by Jbs042109 a3 — April 27, 2009—The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has announced the release of “Strategic Facility Planning: A White Paper,” a report that outlines the key principles of strategic facility planning and details all stages of the process, including understanding, analyzing, planning and acting.
Many FMs today understand the importance of linking facilities management to their business’s overall strategy, but have difficulty finding the time or resources to devote to developing a strategic facility plan, notes IFMA. This white paper provides information on the strategic facility planning process, its requirements and benefits, and gives FMs the basic tools to launch and successfully complete a strategic facility plan.
“Strategic facility planning’s ultimate purpose is to provide a framework to link business strategy to capacity planning,” said Gary Broersma, director of strategic facility planning and development at Covance and past chairman of the IFMA board of directors. “Well written, flexible plans account for growth as well as contraction, providing strategies for seizing opportunities and for reacting to economic downturns. It is my hope that this report encourages all facility management professionals to engage in this critical process in their own organizations.”
IFMA says the new white paper defines what strategic facility planning is and what it is not, using accepted business planning methodology and applying it to facility capital planning. It presents a four-step facility planning process that is clear, concise, and repeatable, while recommending tools that can assist in each step of the process.
For a free copy of the white paper, visit the IFMA Tools & Resources Web page and look under Resources.
