Educational Institutions Outsourcing Facilities Management
Submitted by S. Laraby
A new trend has emerged among universities, high schools, and even grade schools: administrators outsourcing facilities management/maintenance. Many schools turned to outsourcing during the recession to minimize overhead and remain flexible in the changing market. Outsourcing these services reduces costs but many have found that the real value in outsourcing lies outside of the cost savings.
Given the spectrum of daily, weekly and monthly service and maintenance tasks, outsourcing can provide a facility with a pool of human resources, each of whom is an expert in their specific area of work. If there is a task, routine or unexpected, you can be assured that one of the most skilled experts in the region is handling the situation. Landscaping to plowing, electrical work to plumbing, even project management or construction administration. A facilities management team has the resources to complete your projects reliably and efficiently.
Facilities management is what they do. Service providers have tools and resources that are beyond the reach of virtually every educational institution. They utilize the latest technology, trends and strategies that offer their clients a competitive advantage. Facility Management firms study best practices within the industry and can benchmark to industry standards. Even institutions with excellent management/maintenance teams outsource to continually improve the services they provide.
Economies of scale offers this array of experts to institutions at a discount. Service providers design a custom package designed around the needs of the specific institution. Each worker is utilized only when needed and compensation and benefit costs are spread out among several institutions. Continued financial and competitive pressure on institutions make outsourcing Facilities maintenance a smart strategy in today’s environment… and in years to come.