Facility Management Systems Certification attracts 12 organisations
SIRIM
QAS International Sdn Bhd’s new Facility Management Systems Certification Scheme has attracted 12 organisations since its launch two months ago.
“Contractors and building owners in the facilities management industry can now align their standards to international benchmarks,” said SIRIM QAS senior general manager of management system certification department Mohd Hamim Imam Mustain.
He said the certification scheme, based on the International Organisation for Standardisation ISO 41001:2018 standard, was useful for building owners, be it a small gymnasium to mid-sized shopping malls or even bigger facilities such as train stations and airports.
The standard was established by the ISO Technical Committee (ISO TC) 267, which published the ISO 41000 family of standards and is represented by more than 42 countries.
“Since the launch of ISO 41001:2018 Facility Management System Certification Scheme, we have received enquiries from 12 organisations that are keen to go through the processes to be certified in facilities management,” he said in a recent interview here.
Many people like to equate facilities management to building maintenance.
Over the years, however, Mohd Hamim said it had included a whole lot of services within the building such as utilities, elevators and escalators, WiFi, security of occupants and even threat of wildlife intrusion.
“By going through the certification processes, asset owners can reduce blind spots in facilities management such as resource wastage,” he said.
Among other benefits he highlighted include improved safety, health and productivity of the workforce, thus resulting in improved organisational costs and the company’s professionalism in the long run.
“There’s a lot of work involved in getting ready to be certified and it usually takes at least three months. With the standards, continuous improvement translates into a culture of quality assurance,” said Mohd Hamim.
SIRIM QAS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIRIM Bhd. It is a member of IQNet, the International Certification Network, an international non-governmental and not for profit association.
It shows SIRIM QAS practises high degree of competency, independence and credibility in the area of conformity assessment.
SIRIM QAS is also an accredited certification body by the leading accreditation bodies, such as the Department of Standards Malaysia and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, to ensure the certifications provided are recognised and trusted globally.