Take a Look at the Way You Look at Facility Management

It's the same function, but as this excerpt from Wikipedia shows, views around the world differ on the definition of Facility Management. Fascinating.

One definition provided by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is:

"A profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, processes and technology."
Another broader definition provided by IFMA is: "The practice or coordinating the physical workplace with the people and work of the organization; integrates the principles of business administration, architecture, and the behavioral and engineering sciences."
In the UK and other European countries facilities management has a wider definition than simply the management of buildings and services. The definition of FM provided by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and ratified by BSI British Standards is:
“Facilities management is the integration of processes within an organisation to maintain and develop the agreed services which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities”.
The British Institute of Facilities Management has formally adopted the CEN definition but also offers a slightly simpler description:
"Facilities management is the integration of multi-disciplinary activities within the built environment and the management of their impact upon people and the workplace".
In Australia, the term Commercial Services has replaced facilities management in some organisations. Commercial services can also define services other than just looking after facilities, such as security, parking, waste disposal, facility services and strategic planning.
A single or multiple buildings located on a single plot of land is referred to as a "Site". Multiple sites located in a single metropolitan area, but used by the same legal entity, are referred to as a "Campus." A Facility Management department may be responsible for a site; a campus; or, a regional area with multiple sites or campuses which may be a mix of owned and leased facilities. A Facility Management department will normally exist to manage the owner-occupied, physical assets of a company; whereas a Property Management department will normally exist to represent the only leased spaces. A Facility Management department is focused on cost effective, long-term utilization and value preservation of the owned assets while a Property Management department is typically focused on short-term lease returns.

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