Ghana, Nigeria In Search of Strategies for Global FM Standards Localisation

On May 15, 2019, companies, professionals and other stakeholders in the built environment in Africa will converge on various places in search for the strategies that will enable them to continue playing the FM practice games in line with the global best practices. From the north to the east, and south to the west of Africa, efforts are in top gear to have talks, discussions and other events for this year’s World FM Day.

The International Facility Management Association has chosen ‘Celebrating Global Standards’ as the theme for this year’s celebration. Most African countries are localising the theme, our check reveals. During the celebration, participants are expected to discuss and debate on specific principles or procedures towards seamless localisation of the new Facility Management Standards –ISO Facility Management System Standards 41001 published by the International Organisation for Standardisation in 2018.

The growth in FM scope and the need to enhance agreements between FM solutions providers and demand organisations have been cited by the experts as factors necessitate development of the new standards.  

In a tweak of the global theme, stakeholders in Ghana will be celebrating the day using ‘Empowering the Facility Manager through Training to Enable Positive Experiences’ with the intent of creating awareness about the new standards in Accra. Members of the IFMA in the country believe that forming a unified global community will help in adhering to the new standards. The organisation would engage the Ghana Standards Authority, Members of the Parliament and other stakeholders on the right steps the country needs to take to localise the global standards.

In Nigeria, Strategies for Implementing Global Standards in Nigeria’s Facilities Management sector has been chosen as the local theme with sub-themes ranging from Corporate Real Estate Standards and Facilities Management in Nigeria, Emerging FM Standard practices in Africa to Global Standards in Healthcare Management.  

 “Developing ISO standards is a massive game changer for our industry. These standards represent a significant step forward in the standardisation of FM management professional practices internationally,” said Duncan Waddell, Chairman of Global FM.