If you attended IFMA’s Facility Fusion at Caesar’s Palace, in Las Vegas, NV, John Edwards, PE, CFM, FMP and Stephen Clawson presented Back to Business: Business Resilience and the Role of the FM on Thursday, April 6 10:30-11:45. If you missed the presentation, or would like a copy, click here.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the role of the FM in business resilience.
Learn how to incorporate organizational drivers into a prioritized, planned program.
Improve your organization’s ability to respond.
The presentation will cover:
In facility management circles, the topic of business resilience is easy to dismiss. After all, we are used to promoting safety, dealing with emergencies, and having well-honed emergency preparedness plans in place so we assume we are resilient. But what about business continuity planning for organizational resilience? As managers of the built environment, facility managers play a key role in ensuring facilities are equipped to support business functions regardless of the circumstance. In response to a growing concern about our ability to respond, international standards have been developed to address business resilience in a consistent fashion. ISO 22301:2012 Societal security — Business continuity management systems — Requirements is one of the international standards. ISO 22301 provides a practical framework for setting up and managing an effective business continuity management system to safeguard from a wide range of potential threats and disruptions. In this presentation, we will address what the facility manager needs to know about business resilience. We will discuss business continuity in every day processes as it relates to facilities, incorporating durability and maintainability for sustainable facilities, and methodical approaches to ensure rational, planned response in times of emergency. We will utilize a case study to illustrate how a company utilized the ISO 22301 certification process to understand strengths and weaknesses in its own program, address concerns, and train their workforce to develop a more resilient team.
John Edwards, PE, CFM, FMP is a Senior Facility Management Consultant with over 
30 years of experience in facilities management. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and his Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering (Construction Management) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Registered Professional Engineer, a Certified Facility Manager, and a Facility Management Professional. His assignments during his 24-year career as a U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps Officer included service as an installation public works officer and a regional facilities executive officer. John has also worked as a Senior Analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, where he developed recommendations for improvements to federal agency infrastructure programs. Prior to joining FEA, he was a team leader with a firm that delivered environmental remediation and design-build construction solutions.
Stephen Clawson is a Staff Professional at Facility Engineering Associates, P.C (FEA). He is a recent graduate of Brigham Young University where he majored in Construction and Facilities Management. Stephen has always had a curiosity and respect for the built environment. His experience at FEA has exposed him to top shelf thinking and high-performance FM principles, and has broadened his perspective of the FM industry to include business resilience which has reinforced his appreciation for the built environment.
