FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

411 Managing business facilities (Task A)

411 Managing business facilities (Task A)

Introduction

The responsibilities of managing the processes and services that support the main purpose of the business are with the facilities managers. These managers are tasked with the role of providing the best environment for employees and clients (Smith & Love, 2011, p.76-91). These roles vary with the nature of the organization but this duty requires them to use the best practises in order increase the efficiency of the organization by improving productivity while keeping costs under control (Barrett & Baldry, 2009, p.45-48).

This is a very wide field with a range of responsibilities depending on the organization. These managers are responsible for the day-to-day operations as well as strategic planning particularly in relation to the premises and buildings. Some of the responsibilities include:

Space management

Communications and utilities management

Security

Safety and health

Vending and catering

Cleaning services

Grounds and building maintenance

Contract and procurement management

Role as a Facilities Manager

As a facilities manager, my role is to manage the facilities being provided by the university campus. Since the college shares these facilities with the university, the college cannot expand its capacity without approval from the university's management. Therefore, in order to manage everything related to the infrastructure, the need for a facilities manager cannot be overlooked. The task of managing facilities is huge because it includes several aspects which have to be managed together and coordinating everything becomes increasingly difficult when there is a shortage of some resource (Dale et al, 2013, p. 552-560). For instance, the shortage of even one room can disturb the entire schedule of the day unless necessary action is taken in advance to ensure the college never falls short of its resources.

There are several day-to-day operations as well as some strategic planning that is requires. The day-to-day operations include supervision of the janitorial services being provided by the university, the cleanliness of the infrastructure, the quality of the front desk operation, and the provision of adequate space for the parking of vehicles of the students and staff. These day-to-day activities are shared by the university and the college therefore; they require constant evaluation so that everything is in accordance with the provisions in the memorandum. The future requirements of the college also have to be kept in mind to ensure that it does not fall short of resources.

The responsibilities are not only limited to the shared services. In fact, the most important responsibility is to manage the facilities that are not shared. This is difficult because it requires extensive work such as procurement, selection, negotiations, hiring, and preparation of contracts etc. The extensiveness of all the tasks makes the role of a facilities manager essential for the success of the college.

Another important responsibility of the facilities manager is to ensure that none of the stakeholders face any issues regarding the provision every facility they desire. These facilities are analysed in order to determine whether it is important or not before the plan is implemented. Overall, the role of the managers of facilities depends ...