Introduction to Facility Management - Practical Global FM

In this review of Introduction to Facility Management, the book is presented as a practical, introductory guide for professionals and students seeking a clear foundation in the field. The single biggest reason to buy is its broad, international perspective on how facility management roles, standards and service processes fit together, making it useful for readers who need a coherent, operational view rather than a narrowly theoretical text.

Key Features

• Comprehensive introduction: The book outlines what facility management is and what practitioners actually do, providing a readable entry point for newcomers.
• Organisation setup guidance: It explains how to set up a facility management organisation, which helps managers translate strategy into operational structure.
• Service classification: Readers get frameworks for classifying facility management products and services, aiding procurement and service design decisions.
• Operational tools: The text covers managing service processes with a master dashboard, offering practical ideas for monitoring and control.
• International perspective: This edition highlights global trends, international FM standards and practices, useful for those working across regions.
• Contributions from experts: Thought leaders contribute viewpoints that expand the book beyond a single-author approach and connect theory to practice.

Who It's For

This book is aimed at aspiring facility managers, operational leads and students in business or management who need a structured overview of FM responsibilities and tools. It is particularly helpful for professionals moving into FM from other disciplines who require concrete guidance on organising services and using dashboards to manage processes.

Readers seeking an in-depth academic treatise on every FM subtopic or highly technical engineering specifications should look elsewhere, as this edition focuses on practical frameworks, international standards and role definitions rather than exhaustive technical detail.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Clear explanation of core FM roles and duties that helps build practical competence.
• Useful frameworks for classifying services and designing an organisation, which aid decision making.
• Operational focus on dashboards and process management that supports hands-on implementation.
• International scope and contributions from several thought leaders broaden applicability.

Cons

• Not a technical manual: readers wanting detailed engineering specifications or deep technical data will find the coverage high level.

Specifications

Title	Introduction to Facility Management
Series	Routledge-Noordhoff International Editions
Primary authors	Hester van Sprang, Bernard Drion
Edition focus	First international edition with global FM standards
Content highlights	FM roles, service classification, organisation setup, master dashboard
Contributors	Includes thought leaders such as Diane Levine and others

Our Verdict

Introduction to Facility Management is a practical, well-structured primer for those entering or reorganising facility management functions. Its emphasis on organisation design, service classification and operational dashboards makes it a good value for practitioners who need actionable frameworks and an international perspective rather than deep technical detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this book suitable for beginners?
Yes. It is written as an introductory text that explains fundamental FM roles and organisational approaches useful for beginners.

Does it cover international standards?
The first international edition highlights global trends and international FM standards and practices throughout the text.

Will it teach technical engineering tasks?
No. The focus is on management frameworks, service classification and process control rather than detailed engineering specifications.