Whitepaper

The FM-Organization as strategic partner

ISO 41001: 2018

FM Management Systems Standard

ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation

Monseigneur Zwijsenlaan 4 • 6021 XG Budel • The Netherlands
Tel. +31 6 46 41 43 43 • ian@iso41001csi.com • www.iso41001csi.com
IN 2023 THE GLOBAL FM MARKET IS ANTICIPATED TO
REACH €59,3 BILLION, RISING AT A COMPOUND ANNUAL
GROWTH RATE OF 11,4% DURING THE FORECAST PERIOD. i

Drivers for this rapid and continual growth include a rise in the development of sustainable
infrastructure, and in the adoption of IoT and connected devices for building automation
across all of the industry whether in hard or soft services.
There is also an increasing worldwide incentive to environmental and regulatory compliance
and save more in costs but to be just as, if not more productive.

In a recent studyii, ISS identified a number of trends that will drive facility management in
the coming years.

Outsourcing continues to increase in popularity and is

largely driven by the demand for high-quality workplace
experiences as well as reduced operating costs. This trend is
further fueled by the increased cost of employing in-house
FM-teams and the complex task of managing a large suite of
services.

Technology is increasingly being used to improve efficiency

though IoT and drive down costs through Robotic Process
Automation (RPA). RPA is well suited to both hazardous and
repetitive tasks, with some FM executives choosing robots to
fulfill administrative and security roles. The operational
savings that technology offers will likely see widespread
adoption of IoT and RPA in the coming decade.

Workplace personalization and wellbeing The productivity

and wellbeing of employees have been center stage in recent years, with the value of happy,
engaged staff being fully recognized. This had led to a trend in FM managers focusing on the
creation of workplace strategies that actively promote the engagement, wellbeing and
ultimately the productivity of their staff.
These workplace strategies must adapt to an increasingly diverse workforce, personalizing

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 2 of 14

services to their distinct needs. A major part of the personalization of the workspace is
adapting to the priorities of a younger generation, with modern workers demanding climate-
friendly food services, sustainable workplace designs and events that cater to a blurring of
home/work-life boundaries. What workers expect from their workplace has changed much
in the past 20 years and will continue to change rapidly.
The FM sector will need to continue to evolve to meet tomorrow’s trends.

WHY A MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS IMPORTANT FOR FM?

“Management systems are those activities that are being utilized to

anticipate, avoid or solve known problems”

As such an FM management system is nothing more or less than 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 together form one whole. In
many an organization these topics are
"controlled" independently of each
other. This only leads to fragmentation
and inefficiencies. Because of this
fragmentation, many companies
experience a management system as an administrative burden. As such it is adamant to
implement an effective and integral management system for the entire FM-organization

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 3 of 14

HOW WILL ISO41001: 2018 HELP FACILITY MANAGEMENT EVOLVE?

As indicated, this standard provides a

framework for bringing the various
themes together in one go. 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" in the use
of ISO 41001: 2018).

How can FM evolve and effectively meet

the needs for the day after tomorrow?
The need to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing context of and within the market is not
really a new development. However, the dynamics have changed significantly. No so long-
ago changes were often succeeded by periods of relative quiet. In our new reality changes
are being followed by new changes, while the pace is increasing. How can FM organize itself
effectively in order to be able to continuously lead the change and renew itself?

CHALLENGES FOR IN-HOUSE FM-ORGANIZATIONS

In many organizations, FM is often an internal organizational unit. In recent years the FM

organization has gotten more and more intertwined with other departments such as HR and
IT. Moreover, we have seen the development of a shift from reducing costs to adding value
at the strategic level. FM-professionals are increasingly confronted with the question how to
optimize FM processes and align these with the processes and requirements of the core
business (demand organization in ISO 41001: 2018)?

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 4 of 14

 By means of aligning solutions with the strategy and policies of
the demand organization, FM-professionals can finally make the
added value of FM tangible for the C-suite. In order to
accommodate this evolutionary process

ISO 41001 was published in 2018. This FM Management System

Standard offers a framework to effectively raise the bar for the
FM organization.

