Professionalising FM

The industry is buzzing with ideas for how we can become more professionalised but can we cast the net wider, asks the BIFM's deputy chair Ismena Clout

 

28 October 2010

The industry is buzzing with ideas for how we can become more professionalised and the main focus is on education but can we cast the net wider and look at how we can collaborate across the board to develop and drive improvement.

The debate at Total Workplace Management on pathways to professionalisation which was attended by both RICS and the BIFM produced statement afterwards that the BIFM and RICS are working together to clarify these educational pathways. This has to be applauded as the sooner large numbers of FM professionals are on these paths, the better for the industry. As Tim Winters from KPMG had said in another debate the day before, it’s time for intelligent clients to be as professional as possible.

What about other aspects of collaboration? We have seen European countries collaborate together to produce BS EN 15221, the standard in facilities management which can only be viewed as essential for the external business world to have confidence in their service provision.

There needs to be collaboration in best practice with the continued participation in the awards programmes, conferences, networking events and sharing of CPD content. By companies sharing their success stories and examples of best practice then we can move forward and learn how to be a better industry from each other.

Does collaboration end at a studying and work level, what about the institutes? There are a number of institutes involved in the built environment such as the BIFM, Cibse, RICS, BCO and Riba and while there are some that have partnerships and a collaborative arrangement is there more that could be done? Recently a roundtable event was held to discuss standardising how energy savings are measured which was attended by a number of the mentioned institutes but also IEMA and Esta. There was a very strong feeling round the table that by working together and having a common voice on this issue then any code of practice produced will have a much greater impact across government and the private sector.

By working with these institutes across the multiple disciplines in the built environment then FM will learn from other industries and teach other industries our best practices and knowledge. Finally how can you help to professionalise your work through collaboration? I would definitely make sure you attend CPD networking events and don’t be afraid to ask questions or reference your experience as we all attend these events to learn something. Also make sure you develop a personal network of contacts and use them to learn new ways of working and share what worked for you.

By all working together then we can professionalise facilities management and make it an industry to be even more proud of.


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