FMEP Criteria

The Self-Evaluation Criteria

1.0 Leadership

Senior leaders in an effective facilities organization set direction and establish customer focus, clear and visible values, and high expectations in line with institutional mission, vision, and core values. Senior leaders can be defined as the Senior Facilities Officer and his/her direct reports.   Effective facilities leaders facilitate the dialogue around larger leadership issues, such as total cost of ownership (TCO), sustainability, recapitalization requirements, facilities reinvestment, organizational structure and staffing, and resource management. 

Leaders inspire the people in the organization and create an environment that stimulates personal growth. They encourage involvement, development and learning, innovation, and creativity. Leaders act as educators, fiduciaries and change agents.

Effective leaders also instill confidence in the services delivered to the campus community through the implementation of high quality and high-performance programs that produce value for the recipient.

1.1       Describe how leadership roles and responsibilities and the decision-making structure are defined by the facilities department.

1.2       Describe how the leadership system includes mechanisms for the leaders to monitor the organizations performance, conduct self-examination, receive feedback, and initiate improvements.

1.3       Describe how the organization ensures that it is using its resources to focus on what is most important to the University’s Mission and Culture.”  

1.4       Describe how the senior leadership of the department has established and sustained internal and external communications plans that:

(a) educate the campus community on the facilities department’s role in institution success;

(b) promote customer and stakeholder feedback; and

(c) reinforce the role of front-line staff in creating a positive public impression of the quality of organization services.

1.5    Describe how representatives of the facility department engage with key communities, both on and off campus (e.g., town and gown, agencies having jurisdiction).

1.6       Describe the leadership development and succession plans presently in place to ensure continuity of leadership.

1.7       Describe how the leadership of the facilities department emphasizes the importance of excellence and how it engages in excellence. 

1.8       Describe how an environment of continuous Improvement is embedded in leadership development and management principles.

1.9       Describe how the leadership of the facilities department promotes and ensures ethical behavior in all interactions.

1.10     Describe how the leadership of the Facilities department promotes and ensures a climate of action and initiative that will meet its Mission.

2.0 Facilities Strategic and Operational Planning
Strategic and operational planning consists of the overall planning process, the identification of strategic objectives, the collection of data, the actions necessary to achieve success, and the deployment of those actions to engage employees and to align the work of the organization with the strategic objectives. The successful facilities organization anticipates many factors in its strategic planning efforts: changing customer expectations, business and partnering opportunities, work systems, innovation, technological developments, institutional master plans, programmatic needs, evolving regulatory requirements, building organizational competency and capacity, and societal expectations, among other criteria.

2.1       Describe the major components of the strategic plan that was developed for the facilities organization that includes the strategic goals and objectives of the department.  Describe how it is utilized to guide decision making. 

2.2       Describe the processes, methodology, and data used to develop the strategic plan and how participation from internal and external stakeholders was sought out, the process used to gain approval of the plan by the administration, and how the strategic plan was communicated to internal and external stakeholders.

2.3       Describe the processes defined to ensure that strategic objectives and key performance measures are communicated and understood by all, and the extent that those objectives and measures are both deployed and periodically reviewed/revised within the organization.

2.4       Describe how the institutions and the facilities’ master plans incorporate and reflect principles of sustainability, total cost of ownership (TCO), social responsibility, and overall facilities renewal.

2.5       Describe the current strategies, policies, and processes developed to ensure continuity of services, core responsibilities, and primary functions in the event of staff turnover, contractor failure, natural disasters, or other unanticipated disruptions.

2.6       Describe the emergency response plans that are currently in place and how staff are engaged to develop the plans.  Describe how the plans are communicated to facility employees and the campus community as required so that roles and responsibilities are clearly understood.  Describe how employees are trained and equipped to carry out their responsibilities in the event of an emergency.

2.7       Describe the process and frequency for a regular, periodic review and update of the facilities strategic plan.

2.8       Describe the strategic planning process used to develop the capital plan, addressing needs and priorities for renovation, renewal, programmatic modifications and new construction.

2.9       Describe the processes utilized to ensure operating budgets are developed with input from multiple  levels of staff using historic expenditures, needs analyses, asset condition assessments, and alignment with the strategic plan to support the organization’s goals and objectives, while seeking new and innovative measures to leverage resources.

2.10     Describe the process used to regularly ensure that the capital planning process aligns itself with the campus master plan and the institution’s strategic plan, in terms of preferences and current/ future priorities/initiatives. Provide your institution’s definition for each of these plans.

2.11     Describe the process used to ensure that representatives from operational units participate in the development of construction program planning and are active participants in the construction and acceptance of completed projects and documents.

2.12     Describe how leadership is building and expanding organizational capacity, competencies, and capabilities to support growth and changing programmatic needs.

2.13     Describe the practices employed to ensure that a positive and inclusive workplace environment contributes toward optimal staff performance.  Describe how these practices enable employees to reach their full potential.