FM organizations can use this standard to show that they

have outgrown the cost center stage and can prove to be a
value driver for the core business of their demand organization. In
a very direct manner, they can demonstrate clearly the value added in attaining core
business corporate goals. The standard also demonstrates the reliability of FM organizations
and proves that all regulatory and statutory demands are being met.

In this whitepaper we will guide you through the standard and show you how you can utilize
ISO 41001: 2018 in your daily business.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN ISO 41001: 2018

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 FM is by definition a supplier of 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 (operational) 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.

STRUCTURE

ISO41001 incorporates a logical structure based on the system approach. This structure
starts with determining the context of the organization and how leadership is shaped within
the organization.

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 5 of 14

 Context
The basis of a good system is that it
always matches the objectives for
the most important management
topics that the management has in
mind. In this phase you determine
the context of the organization.
Using PESTLE or DESTEP analysis,
you describe the varying factors
that can have both a positive and a
negative influence on the
achievement of those
objectives. Examples are internal factor such as employees, company
culture and external factors such as regulatory demands,
technology, competitors etc. As the context will be subject to
constant change, you will need to regularly update your
analysis.

 Leadership
The word "management" in the management
system really has meaning. Starting the process of
implementing the management system is a first and
necessary step in realizing top-management support
by closely aligning with the FM organizations’ goals.
However, securing continuous commitment from top
management within the FM organization is a crucial factor in
maintaining it. For this reason, in this clause the standard devotes a
great deal of attention to the required commitment of top management.

Please note: it can be a challenge, especially with large internal FM

organizations, to determine who exactly constitutes top management. As a
result, an organization may be confronted with e.g. conflicting policies.

In the next steps it will made clear what the expectations of the top management of the
demand organization are as well as those of the top management of the FM
organization. Ideally, this means that you should already be involved in creating support
and managing expectations with top management before you start implementing the
ISO41001.

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 6 of 14

 Planning
By executing the formulated strategy, (project)risks will automatically develop. This
clause focused on how to effectively manage these risks, which can be both positive
(opportunities) or negative (threats) in nature. One of the starting points in this
clause is to ascertain beforehand that all initiatives will result in the planned
outcomes. Planning further zooms in on the goals of the FM organization. Finally it is
established how governance is organized, which resources are needed to meet the
goals and if the FM organization is proactive or reactive in regard to the management
of risks.

 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’ that drives every FM organization. In real time the actual
customer contact takes place, value is added (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.
In the planning clause, 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 goal is actually achieved. 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

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 7 of 14

 process of continuous improvement, including the implementation of preventive
measures to prevent disruptions.

DOES IMPLEMENTING ISO 41001: 2018 RESULT IN A LOT OF EXTRA WORK AND COSTS?

Working with ISO 41001: 2018 means first and foremost answering many practical questions
and making all organizational goals and requirements visible.

The intention of a management system standard is that it supports your organization, not
that the FM organization suddenly has to work differently by implementing ISO 41001: 2018.
It is therefore not necessary or desirable to reinvent the wheel for every part of the FM
management system. By combining and structuring present and missing information, you
can supplement the management system where necessary by testing against risk
management frameworks, standards as well as regulatory and statutory compliance.

ADDED VALUE OF FM TO STRATEGIC GOALS

As soon as it is clear to which strategic goals the FM organization can make a crucial
contribution or already does, ISO 41001: 2018 offers a viable and effective method to screen
and optimize the FM management system.

ISO 41001 & MANAGING RISKS

The current COVID-19 pandemic is posing unprecedented challenges across many aspects
of life, from support of critical healthcare through cleaning protocols to cybersecurity for
remote workers worldwide. The ensuing crisis reinforces the importance of having
systems and standards in place to ensure resources and best practices are brought to
bear efficiently and effectively contributing to our quality of life.

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 8 of 14

FM teams and networks will be expected to manage the current crisis as well as
plan/prepare for future pandemics and other crises. Of course, FM professionals routinely
take ‘Managing the Built Environment’ seriously, particularly in terms of resilience and
sustainability, which can extend to emergency preparedness and extreme events response
and recovery.

