Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

ABRAFAC
Brazilian Association of Facilities. A non-profit organisation founded in 2004.

Access
Approach, entry, internal circulation or exit, including in cases of emergency.

Accessible
Capable of being accessed and used by disabled people.

Activity Based Working (ABW)
The reorganisation of the workplace to enable staff to be more productive and collaborative through the use of shared workspaces in the office and external locations like home offices.

Adaptability
Possibility of changing characteristics such as volume, function or space in order to meet new demands or needs.

AIWFM
Post nominal for Associate member of IWFM.

Application Programme Interface (API)
A set of routines, protocols and tools for building software applications that specify clearly defined methods of communication between various software components.

APS
Association for Project Safety.

A/C
Air Conditioning.

ARP
Activity resumption plan.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision making and translation between languages.

As built information
Expression of the design, its working detail, construction works and/or installations, functions, operations and maintenance needs of a facility in a form suitable for use in managing that facility.

ASHRAE
American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers.

Asset cost breakdown
Itemisation of the capital cost of a facility asset in terms of its constituent parts.

Asset management
A process of proactively managing a buildings assets to ensure maximum efficiency and return on capital investment.

Asset register
An asset register is used to record the specification, make and model details of equipment and plant within a building. It is used for both planned and reactive maintenance services to ensure the service schedule meets specifications.

Automation
The use or introduction of control systems for operating equipment, machinery, processes, networks and other applications with minimal or reduced human intervention.

 

B

B & ES
Building and Engineering Services Association.

Barbour EFM
Barbour Estates and Facilities Management. The official IWFM information service partner.

BCI
Business Continuity Institute.

BCM
Business continuity management.

BCP
Business continuity plan.

BCT
Business continuity team.

BEMS
Building Energy Management Systems.

Benchmarking
A continuous, systematic process for evaluating the products, services or work processes of organisations that are recognised as representing the best practices for the purpose of organisational improvement.

BFG
The Building Futures Group.

BIA 
Business impact analysis.

BICSc
The British Institute of Cleaning Science.

BIM
Building Information Modelling. A process involving the generation of digital representations of the physical and functional components of a facility. The resulting building information models become shared knowledge resources to support decision-making about the facility from the conception stage, through design, construction and operational life up to eventual decommissioning. The Government requires collaborative 3D BIM (with all project and asset information, documentation and data in electronic form) on its projects by 2016.

BIM Storm
BIM Storm is a Cloud computing collaborative process that leverages web based BIM capabilities to enable data sharing among multiple software programs including BIM software,GIS systems, Google Earth, Excel and other sources, and even hand drawings. These online ‘data swaps’ allow large amounts of business processes to be substantially reduced in duration while improving accuracy by not recreating data at each step of a project.

BIM Task Group
Set up by the Cabinet Office following the government’s announcement of its Construction Strategy on 31 May 2011. The task group is responsible for implementing collaborative 3D BIM (with all project and asset information, documentation and data in electronic format) on government projects by 2016.

Biomass
Plant matter such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops or other biological material. It can provide a renewable source of electrical power, fuel, or chemical feedstocks. BOMA Building Owners and Managers Association International.

Breakdown maintenance
Operation of restoring an item to fulfil its original function after a failure in its performance.

BREEAM
Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

Buildability
Degree to which the design of a planned building assists its construction and utilisation.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
The policy of permitting employees to bring personally-owned devices such as laptops, tablets and smart phones to their workplace and to use them to access privileged company information and applications.

BSC
British Safety Council.

BSI
British Standards Institution.

BSRIA
The Building Services Research and Information Association provide specialist consultancy, testing and research services for construction, building services and facilities management.

Building fabric
Elements and components of a building other than furniture and engineering installations.

Building Information Modelling (BIM)
A digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a facility that then forms a reliable basis for decisions during its lifecycle (ie from earliest conception to demolition).

Building log book
Operations and maintenance information used to improve energy management within a building.

Building maintenance
Work, other than daily and routine cleaning, necessary to maintain the performance of building structure, fabric and components and basic engineering installations.

Building Management System (BMS)
Computer-aided control systems including hardware and software to collect and monitor parameters and performance data of plant, equipment, systems and elements either at source or remotely and to enable corrective action to be initiated.

Building manual
Log of a building’s operation and maintenance, and record of refurbishments and alterations.

