracting skills for outsourcing maintenance, custodial, security, and other contractors
• Develop a maintenance strategy for premises and services
• Focus on managing expenses, cutting utility costs, and gaining bottom line value from asset management

Overview of Concepts and Deliverables Provided

• Asset management and facility management:  What’s the difference?
• Taking charge of the relationship with the end-user – how to establish standards, determine needs, survey for success, and build the relationship for the future
• Team Exercise – Bid Specification Preparation for Custodial Outsourcing
• Four approaches to maintenance and how to use them to build the Master Schedule: Preventative, Proactive, Reactive, and Run-to-Failure
• Eyes Wide Open –  Looking around at the laws and code that can financially cripple the business and facility: ADA compliance, municipal code compliance, Indoor Air Quality, security, third party premises liability, and safety
• Technical Skills vs. Management Skills:  Why many facility managers rely upon previous technical, engineering, and maintenance skills to solve management problems…but is it the best approach?
• Skills Update:  How and when to negotiate and contract for outsourcing services such as maintenance, custodial, security, and space design

Course Objectives

This program is designed for Facility managers, office managers, contract administration professionals, and it gives participants the know how to effectively manage their facilities.

Course content

1. Introduction to facilities Management strategies

•  Challenges of maintenance management and  cultural issues
• Idea of Facility Management
• The nature of Facility Management
• What is Facility Management
• Types of Facilities
• 10 Keys of Facility Management
• Facility Management System reasoning exercise
• Tailoring your Facility

2. Understand the link between maintenance and Facility Management: Maintenance Modern Concept

• Actual meaning of Maintenance
• Maintenance Planning and Scheduling
• Planning and Scheduling objectives
• Classification of Maintenance work according to planning and Scheduling purposes

3. Maintenance Management Tactics

• Proactive and Predictive Maintenance
• preventive Maintenance
• Reactive Maintenance
• Predictive Maintenance
• Corrective Maintenance
• Deferred Maintenance
• Operation and Maintenance exercise
• 90:10 Facility Maintenance development

4. Facility Stakeholders Management for effective results

• Elements of stakeholders Management
• Stakeholders Analysis
• Stakeholders Planning
• Stakeholders Priotization techniques

5. Maintenance Management strategic planning

• Work Identification
• Planning
• Analysing your Facility Management S.W.O.T for effective planning
• Planning Procedures
• W.O.T Session exercise
• Scheduling

6. Asset Management Resources

• Integrated Facilities Management; Life Cycle Costing; Continuous improvement philosophy
• Facility Condition Indexing
• Interpreting the FCI range in Facility Management
• Real life situation exercises in FCI
• FCI impacts, Failures and Occupant’s Morale
• Impact of Asset Management tools on Corrective maintenance and repairs
• Depreciation technique of Facility components

7. Energy Management strategies

• The increasing cost of Energy
• What is Energy Management
• Goals of an effective Energy Management Program.
• Implementing the major strategies of Energy Management
• Energy Audit for Facility Managers
• Increasing your company’s profit by 25%  using Energy Management
• JIT Facilities Management Strategies

8. Disaster Planning, Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity

• What a Disaster Recovery Plan is and why it is important
• Identifying potential Hazards
• Business Impact analysis
• Personnel Policies and Crisis Communication
• Strategic Alliance
• Case Study and Exercise
• Setting up an Action Plan
• Emergency Planning Implementation checklist