A Straightforward Guide to Facility Management: Biggest Challenges & Tips to Tackle Them
Most people don't think about facility management until something goes wrong—a power outage, a leaking pipe, or an overcrowded workspace that feels impossible to navigate. But the best facility managers don't just fix problems; they prevent them. They create spaces that run so smoothly, you don't notice how much work goes into making them work.
That’s why the demand is growing. In 2023, the global facility management market hit $1,277.8 billion, and it's on track to reach $2,284.8 billion by 2032, growing at an annual rate of 8.2%. If anything, it's picking up speed.
In this guide, we'll explore the key functions of facilities management, challenges, benefits, and how it's evolving to meet the demands of modern spaces.
What is facility management?
Facility management (FM) is a business discipline that brings together people, places, and processes to keep buildings running efficiently and meet organizational goals—all while improving the quality of life for its occupants.
What is the difference between hard vs soft facility management services?
Facility management covers a broad range of responsibilities, typically divided into two categories: hard and soft services.
Hard facility management focuses on the physical aspects of a facility, such as maintaining infrastructure like HVAC systems, plumbing, and electrical systems. Soft facility management, on the other hand, includes services that support how the facility is used, such as cleaning, catering, security, and waste management.
Together, these functions help organizations reduce costs, improve safety, enhance employee well-being, and ensure regulatory compliance.
4 facility management benefits that have a business impact
When managed right, facility management offers several benefits for both businesses and building occupants. Below, we've covered four key benefits that come with this practice:
1. Better risk management
Research by Commercial Real Estate Services (CBRE) highlights supply chain disruptions, inflation, and labor shortages as some of the major facility management risks companies face.
When done properly, facility management addresses these challenges by proactively identifying potential issues, from asset failures to operational disruptions and safety concerns.
In turn, this keeps operations stable, ensures business continuity, and helps you avoid costly surprises.
2. Greater cost efficiency with smart resource use
As authors Brian Atkin and Adrian Brooks note in Total Facility Management, "If a facility is not managed properly, it can impact upon the organization's performance. Conversely, a well-managed facility can enhance performance by contributing towards the provision of the optimal working environment."
In other words, effective facility management directly impacts an organization's bottom line by reducing waste and optimizing resources. This goes beyond just keeping things running—it involves identifying cost-saving opportunities, like upgrading to energy-efficient systems, improving resource allocation, and implementing preventive maintenance strategies.
In short, you can keep your spending in check and also create a more resilient and productive workplace.
3. A safer built environment for everyone
Safety, for builders and occupants alike, is absolutely essential in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC).
According to Beth Tubbs, Senior Staff Engineer with the International Code Council (ICC), "Building and related codes are essential to ensuring the safety and functionality of facilities, which is crucial not only for compliance but also for the protection of the building's occupants and the facility. These codes provide a framework for maintaining structural integrity, fire safety, and overall health and safety for the occupants."
Facility management teams play a critical role in upholding these standards. By implementing safety protocols, conducting regular inspections, and maintaining security systems, they help ensure compliance with codes while protecting employees and visitors.
4. Make the most of your spaces
Office managers juggle multiple responsibilities, from maximizing space, ensuring safety, adapting to changing needs, and aligning space planning with business growth while dealing with tight resources and rising real estate costs. Without the right tools or support, these challenges can quickly become overwhelming.
Computer-aided facility management software offers a way to streamline these complexities. As explained in this Facility Executive article, these tools "automate numerous routine maintenance tasks such as scheduling maintenance, assigning resources, tracking assets, and managing space allocation."
For instance, automated space allocation can help offices adapt to hybrid work models by ensuring employees have access to the resources they need without wasting valuable square footage.
By reducing the manual workload, facility management empowers office managers to focus on high-impact decisions, optimizing spaces to support both employee productivity and business growth.
The biggest challenges in facility management (and how to tackle them)
Managing facilities processes, especially those that run 24/7, like hospitals, production plants, utilities, and transportation hubs, means dealing with unique challenges.
With little to no downtime, you need to keep facility operations running smoothly while controlling costs, ensuring safety, and staying compliant—without disrupting daily workflow and activities. And that's easier said than done.
Here are some of the biggest hurdles in facility management and how to tackle them:
Supply chain disruptions
Nearly 30% of companies see supply chain disruptions as their biggest facility management procurement risk. Delays caused by natural disasters, transportation breakdowns, and material shortages can slow down operations and make it harder to maintain facilities.
But emergencies and changing needs are part of the job when your facility never stops. To tackle these challenges, many companies are already diversifying their supplier networks, nearshoring production, and sourcing alternative materials, along with implementing contingency planning in disaster management to mitigate risks.