Building physicist
Person with knowledge and experience in the behaviour and performance of buildings and their components under the influence of physical, chemical and biological phenomena.

Business continuity planning
Business continuity planning is the process of ensuring an organisation can sufficiently recover and restore partially or completely interrupted critical functions/systems within a predetermined time after a disaster or extended disruption.

 

C

Cabinet Office work package 104
Entitled ‘Plan of Works’, this project within the government’s BIM initiative is being carried forward by the Construction Industry Council (CIC). Institutions such as RIBA are working with the CIC to develop BIM-enabled digital plans of work that could be used across the design and construction industry to facilitate the implementation of BIM in government projects.

CAD
Computer Aided Design.

CAFM
Computer-aided facilities management. Any software package or system designed to support facilities management. Well-known examples include Concept from FSI and QFM from Service Works.

Call-off Contract
A contract for the supply of goods or services that may or may not be called off as and when required (also Term Contract).

CAPEX
Capital expenditure.

Carbon Emissions
Polluting carbon substances released into the atmosphere.

Carbon Footprint
Totality of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, event or product.

Carbon management
Reducing the impact of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) on the planet as part of a global warming mitigation strategy based on carbon capture and storage.

Carbon metric
Measure of the weight of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02-eq) emitted per square metre per annum (based on greenhouse gas emissions over a 100 year period).

CIWFM
Post nominal for Certified member of IWFM.

CD247
Consultative document issued by the HSE to seek views on its draft National Local Authority Enforcement Code. Produced in response to the Löfstedt review recommendation for the HSE to be given a stronger role in directing local authority health and safety inspection activity

CEN
European Committee for Standardization.

CEO
Chief Executive Officer.

CFO
Chief Financial Officer.

CHP
Combined heating and power.

CIBSE
Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.

CIBSE Guide M
CIBSE Guide M: Maintenance Engineering and Management (2009) is an update of the guide to ownership, operation and maintenance of building services published in 2000. It covers such issues as owning and operating costs, economic life factors, energy efficiency and maintenance, maintenance strategy, and different types of maintenance technique.

CIC
Construction Industry Council, the representative forum for the professional bodies, research organisations and specialist business associations in the construction industry.

CIO
Chief Information Officer.

CIOB
Chartered Institute of Building.

CIPS
Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply.

Clean room A room in which the concentration of airborne particals generated by people, processes and equipment is controlled to specified limits. The level under which these particles need to be maintained depends upon the activities in the clean room.

Cloud computing
The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage and process data rather than a local server or personal computer.

Cloud file sharing
The process of using cloud computing-based technologies to enable file sharing over the internet between multiple users based anywhere in the world.

CMI
Chartered Management Institute.

COBie
Construction Operations Building Information Exchange. COBie is a means of capturing and sharing structured information about new and existing facilities, originally developed in the US. Its data can be viewed in a simple spreadsheet such as Excel. COBieUK: 2012 is a digital data exchange format being prepared as part of the government’s BIM initiative.

COBRA
Collaborative Occupiers Benchmarking Research Alliance. The Strategic Plan for the Benchmarking Alliance has been guided and agreed by a Steering Group of pan-industry institutions and experts supporting the benchmarking needs of both facilities managers and real property occupiers and is available for download from LinkedIn.

Company voluntary agreement (CVA)
(Also company voluntary arrangement.) A legally binding agreement between an insolvent company and its creditors.

Competitive dialogue
A procedure in which a purchaser conducts a dialogue with prospective suppliers with the aim of identifying those capable of meeting its requirements, who will then be invited to tender.

Computer-aided Design (CAD) Software used by architects, engineers, drafters, artists and others to create precision drawings or technical illustrations, including 2D and 3D models.

Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM)
The support of facilities management by information technology using CAFM software, applications and systems to supply information in order to effectively plan, execute and monitor all FM activities, such as reactive and planned maintenance, asset management, operational facility services, room reservations and other customer services.

Computer-aided Maintenance Management System (CMMS)
System specifically designed to enable planning, organising, direction and controlling forward maintenance programmes and to collect and collate historical data on the performance of assets so the most effective maintenance strategy is selected under actual performance and environmental conditions.

Condition-based maintenance
Is an approach where activities are carried out following inspection of the asset and comparison if its actual state with the desired condition.

Condition monitoring
Act of measuring and recording data from operating parameters using either human senses or instrumentation to verify plant and equipment condition and trends.

