Delays are commonplace, but not for the latest international standard, ISO 41014, which was published on time. ISO 41014 Development of a Facility Management Strategy is the detailed treatment of FM strategy which was identified as a key component of any Facility Management System in ISO 41001 published in 2018. The new standard fills a longstanding gap in the provision and guidance and recommendations on strategy development. No longer do facility owners and operators have to rely on consultants to undertake this key activity – facility managers and major service providers now have a tool to enable them to do this work.
One of the features of the standard is how to understand the facility-related needs of the owner (or demand organisation to use ISO parlance). Extensive guidance is given in this area so that the FM requirements which will satisfy needs are clearly identified. So far, the standard has been adopted by most European national standards bodies (NBS), including BSI in the UK, as well as Standards Australia and ANSI in the US. Already, there are reports of ISO 41014 being applied in Sweden and, no doubt, others will follow.
