Last updated on Jul 13, 2024

Facilities engineers are tasked with ensuring safety. How can you ensure your team is up to the challenge?

Facilities engineers are responsible for designing, maintaining, and improving the physical systems and structures of various types of facilities, such as industrial plants, commercial buildings, or public infrastructures. Their work involves ensuring the safety, efficiency, and reliability of these facilities, as well as complying with relevant codes, standards, and regulations. To achieve these goals, facilities engineers need to have a strong team that can collaborate effectively, communicate clearly, and solve problems creatively. How can you ensure your team is up to the challenge? Here are some tips to help you build and manage a high-performing facilities engineering team.

1 Define roles and expectations

One of the first steps to creating a successful team is to define the roles and expectations of each member. This helps to avoid confusion, duplication, or gaps in the work, as well as to establish accountability and ownership. You should also clarify the scope, objectives, and deliverables of each project, and how they align with the overall vision and strategy of the organization. By setting clear and realistic expectations, you can help your team focus on the priorities, measure their progress, and celebrate their achievements.

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2 Foster a culture of safety

Safety is the core value of facilities engineering, and it should be reflected in the culture of your team. You should promote a culture of safety by providing adequate training, resources, and support for your team to perform their tasks safely and efficiently. You should also encourage your team to report and address any hazards, incidents, or near-misses, and to learn from them. Moreover, you should recognize and reward your team for their safety performance and behaviors, and for their contributions to improving the safety culture of the organization.

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Sharatchandra Rao

Experienced Facilities Manager | MBA - Operations Management | HVAC / MEP Maintenance Engineer | Certified IFMA CFM, FMP, & SFP, PMI PMP, IOSH MS | Facility Management Consultant & Trainer | Photography Enthusiast
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Advocate a zero-tolerance Safety policy - - Train all employees about safety & safe work practices using the language they can understand. Use visual aids and communicate to the point of over-communication. - Involve employees. Sometimes, workers know best. After all, they are the ones actually doing the tasks. Don’t hesitate to consult with your employees on what you can do to improve their working conditions – and by extension their safety. - Lead by example. As Managers, we need to embody a safety-first work style and take ownership of safety issues. If as leaders, we are demonstrating safe behaviors on a regular basis, others will automatically follow suit…

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3 Encourage collaboration and communication

Another key factor for a successful team is collaboration and communication. You should encourage your team to work together, share ideas, and leverage each other's strengths and expertise. You should also provide them with the tools and platforms to communicate effectively, such as regular meetings, feedback sessions, online chats, or project management software. Additionally, you should facilitate cross-functional collaboration and communication with other teams, departments, or stakeholders that are involved or affected by your projects. This way, you can ensure that your team has a holistic and integrated perspective of the facilities engineering challenges and solutions.

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Sharatchandra Rao

Experienced Facilities Manager | MBA - Operations Management | HVAC / MEP Maintenance Engineer | Certified IFMA CFM, FMP, & SFP, PMI PMP, IOSH MS | Facility Management Consultant & Trainer | Photography Enthusiast
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When it comes to safety, there is never too much communication: Train the staff (in their own language), use visual aids, do toolbox talks, give refresher training, involve them in safety risk assessments – communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more! For a safe place of work, managers therefore need to not only talk about health and safety by creating effective plans and deciding what needs to be done, but they also need to supplement these words with action. By communicating procedures clearly and effectively with employees, and putting into place positive actions, a safe place of work and an active health and safety culture within the FM organization is much more likely to be achieved and maintained in the long run.

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4 Support innovation and creativity

Facilities engineering is a dynamic and complex field that requires innovation and creativity to overcome the challenges and opportunities of the changing environment. You should support your team to be innovative and creative by encouraging them to explore new technologies, methods, or approaches that can enhance the performance, sustainability, or resilience of the facilities. You should also provide them with the time, space, and resources to experiment, test, and learn from their failures and successes. Furthermore, you should celebrate and showcase your team's innovations and creativity, and how they add value to the organization and the society.

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5 Develop skills and competencies

Finally, you should develop the skills and competencies of your team to ensure that they are capable and confident to handle the current and future demands of facilities engineering. You should identify the gaps and needs of your team, and provide them with the opportunities and resources to acquire new knowledge, skills, or certifications. You should also encourage your team to pursue continuous learning and professional development, and to share their learnings and best practices with each other. Additionally, you should mentor and coach your team, and help them to grow their careers and achieve their potential.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Facilities engineers are tasked with ensuring safety. How can you ensure your team is up to the challenge?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define roles and expectations

2 Foster a culture of safety

3 Encourage collaboration and communication

4 Support innovation and creativity

5 Develop skills and competencies

6 Here’s what else to consider

Facilities Engineering

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Facilities engineers are tasked with ensuring safety. How can you ensure your team is up to the challenge?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Define roles and expectations

2 Foster a culture of safety

3 Encourage collaboration and communication

4 Support innovation and creativity

5 Develop skills and competencies

6 Here’s what else to consider

Facilities Engineering

Rate this article

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