Shaping tomorrow’s facilities management

Jan Bröchner,Carmel Lindkvist,Tore Haugen

doi:10.1108/f-10-2018-0126

Abstract

PurposeAgainst the background of earlier publications on the future of facilities management (FM) and acknowledging digitalization and sustainability as two major shaping forces, the purpose of this paper is to place contributions to the special issue in the perspective of current opportunities for FM research.Design/methodology/approachAfter a review of publications since the 1980s, dealing with the future of FM, there is an analysis of how the forces of digitalization and sustainability have emerged over five decades. The articles of this special issue are introduced against this background. Opportunities for future FM research are identified, and the relation between research, education and practice is discussed.FindingsMegatrends outlined in the 1980s still shape how FM develops. Digitalization supports sustainability not only through workplace change and building design but also through performance measurement, certification schemes and an awareness of the wider urban context.Research limitations/implicationsOpportunities for FM research are created by digitalization and concerns with sustainability, combining environmental and social aspects. Relations between organizations studied in an FM context are important. Within organizations, employee issues and risk management are emphasized.Practical implicationsPolicies and schemes for sustainable buildings should be linked to sustainable FM more clearly. The relation between research, education and practice needs to be consolidated as a basis for research and development, as illustrated by a number of studies belonging to this special issue. To reach the goals of sustainable development, we need to develop the knowledge and theoretical frameworks that can be applied to and used by practice. The recent ISO FM definition appears as narrow and should be extended to recognize facilities’ life-cycle issues as well as broader urban and social concerns.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the importance of basing FM research on an understanding of the fundamental forces that shape change.

Highlights

Predicting the future of facilities management (FM) has been the focus of a wealth of studies since the early 1980s. In this special issue of facilities, we begin by looking back at how researchers have approached the future of FM
Saurin et al (2008) created scenarios for the future of workplaces, starting from a list of “critical challenges” of a global nature. They identified “the power of information technology, market pressures, changing demographics and employee expectations”. In their scenarios for the “future of the Global Facility Management Industry”, two dimensions of uncertainties were identified by a major provider of FM services (ISS, 2011): the technology dimension and the sustainability dimension
We find again that separation from design and construction hinders FM from meeting the challenges of sustainability, which require information continuity throughout the building life-cycle (Whyte et al, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Predicting the future of facilities management (FM) has been the focus of a wealth of studies since the early 1980s. In an article on linking practice and research, Nutt (1999) identified the need for a basis for “the generation of property and facility performance criteria, management methods, operational procedures and decision techniques” He pointed out the need for new approaches to investment and risk. They identified “the power of information technology, market pressures, changing demographics and employee expectations” In their scenarios for the “future of the Global Facility Management Industry”, two dimensions of uncertainties were identified by a major provider of FM services (ISS, 2011): the technology dimension (labour-saving technologies, knowledge-based advisory services, incremental innovations in knowledge services) and the sustainability dimension (green, health issues, social, economic). Three effects of digitalization are further distinguished: information and communication technologies as support for work in workplaces, radically new ways of designing buildings and the spread of support for new methods of performance measurement

Circular economy Carbon footprint LEED Smart cities Sharing economy

Special issue article

Linking sustainable FM to sustainable building

Conclusions