MANAGING

BUSINESS FACILITIES



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Level 4 Diploma in Business and Administrative Management
411 Managing business facilities
Assignment A


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Submitted by:













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Contents

Role of Facilities Manager ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Relationship between business needs and space planning ........................................................................................... 5
Constraints and problems in room allocation ................................................................................................................ 7
Health and safety and environmental issues ................................................................................................................... 9
Ethics in facilities management ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................................... 12
References .......................................................................................................................................................................... 13


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Role of Facilities Manager
As a facilities manager of this organization I have to manage all the processes and services that
support the primary business of the organization. I make sure that there is a suitable working
environment in the organization for all its activities and the employees. The duties of facilities
managers vary according to the nature of the organization but their main aim is to improve the
overall efficiency of the whole organization by using better business practices, and by reduces
the operating costs but at the same time increasing the productivity of the business (Redlein,
2004).
There is a wide range of responsibilities of a facilities manager; they depend on the size and
structure of the organization. As a facilities manager I am involved in day-to-day operations as
well as strategic planning, mainly that are related to premises and buildings. The areas of
responsibility of facilities managers include:
Ground and building maintenance;
Vending and catering;
Security;
Cleaning;
Communication infrastructure;
Utilities management;
Space management;
Procurement of land or premises;
Contract management.
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Facilities managers are present in all industries and sectors and they have different job titles
according to their responsibilities. The job titles of most facilities managers are asset manager,
operations manager, technical services, property manager or estate manager(Atkin, 2009).
As a facilities manager for an education college my responsibility is to manage all the facilities
for the college and at the same time keeping the costs as low as possible (Mintel, 2001). While
doing so I have to do several different tasks:
Preparing documents to send out proposals to contractors.
Coordinating and managing the work of all contractors.
Calculating the costs of goods and services required and then comparing them with other
options available to get the maximum benefit while keeping the costs low.
Investigating any availability of new premises and analyzing their sustainability.
Planning for the future development of the education according to its strategic objectives.
Managing changes in facilities to make sure that there is minimum disturbance in the core
activities of the college (Ferreira, 2009).
Planning and managing vital central services like security, reception, mail, cleaning,
recycling, waste disposal, catering, archiving and maintenance.
Ensuring that the college premises meet the health and safety regulations.
Planning the allocation of resources and space for new premises and re-organizing the
current premises.
Checking the work of contractors and staff that it is satisfactory and then getting rid of
any deficiencies (Atkin, 2009).
Leading and coordinating teams to manage different areas of responsibility.
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Monitoring the service levels and try to further improve the services.
Responding to emergencies.
Figure 1 summarizes the job of a facilities manager.