Construction

Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie)
An international standard relating to managed asset information, including space and equipment, that has been incorporated into software for planning, design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance and asset management.

COO
Chief Operating Officer.

Corrective maintenance
Maintenance carried out after fault recognition and intended to put an item into a state in which it can perform a required function.

COSHH 
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

CPD
Continuing professional development.

CRA
Continuity requirements analysis.

CRE
Corporate real estate.

Critical Activity
Activity which has to be performed in order to deliver the key products and services which enable an organisation to meet its most important and time-sensitive objectives.

Critical Environment
Are or location which, in the event of its non-availability, would have a significant negative impace upon business processes and activities.

CSR
Corporate social responsibility. Defined by the EU as a ‘concept whereby businesses integrate social and environmental concerns in their daily operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis’

CSSA
Cleaning & Support Services Association

CSV
Comma-separated values. The Comma Separated Value (CSV) file format is a common structuring strategy for text format files. In CSV flies, each line in the file represents a row of data and, within each line of the file, the different data fields are separated from one another using a comma.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Practices, strategies and technologies used by companies to manage and analyse customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle with the aim of improving business relationships, customer retention and sales growth.

 

D

DAS
Design and Access Statement.

Data drop
Data that is deliverable at a defined gateway in a stage-gated process.

Data element
Basic unit of information that is quantifiable and measurable.

DDA
Disability Discrimination Act.

DEC
Display energy certificates.

Deliverable
Product or service as an outcome of a process.

DEFRA
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Depreciation
The estimated or expected decline in value of an asset.

Design brief
Statement that describes the purpose and required functions and performance of a facility, product or service; also a stage in the design phase.

Design development
Transitional phase where the basis of the design progresses towards the production of detailed design information.

DR
Disaster recovery.

 

E

EA
Environment Agency.

Element
Functional part of a building or other facility.

Emergency maintenance
Immediate corrective work to be carried out to restore correct function and to avoid consequences of failure.

EMS
Environmental Management Systems.

EMS (Estate Management Statistics)
Estate Management Statistics. EMS shares estates information among UK higher education institutions and empowers institutions to improve management of the physical infrastructure.

End of life costs
Costs for the disposal or demolition of a facility.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
The integrated management of core business processes that allows an organisation to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate back office functions related to technology, services and human resources.

Environmental impact assessment
A tool to predict, assess and mitigate the possible effects of a construction project so that environmental considerations can inform and be integrated into decisions.

Environmental policy
Statement of the measure taken by an organisation to minimise the impact of its activities on the environment.

EPC
Energy performance certificates.

ERIC
Estates Return Information Collection. This central data collection for estates and facilities services from the NHS containing information dating back to 1999/2000. Trusts enter data into the system which provides real time performance indicator information varying form on screen indicators to charts allowing organisations to benchmark their performance.

ERP
Enterprise resource planning.

Evacuation
A building may require evacuating if there is a fire or other emergency. Plans should therefore be developed and tested following an appropriate risk assessment.

External envelope
Roof and façade including openings.

External stakeholders
Individuals or groups outside an organisation having an interest in the activities of that organisation.

 

F

Facilities Management
Organisational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business.

Facility
Tangible asset that supports an organisation.

Facility Management
Organisational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business.

Facility product
One of a defined set of classified and hierarchically organised facility services.

Facility related service
Service supporting the primary activities of an organisation, delivered by an internal or external provider.

FD 
Financial Director.

Feasibility study
Means for establishing the economic viability, performance and acceptability of the design and other measurable parameters of a facility.

FEFCE
Further Education Funding Council for England.

FFI
Fee for Intervention (FFI) is HSE’s cost recovery scheme. Under The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012, those who break health and safety laws are liable for recovery of HSE’s related costs, including inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action.

FIWFM
Post nominal for Fellow of IWFM.

Fixed-wire testing
Fixed wiring must be maintained so as to prevent danger and that regular service inspection is an essential part of preventative maintenance.

Flawless start up
Fault free commencement of operations.

FM
Facility Management

Facilities Management
Organisational function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business.

FMAA
Facilities Management Association of Australia.

FOI
Freedom of information.

Framework (agreement)
A general term for agreements with selected suppliers. This sets out terms and conditions under which specific purchases can be made throughout the term of the agreement.

FTE
Full-time equivalent. A unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads comparable across various contexts.

