Facilities management is a professional discipline that touches every organization - large and small. It is complex work that ensures the spaces we occupy effectively meet the needs of the people who use them daily.

As the industry continues to grow internationally with some facilities management service providers operating on a global scale, businesses are increasingly seeking more consistent delivery and cost of support services through facility management best practices.

Our suite of facility management standards supports facility management activities throughout the whole life cycle – from the pre-design stage to leaving a space. Their adoption can help to balance the rapidly changing needs of the various stakeholders served by facilities management, with effective, safe, and sustainable business needs.

To learn more about how our standards support the facilities management lifecycle, visit our Facilities Management Topic Page.

Understanding the importance of facilities management

Facilities management covers a broad range of activities within a life cycle that consists of the following stages: pre-design, design, construction, pre-occupation, occupation, and leaving a space.

As such, it has a significant influence on how efficiently companies function. Organizations that procure or have in-house facilities management services can benefit from:

• A safe and comfortable work environment - Facilities management activities help to create a safe and comfortable working environment for employees. This also serves broader business goals, such as attracting and retaining talented staff, creating a positive working environment, and improving productivity and efficiency.

• Reduced costs – Workspaces often account for some of the largest costs to a business. Facility management activities help companies to find ways to reduce the cost of their spaces without having a negative impact on the organization. This may include creative use of office space or investigating ways to improve energy efficiency across their portfolio.

• Maintaining business continuity – Facilities management activities can play a huge part in maintaining business continuity, helping businesses to operate in the face of crises - from a simple power outage to a full-scale natural disaster.

• Ensuring legal and regulatory compliance – There is a huge amount of legislation with which organizations need to comply, and many of these fall within the remit of facilities management, such as health and safety, waste management, and employment law.

• Supporting corporate social responsibility – Facilities management activities can support corporate social responsibility, covering areas such as environmental management, choosing responsible suppliers, assisting with schemes to improve the working lives of employees, and more.

BS EN ISO 41001: The overarching standard for facilities management

Whilst many facilities management organizations use BS EN ISO 9001 Quality management systems to ensure the quality of their activities, BS EN ISO 41001 Facility management. Management systems is often more appropriate.

BS EN ISO 41001 helps facility management teams achieve optimum efficiency.

Drawing on international best practices, it constitutes a benchmark for developing and driving an effective strategic, tactical, and operational FM regime. This standard provides a framework against which facilities management teams can be measured as being “fit for purpose” for the organizations that they serve.

Its use can also assist organizations seeking to outsource their facilities management. This is because those providers who are able to demonstrate compliance with BS EN ISO 41001 will provide businesses looking to procure their services with assurance regarding their approach and processes.

Learn more about the scope of BS EN ISO 41001 and add it to your collection today.

Discover our facilities management standards infographic

Want to get started on your facilities management journey, but don’t know where to start?

Knowing which facilities management standards are most beneficial in supporting your activities can seem daunting.

To help increase awareness and understanding of where the different standards can support your work in the facilities management lifecycle, as well as the benefits of adopting BS EN ISO 41001, we have created a downloadable infographic.

Download our facilities management infographic here to discover everything you need to know about how our standards can support your facilities management activities.

Discover BSI Knowledge

BS EN ISO 41001 and over 100,000 more internationally recognized standards are available for simple and flexible access with a BSI Knowledge subscription. Our subscription service puts the control in your hands, giving you instant access to the resources you need to improve your people management processes. Build your own custom collection of standards, or opt for access to our GBM04 Management, Law & Quality module and keep up to date with any relevant changes to your standards strategy. Request to learn more.