3.0 Customer Focus

Customer focus is a key component of effective facilities management. Various stakeholders (faculty, students, staff, and other administrative departments) must feel their needs are heard, understood, and acted upon. Various tools must be in place to ensure customer communication, assess and assimilate what is said, and implement procedures to act on expressed needs. To be successful, a facility department must ensure that its customers have an understanding of standards, tasks, roles, frequencies of services, etc.

This category explores how customers are engaged for long‐term success, including how customers are listened to and served and how customers’ expectations are exceeded. The category stresses customer engagement as an important outcome of an overall learning and performance excellence strategy. Customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction results provide vital information for understanding a customer’s needs.

Two primary characteristics of customer focus provide the basis for excellent customer service;

a) Customer Listening

b) Customer Engagement

Customer support is an equally important element. The goal of customer support is to make your organization easy to do business with and responsive to your customers’ expectations.  

3.1        How are customers identified and what surveys, tools, and other methods are used to identify customer requirements and expectations?

3.2       Describe what surveys, tools, and other methods are used to identify the needs and expectations of both your internal and external customers and how you measure your success in meeting those expectations.

3.3       Describe the process you use to establish the type of organizational structure and levels of service most likely required to meet customers’ needs and expectations and describe the communication processes you use to share those service levels and structure. Are levels of service defined in terms that can be understood by building users and facilities staff members and are these well communicated to the customer?

3.4       Describe the process that enables customers to obtain services and monitor progress or status. Describe the processes available to customers that encourage them to provide feedback on results and/or perceptions of quality and value.

3.5       Describe how customer feedback is used to affect continuous improvement and innovation.

3.6       Describe the practice used to evaluate the extent to which both the leadership of the organization and its front-line staff meet customer needs and expectations.

3.7       Are services provided by the department well defined and communicated within the department and to all stakeholders served and do faculty and institutional departments have an adequate knowledge of the services provided by FM and the method of obtaining those services?

3.8       Do campus users have a clear understanding and positive view of the facilities organization, level of services provided, and their timeliness and quality?

3.9       Is an effective procedure in place to provide customer satisfaction feedback to the facilities organization and is this feedback used to drive process and effectiveness improvements?

4.0    Data and Information Analysis

Facility organizations have significant demands for data to make good decisions about the operation of those facilities and to make good strategic decisions about the future facilities.  Because facilities are about people, place, and process, there is a wide range of information necessary.  People include customers and employees.  Place is typically the area served by the organization, individual facilities, spatial classification and use of the facilities, equipment and materials comprising the facilities, and records about the maintenance of the facilities.  Process includes operational characteristics of the facilities such as the building automation system (BAS), security systems, accounting, utilities, and the way the people and place are served by the organization’s employees.  In the best cases, all these are integrated in a coordinated data-gathering, reporting, planning, and processing organization so the organization’s managers can make efficient and effective operational, tactical, and strategic decisions and recommendations.  Ideally, the organization will report important facility information to the annual FPI survey and make use of all data for continuous improvement. 

4.1    Describe the processes that are used to identify and collect key performance indicators/benchmarking for the organization.  Describe the process used to ensure the performance measures are current and valid.

4.2    Describe the key performance measures determined to be critical to your organization.

4.3     Describe how the key performance measures are used in a systematic evaluation that supports improvement of key processes, decision making, innovation, and achieving continuous improvement within the facilities departments.  Include a description of ROI calculations.

4.4      Describe the procedures used to communicate the results of the performance indicators and benchmarking to campus decision makers and other interested stakeholders (internal and external) for the purpose of education, budgeting, and engagement.

4.5      Describe the process used to validate the effectiveness of that communication process.

4.6      Describe the process used to ensure that data management systems are effective, user friendly, secure, reliable, and up to date.

4.7      Describe data elements gathered to monitor and manage work and equipment throughout the university (CMMS/IWMS, SCADA, EMS, IT, etc.).  Include a description of the business continuity plan used in the event of an emergency or other out-of-normal event.

4.8     Describe how data is used to make operational, tactical, and strategic decisions.

5.0    Development and Management of Human Resources

Because facilities cannot operate effectively without knowledgeable and skilled employees, a well-coordinated system that identifies employee needs, training, recognition, and advancement is essential.  This includes a clear process to communicate and interact with employees providing them with clear direction and opportunities for improvement and advancement beyond purely financial reasons.

5.1       Describe the process used by the department to identify positions to perform tasks that address the organization’s mission.  How are position responsibilities developed and how are required competencies identified?

5.2       Identify how the different positions interrelate including both formal and informal working structures.  Describe how position information is shared and understood by all members of the staff.

5.3        Describe the process used to evaluate changes in positions including numbers, skills, and reporting.

5.4       Describe employee recognition programs and practices and how they contribute to the enhancement of their various communities – both personal and professional, and how they are used to encourage, recognize, and reward improved performance.

5.5       Describe how work performance and attendance expectations are reviewed and the process used to communicate such information to employees.

5.6      Describe the process for setting individual goals and how they promote innovation in the department and personal growth of employees.  Describe the processes used to train employees in these categories and how the effectiveness of those training programs is ascertained.

