Certification Scheme for FM - helping stadiums to overcome complex challenges
Following the launch of the first global certification scheme for ISO 41001 Facility Management – Management Systems – Requirements with guidance for use, Karen Green, Head of Product Management and Development at BSI explores how the standard can benefit Facility Management (FM) within football stadiums.
Facing complex challenges
Sport has become increasingly commercialised over the years. This is due to a number of different drivers, from rising wage costs, to the need to improve facilities and bring in new players. With restrictions around how football clubs make their money, stadiums and their revenue earning potential have become a critical cog in the financial wheel to support commercialization.
Risk management, social responsibility, new technologies and more complex supply chains are just some of the challenges facing football stadiums, as they continue to build new revenue streams. However, all aspects of managing a stadium need to be taken into consideration in order to support the goal of revenue generation whilst achieving profitability This is where standards can provide guidance to football stadiums on how to address inefficiency across all areas of managing a stadium.
Transforming stakeholder engagement
ISO 41001 provides a framework to develop, implement and maintain effective facilities management, where all stakeholders involved in FM within a football stadium environment are encouraged to adapt and work together to achieve the following:
- Adhere to legal requirements
- Plan for future resources and long-term requirements
- Prepare for operating risks, incident response activities and emergency management
- Address risk and opportunities (including technical, financial, environmental, social, political, commercial, reputational, organizational)
- Manage the risks and opportunities – taking into consideration all the interested parties which include players, sponsors, spectators, regulators, local residents, etc. to protect the reputation of both the football club and the sponsors
- Monitor how the stadium is used by stakeholders (including The Football Association, supporters, players, the local community and authorities)
- Manage the supply chain
- Integrate new services
BSI’s global certification scheme addresses both the lack of global terminology in the FM industry, as well as the absence of integration within an organization’s business management system. The standard provides a clear and robust framework for the management of the various stakeholders and individual assets in the stadium, as well as handling how the facilities as a whole are managed. Additionally, the standard aims to increase efficiency and productivity and raises standards of care whilst increasing levels of quality and consistency.
Putting a focus on objectives and policy
Football stadiums seeking certification to ISO 41001, must implement a facility management system based on the requirements of the standard. This includes being able to demonstrate that policies and objectives are established for Facility Management and compatible with the core strategic direction of the football stadium, ensuring:
o Management system procedures, and any supply chain used, fully supports the delivery of the Facility Management objectives
o the suitability, robustness, adequacy and effectiveness of the Facility Management system
o sourcing strategies support the Facility Management system
Objectives should be measurable and without excessive costs or documentation, aligned with strategic organizational objectives, communicated to all interested parties and reviewed and updated as appropriate.
Planning for ISO 41001
When planning for the management system, the standard will require football stadiums to:
- Consider the issues and requirements
- Determine the risks and opportunities, and plan actions to address them
- Take into account how risks and opportunities can change over time.
Certification to ISO 41001 can bring a number of benefits to football stadiums including saving time, money and resource, as well as raising the profile of FM to senior management.
Auditing process
The journey of certification involves an audit, which reviews a stadium’s senior management team, FM providers and personnel maintaining the stadium. An auditor would be looking to uncover how the stadium’s management team had identified the stakeholders internally and externally and any issues relating to quality, the environment and health and safety.
The benefits of an independent audit also include the improvement of:
- Workforce productivity, safety and wellbeing
- Communication of FM and the stadium management team
- Service consistency
- Efficiency and cost
- Customer satisfaction
- Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
An auditor will also take into consideration processes to manage stadium accessibility, emergency planning, energy management, waste management.
Certification to ISO 41001 can give an organization a competitive edge. It demonstrates that a facility management system is in place that aligns with business strategies and is continually reviewed and improved. No matter where a football stadium is in its journey to ISO 41001 certification, the BSI team is on hand to support.