Relationship between business needs and space planning
Space planning is essential in all business and it has to done in accordance with the needs of the
business. The facilities manager has to define circulation patterns and then develop layouts and
plans for equipment placement and furniture. We have to consider many different design patters
according to the needs of the business. We also have to consider the space allocation criteria,
access for disables people, design considerations, work flow and circulation, furniture standards,
privacy and security issues and the flexibility for facilitations any future business needs (Cotts,
2010).
Fig 1: Facilities Management
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Businesses require space planning when they want to use their existing or new space more
efficiently. Usually older premises need to be reorganized when businesses need to
accommodate new work processes or new equipment. Organizations that have reorganized,
downsized or grown may need space planning to make use of their space more efficiently(Shah,
2007). Nowadays there is rapid organizational change so now businesses need more flexibility of
their interior spaces so organizational change can be accommodated more effectively. Facilities
managers give ongoing support to the business needs when they need to expand, downsize or just
reorganize their current space (Cotts, 2010).
In case of an educational institute we have to consider the need for learning and teaching space.
It is important that the facilities manager understand the requirements of the business so that he
can manage the resources properly and satisfy the users. In an educational institute space has to
be allocated for various different purposes, for instance space has to allocated for class rooms,
and a sufficient amount of space has to be allocated for recreational purposes. But the space
requirements are different, space needed for class rooms has to be confinedso students can
peacefully study and are not distracted. On the other hand space allotted for recreational
purposes has to be open and sufficient enough that different activities can be carried out there.
Space allocations is basically a part of space management and it all comes under facilities
management, so as a facilities manager I am responsible for it. In an educational institute space
planning plays an integral part of the learning and teaching process (Wiggins, 2010). So
resources have to be managed effectively and all the space planning should be done keeping in
mind the needs of the students and the staff (Reid, 2005). Space planning improves the physical
performance of the business and also satisfaction level of students while they are working,
teaching, staying or learning in that building. It is important to understand the link between the
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different groups in the institute and the objectives of the institute. So a facilities manager has to
take into account the needs of all the users so he can provide them suitable facilities (Barrett,
2003).
Constraints and problems in room allocation
Room allocation is refers to the allocation of space according to specific requirements, and there
can be many constraints and problems in this process, some of the problems can be knapsack
problem, bin packing problem and others (Mann, 2009).
A space is allocated among different entities; every entity gets a different size according to the
requirement so the space utilization in optimum, and all the additional requirements and
constraints are satisfied. The room allocation is done in terms of the following aspects:
Number of entities between which the space has to be allocated;
Utilization of space, this means that the space that has been wasted and the space that has
been overused (less space has been allocated than needed);
Additional requirements that have to satisfied;
Constraints should not be violated.
The ideal scenario in room allocation is that all the entities have been allocated space in such a
way that no space is overused or wasted, additional requirements have been met and no
constraints have been violated (Payne, 2000). But this is just an ideal scenario, it is not always
achievable. In the realistic scenario, the best solution is to allocate the space as efficiently as
possible, this means that the space that is overused and wasted havebeen kept to a minimum and
most of the additional requirements are met without violating any constraints (Barrett,2003).
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Constraints when allocating rooms refer to the specific restrictions that have to be followed when
allocating rooms or space. There can be different types of constraints in different scenarios.
There are two types of constraints, hard and soft (MacLennan, 2000). Hard constraints refer
to the constraints that have to be followed and cannot be violated, on the other hand soft
constraints are the ones that can be broken but they will be panelized. To reduce the amount of
penalties when allocating space, a facilities manager has to ensure that soft constraints should be
followed as much as possible and no hard constraints should be violated. Some constraints a
facilities manager would face when allocating rooms are listed below:
Wastage, it restricts the space that can be used in each allocated room;
Unallocated, this refers to the entities that have not been allocated any room in the room
allocation;
Overuse, it refers to the space that is permitted to be overused, that is the different
between the amount of space needed and the amount of space allocated (Mann, 2009).
Sharing, it restricts the sharing of a common area between more than one entities, that
only refers to the entities that cannot be allocated the same space;
Allocated adjacent to, refers to a situation where some entities have to be allocated
adjacent to each other;
Allocated in a specific location, refers to the entities that have to allocated in a specific
area and any allocation outside that area would be a violation;
Allocated away from, refers to the entities that need to be allocated away from certain
areas or entities;
Allocated with, refers to the entities that have to be allocated together;
Grouped with, refers to the entities that have to grouped together;
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Disturbance, It restricts that amount of changes that can be made when reorganizing;
Not overused, it restricts certain areas to be overused.
As I am the facilities manager of an educational institute the room allocation has to be done
between entities like students, staff, lecture rooms, meeting rooms and special rooms. And this
has to done without violating the least amount of constraints. This is a really difficult task as
room allocation in educational institutes has different objectives and it also requires continuous
modifications as there is constant addition and removal of entities and rooms, and this directly
affects the functionality of the institute (Kowalski, 2002).
Room allocation in educational institutes has to be done in a multi-stage process. First the space
should be allocated for common areas, then all the departments and schools have to be allocated
the appropriate amount of space, and then different entities have to be allocated specific rooms
(Payne, 2000).

