The ISO technical committee has developed a new standard for the global Facilities Management sector.
ISO 41001, Facility management - Management systems - Requirements with guidance for use, has been published to help FM teams achieve optimum efficiency. Drawing on international best practice, the new management system standard constitutes a benchmark for developing and driving an effective strategic, tactical and operational FM regime.
It will also assist organisations seeking to outsource FM, as those providers who are able to demonstrate compliance with the standard will provide them with an assurance regarding their approach and processes.
Facilities management is one of the fastest-growing professional and operational disciplines worldwide, but it suffers from a general lack of knowledge and awareness. The new standard aims to correct this and provide help for facilities managers who face unprecedented challenges trying to keep up with competing priorities, evolving technology and the drive for corporate social responsibility.
Stanley Mitchell, Chair of ISO/TC 267, Facility Management, the ISO technical committee that developed the standard, says ISO 41001 will assist organisations in a number of ways by establishing a common approach and a set of processes that can be referred to around the world.
“Every company, big or small, has some element of facility management. It is a complex discipline that directly affects everyone, as it is all about the spaces that we occupy and how those spaces meet the needs of the people who use them on a daily basis.
“ISO 41001 is the first standard of its kind for facility management and has the potential to make a real difference to organisations by improving workforce health and safety, reducing their impact on the environment and making considerable cost savings and efficiencies.”
The secretariat of ISO/TC 267 is held by BSI, ISO’s member for the UK and more information, including copies of the standard, is available here.
