by Brianna Crandall — June 1, 2018 — BSI, the UK-based business standards company, recently published BS 8572:2018 Procurement of Facility-related Services. Code of Practice. The revised standard guides those responsible for the management of facilities — such as facilities managers (FMs), property managers, office managers, owner-occupiers, landlords and tenants — through a roadmap for successful procurement of facilities services.
S 8572 was developed to establish a common, standardized approach to the way facilities services are managed and specified. A facility-related service is defined as a supporting structure to the core business of an organization, such as cleaning, security, waste disposal, pest control, building maintenance, catering and information technology (IT). The updated version has been converted from a guidance document to now being structured as a code of practice enabling users to demonstrate compliance.
The revised standard includes guidance to improve transparency in operating competitive tendering, and how to thoroughly evaluate tendering proposals. Guidance is also provided on benchmarking performance and cost, enabling inefficiencies and waste to be highlighted and mitigated. Where multiple facilities or locations are involved, application of BS 8572 across all facilities can bring additional benefits from a more consistent, streamlined approach to procurement.
BS 8572 covers both new and existing facilities, particularly commercial and industrial property. The principle changes in this revised document over its predecessor are:
- New provisions relating to a procurer’s target operating model and integrator model;
- Incorporation of recommendations on the management of the direct cost of a service;
- Recommendations on managing innovation and transformation in service delivery;
- Conversion from a guidance document to a code of practice; and
- General updating to align with, and cross-reference, recently published standards in facilities management (FM).
Ant Burd, head of Built Environment at BSI, pointed out:
In procuring facility-related services externally, an organization has taken the decision to outsource. Outsourcing the procurement of such important services, however, extends beyond simply purchasing and supplying. Facilities procurement represents a major and integral part of an organization’s facilities management — and because of this it must be carried out in a way that is consistent, thorough, and ensures the best value for money. BS 8572 was revised to guide organizations through this process.
BS 8572 is relevant to all organizations with responsibility for the procurement of facility-related services and the management of space within commercial and industrial property. Procurement of facilities services should be regarded as a distinct function within the procurer’s organization and, as such, the standard recommends that it should be covered by a designated role. This may form part of the organization’s established purchasing and supply processes and procedures.
The following organizations were involved in the development of this standard as members of the steering group: CIOB, RIBA, RICS, CIBSE, BIFM, IFMA and CoreNet. Combined membership of these bodies in the UK exceeds 250,000, notes BSI.
BS 8572:2018 Procurement of Facility-related Services. Code of Practice is available from the BSI Shop. Additional related BSI standards include: BS 8534, which covers the procurement policies, strategies and procedures for the delivery (construction) of a facility, and BS 8536-1, which covers operational needs in the delivery (design and construction) of a facility.