Health and safety and environmental issues
There are many different health and safety and environmental issues that impact the facilities
manager.
Health and safety issues can be identified as risk of disease, risk of injury or any dangerous
occurrence. The facilities manager has to ensure that a high standard of health and safety is
maintained.
The facilities manager has to be committed to ensure that there is a positive healthy environment
in the company. I have to maintain and provide a safe risk free working environment to the
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employees, and I will also have to provide the adequate arrangements and facilities to the
employees. Another health and safety requirement is to provide and maintain equipment, plant
and all other working systems that can be used safely and without any risk to the health of
employees (Fuller, 2004).
I will have to provide a safe way for the employees to come in and go out of the workplace
safely without any risk to their health. Adequate arrangements have to be made to regularly asses
the work activities so any possible hazards can be taken care of. And the employees will have to
be protected from any effects of company activities. These is also a health and safety issue when
handling, storing and transporting substances, so as a facilities manager I will have to ensure that
proper arrangements are made to make the whole process safe and risk free. Employees also
need to be informed of any health hazards if the machinery is not used properly, and they should
be trained and supervised to operate the machinery safely (Teicholz, 2012). In case of an
educational institute I will have to provide a safe a secure environment to the students and have
strict rules and regulations that protect students from any kind of danger resulting from the
actions of employees or students. The premises will have to be kept clean so there is no risk of
diseases and illnesses. And there should be a strict check that weapons of any kind do not enter
the premises of the institute, so the staff and the students are safe.

As a facilities manager there are also some environmental issues that I have to take care of.
I have to ensure that the organization improves its environmental performance continuously, and
it reduces its waste and pollution emissions from everyday activities. I will also have to monitor
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the use of supplies, raw materials and energy for the organization and when needed, I must
provide suitable alternatives (Governo, 2002).
Raising awareness about environmental issues within the organization is also important and it is
that job of the facilities managers to do so and also educate the organizations contractors and
suppliers about environmental issues. As a facilities manager I will have to encourage the clients
and customers to use the services and products in an environmentally friendly way, and
recommend more suitable products whenever possible. I also need to educate the staff to work
towards environmental change and encourage them to implement solutions that are better for the
environment (Gustin, 2010).

