Memphis IFMA MISSION STATEMENT:

"To provide the knowledge, tools and networking opportunities for facility professionals to improve the effectiveness of the workplace."

Memphis IFMA provides an informative and fun forum in which members foster relationships, network with peers and industry professionals, and enhance careers through educational development.

GENERAL:

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is an association dedicated to providing support to facility management professionals through programs of career development, education and research. Founded in 1980, IFMA has steadily grown with the profession, and is the premiere organization supporting facility management. Today, IFMA boasts a worldwide membership of more than 17,000 facility managers throughout 54 countries with 129 chapters.

THE MEMBERS:

The average IFMA member is responsible for 500,000 square feet of property, 75% of which is office space. More than half of IFMA's Professional members work in the service sector, with more than one quarter in manufacturing and production, and the remainder in the government and education sectors. More than half manage facilities for organizations with a work force in excess of 1,000.

The vast majority of IFMA members serve multi-function roles for their employers. These roles include, but are not limited to: administration, architecture, engineering, operations and maintenance, real estate, and space planning. More than half describe their primary role as "department head", with two-thirds managing staffs of six or more plus contract personnel.

PRINCIPAL GOALS:

•  To provide professional development for its members.
  
• To advance the philosophy and practice of facility management.
  
• To promote the positive effect of facility management on company and corporate assets,   and to Cultivate cooperation, understanding and interest among other professions that may have an influence on facilities that affect human behavior and productivity.            

SUMMARY:

Facility management plays a key role in the business management and technical operations of all organizations regardless of size. IFMA, through the wide variety of services provided to members, supports facility managers in performing this key role.

For more information about IFMA and its International affilliates, log onto www.ifma.org

What is the definition of Facility Management?

Nearly two years ago, IFMA launched a special task force to reexamine the definition of facility management.  Time had arrived to redefine the old definition, created in 1983 at the request of the U.S. Library of Congress. Back then, this venerable yet official depository of the nation’s printed word couldn’t figure out how to categorize a puzzling yet rapidly growing body of information informally dubbed “facility management.”

IFMA’s special task force felt FM had progressed and evolved significantly in the two decades since the Library of Congress request.  In the intervening years, IFMA had continuously shaped the course and direction of FM through a number of initiatives—the most important being the creation of the competency-based Certified Facility Manager (CFM) credential in 1993.   To create the CFM designation, IFMA identified eight key competencies that are essential to good facility management practices and developed a testing protocol that measured core FM competencies.

In 2004, IFMA unveiled its new definition of FM, describing it as “a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.” This definition is now part of IFMA’s Strategic Plan and Balanced Scorecard documents. 

FM is not static. Our discipline must be continually evaluated.  For better or for worse, “technology” has become the ninth FM competency,  joining communication, finance,  human and environmental factors, leadership and management,  operations and maintenance, planning and project management, quality assessment and innovation, and real estate.

To ensure that other credible sources recognize the importance of FM and FM careers, IFMA continuously works with authoritative sources to get FM recognized as a strategic management function. For example, IFMA was instrumental in getting the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics to revise its widely used Occupational Outlook Handbook career guide so that FM is now considered a professional occupation instead of mere management of skilled craftspeople.

Unfortunately, “facility managers” still appears as a subset of “administration services” in the Handbook, but IFMA is fighting the good fight with a variety of federal agencies so that facility management earns the distinct listing it so richly deserves. IFMA also is working with the U.S. Bureau of the Census’ Economic Classification Policy Committee to propose FM be classified on its own in the new North American Industry Classifications System (NAICS) that has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.  NAICS was developed jointly with Canada, Mexico and the United States.

FM has proven to be unique, dynamic, significant and definable.  I think many, if not all, of you would agree it has proven a worthy and rewarding career choice. It is my sincere hope that you will find articles in this issue of FMJ helpful to your own career as we strive to grow FM into a full-fledged and recognized discipline that provides career satisfaction and job security for all IFMA members.  

For more information on the Memphis/ Mid-South Chapter of IFMA, contact Glenda Godwin, Chapter President, at (901) 523-4922 or email to GBGodwin@firsthorizon.com