One of the foundations of ISO 41001: 2018 is risk-based thinking. Organizations that have
already implemented the standard will arguably already have:

 Ensured that their management system manages risk

Clause 5.1 of ISO 41001 states that “the organization’s top management shall
demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the FM system.”
This includes ensuring that the approach used for managing risk in FM is aligned with the
organization’s approach for managing risk.

 Planned for the prevention, reduction of undesired effects

Actions to address risks and opportunities are outlined in clause 6.1 of ISO 41001. This
part of the standard helps FMs to determine the continuously evolving landscape of risks
and opportunities that need to be addressed to ensure business continuity and
emergency preparedness.

 Identified who will be responsible

The FM Planning process is outlined in clause 6.2 of ISO 41001 with subsequent best
practice planning processes outlined in Annex 6.2.
These parts of the standard guide organizations to understand how they need to
establish FM objectives at relevant functions, sub-functions and levels that include
considerations for the requirements of relevant interested parties; and of other financial,
technical and organizational requirements.

 Undertaken internal and external communication associated with the risks

Planning for communication is key to success because of the wide scope of services,
variety of locations and range of interested parties to be engaged – especially in times of
crisis like we are experiencing today.
Clause 7.4 and Annex 7.4 of ISO 41001 provide a framework on how organizations can
determine the need for internal and external communications relevant to the FM
system, including on what information it will communicate; why the information needs
to be communicated; when to communicate; with whom to communicate; how to
communicate; and lastly how to monitor the effectiveness of communications.

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 9 of 14

 Considered continual improvement opportunities of controls responding to external
events
Clause 9.3 and Annex 9.3 of ISO 41001 outline how periodic planned management
reviews of the FM systems by top level management of the organization ensure
continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. Continuous review of changes in risk
profile, service delivery options or methodologies will moreover inform the planning
process and provide information regarding the FM performance.

Whilst nothing, as we know, is foolproof, the odds are that those implementing the ISO
41000 series will have been better prepared than most!

USER STORIES

“The strategic approach introduced by ISO 41001 has enabled a

step-change for Al Shirawi FM. It encourages a proactive approach
to boost maintenance performance and relationship management. By better understanding
the client’s needs – their objectives and plans – Al Shirawi FM identified potential risks if the
current contract remained. This has meant successful contract extension with a number of
key accounts, delivering 8-10% revenue growth. Proactively working on their future
requirements is already a proven success.”
Krishna Kumar, GM, Al Shirawi Group, Dubai U.A.E.

“The implementation of ISO 41001 resulted in a separate risk

register for all 50 projects. Still we did not anticipate COVID-19 and
were caught off guard.

Thanks to the improved structure that was a direct result of the risk-
based approach in ISO 41001 we were able to consolidate our efforts much sooner than
expected and actually start manage the crisis instead of just reacting.”
Floris Eloff, QHSE Manager El Seif O&M, Saudi Arabia

“The ISO 41001 requirements pushed our team to take things to the next level
– it required us to demonstrate how we arrive at positive outcomes, rather
than merely showing that we have recorded SOPs.

It led us to unpack all that we traditionally practiced to re-strategize and re-adapt to

“leading” instead of “lagging” indicators. We had started to look into managing the risk of a
pandemic crisis in early-2019 and through the certification journey in July 2019, the standard guided
us in managing the risk.

