This chapter discusses the role of the FM organization together with matters of capability, capacity and maturity. The FM organization is defined as the entity responsible for facility management (see ISO 41014) because of the different ways in which facility management is organized and where facility services are delivered through personnel within the demand organization, through external service providers or a combination of the two.
There is no singular form of the FM organization. The context, capability and maturity of both it and the demand organization are crucial to shaping arrangements and enabling outcomes.
The following points, among many others, are covered in the chapter.
- The facility management (FM) organization has long been recognized as a distinct concept, yet it has not received the same attention as the demand organization in international standards or in the literature on facility management.
- The demand organization, as the facility owner, operator or occupier and as the informed client, determines the form that the FM organization will take and whether it will reside internally or externally.
- The FM organization is, in most cases, internal to the demand organization and in this respect draws on external specialists where it does not have the capability or capacity to deliver certain services.
- It is necessary to be clear about the difference between the demand organization’s capability and capacity with respect to facility management, where the former is linked to its competence and the latter is its physical ability to undertake the work.
- There are various forms of the FM organization – in-house, externalized, basic outsourced, managed outsourced and turnkey – where each is a response to needs that translate into requirements for facility management.
- The in-house form provides, at the very least, a basic competence in facility management from within the demand organization, which might be supplemented by the appointment of a managing agent.
- Under the basic form of outsourcing, the engagement of single or multiple-service providers does not ordinarily involve a facility management function, just an operational level of supervision.
- None of these recognized forms of the FM organization should be regarded as service delivery options; however, each implies one or more ways in which services can be delivered to support the demand organization.
- There are several options for service delivery, each of which has its strengths and weaknesses, and these include single-service providers, multiple-service providers, managing agent, managing contractor, total facility management and integrator.