Tag: SiQ

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet 

The English language is full of words that mean the same thing. Twelve is a dozen. A groundhog is a woodchuck. If you’re right, you’re also correct. The list goes on. And while we’re familiar with most colloquialisms, it can be confusing and frustrating to run into ones that aren’t familiar — like any of the many facilities management job titles. 

If you’re browsing help wanted ads or brushing up on facilities management terms, you’re liable to run into dozens of unique monikers for facility manager. Some don’t even sound like they’d be in the same industry, let alone a stand-in name for the title! 

Let’s examine the many job titles that pass for a facility management position and learn why they’re often presented differently. 

Manager and coordinator titles 

Most often, facility oversight is seen one of two ways: as a managerial position or through the eyes of a coordinator. Both are fair assessments. Facilities managers are indeed managers, and their role in keeping facilities humming definitely falls under the realm of coordination. As a result, a facilities manager job description will likely involve the words “manager” or “coordinator.” 

Several other qualifiers mark facility management positions. Words like specialist, planner, lead, and administrator tend to signify their broad oversight. How they’re used depends on how the hiring company sees the role of their facilities manager. Are they more of a specialist doing things nobody else can? Or are they a leader who delegates facilities tasks to others? The answer often dictates the job title. Here are some of the most common synonyms for facilities manager: 

• Facilities Administrator 
• Facilities Helpdesk Lead 
• Facilities Supervisor 
• Facilities System Specialist Facility Coordinator 
• Global Corporate Properties
• Coordinator 
• Global Workplace Manager 
• Manager of Real Estate 
• Move Coordinator 
• Occupancy and Space Planner 
• Office Services Manager 
• Space and Facility Management Specialist 
• Space Management Specialist 
• Space Planner 
• Space Planning Manager 
• Workplace Services Manager 
• Workspace Manager 

Notice the common theme — they’re all qualified by space, workplace, facilities, and real estate. Ultimately, a facility manager’s role is defined by what workplace aspects they oversee. 

Strategist titles 

Is a facility manager a strategist? The abundance of strategy-focused job titles suggests so. It’s not a stretch to see facilities management as a strategic position. A lot goes into managing space, people, and technology — and bringing them together in harmony certainly takes strategy. What’s truly interesting is the diverse range of strategic concepts in facility manager job postings: 

• Facilities Strategic Planner 
• Facilities Strategist 
• Real Estate Strategic Manager 
• Space Planning and Logistics Leader 
• Strategic Site Planner 
• Workplace Strategist 

Strategic facilities management is less a job title and more an approach, which is why it often needs clarification within the industry. Strategy is key in bringing facilities together, so many companies proactively seek strategic individuals by putting this qualifier in the job title. Not only does it help to attract suitable candidates, it gets them thinking about strategy right away.

Analyst titles 

As digitization transforms the workplace, facilities management is impacted more by Big Data. Big Data can generate numerous opportunities in terms of complete energy solutions, business value, and optimum customer service satisfaction in any facility. So, individuals interested in a facilities management career path need to get familiar with collecting and processing data. And to that end, they become an analyst of sorts. Hence, the influx of analyst-focused job titles within the facilities management field: 

• Facilities Planning Analyst 
• Facilities Program Analyst 
• Facility Maintenance Analyst 
• Real Estate Analyst
   

Like the “strategic” segment of job titles, adding “analyst” to the facilities manager job title presents the job as what’s expected. Anyone applying for this position should be comfortable with data and knowledgeable in how to put it to work. The demands of a traditional facilities position still exist, but they’re expected to be data-driven. After all, what’s an analyst without data? What are facilities without insights to shape them?

Different names for the same thing 

Still confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Thankfully, “facilities manager” is the operative title in most job postings and professional circles. If you ask questions like “What certifications does a facility manager need?” or “How much does a facility manager make?” you’ll get the information you need. You’re only likely to encounter a lesser-known title if you’re looking into a specialized field. 

And while you’ll probably not run into most of these titles, it still helps to know them. You might even learn a thing or two in understanding the reasoning behind them. 

Building information modeling (BIM) has long been the digital cornerstone of the design, planning, and construction phases. With BIM in facility management, you can leverage existing data to streamline operations and maintenance. 

Watch How To Leverage BIM for Facilities Management 

Long gone are the days of simple brick and mortar buildings. Modern facilities are at the cutting edge of architecture, civil engineering, and material science. And we use sophisticated technologies to design, plan, construct, operate, and maintain them. Building information modeling (BIM) supports collaboration and streamlines workflows at every stage of the facility life cycle, allowing teams to centralize, share, and leverage data.      

What is BIM and what can it tell us? 

