W W W. I F M A .

O R G / F M J

SPECIAL ISSUE
ON STANDARDS 2017
INSIDE
JANUARY / FEBRUARY
Setting the Stage for ISO 41001.............................................. 001
M ARCH / APRIL
Establising the Boundaries of your MSS................................003
M AY / JUNE
Implementing Your MSS.......................................................... 007
JULY / AUGUS T
Planning & Resourcing to Support the MSS
Certification Process................................................................ 010
SEP TEMBER / OC T OBER
Operating Your MSS................................................................. 014
NOV EMBER / DECEMBER
Performance Evaluation & Continuous
Improvement With Your MSS...................................................017

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

LAVERNE DECKERT is an independent consultant who helps others find creative solutions to their
organizational challenges. She has served as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group Administrator on behalf of the
American National Standards Institute for ISO/TC 267, Facility Management since June 2012 and most recently
worked at IFMA, leading initiatives in research, professional development and standards.

CASEY MARTIN is a member of the ISO Techncial Committee developing new standards for Facility
Management. She specializes in asset management services within the Buildings & Infrastructure Consultancy
at Jacobs Engineering. She consults with private and federal institutions, providing full life cycle perspectives
throughout project development stages. Her approach considers long-term views such as total cost of ownership,
reliability-centered maintenance practices, operations strategies, and processes and policies to align asset
management with business mission and objectives.

MAUREEN ROSKOSKI, CFM, SFP, LEED AP O+M, is a senior professional and the corporate sustainability
officer at Facility Engineering Associates (FEA) with 20 years of experience in facility management consulting.
Roskoski has worked with clients on organizational assessments, FM technology process improvement,
sustainability and resilience planning. Roskoski is also FEA’s business continuity lead, managing FEA’s Business
Continuity Management System. She led the effort to achieve ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System
certification for FEA’s Fairfax, Virginia, USA, office in January 2016. FEA pursued the certification to strengthen
its organizational resilience and to enhance its ability to continue business during a disruptive event. While the
certification was a great achievement, FEA found that the journey to certification, although challenging, was by far
the greatest benefit. The core team of business continuity professionals was invigorated, engagement with employees
increased company-wide and a culture of organizational resilience was created.
BY L AVERNE DECKERT

SETTING THE
I recently came across an article in Standards
Engineering, the journal of the Society for Standards
Professionals.1 This article walks through a day in the
life of a family and highlights the areas of everyday

STAGE FOR
life that are touched by a standard, code or regulation.
Some examples include:

ƒƒ Friday, June, Alarm clock, EDT (calendar,

ISO 41001
If you read FMJ faithfully over the 2016 calendar year,
you saw our article series on facility management and
standards. Here’s a reminder of the topics we covered:
JAN./FEB. Standardization: One of Today’s Most Vital Global FM Trends
MARCH/APRIL FM Perspectives on IT Security: Risk, Impact and
Preparation
MAY/JUNE The Right Fit: Selecting an FM Management System
Standard for your Facilities
JULY/AUG. Carbon Footprint Standards: Why should you care?
SEPT./OCT. Making the Business Case for FM Standards
NOV./DEC. Development of International Standards for FM
If you haven’t had a chance to review these articles, you can
find them in archived issues of FMJ, or watch for our digital
compilation edition, which will be released this month.
In the first article in this series, Jim Whittaker wrote,
“Standards are the building blocks from which everything
rises in the built environment. They help shape our
buildings and infrastructure, ensure our safety, guide our
progress and improve the quality of our daily lives.” Over
the last four years, as I have worked with standards and
with FM professionals across the globe, I have become a
believer in this statement.
time, time zones): NIST maintains the relevant
standards — see physics.nist.gov
ƒƒ Bed linens (sheets, thread count,
flammability): ASTM D4850–12 Standard
Terminology Relating to Fabrics and Fabric
Test Methods
ƒƒ Coffee pot: IEC 60661 Amd.2 Ed. 2.0 b:2005
Amendment 2 Methods for measuring the
performance of electric household coffee makers
ƒƒ Bacon: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Food
Standards and Labeling Policy Book, April 2005; also
9 CFR 318.10
ƒƒ Eggs: USDA United States Standards, Grades and
Weight Classes for Shell Eggs, AMS 56, July 20, 2000
ƒƒ iPad (memory, chips, operating system, interface,
processor, 4G, LTE, retinal display, battery power):
IEEE, P1823 Standard for a Universal Power Adapter
for Mobile Devices
ƒƒ Keyboard: UL 469 (Ed. 4) Standard for Musical
Instruments and Accessories
ƒƒ TV (many standards; for example): IEC
62028 General methods of measurement for
digital television receivers, IEC 61606–1 Basic
measurement methods of audio characteristics,
CSA C382–11 Energy performance of televisions
and displays
ƒƒ Traffic: ASTM E2300–09 Standard Specification for
Highway Traffic Monitoring Devices
ƒƒ Concert (seating, lighting, sound, safety,
ergonomics): ANSI/INFOCOMM 1M–2009
Audio Coverage Uniformity in Enclosed Listener
Areas; ANSI/INFOCOMM 3M–2011 Projected
Image System Contrast Ratio; ASTM E2745 –
11 Standard Specification for Evaluation and
Selection of Audio Visual and Production for
Environmentally Sustainable Meetings, Events,
Trade Shows and Conferences
ƒƒ Go-carts (safety, performance, testing,
terminology): ASTM standards F 698–94, ASTM
F2641–08 F 853–98, F 747–97, F 770–93, F 846–92 and
F 1159–97 related to Amusement Rides and Devices

