By Michael Johnson-Audini, Facilities Manager

Good facilities management is about much more than fixing things when they go wrong. It’s about creating buildings that work seamlessly for the people who use them. When occupiers can come into work, get on with their day and leave without really having to think about the building around them, we know we're doing our job.

In many ways, if occupiers are regularly having to raise issues with us, then it shows there is something we need to improve.

There is obviously a lot going on behind the scenes to make that happen. Facilities management (or FM) covers everything from lifts, heating and cooling, lighting and life safety systems through to compliance, cleaning, security and the many other services needed to keep a building running properly every day.

Occupier Comfort & Experience

Ensuring occupier comfort is about balancing the technical performance of a building with the day-to-day experience of the people who use it. Comfort isn't just about maintaining a temperature within a space. It's about creating a clean, safe and welcoming environment, with reliable building services and clear communication.

At No.1 Spinningfields, and Manchester Goods Yard, that experience is delivered through the combined efforts of our Front of House, cleaning & security team, and engineering teams.

When our teams work together, occupiers can simply focus on their business without the building becoming a distraction.

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges in FM is trying to stay ahead of issues rather than constantly reacting to them.

Things will inevitably go wrong in any building, but good FM is about planning ahead, understanding the building, monitoring performance and identifying problems early enough that they can hopefully be resolved before they have a major impact on occupiers.

It’s also about how you respond when something does happen. Good communication and keeping people informed can make a big difference, even when an issue cannot be fixed immediately.

Collaboration

Facilities management is very much a team effort. At Form Property, there are lots of different people involved in delivering the overall service, from Facilities Managers, Customer Service, Front of House and ESG through to our Surveying Team, and by extension our contractors that we use on site.

No one person can manage every aspect of a building on their own, so good communication between those different teams is important.

When everyone understands what is happening and works towards the same standard, it creates an elevated and more consistent experience for occupiers.

Facilities management has changed a lot over the years. Traditionally, FM could sometimes be seen mainly as fixing things when they broke, whereas now there is much more focus on being proactive and looking at the overall occupier experience.

That is something I enjoy about working within FM today and particularly at Form Property. Maintaining the building is obviously still a huge part of the role, but there is also much more focus on customer service, wellbeing, sustainability and continually looking for ways to improve how a building operates.

Technology and better use of building data will continue to help us identify issues earlier and understand how our buildings are actually being used.

For me though, the main principle will stay the same. Good facilities management is ultimately about making buildings work well for the people who use them.