If communities, like humans, had DNA, standards would form the genes and chromosomes of society. Standards are woven into the fabric of everything people do and have been around from the beginnings of recorded history. As John Quincy Adams remarked to the United States Congress in 1821, “standards are among the necessities of life to every individual of human society.”

Standards are also the building blocks from which everything rises in the built environment. They help shape buildings and infrastructure, ensure safety, guide progress and improve the quality of daily lives. Standards take many forms. The term “standard” has many distinct meanings.

As a noun, the term “standard” can refer to everything from a baseline from which people are judged to moral principles, levels of excellence or even a flag. Standards can represent values, units, models, measures or an upright pole used as support. Standards can also refer to plants, petals of a flower or even an enduring piece of music.

In terms of adjectives, people have moral standards; high, low, gold and double standards; standards of care, living, learning, measure; and standards of deviation and error. There are technical standards; guidance standards; requirements standards; core standards; monetary, modern and open standards and many more.

For FM purposes, a standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.

Standards truly are the DNA of society. But why are they so important to the facility management profession?

Why are integrated FM standards important?

FM experts from around the world are currently investing a lot of time to develop ISO integrated FM standards for a number of reasons, from idealistic to operational.

Ideally, the goal is to help advance the FM profession globally. Many countries are struggling to gain recognition of FM as an official profession or professional discipline by their national governments. The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics still does not have a North American Industry Classification System Standard Industrial Code for FM. Thus, there is no official way of collecting census data and statistics for the FM profession or even promoting it to young adults seeking rewarding careers. Recently, efforts in the UK were successful in achieving official recognition of FM as a professional discipline, in part due to having European standards for FM.

Operationally, integrated FM standards will provide real guidance and tools to help FMs streamline processes and enhance the performance of organizations entrusted with managing the building portfolio. Standards enable the development and implementation of processes aligned with strategies that eventually become ingrained and create efficiencies.

Facility management has a direct impact on the efficiency and productivity of organizations and associated individuals. FM also positively impacts the safety, security, health and well-being of much of the world’s population. The FM industry and related services impact all aspects of human life, including productivity, work, and recreational, social and non-work-related living.

The challenge is that FM does not mean the same thing globally, nationally or even within different organizations. The requirements and capabilities of FM organizations have evolved differently in different parts of the world, as have the quality of service they provide. The expectations of clients have equally evolved from local to national, and are now becoming more consistent globally. Global FM service providers and international corporations are increasingly seeking more consistent delivery of services through the application and use of enhanced and innovative FM techniques.

The development of the market for FM services, however, is hampered by the absence of common global standards. Owners are seeking benchmarks against which FM services and systems can be assessed and measured. Thus, the need for standards is currently in demand worldwide.

ISO technical and management systems standards

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent, non-governmental organization and developer of international voluntary consensus standards. In general, voluntary consensus standards may be classified as technical (or guidance) standards or requirements (management systems) standards.

ISO technical standards are established norms that present specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose. A management system creates a framework of policies, processes and procedures that can be used to ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives. Systems standards are valuable to organizations that wish to seek certification by an accredited third party or make a self-determination and self-declaration of alignment and conformity.

While there are more than 19,500 ISO standards, there are fewer than two dozen management systems standards published by ISO.

ISO management systems standards related to FM

Management systems have a positive impact on an organization’s performance and bottom line. When implemented, applied and certified, management systems improve profitability, quality, service, client loyalty, brand reputation and more. Some of the ISO management systems standards most relevant to FM include:

  • ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems – Requirements

  • ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems – Requirements with guidance for use

  • ISO 22301:2012 Societal security – Business continuity management systems – Requirements

  • ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social responsibility

  • ISO 50001:2011 Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use

  • ISO 55001:2014 Asset management – Management systems – Requirements

It is clear how each of these standards relates to the role and function of FM. In particular, ISO 55001 asset management has recently gained the interest of and traction with leading global FM service providers.

Historically, asset management has been defined as a systematic process of maintaining, upgrading and operating physical assets cost effectively by combining engineering principles with sound business practices and economic theory, and provides tools to achieve a more organized, logical approach to decision making.

