World Workplace Forum Middle East
“Dispelling the Myth: Strategic Facility Management vs Traditional Facilities Maintenance"
- Why should organisations consider a model of strategic facility management?
- What can be done by stakeholders in the market to encourage global best practice into the region coupled with use of technology and data?
- How can relationships and collaborative supply chain benefit the industry?
These were just some of the topics discussed by industry leaders at the first IFMA-RICS World Workplace Forum in the Middle East, held in Dubai on Thursday 18 May.
Almost 200 participants from over 24 countries participated in this high level forum hosted by IFMA, the International Facility Management Association, and RICS, a global professional body working across land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.
With a diverse selection of speakers and panellists which brought global and regional perspectives, discussions explored the importance of embracing strategic facility management for adding value to both end users and owners of real estate, and ensuring longevity and capital value preservation and growth for built assets in the region.
Lack of collaboration between asset owners, developers, FM’s and service providers coupled with ineffective tendering and procurement processes are issues which clearly need addressing. Tariq Chauhan, CEO, EFS, and title sponsor of the event, commented “Suppliers must be engaged with much earlier in the supply chain to ensure they are able to add value for the life of the service contracts.”
“IFMA is a reputable institution and supporting the 2017 World Workplace Forum, demonstrates EFS’s faith in the Facilities Management Excellence across the region. Events like these help top service providers come under one roof and discuss the key challenges and trends in the Facilities management industry today. Our association with IFMA and RICS is our small way of promoting the importance of strategic facility management in the region.” Added Mr. Chauhan.
Opportunities for emerging technology and the use of data in building analytics is driving change in the industry, Laurie Gilmer, VP Facility Services, Facility Engineering Services, emphasised the need to embrace digital disruption, and that being flexible, innovative and adaptable will ensure success in the market place. She stressed one of the biggest challenges facing the industry is from “competitors who don’t currently exist and those we are not aware of.”
Facility Management contracts across the GCC are predicted to hit $66 billion by 2020, and globally, FM is a trillion-dollar industry practiced by 25-million professionals. It has grown both in size and scope — evolving from a tactical service to a strategic discipline.
Asif Siddique, Executive Director at Deyaar Facilities Management said: “We are proud to be a part of the first ever World Workplace Forum Middle East. In this growing market, this event is a fantastic platform for facilities management professionals and decision markers to come together to learn and discuss in-depth how international best practices can be applied in the region, the latest innovations impacting the industry, The event is the first in the region since IFMA and RICS’ recent global collaboration. In April of 2016 the two organisations announced a collaboration which will provide an unprecedented level of industry support to meet the growing demands of the 25 million FM practitioners around the world. The two organizations are aligning and producing standards and professional development for the industry, uniting the global FM community to increase consistency and unification of strategy across the life cycle of the built environment.
The collaboration offers a single suite of professional qualifications in facility management, providing global recognition for FMs of all educational backgrounds, skills, work experiences and career goals. These efforts serve to raise the profile of FM, giving a greater voice and increased status to the profession to shape the future of the built environment and enable business success.
IFMA - RICS wish to thank all delegates, sponsors and partners for their generous support.
-Ends-
About IFMA
The International Facility Management Association is the world's largest and most widely recognized international association for facility management professionals, supporting more than 24,000 members in 94 countries. IFMA members manage more than 37 billion square feet of property and purchase more than US$100 billion in products and services annually.
World Workplace is IFMA’s flagship event and is the most longstanding and well-respected conference and exposition for facility management and related workplace professions. Held annually in the United States, Asia, India and Europe, World Workplace is an interactive conference focused on finding innovative, resourceful solutions to common facility challenges; gaining achievable strategies that will get the attention of customers, supervisors and colleagues; and sharing best practices for managing facilities, teams and projects. www.ifma.org
About RICS
RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards – bringing confidence to the markets we serve. We accredit 124,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.
For more information, please contact:
RICS in Middle East
Lynne Davidson
Marketing & Communications Manager
ldavidson@rics.org
Tel: +971 (0) 4 391 3675
© Press Release 2017
