Hard Facilities Management: What Is It and Why It Matters?
Key Highlights
- Clarifies the difference between hard facilities management and soft services, so facility managers can better understand what each does.
- Covers key hard fm services, like building maintenance, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire safety systems.
- Highlights why it is important to follow UK health and safety rules to keep up with legal requirements and make sure occupants are safe.
- Shows how hard fm services help with how smoothly things work, keep assets in good shape, and lower energy consumption.
- Answers common questions about hard fm for property owners, helping them know what legal requirements they need to meet.
- Underscores why regular maintenance matters in keeping the environment safe and good for occupants.
Introduction
Hard facilities management is a key part of facilities management. It deals with the physical and structural needs of a building. This means making sure all systems work well and are safe to use. It also covers keeping up with legal rules and doing regular maintenance.
Hard fm is very important. It helps premises stay safe and keeps them working as they should. With hard facilities management, you can be sure your building follows the law.
If you are a facility manager who looks after different operations or a property owner who wants smooth work, knowing about hard facilities helps a lot. These fm principles play a big role in how well your premises run. Let’s look at why hard facilities management matters and what kind of services it offers.
Understanding Hard Facilities Management
Hard facilities management, or hard FM, means looking after the physical structure of a building. These key services are not up for debate. They are needed to keep people safe and make sure the building follows the law. These roles include work on plumbing, fire safety, electrical systems, and HVAC. Facility managers have to focus on these jobs first to keep up the building’s basic work and safety rules.
Hard facilities management has a clear difference from soft services. Hard FM helps keep the building running well for a long time and supports sustainability. Regular maintenance is a must for keeping the building’s assets in good shape. This can make things last longer, lower energy consumption, and save people from costly problems down the line.
Definition and Core Principles of Hard FM
Hard facilities management, also called hard FM, is all about keeping the building’s physical parts and main systems in good shape. This covers taking care of the electric, mechanical, and plumbing systems, keeping fire safety up to standard, and looking after things like roofs and walls. These tasks are not a choice. They must be done because of legal requirements and because they help the people in the building be safe and healthy.
The key parts of hard FM are regular checks, good maintenance routines, and making sure everything follows the rules. Taking care of these areas in the right way helps give people a safe environment and helps things last longer. For instance, when a HVAC system is looked after, it uses less energy and makes things nicer for the people in the building, which raises occupant comfort.
When facilities management uses regular upkeep and not just fixes when something breaks, the systems run better. Managers can keep things working well and cut costs at the same time. This is why hard facilities management is such an important part of any FM plan. Getting hard facilities running well helps buildings stay safe, cuts down energy consumption, and keeps everything in solid, working order.
Key Differences Between Hard and Soft Facilities Management
Hard FM and soft FM differ in their focus areas. Hard services concentrate on the physical structure and include indispensable tasks like lighting, plumbing, and fire safety. These services are technical and tied to compliance. Conversely, soft FM revolves around people-centred services, such as cleaning and security, which make the working environment more pleasant and productive.
While hard FM impacts building functionality, soft FM directly influences occupant satisfaction. For instance, a perfectly working HVAC system falls under hard FM, whereas employee comfort from a pest-free workspace is part of soft FM. Both contribute to overall well-being, reflecting their interdependence.
| Aspects | Hard FM | Soft FM |
| Focus | Physical structure of the building | People and occupant comfort |
| Examples | Fire safety systems, plumbing, electrical systems | Cleaning, waste management, landscaping |
| Mandated by law? | Yes | No |
| Impact on daily operations | Direct | Indirect (but enhances satisfaction) |
Essential Hard FM Services in the UK
Hard fm services in the UK cover key jobs that help keep buildings safe and running. This includes looking after the building structure, checking MEP systems, and making sure fire safety steps are in place. All these jobs are needed to follow rules and keep everything safe. It is very important for organisations to do the right thing, so people can work in safe places and things can run smoothly.
Using facilities management software is a good way to manage these jobs. It helps facility managers see what needs to be fixed and when to do it. Having regular checks and keeping good records makes it easier to follow the law and keep things working well. Good fm depends on these steps to keep buildings safe and meet fire safety standards.
Building Fabric Maintenance (Structure, Roof, Walls)
Keeping a building’s structure, roof, and walls in good shape is very important for good facilities management. When you do regular maintenance, it helps use less energy. It also makes the workplace safer and more comfortable for employees, which is good for their wellbeing. When you check the roof and look at how strong the walls are, it can help stop bigger problems and expensive repairs in the future. A facility manager has a vital role in making sure all of these jobs get done. This helps keep existing facilities working well and supports their sustainability and functionality.
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Services
Comprehensive facilities management of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services is needed to keep any building working well for a long time. These systems are at the heart of the building. They affect how much energy the building uses, the comfort of every occupant, and how well everything works day to day. Facilities managers spend a lot of time on regular maintenance and making sure they follow all legal requirements. They use facilities management software to make these jobs easier and more clear. Focusing on these important areas helps the wellbeing of employees. It also supports fire safety systems and keeps the environment safe for all the occupants. Good functionality, lower energy consumption, and more occupant comfort all come from this careful work in facilities management.
