Whitepaper on ISO41001 FM Management System Standard.

1. 1
WHITEPAPER ISO41001: 2018
Over the last decades, Facility Management (FM) has steadily matured
and expanded in the Netherlands. In 2017 the FM sector was
responsible for 10% of our GNP and over a quarter of a million
professionals made their living within FM.
This successful development of FM within the Netherlands
can partly be attributed to the high quality of outsourced
services. In 2017 approximately 74% of facility services were
outsourced to third party suppliers. In order to successfully
direct the delivery of all these services a professional
approach to FM is a first requirement.
One of more recent developments within our trade is the need to quickly adapt to
the rapidly changing context of and within the market. Although this is not really a
new development, the dynamics have changed significantly: in the past changes
were often succeeded by periods of relative quiet. In our new reality changes are
being followed by new changes in an even increasing pace. How can FM organize
itself effectively in order to be able to continuously lead this change and renew
itself?
Challenges for in-house FM-organizations
Just as within the Dutch Ministry of Defense, FM is often an internal organizational unit
in many organizations. In some larger organizations, FM is part of a Shared Service
Organization (SCC). Within these SSCs, supporting processes such as HR, IT, Finance,
Procurement, Communication, Legal and Facility Services are brought together. The
objective here is to bring efficiencies to the entire organization and increasingly work
for other organizations too. The benefits are always clear: cost reduction, quality
enhancement, improve continuity in service provision and more possibilities for
employees who can develop themselves more broadly.
However, a potential disadvantage of these developments is the far-reaching
formalization and bureaucratization within SCC’s that are a natural consequence of
the intended efficiency objectives. This makes it difficult to keep up with rapid market
developments (adaptivity) and to achieve the required maneuverability.

2. 2
In 2018 ISO41001 was published.
This FM-standard is a so-called management system
standard and offers a framework to help the FM-
organization reach a higher division.
Why a management system is important for FM?
‘Management systems are those activities that
are being utilized to anticipate, avoid or solve
known problems.1’
As such a FM management system is basically
just a series of agreements for policies and
measures that form the basis for continuous
improvement and adaptation to the rapidly
changing market. It is therefore not a static
document but a systematic approach. The
Plan-Do-Check-Act or PDCA cycle is an
important tool in this regard.
Management systems can be deployed for
a variety of themes, such as Quality,
Environment, Food Safety, or Working
Conditions. These themes are not self-
contained management topics, but must be
part of your integrated business operations.
The topics may differ in size as your
organization attaches more value to one or
the other, but only together result in
synergies. In many organizations these topics
are "controlled" independently of each
other, which only leads to fragmentation and inefficiencies. Because of this
fragmentation, many companies and professionals experience a management
system as an administrative burden.
1
Harvard Business School, 2008

3. 3
The specific nature of FM ensures horizontal connections through and between the
different columns within the organization. Thanks to this holistic and integrated
approach in combination with a strong focus on the customer, especially FM can
provide the desired synergy. This way the benefits of an effective integrated
management system for the entire organization are fully utilized.
How will ISO41001: 2018 help us evolve?
As indicated, this standard provides a
framework for bringing the various themes
together in one effort. The PDCA method
is used as a structure to ensure that
policies and measures are optimally
coordinated so that FM can help to
optimally support the objectives of the
client ("demand organization" within the
vocabulary of ISO41001).
How does ISO41001: 2018 work?
Realistically, the standard is really nothing more than a structured toolkit or method
based on worldwide proven practices. The standard thus offers a means to screen
the FM organization, to identify shortcomings, to analyze and to prioritize
improvement actions based on risk and compliance management. With this, any
shortcoming or "gap" in the existing situation can be effectively bridged.
Does the introduction of ISO41001: 2018 result in a lot of extra work?
Working with the ISO41001: 2018 first and foremost implies answering many practical
questions. It will be necessary to perform a GAP analysis based on the answers given
to identify which measures are necessary to achieve the desired results and in which
priority. Fortunately, this does not mean that your existing management system must
be rebuilt from scratch.
Current
situation
Desired
situation
GAP-analysis
Iterative change

4. 4
The intention of a management system standard is that it will support your
organization, not that the FM organization suddenly has to work differently by
introducing ISO41001: 2018!
It is therefore not necessary or desirable to reinvent the wheel for every part of the
FM management system. Through combining and structuring present and missing
information, you can supplement the management system where necessary by
testing against risk management frameworks, standards and legislation.
Guiding principles ISO41001
An important principle of this standard is that there is regular
coordination between the top management of the demand
organization and that of the FM organization. Through this
"strategic dialogue" the objectives of the demand organization
become clear and it becomes possible for FM to align its
strategy and policy closely with those of its client(s).
Another important principle is that by definition FM is
a supplier to the primary process. This not only
means that FM will have to organize itself as a
separate organization or separate organizational
unit with its own strategy, objectives and policy, but
will also have to conform as much as possible to the
rules that apply to external providers. This creates a
level playing field, making benchmarking easier.
Within ISO41001: 2018 a logical structure is created based on a system approach:

