The future of FM: Stan Mitchell

Mitchell: founding chairman, Global Facility Management Association, opens up here first



fmME: What has the Global FM Association got to offer UAE players? 

SM: Global FM is an association of associations furthering the sharing of knowledge and best practice across the profession. Its role is to coordinate and leverage such knowledge across the world. If the players in the UAE want to establish a professional association Global FM will assist them in doing so. Some people are already trying to start a professional association, others should step up to the plate and help. Global FM will then support them to become a member of the worldwide FM family.

fmME: Do you have a personal take on the UAE market – where it is going, are there any specific challenges that need to be addressed now? 

SM: In my opinion, too much has been done too quickly and without any facilities management input at the right stage of design. The lack of facilities management input at the beginning of the design process will impact the long term viability of many developments. 

When the sales and marketing hype has receded people will focus upon the cost of ownership and the customer service experience. Developers should note that reputations can usually be lost much more quickly than they are gained.

One of the main challenges I perceive is the cultural one of accepting the situation sooner rather than later, and doing something productive about it. While there is always enough money to fix the problem after the event, why is it that there is never enough to do it right in the first place?

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fmME:  Your address at the Property & FM Conference will talk about FM influencing the boardroom. What is the main message you’ll be conveying on the day?

SM: In relation to my presentation, my objective is to pass on what knowledge I have to those who want to listen, and hopefully make a small contribution to the improvement of the value that those within the sector can make to the real estate industry, business, commerce and government.

Facilities management is not an end in itself and we have no right to get the attention of the board of directors until we can demonstrate the value that we bring. The responsibility to achieve this is with us. 

Keynote speaker

Stan Mitchell will be speaking at the Property & FM Conference on May 25th.

Topic: Influencing the boardroom - the door is always open but are we ready to enter?

Bottom line margin - how facilities management can contribute

Performance measurement - if we do not measure we don’t know

Corporate social responsibility - can facilities management deliver?

Risk management - how facilities managers can soften the economic blow

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