F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   001
 As the suite of ISO standards grows and more countries engage
in the development of these standards, the profession benefits,
as its role as a strategic partner in achieving the organization’s
goals and objectives becomes undeniable.
While I encounter many of these daily, I have taken for
granted that there is a foundational element that allows
me to be blissfully unaware of why or how things work in
my day-to-day life. However, I’m sure you can think back
and remember a day when the traffic lights were down
during your commute. At a minimum, everything slows
down as each driver figures out who should go next. At
a maximum — chaos! So, Jim is right. Standards are the
foundation for safety and progress in our daily lives.
This is probably not news to you as a facility manager.
You are bombarded with codes, regulations and mandates
every day. You understand the language of standards. But,
when you look up from the tangle of safety regulations,
building codes and technical standards, you might realize
that there is still a big gap in the FM industry: the industry
itself is not standardized.
Metaphorically speaking, the traffic lights are down,
or in some cases, have not even been established. While
there is not general chaos, many facility managers,
especially those in emerging markets, are moving slowly
as they figure out their roles, responsibilities and the
value they bring to their organizations. This confusion
is only heightened by the fact that the field is incredibly
broad, encompassing building services management,
environmental issues, workspace management,
procurement and more. From individual to individual
and region to region, the role can and does change.
Looking ahead
Early in 2017, three new standards will be published by the
International Organization for Standardization Technical
Committee 267 (ISO/TC 267) for Facility Management to
begin to address this gap:
ƒƒ ISO 41011 Facility Management Terms and Definitions
ƒƒ ISO 41012 Facility Management – Guidance on
strategic sourcing and the development of agreements
ƒƒ ISO 41013 Facility management – Scope, key concepts
and benefits
The work to achieve global consensus between 41 countries
for the term “facility management” was an undertaking,
but the dauntless committee members persevered
and continue to do so, developing the roadmap for the
002  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
practice of FM. As the suite of ISO standards grows
and more countries engage in the development of
these standards, the profession benefits, as its role
as a strategic partner in achieving the organization’s
goals and objectives becomes undeniable. To that end,
ISO/TC 267 is now working on the development of
a management system standard (MSS) for FM, “ISO
41001, Facility management – Management systems
– Requirements with guidance for use.” The MSS, on
track to be published in 2018, will provide the specific
requirements for individual organizations to be able to
demonstrate that they have a robust process through
which to design, manage and improve an integrated
standard for the practice of facility management.
In 2017, the On Standards series in FMJ will focus on how
you, as a facility manager, might prepare your organization
to implement a management system standard. Look for
the following series of articles addressing the clauses of the
MSS to begin in the March/April issue:
Plan:
ƒƒ March/April 2017 – Establishing the scope
of your MSS
ƒƒ May/June 2017 – Gaining leadership commitment
ƒƒ July/Aug. 2017 – Planning and resourcing to support
the certification process
Do:
ƒƒ Sept./Oct. 2017 – Implementing your MSS
Check/Act:
ƒƒ Nov./Dec. 2017 – Measuring the effectiveness
of the MSS
If you are interested in getting involved with the
development of ISO FM standards, or for more
information, contact Laverne Deckert/IFMA Standards
at ifmastandards@ifma.org. Help us form the DNA of the
FM profession of the future. FMJ
REFERENCE
1. Brigida, Ann. “At Work and Play and Everything in Between:
Standards Keep the Ball Rolling.” Standards Engineering, Vol. 65, No.
5, Sept./Oct. 2013. P. 1, 3-7.
 BY CASEY MARTIN

PA RT 1

ESTABLISHING THE
BOUNDARIES OF YOUR MSS
As a facility manager, your The first step, of course, is to determine which MSS is right
for your organization — ISO 55000, Asset Management;
ISO 22301, Societal security - Business continuity
goal is to optimize your FM management systems - Requirements, etc. The article,
“The Right Fit: Selecting an FM management system
operations to support your standard for your facilities” in the May/June 2016 issue of
IFMA’s FMJ can give you some guidance there. As you look
organization’s mission and at the scope and requirements of any MSS, a natural next
question might be, “How do I begin to eat that elephant?”
Don’t be discouraged by what appears to be a
business objectives. You massive, resource-heavy undertaking. This is the first
in a series of articles that will help you break down the
have likely heard about the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
management system process into bite-sized pieces. It will
value that standards can help to understand that, while each MSS has its unique
requirements, all ISO management systems begin with the
familiar Deming Cycle — plan-do-check-act (PDCA) — as
bring to an organization1 a framework (see figure 1).
The first step in devouring the ISO elephant is to
and you’ve been define the parameters for what will be included in the
certification. These boundaries are not the MSS Clause
considering implementing 1: Scope that you see in Figure 1. These borders establish
which parts of your organizational assets, facilities,

a management system processes, policies and locations will be included in the

certification program. By defining these parameters early,
you’ll be able to build the decisions that follow upon a
standard (MSS). foundation with defined edges.

FIGURE 1 Relationship of ISO MSS to PDCA Cycle

INTRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS

CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Scope Normative Terms and Context Leadership Planning Support Operation Performance Improvement
References Definitions of the Evaluation
Organization

PLAN DO CHECK ACT

F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   003
Facilities and infrastructure inclusion FIGURE 2
You can base the decisions on which facilities to include
on multiple criteria, such as organizational alignment, ORGANIZATION ALIGNMENT
geographic considerations, or type of physical or
technology asset. Mission critical/support facilities
Additional criteria may surface as you begin to look at
the facilities within your organization and analyze how On campus/off campus
they contribute to the business mission and impact the
organizational objective delivery: Health care facilities (not administration)

ƒƒ Organizational alignment can include criteria that Manufacturing (not retail)

determine metrics for the significance of each facility
to the primary mission of the organization, such as:
Economic/political environment
– Mission criticality
– Activities performed within the building (e.g.,
administrative functions, retail, manufacturing, Adaptability
health care, education, assembly, training, recreation
or housing)
– Locations of buildings in relation to the organizational GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS
layout (e.g., on campus or off campus, airside or
landside, public or private) On campus/off campus
– Climate of the facilities (economic, political or
environmental criteria)
Physical location (city, state/province or region
– Distinguishing outliers to the management system
that may not be applicable (for example, a storage
warehouse in Antarctica may not be subject to the Surface/subsurface
same procedures, policies and continual improvement
plan that will be applied to facilities within Climate zones
the boundaries of the management
system standard)

ƒƒ Geographic location can delineate criteria based

PHYSICAL ASSETS
on the physical location or proximity of facilities or
Equipment
infrastructure, such as proximity to other organizational
assets, to land or water features, to climate zones, to
useable renewable energy sources, to population, etc.
Infrastructure

ƒƒ Physical asset criteria can set boundaries for which Buildings

parts of a facility or campus will be included in the
MSS certification. This category can include items like Technology
equipment, infrastructure, buildings or technology.