5.7      Describe how the facilities department fosters an organizational culture that rewards cooperation, communication, and skill sharing across work units.  Describe how career development needs are assessed, provided, and monitored.

5.8      Describe the processes used by the organization, both at the institutional and departmental level, to promote organizational diversity both in its workforce and leadership.

5.9      Describe the approaches used to ensure the effectiveness of recruitment programs to provide well-qualified staff and to retain high performers.

5.10    Describe the processes used by both the department and the institution for orienting/on-boarding new employees so they can successfully fulfill responsibilities.

5.11    Describe how the department manages and organizes its workforce to accomplish its mission and objectives.

5.12     Describe how the department identifies needs for improvement and measures progress in the areas of regulatory requirements, health, safety, emergency preparedness, and security.

6.0 Process Management
Effective process management addresses how the facilities organization manages key service designs, delivery processes, and continuous improvement. Process management includes various systems or “core competencies,” such as work management, performance standards, estimating systems, planning, design, and construction of new or renovated facilities, space management, event management, and other key processes that affect facilities functions.

Service measures appropriate for inclusion might be based on the following: internal quality measurements, service errors, response times, and data collected from your customers on ease of use or other attributes, as well as customer surveys on service performance.

There should be a continuous improvement aptitude with high expectations permeating the department based upon state-of-the-art processes, service quality standards and industry best-practices.

The correlation between service performance and customer indicators is a critical management tool with multiple uses: (1) defining and focusing on key quality and customer requirements, and (2) determining cause‐effect relationships between service attributes and evidence of customer satisfaction and engagement.

6.1       It is critical that a facilities organization understand its “core competencies” and how they relate to the mission, environment, and strategic goals in areas of:

            –           Administration

            –           Operations and maintenance

            –           Planning, design, and construction

            –           Utilities and energy

Describe:

• For each Area above list the significant Processes that govern the area and how well each process is managed. Provide details.
• How the core competencies described in 6.1 contribute to the delivery of customer value, organization success, and stewardship in your organization.
• What Facility Performance Indicators and related measures are used for each core competency.

• How the core competencies support compliance and coordination with the agencies having jurisdiction.
• Any continuous improvement processes in place to ensure state-of-the-art processes, service quality standards and industry best-practices are current and utilized.

6.2       Describe the processes used to establish measurements for process inputs and outputs required to achieve efficiency and effectiveness.

6.3       Describe how stakeholders are involved in the development and implementation of core processes.

6.4       Describe the protocol established to evaluate processes established to determine opportunities for improving efficiency, effectiveness, and value to the success of the organization.

6.5       Describe your preventive maintenance (PM) and deferred maintenance (DM) programs.

6.6       Are there measures or standards to gauge performance?  Provide a list of these indices that are in use.  Measures and indicators of process effectiveness and efficiency might include but are not limited by the following:

• Number of work orders completed per day
• Total time from receipt of work order to completion of same.
• Time between receipt of work request to start of work.
• Cost per square foot for maintenance.
• Productivity of employees

Are these measures integrated in the CMMS (work order system) or are they determined separately?

7.0 Performance Results
The performance of a facilities organization should be assessed in a number of ways: campus appearance, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, effectiveness of systems operations, system reliability, response times, services value, financial results, and value to the institution. Utilizing established measurement tools to assess such performance is critical to providing feedback and gauging progress in an environment of continuous improvement.  The organization should demonstrate a commitment to monitoring, tracking, and communicating performance measures and achievements.

7.1       Describe processes in place and their deployment to ensure that the appearance of the buildings and grounds is in keeping with the desired image of the institution, the expectations of the campus community, and the expectations of the surrounding community.

7.2       Describe how the organization assesses and evaluates the condition, appearance, and cleanliness of facilities to ensure that they are in keeping with the image and standards adopted by the institution as well as those required by functions and activities in support of its mission and programs.

7.3       Describe how the department assesses and evaluates building systems, infrastructure systems, and utility systems to ensure that they are maintained, operated, and renewed at a level of reliability and efficiency that contributes to the successful delivery of the institution’s mission, functions, and programs.

7.4       Describe the current processes that are utilized to insure that funding resources are effectively used     and that the resources are adequate to support a level of facilities maintenance and renewal that prevents the deferral of  major maintenance and repairs.

7.5       Describe the tools used to assess whether the staff is highly motivated, well trained, efficient, productive, and show pride in the accomplishment of their duties.

7.6       Describe the processes used to validate that the levels of service and quality are aligned with the expectations of the institution, consistent with customer needs and requirements, and within the facilities department’s capacity and capability.

7.7       Describe the methods utilized to ensure that leadership and supervisors are encouraged and enabled to stay current with the needs of higher education and how they address these needs at their own institution.

8.0 Other Considerations

At the request of the institutional representative, this section would include any items or subjects that are not covered by the criteria in Sections 1 through 7. These items may include those things that are specific to the institution’s interest that would require additional coverage.