Tricks Of The Trade: Manuals

By James C. Elledge, IFMA Fellow, CFM, FMA, RPA, RIAQM
Published in the November 2006 issue of Today’s Facility Manager

Q How do I find a firm that can write a manual for a facility that is just finishing a major retrofit and upgrade?

Tim Gorter
Project Manager
Earthsite
Santa Monica, CA

A I found an excellent article on the need for a facilities operation manual, courtesy of the International Association of Assembly Managers. Written by Mike Mingus, operations supervisor at the Modesto Centre Plaza, this article has some suggestions on the kind of content the manual should include.

As for finding an author, you should be able to get someone in the architectural/space planning field who offers services in facility management. Even if dealing only with O&M, the providers should be able to contribute useful material on the upkeep of the equipment specific to your facility. The general contractor involved with the retrofit and upgrade should also be able to assist.

Elledge,facility/office services manager for Dallas, TX-based Summit AllianceCompanies, is the recipient of the Distinguished Author Award from theInternational Facility Management Association (IFMA), is an IFMA Fellow, and isa member of TFM’sEditorial Advisory Board. All questions have been submitted via the “Ask TheExpert” portion of the magazine’s Web site. To pose a question, visit this link.