Organizational inclusion
Organizational structure is the next consideration and
delineates which departments, entities or functional roles
within the business should be included in the boundaries of
the certification.
Include parts of the organization that are critical to your
FM operations. These departments should be both willing
and able to commit to the processes, policies and continual
improvement of the MSS, as they will need to dedicate
resources and time to support their involvement. You
can facilitate commitment by helping these departments
understand the value proposition of implementing an MSS
for the whole organization.
During the certification process, you’ll need
to understand and document the impacts to the
management system if a part of the organization cannot
conform. It’s better to understand these factors before
certifying rather than to invest in the inclusion of
departments that cannot maintain the expectations set
forth in the MSS. Nonconformity with the established
MSS can be a problem for maintaining certification down
the road. The focus should not only be on achieving
certification, but also on maintaining and continually

004  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
improving the performance of the management system

THE FIRST
and its effect on the organizational mission.
Some departments or divisions that may integrate and
overlap with an FM management system standard and

STEP IN
contribute to continual improvement can include:
ƒƒ Finance
ƒƒ Procurement
ƒƒ Real estate

DEVOURING
ƒƒ Engineering and maintenance
ƒƒ Asset management
ƒƒ Human resources

THE ISO
ƒƒ Marketing and sales
ƒƒ Information and communication technology
ƒƒ Space planning
ƒƒ Energy management

ELEPHANT IS
ƒƒ Sustainability
ƒƒ Environmental health
ƒƒ Safety and security

TO DEFINE THE
ƒƒ Program or project management office

After you have determined the boundaries for which

facilities and infrastructure components to include, as
well as which parts of the organization to consider, you
can decide which organizational processes should be
included within your MSS. Not every FM process needs
to be included in the MSS for certification. For example,
PARAMETERS.
it wouldn’t be necessary to include the procedures for
outsourced janitorial services, unless they contribute
toward more effective delivery of FM services.
A procedure for performance validation may be
more appropriate to align service delivery with the
organizational and financial goals. You should definitely
consider those elements of the organization that
contribute to effective and efficient delivery of FM
services. Establishing criteria for which policies and
procedures to include can be structured around themes
for serving customer needs, improving employee
efficiency, increasing productivity, reducing workplace
calls or any other metric that is considered important to
delivering the organizational mission.
Once you establish the criteria for policies and
processes, evaluate the methodology for storing and
tracking these crucial documents. Analyze whether
using an enterprise asset management system (or a
more sophisticated document management system) will
work best for maintaining, disseminating, tracking and
improving the MSS.
So far, we have looked inward at the organization to
determine which physical and procedural parts would
be best suited for inclusion in the MSS. Now, let’s turn
toward the requirements listed in the MSS and review
which of these are applicable to your organization and
which can be excluded.
These requirements are known as the shall statements.

F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   005
Carefully reading through the shall statements and noting
any that are not applicable to the organization can help
your team focus on those that are relevant. You will need to
justify the exclusion of any requirements when compiling
the certification scope document. Limit your exclusions
to only those requirements that are not applicable to
your organization — include all others in the scope of the
management system.
Organizational context review
Each organization will determine what factors drive the
internal and external purpose of the facility management
system, what constrains the system and what outcomes
are most significant to the business. Defining
stakeholders, setting expectations and understanding
their requirements will all be important components
for analyzing the organizational context of the facility
management system.
External drivers are often associated with improved
stakeholder confidence and assurance by defining
mutually established outcomes and how they will
be attained. You can support delivery of occupant
organizational objectives through delineated activities,
tools, processes and relationships.
Internal drivers focus on improving business
performance through optimized financial investments
that consider changes to investments and resources
to service outcomes. Another internal focus may be
service delivery, which analyzes the risks and potential
consequences against financial goals. In-sourcing
versus out-sourcing may be a consideration for service
delivery options. This will affect how the MSS tracks
performance and improvement.
Some stakeholder requirements that are important to
understand early include the financial information and
reporting to both internal and external parties, facility
management decision-making criteria and non-financial
reporting requirements.
Organizational context includes reviewing what
the organization must do, wants to do and has the
capacity to do. The must-do list is established by the
organization’s regulatory and statutory obligations.
The want-to-do list will contain goals that meet
stakeholder needs or align with the organization’s
primary objectives. You must analyze and understand
the existing capacity to deliver both categories and
sustain performance and improvement early in the
process to discover gaps and determine the scope
and boundaries for implementing your MSS. You can
also include an additional element of organizational
context, such as future goals to adapt to changing
industry and market conditions.
006  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
FIGURE 3
EXTERNAL FM CONTEXT
Accountabilities
Organizational authority/ reporting structure
Contractual relationships
Leadership commitment (conflict resolution and
goal prioritization)
Ability and access to integrate goals and
processes
ORGANIZATION ALIGNMENT
Department relationships
Resource and time commitments (certification
process and ongoing improvement)
When reviewing the boundaries of the management
system and the span of influence it will have over
organizational policies, procedures and daily activities, it
is also important to consider any interfaces required or
relationships with other management systems in place
within the organization. Many ISO management system
standards are designed to integrate well with each other
and can offer overlapping benefits to an organization.
For those of you brave enough to venture down the path to
ISO certification: Start looking at your organization in terms
of what you would include in the certification boundaries,
what criteria you would use to establish inclusion and how the
organization is structured to support the certification process
and continual improvement goals. Part of this support will
come from gaining leadership commitment, which will be the
next topic in our management system standards series. FMJ
If you are interested in getting involved in the development of
ISO FM standards, or for more information, contact Laverne
Deckert/IFMA Standards at ifmastandards@ifma.org.
REFERENCES
Whitaker, Jim. “Standardization: One of Today’s Most Vital Global FM
Trends.” FMJ Jan./Feb. 2017. p. 32-35.
 B Y C ASEY MARTIN & L AVERNE DECKERT

PA RT 2 : L E AD E RS HI P CO M M I T M ENT

IMPLEMENTING YOUR MSS

This is the second part of a 5-part Successful implementation of any management system
requires more than a commitment to resources. There must
series of articles that will break down be a commitment from top management to the discipline and
the International Organization for change required for compliance to an MSS, and a willingness
to champion the adoption of the management system by all
Standardization (ISO) management
affected stakeholders. Engagement of stakeholders through
system process for you. In Part 1, top management influence and relationships will be required
“Establishing the Boundaries of for the organizational evolution that is inevitable as a result of
ISO certification.
Your MSS” in the March/April 2017
issue of FMJ, we discussed Clause 4 Transactional versus transformational leadership
It is well documented that leadership affects
of the ISO’s harmonized management
organizational behavior.
system standard (MSS), Context of Transactional leadership relies on contingent reward
the Organization. and management by exception. This leadership style focuses
on holding resources accountable to meeting job requirements
by rewarding the completion of predetermined job tasks and
Perhaps you have a greater
punishing undesirable actions, while intervening only when
understanding of the context of your preventive or corrective action is needed.
organization, and you have selected The relationship with employees is viewed as a contractual
obligation, often in terms of tangible monetary or quantity
a management system standard that metrics, such as number of hours spent in the office, widgets
you believe is right — but you’re asking produced, or cost per hour for services. While this may appear
to be the right leadership style to lead the implementation of
yourself, “What’s next?” In Part 2, we
a management system, this style can be limiting as it relies
will talk about Clause 5 and gaining on extrinsic motivation. When the reward is removed or no
leadership support. longer a strong enough driver, performance suffers.

