According to the International Facility Management Association, facilities management is the profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, processes, and technology and the members of this profession have competencies in eleven areas.
1. Communication—Communication plans and processes for both internal and external stakeholders
2. Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity—Emergency and risk management plans and procedures
3. Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability—Sustainable management of built and natural environments
4. Finance & Business—Strategic plans, budgets, financial analyses, procurement
5. Human Factors—Healthful and save environment, security, FM employee development
6. Leadership and Strategy—Strategic planning, organize, staff and lead organization
7. Operations and Maintenance—Building operations and maintenance, occupant services
8. Project Management—Oversight and management of all projects and related contracts
9. Quality—Best practices, process improvements, audits and measurements
10. Real Estate and Property Management—Real estate planning, acquisition and disposition
11. Technology—Facility management technology, workplace management systems
[1].
As you would expect, by the very nature of the tasks that facility management staff are given, they are an integral part of a resilient organization. From helping to select the actual site for the facility, emergency plans and procedures, as well as maintaining a safe and healthy environment, the expertise of the facility management staff needs to be included what developing a resilient organization.
It is worth keeping in mind that creating and maintain a resilient organization is a cross functional effort and does not depend on one functional area by itself.
Emergency preparedness, for example, although Facilities Management considers it a core competency, impacts many other areas, which, depending on the level of the emergency, feel that they are competent to respond (e.g. an equipment break down, which could be considered an emergency to production and maintenance departments, would not involve facilities, unless there was damage to the facility, or the environment). A resilient organization should use all the expertise at its disposal.
The Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has an extensive discussion emergency planning and has broken down the main factors that determine what is needed in an emergency as follows:
1. the degree of emergency,
2. the size of organization,
3. the capabilities of the organization in an emergency situation,
4. the immediacy of outside aid,
5. the physical layout of the premises, and,
6. the number of structures determine procedures that are needed.
[2]
Although the aim of the CCOHS organization is the health and safety of workers, these factors also apply to the whole organization when determining the activities, procedures needed to respond to an emergency, no matter what or severity of the emergency.
Have you faced issues with creating a resilient organization? Is it possible to build a resilient organization in the chemical industry? Feel free to discuss/share stories about these questions along with manufacturing in the chemicals industry in general in the comment space below.
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