FACILITIES MANAGERS AND MODERN SPACE USAGE

‘Facilities management’ is a relatively new term in Britain, but is already attracting attention due to its rise in prominence internationally. The United States has an International Federation of Facilities Managers and the concept has also reached Holland and Japan where a professional group was formed in 1986. It is defined as ‘how buildings are designed, maintained and managed to meet the objectives of an organisation, having regard to the comfort and efficiency of their occupants’. Major problems for facilities managers are obtaining new office space and coming to terms with the effects of new technology on business. Faced with astronomical rents, rates, service charges, energy costs and maintenance, many companies have to make the most of what they already have by redesigning their present offices. This report suggests that facilities managers trying to make space in already cramped offices could find a solution in a different approach to office furniture.