FIGURE 1 Relationship of ISO MSS to PDCA Cycle

INTRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS

CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Scope Normative Terms and Context Leadership Planning Support Operation Performance Improvement
References Definitions of the Evaluation
Organization

PLAN DO CHECK ACT

F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   007
 Transformational leadership is enacted through
compelling influence, inspirational motivation and
intellectual stimulation. This requires a charismatic
visionary who is able to articulate a common vision
and inspire new and creative ideas, while encouraging
stakeholders to question existing processes and
procedures. This leadership style is what is needed to
champion the ISO certification quest.
The relationship with employees is personal,
customized to leverage individual strengths, passions
and future career goals. Transformational leadership taps
into intrinsic motivators to drive behavioral change. It
evokes commitment through a shared vision and dyadic
relationship that benefits the employees through valued
engagement and career development, while actively and
authentically participating to support the leader in the
achievement of organizational transformation, adaptive
change and continuous improvement.
Once a champion is in place, support from the top
management team is needed to break down internal
formal and informal barriers, commit resources and
establish accountability for the effectiveness of the
management system standard. The top management
team will also serve as the organizational compass,
providing clarity for the strategy and direction to
internal teams and resources.
Why do we need leadership commitment
for ISO certification?
No implementation of a business process, much less
one of the magnitude of an MSS, would be successful
without leadership support from the organization’s top
management team.
Embarking on a journey to achieve ISO certification
is much more than documenting existing processes and
policies to obtain a new trophy. The ISO certification
process will collectively change behaviors and activities of
all internal stakeholders.
The attitude of the leadership team will determine
the culture, motivation and behaviors that surround the
implementation and the realization of the benefits of an
MSS. Top management and the organization must share
the prioritization of the MSS and the common goals of
implementing it.
The ISO journey will set in motion:
ƒƒ Organizational change
ƒƒ Organizational culture shift
ƒƒ Development of a learning organization to support
continuous improvement
What efforts will leadership lead?
Establishing the goals of the MSS is a critical component for
building a shared vision for the success of the process with
which all stakeholders can align. Top-level management
008  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
THE TASK OF THE LEADER IS TO GET
HIS PEOPLE FROM WHERE THEY ARE TO
WHERE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN.
­— Henry A. Kissinger
is responsible for identifying the goals of the certification
process and aligning them with those of the organization.
Transformational leaders are necessary to motivate
stakeholders through a shared vision of the ISO objectives
and the link to stakeholder efforts to achieve that vision.
Organizational commitment is recognized as the voluntary
participation and willing cooperation of individuals within
an organization. When employees believe and accept the
organizational goals and identify mentally and emotionally
with the objectives, then organizational commitment
ensues. Commitment and unity of purpose are results of
effective leadership.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE SHIFT
Aligning organizational behavior to a new vision is no
easy task. Embedding the new principles of an MSS into
an existing culture requires unrelenting, authentic and
collaborative attention, even devotion, to the cause. This
initiative is a long-term commitment to a cultural shift
toward engagement, alignment and continual improvement
and will require strong leadership and the support of the
top management team to achieve its goal.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
The ISO journey will require consistency in business
processes across multiple departments. For some, there
will be a departure from old habits and the familiar way
of doing things. There will be engagement with new
departments and new team members. New processes
and procedures can be scary. Transparency and
collaboration may be new and unsettling. In an age where
many want change, but few are wanting to be changed,
transformational leadership is essential for aligning people
with common goals and implementing new processes and
procedures to achieve them.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
A culture of continuous improvement proactively drives
a learning organization to improve performance through
changing financial, cultural and political landscapes. While
it is considered by many to be a mindset, organizational
learning is the improvement of activities from applied
knowledge and understanding. This learning can come from
various sources, including analysis, experimentation, routine
work or interaction with others. As engaged and committed
internal stakeholders acquire more knowledge and share
information collaboratively, the culture of continuous
improvement will synthesize new learning into performance
improvement. However, the formation of a learning
organization and a culture of continuous improvement must be
enabled, supported and promoted by committed leadership.
What do FMs need to do
to get leadership support?
The existing culture of an organization was established by
leadership, and so it follows that they would
also need to lead the charge to change it. So how
do we, as facility managers, convince leadership it
needs changing?
The expertise of a facility manager is not always
self-evident. Reinforcing one’s experience, skillset and
knowledge base required to be a competent facility
manager builds credibility and enhances authority for
decision-making. You can do this by achieving professional
credentials or certifications.
As a facility manager, you will need to persuade
horizontally and vertically to gain the indispensable
organizational support required to implement an ISO
management system standard. There are two pieces to this
puzzle that need to be understood.
demonstrate how compliance with a management system
will help the organization achieve its objectives and
manage internal and external drivers such as globalization
challenges; new resilience and security demands; and
workplace evolution.
Facility managers should be able to show how an MSS can
help to identify and minimize potential risks to customers
and clients, provide quality assurance of FM service
delivery, and provide common ground for performance
evaluations that in turn creates greater transparency and
garners public trust and stronger investor confidence.
Documentation or case studies from comparable
organizations can be used to demonstrate results from
similar initiatives. Peer persuasion derived from the
successes of competing market organizations is also
an effective tool for providing objective and credible
examples of what your own organization can achieve.
In summary
The implementation of an ISO management system standard
should be considered an essential tool that facility managers
turn to in order to ensure a robust process through which
to design, manage and drive continual improvement of their
FM organization. However, the journey to ISO certification
will ultimately create change in the organization to which it

1 Based on quantifiable data, such as the percentage

increases in system and facility reliability, total cost
of ownership savings, reduction in labor hours required
to respond to reactive work, customer satisfaction survey
results, etc. Presenting the value proposition in terms of
each department’s benefits or of the organization as a
whole should be done in terms of real, achievable goals.
is applied. Leadership and stakeholder support at all levels
of the organization is vital for adopting and implementing
the MSS. Data and persuasion are both productive means for
eliciting support from management and peers.
For the change to be impactful in a positive and lasting way
that fulfills the intended outcomes, it needs to be integrated
within the culture and daily processes of the organization,
and it should permeate internal departmental barriers.