Full disclosure
Public procurement rules in the European Union require that public contracting authorities must publish all tender evaluation criteria and weighting in advance.

Functional brief
Interpretation of the statement of needs in the form of recommendations (provisions) for the design of the facility.
 

G

Gateway
Key assurance or decision point in a process.

GEEP
Generic/General Emergency Evacuation Plan.

GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation

GPG
Good Practice Guide.

GEA
Gross External Area. Includes enclosed roof plant, balconies, thickness of external walls and internal parking.

GIA
Gross Internal Area. Excludes external walls, balconies, roof plant and parking from GEA.

Global Positioning System (GPS)
A global satellite-based navigation system that can be used to locate positions anywhere on Earth.

GPU
Government Property Unit. GPU works collaboratively across the public sector, acting as a catalyst for change, to create an effective and efficient government estate, which provides value for money for the taxpayer, reduces our environmental impact and enables improvements in the way we work.

Government green lease 
Use of incentives to align parties toward sustainable business practices within the terms of a lease agreement.

GSL
Government Soft Landings. A policy led by the Cabinet Office FM Category Team as part of the government construction strategy. The aim is to ensure that design and construction are aligned with operational asset management, and to implement greater use of outcome-based specifications against clear performance criteria.
 

H

Handover
Act of passing responsibility for, and control over, a facility to the owner or operator following testing and commissioning.

HEFCE
Higher Education Funding Council for England. A non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which has been responsible for the Benchmarking: Effective performance management for FM| distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since 1992.

HR
Human resources.

HSE
Health and Safety Executive, the national independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness.

HSSE Health, Safety, Security and Environment
Services protecting from external dangers or internal risks and protect assets and the health and well-being of the people and providing a safe and sustainable environment.

HVAC
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

 

I

IAM
Institute of Asset Management

ICE
Institution of Civil Engineers

ICT
Information and Communications technology

IEMA
Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment

IET
Institute of Engineering and Technology

IFMA
International Facility Management Association

Industry Foundation Classes
Industry standard data structures for exchanging information about construction projects, intended to be neutral and open specification and not under the control of a single vendor. It is an object-based file format with a data model developed by buildingSMART, and applies to the physical components of a building as well as related information.

IHEEM
Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management.

IIRSM
International Institute of Risk and Safety Management.

IMP
Incident management plan.

Inclusive design
Design that seeks to include everyone irrespective of needs, circumstances or identity.

Information handover plan
Statement of intentions and timings for the delivery of information assets.

Information management
Processing and storage of information in a controlled manner.

Information management plan
Statement of intention for the collection, maintenance, updating, communication and control of information and data.

Intelligent Enterprise (IE)
A management approach and computing infrastructure that applies technology to improve business performance.

Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS)
A software platform that helps organisations optimize the use of workplace resources, resulting in cost efficiencies and increased productivity and customer satisfaction.

Input specification
Input specifications stipulate exactly how the service provider should achieve the desired outcome. This is generally based on a schedule of tasks, frequencies and methodologies dictating exactly what should be done, when and how.

Internet of Things (IoT) 
The interconnection via the internet of computing devices, vehicles, buildings and other everyday objects that enable them to send and receive data.

IOSH
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.

IPD
Investment Property Databank. Provides worldwide critical business intelligence, including analytical services, indices and market information, to the real estate industry. Each year, IPD produces more than 120 indices, as well as almost 600 portfolio benchmarks, across 32 countries enabling real estate market transparency and performance comparisons.

IPFMA
Irish Property and Facilities Management Association.

ISO 14001
Specifies the requirements for an environmental management system.

IT
Information technology.

Initial Investment costs
Costs that occur before taking a facility into use, e.g. planning, design, construction and legal cost and cost of incentives such as rent free periods.

Installation
System or items of plant and equipment having the function of a facility or part thereof, also the act of installing.

Internal stakeholders
Individuals or groups within an organisation.

ITT
Invitation to tender.

IWFM
Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management.

 

J

Joint procurement
The name given to the practice of combining the procurement activities of two or more contracting bodies.

Just In Time
JIT management is an operational strategic model based on the JIT inventory-management systems used by many manufacturing organisations.

 

K

KPI
Key performance indicator.

 

L

LAN
Local Area Networks.

LCC
Life cycle costing.

LEED
Leadership in energy and environmental design.

Logistics
Services concerned with the transport and storage of goods and information.

