Amplifying FM Leadership in Latin America

Quotes:

“It’s so critical to really professionalize and elevate the profession, to get everybody on the same page with a common vocabulary and best practices that are globally recognized…then to build education programs on top of those standards.” – Randy Olson, (6:10)

“FM is a very strategic professional discipline that provides optimum performance for support services. We know when it’s properly implemented, it actually impacts way beyond operations. It impacts employee management and employee retention. It impacts minimizing organizational risks.” – Tanishka McQueen, (8:45)

“It’s still an emerging discipline and emerging industry…when a discipline is merging, you have several factors that need to be attacked. You have several needs that need to be satisfied at different levels. At a professional level. Organizational level. Educational level.” – Tanishka McQueen, (14:48)

“Facility management in Latin America is a discipline that is growing, is a discipline that is hungry for terminology. It’s hungry for best practices. It’s hungry for standards. It’s hungry for just structure.” – Tanishka McQueen, (16:25)

“Going to talk about knowledge is allowing our professionals to grow and get access to academic offers in the market where they can do what they do best. And visibility is showing not only how the discipline adds value to organizations, businesses, and bottom lines, but how company providers are providing support to businesses.” – Tanishka McQueen, (22:17)

Amplifying FM Leadership in Latin America

A lot of people think that facility management in Latin America is different than the rest of the world, but realistically that’s not the case. In Latin America, they leverage the knowledge and practices that have been happening in other places and recreate it in their own businesses. As more and more multinational companies move into the region, they bring facility management with them. Then, once in Latin America, there comes the challenge of how to promote the discipline of facility management in the best possible way.

In the past, everyone has been operating and maintaining, but they have not necessarily been thinking about it strategically, and they have been looking for sources to get proper information and knowledge. However, with the implementation of global ISO standards, all countries across Latin America are looking forward to aligning and working together. Now, Latin America’s advantage is that nobody is having to invent the wheel anymore. There are now guidelines they have to direct them on what the best facility management practices are.

“It’s still an emerging discipline and emerging industry…when a discipline is merging, you have several factors that need to be attacked. You have several needs that need to be satisfied at different levels. At a professional level. Organizational level. Educational level.” – Tanishka McQueen, (14:48)

“Facility management in Latin America is a discipline that is growing, is a discipline that is hungry for terminology. It’s hungry for best practices. It’s hungry for standards. It’s hungry for just structure.” – Tanishka McQueen, (16:25)

APAFAM’s Role in Latin America

APAFAM has been around for about six years and has been working towards promoting facility management’s best practices and gathering professionals and businesses that work in the industry. Their main focus is to increase knowledge through educating people on the benefits of facility managers. Therefore, APAFAM works closely with companies that are not only facility management companies. They work with facility services and providers to bring their innovative ideas, case studies, and successes to other professionals in an effort to show them how those companies can assist them. When APAFAM does this, it creates a circular economy and promotes job opportunities because they prove how FMs can improve decision-making and impact the lives of everyone.

“Going to talk about knowledge is allowing our professionals to grow and get access to academic offers in the market where they can do what they do best. And visibility is showing not only how the discipline adds value to organizations, businesses, and bottom lines, but how company providers are providing support to businesses.” – Tanishka McQueen, (22:17)