2 Gaining internal stakeholder support is the persuasion

component. When people are involved, they need to
be convinced that the goal is worth their investment of
time and effort. Facility managers should be prepared to
To achieve this result, facility managers should identify a
transformational leader to champion the effort as a long-
term, committed team member supported by the top
management team. FMJ

ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF STANDARDS ADOPTION/IMPLEMENTATION

The benefits of standards are well documented and have been proven across aspects of various
organizations. Research by the BSI Group in 2015 surveyed businesses across market sectors to evaluate
the impact of standards at a microeconomic level. Of the companies surveyed, 84 percent said that using
standards enhanced their reputation; 89 percent said that standards contributed to the optimization of
compliance with regulations, such as health and safety legislation; 54 percent reported that technical
information was made more accessible through the implementation of standards; and 70 percent felt
that standards had improved the quality of supplier products and services. – Jim Whittaker

F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   009
 BY MAUREEN ROSKOSKI

PLANNING &
RESOURCING TO
SUPPORT THE MSS
CERTIFICATION
PROCESS
This is the third in a 5-part series breaking
down the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) management system
certification process.

In the last installment of this article series,

“Implementing Your MSS – Part 2: Leadership
commitment” in the May/June 2017 issue
of FMJ, we discussed Clause 5 of ISO’s
harmonized management system standard
(MSS), Leadership. In that article, it was
emphasized that leadership and stakeholder
engagement are crucial to the overall success of
a program, and for long-term culture change, a
transformational leader is needed to champion
the effort with the backing of top management.

010  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
 To maintain that engagement, the next steps in the planning
phase of the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle are planning and
resourcing your program to support the certification process.
In this article, we will focus on Clauses 6 and 7 of the MSS.
Whether it is ISO 55000, Asset Management, ISO 22301,
Business Continuity Management Systems or another
management system, pursuing certification can strengthen
your program, help maintain focus and engage your team.
The ISO certification planning process can help organizations
clearly and tangibly expand management systems by creating,
implementing and training on an individual system’s
requirements and procedures.
Planning and resourcing the certification effort are two
critical steps in the certification process.
Planning
Defining management system objectives, as related
to organizational objectives, and identifying risks and
opportunities is essential to implementing a management
system that will deliver improved processes.
IDENTIFYING OBJECTIVES
Before beginning any major initiative, the reasons for its
pursuit and any target achievements are identified. It’s no
different with the certification process, except that it has
mandated that objectives be established and communicated
across the organization. When considering MSS objectives,
think about what outcomes are desired with the management
system, then look for alignment with the organization’s
mission, vision and objectives.
Aligning your MSS objectives with organizational objectives
builds strategic level buy-in that shows your MSS initiative
works directly to meet the mission of the organization. If an
organization uses a balanced scorecard (BSC) approach, you
can identify the alignment visually and monitor progress. The
BSC approach dissects an organization and its influencing
factors or perspectives. The four main BSC perspectives are
customer, employee, process and financial.
MSS OBJECTIVES
SHALL BE
33 Consistent with MSS policy
33 Measurable
33 Monitored and updated
The benefit of aligning MSS goals with an organization’s
strategic goals is to maintain alignment with what’s important
to the organization, thus improving the likelihood of approval
of resource and commitment requests. The simplicity of the
BSC and its visual nature allows for easy tracking and review,
which is a key component of the continual improvement part
of the certification process.
In part five of this article series, we will offer more
discussion on measuring the effectiveness of your program.
However, it is important to keep the outcomes in mind when
determining MSS objectives.
Once identified, objectives need to meet basic standards
(as shown in Figure 2) to meet MSS requirements. Following
basic standards will yield clear, concise objectives associated
with distinct outcomes that can fuel planning efforts.
Each objective should have an owner that is responsible; an
initiative associated with it; resources required to complete
the initiative; and metrics to evaluate the results. With true
alignment, a management system can be a tool for achieving
organizational goals.
ADDRESSING RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Although the process may be challenging, implementing
a management system should result in improved
processes that enhance business. It is a chance to look
for opportunities while evaluating current management

FIGURE 1 Relationship of ISO MSS to PDCA Cycle

INTRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS

CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE CLAUSE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Scope Normative Terms and Context Leadership Planning Support Operation Performance Improvement
References Definitions of the Evaluation
Organization

PLAN DO CHECK ACT

F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   011
COMPETENCE
‚‚ Needs
‚‚ Gap analysis
‚‚ Training plan

COMMUNICATION
‚‚ Messaging
‚‚ Frequency ENGAGEMENT
‚‚ Procedures

AWARENESS
‚‚ Policy
‚‚ Contribution
‚‚ Non-conformance

practices against the MSS requirements, and to modify
where necessary. Taking the MSS requirements one by
one — determining where compliance exists, where
modification is needed and where major gaps are —
allows for formation of an implementation plan.
The goal of an implementation plan is to ensure the
management system can achieve its intended outcomes
and prevent or reduce undesired effects. The initiatives
undertaken should be consistent with core business
practices and consistent with the management system.
While trying to meet ISO requirements, take a step
back and ask, “Will this change improve our processes?”
This will help avoid a temptation to get caught up in
documentation requirements and forget about the core
reasons for implementing the management system.
Another result and long-term benefit of an effective
management system is continual improvement. This is
where the ISO certification process brings true value,
because it forces organizations to keep practices up
to standard requirements. Annual audits mandate
achievement of minimum requirements of the management
system, but also evidence of continual improvement.
system have been provided across the entire PDCA life cycle,
through the establishment, implementation, maintenance and
continual improvement of the management system.
Engagement is another crucial area of support that is
often underestimated. There are three main components
related to engagement support: competence, awareness and
communication. All three are crucial for engagement across
the organization and to change or enhance culture to allow
an MSS to integrate with all processes as intended.
COMPETENCE
Most management systems require ensuring the
competence of the persons doing work under the MSS. The
requirement is intended to ensure that those in specific
roles related to the MSS are competent and have been given
appropriate training. The standard doesn’t specify what
competencies are needed or what training is needed — only
that responsibility falls on the management system owners.
So how is that done? Creating a competent workforce
starts with understanding the competencies the
workforce needs. This can be achieved through a formal
process, such as a job task analysis (JTA), which may have

