Facility Managers and Security Managers Roles and Responsibilities - Coursework Example

Title: Facility Managers and Security Managers Roles and Responsibilities Name: Institution: Date: Facility Managers and Security Managers Roles and Responsibilities Introduction Facility managers and security managers have roles and responsibilities that are overlapping but they are complementary in ensuring the workplace environment safety and security. Current facility managers are responsible for coordination of the physical workplace using business administration, behavioral science and engineering. The security manager is charge of the safety and security of a facility or high-rise building and understands all the security details of the working environment (Barrett & Baldry, 2003). Facility management entails working across disciplines like engineering, general management, construction and architecture in the attainment of the objectives of a project or organization. Facility managers have to support the security managers and vice versa if the work environment safety and security has to be achieved. The facility manager can undermined the facility management functions while the security manager can also undermine the facility management function if there is malice and prejudice between the two functions. The security managers and facility managers have to appreciate that their roles and responsibilities cannot be entirely be divorced from each other. They can be integrated for attainment of effectiveness of each function but cannot work independently from each other without cooperation or coordination (Goldman, 2006). There is confusion on the roles and responsibilities of the security and facility manager and there is need to explain how the facility management and security management functions work to achieve a common goal of creating a safety and secure working environment. This essay seeks to expound the role and responsibilities of a security manager and facility manager and demonstrates how their functions overlap as well as complement each other. Discussion Facility managers are generally responsible for buildings as well as services that support businesses and organizations. Effective facility management entails multiple activities under several disciplines, combines resources and is significant for the success of any institution. Facility management is the viewed as management of cost-efficiency as opposed to the method in order to achieve multi-dimensional enhancement in business competitiveness (Challinger, 2011). Facility management has also been defined as an integrated approach into operating, improving, maintaining, and adopting the building and infrastructure of an organization for the purpose of creating an environment that supports strongly the fundamental objectives of the organization. Facility management comprises the integration of multi-disciplinary activities in the built environment as well as the management of their impacts on people and the workplace. This description acknowledges the contribution of principles, processes, laws, theories as well as practices from other professions and emphasizes the need of managing the enormous impacts which such diverse backgrounds can have on people as well as the workplace of organizations (Sennewald, 2011). Facility management entails many aspects like people, processes, environment and health and safety that touch on the role of the security manager. The role and responsibilities of a security manager in a high rise building or a facility are clearly defined but he has to work closely with the facility manager for effective accomplishment of his function. Facility management is a profession that requires a wide range of knowledge and skills. Facility managers are concerned with the management of multi-disciplinary activities with the aim of optimizing their impact on people as well as the workplace and offering the customers value for their money. Facility managers are in charge of managing and coordinating an enormously wide range of specialist areas including property and estates (Syed & Mustapa, 2001). The security manager has a narrow scope and has to concentrate on making the workplace environment safe and secure for everyone. Facility management is a field that is emerging under engineering and in the new service sector that has developed owing to the outsourcing of non-core competencies like cleaning as well as office management to other third party providers. Therefore, there are various definitions as well as understandings of facility management (Duggan, 1992). Facility management involves integration of organizational processes for the purpose of maintaining and developing services supporting and improving the effectiveness of basic processes. The facility manager has a wider scope as compared to the security manager who concentrates on the security department of a construction site or a building. The security managers define in specific terms the security requirements that will make the project or building safe and secure. It is upon the facility manager to make sure that the security manager gets what he needs in enhancing security (Craighead, 2009). The security manager gives the job description of the human capital that he needs and the facility managers facilitates the recruitment. The security cost in a high-rise building has to be justified to the building owner and the facility manager so that the security department is funded adequately. The security function entails the security-related tasks that are carried out in a facility. In a high-rise building, the responsibilities often are accomplished by the security department acting on the behalf of the manager or the facility owner. The makeup and size of a security department varies depending on the complexity of a facility as well as requirements of its security together with fire life safety program (Analoui, 2007). Whether the security department entails proprietary or contract staff, the security manager has a major role in the determination of the quality as well as performance of that department. The security manager must possess security experience, have leadership ability, have excellent communication skills both verbal and written, have organizing skills and be a strong time manager. The security manager should be able to work well with all kinds of people including the facility manager, be intelligent and understand and ready to teach complex systems, be self-disciplined and outgoing (Smith & Brooks, 2013). In the modern world the security manager has to a person with excellent credentials as well as experience in safety and security management. The remainder of the security function consists of supervisors as well as staff with job titles that are determined by their functions like lobby ambassador, courier, security guard, security officer, dock master, watch commander, doorman, and shift supervisor. The security manager is charge of people who make it people to carry out the responsibilities of security and safety for a facility or a high-rise building (Todnem, 2005). The facility managers and security managers have to appreciate each other’s role and work together in accomplishing the purpose of their function without sabotage. They have to view each other as complementary as opposed to subordinates. The facility manager can be blamed for failure of the security