Discussing Operational and Facilities Management Strategies (Essay Sample)

Operational and Facilities Management Strategies
Name
InstitutionOperational and Facilities Management Strategies
Introduction
Facility Management is a function or series of linked activities involving coordination of all efforts relating to the planning, design and management of an organization's physical resources (Becker, 1990). In this respect, "physical" includes spatial, environmental, human and financial resources. Nutt (200) states that its; focus is on "post-occupancy" rather than "pre-occupancy" issues; central rationale is management decision and implementation; responsibilities cover all the five primary types of resources: physical, spatial, environmental, human, and financial; concern is an integrated approach and does not concentrate on any particular part of the problem field. Its goal is organizational effectiveness that is helping the organization to allot its resources in a way that allows it to flourish in dynamic and competitive markets (Becker, 1990).
Context in which facilities management services are provided
Generally FM is defined as the management and delivery of ‘non-core services under term concessions that are incidental to the core activities of public and commercial sector organizations. In broad terms, there are four types of FM model, The Total In-house provision which includes an internal FM manager and an in-house service delivery teams. The approach is widely used in the NHS and local authority sectors with support services provided by Direct Services Organizations.
Secondly there is the In-house FM management whereby external contractors provide some or all support services. Increasingly, services are being delivered under contracts with bundled facilities services, where an external contractor assumes the lead role but not necessarily. For instance, larger catering companies usually take the role of lead contractor on bundled services contracts, the core function being catering, while also offering other services like waste management and cleaning.
Total Facilities Management (TFM) is where contractors take the role of procurement and management of non-core support services. The TFM approach had been widely adopted on corporate outsourcing and on PFI DBFO contracts.
Managing agents usually offer management-only services on behalf of their clients. These service providers provide both management and delivery of services to their clients either through the use of direct labor or sub-contractors. Here the client relinquishes the hands-on management of facilities services. Infrastructure FN companies are relatively recent development in FM, and offer a one-stop-shop for all client needs, including non-core services such as finance, human resources, project management and property management in addition to more traditional FM support services.
With bundled services, FM service providers draw together a number or range of different services to offer to clients e.g. a security company may provide burglar alarm maintenance, manned guarding, and electronic entry systems.
Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a means of creating Public Private Partnerships by using private capital to fund public infrastructure projects. PFI can only achieve best value for money if they are based on the integration and management of the supply chain (Holti et al., 2000). As the government is the largest procurer of construction (and hence property related services), a client driven business need is perhaps the best argument for addressing Supply Chain Management (SCM) in FM.
A consortium is a partnership of two or more individuals, organizations, companies or governments with an aim of performing a common exercise or merging their resources to achieve a common goal (Payne, 2014).
Personal services contract creates employer-employee relationship between the Government and the contractor's personnel. The Government is usually required to acquire its employees by direct hire under competitive appointment or other procedures recommended by the civil service laws. Obtaining personal services by contract circumvents those laws unless Congress has particularly authorized acquisition of the services by contract.
Relationship between organisational and facilities management strategies
Corporate sustainability and responsibility are becoming increasingly essential issues for professional institutes, Government and the business community in general (Bates, 1999). It is identified that the built environment has a key aspect to play because of its huge environmental effects including waste generation and emission of greenhouse gases as well as social impacts such as satisfaction, productivity and occupant health. This is reflected in the recent legislation, initiatives and regulations that are being introduced to respond to the challenge of creating a more tenable built environment.
The facilities management department is in charge of the delivery of Corporate Responsibility in terms of its impact on the operation and management of properties. The facilities manager oversees the whole life cycle of a building from conception and design through construction to operation (Boyd, 1997). Facilities managers contribute to Corporate Responsibility in various ways ranging from improving energy efficiency to addressing diversity and health and safety issues. They also provide a unique bridge between the end users of a building and the construction and design professionals in refurbishment and new build projects. However, most facilities managers are unaware of the contribution they can make to support their organizations in delivering their corporate responsibility strategy and have not always taken advantage of the existing knowledge, guidance and government support that is available to them in order to implement change (Casey, 2003).
The facility management discipline operates on two levels that are operational and strategic-tactical levels (Chapman, 1997). Strategic-tactical level customers, clients and end users are required to have information about their anticipated influence of their decisions on service provision, space, business risk and cost. The operational level requires the facility manager to ensure regulatory and corporate compliance and proper operation of various building aspects to offer optimal, cost effective and safe environment for proper functioning of the occupants. These requirements are met by the management of the following activities.
An organization's security is fundamental to protect the business and its employees. Security is controlled by the facilities management department particularly har