Stan Mitchell about Global FM |
For most of you reading this in Hungary, Facilities Management is likely to be either an innovative approach to the management and delivery of those core services that every organisation relies upon to function or simply a term that you have heard about that has something to do with property management or janitorial services! Today in the UK the Facilities Management Industry is valued at greater than £79 billion (€115 billion). The BIFM (the equivalent of HFMS in the UK) has been the fastest growing Professional Body in the UK since 1993, currently with over 11,000 members. Government has recognised that Facilities Management is different from Construction or Real Estate and has a valuable contribution to make to the economy. Analysis of Government sponsored private finance developments acknowledges Facilities Management in the lifecycle of a new build design where construction (new hospitals, schools etc.) accounts for no more than 15% of the costs associated with the life cycle costs of the facility. The remaining 85% falls under the control of Facilities Management. This recognition of Facilities Management as a strategic, tactical and operational discipline that offers the potential to add significant value to any and every organisation has not just developed within the UK; it is developing within most countries across Europe and is beginning to gain recognition around the world. Those of you based in Eastern Europe have a real opportunity in that much can be learnt, adopted and developed from those countries where Facilities Management has already emerged. The Global Facilities Management Association (Global FM) is a not profit International Organisation based in Brussels, Belgium. It has emerged in order in order to support the development of the Facilities Management Profession around the world. Its intent is to bring together like minded member-centric Facilities Management Associations to share knowledge, best practice and to support each other in the development of our industry and profession. One of the key challenges in all of this is that Facilities Management is recognised for the quality it delivers in terms of the standards, if we succeed in this regard we will emerge alongside some of the more established professions associated with the built environment. HFMS has recently joined the Global FM family and I would encourage you to monitor our progress as a fledgling umbrella organisation (www.globalfm.org). A challenge I would give you however is to recognise that as facilities management emerges in Hungary remember that you have as much to give and contribute to the Global FM family as you have to take from it. I look forward with interest watching the development of Facilities Management in Hungary. Stan Mitchell
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