As the most trusted global provider of benchmarking metrics for the facility management (FM) industry, the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) today released its latest North America Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Benchmarking Report. The report provides benchmarks in three major facility categories: janitorial, maintenance and utilities, as well as detailed performance benchmarks by a number of demographic factors including industry sector served by the facility, facility use, single buildings versus portfolio sites, U.S. climate zone, ownership profile, facility age, size and geographic location.
“IFMA’s North America O&M Benchmarking report brings new insights into the FM industry and is one of the first on the market to examine costs associated with social distancing. With elevated focus worldwide on health and safety improvements, cost and service efficiency, sustainability goals and more, utilizing the report’s findings can bolster an FM’s ability to effectively manage resources today, and plan for the future,” said IFMA President and CEO Don Gilpin.
In 2020, facility professionals from across North America provided IFMA with data on the costs of the nearly 40,000 facilities (2.2 billion gross square feet) they managed for the 12 months leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report contains facility data for all 50 US states and 9 of the 13 Canadian provinces and territories
In addition to the in-depth performance metrics for total cost per square foot across several demographic factors, this year’s report also includes a new section which provides detailed information of the impacts from COVID-19 on janitorial, maintenance and utility costs. Other new metrics provided include the number of buildings in the sample size, historical comparisons of energy management practices, and space management allocations for maintenance technicians and supervisory personnel. And with rising urgency for FMs and the wider built environment to meet global sustainability goals, energy management and sustainable O&M practices (including green cleaning) are also covered.
Gilpin added, “Worldwide markets have drastically fluctuated over the past few years underscoring the importance of optimizing operations for compliance and competitiveness. Using this report as a guide allows FMs to justify increased resources, recommend changes to increase efficiencies, describe the benefits of O&M improvements and ultimately position themselves for career advancement.”
On October 29th, 2023, CBS 60 Minutes aired and highlighted Indoor Air Quality. The indoor air quality segment showed that respondents were asked what indoor air purification strategy they incorporated into their buildings. 91% responded they had implemented bi-polar ionization (BPI) air purification technology. Watch the segment here.
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