Support
Determining resources needed for establishment,
implementation, maintenance and continual
improvement of an MSS is a requirement of certification. DEVELOPING A
Resourcing for certification efforts comes in many
shapes and sizes and is more than just dollars and COMPETENCY
cents. It comes down to support — commitment from
leadership, as discussed in Part 2 of this article series.
MODEL
Personnel, equipment, software and funding are all forms 33 Identify tasks
of resources and are all necessary for successful certification. 33 Determine competencies needed
The specific amount and type of resources needed will depend 33 Evaluate management system
on the MSS pursued. It is up to management system owners
to determine and defend that resources for the management

012  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J

DEVELOPING A
COMMUNICATION
PLAN
33 Identify methods and styles
33 Define audience and intent of message
33 Continue engagement
already been undertaken by an education provider such as
IFMA. A JTA is a procedure for analyzing tasks performed
by individuals in an occupation, as well as the knowledge,
skills and abilities required to perform those tasks.
A global JTA for facility managers is the foundation
on which IFMA’s credentials are developed (Facility
Management Professional™, Sustainability Facility
Professional® and Certified Facility Manager®). If there
are no industry standards to identify competencies
needed, a similar competency modeling approach can be
utilized to achieve the same results.
To build a competency model for a management system,
identify the tasks each person is doing in management
system roles. Then, determine what knowledge is needed
for those specific tasks. Some competencies are going to be
general, like leadership, while others will be technical, such
as risk assessment. Take it task by task and think about
what the person is doing and what they need to know to
perform the task successfully.
After determining what competencies are needed,
evaluate if the management system team is competent
in those areas. Remember competencies can be fulfilled
in a variety of ways, not exclusively through formal
training. Ways to show competence include on-the-job
experience, mentoring, formal external training, internal
training and internal exercises and drills. Alternatively,
the organization can contract out specific expertise not
already in-house and document competence through an
outside provider.
The goal of the competency modeling exercise is to
ensure the management system is properly resourced by
competent personnel to enable it to be effective.
AWARENESS
For a management system to be effective, everyone in an
organization needs awareness of the system at various
levels. Awareness starts with the policy related to the
management system, which provides the framework
within the context of the organization. The policy relays
the importance of the management system within the
company and to external stakeholders, if the policy is
made public.
Outside of the key management system team members,
what most people in the organization need to be aware of
is their contributions to the management system and how
their actions impact compliance. Expect that an auditor
will interview personnel, outside of your MSS team, to
determine if they understand policies and their roles as
related to the MSS.
Engagement activities, exercises, drills and other training
methods are a great way to maintain awareness at the
levels needed by different team members. A truly effective
management system will be integrated across the whole
organization, and auditors want to see evidence of that
integration in personnel.
COMMUNICATION
Messaging for engagement actions as well as official
management system communications should
always be top-of-mind for the MSS team. Develop a
communication plan for the management system that
includes both roll-out communication and specific
system requirements communication.
Identify communication methods and include a variety of
styles and channels that will appeal to various stakeholders.
In the beginning, start by communicating high-level
objectives and include “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM)
statements. After developing key components, provide
more specific details and link back to why they’re being
implemented. For each communication, consider the intent
of the message, the audience and the delivery channel.
Take every opportunity to communicate about the
management system, its objectives and how they
align with the organization’s mission. Continuing
the engagement as the program rolls out is crucial to
sustaining long-term integration.
Summary
Planning and resourcing a certification effort are
important steps in the certification process. Building
an implementation plan through alignment with an
MSS helps ensure a management system can achieve its
intended outcomes and is the foundation for a certification
process. However, don’t underestimate the power of
the engagement that comes from proper resourcing and
support of the management system.
Establishing the proper foundation through competency
modeling, building engagement across the organization
through awareness and developing a strong communication
plan can yield more benefits than most documentation
put together. Be prepared to find that maintaining a
focus on planning and resourcing efforts during the
pursuit of certification will result in a positive change in
organizational culture. FMJ
F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   013
BY MAUREEN ROSKOSKI

OPERATING
YOUR MSS
This is the fourth in a 5-part series breaking
down the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) management system
certification process.
In the last installment, “Planning and Resourcing to Support the MSS Certification
Process” in the July/August 2017 issue of FMJ, we discussed Clauses 6 and 7 of ISO’s
harmonized management system standard (MSS). In that article, we emphasized the
importance of alignment of your MSS objectives with your organization’s strategic
objectives and how that can empower your management system to achieve its
intended outcomes. It also encouraged you to think about how engagement and
communication are essential in maintaining your management system.
Establishing the proper foundation for your team often yields more benefits
than most of the documentation you will put together. That foundation includes
competency modeling, building engagement across the organization through
awareness, and developing a strong communication plan.
In this article, we move to the next step in the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle — the Do
phase. Here we’ll focus on implementation, or Clause 8: Operation of the MSS.
With operation, we arrive at the heart of each standard. This is where you
implement procedures, processes, and perform actions in support of your MSS. Clause
8 contains a consistent 8.1 Operational planning and control across all MSS areas. Each
MSS requires that we plan, implement, and control the processes needed to meet our
specific MSS requirements.
The actions align directly with Clause 6.1, where we identified the actions to
address risks and opportunities to ensure the management system can achieve
the intended outcomes. This section also ties directly to Clause 9 — performance
evaluation — as we are required to ensure the processes are well controlled and are
carried out as planned.
Operational planning and controls is the only consistency across each MSS that an
FM is likely to be familiar with. Each standard takes content specific to its discipline
and designs section 8 to fit their management system. Figure 1 shows the additional
sub-clauses in Clause 8 for each MSS.
Let’s take ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management Systems as an example to