Buildings involve large investments of time and money, so they require many different teams of professionals, including architects, engineers, real estate developers, contractors, and manufacturers. Because there are so many people involved, the problem has always been coordination. For example, when the architects remove an interior wall from the plans, how do they ensure the engineers check and sign off on the changes? BIM solves the problem of siloed data by establishing a shared central source of truth about a building and its systems – a common data 

 environment (CDE) – that every team can access and update. 

A BIM model can contain many types of data, including: 

• Material 
• Geospatial 
• Logistical 
• Financial 
• Temporal
    

BIM is more than just a repository for information, however. It is a process for collaboration. It is both what the teams share and also how they share it. 

The future of BIM is bright. As machine learning folds into BIM software, computers are able to tell us more about our buildings than we could ever hope to learn looking at schematics and blueprints. It’s why BIM is now a mandatory requirement on UK public sector projects and will be mandatory for all German transportation projects by the end of this year. 

What does this all mean for facility managers? 

 BIM as a function of facility management 

Many think of BIM as only a part of the first stages of the facility life cycle. But because so much of your total cost of ownership (TCO) is in operations and maintenance, it makes good sense to leverage as much of your existing data as possible for as long as possible. 

You can use BIM to find the answers to important questions, including: 

• How much does an asset cost you to run within the framework of facility maintenance? 
• What is the service record for Y this year?  
• If you make an upgrade to Z, what will the ramifications be to peripheral systems? 

BIM lets you examine a true-to-life model of facilities and parse information on an as-needed basis. It’s one thing to look at a balance sheet and see costs and figures associated with facilities—it’s another to look at a building model and see where those costs come from and how you can adjust to shrink them. 

Facility managers have embraced BIM. It provides insights into vital systems and enables you to model the effects and changes affiliated with upkeep, repair, or improvement. It shows you what’s happening now and how various changes will affect future outcomes. Finally, it’s a system of record that integrates with space management software to drive data-backed solutions. All that means it’s a powerful tool for facility managers at every level of decision-making. 

How does BIM benefit facility managers? 

Researchers have spent decades developing BIM to aid building managers as they seek to reduce costs, improve building return on investment, streamline operations, improve employee engagement, and prevent problems early, before they require expensive fixes. 

BIM benefits facility managers on a day-to-day basis by: 

• Generating cost savings in facilities upkeep, maintenance, and improvements 
• Improving project efficiency and expedites delivery time for results 
• Reducing safety risks and clashes, which lowers passive change orders 
• Delivering greater predictability for facility maintenance and upkeep 
• Improving the visibility and oversight of facilities managers in everyday upkeep 
• Providing a system of record and visibility for vital systems within the building 
• Integrating with facility management software and systems to automate processes 

BIM helps you maintain existing elements. First, it gives you a complete list of all your assets and equipment. Because it contains records of everything that was added during the planning and construction phases, you know what you have, including critical information like make, model, and manufacturer.  

Not only do you know what you have, you also know where you have. Thanks to BIM, once a maintenance manager and their team of techs have access to accurate site maps and floorplans, they can quickly find the assets and equipment they need to maintain or repair. When they arrive, they know everything they need to know about the asset, from manufacturer to specifications.  

But it also helps with renovations, refurbishments, and expansions. When you can tell contractors the locations of all the plumbing, wiring, and air vents inside the walls, they can more efficiently plan their projects while avoiding safety risks. In fact, BIM facilitates total management of a building across diverse teams. Anyone can glean robust information from the powerful data of a digitized building and its systems to provide better, more efficient, targeted results. 

BIM matters in the future of smart workplaces 

With the introduction of smart buildings packed with sensors, BIM is set to become even more important. Every Internet of Things (IoT) sensor provides contextual data points that factor into the ecosystem of a building. For example, energy use, occupancy, and temperature. BIM will be able to replicate a real-time dynamic picture of a building, from the infrastructure down to the people within it. And, with each new data stream aggregated into the greater BIM schema, facility managers will have that much more information to work with as they strive to create the best possible management approach.  

As many in the working world move to the hybrid model, these insights will become increasingly important for facility managers, as they need the right data to provide the best working environment while controlling costs. Instead of running the AC at the same setting every day, they can adjust to meet predicted occupancy levels. The same goes for everything from which lights to turn on to how many coffee pods to stock in the breakrooms. Facility managers can also schedule maintenance, repairs, and renovations on days they know the building doesn’t see many visitors. 

Although the titles might sound similar, there are important differences between a property manager and a facility manager, including scopes of duties, professional qualifications, and career paths. By understanding the roles and responsibilities, you can better keep the workplace and facilities running smoothly. 

Step one is looking at the fundamental difference between property management and facility management. The first has a focus on the building, while the second is all about the people and processes inside. 

