The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is a professional membership association which exists to guide and develop facility management professionals by providing services, products, resources and opportunities. IFMA's global headquarters, called the Service Center of Excellence, is located in Houston, Texas and led by President and CEO Tony Keane, CAE.
IFMA was founded in 1980 by a group of people led by David Armstrong of Michigan State University, George Graves of Texas Eastern Transmission Corp., and Charles Hitch of Manufacturer's Bank. It was originally established in Ann Arbor, Michigan as the National Facility Management Association (NFMA), a not-for-profit incorporated association. The name was changed to IFMA in 1982 due to a growing Canadian contingency. As of 2017, IFMA has more than 24,000 members in more than 100 countries. This membership includes sub-groups by region (134 chapters), industry (16 councils) and topic focus (six communities). IFMA is a Full Member of the Global Facility Management Association (Global FM).
IFMA certifies facility managers, conducts research, provides educational programs, recognizes facility management degree and certificate programs, and produces World Workplace, a series of facility management-related conferences and expositions held in five world regions. Its official publication, FMJ, is a bimonthly magazine written for facility professionals concerned with developing and maintaining productive workplaces.
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Credentialing Programs
As of 2017, IFMA offers three credentialing programs. The Certified Facility Manager® (CFM®) is designed to assess competency in the field through work experience, education and the ability to pass a comprehensive exam. Since the program began in 1992, more than 3,100 facility managers have achieved this recognition.
The Facility Management Professional(TM) (FMP®) credential is an assessment-based certificate program demonstrating a proven comprehension of the foundations of facility management. In September 2010, IFMA updated and enhanced the FMP credential to align with the most recent IFMA global job task analysis, ensuring that it teaches and tests the knowledge demanded by today's global employers. As of June 30, 2016, more than 6,600 professionals have earned the FMP designation.
Introduced in 2011, the Sustainability Facility Professional® (SFP®) credential helps facility professionals play a key leadership role in creating, managing and operating sustainable facilities by giving them the skills to continually improve their facility's impact on the environment and the community. The intent of the SFP credential is to help facility managers to bridge the gap between the professional and the property by teaching them how to implement sustainability concepts that align with corporate strategy.
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Events
IFMA's World Workplace is an annual conference and exposition geared toward the learning and networking needs of professionals who support facilities -- from FM, IT, PM and HR to engineering, security, real estate and sustainability/energy specialists.
World Workplace welcomes more than 4,000 attendees from 40 countries and from every state in the U.S. Attendees represent more than 2,000 companies and a range of workplace-related industries. Practitioners, educators, authors, students, government representatives, members of IFMA and partnering organizations, and exhibiting companies attend annually.
While IFMA continues to hold its main World Workplace event in the U.S., the event series has expanded to other world regions. As of 2017, these include Europe, the Middle East, India, China and Asia.
IFMA also produces and hosts Facility Fusion. This educational event offers FM networking and learning across a range of professional development levels and needs, as well as a produce and service exposition.
It features high-level FM education, networking, association management training for IFMA volunteer leaders, management skills development, best practices, sustainability strategies and product solutions. IFMA holds two Facility Fusion events each spring: one in the U.S. and one in Canada.
IFMA Foundation
Established in 1990 as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, the IFMA Foundation promotes research and educational opportunities for the advancement of facility management. The IFMA Foundation is supported by the facility management community, including IFMA members, chapters, councils, corporate sponsors and private contributors.
Components
IFMA created three types of sub-groups to support the specific networking and information needs of its members. Collectively called components, these groups include chapters, which are based on geographic location, councils, which are based on industry or facility type, and communities, which are based on topic or core competency area of focus.
See also
- British Institute of Facilities Management
- Building Owners and Managers Association
- Facility Management Association of Australia
- Global Facility Management Association (Global FM)
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
References
External links
- Official site
- IFMA Foundation
Source of article : Wikipedia