 

M

Maintenance audit
Process in which a competent person surveys all assets to determine maintenance requirements so that the assets continue to perform their intended function.

Maintenance management
Process of ensuring that the most effective and efficient maintenance programme is formulated and delivered to ensure that assets continue to perform their intended function.

Maintenance manual
Technical instructions intended to preserve an item in, or restore it to, a state in which it can perform a required function.

Maintenance plan
Structured and documented set of tasks that include the activities, procedures, resources and the time scale required to carry out maintenance.

Maintenance policy
Statement of organisational requirements in terms of regulations and standards to be observed.

Maintenance strategy
Statement of organisational approach to maintenance management.

Managing agents
This developed from the traditional role of an agent appointed to manage residential properties, on behalf of the owners or occupants.

Manual of authorities
Document containing the authorities and authority holders within an organisation, relating to its business, functions and legal entities.

Means of escape
To reduce the risk from fire and ensure that there are safe means for people to escape in the event of a fire.

M&E
Mechanical and electrical.

MEP
Mechanical, electrical, plumbing.

Method statements
Document detailing how a particular process will be carried out. Particularly useful for health and safety risk assessment, project planning and quality management.

MIS
Management information system. Computer system that collects and analyses data to measure performance in given areas of a business and facilitate strategic or operational decision-making.

MIWFM
Post nominal for Member of IWFM.

MRF
Materials Recycling Facilities.

MTPD
Maximum tolerable period of disruption.

MTS
Medium Term Strategy.

 

N

Nature conservation
Nature conservation, land and biodiversity issues are regular features of business corporate social responsibility statements, FMs are usually involved in the development and implementation of biodiversity policies and action plans.

NEBOSH
National Examinations Board in Occupational Safety and Health.

NEC Forms
NEC Contract Forms Suite - standard contract forms (available to IWFM members at a discounted rate).

NRM New Rules of Measurement. Document published by RICS that provides a standard set of measurement rules. Gives best practice guidance in the cost management of construction projects.

 

O

Occupants
Users who spend a significant proportion of their time in or about a facility.

Occupiers’ liability
Relates to the Occupiers’ Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984 and responsibilities for vacant or unmanned property. It deals with liability that may arise from accidents caused by the defective or dangerous condition of the premises.

OH & S
Occupational health and safety.

OHSAS 18001
British Standard for occupational health and safety management systems.

OJEU
Official Journal of the European Union, the publication in which all high-value public sector contracts in the EU must be advertised.

O&M
Operations and maintenance. O&M manuals must legally be provided as part of health and safety documentation for a building following any significant building work. They are usually compiled by the main contractor or the contractor’s specialist consultants.

OPD
Operational Property Databank.

Open-book contracts
The Customer and the service provider agree which costs are remunerable and the mark-up that the contractor can apply to them. The customer is then invoiced for the work based on the actual costs incurred plus the agreed margin.

Operability
Capable of being put into practice or use.

Operational carbon
Weight of carbon dioxide equivalent attributable to the operational phase of a facility.

Operational strategy
Overall approach to managing the production or use of a facility.

Operational phase
Use or occupancy phase in the life cycle of a facility.

Operator
Organisation responsible for the day to day operation of a facility.

OPEX
Operational expenditure.

Organisation specific
Services related to people and organisation which are specific to the type or branch of the organisation.

OSCRE
Open Standards Consortium for Real Estate is a Non-profit organization dedicated to the development of industry standards for data exchange.

Output specifications 
This focuses on the desired outcome of a service, rather than setting out details of how the service should be provided. This gives providers the scope to propose innovative solutions that might not have occurred to the procurement team.

Outsourcing
The procurement of services from external providers, normally covering both the service (or services) and management function.

Owner
Individual or organisation owning or procuring a facility.

 

P

PAS 55
The British Standards Institution's (BSI) publicly available specification for the optimized management of physical assets - it provides clear definitions and a 28-point requirements specification for establishing and verifying a joined-up, optimized and whole-life management system for all types of physical assets.

PAS 1192
PAS 1192 is a Publicly Available Standard for the delivery of BIM-enabled information. Part 2 (2013) is focused on design and construction information. Part 3 (2014) covers the operation and management of assets.

PAT
Portable Appliance Testing.

PCI
Payment Card Industry.

PEEP
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.

