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This paper aims to focus on the outsourcing facilities management (FM) services in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

The paper employs a Define‐Measure‐Analyze‐Improve‐Control (DMAIC) methodology. A survey in Italy, a country quite representative when talking about SMEs, is first presented and evidence from the field is discussed. Stemming from the evidence, a road‐map is presented to overcome these criticalities and to support, also in SMEs, the diffusion of the outsourcing of the FM services, whose benefits in terms of higher efficiency and better service are already being experienced by larger companies. The proposed model is then validated through the extensive survey on small and medium‐sized Italian enterprises.

The survey shows that the current level of adoption of advanced outsourcing practices is very low: less than 5 percent of the companies in the sample resort to a single supplier delivering multiple FM services. The adoption rate of such practices is hence very low, and the survey has pointed out three different levels of causes: size‐related, cultural, and managerial.

The survey used in this paper is based on a questionnaire but does not consider non‐respondents. The database of companies provided by IFMA – Italian Chapter – could also possibly introduce bias.

Starting with the early recognition that the main problem in the field implementations of result‐oriented approaches lies in determining whether the expected results have been achieved and that two key tools are available (i.e. the service level agreement and the reporting system), the model suggests a new organizational and managerial structure, even simpler than the traditional (i.e. not integrated) approach. To design the kernel of the control system, DMAIC has been used, after a specific customization.

Results show a widespread outsourcing of the facilities‐related services in the larger organizations and some hurdles of the smaller ones in exploiting all the opportunities offered, so that – on average – the management of facilities‐related services represents an opportunity to exploit rather than an actually implemented methodology.

Only a few international contributions refer to local environments: here an extensive survey involving more than 1,000 Italian companies is presented.

Strategic outsourcing and supply chain integration issues have gained considerable attention in recent years. Concentration on core competencies usually addresses examples along one supply chain. However, a different phenomenon appears in the strategic “dis‐integration” of companies. As explored in five cases taken from the German chemical industry, a separation of two kinds of companies can be observed. Product manufacturers concentrate their business on specific products and technologies, while facility operators, which can also be conceived as service factories, are formed to operate the infrastructure of a production site. This will be described and analysed on building outsourcing and service management thought. A model will be derived describing how the formation of facility operators takes place. The services offered are analysed to yield insights into the business of facility operators. The link between product manufacturers and facility operators offers challenges for future research in supply chain management.

The aim of this study is to identify success factors of collaborative relationships and the attributes that distinguish collaborative relationships from arm's‐length relationships in facility services. Additionally, in order to understand why companies are moving towards the more collaborative approach in managing relations with their facility service providers, the underlying problems in earlier practices are analyzed.

The research is qualitative, based on semi‐structured and focus group interviews. Representatives from both client and service provider companies were interviewed.

Collaborative relationships in the facility services context are by nature similar to those in other areas of supply chain management. The prerequisite for the successful establishment of a collaborative relationship is that both parties have a particular readiness for it. This includes both capability for co‐operation and a collaborative mindset. Instead of self‐seeking behavior and short‐term contracts, mutual trust, commitment, openness, the involvement of different organizational levels, continuous development, and the promise of mutual benefits are needed. In the long run, relationship success is guaranteed by co‐operation, two‐way information sharing and goal congruence. In addition to the business perspective, relationship success includes the end‐user perspective. Earlier practices have suffered from poor communication, shortcomings in service management and lack of development activity.

As well as contributing to the current body of knowledge on inter‐organizational relationships, this study offers potential benefits to both facility service providers and buyers in terms of describing how to formulate successful relationships and to improve the performance and efficiency of collaborative relations.

At a conference in London almost two years ago, David Cotts, President of the North American International Facility Management Association (IFMA) gave a personal view of the changes he felt would affect the facilities management profession over the next decade.

This paper focuses on providing a conceptual model for facility management, which has seen sustained economic growth and market development in the past ten years and that it has been one of the more robust service sector employers. It notes that facility management needs to be more closely aligned to a management discipline to enable it to differentiate itself as it develops within the service sector. There are a number of market segments which are brought together by facility management operations: property, built environment, catering, cleaning, security and engineering services are but a few. In order to provide more coherence to the facility management sector, these activities would benefit from being placed within the context of a mainstream management discipline. This paper states that the lack of conceptual or theoretical management framework is perhaps in part the reason why facility management remains misunderstood in the general business sector.

