Final Countdown to ISO 41001: Malaysia Update
In the last week of September, the final plenary meeting was held in the countdown to ISO 41001. ISO 41001 is shortly to become the world’s first international management systems standard for Facilities Management (FM).
The new ISO standards are a response to the rapid expansion and fragmentation of FM worldwide. This led to increasing demand for a unified global FM community to maintain the quality and integrity of the profession. In 2011, ISO Technical Committee 267 was set-up to develop the standards, led and chaired by KEY’s CEO, Stan Mitchell.
The plenary meeting took place in Kuala Lumpur. It followed on from the 3rd Malaysia Europe FM Conference, where Stan was a keynote speaker.
The discussion was hosted in fine style by Standards Malaysia. The venue was the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, situated next to Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest twin-towered skyscraper.
Petronas Towers
The Committee warmly welcomed three new participating members, Russia, Colombia and Poland. It was generally agreed this was a great sign for the future of the project.
Group photo of ISO TC 267 with new members
First on the agenda was the standing down of Working Groups 1 and 2. These were responsible for facilitating the publication of FM’s first ever international standards earlier in 2017. Specifically, the standards were ISO 41011 (FM vocabulary) and ISO 41012 (strategic sourcing and agreements), and a technical report, ISO 41013 (FM scope, key concepts and benefits). The respective leaders of both groups, Jay Drew and Olav Egil Sæbøe, were commended for “a fantastic job”.
ISO TC 267 – deep in discussion
The foremost item on the busy agenda was Working Group 3’s Management Systems Standard ISO 41001. Past Chair of IFMA and group leader, Jim Whittaker, facilitated a review of feedback from the standard’s public consultation. Members then worked on sketching out a communications strategy and road map. The discussion constituted the final leg of ISO 41001’s long development.
ISO TC 267 Chairman, Stan Mitchell
The meeting closed on Friday September 29th with unanimous support from the 13 member countries present for ISO TC 267 for Working Group 3 to press ahead and complete their work. The goal is to launch this revolutionary standard in the first quarter of 2018.
Some key team members took their high spirits even higher with a trip up to the sky bridge between the Petronas Towers. (Many thanks to Abg Madu for the photo which perfectly expressed the mood of the moment!).
High Spirits: ISO TC 267 members on the skybridge between the Petronas Towers
- If you’re attending IFMA World Workplace 2017, Houston, check out a presentation on the new FM standards by ISO TC 267 members on Friday, October 20, 2017, 9:15 AM – 10:15 AM at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
- Watch Stan’s Keynote Presentation on the new ISO international standards recorded at Scotland Works 2017, Glasgow:
- See KEY’s consultancy and support services around the forthcoming ISO 41001.
- Or follow KEY for True Facilities Management news, updates and insights on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook.
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