Facilities management (FM) and asset management concepts in Malaysia are relatively new. Back in the 1990s, the industry started being noticed and recognised by Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), an outcome of a handful of passionate people (academic and industry) working very hard behind the scenes due to their love for the industry.
It’s the tangible and indirect contribution of these people that the industry moved from being an old upkeep and maintenance of buildings to a more strategic role today. It means the involvement has evolved from fixing things to eventually dictate some of the building designs, budgeting, and crucial decision-making that will impact any organisation’s core business.
The move and the recognition are important. It sets expectations, standards, and requirements of what the industry was lacking previously. Now Malaysia, via CIDB, has established competent Facilities Managers and Facilities Executive certification. CIDB sets requirements and standards to fulfil, which include interview sessions with expert panels. Overseas bodies such as IFMA and IWFM (formerly known as BIFM) have long been recognised and have a solid foundation, which they worked years to achieve. I wrote an article to voice my opinion about this specific matter.
Why is facilities management important?
So why is facilities management important, and why does Malaysia need to put priorities in it?
We can start with the fact that 2/3 of the world population will live in cities, and cities consist of buildings where people work, play, or live. In Malaysia, 77% of the overall population lives in cities. Second, the cost to construct any building is only a fraction (10%) of the overall life cycle building cost; the rest (90%) cost will go to maintaining and operating the building (data of 30 years).
In Malaysia, buildings use 48% of the overall electricity generated. Urbanisation will make buildings more important. Hence, taking care of our building will be our priority for us and the environment. The maintenance regime for buildings needs to cater to new needs and new demands from different groups of people or generations and adapt to the new complexity that modern buildings pose.
Conclusion
A shift of mindset and standards in FM also made the construction industry move in the right direction. A clear objective and plans should be made clearly to all stakeholders, as mentioned here in this article. It made maintaining buildings cheaper, safer, and more sustainable. In the past, buildings were designed without attention to how to actually maintain them. In terms of costing or even crucial details that are often overlooked, such as safe access to ceilings and rooftops. Designers are now thinking about the ability to maintain and the overall cost of running the building. A strong voice by FM made this possible.