Bermuda professionals seeking to raise standards in facilities management completed a three-day seminar on Operations and Maintenance, a core competency which could be the first step toward certification as Facility Management Professionals through the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).

Strategic Procurement Solutions Bermuda partner Sonia Pearman believes these educational seminars are of great benefit to Bermuda professionals involved in risk management and facilities management for large complexes.

Her company organised the event and brought in Mary Speed-Perri from the New York based The Perri Group, which specialised in training development and organisational consulting.

Facilities Management is an interdisciplinary field devoted to the coordination of space, infrastructure, people and organisation, often associated with the administration of office blocks, arenas, schools, convention centres, shopping complexes, hospitals, hotels and others.

In a 2009 Global Job Task Analysis IFMA identified eleven core competencies of facility management: communication; emergency preparedness and business continuity; environmental stewardship and sustainability; finance and business; human factors; leadership and strategy; operations and maintenance; project management; quality; real estate and property management; and technology.

Pictured are participants of this week’s seminars, together with Ms Pearman and Ms Speed-Perri (second and third from left on the front row).