Property manager job description 

Property managers work for the property owner or group of investors, and they are responsible for the building. Common duties can include: 

• Finding and qualifying tenants 
• Arranging leases 
• Collecting rents 
• Overseeing renovations and expansions 

A skilled professional excels at managing projects, acting as a liaison, and keeping the peace. For example, if the building owner decides to renovate, remodel, or expand, the property manager oversees the project. Often, that involves coordinating with tenants and trades, so everyone can work without getting in one another’s way. 

A property manager oversees projects as well as many ongoing, day-to-day operations, including: 

• Maintenance 
• Janitorial 
• Landscaping 

Each likely has its own separate team and managers, but the property manager is above all of them in the organizational chart. They’re the ones who need to make sure all the other teams are on top of their tasks. 

Facility manager job description 

A facility manager puts the people and processes of the business first. Facilities managers are concerned with maximizing space and coordinating operations to make the most efficient use of office space. This includes arranging desks, coordinating moves, and overseeing office programs. Unlike a property manager, a facility manager doesn’t work for a building owner. They work for a business owner, helping them get the most from their investments in people and processes. It can be as large and involved as moving into or out of a new office space to as small and easy as deciding to switch from plastic to paper straws in the breakroom. 

Here again, facility managers are an intermediary with a clearly defined role. They help oversee the needs of workers, while coordinating operations for upper management. For example, if management wants to hire more workers without expanding square footage, facility managers explore desk booking and desk neighborhood options to maximize space. 

Facility managers are the backbone of office operations. Their goal is to create an office space that’s comfortable, organized, and optimized for productivity. With the rise of the hybrid office, facility managers now focus on finding ways to encourage collaboration, support employees’ different ways of working, and help everyone maximize their time in the office. 

Property and facility manager responsibilities 

To paint a clearer picture of the difference between property management and facility management, here are a few simple scenarios and who would deal with them: 

• Scenario 1: A window on the second floor is cracked. This is a building issue, which means a property manager is responsible for ensuring the window is replaced. They’ll take bids from contractors and handle the replacement timeline. They might also reach out to the affected tenants to try and coordinate the best time for the trades to come in and replace the window, which isn’t always ASAP. 
• Scenario 2: Your business is moving to a new floor. This situation deals with people and assets, making it a facility manager’s job. They’ll coordinate and oversee the move, ensure everyone’s properly situated. But remember, this only covers the move itself. Earlier, when your business is looking at different spaces and leasing options, you’re dealing with property managers.  
• Scenario 3: Someone needs a place to work for the day. This is a job for the facility manager, who is in charge of hotel desks and unoccupied spaces as part of the day-to-day operations of the business. But if it turns out the nearby AC or the electrical socket under the booked desk isn’t working, those are issues for the property manager. If the employee forgot to bring their laptop cable, it’s back to being the jb of the facility manager to find a spare.   

• Scenario 4: There aren’t enough parking spaces. This one is for the property manager. They dictate where people can park and secure additional space — whether that means enlarging the lot or coordinating a new parking system. As part of the project, the property manager will act as a liaison between the building owner, investors, or landlord and the companies in the building. It could be as simple as explaining the project to as involved as gaining buy-in.  
• Scenario 5: New employees are starting Monday. Here again, this one is for the facility manager. Even with a hybrid office, more employees can mean a need for everything from additional chairs in the boardrooms to extra coffee mugs in the breakrooms, which are all the responsibilities of the facility manager. Because they’re also in charge of office supplies, for example printer ink and paperclips, they might want to top up the in-office stock.   

There are few areas where overlap occurs, but where it does, there’s usually a clear understanding of roles. For example, if a light is burnt out in the breakroom, a facility manager can have maintenance take care of it. However, if that light keeps going out because of a short circuit, they’ll refer the issue to the property manager. 

The line often comes down to a question of oversight. Facility managers handle problems affecting workers and operations.  

Read more on how to select the right facility management software.  

Property managers are there to ensure the building is safe, accommodating, and functional. 

Where the confusion comes in 

One of the biggest issues with property managers vs. facility managers is how people refer to them. Not everyone realizes there’s a distinction between the two, so they use the terms “property” and “facility” interchangeably. Technically, the facilities are part of the property, but for the sake of how they’re managed, it’s two different objectives that require two different positions. 

So, now that you know the differences between the two, how do you decide which one to contact? When there’s a problem, it’s best to escalate it to someone capable of handling it. Just like an accountant will bring the issue to the finance manager, office workers need to bring their issues to the attention of the person equipped to address them.  

The easiest way to keep things clear? For building issues, it’s the property manager, and for issues in the workplace, it’s the facility manager. 

Learn more about facility management software on our pricing page.