Permits to Work
A permit to work system is a formal system used to control work that is potential hazardous. A PTW is a document which specifies the work to be done and the precautions to be taken, based on a risk assessment.

PF2
The Government’s new approach for involving private finance in the delivery of public infrastructure and services through long-term contractual arrangements, following a review of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

PFI
Private Finance Initiative. A method of funding major capital investments where private firms, usually construction companies or service providers, are contracted to complete and manage the projects. The public services are leased to the public and the government authority makes annual payments to the private company.

Photogrammetry
The use of photography in surveying and mapping to ascertain measurements between objects.

Planned maintenance 
Maintenance organised and carried out with forethought, control and the use of records to a predetermined plan based on the results of condition surveys.

PM/PPM schedule
Preventive maintenance or planned maintenance (PM) is the same thing as planned preventive maintenance (PPM). A PM or PPM schedule is a list of preplanned maintenance events over a specific period, typically 52 weeks.

Point cloud survey
A method of generating a BIM from an existing building. Laser technology is used to survey the spaces in an existing building to create a digital ‘cloud’ of geometrical points. This data is used to generate the geometry of the building which can be imported into a BIM-enabled CAD package. Materials can be identified and detailed specification information can be added.

Post Implementation review
Study of the effects of a system after it has reached a stabilised state of operational use.

Post occupancy evaluation
Process of evaluating a building or other facility in a systematic and rigorous manner after it has been built and occupied.

Power over Ethernet (PoE)
Standardised or ad hoc systems that let network cables carry electrical power, allowing a single cable to provide both data connection and electric power to devices such as wireless access points and security cameras.

PPE
Personal protective equipment.

PPP
Public private partnership. Similar in outcome to a PFI.

PQQ - Prequalification Questionnaire
This is a useful step in the process for procuring FM services. It assesses a potential service providers commercial, technical and financial capabilities and provides a method of shortlisting interested parties.

Primary processes
Processes identified by an organisation as essential to the provision of a service or product in its value chain, direct to its customers.

Project brief
Summary of the requirements for the definition of a project, including the development of its design.

Project execution plan
Statement of the intentions and arrangements for the implementation of a project, ie. Its construction work, and supporting activities and processes.

Project execution strategy
High level statement of the intentions and arrangements for a project.

 

Q

Quick Response Code (QR code)
A type of machine-readable matrix (or 2D) barcode that contains information about the item to which it is attached and can be read using smartphones and dedicated reading devices.

 

R

RA
Risk assessment.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
A wireless system that uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags containing electronically stored information that are attached to objects.

RAMS
Risk assessment and method statements.

RASCI chart
Responsible, accountable, supported, consulted and informed chart that is used to summarise the roles and functions performed in a process and the activities within it.

RCM
Reliability centred maintenance.

R & D
Research and Development.

Real estate
Encompasses land along with anything affixed to the land, such as buildings.

Reactive maintenance
Unplanned maintenance activities; an inevitable supplement to planned preventative maintenance regimes in the operation of a building.

Recycling
The collection and processing of used materials in order to utilise the raw material to produce new products.

Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM)
Systems-based methodology used to determine maintenance tasks necessary to ensure that a facility asset or system continues to function in order to fulfil its purpose as designed in its present operating context.

Remedial work
Redesign and work necessary to restore the integrity of building fabric and components to a standard that will allow the facility to perform its original function.

Residual life
Period during which a material or component might reasonably be expected to continue to fulfil its present function provided it is routinely maintained.

Restricted procedure
Usually applies to high-value public sector contracts. Strict pre-qualification criteria are set for the contract, and only those suppliers meeting the criteria will be invited to tender.

RFP
Request for proposal.

RFQ
Request for quotation.

RIBA
Royal Institute of British Architects.

RICS
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

RIDDOR
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 regulates the UK businesses statutory obligation to report deaths, injuries, diseases and "dangerous occurrences" that take place at work or in connection with work.

Risk assessments
A systematic method of looking at work activities, considering what could go wrong and deciding on suitable control measures to prevent loss, damage or injury in the workplace.

RFI
Request for information. An alternative term for PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire), a set of questions designed to help buyers select the most suitable bidders to be invited to tender.

Robotics
The interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science that include mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science and others.

ROI
Return on investment.

RPI
Retail Price Index. The retail price index is the industry standard measure of inflation, published monthly by the Office for National Statistics.

RPO
Recovery point objective.

