Cherwell Facilities Management

In today's complex business environment, facility managers play an ever-increasing role in ensuring that organizations have access to the tools and services that they need to function at their best. If you've met or spoken to the facility manager at your organization, you probably noticed that they're the hardest person to get a hold of. The truth is that facility managers always have something on their plate—whether it's coordinating cleaning and maintenance for the building, responding to the latest crisis, or managing meeting room bookings, a facility manager spends their day making sure that everyone at your organization has what they need to do their best.

Facility management software is one of the best ways that these skilled professionals are learning to automate daily processes, facilitate and manage communications, and ensure accurate tracking of equipment, space, payments, and budget. Keep reading to learn more about the discipline of facility management and how the latest software is helping facility managers perform at the highest level in their roles.

What Is Facility Management?
Facility management is a multidisciplinary profession whose goal is to enhance and optimize the functionality of built environments through the integration of people, places, processes and technology. The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the world's most widely recognized professional association for facility managers, defines it as "the practice of coordinating the physical workplace with the people and work of the organization."

Facility management has also been defined by the International Standards Organization (ISO), who released the most recently updated version of its international standard for facilities management in April 2017. ISO 41011:2017 defines facility management as "organizational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business."

In 2009, the IFMA conducted a global job task analysis to determine the core competencies associated with the facility management profession. With respondents from 62 countries, the study defined 11 core competencies that were consistently reported in the survey as being crucial to the daily performance of facility management tasks:

1. Communication
2. Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity
3. Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability
4. Finance and Business
5. Human Factors
6. Leadership and Strategy
7. Operations and Maintenance
8. Project Management
9. Quality
10. Real Estate and Property Management
11. Technology

The IFMA was able to use the results of this landmark study to establish educational and examination materials that accurately reflect the interdisciplinary skills and knowledge that are most important for effective facility management.

Platform:  SaaS or on-premise deployment.