OBO - G-13 The Facility Management Checklist

Audit Title

Client / Site

Personnel

Themes

Because we think they're so important, themes that seem to be essential to public or private sector facility management in organizations - small or large - bear repeating.

Recurring Themes

Business Issues

We must understand not only our business, but, in detail, how we affect the company/agency that we support. We must know the language of business and be able to use capital budget evaluation tools.

The Cost Of Ownership

There are initial and ongoing costs of the ownership of facilities. Management must understand and provide for those costs from planning through disposal.

Life-Cycle Costing

As a general rule, all economic analyses and comparisons should be based on life-cycle costs. Comparisons leading to bad decisions are often made by considering capital of initial costs only.

Integration Of Services

Consider one example: Interior illumination design may be based solely on appearance and violate the principles of a good energy management program simply because no one bothered to integrate the two services of design and operations.

Design For Operations and Maintenance

Operators and maintainers, even if they are contractors, must be actively involved in the design review process.

Responsibility

Facility management functions should be grouped into budget programs, with a manager responsible and accountable for each.

Cost-Effectiveness

The key is to properly identify and compare costs; comparison must be made over time.

Constant Efficiency Improvement

Efficiently should be judged through comparators, through user feedback, and through MBWA (management by walking around)

In-House Vs. Contracting Out

There is, and will continue to be, strong support for contraction out facility management services. Each facility manager should have clearly defined in his or her own mind what functions must be controlled in-house. The manage must be willing to fight for the resources to perform those functions. Those functions are generally managerial, not technical, in nature.

Quality Of Life

The facility manager must actively promote and protect the quality of life of the company's employees. A safe and healthful workplace is the minimum; a workplace where the facility promotes individual and group productivity should be the goal.

Philosophy

We present here a list of short themes that are particularly applicable to facility management.

Safety is always the first concern; legality is a close second.

Some should be directly responsible for every physical asset and function.

Service, service, service!

Quality, quality, quality!

There is a cost of ownership of facilities; it is your task to ensure that your management understands that cost in its entirety.

Your responsibility to management is well known; concentrated on your responsibility to the employees.

Be cost-effective in everything you do, but capture all costs in your analyses.

If something looks like a good idea, use it on a trial basis. If it doesn't work out, change it.

No one is right 100 percent of the time. A good, common sense decision beats paralysis by analysis every time. Excessive dependence on quantitative measurement can be the downfall of a facility department.

A budget is a management tool. Put personally effort into its preparation and format; monitor its execution.

Don't mind being compared, but insist upon true comparators (quantity, quality, time).

Every physical asset should be under life-cycle maintenance.

When an outside consultant is used, you must define the requirement or you have lost control.

As the design-construct cycle proceeds, changes become costlier and less effective. Contractors and consultants bring special talents to the facility department, but the facility manager must retain control.

In the planning of major projects, engineering requirements are nearly always understated. They are also the most costly to meet through changes at a later date. Plan for flexibility and redundancy.

Plan with care, but always retain the capability to react.

Cultivate lasting and long-term relationships. Develop them carefully. Any successful facility management organization is a team (staff, suppliers, contractors, consultant) and needs stronger bonding that what is provided in a least-cost contract.

FM Checklist

By know that we are great believers in evaluation. We evaluate constantly and expert to be evaluated. Fair, accurate, and continuos evaluation is the basis for improvement.

We provide you with a checklist that we have found valuable when giving a department an initial evaluation or the 30,000 mile checkup. Use it in good health - for yourself and for your department.