How important is facilities management?

Any business owner will be aware of how much work goes into the everyday running of a company. With staff to manage, customers to keep happy and bills to pay, there are so many things that get pushed aside because of time constraints.

The maintenance of buildings and equipment is often one of the many jobs that companies know they should be on top of but struggle with because of other more pressing issues. However, facilities management is hugely important and if this is something that you’re unable to do yourself, you should consider using a Facilities Management company such as Arup.

Why exactly is this such an important part of running a business however?

Health and safety

 Facilities management involves many different aspects which ensures that your health and safety practices are up-to-date and legal:

• Mechanical and electrical utilities which could act as potential hazards to customers and employees are managed for you
• It also ensures that all the facilities within your organisation are compliant with industry health and safety regulations
• Disabled access is managed
• The correct fire prevention methods are put in place and an emergency exit plan will be identified
• Waste disposal is managed as is the control of any hazardous substances you may have on site

It can save you money in the long-run

 Identifying potential issues with your business premises before they become a big problem can save you a lot of money in the long-run. Say for example there’s an issue with your roof. It’s highly unlikely that you would ever know about this until there’s a leak or serious damage has been caused.

Hiring someone to carry out regular checks and maintenance work means that you can avoid scenarios like this from ever occurring. Not only will this save you a fortune in repairs, it also means that you won’t have to close the office down while the work is being carried out.

Improves employee productivity

 If your equipment and machinery isn’t operating to the best of its ability, this is going to have a dramatic impact on the productivity of your staff. There has in fact been a great deal of research which suggests that there’s a strong link between facilities management and productivity.

One particular survey which was carried out by Sodexo and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (https://www.rics.org/uk/), revealed that 61% of respondents felt that improvements to workplace facilities had positively impacted their wellbeing. It also improved social interactions among colleagues, eased efficiency in day-to-day tasks and had a positive impact on employees’ health and wellbeing. You can view the survey by following this link: http://www.blog.rexeleurope.com/how-does-facilities-management-impact-workplace-productivity/

Another study found that simply increasing the temperature of the office can result in employees making 44% fewer typing errors.

It saves time

 If you and your employees are constantly running around trying to deal with maintenance or compliance issues, this is going to detract from other important aspects of your job. Outsourcing this function leaves you free to focus on the things you should be doing, guarantees that potential issues are identified early on and also ensures that you’re staying up-to-date with constantly changing technologies which can have a more positive impact on your building and workforce.