014  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
highlight how Clause 8 focuses on
action and implementation. The ISO
22301 standard provides a framework
to develop your business continuity
strategy based on a foundation
of business impact analysis and
risk assessment. There are several
implementation items within Clause
8 for 22301 that can be summarized
into four main categories as shown
in Figure 2.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
The first step — business impact
analysis — is to identify the
essential functions and business
processes that will keep your
business alive during a disruptive
event. The BIA is a process to
determine the essential functions
of the departments within an
organization to determine the
minimum level of operation needed
for the business to continue.
The BIA process includes looking
at the activities of each department,
understanding the interdependencies
of their functions, and identifying
supporting resources. It is a process
that helps to identify the most
essential business functions and the
critical resources that accompany
them. The outcomes of the BIA
include a prioritized list of functions
for each department, recovery time
objectives for those functions, and a
desired minimum level of operations
to achieve following a disruption.
Because your business may not be
able to perform all functions in a
disruptive state, identify the critical
functions you must keep doing to
stay in business to help prioritize
your response efforts.
Risk Assessment (RA)
ISO 22301 requires a formal
documented risk assessment process
that identifies, analyzes, and evaluates
the risk of disruptive incidents to the
organization. If you are looking for
additional ISO alignment, you can
FIGURE 1 Summary of Clause 8 Differences Among Common
Management System Standards
STR UCTUR E A ND CO NTE NT O F ISO 2 2 3 01
ACT
Clause 10
Improvement
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
CHECK
Clause 9
Performance
Evaluation
conform your risk assessment process
to ISO 31000.
The risk assessment process requires
the identification of risks, systematical
analysis of risk, and selection of risk
treatments. The objective is to prioritize
threats, understand the effectiveness
of existing risk controls and identify
additional risk treatments to decrease
the likelihood or severity of threats
from disrupting your essential business
functions. In the facility management
realm, we think of risks such as:
ƒƒ What critical equipment must
remain operational?
ƒƒ Do I have critical parts in my
inventory?
ƒƒ How many single points of failure
do I have in my workforce?
It is also important to prioritize
your efforts by evaluating threats
using a risk rating. The risk rating
— expressed as likelihood x severity
— focuses on the threats that would
have the greatest impact on your
essential functions. These are threats
where the effect on associated critical
resources is severe and there is a high
likelihood of the threat occurring.
F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   015
Clause 4
Context of
Organization
Clause 5
Leadership
PLAN
Clause 6
Planning
Clause 7
Support
Clause 8
Operation
DO
The results of the BIA and RA help
to align mitigation measures with
the most critical business functions
and improve your ability to respond,
resume and recover.
Procedures & Plan
ISO 22301 requires documented
business continuity and incident
response procedures. The business
continuity plan will include
detailed steps to activate your
business continuity plan, when to
utilize an alternate site and site
logistics, identification of roles and
responsibilities, and other key items
as shown in Figure 3.
An important part of the plan
and ISO 22301 requirements is the
command structure. A documented
management structure is crucial to
clear and consistent decisions and
communications before, during and
after an event. One person should
be in charge and there should be
multiple backups for every role. The
Federal Emergency Management
Agency’s Emergency Management
Institute offers free online courses in
the National Incident Management
System (NIMS). There are several
courses available, but the NIMS
FIGURE 2 ISO 22301 Clause 8 Requirements
Business
Impact
Analysis
Procedures/Plan
100 — Introduction to the Incident
Command System course is a good
starting point for all those involved in
incident response.
Exercises & Testing
For your business continuity
management system to be truly
effective, you need a ready workforce.
There are two times you can
determine if your procedures are
working: during a drill or during an
event. We are much better off if we
FIGURE 3 Business Continuity Plan Elements
Business
Risk
Impact
Assessment
Analysis
016  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
Risk
Assessment
Exercising
& Testing
identify issues during a drill and fix
them before an event occurs.
Training is a great way to engage
your workforce, particularly emergency
response training as it is personal.
Everyone from every corner of the
organization plays a role in business
continuity and has something to benefit
from the continuity of operations.
Facility managers play an integral
part at every stage of creating and
maintaining operational plans, budgets,
trainings, drills, and more. You are
Policies and
Procedures
often the first responders in an incident
before emergency personnel arrive. You
also know more about the building and
the people in the building than almost
anyone else. It is imperative that the
facility management team has a seat
at the table in incident response and
business continuity planning and are
active in exercises and drills.
Not only does training prepare us to
better respond in an emergency, but
it is required by law — OSHA 29 CFR
1910.38 requires all US employers to
create and train on their emergency
action plans.
Summary
The Do part of the Plan, Do, Check,
Act cycle is an intensive, time-
consuming part of the process.
Through the ISO 22301 business
continuity management system
example, you can see that Clause 8
requires action and implementation.
It is the core of what makes up your
management system.
The rest of the MSS sets the
framework, measures our progress,
maintains compliance and provides
for continual monitoring. The actions
in Clause 8 also align with Clause 6.1
where we ensure the management
system can achieve the intended
outcomes and ties to Clause 9
Performance evaluation as we are
required to ensure the processes are
carried out as planned. Everything
you do as a facility manager is to
enable your organization to continue
its mission. Whichever MSS you
choose, it is a valuable tool to help
you achieve that goal. FMJ
Business
Testing and
Continuity
Training
Planning
B Y C ASEY MARTIN AND L AVERNE DECKERT
PERFORMANCE
EVALUATION
& CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
WITH YOUR MSS
To date, we have covered five of the
seven requirements clauses of ISO’s
harmonized management system
standard. Hopefully you are beginning
to see how the MSS process can benefit
your organization. Before we dive in to
the final two clauses — Performance
Evaluation and Improvement — here is a
quick review of what was covered in the
previous articles in this series.
Clause 4: Context of the Organization
establishes which parts of the
organizational assets, facilities,
processes, policies and locations
will be included in the certification
program. Defining stakeholders, setting
expectations and understanding
requirements are important components
for analyzing the organizational context
of the facility management system.
Clause 5: Leadership outlines the
commitment required of top management
to the discipline and change required for
compliance. There must be a willingness
to champion the adoption of the MSS by
all affected stakeholders. Engagement by
top management, through their influence
and relationships, is required for the
organizational evolution that is inevitable
as a result of ISO certification.
Clause 6: Planning defines management
system objectives as they relate to
organizational objectives. When
considering MSS objectives, think
about what outcomes are desired with
the management system, then look
for alignment with the organization’s
mission, vision and objectives.
Clause 7: Support discusses resourcing
your management system. Personnel,
equipment, software and funding are all
forms of resources and are all necessary
for successful certification. The specific
amount and type of resources needed will
depend on the MSS pursued.
Clause 8: Operation is the heart of
the MSS. This is where procedures,
processes and performance support
an MSS. The actions align directly
with Clause 6.1, where we identified
the actions to address risk and
opportunities to ensure the system can
achieve the intended outcomes.
F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   017
Clause 9: Performance Evaluation
Clause 9 ensures the management system is achieving the
intended outcomes set in motion during the Plan and Do
phases. The indispensable Check phase in the Plan-Do-
Check-Act cycle provides the tools to determine how the
system is progressing and if changes need to be made to
recalibrate metrics, systems or processes. Performance
evaluation must rely on factual data to drive decision for
change and to track sustained benefits.
As part of the performance evaluation process, be
prepared to review:
ƒƒ Is what is being measured and monitored still in
alignment with strategic objectives?
ƒƒ Are the methods being used to capture and evaluate
relevant data to ensure valid results?
ƒƒ Is the frequency at which the data is being captured
adequate to ensure valid results?
As part of the Performance Evaluation, the ISO MSS
requires internal audits to ensure conformity with the
requirements of your MSS. The internal audit is a two-
fold check that makes sure the processes put in place
not only meet the needs of the MSS, but also the needs
of the organization. While organizations are responsible
for defining and implementing their own internal audit
process, there are a few things to consider prior to
performing an internal audit.
ƒƒ Has the audit criteria and scope been clearly defined?
ƒƒ Has the reporting structure for audit results been
defined, so information reaches the appropriate
management levels?
ƒƒ Is there a designated process and repository for
audit reports?
ƒƒ Are the selected auditors positioned within the
organization such that they can be impartial and
objective without imposed or personal bias?
Top management reviews are also part of the
performance evaluation process, to ensure suitability of
the MSS. You can see that the leadership commitment
from Clause 5 is threaded throughout the MSS
requirements, and it appears again in the performance
evaluation clause. Top management is expected to
periodically review the suitability, adequacy and
effectiveness of the MSS. This high-level review is
intentionally performed by a leadership team with the
ability to view the overall MSS performance and evaluate
the effectiveness of the integrated parts across the
organization. This review can include issues that may
have changed since the last leadership review, such as:
018  W W W . I F M A . O R G / F M J
ƒƒ Status of actions from previous management reviews
ƒƒ Internal or external organizational factors affecting the MSS
ƒƒ Audit findings and reports
Measuring and managing performance is a process that
is interwoven with an organization’s identity, strategy
and mission. A failure to balance performance evaluation
processes with the organizational strategies can lead
to collecting data that doesn’t provide a useful metric,
or to evaluating metrics that aren’t mission critical
performance indicators.
Considerations when developing metrics1:
ƒƒ Good metrics can be measured and effected today, as
well as impact future outcomes.
ƒƒ Metrics should not be based on uncertain outcomes due
to influences beyond the organization’s control. If the
organization cannot control the outcome, then it isn’t a
performance metric.
ƒƒ Metrics evaluate progress towards goals. Don’t lose sight
of the goals.
Just because you can measure it, doesn’t mean you
should. Metrics need to be relevant and useful for
progressing towards a goal. Measure what is critical to
organizational success, not just what is easy to measure.
Metrics should not cost more to measure than they can
save in improvement. Consider what it will take in terms of
resources and time to collect data for a metric.
Clause 10: Continuous Improvement
Clause 10 requires a commitment to correcting
nonconformities and looking for opportunities
for continuous improvement. Continuous improvement
represents a moving target. It is about being deliberate
and thoughtful about FM practices, policies, process
In absence of
clearly defined
goals, we become
strangely loyal to
performing daily acts
of trivia.”
- AUTHOR UNKNOWN