manager to secure a facility and on the other hand, the facility manager can be blamed for the incompetence of the security manager in is hid security details (Nutt & McLennan, 2000). The safety and security of a high-rise building and a facility can be attained when facility managers and security managers work together for a common goal. Facility managers budget for mechanical and custodial workloads, contract cost escalations, increases in utility rates, the cost of minor repairs as well as agency moves, security support, procurement of material and other supplies, administrative salaries, and equipment requirement. There is no way a security manager can work independently without consulting the facility manager who is change of the administrative work of the facility (Muret, 2006). Management of high rise building and any facility require the security manager and facility manager to work together. The facility managers have to possess adequate technical knowledge of the building construction, modification, modernization, as well as maintenance requirements to establish and administer procedures and control systems for technical service operations. The facility managers point out the need for repairs and recommend major alteration or repair of projects and closely monitor the work that has been done by private developers (BDO, 2012). The security managers have to communicate the equipment and human resource capital that he needs in order to make the facility safe and secure. The security manager cannot purport to order material requirements and specification without consulting the facility manager who can authorize such supplies. High-rise buildings have same requirements of fire protection as health care facilities. In case of an incident in a high-rise building, the occupants or workers have to be safely evacuated to safer grounds. The facility manager and the security manager must have a vast knowledge of the security system of the building or facility in order to communicate effectively to other people involved in the rescue mission (Blyth, 2008). Fire suppression is crucial aspect of fire and life safety. The facility manager must be aware of any security codes that have been used in a facility or building. The facility manager has to work closely with the security manager and be updated on any security improvements that have been made or be informed of any security threats and look for ways of dealing with them. Both the security manager and facility manager must work on an emergency plan in case of a security incident (Alder, 2005). The security manager has to communicate the security plan to affected people and inform them of an exit strategy in case of an accident or incident. The security of the facility affects the functions of the facility manager hence the security manager has to support the facility manager to achieve his goal. Current responsibilities and roles of facility managers entails the maintenance of the integrity of building service within a facility and maximizing return on investment for the owners of buildings or facilities. Security personnel has to understand emergency warning systems, life operations, building evacuation systems, fire protection systems, building codes and standards as well as lighting. The role of a facility manager cuts across several disciplines and it is business focused (Atkin & Brooks, 2015). Consequently the facility managers must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills to be able to work well with other people like the security managers. The functions of facility managers can vary with regard to the nature of the organization, but they focus on using best business practice in enhancing efficiency by reducing operational costa while concurrently increasing productivity. The structure and size of the organization or facility will determine the roles and responsibilities of a facility manager and that of a facility manager. The owner has to specify what he wants and be willing to fund the budget that will meet the specified requirements (Booty, 2009). The facility manager engages both in the daily operations and strategic planning of the facility. The security managers also ensure that the daily operations are carried out without security hitches or panic due to unsafe environment and are involved in the security strategic planning of the facility. Conclusion Current facility managers and security managers must appreciate each other’s roles and responsibilities with regard to the management of a facility and technologies that are employed in typical high-rise building criteria. It has been established that the roles and responsibilities of a security manager and facility manager are complementary hence they have to support each other. The safety of the workplace environment of a high-rise building or a facility highly depends on the integration and cooperation of security and facility management functions of the organization. Both facility managers and security manager must possess excellent skills and knowledge of their function, have good experience and understand the technical area of their function. The security and facility managers have to work together in designing and implementing the security program and initiatives that will help in attaining a safe and secure working environment. The roles and responsibilities of a security manager and facility manager cannot be completely divorced from each other. The security manager has to support the facility manager and vice versa. References Alder, S. (2005). Disaster and Recovery Planning: A Guide for Facility Managers, New York: Security Management. Analoui, F. (2007). Strategic Human Resource Management, Thomson Learning, London. Atkin, B. & Brooks, A. (2015). Total Facility Management, Fourth edition, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Barrett, P.S. & Baldry, D. (2003). Facilities Management: Towards Best Practice, Second edition, Oxford: Blackwell Science. Blyth, M. (2008). Risk and Security Management: Protecting People and Sites Worldwide, London: John Wiley & Sons. Booty, F. (ed.) (2009). Facilities management handbook, Fourth edition, Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. BDO (2012), Facility Management, UK: Overview. Challinger, D. (2011). From the Ground up: Security for Tall Buildings, Crisp Report, ASIS International. Craighead, G. (2009). High-rise Security and Fire Life Safety (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Elsevier. Duggan, V.J. (1992). Chemistry of Fire, Unpublished manuscript, Perth: Western Australia. Goldman, A.J., (2006). Optimal facility-location, Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 111 (2), 97–101. Muret, D. (2006). Staying on guard, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal 43 (8). Nutt, B. & McLennan, P. (2000), Facility Management – Risks and Opportunities, London: Blackwell Science. Sennewald, C.A. (2011), Effective Security Management, London: Elsevier. Smith, C.L., & Brooks, D. J. (2013). Security Science: The Theory and Practice of Security, Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Syed, A. & Mustapa, H.S., (2001). Facilities Management of The Intelligent Building, unpublished thesis, University Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. Todnem, R., (2005) Organizational change management: critical review, Journal of Change Management, 5:4,369-380 Read More