5. 5
Determining the context
The basis of any good system is that it always matches the objectives for the most
important topics that top-management has in mind. In this phase you determine the
context of the organization. Here you describe the varyious factors that can have
both a positive or a negative influence on the achievement of those objectives. It is
important to understand and describe the unique context of your demand
organization before you take subsequent steps.
For determining the organizational context you can think of external factors such as
developments in legislation and regulations, the economy, technology, competition
in the market. You can map this out, for example, based on a DESTEP analysis. But
you should also take interested parties into account who are affected by your
organization or have certain expectations, such as employees, customers, partners,
regulators, suppliers and society in general.
For internal factors you can think of the range of products or services, organizational
structure, roles and responsibilities, culture, capital, time, people, processes, systems
and technologies.
It is up to you to determine which topics and circumstances can affect your
organization, objectives, processes, products, services or customers and how you
can set up your system accordingly. Many organizations use management models
such as the aforementioned DESTEP analysis, SWOT analysis or Porter’s 5-forces
model, but brainstorming sessions with the management team can also provide
much valuable information.

6. 6
As soon as all this is clear, you determine the context of the organization.
Circumstances change and so you will have to regularly monitor and possibly adjust
the context of your organization.
Leadership
The word "management" in management system is
used for a reason. Implementing the management
system is a first step, but continuous support from
top management within the FM organization is a
crucial factor in maintaining it. The standard
therefore devotes a great deal of attention in this
chapter to the required commitment of the FM-
organization’s top management.
Please note: it can be challenging, especially within large internal FM organizations,
to determine who exactly constitutes top management. As a result, an organization
may for example be confronted with conflicting policies.
In the next steps it is clarified what the expectations of top management of the
demand organization are as well as those of the top management within the FM
organization.
Ideally, this implies that you should already be involved in creating support and
managing expectations with top management before you start implementing the
NEN-ISO41001.
Planning
By giving practical substance to the
formulated strategy, (project)risks arise
automatically. This clause focuses on how to
manage these, whereby the word "risk" refers
to both opportunities and threats. One of the
starting points in this process is to be able to
determine in advance that initiatives will
achieve the stated result?
Step by step planning goes deeper into the objectives of the organization. Are these
actually aligned with those of your client (demand organization), adequately
recorded and communicated within the organization?
Finally, it is determined how governance is organized, what resources are needed to
carry out the assignment and how the organization deals with risk management:
proactive or, on the opposite, reactive?

7. 7
Support
"The FM organization must identify and make available the resources needed to set
up, implement, maintain and continuously improve the FM management system."
This not only concerns financial resources that are
sufficient for the realization of the requested services, but
also sufficiently competent internal and external
employees, organizational knowledge assurance,
communication resources and an effective document
management system with which information can be
created, updated and managed.
Operations
This is "the beating heart" of every FM organization. The
actual customer contact takes place in real time,
value is added here (and money earned).
Implementation focuses on the spearheads of
operational planning and control, coordination with
the various stakeholders and the integration of the
various services that are provided.
Earlier in the standard we identified actions to seize opportunities and manage risks,
in this chapter processes, procedures and performance are explicitly aligned with
this so that the intended results can be achieved.
Performance evaluation
If the purpose of implementation is to add value, then the purpose of this chapter is
to determine whether that is actually the case. Monitoring, measuring, analyzing and
evaluating performance provides insight into and accountability for the
performance of the FM organization.
Improvement
Because the organization must continue to learn and
develop, it goes without saying that the identification of
non-conformities and the associated corrective measures
is discussed in more detail. But just as important is setting
up and maintaining the process of continuous
improvement, including the implementation of preventive
measures to prevent disruptions.

8. 8
Content and structure of ISO41001
Support
• ID & secure resources
• Sourcing & monitor
• Competencies
• Awareness
• Communication
• Information required
• Knowledge management
Context of the organization
• External & internal issues
• Interested party requirements
• Establish scope
• Document scope
• FM Management System
Planning
• Risks & opportunities
• Plan/address risks
• Requirements of interested parties
• FM objectives
• Implementation plan
• Leadership & commitment
• Establish FM policy
• Communicate FM policy
• Relevant roles
• Responsibility & authority
Leadership
PLAN

9. 9
The Expertise Center FM, in collaboration with
HEYDAY Academy, has developed a one-day
Basic Course NEN-ISO4100: 2018 - Towards
strategic FM.
Would you like to know more about ISO41001 or
the one-day course? ihp@visionfm.eu
Utrecht, May 2019
Ian van der Pool MFM, CFM
Performance evaluation
• Scope of monitoring
• Monitoring means & methods
• Documented results
• Evaluate performance
• Audits
• Top management review
• Communicate/act on results
Improvement
• Nonconformity
• Corrective actions
• Preventive measures
• Gap Analysis
• Continually improve
ACT
CHECK
Operation
• Processes
• Change control
• Control processes
• Interested parties relationships
• Integrate service delivery
DO