Additionally, facility managers can reduce disruptions by creating comprehensive contingency plans and fostering a risk-aware culture through staff training to stay ahead of potential challenges.
"FM teams develop and implement emergency response plans, conduct regular drills, and ensure that safety equipment (like fire extinguishers and first aid kits) is readily available and functional. They also help form dedicated teams on each floor to assist with evacuation and ensure a coordinated response during emergencies," says Saarang Ganapathi, COO of Embassy Services, a management consulting company that specializes in facilities management.
By taking proactive steps to address supply chain disruptions, you can keep your facility running smoothly—even when unexpected challenges come your way.
Cost management
According to the Facilities Management Cost Trends 2023 report, cost inflation peaked in 2022, but tight labor markets and wage growth will keep driving costs through 2024, especially for hard services like electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Even soft services, like security and janitorial work, have faced intense labor competition in recent years.
Obviously, constant operations mean higher energy consumption, frequent repairs, and increased resource demands. And the lift is even heavier if you're managing multiple facilities.
That said, with preventive maintenance programs in place, you can identify and address potential problems or inefficiencies before they escalate—and that's where technology comes in. Thanks to advancements in technology, facility management is undergoing a transformation that helps managers streamline operations, improve service delivery, and optimize resources.
For instance, solutions like Matterport's digital twins let you build right from the get-go, reducing rework and safety risks. In other words, you can cut costs while keeping performance on track.
Regulatory compliance
Facilities management involves managing several compliance risks. These include ethical, safety, vendor and financial management, labor, information security, data governance, and reputational and contractual risks.
And through all this, again, preventive maintenance management can help you prepare for—and address—any risks as they come up.
"Conduct regular inspections to detect potential risks, such as broken handrails or loose rugs, which could become hazards. Proactively replacing equipment, such as old electric panels, can help avoid the risk of fire. These measures can help improve building safety, avoid costly emergency repairs, and reduce the likelihood of claims," according to a Facilities Net article.
Additionally, you can mitigate some of these risks by thoroughly vetting contractors and transferring liability through contract agreements. This protects your organization from claims related to work performed by third-party service providers on-site.
However, while inspections and audits are essential (or even necessary) to meet safety and environmental standards, more often than not, they get in the way of day-to-day activities. But compliance doesn't have to disrupt operations.
With the help of the digital twins, you can keep accurate records of your building maintenance or renovations to streamline asset management and in turn, improve operational efficiency. Plus, Matterport not only lets you document spaces quickly and accurately, but features like our blur brush ensure private areas stay that way.
Forecasting and preventive maintenance
Unpredictable equipment failures, budget constraints, and workforce availability can disrupt operations unexpectedly and cost the business. Aging infrastructure that lacks documentation can hide defects and make it difficult to accurately predict when maintenance is needed.
3D digital twins enable facility managers to have current visual and written documentation of a building’s layout, materials, assets, and structural components. This spatial data gives facility managers and maintenance teams insight to better track wear and tear, identify potential problem areas, and compare current conditions against historical scans to forecast future maintenance needs. With this information, facility managers can plan maintenance work well ahead of time and mitigate any potential operational disruptions.
Emergency preparedness
A well-structured emergency preparedness plan is crucial for protecting people and facility assets in the event of natural disasters or equipment failure. With a plan, backup systems such as power and HVAC can be well-maintained and on standby if needed to keep operations going after the incident temporarily. By incorporating 3D digital twins into an emergency preparedness plan, facility managers have accessible spatial documentation that provides emergency response personnel or technicians with the relevant context to navigate any emergency situation. Businesses that invest in emergency preparedness can reduce the financial losses due to property damage, operational delays, or even legal liabilities that result from an incident.
Optimize your facility management with Matterport
Matterport simplifies facility management by making it easier to manage, document, and optimize your spaces. With features like IoT integration, you can connect real-time sensor data to digital twins and get a clear and up-to-date view of your facility. This helps you make faster, more educated decisions without the guesswork.
Maintenance becomes simpler, too, with features that let you tag equipment, track repairs, and coordinate with teams and vendors.
Matterport also supports better planning and training. Our immersive 3D tours let you scope projects accurately, train employees safely, and collaborate virtually. Put simply, we can help you stay in control while saving time and operating costs. In fact, our customers have seen an 80% decrease in costs associated with site surveying and as‑built modeling.
To learn more, hear from some of our customers, like Siemens, Corgan, and Takenaka Corporation. Or, try Matterport for free to see for yourself.