Facility operations include the management of all the processes, people, tools and assets that are needed for a facility to operate fully as intended. Facility operations generally include the daily operations of the facility, as well as the preparation and completion of future maintenance and improvement needs.
The operating procedures and requirements for each facility will vary with the industry in question. Facility operations may also be referred to as "facility management" or "facilities management."
Facility operations is a management job that focuses on the efficient operations of a variety of businesses, including retail stores, factories, offices, storage facilities, campuses, hospitals, warehouses, and other commercial spaces and facilities. The primary concern in facility operations is an operational one, such as ensuring that day-to-day management meets the organization's objectives.
There are also strategic concerns, such as the requirement to follow best practices, meet productivity and efficiency standards, and meet legal and security requirements.
An example of facility operations would be a manufacturing facility. The facility could be broken down into process, production, and maintenance departments, with each department having different teams to oversee. The facility operations are the way each department and the teams work, both independently and together, and help the manufacturing facility reach its goals.
The operations of the facility comprise a number of key functions and disciplines, including:
- Maintaining an inventory of physical assets and the management of those assets.
- Tracking the maintenance of facilities and physical assets, from preventative maintenance to scheduled maintenance to emergency repairs.
- Knowledge and use of computer systems for utilizing and managing facilities.
- The creation, maintenance, and use of facility-specific manuals to assist with the processes, methods, equipment, and tools, as well as the maintenance schedules that must be kept to in order to manage a facility.
- Management of maintenance staff, as well as consideration of how they can operate most efficiently.
- Project management: given that the requirements of facility operations span so many disciplines, facility operators must be able to effectively define and prioritize needs, manage costs and procedures, and execute various management and maintenance projects simultaneously.
- Consideration and implementation of sustainable practices.
- Conducting risk management assessments and proposing and executing on corrective measures.
- Some additional areas that may fall under the aegis of facility operations include fire safety, security, cleaning, business continuity planning, space allocation, and equipment inspections.
For the company, the Facilities and Operations Management’s main function is to see to it there the operations go as smoothly as possible and there is no down time with said operations. They also promote safety through their safekeeping practices and security measures they undertake. Furthermore, the FOM department caters overall maintenance of the processes, as well as the equipment for the entire company.
Along with the maintenance of equipment and processes, the FOM department also handles the seating arrangement of the employees working in the office.
Refer to the entire process of creating the seating arrangement through this link: https://hoithr.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/63000266566
The FOM department works hand in hand with the onboarding officer to perfectly demonstrate and implement the new hire set up or in other terms, the onboarding officer asks the FOM manager help with regards to the workstation to be used by the newly hired employee. From there, the FOM manager creates the seat plan and readies the workstation to be used by the new employee.
Basically, all the non-IT assets and concerns, are directed to the Facilities and Operations Management.
The FOM department’s members are divided into roles, each has a certain task to adhere to. Here are the roles of the members of the FOM department:
- Housekeeping
- Security
- Handyman
- Procurement and Liason
Like the Human Resource department, the FOM department also has access to Freshdesk or the ticketing tool used in the company to lodge problems and find sensible solutions to said problems.
All the problems related to maintenance, purchasing, and the likes are directed to the FOM Freshdesk site and not the HR one.
Refer to the whole process on how the FOM Freshdesk works through this link: https://hoithr.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/63000266567