It is not necessary
to change. Survival
is not mandatory.”
- W. EDWARDS DEMING
and procedures to realize the ultimate value to
the organization.
Process improvements, product improvements and
management system improvements all work together to
deliver a performance improvement system. All three areas are
codependent pieces of the organization and must be viewed as
interactive pieces of the whole. If an improvement in one area
causes issues in another area, then the organization will not
benefit. ISO considers the continuous improvement process
for an MSS from three directions under Clause 10:
ƒƒ Nonconformity and corrective action
ƒƒ Preventive actions
ƒƒ Continual improvement
Existing nonconformities that have been identified through
audits and performance evaluation processes under Clause 9
are addressed through nonconformity and corrective actions.
This activity develops methods to prevent or reduce the
recurrence of nonconforming processes and products while
also developing methods to improve conforming processes.
Preventive actions to proactively identify gaps in the
MSS and take preemptive measures is an improvement
application to assure the MSS is proactive and adaptive
to addressing internal and external factors that affect the
ability of the MSS to achieve its intended purpose. The
preventive action activities review risks and opportunities
that may support or impede the goals and objectives of the
MSS and create a path for improvement.
The suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the MSS
must also be regularly evaluated as part of the continual
improvement process. Evaluation of the results from Clause
9, as well as gaps identified through the preventive action
activities, can be used to evaluate the overall effectiveness of
the MSS and its ability to deliver the intended results.
Technical processes do not happen in isolation. There are
always human activities that affect organizational processes
and procedures. Continuous improvement can deliver a
powerful cultural change, equal to or greater than the impact
of technical improvements. The people part of the continuous
improvement process should be considered with an equal
level of importance for instituting sustainable continuous
improvement programs. Management practices should
provide a safe learning environment for exploration that
enables employees to voice their ideas and support sustainable
cultural change.
This is part five and the final article in the series to
understanding ISO’s voluntary MSS process. Although our
intent was to simplify the process for you, perhaps you
are thinking that this adds another layer of complexity to
your already complex day. So, why would you voluntarily
implement a management system standard?
The world is changing as such a rapid pace that, at times,
it feels that every day we are facing a new reality. Now, more
than ever, you and your staff need to have a playbook that
will help you maintain quality of your FM processes and
system to continue to support your FM organizations. If you
take a step back for a moment and look at the big picture,
you will see that when all is said and done, the MSS will
simplify your work. It will provide a roadmap to you, your
staff and top management that ensure understanding of your
work both vertically and horizontally. When you ask yourself,
“What’s in it for me?” consider that, among other things,
conformity to an MSS will help you:
ƒƒ Clarify medium and long-term strategic plans
ƒƒ Ensure that your goals align with those of your
organization so that the work you are doing every day
adds value to the bottom line
ƒƒ Ensure integration of objectives with upstream and
downstream business units
ƒƒ Make the business case for resources you need and
provide assurance that you understand business needs
and objectives and what it takes to achieve those
ƒƒ Identify weaknesses in your processes and correct and
improve on them
ƒƒ Identify and better manage risk
ƒƒ Ensure that you are prepared to respond when
emergencies arise
ƒƒ Demonstrate performance credibility
ƒƒ Foster employee engagement and commitment to the
mission of the organization
Ultimately, implementing a management system standard
is the game changer that will set you and your organization
apart from the rest. Take the MSS challenge and start on the
path to certification today. FMJ
References
1. Hauser, John and Katz, Gerald. “Metrics: You are What You Measure!”
European Management Journal Vol. 16, No. 5. 1998. Pages 517-528.
F M J S P E C I A L : O N S T A N D A R D S   019