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 10 of 14

This led to planning for prevention and reduction of negative impact. We identified how we
could manage these risks (that can change with time) and assigned roles and responsibilities.
We also undertook internal and cross-departmental communication associated with the
risks. After certification we continued improving these measures.
Today, despite the ongoing crisis, we can still maintain a customer-oriented culture of
excellence with a service standard that is still acceptable to our community.”
Dennis Aw, Director Infrastructure, Safety and Security
Yale-NUS College, Singapore

We will implement ISO 41001 in order to demonstrate the

added value of our FM organization - particularly to all those
people who walk into our offices and prisons with their lunch
boxes every morning.
So, we will go back to our purpose: “For whom are we doing this? Instead of ‘just’ reacting to
our delegated client. We see ISO41001 as a toolkit to further professionalize our organization.
The standard offers structure and helps us focus on the main questions: are we doing the right
things, and do we achieve the strategic goals we have set?
Joost Mors, Director Facility Management
Custodial Institutions Agency, the Netherlands

Macau is the only legal and licensed city to run a gaming business in
China. Macau Special Administrative Region government reviews the
performance of gaming operators at least one year before the end
of the license in 2022. This review will include the proportions of
gaming facilities, non-gaming facilities, hotels, F&B and social
responsibility, forcing all gaming operators in this competitive
market to maintain a high level of services and facilities if they are to retain their license.
In other words, ISO 41001 is a long-awaited international standard in facility management.
From the user side, we found that the standard reflects the daily life of us all: the booking
centre, front office, Security, Housekeeping, Environmental Services, Property Services,
Transportation, Supply Chain and F&B. Implementation proved an interesting journey and
we got support from other business units on achieving our goal: to provide a "WOW"
experience to our guest.
The experience of implementing ISO 41001 within MELCO has been quite unique. In my past
25 years of implementing different ISO standards, many organizations, and even my team,
would only think about how to achieve the requirements in the standards. But in the
MELCO-case, the organization was quite clear about their position and was committed to
continue providing an extraordinary experience to their guests and players. That is why we
found that ISO 41001 is quite close to their daily life.

Aldous Au, Director Consultor Shaft, Macau

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 11 of 14

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF ISO 41001: 2018

PLAN
Context of the organization
• External & internal issues
• Interested party requirements
• Establish scope
• Document scope
• FM Management System

Leadership
• Leadership & commitment
• Establish FM policy
• Communicate FM policy
• Relevant roles
• Responsibility & authority

Planning
• Risks & opportunities
• Plan/address risks
• Requirements of interested parties
• FM objectives
• Implementation plan

Support
• Identify & secure resources
• Sourcing & monitor
• Competencies
• Awareness
• Communication
• Information required
• Knowledge management

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 12 of 14

 Operation
• Processes
DO
• Change control
• Control processes
• Interested parties relationships
• Integrate service delivery

Performance evaluation CHECK

• Scope of monitoring
• Monitoring means & methods
• Documented results
• Evaluate performance
• Audits
• Top management review
• Communicate/act on results

Improvement ACT
• Nonconformity
• Corrective actions
• Preventive measures
• Gap Analysis
• Continually improve

WHAT’S NEXT?

ISO 41001: 2018 offers a proven an extremely effective method to analyze, maintain and improve the
FM management system of your organization.

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 13 of 14

LEARN MORE ABOUT ISO 41001: 2018

Either if you are still a bit sceptic or very eager in regard to ISO
41001: 2018, or you want to learn more about what ISO 41001:
2018 can do for your FM organization, please contact us.

ISO 41001: 2018 FOUNDATION TRAING COURSE & IMPLEMENTATION TRAINING COURSE

The Foundation Training Course: “The road towards strategic

FM!” offers a toolkit for FM professionals to evolve their FM
organization - together with their team and customers – to the
next evolutionary level, using ISO 41001: 2018.

The ISO 41001: 2018 FM Management Systems

Implementation Training Course is expected to be launched
early 2021!

All training courses are available both online as onsite (as

soon as social distancing measures are removed). In
company training, large groups and students are eligible for
discounts.

For more information about ISO 41001, ISO 41014 (FM Strategy) and ISO 41018 (FM Policy)
training courses and/or consultancy, please contact ian@iso41001csi.com

i
Source: https://www.servicefutures.com/global-facilities-management-in-2019-and-beyond-where-is-it-
heading
ii
Source: https://www.servicefutures.com/3-major-facility-management-outsourcing-trends-for-2020

© 2020 - ISO41001 Courses Support Innovation | Page 14 of 14