ISO 55001 defines asset management as the “coordinated activity of an organization to realize value from assets.” The new asset management standard establishes a framework for FM organizations to translate strategic objectives into asset-related decisions, plans and activities using a risk-based approach.

What are the benefits of ISO standards?

There are critics who believe that standards do little more than add complexity and cost to operations and stifle innovation. While there is potential danger in increasing costs, the long-term benefits to FM organizations are substantial.

ISO standards ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality. For businesses, they are strategic tools that reduce costs by minimizing waste and errors and increasing productivity. They help companies to access new markets, level the playing field for developing countries and facilitate free and fair global trade.

One of the most broadly recognized and adopted ISO standards is ISO 9001 quality management systems. ISO 9001 specifies requirements for a quality management system when an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. It also aims to improve customer satisfaction of products and services.

The benefits of ISO 9001 have been well documented and have proven benefits across various aspects of organizations:

  • Management – certified companies outperformed the market by 100 percent or more

  • Finance – 55 percent achieved cost savings

  • Operations – 75 percent boosted their performance

  • Services – 75 percent improved their customer service and loyalty

  • Sales and marketing – 71 percent acquired new customers and retained existing clients

ISO 41000 FM Management Systems standard

The FM profession has a direct impact on the productivity of every individual who works in and around buildings and infrastructure. FM also plays a role in the security and quality of life of people around the world. In order to do so effectively, the establishment of international standards will enable the discipline to evolve in a coherent and coordinated manner. The objective of ISO TC 267 is to make a valid contribution to this process at a strategic level that ISO member countries will adopt.

The purpose of the FM management systems standard is to provide the specific requirements for individual organizations to establish and manage an integrated standard for the practice of facility management. The goal is “for an organization to be able to demonstrate that it has a robust process through which to design, manage and improve its integrated facility management system.” The bottom line is to enhance performance.

The value of an integrated systems standard for FM includes:

  • Improving workforce productivity, safety, health and well-being

  • Improving communication of requirements and methodologies among and between public- and private-sector organizations

  • Improving competition and thus improving cost benefits to demand organizations

  • Improving service consistency and hence reducing risk for buyers

  • Opening markets to new FM service providers

  • Providing a common platform for small businesses and those from developing economies

Scope of ISO 41000

When published, ISO 41000 will be the first international management systems standard for FM, and will also support voluntary certification when justified by an organization’s business plan.

The scope of ISO 41000 is applicable to organizations of all types and sizes that wish to design, maintain and improve an FM management systems standard appropriate to their needs, ensuring conformity with a stated FM policy and that interested parties’ requirements are met. ISO 41000 will specify requirements to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and provide a documented integrated FM system within the context of managing an organization’s operational activities and risks.

The requirements specified in ISO 41000 will be non-sector-specific and are intended to be applicable to all organizations, regardless of type, size, nature or geographical location. The standard can be applied to both insourced and outsourced service provision of facility management.

The FM management systems standard follows a standard ISO format: 10 clauses with the latter six structured in a plan-do-check-act model. The FM systems approach starts with an understanding of the context of the organization (i.e., alignment with mission, vision and strategic objectives) and leadership commitment. It continues with the development of sound FM policies and strategic FM plans and procedures; securing the necessary resources for implementation; operational aspects; performance measurement; and continuous improvement. One of the most valuable elements of the FM management systems standard will be guidance on integration of the various elements of the broad scope of FM.

What’s next?

The ISO FM standards development falls under the auspices of a technical committee (ISO TC/267), which is chaired by Stan Mitchell of the British Standards Institute. The TC includes more than 50 FM experts hailing from more than 30 countries across almost every continent.

TC/267 is currently nearing completion of two technical guidance standards: ISO 18480-1 FM – Part 1: Terms and definitions and ISO 18480-2 FM – Part 2: Guidance on strategic sourcing and the development of agreements. The intent is to have final approval and preparation of the two guidance standards for publication in early 2016.

The first ISO FM guidance standards are based on the first two of seven CEN standards (EN1521-1 through EN15221-7). The ISO 41000 FM Management Systems standard is just now beginning development by a newly formed work group (WG3). Scheduled publication of ISO 41000 is targeted for February 2018.