Managing Conflicts in Facilities Management and Maintenance

Course details

COURSE BACKGROUND

The current state of the Facilities Management & Maintenance (FM&M) industry provides fertile ground for conflicts to arise.

FM&M services and work has traditionally been under-valued by Owners, Investors and Users. Maintenance in particular is regarded as an unnecessary evil; defects are inevitably attended too late, leading to increasing User dissatisfaction.  

Owners are increasingly outsourcing FM in attempts to cut costs, budgets are being reduced despite the increasing needs of ageing buildings and more defective new buildings. Price remains the main criteria for awarding work driving contract prices down to the point of being untenable.

The industry itself is highly fragmented and inadequately organised to deliver the proactive service that Users expect. A handful of large FM&M contractors provide generally undifferentiated services to large institutional and private sector Clients. They are supported by a large pool of small players serving as sub-contractors.

Workforce and service quality variability are creating tensions between Clients, Users and service providers, productivity and rising cost are of grave concern to all.

Conflicts when left unaddressed, can cause frustration, lead to reduction in morale and performance. Timely and effective conflict management will help create a more positive work environment and improve relationships and productivity in the industry at large.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The course will provide the knowledge and skills to pre-empt, reduce and resolve conflicts through:

• Understanding FM&M Industry Dynamics and Vested Interest of Parties
  
• Appreciation of the Nature & Impact of Conflicts
  
• Identifiying & Pre-empting Sources of Conflict
  
• Addressing, Reducing & Resolving of Conflicts
  

COURSE PROGRAMME

CONFLICTS IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT & MAINTENANCE

• Demand & Supply Characteristics
  
• Processes & Parties
  
• Industry Bottlenecks
  

NATURE & IMPACT OF CONFLICTS

• Anatomy of Conflicts
  
• Personal & Organisational Conflicts
  
• Positive & Negative Impact of Conflicts
  

SOURCES OF CONFLICTS

• Personality Differences
  
• Ambiguities in Role & Responsibilities
  
• Communications
  
• Unresolved Earlier Conflicts
  

ADDRESSING CONFLICTS

• Avoidance
  
• Collaboration
  
• Compromise
  
• Accommodating
  
• Competitive
  

CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROTOCOL

• Face to Face Communications
  
• Source & Cause Identification
  
• Benefits of Resolution  
  
• Time Out

The course has been approved for 7 PDU units under the PE Board Continuing Professional Development programme. Attendance certificates will be issued; they may also be suitable for meeting the CPD requirements of other relevant professional bodies not operating a CPD course accreditation system.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The course will benefit those who have a vested interest in buildings including:

• Developers
  
• Building Owners
  
• Government Officials
  
• Architects
  
• Engineers
  
• Project Managers
  
• Quantity Surveyors
  
• Contractors/Sub-Contractors/Suppliers
  
• Property Managers
  
• Facilities Managers
  
• Maintenance Managers
  
• Management Corporations
  
• Town Councils
  
• and Others