RSTs
Road surface temperatures.

RTO
Recovery time objective

 

S

Sale of Goods
Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1982. Protects consumers but does not apply to most business transactions.

Scope of work
Design, construction work and/or installation, testing and commissioning, handover and start up activities necessary to deliver an operational facility.

Service charges
These are levied by landlords to recover the costs they incur in providing services to a building.

Service level agreement (SLA)
Contract between a service provider and a client detailing the nature, quality, and scope of the service to be provided.

SFG20
The standard maintenance specification for building services. Includes detailed maintenance information for all principal types of heating, cooling and ventilation, installation and plant, and electrical services in buildings commonly in use within Europe.

Shell and core building
Base building elements such as structure, envelope and fit out of common areas.

SIG
Special Interest Group.

Smart Buildings
The integration of building, technology and energy systems to connect the structure itself to the functions it exists to fulfil.

Smart Cities
An urban development vision to integrate multiple ICT and Internet of Things solutions in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets, such as schools, libraries, hospitals and public transport.

Smart Working
New ways of working made possible by advances in technology and made essential by economic, environmental and social pressures.

Space planning
The process of determining the amount of floor space available in an area, floor or entire building and how it is best used to meet individual, group and corporate needs.

Space Utilisation Software
A space management measure used to understand employee requirements and demands on workspace by gathering real time data, such as frequency and occupancy rates, to record how space is being used.

Stakeholder impact analysis
Method for evaluating the influence that stakeholders possess in regard to an organisation, facility or project.

Statement of needs
Expression of the objectives and needs of an individual or organisation and the extent to which they are likely to be satisfied by a facility.

Succession planning
A process for identifying and developing potential future leaders or managers, along with individuals to fill other mission-critical positions. A robust succession plan is a key component of the FM business continuity plan.

Support processes
All activities not classified as primary are non-core activities.

Sustainability
The ability to operate in a way that does not harm the environment and that has a positive effect on the planet and its population.

Sustainable FM
The concept of sustainable practices forming the basis of facilities management operations including energy efficient products, environmentally friendly materials and recycling based waste management.

Sustainable space provision
Appropriate and affordable space requirement of an organisation.

 

T

Taxonomy
Practice and science of classification.

T & Cs
Terms and conditions of contract.

TCO Total cost of ownership. An estimate of the total cost of a building, including direct and indirect costs, over its lifetime (including operating costs).

Telemetry
The wireless transmission and reception of data from remote sources for recording and Analysis

Tenant
Individual or business which has temporary possession of or pays rent for real estate owned by another party.

Term contract
A contract for the supply off goods or services that may or may not be called off as and when required (also Call-Off Contract).

TFM
Total facilities management. Total facilities management is a strategy in which a provider takes responsibility for the delivery and management of all required service lines on the behalf of a client. The integrated nature of TFM solutions will often provide both cost, operational and performance efficiencies.

TPM
Total productive maintenance.

TQM
Total quality management.

TUPE
This is the colloquial abbreviation of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246), which is the United Kingdom's implementation of the European Union Business Transfers Directive. It is an important part of UK labour law, protecting employees whose business/employment is being transferred to another service provider through outsourcing or a business take-over.

 

U

Uniclass
Unified classification for the construction industry, published in 1997 by NBS (National Building Specification) on behalf of CPIC (Construction Project Information Committee). It is a classification scheme made up of a series of tables, each representing a broad facet of construction information.

 

V

VA
Volt-ampere.

Virtual Reality (VR)
Computer technologies that use software to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that replicate a real environment, or create an imaginary setting, and simulate a user’s physical presence in that environment.

VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) is the creation of a secure network over the internet to connect to a remote server. A VPN allows users to connect to work systems and files from a remote location.

 

W 

WAN
Wide area network.

Waste Management
A waste management service is characterised as the collection, transport, processing and recycling or disposal of waste materials from a building.

WEE
Waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Workplace
Services related to the working environment like fit out with furniture and equipment and tenants fit out.

WRAP
Waste & Resources Action Programme. WRAP works with businesses, individuals and communities to help them reap the benefits of reducing waste, developing sustainable products and using resources in an efficiency way.

 

X

XML
Extensible mark-up language, similar to HTML, designed to transport and store data.

 

Y

 

Z

Zero waste Eliminating pollution and waste at the start of a product’s life cycle, through better product design, clean production and sensitive material selection.