Teaching FM Standards to a new generation of professionals

The field of Facility Management (FM) has experienced a welcome change over the past few years with the introduction of ISO Standards. These standards have served the very necessary function of standardising terminology, principles and concepts in FM. They have already provided valuable guidelines for international best practice with regard to a FM management system sourcing and SLAs and will in due course provide similar guidelines for technology in FM, strategy and policy. These FM standards – the ISO 41001 suite of standards – have already made an impact on the practise of FM

During a recent ISO meeting in St Petersburg disappointing research data was revealed which indicated that students worldwide were mostly unaware of the ISO 41000-suite of FM standards. The low level of awareness is worrying given the fact that ISO published its first FM standard some three years ago.

If students are unaware of the ISO 41000-suite of FM standards it is only logical to conclude that it has not been included in their academic curricula. I am currently aware of only one tertiary institution in the world (Academy for FM) that has fully embraced the FM standards (41000) in its academic FM programmes. No formal survey has been done in this regard and it may therefore be an incomplete picture. The point is not how widespread the practice is but rather that these ISO standards have been incorporated into an academic curriculum. Furthermore, that academic liaison will enable other academic institutions to obtain information about the teaching and learning process as well as the outcomes of this curriculum.

At this point it may be necessary to backtrack and first indicate which FM standards have been completed / published, what is still in the pipeline and what the process is. ISO has charged a Technical Committee (TC267) with developing Facility Management standards. The TC is made up of 48 countries that participate in the process by nominating subject matter experts who draft the standards for international approval. All standards are developed under strict ISO protocols that call for inclusivity, consensus, the widest possible participation by member countries and rigorous peer-review. The results are authoritative documents that set the tone for international best practise in FM with a suite (ISO 41000) of practical standards that will serve to further professionalise the industry.

What has been achieved so far?

Chronology of published FM Standards in the 41000 series:

 

What is still to come?

TC267’s roadmap lists the following topics:

 

The purpose for creating standards is clearly that the whole 41000-suite of standards will impact on FM practise and improve and professionalise the industry.

 

Back to the awareness research – What makes the lack of awareness by students surprising is that the global 2019 Euro FM survey (conducted in conjunction with FMHouse) revealed that 62% of academia are aware of the FM standards.

The world over, there are still widely differing approaches to FM and therefore also widely different FM curricula. The actual detail of FM curriculum content is not the issue here but rather how academic institutions incorporate the FM standards in existing FM curricula.

Two approaches have been adopted for the Academy’s curriculum:

It is assumed that any FM curriculum will cover the terminology and concepts that are relevant to the field and here the use of 41011 (Terminology) is self-evident. Similarly, service level agreements must feature in any FM curriculum and therefore 41012 (Sourcing) is relevant. There can hardly be a FM programme that does not incorporate the management of FM and for this 41001 (Management System) is surely a must. Even if it serves as only one possible approach. The FM standards advance the body of knowledge in the field and therefore deserve a place in FM curricula.

From a pedagogical perspective we know that a great deal of learning takes place when theoretical knowledge has to be applied in practise. It is assumed that most existing FM curricula will incorporate some form of research or project which lends itself to the application of theory. ISO 41001 (Management System) offers an ideal opportunity for students to analyse and assess the management system in the work environment against the standard. It provides students with an opportunity for the FM practice but also to see how that practise measures up to the management standard.

 

This kind of project is an ideal learning experience for students and likewise avails itself as an excellent assessment tool for faculty. The beauty of using the Management System standard as an assessment tool is that it is very flexible and can therefore be utilised at almost any level of complexity (Bloom). It is especially useful when employed as a summative Capstone project in the final phase of study where it serves as a comprehensive indicator of not only what the student has learnt but also his/her understanding of its application in practise.

There will always be room to debate the detail of incorporating FM standards into the academic curriculum, but is there any justification for excluding the standards from the learning process? Incorporation will better equip students for the FM industry and the role of leading the industry to a higher level of professionalism.

I am looking forward to receiving input from academics globally, regarding their experience with incorporating the 41000-suite of Standards into existing FM curricula. I trust that when Euro FM / FMHouse repeats the survey in future, student awareness will have surged.

 

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