Ethics in facilities management
Business ethics are very important in every business and they govern actions and decisions in an
organization. A facilities manager has to abide by the code of ethics when managing facilities.
An organizations ethics set standards for defining the difference between bad and good
decisions. In simple words business ethics mean knowing what is right and what is wrong, and
then choosing the right thing. Business ethics are not limited to how the facilities are managed
within an organization; it also applies on the organization as a whole (Shaw, 2011).
The reason why ethics are so important is the management of facilities is that it the basis of the
entire work taking place in an organization. It is the facilities managers duty to carry out his/her
activities ethically and to make sure all the employees do the same.
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Many organizations today have ethical beliefs that they encourage everyone to follow and they
observe them while carrying out business activities. These ethical values are not necessary not
any laws or regulations, they are just what the organization thinks is right.
There are many cases in the past where many organizations have been caught in scandals like
bribery and corruption. This was usually done by the facilities management of the organization
when the organization was expanding the facilities management used unethical means to
facilitate it (Gallant, 2008).
Most of the organizations today have a proper code of ethics, but only few follow them. They
just post in on their company website and never look at it again. This is not enough, the
companies need to develop programs to support and implement that code of ethics to make sure
that all the business activities are in accordance with ethical values. The facilities managers
should support the program and ensure all the employees and departments are aware of the
companys code of ethical values and what type of behavior is expected of them (Cotts, 2010).
Conclusion
Facilities management is a vital part of every organization today, the facilities manager has a lot
of important responsibilities especially since technology has become an important part of all
business. So facilities managers are needed to keep the pace and integrate these new protocols
and devices within the infrastructure of the organization, but in the process they also keep the
profit their first and foremost priority.
The everyday responsibilities of a facilities manager vary with the size and nature of the
company. Facilities managers need to have lots of experience in various aspects and they need to
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have a background and understanding of local customs, construction practices, purchasing,
human resources, real estate laws, account management and project management.
Managing the facilities of the education college will an ongoing job as an educational institute
needs constant modifications and there are a lot of facilities to manage. Every once in a while the
educational institute will need some modifications, like adding in new class rooms, or allocating
space for facilitating the stay of transfer students. So an educational institute needs a facilities
manager that would help the institute fulfill these needs. They also need to manage different
facilities in the institute like janitorial work, cleaning work, front office and reception activities,
securities and car parking apart from managing space. So a facilities manager is a very important
part of the organization and he/she ensures that all the facilities in the organization run smoothly
without any hindrance. And the security in the institute is optimum; I will have to constantly take
measures to stop any security threats.
I will have to maintain a safe environment for students as well as teachers and ensure that
everybody follows the ethical code of the college, this is very important for the image
organization and when students will follow the ethical code in the institute it will help in their
grooming process.
As several facilities are shared between the college and the university by job is to manage them
effectively so both the college and the university is satisfied.
References
Atkin, B., & Brooks, A. (2009). Total facilities management. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell.
Barrett, P., &Baldry, D. (2003). Facilities Management. Oxford: Blackwell Pub.
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Barrett, P., &Baldry, D. (2003). Facilities Management. Oxford: Blackwell Pub.
Cotts, et al (2010). The facility management handbook. New York: American Management Association.
Cotts, et al (2010). The facility management handbook. New York: American Management Association.
Cotts, D. G., Roper, K. O., & Payant, R. P. (2010). The facility management handbook. New York: American
Management Association.
Ferreira, E. J., Erasmus, A. W., &Groenewald, D. (2009). Administrative management. Lansdowne [South
Africa: Juta Academic.
Fuller, C., &Vassie, L. H. (2004). Health and safety management: Principles and best practice. Harlow (Essex: Pearson
Education.
Gallant, B. (2008). The facility manager's guide to environmental health and safety. Lanham, Md: Government
Institutes/Scarecrow Press.
Gustin, J. F. (2010). Disaster & recovery planning: A guide for facility managers. Lilburn, GA: Fairmont
Press.
Kowalski, T. J. (2002). Planning and managing school facilities. Westport, Conn: Bergin & Garvey.
Mann, D. (2009). Facility management: Human outsourcing solutions to clients. New Delhi: Global India Publications.
MacLennan, P., & Nutt, B. (2000). Facility management: Risks and opportunities. Oxford [u.a.: Blackwell Science.
Mintel International Group Ltd. (2001). Facilities management. London: Mintel International Group.
Mann, D. (2009). Facility management: Human outsourcing solutions to clients. New Delhi: Global India
Publications.
Payne, T. (2000). Facilities Management. Oxford: Chandos Pub.
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Payne, T. (2000). Facilities management: A strategy for success. Oxford: Chandos Pub. (Oxford.
Ilgovernoimprenditoriale. (2002). Firenze: Firenze University Press.
Redlein, A. (2004). Facility management: Business process integration. Hamburg: Diplomica.
Reid, R. N. (2005). Facility manager's guide to security: Protecting your assets. Lilburn, GA: Fairmont Press.
Shaw, W. H. (2011). Business ethics. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
Shah, S. S. (2007). Sustainable practice for the facilities manager. Oxford: Blackwell Publ.
Teicholz, E., & IFMA Foundation. (2012). Technology for facility managers: The impact of cutting-edge technology on
facility management. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Wiggins, J. M., & Wiley InterScience (Online service). (2010). Facilities manager's desk reference. Chichester,
West Sussex, UK: Blackwell.

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