The Importance of Hard Facilities Management for Organisations
Hard facilities management plays a big role in keeping places safe and running well. When you follow the rules in facilities management, you make sure that the people inside are safe and the workplace is more productive. Doing regular maintenance is important. It helps stop problems that can slow down or stop business work.
It is important to take care of hard facilities and make sure they last a long time. When all parts of a building work well and get cared for, you do not have to spend a lot of money on new parts. Also, using less energy with good hard FM can help with your company’s sustainability goals. If you set up hard facilities management the right way, it can help you save money, do the right thing, and keep everyone safe and happy in the workplace.
Ensuring Compliance with UK Health & Safety Regulations
Compliance with UK health and safety rules is a must in hard fm. Laws such as the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 say that property owners must keep people safe by having things like good lighting, proper ventilation, and working fire safety systems in place.
Facilities managers have a key part to play in making sure rules are followed. They need to set up regular checks and put in fixes when needed to stay on the right side of the law. Doing this keeps a business safe from fines and helps to protect people who work at or visit the building.
Using tools like CAFM software makes all of this easier. It helps keep track of updates, fixes, and fire safety systems. This means every aspect of health and safety stays at the front of everyone’s mind, from property owners to all other people involved in fm.
Enhancing Operational Efficiency and Asset Longevity
Operational efficiency depends on how well hard FM services work. When things like HVAC and lighting are working as they should, there be fewer problems in the day. This helps get more work done. It is important that facility managers focus on regular maintenance to keep everything running well and to avoid problems with the systems.
Hard FM services help your assets last longer. When these systems use less energy and be well looked-after, they break down less often and work for more years. For example, fire alarms that get regular maintenance stay dependable for a long time. This means they are not likely to stop working when you need them.
New technologies, like IoT sensors, can help keep track of how much energy people use and how these systems be working. When managers use these tools, it helps save money and makes sure the systems are better for the environment. This also shows why hard fm and good asset management go together for more sustainability.
Conclusion
To sum up, hard facilities management plays a big part in keeping your physical assets safe, working well, and lasting longer. If you know the main ideas of hard facilities management and understand the services it covers, your business can work better, follow the rules, and keep what you own safe. Using the right hard FM plans, organizations like yours can handle problems and get the most out of their facilities. If you want to improve how you manage your buildings, talk to our facilities management experts for a free meeting, and take your operations to the next level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are examples of hard FM services?
Hard FM services cover many key jobs. These include electrical maintenance, plumbing, HVAC checks, fire safety work, and fixing parts of the building. All of this helps to keep the building safe for people who stay there. Hard FM makes sure the place is in good shape, the systems work right, and everything meets the facility management rules. This way, the building is safe, and the company meets legal needs to protect the occupants.
How does hard FM impact building safety?
Hard facilities management makes sure buildings are safe by taking care of things like fire safety alarms, HVAC, and plumbing. These hard services help to keep the area safe for everyone. When hard facilities are looked after well, it lowers the chances of accidents happening. It also helps to avoid breaking any rules and stops things from being disturbed. This work is important to have a safe environment that follows UK regulations in facilities management.
What is the difference between hard and soft FM?
Hard FM deals with things you can touch, like plumbing and fire safety systems. Soft FM is about services for people, like cleaning and helping at reception. Both are important for a building to work as it should. Hard FM helps to meet the rules and keeps everyone safe. Soft FM works to make sure people in the building feel good and enjoy their time there. Both types of FM play a big part in building functionality, occupant comfort, and satisfaction.
Who is responsible for hard facilities management in a business?
Facilities managers or facility management companies handle hard fm jobs. They make sure all rules are followed. They set up times for regular work to be done and watch over the systems involved in this work. Sometimes, they also call in outside companies for jobs that need special skills, especially when working for bigger companies or with more complicated buildings.
Facility management, hard fm, facility management companies, facilities managers, and fm are all important in this work.
How often should hard FM services be reviewed or updated?
Hard FM services need to be checked often. You have to follow a regular plan for these checks. This is because of legal requirements and the need for safety standards. Facility managers should use facilities management software. This helps them keep track of when they need to do these tasks. They can also use the software to make sure they look for problems and fix them early. This is good because it helps stop the same issues from coming back and causing bigger problems for the fm operations. If you stay on top of hard fm services, you can keep things running well for the people who use the building. Facilities management can be simple and safe when you have the right tools.
What is hard facilities management and how does it differ from soft facilities management?
Hard Facilities Management refers to the maintenance and management of the physical assets of a facility, such as buildings, equipment, and infrastructure. In contrast, Soft Facilities Management focuses on services like cleaning and security. Understanding this distinction helps organizations effectively allocate resources for operational efficiency.