This paper aims to examine the strategy, selection and perception of facility management (FM) services and the effect it may have on perceived building quality.

Data was collected through a survey distributed to board members of cooperatives for newly constructed buildings in Sweden. Responses from 394 cooperative boards were included in the data set and analysed. The difference in cooperative choice of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services was examined with non-parametrical Kruskal–Wallis tests and the effect of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services on perceived building quality was examined with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

The results suggest information asymmetry and indicate urgent need for an objective accreditation system for FM services, which will inform and assist housing owners in the FM selection process. The study validates the hypothesis that facilities management strategies applied by housing cooperatives have a significant effect on perception of building quality.

The findings will assist developers, facility and property managers to understand the needs and services valued by the housing cooperative. The findings highlight the information asymmetry, restricted techniques and weak signalling methods among FM services, and advocates promoting an objective accreditation system for FM services.

The study contributes to the discussion on the concept of building quality and the results presented provide a better understanding of facilities management strategy on perception of building quality.

Summarizes developments in estate management in the NHS in the light of the reforms and advances in medical and information technology, and catalogues the events leading to the emergence of facilities management. Concludes that the role of estate managers will shift from technical and staff management towards purchasing skills and contract management.

The purpose of this study is to identify methods appropriate for measuring the direct productivity of facilities management (FM) with respect to the providers, on both the industry level and the firm level.

This is a literature survey and conceptual analysis.

Prior studies are dominated by subjective assessments of how the office environment affects individual labour productivity. While the available EU data on productivity growth for the FM industry indicate a negative trend, they might be misleading. More recent research on the productivity of business services providers could be applied to the measurement of the productivity of FM firms. Co-production and effects of client satisfaction are important issues for measurement.

The analysis is concentrated on the direct productivity of FM providers. There is a need to develop objective measures of provider productivity, and there is a particular challenge in measuring how FM clients contribute to the productivity of FM providers.

Providers of FM services should be able to assess the efficiency of their resource use more clearly and to balance user satisfaction against resource use more efficiently.

The effects of co-production with clients need to be recognised, considering productivity effects on both providers and clients jointly. Sustainability is an argument for an increased focus on resource use in FM.

This is the first overview of issues raised when measuring the direct productivity of FM itself rather than indirect FM effects on office worker labour productivity.

Health care, one of the most dynamic sectors in Italy, is studied with a particular focus on outsourcing non‐core activities such as facility management (FM) services. The project's goals are to define national standards to balance and control facility service evolution, and to drive FM services towards organisational excellence. The authors, in cooperation with a pool of facility service providers and hospitals managers, studied cleaning services – one of the most critical areas.

This article describes the research steps and findings following definition and publication of the Italian standard and its application to an international benchmarking process. The method chosen for developing the Italian standard was to merge technical, strategic and organisational aspects with the goal of standardising the contracting system, giving service providers the chance to improve efficiency and quality, while helping healthcare organisations gain from a better, more reliable and less expensive service.

The Italian standard not only improved services but also provided adequate control systems for outsourcing organisations. In this win‐win context, it is hoped to continually drive FM services towards organisational excellence.

This study is specific to the Italian national healthcare system. However, the strategic dynamics described are common to many other contexts.

A systematic method for improving hospital FM services is presented.

The authors believe that lessons learned from their Italian case study can be used to better understand and drive similar services in other countries or in other FM service outsourcing sectors.

Senior buildings have been designed as purposeful space programs. Therefore the elderly need coherent information about different senior housing concepts. The study seeks to set out a method for measuring the quality level of senior housing.

The method includes measuring four different factors: local services, building and yard, apartment, and on‐site services. Measuring the quality level of two separate residential areas and senior housing facilities demonstrates the use of the quality level measurement system.

The overall quality level of Facility 1 was significantly lower than that of Facility 2. The lower quality level measurement for Facility 1 was primarily the result of the lack of premises for lease to commercial or other tenants and the lack of on‐site services. The quality level measurement system is a successful tool for assessing the functioning and quality standard of residential areas and housing facilities in the point of view of elderly people.

This study has developed a unique application for measuring the quality level of residential areas and senior housing facilities. The measurement system is useful for estimating the quality level of a facility and also for analyzing different quality level factors to identify possible problems. While the intention is to provide a method primarily for expert assessments, seniors and their relatives could also use the method as an aid in weighing up the suitability of different senior housing facilities.